Good for you Larry to post this. It is interesting how some folks come up with all sorts of excuses to justify their unethical/immoral thoughts and behavior. The ARRL by fully putting the onus on the operator has abdicated the leadership role in ethical behavior, which to me is the same as condoning unethical behavior.
Doug -----Original Message----- Jim stated as much in the note to which you are replying. What is in play here is the difference between laws/rules and ethics. Just because something is "legal" does not make it ethical. Adultery is not a crime in 29 states of the United States or most of the industrialized world. Is it therefore ethical? Is it ethical to click between remotes on the east and west coast because DXCC rules permit it? Throwing their hands up, the League is leaving the answer to the last question up to the individual operator. Why, if such operations are so ethically pure would one commercial remote business advertise "completely anonymous operation"? The very nature of the wording suggests their service is the ham radio version of the No-Tell Motel. With regards to the "how I got my award shouldn't matter to anyone else", I'd argue that the operator on the "other end" of an unethical contact can be affected. There's a fair chance that he is pursuing an award as well. An operator in EU pursuing WAS (or VUCC on 6m) may work a W7 who is using a remote -- commercial or otherwise -- and does not indicate the location of the actual transmitter. The EU op goes away thinking he worked Oregon. Lo and behold the LoTW match or paper card shows up and "confirms" he did. There are a couple of west coast stations who routinely use east coast remotes to work EU on 6m and use their home state and grid square in the exchange. A savvy op on the "other end" can often tell if the exchange is legit, but there are strange spotlight openings on that band, just as there are on Topband. These ethical lapses are not entirely victimless. Larry K5RK _________________ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. http://www.avast.com _________________ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband