[CQ-Contest] 73 watts

[Eric Gruff]

For those of you complaining about the "73" power report, I have to say
"really?". The rules say that the DX exchange is (emphasis mine), " DX
stations send signal report and power (number or abbreviation indicating
APPROXIMATE transmitter output power)." So, there's no need for a power
meter calibrated to three decimal points anyway.

 

In the CW weekend, I received a lot of "NN" (99 Watts), which is a lot
faster to send than "1TT" or "ATT" or "100". No one is complaining about
that. If a station wants to report 73 Watts, I log it and move on. Many
rigs, including my Flex, don't put out a full 100 W on many bands, and "73"
is close enough to the actual output, not to mention that most hams can
decode "73" in their sleep. It's not like they're going to save time and
boost score by sending "73" instead of "NN".

 

I think we can go back to arguing about important things, like is using an
SDR or having your kids bring you coffee during a contest considered
assisted operating.

 

Everyday life and work are stressful enough - let's have fun with our hobby
as much as we can!

 

73 de NC6K