[ct-user] CT in ARRL 10m on DX Side

Bruce Sawyer Bruce Sawyer" <N6NT@worldnet.att.net
Thu, 15 Jul 1999 10:38:06 -0700


I have a problem with my current version of CT (9.27) which I'm going to
have to resolve in the next few months some way or another.  This version
absolutely will NOT put out a .log file in the correct format if you are
operating the ARRL 10m contest from the DX side.  Recall that in that
contest the exchange is (<signal_report>,<state_or_province>) if you're
operating in the US or Canada and (<signal_report>,<sequence_number>) if
you're operating from any place else.  While this version of CT is running,
everything looks beautiful on the screen.  If you do a "writelog", the
".all" file looks fine.  (Actually, it's called a ".10" file for this
contest, but that's a nit.)  When you look at the ".log" file, though, it
absolutely refuses to put the sequence number into the correct field.  The
best I have been able to do is get it to leave that field blank in the .log
file blank.  Normally, though, it will plug in whatever state you listed as
your mailing address in the opening screen.

So--you guessed it--I'm that "well-known Caribbean contester", according to
K8CC, who sent in a log specifying "599 CA" for all the sequence numbers.
Talking with Dave afterwards, I learned that a VERY large number of the
non-US/VE logs he received were exactly the same way as mine.  This is a
recoverable problem, since the contact number in the output file is the same
as what the sequence number ought to be.  However, it has required Dave and
his helpers to write software to convert many hundreds of .log files before
they could do computer checking of the logs.  Somehow, I suspect this is
directly connected to why the results for the 10m contest couldn't make the
August issue of QST.

I've tried to get access to the CT vault so I could pull down one of the
later versions of CT and see if this has been corrected, but so far I
haven't received any response to my e-mailed request for access.  Would
somebody who has a more recent version PLEEZE try to set himself up as a DX
station for that contest, enter a couple of contacts, do a "writelog", and
then take a look at the .log file?  If it's fixed, I'll pursue Matts further
to try to get a new version out of the vault.  If not, I guess I'll go learn
NA.  But I'm not going to suffer the wrath of the esteemed Mr. Pruett again
this winter!

73,
Bruce, N6NT (aka ZF2NT)

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