[CQ-Contest] "500-meter circle" rule question

[Mark - N5OT]

If I had to guess, the rule was not considering mobile stations.  That 
said, I doubt you would get disqualified for getting on the air and 
handing out some contacts and sending in your log.  That would mean they 
have time on their hands. Which we know they do not.

73 - Mark N5OT


On 2/21/2022 12:50 PM, John Owens wrote:
> I'm hoping the collective wisdom of this list can help me with a rule interpretation.
>
> Many contests have a rule like "All transmitters and receivers must be located within a 500-meter circle." For contests that don't include a specific mobile rule or category, I've taken the 500-meter circle rule to mean that a station must be, well, stationary for the duration of the contest. So if I'm operating from my vehicle, once I make the first contact of the contest, I need to stay within 500 meters of that point (or whatever depending on if it specifies a radius or a diameter) for any subsequent contest contacts.
>
> Am I over-interpreting the rule? Is it just meant to require that a station must fit within such a circle at any given time, but it's ok for that circle to move during the course of the contest like a rover or mobile operation? I was interpreting it as requiring the station be fixed, but maybe it just means that the station must be compact and not distributed across multiple locations?
>
>      Cheers,
>      -John N6JSO
>
>
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