Topband: DXCC Fairness

[Herb Schoenbohm]

On 9/19/2012 1:17 PM, Jim Brown wrote:
> Talk about DXCC fairness -- it's FAR easier to work DXCC with a modest 
> station anywhere around the Atlantic, or within 1000 km of it, than it 
> is from the Pacific.  I've got a very nice antenna farm and have taken 
> the time to become a competitive contester, but I am almost never able 
> to work DXCC in a weekend contest, all bands combined. But guys on the 
> east coast consider it trivially easy. The difference is especially 
> striking on Topband -- there are often openings from EU to eastern NA, 
> whereas we might HEAR a dozen signals a YEAR out here in California.  
> It took me four years to work 100 countries on 160, and two years 
> later I'm at 125. I haven't heard EU for two years.
>
> 73, Jim K9YC
> _______________________________________________
> UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Jim,

  Hold on as help is on the way.  With the new remote control interfaces 
like Remote Rig and Icom's RS-BAS1 there is no need to be in a bad 
location as long as you have a good internet connection. Some contests 
are changing the rules by including the "Extreme Category" which permits 
such operation.  The DXCC rules once required you to start over when you 
cross state line or call zone boundaries.  Now you can be anywhere in 
the U.S. and the credits keep piling up.  I don't think the ARRL, based 
on their pedantic history, will be fast to jump on allowing remote 
stations (inside the same country) for DXCC purposes, but it will happen 
eventually. More and more of their members are hopelessly trapped in 
gate communities, condominiums, and urban settings were participation in 
their hobby is just not very satisfying.  The ARRL must be flexible if 
it wants to serve its membership.  I know there are some on this list 
who will flame me for the suggestion and some who look down their noses 
to people with bad locations and limited lot sizes. But i would like to 
share the thrill to someone on the West Coast to have hundreds of 
Europeans calling during a good contest opening just asmuch as I would 
like to hear what  JA's sound like that I never can hear from my 
location.  I am certain that all of this old way will change with new 
technology devoted to remote control via internet now that some of the 
bugs are out of the process.

Herb Schoenbohm, KV4FZ