[VHFcontesting] ARRL Contest Robot and 903 mhz Q's

Sun Jan 29 15:42:20 EST 2006

One of the cardinal rules of the computer world is that new implementations 
should be backwards compatible with older versions.  Part of the Cabrillo 
spec is the "START-OF-LOG: version number" line.  The software the ARRL uses 
should look at the version number and decode the submitted log properly.  As 
long as it complies with one of the official version numbers, the robot 
should read it.  I think the ARRL should look at their robot and fix it to 
work correctly with the version number.

Erich, KA6AMD

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David" <ke4yyd at gtcom.net>
To: "Ned Stearns" <aa7a at cox.net>; <vhfcontesting at contesting.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2006 9:46 AM
Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] ARRL Contest Robot and 903 mhz Q's

> Thanks Ned,  but it just isn't worth the trouble.  I have been a faithful
> VHF contester having only missed one ARRL contest in over a decade.  I
> almost stopped contesting when the Cabrillo requirements came out since I
> didn't have a computer.  After getting a computer and struggling many 
> hours
> to learn how to submit the scores via the VHF-DX program, I just don't 
> feel
> like having to play musical chairs with ARRL again.  They need to keep it
> simple or they have lost another contester.
>
> David
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Ned Stearns" <aa7a at cox.net>
> To: <vhfcontesting at contesting.com>
> Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2006 12:34 PM
> Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] ARRL Contest Robot and 903 mhz Q's
>
>
>> David, maybe others...
>>
>> VHF-DX V 4.1.56 was released in 1999.
>>
>> Cabrillo format was amended in 2000 to include VHF bands and subsequently
>> in 2002 and 2004 (altered  "name" of 902 MHz band). Look at the history 
>> of
>> changes of Cabrillo log formats:
>>
>> http://www.kkn.net/~trey/cabrillo/updates.txt
>>
>> These changes were made to permit submission of logs electronically for
>> VHF
>> contests and not just HF contests. I can't find any subsequent updates to
>> VHF-DX on the net, so any changes in the Cabrillo format will probably
>> cause
>> the users of software release prior to 2002 to be required to  amend 
>> their
>> Cabrillo files with a text editor (as I have done that numerous times,
>> BTW)
>> to get past the robot.
>>
>> My recommendation is to try to use a logging program that has an author 
>> or
>> author team that is keeping their software up-to-date. Contest rules keep
>> changing. Contests always being added and then, every once in a while,
>> Cabrillo formats change to permit additional functionality for electronic
>> log submissions.
>>
>> Personally, I use N1MM. There is a huge and dedicated team that is 
>> keeping
>> the program current on all contest. It is updated as many as ten times a
>> month (sometimes right after a contest to permit correct generation of
>> Cabrillo logs). Your mileage may vary.
>>
>> 73,
>>
>> Ned Stearns
>> AA7A
>> ARRL Vice Director Southwestern Division
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "David" <ke4yyd at gtcom.net>
>> To: <vhfcontesting at contesting.com>
>> Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2006 2:11 PM
>> Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] ARRL Contest Robot and 903 mhz Q's
>>
>>
>>> If the VHF-DX program doesn't work anymore then I will not send in any
>>> more
>>> logs.  I learned how to use it, is simple and I see no reason why the
>>> ARRL needs to change their program so it doesn't work.
>>>
>>> David Hinton
>>> KE4YYD, EL79rv
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>> From: "Robert Cumming" <w2bzy at cfl.rr.com>
>>> To: "Steve Gilmore" <shg at staffnet.com>; <vhfcontesting at contesting.com>
>>> Sent: Wednesday, January 25, 2006 11:46 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] ARRL Contest Robot and 903 mhz Q's
>>>
>>>
>>>> Steve et al.
>>>>
