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

[Don Field]

"You send info and you H E A R information. That to us is what amateur
radio is all about."

Well, actually Chris, if you go back to the early days, amateur radio was
all about RADIO (well, WIRELESS if you must). It was about technology.
Moving from a straight receiver to a TRF, then a Superhet, etc. On-air QSOs
were about validating that new bit of technology. While, emotionally, I
sympathise with your view and that of G4BUO, at the logical level it is
nonesense to try and draw an arbitrary line in the sand and say that
technological developments stop at that point. Or, indeed, to apply a filter
to which technological developments are allowed - "Roofing filters good, PSK
software bad" or whatever. This simply doesn't make sense at all, and is
guaranteed to put off those youngsters who find this stuff compelling.
Surely amateur radio is a broad church of all who enjoy the magic of
communicating without wires - I am just as much in awe of copy from the moon
using WSJT (not that I have done it, but I have seen it done) as I ever was
at working across town on 80m in my early days. There may be computers in
the loop, but it's still magic (and, in that example, it opens moonbounce to
a much larger group of participants than would otherwise be in a position to
play)!

Don G3XTT