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[CQ-Contest] On Time

To: cq-contest@contesting.com
Subject: [CQ-Contest] On Time
From: Tree <tree@kkn.net>
Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 08:55:16 -0700
List-post: <cq-contest@contesting.com">mailto:cq-contest@contesting.com>
Interesting seeing all the posts about on and off time.

> i now know (and assume for this next cqwpx)
> 
> 1) contest "on time" starts with the first QSO 
> 2) contest "off time" starts with the last QSO

How can an off time start with a QSO?  It's all very simple.  Off time would
be the first minute AFTER your last QSO.  

Actually - I think it is less confusing to think about ontime first.  Any
minute that you make a QSO in is time on the air.  

If you don't make any QSOs in a minute - then possibly that minute will be
counted as off time.  One of two conditions have to be meet:

1. The the sum of consecutive off time minutes adds up to the minimum off time
period.  Note that many people do not understand how to do the math for this
and we "allow" 29 of them to be counted as a break (when the minimum is 30 
minutes).  However, you will only get credit for the 29 minutes.

or

2. The off time minutes come at the start or the end of a contest.  

Since we don't have a way to indicate on/off time in Cabrillo - it is left up
to the log checking software to sniff out off times.  This generally gives a
bit of slack in favor of the operator.  

For example, an SS log where the first QSO wasn't until 15 minutes into the 
contest will get credit for 14 minutes off time.  It is possible that it was 
all ontime - but I have no way of knowing for sure.

If you operate too long - the QSOs that come after your ontime is used up 
are not counted in your score.

There are likely to be minor differences in how this rule gets enforced, so 
YMMV.  But I think most log checkers are trying to "do the right thing" and
not really make big changes in the way most people do their off time.

73 Tree N6TR
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