[UK-CONTEST] CQ-100 et al

[Bob Henderson]

Don

I see things differently with leanings very much towards the position taken
by Dave, G4BUO.

Some of our number behave like blind footballers.  Recognising their
struggle to see the ball, we continue to hope they will avoid straying
unwittingly onto the adjacent hockey pitch.

Amateur radio pivots upon the use of RF energy for communications purposes.
We would do well to be mindful of the following competing concepts in the
context of this base premise:

1.  Augmentation/enhancement

2.  Displacement/detraction

Contest simulators no more set out to replace amateur radio contesting than
professional flight simulators set out to replace flying.  Both are focused
upon making their users better at doing the real thing.  This type of
simulator therefore fits neatly into category 1.

CW has been a primary mode of communication since the dawning of amateur
radio.  Competency in its use enhances amateur radio.  It matters not that
some competitors in the High Speed CW Championships are not radio amateurs.
I have no doubt this activity fits well in category 1.

I could go on to comment line by line on your list but I'm sure this is
unnecessary.  All aspects bar one, fit neatly into category 1.  Not so
CQ100.  This is a category 2 item.

So why all the fuss and what has any of it to do with the PLT/PLA threat?

Pressures upon our HF spectrum allocation have always been high but never so
high as they are today.  The PLT/PLA lobby continue to focus huge resources
upon persuading the regulatory authorities that services currently allocated
HF spectrum can be better accommodated elsewhere.  They argue the needs of
the radio amateur community would be better served through the internet.
What do they know of our great passion?  Almost nothing!  However, this
hasn't prevented their superficial and commercially biased analysis from
gaining significant support.

Those who mistakenly categorise the likes of CQ100 as an enhancement to our
hobby suffer myopia.  They play wholesomely into the hands of those who
would wrest our hard won spectrum allocation from us, leaving amateur radio
laying waste.

I worked hard to become a radio amateur and have invested heavily in it. It
is my passion. I engage it in multiple dimensions.  I have neither intent
nor desire to forego this in favour of any simulated reality.

The thoughtless who dance with the devil, risk our all.

Bob, 5B4AGN




2009/9/27 Don Field <don.field at gmail.com>

> I agree with Dave G4BUO that PLT/PLA is a real threat to our hobby.
> However,
> I don’t believe that it is helpful to use that as an argument against
> CQ-100.
>
>
>
> Amateur radio is a house of many rooms. Unfortunately, the occupants of the
> various rooms too often bicker with each other rather than presenting a
> common front to the world at large.
>
>
>
> Yes, CQ-100 is an application where no RF is to be seen. But there is
> nothing new in that. Contesters have long enjoyed contest simulators where
> they can practice off-air. Morse Runner will even simulate QRM and QSB, so
> we can’t even argue that the unique aspect of going on air is that you have
> propagation issues to deal with.
>
>
>
> IARU have always supported, both morally and financially, the High Speed CW
> championships, even though, again, there is no RF to be seen and many of
> the
> leading contenders are not radio amateurs (unlike with CQ-100).
>
>
>
> Yet, conversely, as Bob 5B4AGN points out, radio is everywhere – those who
> say “why do you need radios these days” tend to forget their RF key fobs,
> Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GSM, etc.
>
>
>
> In one “room” of our house are those who believe that if you haven’t built
> it yourself it’s not amateur radio.
>
>
>
> In another room are those who believe that if there’s a connection to
> commercial telecomms links (Internet, etc.) it’s not amateur radio, I
> suspect this is a peculiarly British phenomenon, deriving from the old Post
> Office monopoly which prevented such links. I seem to recall that even back
> in the 1960’s, the external speaker of Collins gear included phot-patch
> facilities. Around 30 years ago I sat in a restaurant in Boston with top HF
> ops K1MM and the late K1MEM and Bill phoned the restaurant using his 220MHz
> handheld via the local repeater’s phonepatch to ask for another jug of beer
> at our table! D-Star, Echolink, etc. are philosophically no different; only
> the technology has changed (from analogue to digital).
>
>
>
> In another room are the datamodes guys. I know quite a few DXers and
> contesters who believe datamodes are anathema, but many other contesters
> and
> DXers were among the first adopters of AX.25, for PacketCluster use (and,
> incidentally, within a year or so of PacketCluster coming along, it was
> linked between countries and continents by commercial landline circuits).
> And, incidentally, I would rate people like K1JT, G3PLX and VE3NEA as some
> of the great innovators and leading lights of our hobby, but they were
> resposible for software including WSJT, PSK31, WSPR and Skimmer.
>
>
>
> I could go (Oh, no, you cry!) but you get the idea. Personally, I think
> pretty much any activity that reminds people that radio amateurs are still
> alive and kicking is worth supporting, especially if it is a potential
> recruiting ground. Many radio amateurs were vociferous against CB when it
> was in vogue, yet is became one of our most fertile recruting grounds. Many
> of today’s leading lights started in CB.
>
>
>
> But it does all make the job of people like the editors of QST and RadCom a
> tough one. Where do they draw the line? Whereas the editors of the CDXC
> Digest, UKSMG or BARTG journals are praised because, inevitably, they can
> target a very specific audience. And how do RSGB or ARRL define their
> “marketplace”? As part of a recent RSGB strategy exercise, I asked some of
> my bright young amateur radio friends how they saw “a day in the life” of a
> young radio amateur in, say, 5 years’ time. Some aspects would leave many
> of
> us cold, but these youngsters are the future of our hobby.
>
>
>
> Let’s not dismantle too many rooms of the house, or we’ll only have a
> couple
> left – just a shack (alebeit a “radio shack”).
>
>
>
> Don G3XTT
>
>
> 2009/9/26 Bob Henderson <bob.5b4agn at gmail.com>
>
> > Oddly enough Gerry...what you describe is in fact a radio.
> >
> > Isn't it a confusing world we live in.
> >
> > 73
> >
> > Bob, 5B4AGN
> >
> >
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