K5ZD results

2010 WPX CW Results now on Web Site

The full results of the 2010 CQ WPX CW Contest are now available on the www.cqwpx.com web site. Go to the Results tab to view pdf files of the writeup and scores from CQ Magazine. Also available is an Excel file with full breakdown of all club scores.

The online database and all time records pages have been updated with the 2010 scores. Now is the time to start looking over the records for your area and setting a goal for the 2011 CW contest on May 28-29.

All submitted logs (except CHECKLOGS) have been made available on the site.  Individual links to log checking reports were sent by email to all entrants back in late February. We hope you take advantage of the reports, public logs, and score database to analyse how you did and how you could do better next time.

Thanks to everyone who braved the poor conditions and submitted a log. Conditions are improving and we have high hopes for more activity, more prefixes, and bigger scores this year. See you there! 

K5ZD commentary

Blank Error Message from Log Robot

We are getting a number of emails from participants of WPX SSB who have submitted their log to the robot and received a blank error response from the robot.  While we work to get this fixed, I will explain how you can work around the problem.

When you send your log to the robot, it is checked for proper formatting according to the Cabrillo specification. If there is a problem, the robot message lists the lines where errors were found. You can read these, correct your log, and resubmit. 

The problem we are having is that the robot reply will stop after the text:

*** Informative Messages from the Contest Robot ***

There is no way for you to know what is wrong.  This only happens when the robot finds a line in the Cabrillo file that it does not know how to process.  Usually this is because the line does not have a Cabrillo tag.

The solution is very simple.  Go to the new logcheck page ( http://www.cqwpx.com/logcheck/ ).  Upload your log (or copy and paste it into the text box).  Be sure to select the correct contest from the drop down.

The logcheck utility will check the format of your log and provide a clear error message for all problems found.  You can edit your log from the web page until you have corrected all of the errors.  You may also see some warning messages.  These are things that will not prevent your log from being accepted, but indicate a possible problem you should check.

When all errors are cleared, the logcheck will offer to submit your log.  Enter your email address and hit the Send Log to Robot button. Your done! 

Check your email inbox for two emails.  One will have a copy of the log file that was submitted.  Save this for your records.  The other will be a new confirmation from the robot. As always, it is a good idea to come back the next day and check that your log appears in the logs received page.

Thank you to Tsvetomir Tishevishki, LZ2FQ, for all of his work in developing the logcheck utility.  It really is the easiest way to submit your log!

K5ZD commentary

CQ WPX Contest 2010 Year in Review

As we prepare for the fun and excitement of the 2011 edition of the CQ WPX Contest, it is an excellent time to look back at the activities of the past year.

  • WPX SSB 2010 experiences excellent conditions on Saturday and good conditions on Sunday. Log entries increase by 16% to a new record of 4,758. CN2R sets new record in SOAB category. DR1A sets new prefix record with 1747!
  • WPX CW 2010 has worst conditions ever and log submissions fall 2% to 3,567. Even so, EF8M sets new SOAB record.
  • The WPX CW and SSB score database now extends back to 1975. All scores for all years of the CW contest are now in the database.
  • High claimed scores pages were redesigned with help from Valery, R5GA. (see blog) 
  • The second annual WPX Contest Survey was conducted between September 6 and 29, 2010. Invitations were sent to 8144 email addresses from logs submitted in the 2010 WPX RTTY, SSB, and CW Contests. We received 4,555 responses to the survey.  Results are presented in 3 parts (go to part 1).
  • The WPX Contest followed the lead of the CQWW Contest to issue Yellow and Red cards in place of disqualifications. Extensive checking was done on single-operator entries that appeared to have used DX cluster or other assistance to make QSOs and did not enter the Assisted category. Yellow Cards were issued to 13 entries in WPX SSB 2010.  There were 12 issued on CW. 
  • Logs for WPX SSB and CW are made public. We do not publish logs that were submitted as CHECKLOG. (see blog)
  • There are no significant rule changes for 2011. Rules are available in 13 languages.
  • W5GN mails 1736 certificates for WPX SSB. 1446 for WPX CW.
  • Private links to log checking reports were sent by email to everyone who submitted a log for WPX 2010. Reports detailed the final score, any score reductions, list of unique QSOs, and information on errors made by other stations working you. Feedback to this new method of reporting was very positive.
  • A new Cabrillo log file checking and submission page was created with the help of LZ2FQ. Participants can upload their log, receive immediate feedback on any errors found, and then have the option to submit their log. (see blog)
  • On March 13, 2011, the PVRC hosted a webinar entitled “10.5 Tips for Fun and Success in the WPX Contest” by K5ZD. A recorded version of the webinar can be see at http://www.pvrc.org/webinar/webinars.htm. 
  • CQ WPX Contest fan page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/cqwpx) has 1,519 fans! 

Thanks to everyone who participated on the air or contributed to the operation of the CQ WPX Contests.