[CQ-Contest] Ethics of operating overtime in SS

[Tim Shoppa]

I learned about overtime operating and off-time interpretation done from
the Cabrillo log, in the NAQP, which is a max 10 out of 12 hour contest
with min half-hour offtimes.

I think there a couple of important lessons I learned that may also
describe the SS log checking and score computation:

1: The NAQP and SS rules are pretty clear... in a half hour offtime, your
Cabrillo log must show 30 consecutive minutes with no QSO's. Cabrillo logs
only show the minutes, not seconds. So in "real life" having one QSO at
10:00:01 and the next at 10:30:59 is 30 minutes and 58 seconds of offtime.
BUT THIS NOT WHAT COUNTS FOR LOG CHECKING. When the log checking software
looks at the cabrillo logs it will only find 29 consecutive minutes of
off-time (10:01 through 10:29). Which is no off-time at all in a contest
with 30-minute min offtime.

A local fellow is very worried about the difference between "real offtime"
and "Cabrillo offtime". Yet it seems very simple to me if I pretend that I
am the log checking robot.

2: In NAQP, going overtime simply docked me the points past the first ten
hours. This seems very reasonable.

Disqualifying participants for going overtime, instead of simply docking
points past the allowed category time, seems to be me to be very much
against the spirit and objective of the contest:  e.g. SS "For stations in
the United States and Canada (including and possessions) to exchange QSO
information with as many other US and Canadian stations as possible on 160,
80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meter bands."

Tim N3QE