[CQ-Contest] Looking up on QRZ.com

[David Gilbert]

Yet people share compiled "Call History" files that are unique to a 
particular contest and provide all of the exchange information for that 
contest.  They aren't 100% reliable since people change names or 
locations, but if you got the callsign correct  ... or even pretty close 
... you have a very good chance of being provided the exchange 
information without having to copy it.  In fact without EVER having 
previously copying it in a previous contest as long as somebody who 
contributed their log to the compiled file did.  In my opinion, that's 
an "external source".

That's why I have never used a Call History file myself.  Just to prove 
what was possible, though, I once downloaded the entire U.S. and 
Canadian ham radio license databases and cross referenced them with the 
downloadable logs of various big gun stations from various contests.  I 
loaded all the information into a large spreadsheet, moved some stuff 
around to get the right sequence for the data fields, and then exported 
it all to create a very large "Call History" file that included every 
ham in the U.S. and Canada.  It loaded into N1MM just fine.  It probably 
was only 95% accurate for location and maybe 80% accurate for names 
since people using nicknames in contests, but in my opinion using it (I 
didn't) would have been an effective cheat for certain contests.

73,
Dave  AB7E



On 6/2/2023 8:51 PM, Raymond Benny wrote:
> Your log is supplied to reflect what you copied in real time!
> In most contests, using outside sources to correct a log is illegal.
>
> Ray,
> N6VR/W7YA
>
>
> On Fri, Jun 2, 2023, 6:57 PM Doug Bates <kv4zy.1 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Art,
>> I don't claim to know all, but it strikes me as strange that a callsign
>> lookup on any database could be against any rules. The nearest thing I can
>> think of that may be anywhere near related in the rules of some contests is
>> forbidding "Assisted" where contesters follow a cluster to find contacts
>> that are currently reported as being on. Callsign lookup does not seem to
>> me to be anywhere close to using a cluster to find contacts. But what do I
>> know:)
>> 73 & God Bless
>> De KV4ZY
>>
>> On Fri, Jun 2, 2023 at 9:24 PM Art Boyars <artboyars at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> On the N1MM reflector somebody asked about how to use the "QRZ" button
>>> during the contest for calls that don't appear in the "check" window.  I
>>> guess he was talking about the SCP or CHF data files loaded into N1MM.
>>>
>>> A few people commented that looking it up on QRZ.com (or some other
>> online
>>> database??) during the contest was against the rules.
>>>
>>> I don't see any difference between using an online databas and using SCP
>>> and CHF (except that SCP/CHF is faster).
>>>
>>> What do you wise people think?
>>>
>>> 73, art K3KU
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> CQ-Contest mailing list
>>> CQ-Contest at contesting.com
>>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
>>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> CQ-Contest mailing list
>> CQ-Contest at contesting.com
>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
>>
> _______________________________________________
> CQ-Contest mailing list
> CQ-Contest at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest