Just Keeping It Honest

It's getting tougher and tougher to keep things honest.

First I worried that someone would accuse me of running excessive power. So I bought one of those fancy digital wattmeters with a threshold sensor. I had the factory set the threshold to 1499 watts, just to be safe. If I ever hit 1500W, the meter would automatically trip the amplifier off.

Then I worried that I might be accused of using the cluster while entering unassisted. So I canceled my internet service and sold off all of my packet gear and VHF/UHF radios. I just do all my email and websurfing at work. Things are a little slow these days, so no one notices.

Someone said that it might be cheating to use those databases of calls, names, and QTHs with your logging program. Well, I hate to do it, but I gave up using computer logging and went back to paper and pencil. Just me, my radio and a log sheet.

Then someone said it wasn't fair that I had a mental database of calls and such from all the years of contests I've operated. So I started drinking heavily between contests, sobering up just long enough to work the contests. I've managed to forget most of what I knew, but have to admit I still occasionally recognize a friend's call.

Now some are claiming I might be cheating if someone tells me about a needed mult or rare band opening on the air during a contest, even if I didn't ask them about it. All I know to do is to unplug the headphones and keep the volume turned all the way down to make sure I don't hear anything I shouldn't. It's going to make it harder to make Qs, but I'll keep CQing and hope my ESP gets better.