[Moon] Assisted 2007 ARRL International EME Competition

[jimmyv at hol.gr]

Dear Mike & All

First of all well done in asking, seeking clarifications on the Contest rules.

I think it is important for all modes and operators to peacefully  
co-exist, operate in credible ways respecting EME history, Contest  
rules, and on a personal level learn, progress, innovate, cooperate,  
improve operating skills, develop and expand their knowledge in rf &  
digital areas as one sees fit etc.
I know i may sound unreasonable saying this and in the past not to  
have supported it in practise, the peaceful part of co-existence i  
mean. It sure takes time to accept for some people, and i have been  
one of those, trying hard to understand though.

To my understanding, the public mails I read as well as the one i sent  
yesterday, were related to ARRL EME Competition 2007 Rules. Giorgio  
IK1UWL made a proposal for Unassisted to be abolished etc. It is good  
that he expressed himself and shared his views openly, democratically.
Others, including myself, did also, even if most disagreed.
There are pros and cons in every Contest, it is not easy to satisfy  
all wishes.

Joe K1JT gave  - extremely well and finds me in complete agreement  
even though i am not a native speaker - to Mike his intepretation on  
the rules regarding specific points as well as the intention of  
Assisted class rule existence. However, after that the discussion  
unfortunately drifted away from the ARRL EME Contest rules 2007 and  
became a jt65 vs cw intepretation of facts & preferences, which were  
irrelevant to Giorgio's initial mail and the subsequent discussion  
which followed.

It is true that a big effort was put into place by certain hams  
through an initiative as well as working committees in ARRL  
thereafter, which looked at those rules and tried to accomodate in the  
best possible way according to the Organizer (ARRL) past, current, and  
future EME trends.

On another note, my personal view is to always respect and abide to  
the rules of the Contest someone decides to take part in. As Vladimir  
OK1DAK/OK1KIR correctly says, those are the ones, like it or not.
In this context, I also decided to also wait and see how is cw eme  
activity in 2nd leg before i jump to premature finalized conclusions,  
maybe. Even if these come true, I plan to wait until the mixed mode  
matures and hope / strive for the better in the class I have chosen to  
operate in.

Concluding, i will agree with Franscesco IK2DDR in that I am satisfied  
one way or the other on how current rules have become, given the  
context of available particular choices trying to merge the interests  
of both analog & digital worlds.
Let us all have fun, respect the Contest rules for those who  
participate, help and educate each other in points that might be  
unclear due to language problems; and last but not least, motivate and  
reciprocate interest being shown by stations in any mode by actively  
supporting activity and provide ongoing help to anyone that needs it.

Thank you all & GL in 2nd leg,
Jimmy SV1BTR

> Hello Joe,
>
> Thank you for the detailed explanations to my questions.
> Your comments, and our discussion in the Japanese EME net
> on the other hand also, depicted the detailed outlines of the
> new ARRL EME rules.
> I think the ARRL contest comittee should do more effrots for
> the polite and exact rule propaganda.
>
> Mike  JH1KRC
>
> ---- Joe Taylor <joe at Princeton.EDU> wrote:
>> Hi Mike,
>>
>> Formal answers to your questions must come from someone at ARRL.  You
>> could try writing to the new contest branch manager at contests at arrl.org.
>>
>> However, with the understanding that these will be my PERSONAL
>> interpretations of the rules for the 2007 ARRL International EME
>> Competition, I will try to provide answers to your questions from a
>> native English speaker.
>>
>> M. Watanabe, JH1KRC wrote:
>>
>> > Please make it for example, on 144 MHz any mode, my questions are:
>> >
>> > 1) What communications methods other than EME can you use for   
>> assisted categories?  Please count with concrete names.
>>
>> Key words in rule 3.5 (defining the "Assisted" category) are:
>>
>> "Any active or passive use of amateur or non-amateur communication tools
>> used during the contest period to solicit and/or coordinate a contact
>> prior to the start of that contact."
>>
>> Therefore: solicitation, arrangement, or liaison of any EME contact or
>> contacts on the 144, 432, or 1296 MHz bands during the contest period
>> moves a single-band entry into the Assisted category.  The non-EME
>> communication tool used for liaison can be anything: telephone, email,
>> internet logger, or 14.345 MHz SSB, for example.
>>
>> Assisted contacts on 144, 432, and 1296 MHz are permitted ONLY for
>> single-band, mixed-mode contest entries.
>>
>> Assistance as defined above is ALWAYS permitted on the 50, 220, and 902
>> MHz bands and on all bands 2.3 GHz and higher, without affecting one's
>> entry category.
>>
>> > 2) If someone who is calling JH1KRC for many minutes   
>> unseucessfully, just see the writing by someone else on a logger    
>> that JH1KRC is operating with V-polarization, and then he changes   
>> the pol. and succeeds in contact to JH1KRC, he should submit the   
>> log to assisted category.  Am I right?
>>
>> YES.  Anyone who (even passively) looks at an internet EME logger during
>> the contest becomes "Assisted" if he/she is making a single-band entry
>> on 144, 432, or 1296 MHz.
>>
>> Multi-band entrants are not permitted to do these things under ANY
>> circumstances for contacts on these three bands.
>>
>> In my opinion ALL multi-band entrants, and ANYONE entering in categories
>> other than those defined in rules 5.3.4 and 5.3.8, are best advised to
>> disconnect the internet from their radio shacks or otherwise disable all
>> email, browsers, etc., during the contest.  (You can ignore this advice
>> when making QSOs on 50, 222, or 902 MHz, or during the Microwave weekend.)
>>
>> > 3) If someone is in contact with JH1KRC but missed a part of the   
>> report to receive, he requests JH1KRC to send his report again by   
>> internet or telephone, in such situation in the contest, he has to   
>> begin the contact to JH1KRC from the first moment, and should not   
>> continue the present contact.  Assisted rule allows this.
>> >  Am I right?
>>
>> YES. Any non-EME communication during a QSO invalidates the contact.
>> You must start over.  This applies even on bands where assistance is
>> always permitted, i.e., 50, 222, 902, and 2300+ MHz.
>>
>> > 4) According to the rule 5.3.4 and 5.3.8, who can actually submit  
>>  the log for these assisted categories?
>>
>> Single Operator, Mixed Mode, Assisted; single-band on 144, 432, or 1296 MHz.
>>
>> Multi-Operator, Mixed Mode, Assisted; single-band on 144, 432, or 1296 MHz.
>>
>> These rules make it clear that the Assisted category is intended for
>> "smaller stations and newcomers to EME."  To me, this means that if you
>> are capable of making many EME contest contacts then you should not be
>> using the Assisted class; or if you use it as a newcomer this year, you
>> should certainly not use it next year.
>>
>> 	-- 73, Joe, K1JT