[UK-CONTEST] RSGB Cabrillo update

[Ian White, G3SEK]

G3SJJ Wrote:

>Come on Paul, let's get a bit of sense into this discussion. You are 
>not really suggesting, are you, that someone approaches W5XD or K8CC 
>and ask them to spend their time writing cabrillo format because a few 
>people in the UK want to continue to use the programs of their choice?
>

There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding about what "Cabrillo" is. 
It's a system of individual log *templates* provided by contest 
organisers, so that contest software can produce a log in the required 
format.

The software authors don't have to "write Cabrillo format" for every 
contest. That's not the way it works. But any competent contest program 
ought to have an easy way to input *any* Cabrillo template, and then be 
able to organise the logged information into that format.

That's the way it has to go, because even in the USA there are many 
small state QSO Parties etc with individualistic rules, and even 
American software authors can't ignore the rest of the world's contests 
forever.

Don Field's article about Cabrillo on the HFCC website makes all this 
very clear.

So, the HFCC has done exactly the right thing to publish its templates 
for the year's contests. In contrast, there are still some contest 
organisers who talk about submitting logs in "the Cabrillo format" (as 
if there was just the one)... which only shows that they don't have a 
clue.

As was said last time we discussed this, we're in a stage of transition. 
Contest organisers and software authors have still a lot to learn and 
do... but in a couple of years we'll wonder what all the fuss was about.


-- 
73 from Ian G3SEK