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Contesting Online Forums : Tips : post contest review of qso's errors Forums Help

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post contest review of qso's errors Reply
by af4od on February 20, 2001 Mail this to a friend!
hello
I'm new to contesting and i need some advice. I participated this past weekend in the arrl dx cw contest. I only worked the contest part-time, whenever i could get a chance. I used tr-log to record my qso's. Anyhow, after the contest i reviewed my log and i found many errors that i had made. Most of the errors were beginner mistakes like recording an "h" for a "s" or a "4" for a "v". My cw is ok, but i still have lots to learn. By creating these mistakes, i have a false score. Should i go back and delete the qso's of my mistakes or forget them and let the contest manager work with them. I can see where leaving them would be good, cause the dx station got my call ok, and there is some sort of record of the qso for the manager.
Also, i may have written some of the exchanges down wrong. The exchange for the contest station was his power level. I received these pwr levels, "k, kw, ntt, a5t, att" Should i have recorded exactly the exchange sent by the dx station? I usually recorded a "K" as "KW" and a "a5t" as "150" and a "ntt" as "900". Not recording the exchange exactly may have been a blunder on my part.

thanks for any advice es 73

bill capps
af4od

 
RE: post contest review of qso's errors Reply
by N2MG on February 23, 2001 Mail this to a friend!
Fixing errors after the contest is a highly controversial subject. I'll try to be fair to the various "camps".

<<Most of the errors were beginner mistakes like recording an "h" for a "s" or a "4" for a "v".>>

Welcome to the club! Looking at packet spots this weekend, I saw that these mistakes were frequent.

<<My cw is ok, but i still have lots to learn. By creating these mistakes, i have a false score.>>

How do you know they are mistakes? Are you comparing your log to other sources after the contest (considered a no-no, but not always strictly illegal) or did you take notes indicating a logging error (IMO, these are OK to fix after the contest).


<<Should i go back and delete the qso's of my mistakes>>

In a word, NO. Again, NO. You will potentially penalize the other station for not being in your log.

<<or forget them and let the contest manager work with them.>>

Yes.

<<I can see where leaving them would be good, cause the dx station got my call ok, and there is some sort of record of the qso for the manager.>>

Yes, as I wrote earlier. This is a perfect case for allowing "ZERO" point log entries. IMNSHO, one should be able to "ZERO-POINT" contacts for which one decides one doesn't want to claim credit (because they are suspected broken and will invoke a penalty). Then one can leave them in and not hurt the "other" guy.

This has been discussed quite often on the CQ-Contest reflector (link is in left menu area of this web page) which is unfortunately down as I write but should be back in a day or two. You should "subscribe" (it's free).

<<Also, i may have written some of the exchanges down wrong. The exchange for the contest station was his power level. I received these pwr levels, "k, kw, ntt, a5t, att" Should i have recorded exactly the exchange sent by the dx station? I usually recorded a "K" as "KW" and a "a5t" as "150" and a "ntt" as "900". Not recording the exchange exactly may have been a blunder on my part. >>

No blunder. In the past, I have always been given credit for power levels, no matter the format (1KW or KW or K seem equivalent) In general, the log checking "does the right thing".

You have asked very good questions - seems many people have the same ones. I wish answers were forthcoming from the contest sponsors themselves to put an end to the confusion.

73 Mike N2MG
 
RE: post contest review of qso's errors Reply
by n6tr on March 5, 2001 Mail this to a friend!
1. You should not use any information sources after the contest to change any information other than your log or notes you took during the contest.

2. You should send in your log with the information you have logged - even if you know it is wrong. Do not
remove the QSOs because then the people you worked will not get credit for your QSOs. The log checking software will figure out that the call was busted and do the right thing.

73 Tree N6TR
 

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