[CQ-Contest] The New Radio - an audio and visual approach to contesting

[Barry]

José - I am looking at the rules at http://www.cqww.com/rules.htm in the 
pdf file link. Under single op:
A. Single Operator categories: For
all single operator categories, only one
person (the operator) can contribute to
the final score during the official contest
period. QSO alerting assistance
of any kind (this includes, but is not
limited to, packet, local or remote
Skimmer and/or Skimmer-like technology,
Internet) places the entrant
in the Single Operator Assisted category

I do not see anything about decoding, just alerting. Am I missing 
something?
Also, CW decoding has been available for many years in Writelog. I am 
not aware of this being addressed in the past.

73,
Barry W2UP


José Nunes CT1BOH wrote:
>>>>> The New Radio – an audio and visual approach to contesting
>>>>>           
>
>
>
>
>
> There is a trend in the new SDR radios that incorporates spectrum scopes
> (panadapter, waterfall, etc). This trend will change the way we operate and
> will impact the way we do Contesting.
>
>
>
> The new way of operating is:
>
>
>
>    1. completely eliminate the VFO knob and tune with a mouse and keyboard
>    keys
>    2. use both ears and eyes to identify stations
>    3. have visual information of the totality of the signals on a band
>
>
>
> "The new radio" offers the visual element, along side the audio element and
> the ability to tune from one signal into the next signal without having to
> listen to the empty band space in between stations.
>
>
>
> This will have a tremendous impact in the way we Contest, and will
> accelerate activity, i.e. more QSOs in the time frame of the contest,
> because tuning is many orders of magnitude faster. In a way we can say that
> with the "new radio" there is no more Search&Pounce but only Pounce.
>
>
>
> *>>>>Contesting with "the old radio"*
>
>
>
> Before starting a run, the operator dials the band up and down, turning the
> VFO knob, in a continuous way, looking for a clear frequency. Once he finds
> and holds the frequency he is able to start a Run. While on the frequency he
> is only aware of a few Khz, depending on his passband filter (500Hz in a CW
> contest). He has no information whatsoever of what is adjacent to his
> frequency and up and down the band.
>
>
>
> If the operator stops the Run and goes into S&P mode, he has to dial the VFO
> knob in a continuous way, going from one station into the other station.
> While doing this, he will listen to the bands (empty space) in between the
> stations.
>
>
>
> *>>>>Contesting with "the new radio"*
>
>
>
> Before starting a Run, the operator looks at a spectrum scope that shows him
> the entire band at once. He visually identifies an empty spot and with a
> mouse click is taken right to the frequency of choice. Once he finds and
> holds the frequency he is able to start a Run. While on the frequency he is
> aware of a few Khz, depending on his passband filter (500Hz in a CW
> contest), AND to the all the signals present on the band. He not only has an
> audio element (the passband of the radio) but a visual element (all the
> signals on the band).
>
>
>
> If the operator stops the run and goes into "S&P" mode, he can click and go
> zero beat with each signal present on the band. There is no tuning anymore,
> there in no more listening to the empty band space in between each station.
> The visual element of the new radio will provide the operator the
> information to go directly zero beat to each signal.
>
>
>
> Spectrum scopes have been around for more than 20 years. Radios like ICOM
> 781 have spectrum scopes that have been used by Single Operators in the Non
> Assisted categories. All the ICOM PRO series and ICOM 7800 radios have
> scopes, as well as Yaesu FT2000 and FT9000 (with DMU units). We can say that
> these scopes are very crude, but they already provide the visual element.
>
>
>
> *>>>>Blind Skimmer*
>
>
>
> When Alex, VE3NEA released CW Skimmer I sent him an e-mail and told him that
> CW Contesting would be very different in the future.
>
>
>
> CW Skimmer attracted my attention not because of the decoding element of
> call signs, but for the very powerful and fast waterfall display, with a
> resolution sufficient for reading Morse Code dots and dashes visually.
>
>
>
> Note that CQWW Rules prohibit CW decoding of call signs in the Single
> Operator Non Assisted categories, but it does not prohibit scopes.
>
>
>
> With this in mind, I contacted again Alex, VE3NEA, and asked him if he could
> release a version of his waterfall display, that provide a visual
> representation of the dots and dashes, with the CW decoding disabled,
> therefore suitable for the Single Operator Non Assisted class. He was very
> receptive and we came up with Blind Skimmer.
>
>
>
> In "Blind Mode", no call sign list is produced, none of the waterfall dots
> and dashes are annotated with the text of the call sign and the up/down
> arrows of the keyboard enable the operator to move the frequency of the
> radio from one signal into the next (once again Alex was very receptive to
> my suggestion of implementing this very efficient way of "zero beat
> tuning").
>
>
>
> *>>>>What's next?*
>
>
>
> Contesting is a technological game, and because of this an evolving game.
>
> The new generation scopes, with enough resolution to separate one signal
> from the other will indeed accelerate the way we contest and this means more
> QSOs, more fun.
>
>
>
> In the end its still one guy, his ability to make QSOs and winning The
> Contest.
>
>
>
> 73
>
> José Nunes
>
> CT1BOH
>
>   
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-- 

Barry Kutner, W2UP             Newtown, PA