Contest DUPE issue

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w9nz
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Posts: 28
Joined: 21 Apr 2015, 15:54

Contest DUPE issue

Post by w9nz »

I've used Log4om and Log4om2 in over 20 contests and have never had an issue with DUPES. In a recent contest I was very surprised to find myself with about 10 dupes. By dupe, I mean same call on same band and same mode. Something is wrong.

I'm was using Log4om2 version 2.15.0.0 in Contest Mode.

I don't know what the issue is. It could range from operator error (my mistake), it could be inconsistent action by the software or it could be a bug.

During the contest usually a big DUPE would appear in the Note window and then disappear leaving a small dupe indication in the note area. How long the large DUPE would appear on the screen was not consistent. Sometimes I think it never appeared. So, maybe I just missed it.

During the contest, DUPE EMISSION would appear in the Note window. I interpreted this to mean that I had worked this station before on a different band or different mode. I would then go ahead and work this station because per contest rules I could work the same call on a different band or mode. What DUPE EMISSION means is not clear and maybe this was the cause of the problem.

The bottom line is that something has drastically changed that make the likelihood of creating a DUPE much greater than in prior versions of Log4om 2.

In my opinion, for a contest, I need to know if I worked a call on the same band in the same mode. Need to know if I worked the same call but on a different band. Lastly, need to know if I worked the same call in a different mode.

The above warnings should be large and remain large. Do not shrink them because once they shrink, they are too small to easily catch the eye.

If anyone has any insights, please chime in please.

Ray Mikula
W9NZ
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Re: Contest DUPE issue

Post by G4POP »

We're the dupes all on the same mode or band and if so what mode or band?
73 Terry G4POP
w9nz
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Joined: 21 Apr 2015, 15:54

Re: Contest DUPE issue

Post by w9nz »

Terry,

The dupes were all in SSB mode. I was only working SSB so don't know what would happen with other modes.

There were four occurrences on 20m, two on 40m, one on 15m and one on 10m. So, the band didn't seem to be related to the DUPES.

I'm still not clear as to what the message DUPE EMISSIONS specifically means. I assumed that it meant that the call was worked already but on a different band or different mode. In this case I would complete the QSO and log it. How do you define DUPE EMISSIONS? Are there any other messages related to dupes other than the two that I have mentioned?

Ray Mikula
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Re: Contest DUPE issue

Post by G4POP »

Dupe emissions is modes
73 Terry G4POP
w9nz
Novice Class
Posts: 28
Joined: 21 Apr 2015, 15:54

Re: Contest DUPE issue

Post by w9nz »

I went back and reloaded my contest file and did some testing related to DUPES. I discovered a third type, DUPLICATE BAND in addition to DUPE and DUPE EMISSION. The logic, based on limited testing seems to be ok.

So, at this point my input would be please keep the DUP messages in the very large font and remove the transition to the small size font. This will go a long way to avoiding human error.

There is a possibility, although I have not tried to duplicate, that the DUPE message simply did not appear. There were times during the contest that Log4om2 functions became incredibly slow. For instance, after a call was entered it could take 10 seconds for all the characters to appear. Editing a QSO it could easily take a minute for the fields to populate. This is on a quick machine with vocap turned off, qrz downloads turned off and a data base with only 200 or so qsos in it. Even if this is not the cause of duplicates, something is seriously wrong with the contest mode to cause such extreme slowness.

Ray Mikula
W9NZ
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