[UK-CONTEST] Cabrillo - claimed scores

[Ian White, G3SEK]

Chris Tran GM3WOJ wrote:
>Monday 6th Jan. 2003
>
>Hello all
>
>A belated Happy New Year to all uk-contest reflectees.
>
>One thing which I am unsure about with submitting Cabrillo entry files
>is the 'Claimed-score' line.   As I understand it, CQ WW and ARRL
>apply there own set of e.g. valid multipliers, to every Cabrillo log and
>hence calculate the final score (also cross-checking for dupes,
>'not-in log', bad calls, uniques, etc)
>
>However, calculating the claimed score for a minor contest, for which the
>software I favour (CT 9.65) will produce a Cabrillo file, often involves
>scoring the log manually to arrive at a claimed score, which is
>time-consuming.
>The Cabrillo file is produced in seconds.
>
>So - is the 'Claimed score' an essential part of any Cabrillo entry ?  Or,
>can
>this be left blank because it will not be very accurate anyway ?

These and other questions are answered in the Cabrillo FAQ, at:
http://www.kkn.net/~trey/cabrillo/faq.txt

What it comes down to is this: your log is entirely re-scored during 
checking. The checking program doesn't need any claimed points 
information, either per-QSO or the total. Likewise it doesn't need mults 
or dupes to be marked - it will find them, and score your log 
appropriately.

As Dave said, Cabrillo is not a format for logs - it's a format for 
*templates*, for contestants' computers to write logs and for the 
organiser's computers to read them in for checking. Or as the FAQ puts 
it: "Cabrillo is an interface between logging program authors and 
contest sponsors." End users shouldn't really be involved.

What should happen is that the contest organisers specify the template 
they want, according to Cabrillo standards. The logging program should 
implement those templates correctly. The contest organisers should be 
able to read logs created using the template they specified. The end 
user shouldn't need to do any reformatting at all.

That's a lot of "shoulds" in series... and if any one of them isn't 
quite right, it all falls back on the end user.

The problem with the Stew Perry contest seems to have been that the 
rules only said "in the Cabrillo format". The only published format for 
that contest is in the examples on the Cabrillo site, at:
http://www.kkn.net/~trey/cabrillo/qso-template.html
That format is quoted as applying to a number of different contests, 
some of which do require RST, so of course RST is in the template. 
However, since RST is not required for the Stew Perry, including itin 
the template is contrary to Cabrillo standards... and confusion duly 
followed.

It's a learning process for everyone, but given time to settle in, it 
"should" all work out OK.


-- 
73 from Ian G3SEK