QRZ lookup with EA5/G4AON call?

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G4AON
Old Man
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Joined: 15 Oct 2015, 21:19

QRZ lookup with EA5/G4AON call?

Post by G4AON »

The name and QTH lookup doesn’t seem to work correctly for stations operating in other countries when they have a specific entry in QRZ for the other country. I have entries for G4AON and EA5/G4AON, searching EA5/G4AON returns my England details, not the Spanish ones.

I have asked QRZ Support and they don’t have an answer, is it an issue with the QRZ.com site, or with Log4OM? Any ideas?

73 Dave
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G4POP
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Re: QRZ lookup with EA5/G4AON call?

Post by G4POP »

Dave

This is not a bug or error it is by design.

There are very few operators that work from another country with a prefix identifier that actually register that prefixed call sign on QRZ or with similar on line lookup systems.

I am a good example of this! Being an avid traveller I have toured to just about every country in mainland Europe by motor home and caravan and cruised extensively to North and South America and the Caribbean and Pacific.

I have always taken a radio and operated in most of the countries I have visited using a prefix for that country where allowed, but I have never registered any of those prefixed calls to QRZ or similar. Can you imagine the chaos if everyone that operated with a prefix while abroad added that call and location to QRZ?

As an example today 4W/OZ1AA is today operating from Timor-Leste in East Timor but if you look him up on QRZ it only returns his Danish details!

We could of course make Log4OM first lookup the prefixed call (EA5/G4AON) and if that lookup failed then check the owners call (G4AON) but this would slow down the lookup process, not to mention overloading QRZ, and in most cases there would not be details for the prefixed call for the reasons already stated.

We do of course check that the country and DXCC are correctly derived from the prefix by checking with our Country file, SCL and Clublog exceptions lists to ensure correct logging but we then check the owners call for the rest of the information.

Most of the ex Pats that I know that live abroad or those that visit those countries quiet frequently eventually apply for a call sign from that countries regulatory body, as an example my friend John used a prefix for a short while, while he waited for his Spanish call EA5ARC to be allocated.
73 Terry G4POP
K7PT
Old Man
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Re: QRZ lookup with EA5/G4AON call?

Post by K7PT »

Another issue along these lines with the stroked calls is that one could be active for short periods of time using the / call, then be in a different location, back again, then at the home call.

To be accurate, one would have to know, somehow, the effective start/end dates of each operation. What a mess that would be as it would fall entirely on the shoulders of the operator. Think that would work?

A good example of this is OH1BH, Martii. Hopping all over the place like a rabbit.
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G4AON
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Re: QRZ lookup with EA5/G4AON call?

Post by G4AON »

I think the issue of temporary “prefix/home call” is being over complicated. If I enter EA5/G4AON into the search box at qrz.com it returns a QTH of San Luis. If I enter F/G4AON it returns “not found”.

Clearly the logbook requirement is primarily to enter the actual QTH of the station at the time of the QSO, it’s easy to edit the details if they don’t match.

Being a fairly frequent visitor to EA5 (YLs parents live there) it makes sense to me to use the prefix and to also create a page on QRZ.

I’m not really too bothered that Log4OM looks up the main part of the call, it just struck me as odd that it couldn’t check the full call as entered. As to taking too long, that’s not many additional milliseconds... it’s only checking 9 characters of plain text.

73 Dave
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Re: QRZ lookup with EA5/G4AON call?

Post by K7PT »

Hi Dave,
Understand.

Talking about QSL routes, generally, the home call is the QSL address and that's what Log4OM uses.

No way of knowing the other way unless you pick up the address.

Oh well, perfection continues to allude us! Not sure if it's possible. Keep trying!
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