[UK-CONTEST] Redundant contest reports? (SSB CC (and other 80mcontests))

[Dave Sergeant]

On 5 Feb 2009 at 9:57, Dave Sergeant wrote:

> I am currently entering all my old log books into the computerised
> version (and apologies to those of you who have suddenly started to
> receive very ancient LOTW and eQSL confirmations...). It is very obvious
> that in the 1970s virtually everybody sent real RSTs in contests. I have
> not yet noticed when this stopped, but guess as intimated it was around
> the time computer logging became the norm (during the 1990s?).

I have just entered my QSOs for AFS in January 1977. I can see in there 
a definite tendency for most stations to send 599, with relatively few 
below. So it would seem the trend started way way before any computer 
logging. Establishing the situation for DXpeditions is harder, in that 
partly I didn't join many pileups in those days and also that it is 
hard just looking at the log to work out which were pileup ones.

Of course Bracknell won AFS in 1976 and were pretty high placed in 
1977, these were the first two years of the new format contest before 
the big players worked out their strategies. It also ran 1300-1700 
rather than 1400-1800 and had the additional AFS sent to indicate a 
club member.

73 Dave G3YMC

http://www.davesergeant.com