CQ Contest Awards

Thu Jun 16 20:04:45 EDT 1994

I never appreciated the task of the log checker until I was visiting a member
of the CQWW comittee. He had a stack of logs over 4 feet high that he had to
decipher, check, splash holy water on, and other things that are much too fun
for we mere competitors to think about! Not exactly what I want to spend my
weekends doing. I personally appreciate the fact that there are people out
there that do give up their time to do this. 
Now I could understand if all of the members were paid employees, KY2T and
co. may have something to whine about.( I guess that means K1AR should be
doing all of the logchecking and certificates now that he's a highly-paid CQ
staffer  - Just kidding John...)

Remember - it's just a game, if it's not fun try watching Beavis&Butthead or
stamp collecting.

>From barry at w2up.wells.com (Barry Kutner)  Thu Jun 16 21:21:01 1994
From: barry at w2up.wells.com (Barry Kutner) (Barry Kutner)
Date: Thu, 16 Jun 94 20:21:01 GMT
Subject: WPX AWARDS
Message-ID: <q021Nc2w165w at w2up.wells.com>

"J.P. Kleinhaus" <aa2du at netcom.com> writes:

> 
> Tom, you certainly raise a valid point. I have received several CQWW
> contest certificates from CQ magazine. In one case I waited  over a
> year to receive the certificate. Yes,one year AFTER the results were
> printed...this is TWO YEARS after the contest took place!! I spoke
> to K1AR about it and was told that they were implementing a new system
> to printt the certificates and thus there was a delay. The following
> year, I received my certificates 6 months after the results were
> printed. A net improvement of 25%...not bad but I still think the system
> needs work.
> 
> Is there anyone from the CQ contest committee that would like to offer
> us an explanation of how you are improving this? It's bad enough that
> we need to wait 11 months to see the results in print, but by then the
> certificates should be printed, no?
> 
> J.P., AA2DU
> 
> 
> Please note (yet another) NEW address!!
> aa2du at netcom.com
> 
> 

Tom - Don't feel bad. I am still due a certificate for CQWW from late 70s 
or early 80s (forget now). Wrote to K3EST to question it, and the SOB 
didn't even respond. Maybe HE should be FR5DX's QSL manager.
73 Barry

--=====================================================================
Barry N. Kutner, W2UP       Usenet/Internet: barry at w2up.wells.com
Newtown, PA                 Packet Radio: W2UP @ WB3JOE.#EPA.PA.USA.NA
                            Packet Cluster: W2UP >K2TW (FRC)
.......................................................................

>From barry at w2up.wells.com (Barry Kutner)  Fri Jun 17 00:11:04 1994
From: barry at w2up.wells.com (Barry Kutner) (Barry Kutner)
Date: Thu, 16 Jun 94 23:11:04 GMT
Subject: CQ awards, etc.
Message-ID: <6501Nc3w165w at w2up.wells.com>

N0bsh at aol.com writes:

> As far as the certificates are concerned - I know it's been said before -
> PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE understand that the CQ contest committees
> are all VOLUNTEER!!!!!  These people have REAL jobs, REAL families, REAL
> problems.  They have other hobbies and interests.  They take
> vacations.  In other words, they have REAL lives!  Yes, it takes a while
> sometimes but the certificates do come.  I guess in this age of
> instant gratification it's just hard for some to deal with this.  I've been
> "dealing" with it for 15+ years (and others much longer.)  It is 
> just part of the process.  Chill...
> 
> 
> Mike  N0BSH
> n0bsh at aol.com
> 
> 

As one who was a log checker in the past (NY State QSO Party) I do not 
envy the guys who do it. It's worse than answering QSLs. Maybe the answer 
is that CQ should HIRE people to do it. After all, isn't that why we get 
CQ - it's the contester's magazine?  CQ makes their money off of selling 
the mags which we read for the contest stuff.

IMHO, CQ would bite the dust quickly if it weren't for their contribution 
to contesting. So why not have a staff that is respoonsible for getting 
things done in a timely manner? 

--=====================================================================
Barry N. Kutner, W2UP       Usenet/Internet: barry at w2up.wells.com
Newtown, PA                 Packet Radio: W2UP @ WB3JOE.#EPA.PA.USA.NA
                            Packet Cluster: W2UP >K2TW (FRC)
.......................................................................

>From USACLU::MMI"@nmpost.nmp.nokia.com (Marko Myllymaki 450-4020x107  Fri Jun 17 01:34:42 1994
From: USACLU::MMI"@nmpost.nmp.nokia.com (Marko Myllymaki 450-4020x107 (Marko Myllymaki 450-4020x107)
Date: Fri, 17 Jun 1994 0:34:42 GMT
Subject: CERTIFICATES
Message-ID: <940617003442.15e41 at nmpost.nmp.nokia.com>

This is how I have received certificates lately of my contest operations:

WPX SSB 1991, PJ9X, I received certificate & plaque, but score in the plaque 
			is wrong and certificates says something like "Winner of
			South America", but it is not correct.  I faxed to 
			N8BJQ about it at the time but never got any reply.
WW SSB 1991, ZY5EG, I received certificate very late but it is OK.
WW CW  1991, ZY5EG, I never received certificate.
WPX CW 1992, PJ9X,  I never received certificate.
WPX SSB 1993, PJ9X, I have not yet received certificate...
WW SSB/CW 1993 and WPX SSB 1994, I hope to receive certificates...

