Topband: CQWW160 Remote receiver rule

[Stan Stockton]

DXCC is a joke for many.  At one time it was fun to chase DX, listen for hours to work a new one and perhaps compare with locals in a friendly competition.  With Internet spotting and the ability to operate from anywhere in the country using a remote site, it has long since become meaningless on 160m.  I would have appreciated the dedication if K7TJR, for example, worked the EP6T station from his own station in Oregon and thought "so what" if I heard that WB6XXX had worked him using RHR's W8JI site.

However, I disagree regarding contests.  To say that you should not worry about someone making 50 more contacts in a contest is to say that the competition (the very essence of a contest) is unimportant and that it is also a joke.

Regarding working the band out...that is true for USA contacts.  It's absolutely not true for working the important stuff (Europe) during the available openings.

It will be soon enough that we will be having the conversation about not only remote operation but robotic QSO making software.  In the meantime, if the only way someone can get on at all (in a rest home, for example) is to operate a remote site, I'm all for it.  The impact on contest results would be minimal, if there even is an impact.  

At the point in time when the only way one could possibly compete would be to have multiple sites and an Internet connection, the thrill is gone for me.  

Is is really and truly a RADIO CONTEST if you cannot possibly make a "radio" QSO without using the Internet?  I know some people who I actually think believe what we are doing in these reflectors is radio...  (I already know all the justifications comparing the WWW communications system to a six foot headphone cable located at your own station.). What do you think?

Enjoy it while you can.

73...Stan, K5GO