Topband: ARRL 160 comments

[Steve Harrison]

I propose a new 160 Meter contest: perhaps a revision of an existing 
one, or a wholly new contest, in which an accurate report is a necessary 
part of the exchange.

To show that an RST of 599 in your report is genuine, a modifier 
character must also be sent, such as B, C, K, N, X (indicates 
crystal-control-stability signal; used to be common in our Novice days). 
Even Q or S would be valid modifiers: Q to indicate the other fellow 
should speed up his sending because conditions are so good that he's 
just slowing down things at his present speed, or maybe S to indicate 
that he should slow down because perhaps conditions aren't supporting 
his QRQ. You can even include an indication of how many dB above S9 a 
signal is, such as 5NN20, 59940, etc..

You may also modify your report to indicate varying signal strength, 
such as 55/7N, 44/559, etc..

A report of merely 599 or 5NN would NOT be considered to be a valid 
report. Anything less, such as 579 or 58N, would be a valid report.

You may also use a modifier character with another RST other than 599; 
for example, 579N. You can even use cut numbers: 44NN, 57NB, 339C, 
5NN30K, etc.. If necessary to be more accurate in your description of 
the other fellow's signal, you may include more than one modifier 
character, such as 5NNBCK, 449NS, etc..

The rest of the exchange can suit the character of the contest:: grid, 
section, DX, serial number, etc..

And NO, you would NOT have to send the same report to each contact; but 
you must accurately log what you did send, which will be log-checked 
against what the other fellow actually copied.

This should get us back to truthful 160 Meter contesting report basics; 
we would call this The Wholly Accurate 160 Meter Contest.

8-D

Steve, K0XP