[CQ-Contest] Log Checking Deadlines

[Bauer, Scott]

Hmmm...

What are you saying Tree.  Log submitted near the deadline must mean cheating?  W0MU you seem to agree with Tree.  KR2Q I think you've got it right.   VE7FO you have it right too !  We have something in common.

If a contest sponsor says 30 days it means 30 days, why sweat it ?  One week into the 30 days, I'm not even thinking about submitting my log.  If it says 1 week then it is 1 week.  Do a 1 week deadline for CQWW next year and I bet you get 2000 late logs.  Then what do you do?  DQ them all?  That'll work.  You will get a multitude of late logs for years and years and years if you change from 30+days to 7 days.  Similar thing happens if you dump the 599 from the report, you will have 10 years of confusion, confusion that may never go away.  Change to grid squares, you risk killing the contest.  You might never survive that change.

Fact is:  I am about 50:50 about missing the Sprint deadline, that is why you see me post a score and then it doesn't show up in the listings.  Do a 1 week submission for all contests, and I bet that I miss a lot of deadlines not just the Sprint.  How do I post but not submit the log at the same time?  I usually post the score from work on Monday, and get around to submitting the log whenever I get to it.

Noting the date the log is submitted, why?  An attempt to needlessly embarrass someone and subject them to the mob that will think they are cheaters?  Great idea, NOT !  I consistently send in my log near the deadline for no other reason that I didn't get to it earlier.

Massage a log ?  No I don't and you can check my UBN/NIL report as proof.  I make all the common errors.  .....  Now that is an idea, make everyone's UBN/NIL report public access, so we can mock out the guys who have high error rates.  I'm kidding don't do that either.

Bonus points for early submission?  You've got to be kidding.  Do that and count me out.

And the person that mentioned paper logs.

I have known of paper logs in at least one major contest not getting reviewed for dupes and such, how about that for a contest sponsor ?  Electronic log you get checked, paper log no checking,  Sound fair to you ?  How do I know this has happened ?  Because in a certain contest, that I won't mention so as not to embarrass the contest sponsor, my local competitor sent in a paper log and mine was electronic, mine got checked his did not.  We swapped positions in the standings, and the difference was the inconsistently applied log checking.  Electronic log checked, paper log unchecked.  How do I know he sent in a paper log?  He told me.

I have not operated that contest seriously since.

Note that this was more than a few years ago, buy hey checking is checking, not checking a paper log is rude, unprofessional, and an embarrassment to the contest sponsor.  But in this case the sponsor did not care when I approached them on the subject.  Basically told me where to put it.  I caught them with their pants down, and they chose NOT to do the right thing.  But it is over and done with and I still get the magazine.

Tree, another rude contest sponsor thing:  Submit your Sprint log late (after the week), the robot seems refuse to accept the log.  If you want a check log for more complete log checking purposes, then why don't you accept late logs as check logs ?  And reply as such?  I've missed quite a few Sprint deadlines because of the 1 week deadline.

Why do I consistently submit my logs near the deadline Tree ?  Sorry Tree I'm not trying to pick on you here.  Really.   But you need to know why us deadbeats are not really deadbeats.  Or maybe we are deadbeats but don't want to admit it.  I guess VE7FO and I are in denial.

One or more of the following apply:  I'm lazy, busy, don't have internet access on the logging computer, not thinking of submitting a log at 0000Z or whenever the contest ends, I go to sleep or watch TV or whatever after the contest, I have kids, I do other things besides contest, it takes too long to log into my internet email provider, my kids are on the computer all the time so my access time is limited, did I mention I'm lazy ?, etc  ...

N3LI quote:  "Fact is, I can disqualify anyone who I don't like".  N3LI you are a contest log checker ?  WOW, what a thing to say !  Hope you weren't serious, and I hope that you don't do any CQ contests or ARRL contests.  If I were CQ or ARRL, I would quickly dump you as a log checker just for saying that.  I figure that you would never do this, but you know that appearances will get you, just read this reflector.

So, I admit I am one of the people who send in their logs at the last minute.  I am trying to get better but old habits are hard to change.  I've done pretty well this year though.  But I see my CQ 160m CW log has not been sent in yet, same for VHF SS.  Oh well.

73 Scott W2LC