[CQ-Contest] How many more creative subjects using "skimmer" arethere?

Wed Apr 30 23:30:37 EDT 2008

N6TV demonstrated several programs.

I am not sure what program was used to record the audio data (I suspect it
might have been WinRad).  Bob (or WA6KBL) had prerecorded a large (about 500
MB) .wav file that contained ten minutes of a broad swath (122 KHz) of the
20 meter CW band using a good 20 meter beam and a high-end (Perseus) SDR.
The audio file is available on a web page that is given in Bob's PowerPoint
pitch.

WinRad by I2PHD was used to play back the .wav file, and it had the
waterfall display.  

CWSkimmer provided a band map and callsign decoding.

Bob also demonstrated a web site that hosts a multi-user SDR in the
Netherlands. You (and several other users concurrently) can tune a radio
around on 40 and 80 meters.

Bob's PowerPoint presentation is available at http://tinyurl.com/3ok29m

It was a very compelling demonstration.  I'd heard of CWSkimmer, but not
WinRad.  WinRad was also very interesting. You could see dots and dashes in
the waterfall display.  You could find holes in a DX pileup.  

Even if CWSkimmer is determined to be outside the SO (unassisted) arsenal,
WinRad's waterfall display is much more compelling than the panoramic
display I have seen on radios like my IC-7800.  The waterfall is much more
informative than six inches of "grass".

CWSkimmer is but one of the newly available technologies.

Dick, K6KR

-----Original Message-----
From: cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com
[mailto:cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Ted Bryant
Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 6:31 PM
To: Tree; cq-contest at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] How many more creative subjects using "skimmer"
arethere?

Tree said:

"...When I saw the skimmer demonstrated to me (thanks N6TV), I could see
that
he had a file on his laptop that contained a whole band of a contest (works
for both SSB and CW for this)..."

and

"..You could pick and time and a frequency and go listen to someone.
Wow!..."

I was not aware that the Skimmer worked for ssb.  Nor did I know that it
actually recorded what it
was hearing.  Rather, I thought it merely decoded the cw signals and
displayed them on a bandmap.
Was this some even more advanced version Skimmer that was demonstrated?

Ted W4NZ

-----Original Message-----
From: cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com
[mailto:cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com]On Behalf Of Tree
Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 12:31 PM
To: cq-contest at contesting.com
Subject: [CQ-Contest] How many more creative subjects using "skimmer"
arethere?

Lots of interesting reading on cq-contest about the skimmer concept.

I think it is fair to say "one size does not fit all".  What is one person's
idea of a natural extension of technology will be another person's nightmare
that contesting as a sport is being demolished.

I believe that eventually, we will find that the skimmer will require some
updating on the definition of what a single-operator is (either assisted
or unassisted) and that the "classic" category of a skimmerless unassisted
operator will be perserved - at least in most of the major contests.

However, with this development - there are some good questions being asked
about enforcement.  Here is an area where technology is also making
improvements - and they don't have to be constrained by classifications.
In other words, log checking can always enter the "multi-operator, multi-
computer, full internet access, unlimited, skimmer" category.  :-)

When I saw the skimmer demonstrated to me (thanks N6TV), I could see that
he had a file on his laptop that contained a whole band of a contest (works
for both SSB and CW for this).

You could pick and time and a frequency and go listen to someone.  Wow!

I can now go back and check to make sure someone actually QSY'd 5 khz
before CQing again in a sprint.  I can verify that so-and-so actually
didn't send their callsign as part of the exchange...  or prove that
someone else didn't send a signal report as part of their exchange.

This is almost enough to give me a log checking orgasm.

I am just imagining getting these types of files from various locations
around the world - and it will enable me to go back and listen to most
any QSO that occurred in the contest.

I will now break my own rule about only trying to write about one topic
per message.

This probably isn't enough to really be able to tell if someone is using a
skimmer.  However, most stations now have the technology available to them
to actually record a contest.  This can be done with a gigabyte or so of
memory using your computer - and a program that can be running along with
your logging software.

FOR COMPETITIVE ENTRIES (which needs to be defined) - perhaps asking them
to submit an audio recording of the contest could become "the standard"
and that information will go a long way towards enforcing many of the
current (and future) rules against assistance.

Maybe this distinction between a competitive entries and "standard" entries
will lead to a different log checking process for the competitive entries?
This idea has been thrown around by those who felt checking ALL of the
contest logs would lead to casual participants getting upset about their
score being decreased.  I don't know that this has actually happened
however.

Perhaps I have strayed enough from the original thread to stop now - but
there
are interesting ways that we can decide to score compeitive entries
differently
than participants that would be interesting to discuss.

I guess my point in writing this was to point out that some of this new
technology will advance the state of the art in log checking.  As a second
point - I am starting to agree with those who think the time has come to
send in an audio file (or CD) along with your log.

Tree N6TR
tree at kkn.net
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