[CQ-Contest] Encouraging Spotting of SSB QSOs in Contests

[Pete Smith N4ZR]

Well, of course there is an intermediate step - users of N1MM Logger on 
any mode can select the Option "spot all S&P QSOs".  My hunch, totally 
unsupported by real data, is that people hesitate to do that because, if 
they are operating Unassisted, they don't want to be accused of cheating.

73, Pete N4ZR
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On 11/30/2022 10:39 AM, George Fremin III wrote:
> On Sat, Nov 19, 2022 at 10:44:00AM -0500, Pete Smith N4ZR wrote:
>
>> I've been appalled by how few stations spot in phone contests,
> >From the early days of the DX spotting systems via packet radio
> (packet DX clusters) there has always been an issue with getting folks
> to submit spots to the system.  It all relied on humans inputing this
> data - and there were only small numbrers of stations submitting input
> but a vast number of stations consumming it.
>
> I am sure you can find folks complaining about this in the archives of
> this very email reflector.
>
> There were efforts made to get folks to add spots to the system.  As I
> recall there were even reports done and posted to CQ-Contest that
> listed all the calls and the number of DX spots they posted over the
> past contest weekends.  That in itself became a contest of sorts -
> could you make the high spot list.
>
> But, we do not do this anymore.  And I am not sure anyone would care.
>
> I suspect that spots being put into the system by humans going down
> over time.
>
> There is no reason to do it at all on CW or FT8 or RTTY - the
> automated systems take care of those modes.  It has gotten folks out
> of the habbit of spotting stations - so when they go to SSB they dont
> do it there.  It also has made it seem like there is no activity on
> SSB in or out of contests. And I think this is a bit of a feedback
> loop - no spots on SSB but plenty on CW/FT8 - so folks go to those
> modes to some extent.  You can really see this in multi-mode contests.
> We are starting to see what I think is a skewing of the activity in
> things like IARU to CW - where the spots flow freely and where if you
> go to SSB and call CQ you do not get the instant answers that you do
> on CW - so you QSY back to CW.  Even though there are many more people
> that know the voice than the ones that know the code.
>
> Does that mean I want an SSB RBN?  No, I would prefer that it did not
> exist on CW either.  Or DX spotting at all for that matter.  But I
> know that it will likely not go back.
>
> I have seen suggestions that SSB should add some sort of beacon to our
> signals so that an RBN system would eaisly work - and I fully expect
> that sort of talk to increase over time.  Just like the ADS-B systems
> on airplanes. And this step to self spotting is just the first step in
> this direciton.  It would be nice if it was over the air but I guess -
> why demand that?  When you can more eaisly call CQ on the internet
> every time you push F1.
>
>