Also there is quite a few operations I did from couple of club stations in OH 
country during 1980's in WW and WPX contests but most of the certificates were 
never received.  I always provided good mailing address where mail could still
be received even if I would not live in that address in the future.

Something is wrong here.  I once emailed and also faxed (I think twice), to
K1AR at CQ Mazazine about this issue, but I never got any reply.  John, are 
You listening ?  Something should be done.  If I understand it correctly, CQ 
is still sponsoring certificates and contests carry CQ's name.

When You go those far-away places and spend all Your vacation and thousands
of $s doing this fun, it would be nice to get some piece of paper if results
say that You earned it.  After tens of years You would then remember better 
what happened in that particular contest.  I do understand that volunteers try
to do the job as well as they can but I still think system must be improved.
(I sure wouldn't like to do it, I have enough job to get QSLs out of the door
and I'm very slow myself with them, but that's an other story.)

73 de Marko AB6NJ/OH6DO
mmi at nmoy.nmp.nokia.com

>From Morao Esteban <z801183a at bcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us>  Fri Jun 17 01:48:24 1994
From: Morao Esteban <z801183a at bcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us> (Morao Esteban)
Date: Thu, 16 Jun 1994 20:48:24 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: certificates
Message-ID: <Pine.3.89.9406162023.C6856-0100000 at bcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us>

On Thu, 16 Jun 1994 ames at force.DECNET.LOCKHEED.COM wrote:

> With all the complaints, excuses, etc. about certificates - I noticed
> no one has mentioned the ARRL. I've only been contesting for just over a
> year so, I've just gotten two so far.  My problem is that the ARRL is just
> a little too fast in mailing them out.  I got my last certificate and I'm
> still waiting for the results to be printed in QST.  I had the same problem
> with the other one I got last year. If this doesn't stop, I'm going to
> get really mad. :-)  Doesn't anyone get there certificates at the right
> time?  Maybe we could ask CQ and QST to enclose tearout certificates in
> the magazines when the publish the results, THEN we could make sure
> everything is just perfect. hihi
> 
> alan, N2ALE
> ames at force.decnet.lockheed.com 
> 

This sounds GOOD!!!! hihi

Steve W4/YV5DTA

>From J.P. Kleinhaus" <aa2du at netcom.com  Fri Jun 17 01:23:20 1994
From: J.P. Kleinhaus" <aa2du at netcom.com (J.P. Kleinhaus)
Date: Thu, 16 Jun 1994 17:23:20 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Contest Certificates
Message-ID: <Pine.3.89.9406161718.A6042-0100000 at netcom12>

Yes...here is a good suggestion. If I thought it would make the process go
faster, I would include the whole damn envelope, postage included.

73, J.P.

Please note (yet another) NEW address!!
aa2du at netcom.com

On Thu, 16 Jun 1994 AC1O at delphi.com wrote:

> >The time comes though when you have to. . . address a label and stick it  
> >on the mailer. . .  THAT takes time. 
>  
> Wouldn't it be nice if contest entrants who expected/hoped to win a 
> certificate clipped a self-addressed mailing label to their summary sheet? 
>  
>   73 de Walt, AC1O/4       "ac1o at delphi.com" 
>    
> 

>From Tom Frenaye <0002349723 at mcimail.com>  Fri Jun 17 04:15:00 1994
From: Tom Frenaye <0002349723 at mcimail.com> (Tom Frenaye)
Date: Thu, 16 Jun 94 22:15 EST
Subject: ARRL HQ email access (6500 bytes)
Message-ID: <72940617031527/0002349723PK2EM at mcimail.com>

Rather than replying individually to quite a few people who wanted the
ARRL HQ email list, I'm sending it out via the DX and Contest reflectors.
Since MCI Mail charges by the message, this'll save a few bux.

Also, WB5CRG had a great suggestion, I think he called it teaching you
how to fish instead of showing you the fish...(nice phrase).  So, what
follows is not the list, but instructions on how to get it (and a whole
lot more good stuff!).

73 Tom   K1KI   2349723 at mcimail.com

Date:     Thu Jun 16, 1994 10:32 pm  EDT
From:     Robert Wood
          EMS: INTERNET / MCI ID: 376-5414
          MBX: w5robert at blkbox.com

TO:     * Tom Frenaye / MCI ID: 234-9723
Subject:  Re: Contacting ARRL re DX/Contests

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