Accurately Copying Callsigns Can Make a Difference in Contest Outcomes

At the end of the 2019 CQWW SSB contest, K3LR and W3LPL, the two most prolific U.S. stations in the Multi-Operator / Multi-Transmitter category, were nearly tied. K3LR’s claimed score, before logchecking, was just 0.7% higher than W3LPL’s score. Frank Donovan, W3LPL, noted that the margin could be described as “only five multipliers or 40 QSOs behind K3LR.” After logchecking was completed, W3LPL was found to be ahead by the tiniest of margins — 0.5% — and broke K3LR’s 14-year championship streak for the title of top U.S. M/M.

The Culprit: Busted Calls

Mis-copied or “busted” calls are typically a few percent of claimed contest QSOs. You can see the mistakes made by some of the world’s best contest operators by reading the CQWW public log check reports, available online at <https://cqww.com/publiclcr>. Check the details of K3LR’s 2019 CQWW SSB log checking report, and you’ll find that 1.4% of calls were identified as being busted, a more substantial loss of points than the 0.6% of QSOs that were assigned “not in log” or NIL status.

Comparing your logging accuracy with the “big guns” is one of the most productive ways to improve your contesting skills. Check your email archives to see if the contest organizer sent you a log check report (LCR), or visit the contest sponsor’s website and request a copy of your LCR. In addition to the percentage of calls that you busted or were assigned NIL, you