I got a ham with a disability.  As a matter of fact, I had it operated on
once or twice when I was a kid.  Said it had a string attached to it and
they were gonna make it longer.

-Kyle

Dear ARRL:

     I think it's about time amateur radio recognized the
abilities of hams with disabilities.  And a great way to do that
would be for the ARRL to sponsor a new contest.
     Each year on the weekend closest to the anniversary of the
signing into law of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),
July 26, why not sponsor a HandiHam Worldwide Contest, perhaps in
conjunction with the HandiHam Courage Center.
     EVERYONE COULD PARTICIPATE -- but contestants would get
extra points for working disabled hams.
     During the contest, disabled hams would call CQ CQ HH DE
KZ2G, for instance.  Nondisabled hams would call CQ CQ HH ND DE
W1AW, for example.  The ND would stand for nondisabled.
     Scoring could be 5 points for every HH worked and 3 points
for every ND worked on CW.  Contestants would get 2 points for
every HH worked and 1 point for every ND worked on SSB.
Multipliers could be the number of stations worked times the sum
of countries plus sections.
     For instants, someone with 257 points who made 57 contacts
which included 10 countries plus 13 sections would have a
multiplier of (57*23)=1311.  Then multiply total points by the
multiplier's total (257*1311) to get a score = 336927.
     Please let me know what you think of my idea.

Sincerely,
Robert Mauro, KZ2G

CC:  The Courage HANDI-HAM System, 3915 Golden Valley Road,
     Golden Valley, MN  55422

   Bob Mauro, [log in to unmask]      Amateur Radio Station KZ2G
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