[UK-CONTEST] AFS 1977?

[Dave Sergeant]

On 6 Feb 2009 at 17:27,  Ken Eastty wrote:

> >
> > I have just entered my QSOs for AFS in January 1977.
> > 73 Dave G3YMC
> >
> 1977 AFS? I think that you've missed the boat for that one!

I meant to say I have just transferred those QSOs from the old paper 
log to my computer log. We did indeed submit an entry at the time! And 
a correction, we won it at Bracknell that year as can be seen by my 
photo and other Bracknell members on the cover of Jan 1978 RadCom.

> I don't really care what DXpetition operators put in their log (or on a
> QSL card) but surely sending a meaningful report can't really take
> significantly longer than 5NN? If some sort of exchange is really
> required then it might just as well be 73. I see that I exchanged
> 449/559 with 3B7C amongst other 'real' reports so it can be done.

I agree. Certainly as often happens to me the chap has several goes in 
copying my weak QRP callsign it takes very little extra effort to send 
me are realistic 339 rather than 599 which I am clearly not... And most 
logging programs can certainly do so, if only the operators knew how to 
drive them (which in some cases they cleary do not...).

As Paul says and as I intimated the practice seemed to start in the 
late 1970s. The Top Band contests I entered around 1970s had almost 
exclusively real reports, by 1977 599 was far more in evidence with 
only the purists still sending real reports. So by the time CT and 
other computer loggers appeared they were only doing what had become 
the norm in contests, it was not the reason for the change.

73 Dave G3YMC

http://www.davesergeant.com