[UK-CONTEST] 80m CC's and the data leg

[Phil Cooper]

Hi all,

Oh boy! Can't keep out of this one!

Dave G4BUO wrote that he thought the DATA legs were ".....just two computers
talking to each other.....".

Yup, that may well be true, but RTTY contesting is a rapidly growing section
of the hobby, and personally, I don't have a problem with that.

If it comes down to that level of thinking, then I suspect that the vast
majority of CW legs are nothing but the same! Just what proportion of the CW
ops are sending by hand, and paper logging?
OK, there will be a few, I agree, but I bet that the vast majority are using
some sort of software to send pre-prepared buffers, and to log the contacts.
I can already hear the cries of "but you have to decode it in your brain" or
the like. Yes, agreed, but without your PC, most would be slowed down quite
considerably, and would log far fewer contacts per 90 minutes!

One other important point is the number of ops who have taken up RTTY
contesting after getting to grips with the mode in these contests. Even last
year, there were only a handful of G's in any of the major RTTY contests.
This year, there have been dozens. I suspect this is largely due to the 80m
CC's.

I am not so sure that PSK is a valid contset mode though, and this IS a
personal opinion. 100 watts is way too much to use on PSK, especially
inter-G. I would guess there are also very few PSK logs in each of the DATA
legs, but there is no way to know, as all are listed as DATA.
Can anyone shed any light on the proportion of RTTY to PSK logs?

So, RSGBHFCC, please retain the data legs! Maybe you should consider
dropping the SSB legs??

And I agree with Andy GM8OEG... Surely this is a wind-up?

73 for now

Phil GU0SUP