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fixed typo
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henryflower
henryflower
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"If the report never changes, why do contest rules still require signal reports, when cutting out phony reports would speed things up?"

This question comes up frequently, among contesters (e.g. on CQ-Contest, an email reflector for contesters) as well as among those who criticise contests. Reasons for the signal report often include (in no particular order):

  • meeting the somewhat arbitrary definition of what constitutes a "complete" QSO
  • the signal report acts as a signalling, attention-grabbing phrase for the important part of the exchange that follows (e.g. a serial number, location designator etc)
  • it's in the rules :-)
  • without some agreement on receiver settings (rx bandwidth, rf-gain, attentuatorattenuator, S-meter accuracy...) a signal report is pretty meaningless anyway
  • no contest rules demand an unchanging 59 or 599 signal report, feel free to send a signal report you consider accurate

Finally, some contest rules do not prescribe a signal report, for example the ARRL Sweepstakes, the Stew Perry Topband Distance Challenge, North American QSO Parties, North American Sprints.

"If the report never changes, why do contest rules still require signal reports, when cutting out phony reports would speed things up?"

This question comes up frequently, among contesters (e.g. on CQ-Contest, an email reflector for contesters) as well as among those who criticise contests. Reasons for the signal report often include (in no particular order):

  • meeting the somewhat arbitrary definition of what constitutes a "complete" QSO
  • the signal report acts as a signalling, attention-grabbing phrase for the important part of the exchange that follows (e.g. a serial number, location designator etc)
  • it's in the rules :-)
  • without some agreement on receiver settings (rx bandwidth, rf-gain, attentuator, S-meter accuracy...) a signal report is pretty meaningless anyway
  • no contest rules demand an unchanging 59 or 599 signal report, feel free to send a signal report you consider accurate

Finally, some contest rules do not prescribe a signal report, for example the ARRL Sweepstakes, the Stew Perry Topband Distance Challenge, North American QSO Parties, North American Sprints.

"If the report never changes, why do contest rules still require signal reports, when cutting out phony reports would speed things up?"

This question comes up frequently, among contesters (e.g. on CQ-Contest, an email reflector for contesters) as well as among those who criticise contests. Reasons for the signal report often include (in no particular order):

  • meeting the somewhat arbitrary definition of what constitutes a "complete" QSO
  • the signal report acts as a signalling, attention-grabbing phrase for the important part of the exchange that follows (e.g. a serial number, location designator etc)
  • it's in the rules :-)
  • without some agreement on receiver settings (rx bandwidth, rf-gain, attenuator, S-meter accuracy...) a signal report is pretty meaningless anyway
  • no contest rules demand an unchanging 59 or 599 signal report, feel free to send a signal report you consider accurate

Finally, some contest rules do not prescribe a signal report, for example the ARRL Sweepstakes, the Stew Perry Topband Distance Challenge, North American QSO Parties, North American Sprints.

Source Link
henryflower
henryflower
  • 902
  • 6
  • 11

"If the report never changes, why do contest rules still require signal reports, when cutting out phony reports would speed things up?"

This question comes up frequently, among contesters (e.g. on CQ-Contest, an email reflector for contesters) as well as among those who criticise contests. Reasons for the signal report often include (in no particular order):

  • meeting the somewhat arbitrary definition of what constitutes a "complete" QSO
  • the signal report acts as a signalling, attention-grabbing phrase for the important part of the exchange that follows (e.g. a serial number, location designator etc)
  • it's in the rules :-)
  • without some agreement on receiver settings (rx bandwidth, rf-gain, attentuator, S-meter accuracy...) a signal report is pretty meaningless anyway
  • no contest rules demand an unchanging 59 or 599 signal report, feel free to send a signal report you consider accurate

Finally, some contest rules do not prescribe a signal report, for example the ARRL Sweepstakes, the Stew Perry Topband Distance Challenge, North American QSO Parties, North American Sprints.