[CQ-Contest] The new era of Hamradio contests; win a cash prize

[Kelly Taylor]

That's a common misreading of Part 97.

Part 97 doesn't prohibit winning prizes. Part 97 does prohibit being paid to operate: IOW: you can't be paid by the New York Times to use ham radio to provide material for a news report, say during an event like the Haiti earthquake. HRO can't pay you to operate to demo a new radio, for instance. You can't take money in exchange for passing traffic. 

Winning a prize is not being paid to operate, since you are, at most, only earning a chance to win, the payment is not guaranteed. Such a rule would also prohibit CQP from giving wine to the winner. If it actually existed. 

Where Part 97 would come into play is if, for example, Kenwood paid an operator to use a TS-990 for a contest as marketing for the radio or brand. 

Did the FCC prohibit the Navassa Island operation from taking sponsorship money? Not that I'd want it to, but it seems to me that comes much, much closer to violating Part 97 than the long-shot odds of maybe winning a prize. A DX-pedition taking sponsorship money is being paid to operate. 

Not that I think such operations should be illegal.

All this being said, Barry is right: there's enough cheating and enough acrimony as it is. Never mind how bad it would be if money were involved. 

73, Kelly 
ve4xt 






Sent from my iPhone



Sent from my iPhone
> On Feb 1, 2016, at 12:28 PM, Zack Widup <w9sz.zack at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> It is illegal in the United States to receive money for operating
> activities. I don't know about other countries, but the USA would legally
> be excluded from this.
> 
> 73, Zack W9SZ
> 
> 
> On Mon, Feb 1, 2016 at 1:31 PM, Pedro Claver Orozco HK1X <
> claver.1967 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> I would like to present my idea to the contest audience,my apologies if not
>> to their liking.
>> Everything in the world revolves around the awards and plaques. Why
>> not contemplate the chance to win cash prizes? in Best contests?.
>> All contest today in all subjects included Medicine They are rewarded with
>> cash money.
>> My proposal is related and focused to make our contest hobby a little more
>> interesting and serve to help those people who make their competition. Also
>> help all big stations to renew and update stations.
>> 
>> Approaches:
>> 
>> 1.- Motivate those stations spent years doing contest, to repair and renew
>> equipments.
>> 2.- Motivate those stations spent years doing contest, make a new
>> investments.
>> 3.- Motivate all radio stations make special mounts for contest; all
>> hamradio stores trade would move to sell more equipments and pieces.
>> 4.- These stores in turn would be the sponsoring prize money of contests.
>> 5.- Owners of contest such CQ, will be asked to companies new
>> strategies and money sponsorships.
>> 6.- These competitions and Prizes will chosen and observed by ARRL and
>> IARU.
>> 
>> Many people do not like the idea, many are conservative with hamradio, but
>> remember we are in 2016.
>> My apologies I love the radio equal when it started at age of 13 year.
>> Today Im 48 years old. And will continue doing what I like, hamradio
>> contests.
>> 
>> I think as well as sponsoring expeditions, Why could also companies selling
>> Hamradio products sponsoring cash money for best year contests.
>> 
>> It is not unreasonable, think? . Let think for a while in detail.
>> 
>> What do you thinking about?
>> 
>> Note: My apologies for my English, hope understand my idea.
>> 
>> 73s
>> ​Pedro Claver Orozco
>> HK1X
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