My understanding is that rf monitoring IS being done and penalties are in place.
On Mon, Oct 27, 2025, 4:50 PM Geert Jan de Groot via Elecraft < [email protected]> wrote: > Hi folks, > > "Is there no responsibility for the organization of the CQ WW contest > here"? > > Let me show how a different contest organization deals with a similar > problem of contest stations cheating. > > A little background. Weekend before last was the annual > Jamboree-On-The-Air. An event where Scouts, using hamradio equipment, > make radio contact with Scouts at other groups. I'm not sure this is a > big thing in the US of A given reports of "several hundred" JOTA > stations active; in the Netherlands (we're a much smaller country!) , > there were over 170 radio stations active. Experience has learned this > is also a huge introduction in the hamradio hobby; in the group I am > supporting there are half a dozen Scouts with licenses; another half > dozen Scouts are in the process of getting theirs (up to "they only need > to do an exam which is already scheduled in weeks ahead"). As said, it > is a great way to introduce young people into our hobby (see the > discussion about introducing young people into our hobby on this list > just a few weeks ago). > > However, there are challenges. Many years ago, when our neighbor country > Germany was still split up between West and East and the iron curtain > still existed, the East German radio club organized a contest in the > same weekend. When the iron curtain fell and East and West became one > Germany, the contest became "Worked All Germany" and suddenly our Scouts > doing their first hamradio experiences had to compete the band with > contest stations next door giving their best. > > The bands now have "contest-free segments" and us JOTA stations operate > there, while outside these contest-free segments the contest runs in > full force. This allows co-existence and I am very happy for the WAG > contest organization to support us. > > That leaves the issues of contest stations cheating, and this is where > responsibility of the contest organization kicks in. The WAG contest > organization, for some years now, makes SDR-recordings of the amateur > bands during the run of the contest. All the contest bands, for the full > run of the contest. In case of questions on claims of contest stations, > all it takes is to "rewind the recordings" to time and frequency to hear > what has happened. > And for us JOTA-stations, all it takes is for us to contact an > interfering contest station, gently remind them of the rules (I have > found that in the majority of cases this is sufficient), but for > persistent cases, send a report "station XXX was operating on frequency > YYY at time ZZZ" to the WAG contest organizer and I know that the > contest organizer has acted on these reports. > > No need to get the equivalent of the FCC involved, no discussion if the > FCC should or should not, ARRL should or should not, and the process > works very well. > > In this regard, I wonder if the organizer of the CQ WW contest is taking > their responsibility? > Keep in mind that "fair play" is part of the amateur radio values and > frankly it is a pity we need to have this discussion to begin with. > > I do wonder why the CQ WW organizers are not taking their responsibility. > > 73, > > Geert Jan PE1HZG > > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:[email protected] > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > Message delivered to [email protected] > ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [email protected]
