[CQ-Contest] Skimmer Changing Behaviour

[Dave Lawley]

So far in the debate mention only seems to have been made of the effect 
of Skimmer on the receiving station, but I think there is an additional 
danger. If CW contesting moves more towards "just another data mode" and 
a critical mass of CW contesters (if we can still call them that) use CW 
readers, transmitting stations will treat it more and more as a data mode.

Why stick to speeds of 30wpm or so? On day one of CQWW, your Caribbean 
big gun may find he can improve his rate by cranking up the speed to 60, 
80, 100, 120wpm or whatever. The only stations working him will be those 
using code readers but if there are enough of those, the rest of us - 
real CW ops - will be left to wait to day two before we can work the 
mult, or maybe if the pileup stays sizeable when running at 120wpm, 
there won't be a chance for us to work him at all.

Has the time come to include an upper CW speed limit in contest rules so 
that those of us who don't want to use code readers, Skimmer and the 
like, can continue to compete?

Dave G4BUO