[CQ-Contest] Xtreme category, catch 22

[Paul O'Kane]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Julius Fazekas" <phriendly1 at yahoo.com>

...

> The Extreme category is a good thing... It may open new
> techniques up to everyone. It is a logical progression in
> our hobby.

New techniques and technologies are always welcome.
When they serve to replace RF, however, the notion of
a "QSO" has to change.  If all possible technology
changes are accepted, contesting will change into
something indistinguishable from internet gaming
(thanks 6W1RY).

The issue is simply stated, but harder to resolve - 
"When is a contest QSO not a QSO?"  Without agreement,
the arguments about new categories and technologies
will be never-ending.

IMHO, a good starting point is for QSOs to be valid
only when they are acceptable for DXCC awards.

That raises two questions.

  1. Will the DXCC Committee offer a definition of
     a QSO?  Perhaps there will be more than one
     class of QSO, with separate definitions.

  2. Will the contesting community abide by the DXCC
     definition(s) when framing rules and categories?

If the answer to either question is "No", we will
remain in the Wild West era of contesting.

If the answer to both questions is "Yes", ARRL,
CQ and other interested parties need to draft
the definitions.

73,
Paul EI5DI