[Elecraft] Re: EQP: change "name" to "state" (for U.S. stations) in the exchange?

[Bob Patten]

Wayne Burdick wrote:

>There was quite a long comment period provided, so if this was a major error, I
>wish someone had pointed it out to me earlier  ;)
>
Hello Wayne, Sorry I missed the comment period.  Perhaps it was while I 
was off in the Bahamas for a week and had unsubscribed from all the 
lists to keep my mailbox from overflowing.  Fact is that every contest 
(that I know of) includes location as part of the exchange.  Some take 
different forms such as state, country, grid square, CQ zone, ITU zone, 
etc.  In the case of country, often it is simply implied by the prefix 
of the station sending the exchange.  Some of the enjoyment in operating 
contests comes from watching the multipliers (states, provinces, 
countries) add up.  For those tracking awards (which I do not), the 
exchange tells whether a QSL is needed for WAS, DXCC, etc.

>We could still change this. But in fairness to those who have written
>EQP-compatible software, I won't change the exchange from "name" to "state"
>unless they feel that their software can be modified in time to accomodate it. Toby?
>  
>
Changing it now would probably just generate confusion since the rules 
have already been announced.  I did participate in the first EQP, but 
can't recall if QTH was included in the exchange then.  I suspect it was...

>Also, presumably the change would only apply to U.S. stations. Those outside the
>U.S. would presumably stick with "name", or?
>  
>
Any change should also include Canada since it is divided into 
provinces.  But, as stated above, other countries can be identified by 
their callsign prefix.

-- 
73,     Bob Patten, N4BP                Plantation, FL

E-Mail: n4bp@arrl.net                   Website: http://www.qsl.net/n4bp
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