[VHFcontesting] Log Rovers Correctly

[James Duffey]

W7QQ and I roved in his rover for the September VHF/UHF contest. When I reviewed the Log Checking Report I found that four out of our six logging errors were for not logging rovers with a /r. I am not sure if the cause was me not correctly logging the stations with /r or if it was the rover for not signing /r, or some combination of the two. But, as stations can enter the VHF/UHF contests as both a rover and a fixed station, it is important to log the /r correctly. I think at one time the log checkers tried to reconcile the QSOes without the /r, but not now. And they shouldn’t have to. 

So, please take care to log those rovers correctly. And rovers, be sure to sign /r on CW or “rover” on phone. It seems obvious, but it never hurts to emphasize it and in the heat of a contest it is easy to slip into a pattern where the /r gets dropped on both sides. Watch for it. 

Just to be clear, I am not complaining about losing the QSOes to log checking. That is the way log checking is supposed to work. I think this is a teachable moment, though, so I thought I would share so that others can benefit.

The log checking reports are very useful, and if you haven’t been looking at them, I suggest you do. Many of the errors are easily corrected with attention to detail while operating. That can increase your score.  - Duffey KK6MC (sometimes /r)