I can only speak for the CQ 160 Contests but I do know getting out
certificates and plaques is a chore.
I have some help and the results are mixed. Plaque Sponsors won't pay up or
quit amateur radio or even become SK. If I have problems with the CQ 160
Contests I know the WPX and WW must struggle. There is no national
association with paid workers to get out plaques and certificates and I
always ask the question Why do sponsors pay for these plaques and often not
for volunteer run contests such as CQ.
Now as to K4WW's complaint about being left out of the results with no
comments...this happens due to too much reliance on computer checking. I
have lost logs due to one log overlaying another and several that
disappeared. I have a check in log that allows me to provide claimed
scores and then I move the logs to a final file that is updated when the
checking is done. There are bugs in the best log checking programs (I
debugged 5 in the CQ 160 cabrillo checking software last year). I
personally check the top logs for missed errors and possible corrections. I
also check major logs if the score changes (lowers usually) by more than 3%.
I also make all decisions about DQ (usually too many unverified QSOs). I
feel sorry for K4WW as I know contest efforts deserve better. But this is
my reasoning and even in 1400 entries I still get a few lost, missed, wrong
location, wrong classification.
The WW and WPX with 6 to 10,000 entries are much more difficult and we need
the computer to help us do a better job of assuring the scores are correct
the real winners identified!
73 Dave K4JRB
> Yes I am a WPX RTTY Plaque sponsor! Having never been fortunate enough to
> have won a plaque, obviously I haven't received one! I have received a few
> certificates, and none of them were received in less than a year from the
> particular contest! I'm more concerned with the omission of my log for
2001
> WPX without any explanation or response from the contest manager? In
almost
> every contest, I read in the soapbox comments "how much fun was had"!
While
> I agree 100% with "if the awards are going to be advertised, they should
be
> provided", if y'all are in CQ sponsored contest(s) for the fun, why are
> y'all concerned about the awards? There are far too many reasons as to the
> delay or non-receipt of advertised contest award(s), but, IMHO, the
primary
> reason is "too much for too few with too little"! From what little I know
> about the CQ award(s) program, it is a "bureaucratic nightmare", of which
I
> want no part of! Maybe the time has come for CQ to "fess up" and admit
that
> they will no longer provide ANY contest(s) awards? After all, "don't we
> enter just for the fun of it"?
> C'Ya, Shelby - K4WW
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> CQ-Contest mailing list
> CQ-Contest@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
>
>From Fabio I4UFH" <i4ufh@libero.it Thu Apr 18 19:29:48 2002
From: Fabio I4UFH" <i4ufh@libero.it (Fabio I4UFH)
Subject: [CQ-Contest] Are you a WPX Plaque Sponsor?
References: <193AE5D0.5214237A.0000C54B@aol.com>
Message-ID: <00ca01c1e707$05b2b630$c293623e@i4ufh>
Still Waiting IQ4T CQWW SSB 1997 1st EU SO 15 , IJ4R WPX 1991 MS 1st EU
73 Fabio I4UFH
----- Original Message -----
From: <AA4NC@aol.com>
To: ""Bill Fisher, W4AN"" <w4an@contesting.com>
Cc: <cq-contest@contesting.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2002 10:55 PM
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Are you a WPX Plaque Sponsor?
> Bill,
>
> Don't feel like the lone ranger. I have given up waiting for CQ magazine
contest plaques that never arrived dating back to 1984! Some of these were
multiop plaques that I paid for to get copies for myself and other
operators.
>
> I feel lucky to even get a paper certificate from a CQ contest! Most of
these also seem to get lost in the same black hole with the plaques. I guess
they figure that most people are too busy calculating UBN statistics to
notice that they never get their "awards" for CQ contests.
>
> We just have to look at N1ND and crew at ARRL to see how it SHOULD be
done!
>
> 73,
>
> Will
> _______________________________________________
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> CQ-Contest@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
|