[CQ-Contest] ARRL and Open Logs - Time for the next step?

[Tom Haavisto]

Hi David

Lets put it this way:  in car racing, they use restricter plates in
the engine, carefully measure the cars for exact dimensions, and on
and on to ensure a level playing field for all contestants.    The
team with the best driver/pit crew should win the race, so then why
even bother running the race?  During the race, things happen that
require on-the-spot decision making, and can affect the outcome.  It
is these on-the-fly decisions, and who makes the most "right"
decisions that ultimately determine the winner.

Granted, this is professional motor sports, and there is lots of money
at stake, but lets apply this to contesting.  Lets say a
top-competitor gives up his "secret sauce" to his competition.  There
is a few things we need to consider: Can I, as an experienced but far
from top-competitor, operating in a different part of the world, take
advantage of this information to help me do better?  Yes, and I have
done so by looking at other folks logs.  What were they working vs
what was I working at the same time?  What should I do differently
next year?  Also – for time-off strategy – I found this information
was helpful, and I like to think this makes me a better contester.  I
think it also keeps me in the chair longer, and increases the
fun-factor.  As your pointed out, could you take advantage of looking
at other logs from a similar area?  Yes – of course you can.


However, there is still one big missing piece of the puzzle that never
makes it into the log: experience.  Consider this hypothetical
example:  you are on 40 and you hear a weak and fluttery signal when
pointed at Asia.  What does this tell you?  A solar flare just
happened – you need to change bands?  You need to swing the antenna
and try long path?  You need to check 20?  or 80? or 160?  Stay the
course?  There are a hundred possibilities that come to mind, and
guessing wrong will cost you points.  Too many wrong decisions and you
loose the contest.  Looking at the logs after the contest will not
change that.  It may help you understand what happened and why you did
not win, but next year, conditions WILL be different all over again.

So – do open logs change the game?  Yes – I like to think they help
everyone do better, as well as allow for new and interesting
possibilities as far as post-contest processing.  Is there a down side
to letting your competition see what you were doing?  Perhaps.  But –
YOU can do the same thing to him, and try and decide what his
weaknesses are...   Did you work an exotic multiplier that he missed?
Why was he on 20 running at a low rate when you were busy on 40
finding multipliers?  Maybe he has a soft spot for running instead of
finding multipliers?


I guess the key is not to think about giving up your secret sauce, but
being able to gain much more from seeing what other people were doing.
 At the end of the day, experience is what truly matters, and no
matter how many logs you analyze, it will not get you THAT piece of
the puzzle...

Please keep in mind that this is co-operative competition - by helping
our competition, WE do better as well.  Can you "hurt" your
competition by not working him and denying him some points?  Sure.
You also hurt yourself as well...  By playing nice, we ALL win.  I see
open logs as just one more way of playing nice, and everyone wins -
even those who give up their "secret sauce".

Tom - VE3CX





On Wed, Jul 30, 2008 at 1:27 PM, David Kopacz
<david.kopacz at aspwebhosting.com> wrote:
>
> Dick,
>
> Let me provide a single example. Let's take 6Y1V and PJ2T, whom are
> relatively close geographically and compete in a number of contests,
> such as CQWW and ARRL International DX contests.
>
> Geoff (W0CG) has a great station (PJ2T), has been around a long time and
> over the years, for each contest, has developed numerous strategies to
> produce winning scores. On the other hand, 6Y1V is new station, with
> very competitive hardware but I have not yet gained the same experience
> level competing from the Caribbean. Believe me, it is a learning
> process.
>
> Now, Geoff may feel differently, but if I were him, I don't think I
> would want my logs opened to my biggest competitor so they can gain all
> of the information and experience it has taken me years to garner in a
> few weeks of studying my logs. I think this is even more serious of a
> problem for single operator stations.
>
> Personally, I can't imagine that cheating is so ramped that it is
> necessary to open logs in order to discover it.
>
> Someone mentioned that our contacts are open anyway because they are on
> open air waves, to which I reply, if someone wants to chase me around
> the band and record all of my contacts in a contest, so be it, but for
> the contest sponsor to force me to open my logs arbitrarily so you can
> personally check to see if I am cheating is wrong. My logs are my
> property, not the contest sponsor and when I submit them to them for
> adjudication, I do not grant them permission to show them to you or
> anyone else.
>
> Fortunately, we do not live in a society where everyone must be punished
> because of the few that break the rules. Why should Amateur Radio be any
> different?
>
> David ~ KY1V
>
>
>
> <Hans,
>
> <I'm just curious and really don't want to get into this thread other
> than to
> <ask a question.  I am not judging anybody's decision, but my question
> is:
> <What is the big deal about keeping your contest logs secret and only
> for
> <your eyes?  If you submit your logs to LotW they are public for those
> who
> <are interested.  Like I said, I'm just curious.  If you were a cheater,
> I
> <could understand it.  But anybody listening to the contest can hear the
>
> <contact, so why all the furor over submitting a log?
>
> <Dick
> <W0RAA
>
>
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