[CQ-Contest] Before you comment on the "discussion, " please read cqww.com

[kr2q at optimum.net]

What has become clear to me, from reading some of the comments being made, is that people
have not reviewed the quite excellent www.cqww.com URL.  Almost all of your answers can be
found there.

RULES:
http://www.cqww.com/rules.htm

EXPLANATION OF CHANGES:
http://www.cqww.com/rules_2012changes.htm

RULES FAQ
http://www.cqww.com/rules_faq.htm

For example, recently, K2XA replied to W5OV, citing that 5 days is plenty of time to "fix" your
log.  Yes it is.  This is covered in the links above, including WHY the change to 5 days was
made AND what additional is now in the RULES to prevent (absolutely) post QSO callsign
changes.  To save you time, I have included an extract (shown below).

[SNIP]

NEW RULES ELABORATED

Rule XIV – “The 5-day deadline.”

As little as four years ago, the deadline for log submission was up to 6 weeks. This long delay was a historical artifact from the days of paper logs. As recently as the late 1980s, entrants had to maintain a manual dupe sheet, manually score the log, and take it to the post office for mailing. It required a lot of time!

Today, with computers in wide spread use for contest logging, when the contest ends essentially all of that work is done. All you need to do is to create the Cabrillo file, open up your email, add the attachment, and hit the SEND button – all done in a matter of minutes. Last year, 10% of the logs were received in the first hour after the contest; 50% of the approximately 7000+ logs were received by day three!

This new log submission deadline means that any participant in the CQWW contest wishing to submit an official entry must submit his/her log no later than 23:59:59 UTC on the first Friday immediately following the end of the contest. It does not mean that you may submit an “early draft” version of the log before the deadline and then also submit a subsequent “version” of the log after the deadline. The deadline is the deadline.

On rare occasions, there may be exceptions to the deadline, as there always have been. From CQWW Rule XIV: An extension may be given if requested by e-mail (questions at cqww.com). The granted extension must be confirmed by the Contest Director, must state a legitimate reason and the request must be received before the log submission or log mailing deadline.

A deadline extension will only be granted on rare occasions and only if a real reason is provided for why the log cannot be submitted prior to the deadline. Sending an email request for an extension does not, in any way, guarantee that an extension will actually be granted.

Extensions will not be granted for the “convenience” of the entrant. Each entrant is expected to make every effort possible so as to submit his/her log before the deadline. Entrants who anticipate operating from a “remote” DX location (DXpedition) should seriously consider how they will comply with the deadline as part of the planning, well before the contest.

If the contest committee contacts an entrant about his/her log after the deadline, the deadline may be waived at the discretion of the committee.


Q: “If you want to stop post-contest log checking by the entrant; why not make the deadline one day? Obviously, a lot of checking can still take place in five days.”

CQ, the contest sponsor, feels that 5 days is the appropriate timeframe needed to balance what it considered to be “reasonable” versus what would prevent post-contest log manipulation. The old deadline was based on decades-old requirements of paper logs. It is time for the log submission deadline to catch up with today’s methods and technology.

Yes, one can still do a lot of post-contest log manipulation within 5 days. That is why the additional rules were added - to make perfectly clear what is expected from the entrant (and what is not expected from the entrant). 

[END SNIP]

And just what is the "other rule?"  Again it is included in the RULES page.

[SNIP]
Rule III.13 – “After the contest period, don’t correct call signs.”

When the contest period ends, do not use any sort of database, local or remote, to review and then modify the callsigns in your log prior to submission.

Use of QRZ.com, DX Cluster, RBN files, other call sign databases, friends’ or club logs, etc., are considered to be other data sources and are not allowed for post-contest call correction.

Having friends or experts who were not “the entrant” review the log also “counts” as a database (not permitted).

A recording of your own contest effort, whether digital or analog, is considered to be a database, even if you made the recording yourself. 
[END SNIP]

And just HOW does CQWW enforce that rule?  It's in the 2012 CHANGES link (above).  Read it carefully...it works.


PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE go through the CQWW.COM pages.  You'll find a world of great information.

de Doug KR2Q