Contesters Await Rules Decisions On Use of CW Skimmer Software

By Jamie Dupree NS3T  radio-sport.net 
Posted April 21, 2008

While contesters the world over continue to test out VE3NEA's "CW Skimmer" software, major contest sponsors are still grappling in private with the question of whether use of the Skimmer should bounce an entry into the Assisted category.

"No consensus has been reached on the skimmer," says ARRL Contest Branch Manager Sean Kutzko KX9X. "Discussions are ongoing."

One source told radio-sport.net that some ARRL and CQWW contest committee members are trying to work out a common solution to deal with the Skimmer.

"My personal feeling is Skimmer will be considered Assisted," said one high profile contester with knowledge of the review.

"I have not followed the Skimmer discussions for quite a while," said Skimmer developer Alex Shovkoplyas VE3NEA. "I have been busy working on the new algorithms."

Shovkoplyas said he received one email from a member of the CQWW DX Contest committee, "but no other contest sponsors have contacted me."

For those unfamiliar with the CW Skimmer software, when tied into a radio properly, the program can basically offer you a bandmap full of stations, without being connected to any packet cluster site, as it automatically decodes and identifies CW signals (see photo on the right.)

VE3NEA isn't sold on the idea that using the Skimmer should re-classify an entry as Assisted or Multi in certain contests.

"The program produces a lot of information that the operator needs to analyze quickly and accurately," says Shovkoplyas. "This is more like a real-time strategy game, a contester needs to develop a completely new set of skills."

While the contest community waits for decisions that will certainly impact the 2008-2009 contest season, a number of hams are taking VE3NEA's creation and putting it to use.

Pete Smith N4ZR has spearheaded a "reverse beacon" network, with multiple listening locations using the Skimmer around the world.

To see the stations it picks up, go to dxwatch.com and click on the calls of the stations with Skimmers that are online.

"Ultimately, I hope to see a DX-Atlas style propagation map overlaid with actualy reported paths," Smith said. "I think that would be a great teacher about propagation.

"Watching a given band open at various locations up and down the East Coast has been a valuable learning too for me already," he added.

Smith says this is not some kind of effort to undermine or even do away with the existing DX packet clusters.

"Skimmer's greatest strength is its reporting of everything it hears," Smith told radio-sport.net. "It doesn't rely on an operator somewhere to conclude 'Ah, a YK9. I'd better spot that."

"But if that were somehow merged with the worldwide spotting network, I think the result would be pretty chaotic, and not very helpful," said Smith.

N4ZR thinks maybe it's time for something more than two single op categories.

"I think that the development of CW Skimmer will eventually make the whole concept of "Assisted" versus "Unassisted" obsolete," Smith said in an email.

"It doesn't involve outside assistance, yet it gives an advantage that is arguably much greater than packet, because it spots more, and it finds stations faster," Smith added.

"That's why I proposed that contest sponsors might decide instead to go with single-op categories of Traditional, Advanced and Unlimited, with clear lists of what technologies would move you out of the Traditional category."

The CW Skimmer program and more can be found at VE3NEA's DX Atlas web site.