[CQ-Contest] if you didn't inhale

[Michael Adams]

I think you could adapt Stew Perry rule 6 into a pretty good definition of "not assisted". 

One possible adaptation would be:

You are "not assisted" if;

* You identify a callsign and required information by yourself (with the obvious exception of mechanical decodes for modes other than CW and phone) during the contest period. 

* If you use a CW skimmer, you do so only when  you are operating it, only if it is connected to your radio, and only if it does not display decoded text. 

* If you use a panadapter, you do so under the same constraints as those described for skimmers. 

* You log the exchange by yourself, based strictly on the callsign and information received from the other station during the contest operating period, as interpreted during the contest period. (Notes or corrections made during the contest operating period must be integrated into the submitted log during the operating period or as soon as is practical after, provided the operator does so without the assistance of others.)

* Any maps or propagation info are acquired before the contest, or involve no other individuals or services during the contest period. 

Thoughts?

I'm probably being a little too liberal with the skimmer and panadapter bullet-points, but when you think about the what new rigs are capable of, or how to be fair if deaf hams are involved....

I think it's debatable about whether using automated geomagnetic information services is "assistance".  In writing the above, I used the Stew "a man and his radio" concept when drafting this, which seems to exclude such announcements. 

And lest anybody think otherwise, I don't have a problem with being "assisted", although that might just be a side effect of being a rookie.

Personally, I don't much care about how I'm classified. I just want to have fun making contacts, without running afoul of the contest I'm making contacts in. 

-- 
Michael Adams (AB1OD)  |  portable in Chicago, Illionois |   mda at ab1od.org