[CQ-Contest] SECRETS OF CONTESTING, CHAPTER 21

[Mike Fatchett W0MU]

This is all well and good and I went to the other site.  So what?  There 
seems to be lots of beating around the bush going on.  Why not address 
this head on?

What I have noticed in life is that things change and there is not much 
we can do about it.  As people age, they like change less and less, they 
get set in their ways and tell us how good things were in the past.  
This has been going on for generations.

There are always people that fear change instead of embracing it.  The" 
I have won this contest x times doing this way and I will be damned to 
do it a different way" will always exist.

SO2R-while many think this is bad it has driven up the scores in many 
contests.  Technology has allowed the smaller pistol the opportunity to 
do what the big boys had been doing for years.  SO2R made RTTY contests 
far more fun.  You have something to do while the other radio diddles 
away.  There is a group that refuses to embrace or even try this 
technology,  their stubbornness is leaving them behind.

Computers and black boxes have made RTTY and other digital modes 
accessible to far more people than ever before.  I think this is good!  
There is software the allows small stations to bounce signals off the 
moon and make contacts.  Most think this is pretty cool and wild.  A few 
guys which the huge arrays might think otherwise.  They say the software 
took all the challenge out of it.

Remote contesting is already becoming the next SO2R.  What will be next.

Cheaters.  People that blatantly cheat, send in logs as SO when Multi 
should be uninvited for further involvement from the awards.  I have 
heard many stories of many dx peditions that never happened where they 
said they did.  Is there less integrity in the hobby now than 20 or 30 
years ago?  It is hard to say.  News travels at lightning speed now.  I 
can have contacts confirmed in LOTW almost instantly.  Maybe we just 
never heard as much 20 or 30 years ago.  People have been winning at any 
costs probably since we became human.  It happens in the Olympics to 
online gaming where people are competing over pixels.  Lack of integrity 
is a not limited to Ham radio but to humanity.  Cheating in Ham Radio 
contests is certainly not a new revelation is it?

When one is no longer having fun doing something it is probably time to 
move on or take a break.  Contesting is just one avenue in Ham Radio.  
Try something new and different.

I'm having fun with some great High band activity, working some great 
DX,  planning a contest-pedition, future winter home/remote radio sites 
and finally getting around to applying for DXCC.  I am not sure my local 
card checker is happy with me though Hi!

If people really want to do something about the cheating, I am willing 
to help in whatever capacity I can.

W0MU

On 3/8/2011 11:33 PM, Jim Neiger wrote:
> SECRETS OF CONTESTING, CHAPTER 21
>
> There has been a Dark Side to the Force that has worked to diminish fun for some as ham radio operators.   Previously it had landed solidly in DXing, with some operators of reasonable skill,  claiming to on certain islands, or in certain countries, yet thousands of miles distant.  One such recent operation that always made me smile with its QSL Card, depicting its team of stalwarts wearing their jungle uniforms, purporting to be in a  southeast Asia rarity.  I guess it proved to be bogus, and I was later told  that their jungle pith helmets should more likely be traded in for bearskin hats with which Arctic residents might adorn themselves.  Obviously its leader had been watching a Shakespearean tragedy.   But I digress.........
>
> And now, sad to know, this Dark Force has permeated its way into our wonderful world of contesting.  Some call it Radio Sporting.  But for some, it's much more than a sport.  To the  fortune of serious contesters , the great majority play by the rules.
>
> But a few seemingly must win at any cost.  One can only wonder what they imagine they've won?  I will leave that to the reader to speculate.
>
> Twenty years ago, the WRTC's endeavored to level the playing field, even taking the radical step to have 24 hour referee's, so as to try ensure that all really do have fun, and play by the rules.  A couple years ago, Al 4L5A / D4B, believing so strongly in the integrity of our sport, put his money where his mouth is,  and  dug into his own wallet to 100% finance some referees to cover three  CQ WW CW SO/AB operations, all competing for world-high from the DX-end.  Unfortunately, Al's generous efforts resulted in more recriminations, more mis-conceptions, and simply stated, abject stupidity on the part of a few who should know better.
>
> BOTTOM-LINE:  that was the end of the 4L5A bank-roll of contesting referee's.  Too bad; it could've perhaps done some good.
>
> In one of my earlier Secret's of Contesting episodes, I wrote of the principles to which successful contester's can and should aspire.
>
>   Perseverance
>   Belief in yourself
>   Resilience
>   Willingness to outwork your opponents
>   Pride in your work
>   Impregnable determination
>
> Well, in those 20 some years that have passed, radio contesting has become a different animal.  Many/most  blame/credit  it to technology.  Computers  Skimmers  RBN   Packet   etc etc    Some think it's a godsend.  Others disdain.  Many words have been written on this forum, and it's not my intent to re-invent that wheel.
>
> However, with new technologies and "skills", I believe that for contesting to have ANY meaning, it must be done with integrity.  Absent that, I believe its future will be sadly limited, and ultimately  relegated to the ash-pile of history.
>
> Al, 4L5A / D4B has been my good friend for almost 40 years, although we have never met.  During his remarkable D4B operations of the last decade, he certainly opened some eyes as to how to build, and operate,  a world class station on Sao Vicente, Cabo Verde - the island where I was fortunate to sign D44BC for six CQ WW CW contests from 1985 onward  - but I was a comparative amateur to the operating skills that Al demonstrated.  That Al decided to leave active contesting was most unfortunate; but he had his reasons.
>
> The real SECRET here is that Al has developed a radio-contesting web-site where numerous interesting articles have been posted.  I found a recent submittal of his to be topical and timely.  It certainly focuses upon integrity in recent times.
>
> Please click on the following link:
>
>        http://contesting.at-communication.com/en/rd3a_valery-komarov_start-or-finish/
>
>
>         I know Al will welcome your ideas, comments, and opinions upon how to ensure that we all are driving with a license and have both hands on the wheel.
>
>        Very 73,
>
>        Jim Neiger  N6TJ
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