[CQ-Contest] Busted Skimmer Spots

Tue Feb 22 00:42:51 PST 2011

Paul N0AH expressed things in a perfect way... Additional to his comments, I would like to remind some readers here that most radios actually have a VFO knob making possible to change the QRG a bit... Also a button regulating filter widths. All whining about RBN busted calls indicates that some of us obviously would prefer to start their automized station Saturday morning at 00 UTC and then go to bed like the bear during winter, and then wake up 48 hours later and check your score. I would feel ashamed for several of the comments on this topic... Start using your ears, brains and fingers while competing in radiosport instead of naively whining and dreaming that your station performs without YOU! Bring back the joy of contesting by accepting you are the one to create the score - not your tools! 73 de R3/SM6LRR, Mats

* Original message *
From:
bryonveal at msn.com
Sent:
04:41:41
22-02-2011
To:
zephd at indy.rr.com
cq-contest at contesting.com
Subject:
Re: [CQ-Contest] Busted Skimmer Spots

I just think skimmer technology is in it's beginning- to handle the load during a contest and have a few busted calls, well, all I can say you should know code to work a CW contest- I will always see it as a great tool, but I doubt if I'll ever just sit there and log in a call without hearing it- The volunteer system putting this together should get medals-Not whining.  It is amazing technology, but reading these complaints on busted calls bringing into question of those complaining knowing code to operate in DX Ally in the first place- Does DX Summit have a higher busted call rate?  Sometimes after the bars close, that site can be a real fun house- hihi  

I suggest just be happy that your finding possible mults in the shortest amount of time available with this technology and live with having to correct a few- Not trying to be rude, but if I ran a skimmer station, and had to read these complaints, I might just unplug things for a contest- 

Skimmer stations, thank you so much to those putting skimmer systems on line and helping inform us of DX spots and the reverse beacon network- so very fb in understanding the science of propagation!!!  I feel like I'm in a Star Trek movie watching this stuff possibly move us forward in the understand of HF propagation at a huge clip-along-pace- I'd put contesting second to the science and development this technology offers- And one more thing, if a rig is clipping a character, is it the skimmer station reporting its call sign who is suppose to fix it? - I hope we are not at that level yet of expectations- 

73  Paul  N0AH   

 Bryon "Paul" Veal  ARS-n0ah
n0ah at arrl.net

> From: zephd at indy.rr.com
> To: cq-contest at contesting.com
> Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2011 21:41:03 -0500
> Subject: [CQ-Contest] Busted Skimmer Spots
> 
> Skimmers will decode any RF they finds - and there is PLENTY of RF in M/M's
> such as K3LR. All of this causes the generation of "Skimmer-busted calls"
> such as LW3LPL (mentioned on the CQ Contest Reflector). LW3LR and many, many
> variations such as K3LA, K3LE, K3RR, LT3LR, M3LR ....
> 
> The new Arc V6 was used at K3LR to Filter Spots sent to the RBN. Two
> instances of Arc V6 were run - one to feed the RBN Network - and the second
> to feed the Win-Test Network. The RBN software connected to an Arc V6
> Server rather than directly to each of K3LR's 6 Skimmers (each Skimmer has a
> Perseus radio).
> 
> Arc V6 has a DxSpotBlock Filter. This uses calls from two files. One file
> contains the usual "Halloween calls" like G0RE. The second file is named
> MyDxSpotBlock. The filtering worked fine once I solved a self-imposed
> problem.
> 
> At the beginning of the Contest, some calls in the K3LR MyDxSpotBlock file
> were being blocked, but others were not. A lot of sleepless hours were
> spent trying to figure out the reason. About 4:00 AM Sunday morning a
> logged error message led me to check the MyDxSpotBlock file and found that I
> had entered the K3LR call twice. K3LR was on this list to prevent
> inadvertent "Skimmer Self-Spotting."
> 
> By the time the Contest ended, the K3LR MyDxSpotBlock.dat file had grown to
> 146 calls and most of the K3LR Skimmer-Busted Calls were blocked.
> 
> 
> 73 --- Dave, W9ZRX
> 
> 
> 
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