[CQ-Contest] Operating IOTA Contest Remotely

[Michael Adams]

In fairness to the IOTA contest organizers, the rule on remote operating is consistent with IOTA's rules for the eligibility of operations to count for IOTA's general awards.

Previously, the operators had to physically be on the islands they were transmitting from.   Now, particularly given the rise of "Radio in a Box" DXpeditions and remote operating in general, they've liberalized it somewhat, trying to strike a balance between the notion that part of the challenge of IOTA is physically going to islands versus the bureaucratic issues and physical hazards associated with accessing some island groups.

While I agree that limiting remote operating also limits contest participation, when we're talking about contests where "go to an unusual location" is a key element of the premise of the contest (like IOTA or state QSO parties), restrictions on remote operating do make sense.

--
Michael Adams | mda at n1en.org

________________________________
From: CQ-Contest <cq-contest-bounces+mda=n1en.org at contesting.com> on behalf of Jim Brown <k9yc at audiosystemsgroup.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 26, 2023 02:00
To: cq-contest at contesting.com <cq-contest at contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Operating IOTA Contest Remotely

On 7/25/2023 3:15 PM, Paul O'Kane wrote:
> It's their contest - they can "dictate" what they like.

That's a problem with some contest sponsors -- it's what THEY want, not
necessarily what contesters want.

Those of us in touch with reality may have noticed a few things.  First,
our ham community is getting older, and not so many younger folks are
coming in to replace us, and to replace the guys that traveled to
islands when they were a lot younger.

Second, there's this thing called COVID, which has thinned out the herd
here on Mother Earth, and which is far more likely to be serious or even
fatal for we old farts. Spending time in indoor public spaces and on
mass transit is a great way to get COVID. Several ham events in the past
few years have turned out to be super-spreaders.

What I'm getting at is that the world is continuously changing, and ham
radio changes with it. Given today's conditions and resources, if remote
operation puts new multipliers on the air without giving the operator an
unfair advantage, I'm all for it! Ham radio is about radio, NOT about
spending money or risking health to go to an island. And remote
operation isn't going to activate a rare island, only those with an
existing fixed station, like the one that Jeff and John operate!

73, Jim K9YC
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