[TRLog] ARRL Contest format

[Jerry Fray]

Tree and the group -
Here is an excerpt from the most recent ARRL bulletin. Any comments on TR
Log's ability to creat the format they want?
-73-
Jerry N9TU
http://www.si-net.com/~jefray/homepage.htm
"We shall not go quietly into the RF" - Isard, July 98 HJ4F
FISTS CW Club # 2176
dit dit

ARRL ADOPTS CABRILLO FILE FORMAT FOR CONTESTS

The ARRL Contest Branch has announced that it's adopting a new standard
electronic file format known as Cabrillo for all ARRL Contests. Starting
with the 1999 ARRL November Sweepstakes, the Cabrillo V2.0 file format will
be the standard file format at the ARRL for electronic submissions.
Previously acceptable file formats for ARRL contests may be submitted during
a one-year transition period, however.

Starting with entries for the November 2000 ARRL Sweepstakes, the Cabrillo
format will be the only acceptable electronic file format for ARRL contests.
Stations may still use text editors on their home PCs to generate the log
files, but these "home-designed" files must meet the Cabrillo file format
beginning with next year's November Sweepstakes submittals.

Adoption of the Cabrillo file format resulted from a joint effort by
software developers and contest sponsors in response to the proliferation of
file formats being submitted to various contest committees. The ARRL Contest
Branch reports that several dozen different file formats were submitted in
the 1999 ARRL 10-Meter Contest. "While most formats technically fit the
requirements under the rules, almost all of the files required significant
work by contest staff and volunteers in order to be processed," ARRL Contest
Branch Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND, explained.

Henderson says noted contester Trey Garlough, N5KO, developed the Cabrillo
format working with the developers of most major logging software and the
sponsors of most major contests. "Major software developers have agreed to
incorporate the Cabrillo format into new updates of the programs," Henderson
said. He stressed that operators should contact various software developers
and distributors for information on upgrades to their specific programs.

The Cabrillo format standardizes the QSO information that appears in each
data column. Details on the format appear in the "General Rules for all ARRL
Contests" in the November 1999 issue of QST. Specifications for the Cabrillo
file format also are available on-line at
http://www.kkn.net/~trey/cabrillo/. In addition to the file specifications,
there are sample templates for various ARRL contests, a history of any
modifications to the format, and some insight into the development of the
Cabrillo file format..

For additional information on the technical specifics of the Cabrillo
format, contact Trey Garlough, N5KO, trey@kkn.net. For more information on
ARRL-sponsored contests contact ARRL Contest Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND,
n1nd@arrl.org; 860-594-0232.



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