Log Checking Reports for ARRL Contests Now Available Online
NEWINGTON, CT, May 13, 2002--Log Checking Reports (LCRs) now are available for selected ARRL contests. These documents provide a detailed error analysis of a contest entry. LCRs will be available for selected events commencing with the 2001 ARRL November CW Sweepstakes. ARRL members may access the available reports on the ARRL Web site. To access your reports, you must be registered on the ARRL Web site as a League member.
"We recognize that it is useful to participants to review the errors found in their logs, allowing them to identify areas for improvement in their performance," said ARRL Contest Branch Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND. Because questions inevitably arise, Henderson says, the ARRL has established firm guidelines on how it will address any inquiries. The focus will be to minimize staff time and avoid any inequities in how individual contest entries are treated, he explained.
"Simply put, we will not enter into discussions or debates over individual QSOs," Henderson said. "All electronic log data is checked using custom software. All logs are judged by the same criteria."
Henderson said the log-checking software can--and does--perform a good job of impartially adjudicating the logs. "Unique QSOs are not busted without substantial evidence," he said. He added that, while audio tapes or files of particular QSOs, e-mail confirmations from others or other types of "documentation" can be useful for a contester's research and learning, they "usually are not definitive and will not be considered" in the event of a dispute.
"If a systemic problem is found, we will address the issue as appropriate," Henderson said. He also noted that there have been a few rare occurrences where log files were corrupted during transmission to the ARRL. "If your report reflects an unusually large decrease in QSOs that you suspect may have resulted from a log file transmission error, we will be happy to investigate," Henderson said. "The Cabrillo format Start-Of-Log and End-Of-Log statements are the means that we use to verify that the log arrived intact. We will deal with these problems as necessary."
Additional reports may be accessed as soon as the results for the ARRL contest become available. For single operators, your log-in username (call sign) must be the same as the one that appears on the log submitted for the event. If you were a guest operator at another station or part of a multioperator entry, you may access the LCR for that entry if your call sign appears as an operator in the Cabrillo header (summary) for that log. ARRL members without Internet access may request their LCR free of charge by sending a request and an SASE to LCR Request, ARRL, Contesting Branch, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111.
Non-ARRL members may obtain LCRs by mailing a request along with $3 and an SASE for each event (eg, the Phone and CW weekends of the ARRL November Sweepstakes count as separate events). For each request, include the name and year of the contest as well as the call sign of the entry.
Henderson said the style and format for each LCR may differ from contest to contest, since the various operating events are checked and processed by different software. For more information, contact Henderson via e-mail contests@arrl.org or by telephone 860-594-0232.
Page last modified: 12:48 PM, 13 May 2002 ET
Page author: awextra@arrl.org
Copyright © 2002, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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