Recently - I had to review some of the log checking process that is being
used for the ARRL Sweepstakes contest and came to an interesting conclusion.
For purposes of log checking - it is best to "dupe" the log starting at the
end of the log and working your way towards the start of it.
So - if a log has two QSOs with K7RAT in it - the one that occurred later in
the contest will be the "QSO" and the one that occurred first will be the
"dupe".
(There is one exception to this - so make sure you read to the end of this
message before getting too excited).
There are lots of reasons that you might have a dupe in your log. Some
examples are:
1. The first QSO you made didn't make it into the other person's log for
some reason and he wants to work you again. Maybe his computer crashed and
he lost his log and he had to start the contest over.
2. Maybe the station got your callsign wrong the first time you worked and
he doesn't think you are a dupe OR he has your callsign wrong now and wants
to work you again.
3. You had his callsign wrong, thought it was a new QSO, but figured out
his correct callsign during the QSO, but logged it since a QSO had taken
place. Some stations will just work you again if you call and not tell
you they think you are a dupe.
It is important to realize that having dupes in your log isn't a problem.
If you make a QSO, you should put it in your log - even if it isn't a dupe.
The traditional way to "dupe a log" is to start at QSO number one and enter
every call into a dupesheet. If you later find you are trying to enter a
callsign into the dupesheet that is already there - then this second QSO
is a "DUPE" and should be marked as such and not counted in the contest.
I am proposing the new way to dupe a log is to actually start at the end
of the log when making the dupe sheet. This does some things which I believe
make the log checking process "better":
1. It is deterministic and easy to program and explain.
2. If someone loses their log - the QSO that occurs later is the one that
will match up if you are doing a cross check.
3. If someone thought for whatever reason that the first QSO didn't happen,
again, this second QSO is the one that will line up.
4. If someone busted you call the first time they worked you, then this
second QSO will line up. I feel that it is more likely that they will
have your information correct the second time they work you - although I
can't prove that.
This means that if you decide to log a station the second time, you should
not assume that this second QSO won't be checked and it isn't important
to get the information correct. This second QSO is most likely going to
be the one that does get checked.
The one exception goes like this. If you do work a dupe, sometimes, the
person might go through the motions of making the QSO - but after they
realize it is a dupe, they might wipe the QSO out of their log. This means
you could get a not-in-log for the second QSO. If the log checking does
find a not-in-log - the "right thing" to do would be to look to see if
there is another QSO with the same station in your log (which will occur
earlier in the contest) and if so - use that QSO for a second cross
check. In this case the QSO that took place will be marked as the dupe
and the QSO that occurred first will be checked.
This might all seem pretty complicated, but there are some simple takeaways
that you can follow:
1. Don't worry about logging dupes. This is normal.
2. If you do log a dupe - take care and make sure you get the information
correct. Do not assume that your second QSO won't be checked because it
isn't a dupe.
3. If you complete a two way exchange with someone in the contest, it should
appear in your log. Please log it even if you know it is a dupe.
73 Tree N6TR
tree@kkn.net
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