[CQ-Contest] Really tired of erroneous Cabrillo error messages?

Tree tree at kkn.net
Mon Sep 27 13:51:01 EDT 2004


Wow - it is with great sadness that I see messages complaining about the
Cabrillo robots.  I think there are some important points that are being
missed by those complaining.

1. The robots have greatly improved your ability to submit your log.  Yes,
they can be picky, but they give you instant feedback - and the opportunity
to resubmit your log without a human (other than yourself) being involed.
You get instant notification that your log has made it.

2. The difference between 20 METER SINGLE-OP HIGH and 20 METER SINGLE-OP
might not seem like much of a difference, but to a computer program,
they are totally different.  To add enough intelligence to the robots to
understand the context of the category with respect to the contest would
add several layers of complexity.

3. The staff who programs the robots, supports their operation and dontates
the computer and internet time is not paid.  They have contributed this tool 
to the sport.  By doing so, they have greatly improved the quality of the 
results, and improved the efficiency of the log checking process (exactly 
because of things like getting the categories to all be the same.

I think people should view making minor edits like this as "doing their
part" to help simplify the log checking process and making sure their score
ends up in the right category.  Until it starts costing money to submit your 
log via the robot, I don't think that is too much to ask.

73 Tree N6TR
tree at kkn.net


More information about the CQ-Contest mailing list