[CQ-Contest] Encouraging Casual Participation in Contests

[Gerry Hull]

Great comments,

Yes, Clublog has LOTW integration.   For most contest loggers, you can also
run a (free) gateway to upload your QSOs in real time.

In fact, for smaller contests, the Clublog database can be used to verify
QSOs, and only the exchange information would have to be verified by a
contest organizer.

The mechanics of verifying exchange information could be worked out.

73, Gerry W1VE

On Wed, Apr 26, 2017 at 11:02 AM, Ron Notarius W3WN <wn3vaw at verizon.net>
wrote:

>  Pete,
>
>
> I agree with you in principle that finding a way to interconnect the logs
> submitted to the major contests with at least one of the major online
> databases (not just Logbook of the World, but ClubLog and eQSL, possibly
> one day the logs on QRZ.COM as well) appears to be a good idea.
>
>
> My only question is, is this really necessary?
>
>
> Uploading the contest log to the committee nowadays is as simple as
> emailing a log or uploading it via a web page (again, for the major
> contests and many of the smaller ones as well -- I know not all have this
> capability!).  Is it really that much more difficult for someone to send a
> second email. or second upload, of their log to the major databases?
>
>
> I know some will answer that in the case of LotW, the answer is "yes"
> because of the TQSL encryption, and in most other cases, "yes" because
> someone has to create an account.  This gets into the can of worms
> regarding whether or not someone wishes their log to be available via the
> online systems, for whatever reasons, valid or not; I'm not sure that this
> is a can of worms we want to open.
>
>
> That issue aside, I would submit that encouraging all contest ops, even
> the most casual of them, to consider creating said account and doing a
> quick additional upload would be more productive in the short run and
> possibly the long run than getting into the issues (both technical and
> political) of linking the contest databases directly to the online logs.
>
>
> (And for those who don't know, ClubLog now has the ability to interface
> with LotW)
>
>
> 73, ron w3wn
>
>
> On 04/26/17, Pete Smith N4ZR wrote:
>
> We all agree, I think, that casual participants are a critical part of
> the total workable population in contests. I spent the first 40 years of
> my contesting career working contests as a quick and relatively easy
> source of award credits, and I suspect a large majority of the stations
> in any contest are doing some variation on this.
>
> There is a reasonably simple and straight-forward way to encourage more
> of this, potentially yielding more people for us to work. We need
> interconnection between CQ and ARRL contest databases, so that any
> contact that is in both stations' log in a given contest can be claimed
> for ARRL and CQ award credit without going through the QSL card process.
>
> I'm not underestimating the programming effort involved, I hope, but
> surely some combination of volunteer and professional staff involvement
> can get it done. It could start small - perhaps a pilot involving the
> CQWW open log database and DXCC. Imagine the value added to LOTW if it
> were the hub for this process, and the potential increase in DXCC fees.
> Surely, this is a win-win proposition.
>
>
> --
>
> 73, Pete N4ZR
> Check out the Reverse Beacon Network
> at <http://reversebeacon.net>, now
> spotting RTTY activity worldwide.
> For spots, please use your favorite
> "retail" DX cluster.
>
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