[WT-support] Using Win-Test in NAQP leads to lost multipliers. Use WT_DEV this weekend.

[Bob Wilson, N6TV]

Summary:  If you ever used Win-Test in the North American QSO Party, chances
are you lost many NA multipliers in the log checking, due to the way such
logs were scored.  You must use the newest development version of Win-Test
to generate a "good" Cabrillo file for the NAQP this weekend.

Background:  Win-Test 4.7 and prior logs all QSOs with NA countries as "DX"
in the exchange field of the Cabrillo file, overriding whatever prefix or
country abbreviation you enter in the logging window.  This is per the
Cabrillo spec. published at kkn.net.  However, the *NCJ* web pages show
something else in the Cabrillo examples and "Logging Hints."

The log checking software of NAQP contest administrator WA7BNM has rejected
all QSOs with NA countries if "DX" was in the exchange field.  So if you
used Win-Test in any NAQP, chances are you lost dozens of multipliers in the
log checking process due to this misunderstanding.  I just learned recently
that this has happened to me.

The impact of this wasn't well known until recently, when it affected the
score of No. 1 finisher K5GA in the August 2010 NAQP CW.  The published
results show him finishing No. 2, and it is only because of these lost
multipliers.

Per this recent post by WA7BNM to
CQ-Contest<http://lists.contesting.com/archives//html/CQ-Contest/2011-01/msg00078.html>,
you really have use wt_dev 4.8 to generate your Cabrillo file for the
upcoming NAQP.   It is OK to log the contest using whatever version of
Win-Test that you have, but when you go to generate the Cabrillo file, you
really need to use wt 4.8.0-dev, or edit the Cabrillo file by hand,
replacing "DX" with the standard country prefix for any NA QSOs before
submitting your log.  It is only OK to log "DX" for QSOs made with stations
outside of North America.

I hope the log checking software is smart enough to distinguish between the
state abbreviation HI (Hawaii) and the country prefix HI (Dominican
Republic).

You can download Win-Test 4.8.0-dev from

http://download.win-test.com/v4/nightly/

using the web site password you received in an email when you purchased
Win-Test 4.

73,
Bob, N6TV
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