[Mldxcc] [Fwd: [The Daily DX] VP6DX - News # 26 - March 10, 2008]

Mon Mar 10 16:21:22 EDT 2008

Subject: [The Daily DX] VP6DX - News # 26 - March 10, 2008
From:    "Bernie McClenny, W3UR" <bernie at dailydx.com>
Date:    Mon, March 10, 2008 12:53 pm
To:      "The Daily DX mailing list" <dailydx at kkn.net>
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News #26- 2008 Mar 10
Highlights:
... Answering questions about QSLs and LOTW credits ...
... missing QSOs ...
... other questions answered ...

QSL procedures:
All the operators have returned home. Carsten DL6LAU arrived at his house to
find several thousand envelopes with QSL cards waiting for him. We are
surprised! Apparently we forgot to explain the new on-line QSL system used
for VP6DX clearly!

Please do NOT send a paper QSL card! You do NOT need to send a paper QSL
card nor a letter in the mail.
Go to the website www.vp6dx.com. Click "Online QSL Request" on the left side
menu. Follow the procedures to submit your claimed QSOs.
After entering your claimed QSOs, you may choose to:
Receive your cards via the bureau at a later date. No financial donation to
the VP6DX project is required. You are finished. Please do not send any
cards to us.
Receive your QSLs mailed direct to your home ("premium on-line QSL request
service").
To cover the cost of mailing and other expedition expenses, the premium
on-line QSL request service is available only to people who make a donation
of at least US$5 or ˆ3. If you have already made a donation, that's great:
just check the appropriate box on the premium service request page. If you
want to make a new donation, or add to your previous donation, that's great
too! Check the appropriate box, and the website will take you to the
donation section. You may donate on-line (via Paypal/credit card) or by
sending a check in the mail; just follow the website instructions.

By far, the most popular error in using the Paypal donation procedure is
forgetting to enter your callsign. If you use the Paypal system, please
remember to enter your callsign so your donation can be matched to your QSL
requests.

Remember: you do NOT need to send a paper QSL card! In fact, a QSL card just
makes everything harder and slower. If you send your QSL request by mail on
paper, someone else (a volunteer) must enter the data into the on-line form
for you. This means your paper mailing will sit in a queue until a volunteer
opens your envelope -- a MUCH slower process. It will be faster if you enter
your QSL request on-line!

Even if you are making a donation by check via the mail, please do not send
a QSL card request with your check. When your donation check has been
received and entered into the database, all your on-line QSL requests will
be automatically processed.

In conclusion: Use the on-line QSL request form... Thank you for your
donations (in every form)... and, especially, thank you for NOT sending a
paper QSL card!

Reminder: PLEASE include your callsign with any PayPal donation!

Logbook of the World:
Information about QSOs with stations who have already donated to the VP6DX
project have been automatically uploaded to the ARRL LOTW server.

As of March 7, 17,142 VP6DX QSOs (almost 10% of the total log) have been
accepted into the ARRL LOTW server and 3260 QSOs have been matched.

Updates to the donor/sponsor list on the website, and LOTW uploads, are done
at least once per week.

For others who do not wish to donate to the VP6DX project, and who request a
QSL via the on-line QSL request website, information about their QSOs will
be uploaded to the ARRL LOTW server at a later date, approximately 9-12
months from now.

We have received a few email inquiries along the lines of "I donated, but my
LOTW credits are not appearing". We have to research each inquiry by hand,
so please be patient. By far, the most common problem is that the donor did
not include his callsign with his donation.

Missing QSOs:
We have also received some email from people who feel they made a successful
contact with VP6DX, but their QSO is not in the on-line log... or a
variation of their callsign appears in the on-line log.

During the next few weeks the raw log files from each of the logging
computers at Ducie Island will be re-integrated together and checked against
the on-line log. We know some obvious logging errors occurred, and these
will be fixed at that time; for example:

"OPONK3NA", a mistake by the operator logging on at the start of his
operating shift.
"W1FJK1XM", two calls entered as one QSO, which could not be quickly fixed
in real-time on the island.
Some of your missing QSOs may be recovered during this review of the logs.

It is also possible your callsign was recorded incorrectly by the operator
at Ducie Island, forming a "busted call". You may receive a QSL for a busted
call, according to these rules:

You submit an on-line QSL request for the contact; and
The log contains a QSO at the correct time on the correct band/mode, but
with a callsign which differs from your callsign by ONE character, or by one
transposition; and
The owner of the "busted callsign" does not submit an on-line QSL request
for the contact within the next 6-9 months.
Example #1: K5NA submits a QSO request for a 160m CW contact on Feb
18/0018z. The log shows K5AN was worked at that time/band/mode. If K5AN does
not make an on-line QSL request within 6-9 months, then we will assume the
VP6DX operator made a typing error, and K5NA will receive a card.

This analysis requires a manual review of the log by a volunteer.

If you feel a valid QSO is missing, please submit a QSL request using the
on-line QSL request form on the website. If you do not receive a
confirmation within 9 months, you can ask for a busted call check by
submitting a new on-line QSL request and filling in the "comments" part of
the form.