[UK-CONTEST] Ending time

[Lee Volante]

Hi all,

Despite being discussed at great length previously, there is still a good 
deal of confusion on this topic.  At least one respondent still feels happy 
to exchange contest information after the contest has (just finished), so 
the message is not getting through.

It's not clear to me though how it's been decided that a QSO has ended, (or 
started for that matter.)   For example, in AFS SSB, I was aware from 
earlier emails of the possibility of wideband recordings being made.  I did 
actually make a QSO in the final seconds, and according to my radio 
controlled clock in the shack, completed contest information exchange on 
time. But, I then added "phew, that was close" or something similar, and 
then said I was going QRT well into the following minute.  This isn't part 
of the contest data, perhaps it's part of a QSO (as technically I'm talking 
to someone) but it's certainly RF transmitted after the contest has 
finished. Whilst not helping to give either of us a good score, Steve G3UFY 
and I did very briefly discuss his narrowboating holiday during AFS SSB - 
this wasn't the final QSO, but it could have been.   Not exactly crystal 
clear, is it?   This will cause more arguments unless there is more clarity 
given.

Ok, so perhaps only a subset of entrants transmit any RF at all after the 
finish. But it's worse at the start, as the whole band will be full of 
entrants having warmed up their frequencies for minutes or hours beforehand. 
Some people seem to call CQ or CQ Contest (or are still 'testing') in the 
seconds before, so that they can receive their first reply at the exact 
start time.  Some will be half way through a CQ call as the clock ticks 
over.  Some may push this even further.

No amateur automated system can decode voice transmissions to work out 
what's going on, for verifying exactly when a CQ call starts or the contest 
exchange is finished for each and every contact at the start and end of the 
contest.  It's impossible for voice, (following comments made about 'SSB 
Skimmers' according to national voice recognition experts in the field) and 
technically difficult to verify that any RF is actual contest information 
and not pre- or post-contest ramble / euphoria / depression, for each CW, 
RTTY and PSK stream on the band.  It's not just the simple case of looking 
for rare, stray traces of RF on a panadapter as might have been originally 
contemplated.

If automation is out, I find it very hard to believe that the committee 
would manually replay the start and the end of the contest (+/- 5-10 seconds 
for each replayed station to understand the context of what's going on, not 
counting retuning and identifying each station (who may not have given their 
exact frequency in their submitted log which may have helped)) for perhaps 
hundreds of separate QSOs for each event, as it could in my estimation 
potentially double the amount of time needed to adjudicate each contest for 
relatively little benefit.  In the club events, each entrant contributes 
equally, and Steve has said below that the rules will be applied equally to 
everyone.  But if there is the intention to clamp down "to the second", I 
don't see much choice other than to follow the manually laborious route if 
the declared intent will be actually followed up on robustly.  Something 
doesn't make sense.

I guess there is no 100% concensus of what happens just when the contest 
starts either.  Running stations are obviously identified on frequency long 
beforehand.  Technically I wouldn't think they should call "contest" before 
the start.  Some just leave a pause and it's the calling station that kicks 
the whole thing off at 20:00 or 14:00 or whatever with their callsign? 
It's a good thing to reduce rubber-clocking, but getting this right "to the 
second" has difficulties.

73,

Lee G0MTN

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve Knowles" <g3ufy at blueyonder.co.uk>
To: "Uk-contest" <UK-Contest at contesting.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 23, 2011 2:59 AM
Subject: Re: [UK-CONTEST] Ending time


> RSGB contest rules are (and always have been) applied equally to all
> entrants, regardless of their degree of success in their events.  In fact,
> experience has shown that those entering 'as a bit of fun' are usually 
> those
> least likely to bend or breach the rules.
>
> Clocks and watches, radio-synchronised to the international time
> transmissions and accurate to better than a second per day, are now 
> avalable
> to all for only a few pounds.  Computers may easily be linked to the same
> time standards via the internet.  Accurate timekeeping is no longer a
> problem!
>
> The Contests Committee frequently receives complaints about 
> rubber-clocking.
> The Committee recently considered the rules and agreed that their
> interpretation should be that ALL contest activity should cease at or 
> before
> the stated end time of a contest - i.e. contacts which had not been 
> finished
> and logged within the contest period could NOT be completed outside of it
> and would be lost - and this decision has been made public.   The
> acquisition of SDR broadband recording facilities means that the 
> Committee's
> adjudicators are now in a better position to address this problem.  There
> are no plans at present to apply extra penalties, but contacts found to be
> taking place outside of the contest period will be disallowed.
>
> Hope this helps to clarify things.
>
> 73
>
> Steve
> G3UFY