[CQ-Contest] Is it time that the contest sponsors officially identify SCP as "assisted?"

[Paul O'Kane]

On 30/11/2015 23:26, kr2q at optimum.net wrote:

<snip>


> There can be zero doubt that using SCP is using a database assembled by others.
> Is there really a difference in changing a callsign during the contest via use of a db as
> compared to changing it after the contest via a database?  Think about it.

I've thought about it, and real-time use of a static reference
table while logging is very different from post-contest editing.
One is contest logging, and the other is log massaging.

The SCP reference table is indeed assembled by others, but it is
freely available to everyone before the contest.

In this respect, it is no different from CTY.DAT, the country/prefix
reference file that is the basis for callsign recognition in all
contest loggers. CTY.DAT is another "database" or, in plain English,
a reference table.  N1MM is assembled by others, and is freely
available to everyone before the contest - I think its use should
be regarded as "assisted" :-)

"Assisted" is a meaningless term in this context because all the
contesting technology we use assists - if it didn't, we wouldn't
use it.  The term was introduced to distinguish those operators
who use real-time spotting data from other operators, supplied
over an external network.  It has since been deemed to include
RBN spots from remote receivers (again supplied over an external
network), and local slimmers - because they too provide real-
time spotting (frequency and callsign) information.

If you don't avail of real-time spots (frequency and callsign)
while contesting, then you're not "Assisted".  I don't see any
ambiguity there.  Of course, contest sponsors can define any
rules they choose, but I'd suggest the least we (contesters)
can expect from them is consistency.

73,
Paul EI5DI