[CQ-Contest] Rule Change Debate on Skimmer

[rt_clay at bellsouth.net]

> > 
> > I'm not talking about the reverse beacon network, Steve - I'm talking 
> > about using a Skimmer to feed your logging program locally.  There will be 
> > no network benchmark for those. 
>  
>  
> You have missed my point. 
>  
> I'm sure that the log adjudicators will be setting up a private network of 
> skimmers that they will log into to grab skimmer spots through the skimmer 
> telnet interface. That will provide a database of skimmer spots that will be 
> used for later detection of skimmer cheaters. 
>  
> This will work every bit as well as using packet spot history to detect 
> packet cheaters. 
>  
Again, you are thinking about  the spot trail from a centralized skimmer collector, not a local skimmer.

What my skimmer gets in MS and what ARRL gets in CT will be significantly different. There is NOT a single "packet spot history" from skimmer. Each skimmer decodes signals a little differently because they are using output from different radios, antennas, and locations. So a spot showing up at one location might not show up for several minutes later at another (if at all).<blockquote
About the only signature of skimmer use I can think of would be working a lot of stations at very
different frequencies (ie hopping around the band a lot).  Detecting this would then require everyone to turn in a log with full frequency information. And it would be difficult to distinguish from someone doing SO2R and combing the bands for mults.

Tor
N4OGW