The RBN team is planning to release a new version of the pattern file
that Skimmer Server uses to validate callsigns that it copies, so as to
be as up to date as possible by the time of the ARRL CW DX Contest.
Why does this matter? Depending on how familiar the pattern of the
callsign is, Skimsrv will require fewer or more repetitions before it
recognizes it as a call. A full explanation of how this works is in an
article I wrote for the RBN blog, which anyone who is interested can
read at
<https://reversebeacon.blogspot.com/2021/09/how-skimmer-server-decides-what-to-spot.html>.
The current pattern file dates from September 2021.
Anyway, with the proliferation of single-letter suffixes in contest
calls, we need to keep up. You can look at the pattern file currently
in use at <http://beta.reversebeacon.net/pages/patt3ch.lst+36>. The
style is pretty obvious, but is also explained in the article referenced
above. If you are aware of a callsign pattern that is not in the
current list, please drop me a note and let me know. If you're
anticipating a change - like a new set of single-letter suffixes, or a
new alternate prefix (like VL plus single-letter suffixes in VK, for
example), we want to cover it, but please, not unless it will be in
effect before February next year, and only if you have authoritative
information.
So send me an e-mail, with as much detail as you can, and we'll see to it.
73, Pete N4ZR
Check out the new Reverse Beacon Network
web server at<http://beta.reversebeacon.net>.
For spots, please use your favorite
"retail" DX cluster.
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