[CQ-Contest] Did I bust the call sign?

[Art Boyars]

I had trouble copying a certain guy's call in SS CW.  I was befuddled by sleep deprivation, and I can't even remember if I was CQing or S&P.  I do remember that I knew I had typed in the wrong call, and that I intended to go back and fix it.  (I still find "logging behind" a lot harder with the computer than I did with paper logs.  But I'm improving.)  I few QSOs later I realized that I had not yet corrected the log, and I could not remember the correct call sign!!  I scribbled a guess on a scrap of paper, but I really did not know what was correct.  (After the 'Test I easily found the correct call in ARRL's "Logs Received", but there is no way I would use that info to create a valid QSO.)

During the 'Test I decided that I should not claim credit for the QSO.  I could not just delete it; that would give the other guy a NIL.  I figured out that I could just change the call to the correct one, and change some of the other report data to incorrect.  That way I would lose the one QSO, but not get a penalty for busted call, and the other guy would properly get credit for the QSO.

But the more I thought, the more I got to the ethical question:  Did I bust the call, and should I accept the penalty?

What do you think?

73, Art K3KU