W2EV writes:
> PS-- Here's an interesting twist of things... several commenters are citing
> the
> lack of QST publishing as an aside, and NOT a primary reason for not
> submitting! It is almost always something like, "The contest robot puked on
> my
> log, so I gave up and -- by the way, I hate not seeing my call in QST". Had
> the
> robot not puked, the log would have still gone in even without QST
> publication. Hmmmmmmm.... :)
The robot puking may not result in the call not showing up in the results.
The robots are programmed to flag anything that doesn't meet some rather
specific
criteria. However, if you get a tracking number, it means it understood enough
of
the log for it to be saved. However, what this means it that the log will
probably
require some ouji board work by the log checker.
The robot program attempts to offer useful hints as to what pieces of
information
didn't make sense to it. These can typically be fixed by updating your software
(as most logging programs have improved their Cabrillo format implementation
during the past year or two), or in the short term by making a few edits to the
log with a text editor.
I agree that not everyone has had success with the robot, but really what is
happening is that they are getting feedback instantly on problems with their
log instead of getting the feedback two months later when someone is trying
to put together the results.
Let me show an example. WA3ZKR submitted his log for the January VHF contest
and
received the following response from the robot:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(This is an automated response).
Thank you for your participation in the contest and for submitting
your log in Cabrillo format. While the robot appears to be able to
process your log, it appears to have discovered irregularities in your
log. These do not affect its ability to be processed but correcting
these problems will help ensure the entry is properly scored. These
irregularities appear in a report at the bottom of this message. You
are encouraged to review and fix these irregularities. You may then
re-send it to januaryvhf@arrl.org. You may have to resubmit your log
two or three times to get everything just right. Don't worry, the
robot replaces the previous file as long as the callsign remains the
same. We want to make sure that we have your information right! If
you have any questions regarding this, please contact me at
n1nd@arrl.org or by phone at 860-594-0232.
Your tracking number is [2621.januaryvhf]. Please save this receipt
until verifying that your log appears on the Logs Received web page at
http://www.arrl.org/contests/claimed/
Thanks for your cooperation. 73
Dan Henderson, N1ND
ARRL Contest Branch Manager
PS: ARRL Contest Soapbox is now on the Web. Post your comments and
photos at http://www.arrl.org/contests/soapbox/.
Also Check out the ARRL Contest Rate Sheet online newsletter at
http://www.arrl.org/contests/rate-sheet/.
----------
ARRL VHF CONTEST LOG WARNING MESSAGE REPORT FROM THE ROBOT
CLUB: PVRC
Line 8 was discarded. The club name 'PVRC' is not
on the registered club name list at
http://www.arrl.org/contests/club-list.html
Please modify your log to use your club's name as it appears on this
list and then resubmit your log. Please contact n1nd@arrl.org to have
have your club added to this list.
The CLUB: field is for use only by ARRL affiliated clubs that are
participating in the ARRL Affiliated Club Competition. If your club is not
a registered ARRL affiliated club, then omit this line.
QSO: B PH 2003-01-18 1402 WA3ZKR FM19 N3OPM FM19
Line 14 was discarded. Invalid date and time. The contest took
place from 1900Z on 2003-01-18 through 0359Z on 2003-01-20.
QSO: B PH 2003-01-18 1403 WA3ZKR FM19 KD4DSX/R FM19
Line 15 was discarded. Invalid date and time. The contest took
place from 1900Z on 2003-01-18 through 0359Z on 2003-01-20.
(more QSOs listed with time problems)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This log had two problems, the ARRL club he listed didn't match any of the
clubs on file and the times were wrong (used local time instead of UTC).
He instantly got the feedback and this is what happened on his second try:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(This is an automatic reply.)
Thank you for your participation in the contest and for submitting
your log in Cabrillo format. Your tracking number is [2622.januaryvhf].
Please save this receipt until verifying that your log appears on the
Logs Received web page at
http://www.arrl.org/contests/claimed/
If you have any questions or correspondence other than logs, please
contact me at ARRL Headquarters at n1nd@arrl.org or 860-594-0232.
Thanks and 73.
Dan Henderson, N1ND
ARRL Contest Branch Manager
PS: ARRL Contest Soapbox is now on the Web. Post your comments and
photos at http://www.arrl.org/contests/soapbox/.
Also Check out the ARRL Contest Rate Sheet online newsletter at
http://www.arrl.org/contests/rate-sheet/.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bingo! WA3ZKR has danced with the robot and fixed his entry so it can be
processed without any more input from him. His club entry was now:
CLUB: Potomac Valley Radio Club
which means he won't be wondering why his score didn't count for the right
club now.
The robot appears to have enabled him to fix these problems almost in real
time.
I hope this demonstration of the evil robot will better calibrate everyone
on what is really happening with it. Note that if you are totally lost,
there is n1nd's e-mail and phone number who will be happy to give assistance.
Also note, you can still send your log in the old fashioned way, print out a
copy, put it in an envelope and mail it... but that is too much work and over
90 percent of the logs show up electronically for most contests now.
73 Tree N6TR
tree@kkn.net
PS: BTW - I will be giving a presentation on the operation of the robot during
the Contest Forum at Dayton. I will try to post the prsentation on the web
somewhere afterwards.
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