[WT-support] QSO numbers again

[Bob Wilson, N6TV]

On Tue, Aug 4, 2009 at 12:33 AM, Ian Maude <ian at gb7mbc.net> wrote:

> Well, as it seems there is no interest in having the space bar reserve the
> serial number, can someone tell me how I can have 2 (or more) networked
> stations using win-test all using different numbering schemes?
>

There is no way to do this with Win-Test.  The best you can do is use
separate serial numbers per band, which is really the simplest way to handle
multi-ops without any possibility of duplicate serial numbers.  The sponsors
of the WPX contests have figured this out, and I hope the IOTA contest
sponsors will follow their lead.

In the "good old days," when we were all writing on paper log sheets at
multi-ops, there was no practical way to "reserve" a serial number in the
middle of a QSO, so why is it suddenly a "requirement" that our contest
software has to have serial number reservation capability?  If the contest
sponsors still accept paper logs from multi-ops, then they still need to
make it practical to handle serial numbers on paper, for example, by
starting with 001 on each band or each band/mode.


> For example in IOTA I could have had the run station start at 001 and the
> mult at 2001.  I could find no way of keeping the separate schemes though
> while they were networked.
>

In the IOTA contest, in my opinion, the rules regarding multi-ops and
contest numbering are incomplete and contradictory, and they need to be
updated.
For example, according to http://www.vhfcc.org/hfcc/rules/2009/riota.shtml :

<http://www.vhfcc.org/hfcc/rules/2009/riota.shtml>"Any non-multiplier QSOs
made accidentally on the second station must be logged, but will be scored
as zero points."

That's fine, except there is no "Run/Mult" indicator in column 91 of the
Cabrillo specification on the RSGB page, so there's no way for the log
checkers to actually *do* this.  (Fortunately the official spec. at
http://www.kkn.net/~trey/cabrillo/qso-template.html does include this "tn"
or transmitter number column).

"Send RS(T) and serial number starting from 001, plus IOTA reference number
if applicable ... Do not use separate numbering systems for CW and SSB.
Stations may be contacted on both CW and SSB on each band. Multi-operator
entrants may find it convenient to allocate separate blocks of serial
numbers for the run and multiplier stations, but do ensure if possible that
there is no duplication of serial numbers."

How can you have a "serial number" that starts from 001 if you also reserve
a "block" of serial numbers for use only by a second station?  If it is not
chronological, it's not really a serial number.

How can you have a run and mult station going simultaneously on phone and CW
on the same band, logging on paper, if you're supposed to have one
consecutive serial number system?  And what's really wrong with sending a
duplicate serial number to someone as long as you actually log what was
sent?  Other contests allow this.

In sum, I hope you will raise these questions with the IOTA contest
sponsors, as they need to think about the impractical nature of some of
their current rules.  Requiring separate serial numbers for each band/mode
at a multi-op. is the simplest solution, for both paper logs and Cabrillo
logs.

73,
Bob, N6TV
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.f5mzn.org/pipermail/support/attachments/20090804/bdf8e175/attachment.htm