[CQ-Contest] Too Much 'Assistance'?

[Stan Stockton]

There are three ways this can occur:

Guy calling CQ uses Skimmer in mode that copies everything on his run frequency in mode that doesn't require CQ or Test to be sent.

Guy calling on Frequency assumes runner is using assistance and sends call followed by test and hopes runner pays attention that the spit is on his own frequency.  

Guy manually spots himself as has been described.

In all three cases the result is the same.  The running station may take advantage of working someone he may or may not have worked otherwise.

The same thing goes for using assistance in any form.  You may work stations that you may not have worked otherwise as a result of the call sign being fed to you without your need or even ability to copy code.

I would think the degree of this happening while running stations pales in comparison to a band map with several hundred new stations to work and every new multiplier in the world calling CQ at your fingertips.

Much ado about nothing given that you are using assisted category in the first place, in my opinion.

73...Stan, K5GO

Sent from Stan's IPhone



On Feb 20, 2014, at 5:38 PM, "Mike & Coreen Smith VE9AA" <ve9aa at nbnet.nb.ca> wrote:

> Hey Tony, 
> 
> 
> 
> I don't often comment on this reflector, but read it quite often.  
> 
> I've gone assisted about 50% of the time the past couple years, mostly just
> in the slower contests, just to increase my enjoyment level and keep me
> interested.  Sometimes I'll go assisted to attack a certain Canadian record.
> Often I will ignore this 'assistance' 95% of the time as I find it
> distracting and just a clickfest.  BORING !  Anyways, prior to the past
> couple yrs, when in contest mode, it's always been a "boy and his radio".but
> I digress.
> 
> 
> 
> A couple contests ago, I forget which one (probably CQWW) something like
> this happened to me and I thought it was REALLY strange, like I had
> experienced a rip in the space-time continuum and I had to scratch my head.
> 
> 
> 
> I was running a small and very weak pileup of Europeans on 10m CW and at the
> VERY moment, and I mean EXACTLY at
> 
> the moment, I sent the DX's callsign (and hadn't event sent 5NN 5 or
> whatever yet) I saw his callsign spot me. (manually I guess)
> 
> I thought this was really bizarre, as I had not yet sent 5NN 5, nor had I
> heard 5NN 20 from him yet. 
> 
> 
> 
> Normally you would only spot a station after you would work them, right?  I
> mean, you don't want MORE competition on the frequency you are battling
> others on, right?
> 
> Anyways, as it turned out, I got his call correct on my own, but I wondered
> at the time, just what the bleep had occurred?>!.
> 
> 
> 
> Reading your posting, a light bulb went on and I think here's what might
> have occurred.
> 
> 
> 
> I was running.
> 
> 
> 
> TA3XXX was calling. (I made this call up just now)
> 
> 
> 
> He wasn't getting through, so hoping I was watching he manually spotted me.
> 
> 
> 
> The manual spot went out of his logging program via internet (or VHF
> FM?)..some delay occurred... and
> 
> at the very time I saw it I just happened to be working him anyways.
> 
> 
> 
> What he/she probably had anticipated was me seeing the spot, seen a semi
> rare country farther and weaker than the more western EU's, so he/she
> presumed I would stop and listen for them,  THEN working them.
> 
> 
> 
> I think it was just luck of the draw that I was already sending the
> thankfully correct call (and thereby knew the zone by default)
> 
> 
> 
> I felt weird about it at the time, but I had no "spare" time to dwell on it
> in the heat of battle.  Your post now makes sense.
> 
> I dislike this practice and have said to myself if that ever happens I will
> ignore that station, EVEN if it's a mult.
> 
> 
> 
> I don't need to win that bad.  It takes away all my satisfaction.  It's
> about the same as a list operation where Net control gives my call, then the
> DX listens to me scream "22, 22, 22, rifle shots, bang-bang", and then
> someone else OK's the contact.
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks for bringing this up Tony.  I am on-board with your thoughts.  I
> can't imagine why anyone would condone this practice.
> 
> 
> 
> One other thing that just occurred to me is every so often if I am just
> listening to a contest, maybe making only a dozen contacts, or maybe very
> casually just tuning for mults, I'll spot guys (and not even work them, or
> perhaps I worked them earlier) and a couple times I have actually stayed on
> their QRG long enough to hear the DX send "VE9AA 5NN 15" even though I have
> not transmitted ! ! !............now I know why.
> 
> 
> 
> Respectfully, 
> 
> 
> 
> Mike VE9AA
> 
> 
> 
> Mike, Coreen & Corey
> 
> Keswick Ridge, NB
> 
> 
> 
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