[UK-CONTEST] Death to the cluster!

[Rob Harrison]

Hi Ken,

I'm afraid you are right, although death is a bit strong. There are various 
reasons for spotting in contests, helping your mates, boosting your ego, 
genuinely feeling you are helping a station get more contacts. It's a double 
edged sword, helps some, disadvantages others. I have never asked a station 
to spot me, but have been asked to spot others, seldom in contests however, 
and, as far as I can remember by a UK station. Contests should be about 
operating skill, and everything should be done via the radio. Calling CQ 
announces you are active, whether people find you is up to them, or you 
using your knowledge to find them.

The cluster and 'KST are great, but not in contests, no need.

73

Bob G8HGN

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ken Eastty" <ken.g3lvp at btinternet.com>
To: <uk-contest at contesting.com>
Sent: Thursday, December 10, 2009 4:38 PM
Subject: Re: [UK-CONTEST] Death to the cluster!


>
> Whilst I understand that entrants to VHF contests have no control of how
> many times they are 'spotted'
> looking at the claimed scores for 2m AFS last Sunday I note that almost
> all of the leading stations were spotted
> several times, as the scores fall so do the number of spots until you
> get about 2/3 of the way down the list when
> not a single station gets spotted despite having a reasonable antennas
> and power.
> Does this have any affect on the final result?
>
> I think that it does, death to the cluster!
>
> 73....
>
> Ken
>
> G3LVP
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