[RTTY] SO2R vs. SO1R - a pertinent question

[Doug Hall]

Hi all,
I have not come to praise the horse, but to bury it :-)

Actually I have a question that I have not seen addressed. I ask this, not
to fan the flames, but because I think it's pertinent to the debate. If I
missed this in the debate, I apologize. I've deleted a lot of emails lately
and might have gotten overzealous.

Why do contests distinguish between high power and low power? I have not
seen that debated here, so I assume that most people are OK with the
separate classes for those using amplifiers and those not using amplifiers.

If the answer is "Shut up, young man, we've dealt with this before and the
issue is closed." then kindly point me in the right direction, because it's
a serious question. If the answer is that using an amplifier creates a clear
advantage and warrants a separate category then it seems to me that has
implications for other "advantages" such as antennas and 2nd radios. Which
way should it be?

I honestly don't know the answer to the SOnR debate. On the one hand, you
could take it to the extreme and everyone would be in their own category
(single-op, 1 radio, 92 watts, 2 element yagi at 42.6 feet, 385 feet ASL, 2
kids in college, and a dog that snores) and everyone would win, but that's
silly. On the other hand, I can't see how using an amplfier should be any
different than using two radios or using stacked monobanders. It's just a
piece of equipment.
73,
Doug, K4DSP