There is a (long) conversation going on over at the Contest Reflector about how rules should be constructed around the new CW Skimmer software that recently made its debut for hams. The commentary ranges from letting a single operator use the software to placing that operator into an "assisted" category like packet to banning the software from contesting.

Having these sorts of discussions is a good thing in that it helps contest organizers figure out where all of the passion and objections come from while they design rules around this new technology.

The deal is this: technology will always be ahead of the rules.

Dipoles came before beams and beams came before stacked beams. No filters came before filters on radio and filters came before software DSP. No spots came before 2-meter local spotting and 2-meter local spotting came before packet spotting.

To try and have rules 'already set up' ahead of time to accommodate what we think might happen with technology is really a waste of time. We don't know where technology will take the hobby -- one of the things that make ham radio so much fun.

To try and take new technology and shove it into an existing rules category is a useful exercise much of the time. But sometimes something so new comes along that new rules need to be created.

Have at the CW Skimmer discussion with the rules. But let's not have a heart attack over how it will be treated in the rules. You won't have anything left over to deal with the next technology change that won't fit into the rules.

Technology will always trump the existing rules.

Scot, K9JY