[Elecraft] [OT] Illegal contacts during the CQ WW Phone

[Geert Jan de Groot]

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