[CQ-Contest] NIL = Not In Log

[Mark Beckwith]

Hello contest operators,

Time for a reminder post about NILs. (NIL = Not In Log).  I had the sad experience in the SS contest of answering a CQ and having the op tell me we had worked before.  Now to start with I try not to call stations I've already worked.  That wouldn't make any sense.  In this case I had checked to see if I had worked him before I called him, and he was not in my log.

Him: CQ SS from K4-Blah-Blah.
Me: N5OT 
Him: N5OT worked before QRZ contest.
Me: You're not in my log.
Him: Check your number 334 QRZ contest.
Me: Okay....Nope, that's not you.
Him: Well, I was your number 334 QRZ contest.
Me: That's not what I have.
Him: Sorry, worked before, QRZ contest.

Interesting.  I suppose if my number 334 was K4-BLUE-Blah then maybe I'd consider I must have copied his call wrong and maybe I'd change my log to say K4-BLAH-blah.  But my number 334 was W9Three-Letter-Something - obviously K4-Blah-Blah only *thinks* I worked him, but really I didn't. Either  I was working someone else and for whatever reason he didn't realize it, or he worked someone else and copied their call as N5OT.  That happens.

The sad thing is, I tried to have a valid contest QSO with him which would have benefited us both, but because he doesn't understand about this stuff, now I don't get the QSO and I've wasted more time than it would have taken to just trade exchanges and move on.  Now K4-Blah-Blah will not get the QSO with me he could have, AND he'll get both a NIL and also a penalty.

So the moral of the story is "don't be like K4-Blah-Blah, when someone says you're not in their log, you better just work them again and be done with it."  It would have taken less time than the above on-air dialogue.

So Tree, what is the right thing for K4-Blah-Blah do with his #334? Take it out of the log?  Leave it in?  Did he perhaps work some other OT but log him as me?

Mark, N5OT