[CQ-Contest] LY9W ? - time to ban SCP?

[JIM NEIGER]

SCP is no worse than skimmers or packet.

  Once you've opened  those barrels of worms, you've already cheated 
yourself from skills (1) once learned, twice forgotten; (2) that you were 
never taught; (3) that measure your proficiency in radio communications - 
assuming that is/was a laudable goal in what we once purported to do.

Absent these skills, radio contesting has sadly morphed into computer games 
upon which my 4 year-old grandson can probably beat most of us.

For the under-signed, after 60 years of 'what was once serious contesting' - 
I'm  now forced to admit that the thrill is gone, and I'm limiting myself to 
one contest/year; significantly the CQ WW CW.  See you in November.

Other than that, forget about it.............

Vy 73

Jim Neiger  N6TJ

-----Original Message----- 
From: jpescatore--- via CQ-Contest
Sent: Friday, July 31, 2015 4:02 AM
To: CQ-Contest at CONTESTING.COM
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] LY9W ? - time to ban SCP?

This really is a good topic for one of those Contest Sponsor surveys of the 
contesting community.


SCP, history files, zone autofill, auto dupe checking, even auto beam 
heading are all "automated operating aids" that replaced either human skills 
or hard copy operating aids because the technology enabled integrating it 
into contest logging software.


Contest "octopusses"  were once going to be the end of contesting, but now 
SO2R boxes are commonly accepted use of technology to enable an equipped 
operator to vastly out-perform an unequipped operator.


The flip side of technology is that the contest sponsors get to use it too - 
we are now routinely judged on accuracy and the bar for acceptable accuracy 
is way higher than it was in the paper logging days. It is also way more fun 
to make 4200 hundred "technology assisted" contacts with a small number of 
dupes across 48 hours than it was to make 2500 with lots of dupes using 
paper and pen.


Genies do get put back in bottles, as in rules against certain types of swim 
suits or car modifications in competitive swimming and car racing. It is up 
to the contest sponsors and the overall sense of the competitors to decide, 
there are not absolutes.


Personally, I'd fill out the survey saying SCP and history files should only 
be used in an assisted category and would actually like to see zone autofill 
fit in that category. Autofill based on the current contest log, like dupe 
checking and during contest exchange fill and comparison, I could see being 
allowed with being considered assistance.


73 John K3TN


_______________________________________________
CQ-Contest mailing list
CQ-Contest at contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest