Interesting comments re the sources of error in SS logs. I was hit with a
whopping penalty in the CW SS and after getting over my shock, spent a while
trying to uncover the sources of the mistakes.
The one which was unexpected was the one which Jim Reisert pointed out --
inaccurate typing. I found two kinds of mistakes that I made in
"mis-logging", one was the finger shift that Jim describes -- and the other
was a short term memory problem coupled with poor typing ...
Scenario: You're copying away in your head and typing, trying to watch the
keyboard, watch the screen, and ride the RIT or VBT at the same time --- you
realize you made a typing mistake and back up to correct it -- by that time,
the exchange is over and someone else is calling, so now you have to split
your mind in a couple of sections (Time Division Multiple Access, I think
they call it), so that one part copies and stores the new QSO while the other
part completes recording the previous QSO. I found that I made two types of
errors in these circumstances: one was that the increased pressure of being
"behind" increased the chance of hitting the wrong key; the other was that
the brain part which was doing the copying of the "new" QSO turns out to have
VERY volatile memory, easily confused by what the fingers are recording from
the "previous" QSO.
Oh, what was my Dad right about?? When I was in high school, he often said
to me, "take a typing class, it'll be useful all your life". HA!, little did
he know! I never did of course, and still type in a semi touch way. For the
record, he was W1HIK and never was a contester.
73,
Bill, W1HIJ (/6 in CQP)
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