[CQ-Contest] Re: NWT

[Michael Keane, K1MK]

At 10:36 PM 12/11/02, Dave wrote:

>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.

For sections that are coterminous with individual U.S. states and Canadian 
provinces, the section designator used is the standard two letter postal 
service abbreviation. But in this case the robot is expecting to see NWT, 
not NT (or YT or NU).

Since NWT is not the official two-letter postal abbreviation for any of the 
three territories which comprise the section, the choice of NWT could be 
looked upon as an honest attempt to distinguish the "section" multiplier 
for Canada del Norte from any one of its constituent parts.

Maybe NWT doesn't go far enough in distinguishing itself from NT. On the 
other hand it doesn't go to the absurd length of creating a completely 
artificial designation which would inevitably be as obscure as it was neutral.

I'm beginning to suspect that while the robot may be the most visible 
symptom, but it may be what's at the root of VY1JA's complaint.

In 1999 and prior years J.'s scores were listed in QST under a heading of 
Yukon; for 2000 & 2001 VY1JA has been listed under Northwest Territories. 
Presumably J.'s SS & 160M certificates and/or plaques for recent years also 
bear the Northwest Territories "section" designation as well.

These changes coincide with the appearance of the robot on the scene. So, 
reprogram the robot, allow J. to once again be able to declare that he is 
in YT and then the score listings & certificates will all go back to the 
way they were before.

Maybe, but somehow I'm not sure that's how things would really work out.

73,
Mike K1MK

Michael Keane K1MK
k1mk at arrl.net