[Elecraft] EQP - RST reports

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

Earl brings up an excellent point about RST in the contest. I don't =
think he
owes anyone an "apology" (tongue-in-cheek or not) for giving everyone =
599.=20

I think that Earl did EXACTLY the RIGHT thing by programming in 5NN in =
his
keyer memory. After all, in a contest there are NO rewards for using a
"real" RST. The rewards are for the most contacts, so the RIGHT thing to =
do,
if one is actually IN the contest, is whatever it takes within the rules =
to
maximize the number of points gained.=20

For those ops who are simply making some casual contacts, are we helping =
the
guys trying to run a good score by sending something unexpected like a =
REAL
RST? I think not. I'm happy to squeeze the cans onto my head to catch =
his
call, then give him 5NN so he can move on quickly to the next contact =
for
his score sheet.=20

It was different 40+ years ago when keyer memories were even rarer than
keyers. Straight keys and bugs were the 'keys du jour' for almost =
everyone.
An operator's automatic response upon hearing any signal at any time was =
to
assign it an RST, so reporting the RST as part of the exchange was
interesting and even informative. I often worked Field Day or =
Sweepstakes to
evaluate antennas, etc. Sometimes I'd switch between two antennas - one
contact on the extended Zepp, one on the vertical, to get a "feel" for =
how
they got out by who I worked and by looking at an average of dozens of
reports from various locations.=20

But that hasn't been true in decades now. Why keep whuppin' the dead =
horse
of contest RST's? He's not even a carcass any longer -- just a few bones
left where once there was a real thinking head and trembling fingers on =
the
hand-pump.=20

Ron AC7AC