[CQ-Contest] Hunting in Africa

[Michael Coslo]

On Mar 19, 2008, at 7:27 PM, Ron Notarius W3WN wrote:
>
> ...that those whose only choice is to operate a remote station or  
> not at all -- can't?  Is that what I'm reading here in all these  
> back and forth bogus hunting analogies?

At the risk of adding some emotional content, but with an actual Ham  
radio application, let me note what might be a good application for a  
remote station.

	Say there is a Ham who for some reason or another is not able to  
make it to our mountaintop site. Broken leg, illness, disability, or  
the like. With an internet connection, this Ham would be able to  
operate our station from home.

Other reasons might be living in an RF sink area - we have a few of  
those in central PA.

Another might be simply because the technology to remote an HF  
station is pretty cool stuff.


>
> Look... this should be something really simple.  I'll leave it to  
> the psuedo- and wannabe-lawyers to figure out the precise,  
> accurate, razor-thin wording, but why not just say something like:
>
> X.  Remote Operating
> X.1.  Remote operating of a receiver or transceiver is permitted  
> when the following circumstances apply:
> X.1.a.  The remote station is located within the same country or  
> DXCC entity

At first I didn't like this one, but as a practical matter, on  
further thought, it eliminates a lot of problems. It also helps to  
eliminate one of the philosophical issues with people operating  
completely out of their areas.

> X.1.b.  The remote station is the normal operating station for the  
> operator in question [this rules out rent-a-shacks, and permits  
> someone traveling to set up his home station as a remote]

	Well, that kind of rules out setting up a remote as an experiment. I  
think that anyone who wants to try a remote operation should have the  
chance. Frankly, I suspect that once people give it a try, they won't  
use it very often unless they have to.

> X.1.c.  The remote station may be operated by one or more  
> operators, but only one transmitter may be in use at any one time

I think the remote could be any class that the contest supports

> X.1.d.  The physical remote station shall conform to the same  
> contest rules for station configuration [ie, if the contest uses a  
> 500 meter circle, the entire remote station must also fall within  
> the same 500 meter circle]

Yup, Of corse it seems odd considering that the remote station makes  
a huge radius with the operators  QTH, but other than remote  
operating, the station should conform to all other contest rules.

> X.1.e.  A remote station shall use only one callsign during the  
> contest.

Absolutely!

> X.1.f.  Exceptions to any or all of these provisions will be at the  
> discretion of the contest committee, and must be applied for in  
> advance.  Failure to request these exceptions ahead of time will  
> automatically change the remote station's log entry into a check log.
> X.2  Remote stations not adhering to the restrictions noted in  
> Point 1 above shall automatically have their log entry changed into  
> a check log.

Pretty much a given here.


> (Don't like this version?  It's the best I can do on short  
> notice... if you've got something better in mind, let's hear it!)

Good thoughtful post, Ron. No animals were harmed in its production  
either! ;^)

-73 de Mike N3LI -