[CQ-Contest] NWT versus YT/NT/NU

[Tree]

As VE2ZP points out:

> Those suggesting that logging software can easily handle YU,
> NT, NWT and NU as abbreviations for the YT/NT/NU section are
> absolutely correct - BUT - you're discussing the wrong
> question.

This is correct.  The only thing being discussed here is what was
entered on a single line of the Cabrillo header:

ARRL-SECTION: blah

As far as I know, all competent logging software will allow you to 
enter most anything that would be commonly sent and log it correctly
(although I think I saw one case where it didn't log the correct
ARRL abbreviation).  Be assured, the log checking software is aware
of these issues and will actually let you put YT in as a received 
exchange and "do the right thing".

> VY1JA's complaint was that the ARRL contest robot bounced
> his cabrillo-format log because it would not accept J's
> declaration of his section as anything other that NT.  J is
> not in NT, he's in YT.  Those two territories and Nunavut
> comprise that section.

Bounced is probably too strong of a word here.  The robot complained
about it.  Here is the message anyone gets if they put something in
the ARRL-SECTION field that doens't match up to one of the expected
entries:

>         ERROR MESSAGE REPORT FROM THE ROBOT
> 
> ERROR #1: No valid ARRL section specified.
> 
> REMEDY #1: Please modify your Cabrillo log file to include a valid
> ARRL section abbreviation.  A list of valid ARRL section abbreviations
> can be seen at http://www.arrl.org/contests/sections.abv.html.  Here is
> an example of a valid ARRL section specification:
> 
> ARRL-SECTION: NWT

It is interesting that the example shows the NWT case.  

> The ARRL contest robot should be programmed to accept YT or
> NT or NU as a correct section name.

Why?  YT, NT and NU are not on the list of multipliers for this contest.

Should someone in Ventura County be allowed to put Ventura on their summary
sheet just because he isn't in Santa Barbara?  How about some in "San Francisco"
who lives one mile south of Oregon?  

This request makes no sense.

It seems that people in upper Canada feel some kind of moral issue to make it 
really clear that they are not in NT.  Well, we know that...  just like we know
someone in the city of Elk, California is a day's drive away from San Francisco.

> The only people this would affect are the few hams in that
> section who take part in SS and the ARRL 160m contest and
> the person who makes this small modification to the robot.
> This would not have any effect on what any SS or 160m
> participant records in their log.

This has much more effect than that.  It makes the job of making sure the score
gets into the right bucket much more harder.  

The robot has asked (even with the word Please) to change it to one of the sections
listed on the web page.  It even gives an e-mail address to use if there is a 
question still.  

What's the big deal?

Tree N6TR
tree at kkn.net