>>>> As it did to you, 'the ARRL contest robot gave me fits this time.
>>>>
>>>> Not having broke 100 Q's I did a quick check of my log , hit the
>>>> convert to Cabrillo format in my logging program *(VHF-DX V 4.1.56)
>>>> and sent it off to the league by e-mail.  Soon after came the first
>>>> bounce.  All My Q's were bounced for not one but two reasons.  First
>>>> looking at the error messages and the screren version of the log (not
>>>> Cabrillo0 the line numbers didn't line up with the Q's in my log so I
>>>> looked at the Cabrillo text file and found that the line numbers
>>>> included the header (station info and Soapbox).
>>>>
>>>> After sorting that out I compared the Q's with the cabrillo data and
>>>> the error messages - ie QSO B = Invalid band Spec "B"  a quick look
>>>> at my last Jan (2005)VHF test log - the frequencies looked ok and
>>>> they matched my submissions up to and including the June,05 and Sept
>>>> 05 tests - not a reject.
>>>>
>>>> Also all my q's were rejected as In valid date and time - it stated
>>>> the contest period as 1900Z on 2006-10-22 through 0359 on
>>>> 2006-01-23.  SXtrange was that the time in the log fell within this 
>>>> time
>>>> slot.
>>>>
>>>> Figuring that the robot was acting weird - I resent the log as it
>>>> stood and went to bed.
>>>>
>>>> The next AM My e-mail had another reject message from the robot
>>>> Listing invalid Band Specification (A, B, C, D, 9, E, and F) - Well
>>>> ok - the robot took the info in this format last contest - what
>>>> happened?
>>>>
>>>> Went to the ARRL website and searched on Cabrillo format and came up
>>>> with the  http://www.kkn.net/~trey/cabrillo/
>>>>  site - ok the spec called for the frequency not A, B, C etc.
>>>>
>>>> When did this happen the robot digested my log ok last time with
>>>> letters.
>>>>
>>>> In the history section it stated:
>>>>
>>>> "
>>>> 2002-08-03      Letter codes for VHF bands depricated.  Only number
>>>>                 codes should be used.
>>>>
>>>> Well ok nice of them to let us know - why did they take the letter
>>>> designation for so long after the change -nice of them to let us know.
>>>>
>>>> I went back and manually edited the Text file to convert the "Letter"
>>>> designation to the Frequency (thank God for my word Processor's Find
>>>> and replace feature).
>>>>
>>>> Resent and only my 903m 1296 and 2304 Q's bounced this time - checked
>>>> and found they wanted 902, 1.2 and 2.3.
>>>>
>>>> Re edited and resubmitted ok this time.
>>>>
>>>> Boy, Never have so many labored so long and so hard to accomplish so
>>>> little = 91 Q's for 5976 points.
>>>>
>>>> And they wonder why some hams don't submit their logs!
>>>>
>>>> Looks like time to invest in a new logging program as the "Cabrillo
>>>> output of VHF-DX no longer matches the Required format
>>>>
>>>> VRY 73
>>>>
>>>> Bob Cumming
>>>> W2BZY
>>>> QRV 50-2304 this time ( didn't get the antennas up for 3456 and 10G
>>>> this go round)
>>>> From EL98hr
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>  At 10:08 PM 1/25/2006, Steve Gilmore wrote:
>>>>>Hello all,
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>Just a quick post I submitted my log to the ARRL for the January VHF
>>>>>Sweepstakes and it threw out all the 903 Q's
>>>>>
>>>>>They were listed in Cabrillo as 903 so maybe they changed something.
>>>>>This
>>>>>was the decoding from the logging package
>>>>>
>>>>>So it appears something is amiss here.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>For those who send in logs pay attention to this ...
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>Just a note to see if anyone else has had the same issue.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>Steve Gilmore - W4SHG
>>>>>
>>>>>_______________________________________________
>>>>>VHFcontesting mailing list
>>>>>VHFcontesting at contesting.com
>>>>>http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/vhfcontesting
>>>>
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>>>
>>>
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