[Skimmertalk] "Assistance" and "Red Herrings" - Whattechnologiesdo we want to permit in our "sport"?

[K0HB]

> As I see it, the issue is this: What sorts of technology do 
> we want to permit in our sport? To put it another way, is 
> there an essential role for the operator in contesting and, 
> if so, what is it?

If contesting is an activity which encourages experimentation and
"advancing the state of the radio art" as §97.1(b) and §97.1(c) charge us
to do, then I believe that very few (if any) technologies should be
prohibited in competition.  I think that this spirit of innovation and
"tinkering" is crucial to the overall health of not just contesting but of
Amateur Radio as a whole, and believe that Skimmer (and later
Son-of-Skimmer) is/are example(s) of just that sort of advancement.

At the same time, I believe that our sport has room for categories where
classic "individual skill" is the focus of the competition; categories
where the use of some "automagic" technologies (such as Skimmer) is
voluntarily suppressed inside that category.

Seems like "win-win" to me!

73, de Hans, K0HB
Just a boy and his radios
--
 ><{{{{*>    http://www.home.earthlink.net/~k0hb