[CQ-Contest] WPX Rules

[Cqtestk4xs at aol.com]

I'm not sure how I feel about the new rule.
 
There are runs and then there are runs.  I've been on the run  end of a 
350+ hour and a slower runs of 150.  A better way to accomplish  the objective 
of signing, would have been to establish a "time" limit, rather  than a 
"QSO" limit.  
 
In a 350/hr, a station can knock off 6 Qs in a minute. In a 150/hr  you're 
down to 2.5.  Under the rule, the second runner only needs to ID  ever 80 
seconds, while the first runner needs to ID every 30  seconds.
 
What is the maximum amount of time we would be satisfied  with?  Most will 
agree (I think) 80 seconds is too long.
 
>From personal experience, I know that when the pile gets big it's a  result 
of a spot.  If the run starts producing a more than average amount  of 
dupes I ID after every Q, since I know it was a bad spot.  If the dupes  are 
just the usual ratio I ID every 2nd or 3rd.
 
I really don't know what all the bitching is about.  Even in a  350 hour 
the time lost to making 2 IDs amounts to less than three  seconds.  Just how 
many 350/hrs have you had?  If you had 36 of them  (we can only dream) your 
time lost would be 108 minutes.  On the  other extreme, IDing the required 
every 10 minutes would cost the  runner around 9 seconds/hr, or around 6 
minutes...plus bunches of extra  dupes from crappy spots and lost Qs from guys 
who got tired of waiting and  QSYed.
 
As far as the silliness of the rule which was noted by  some...There are 
lots of silly rules in contests.  For  example, the having to give up your 
freq rule in the Sprint after a Q, is not  required by FCC.  No one complains 
about that one
 
I use KJ3X in WPX and can tell you that if you didn't ID after a  couple of 
Qs, I didn't call you and you lost the KJ3 mult.  Mults are a  dime a dozen 
in WPX and my time in the contest is not wasted on the guys who  don't ID.
 
Bottom line:  I would have preferred a  time limit ID as opposed to a QSO 
limit ID...but it is a step in the right  direction.
 
K4XS/KJ3X