[UK-CONTEST] Death to the cluster!

[David, G3YYD]

Interesting thread.

Many contests have an assisted category for entrants which means they 
declare openly that they were using assistance. Assistance can be 
defined as DX Cluster, spotting nets even a spotting operator and can 
also be CW-Skimmer or similar activity/software. Actually very often you 
can enter these categories and do really well even if you do not use 
assistance when it comes to handing out the awards. I have paper on my 
small room's wall to prove this!

If you do not like DX Cluster then you personally do not have to use 
them and you should encourage contest organisers to have a separate 
entrant category for those using assistance. By the way it is very easy 
to detect those using assistance but do a non-assisted entry. A large 
number of stations in CQ WW and other big international contests have 
been found out and been asked to reconsider their category or have been 
publicly disqualified.

In the case of VHF and above contests, with such low contest station 
density and highly directional antennas DX Clusters are essential in 
maximising the number of QSOs. In fact I would suggest the organisers of 
VHF and above contests should positively encourage DX cluster spotting 
(but not self spotting) so as to maximise the perceived activity. It 
would help those guys in the Celtic fringes of the UK to make many more 
QSOs.

By the way, if you make lots of QSOs then you are bound to be spotted 
more just because you are working more stations. So if you want more VHF 
contest activity spot every S&P QSO you make.

David G3YYD