A formatting error in a data file for the 2014 ARRL 10 Meter Contest has caused a problem in the distribution of certificates for that event.

“We have heard from several certificate recipients recently that they were receiving certificates for other award winners,” said ARRL Interim Contest Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND. “After checking, we determined that some address data retrieved from submitted Cabrillo logs in the data file were misidentified, which resulted in many certificates being sent to the wrong recipients.” Henderson noted the error was limited to address information; scores and order of finish in the contest were not affected.

ARRL has already begun to address the problem and will be sending new certificates by December 11 to those affected.

“We know that many who have received the wrong certificate have already forwarded it to the correct person,” said ARRL Field Services and Radiosport Department Manager Dave Patton, NN1N, said. ”If you have sent the certificate on, please e-mail us, so we don’t duplicate the effort when we resend new certificates to the correct addresses in the coming 2 weeks.”

Web-Based Log-Submission Form Coming Soon

With assistance from the Society of Midwest Contesters and the Central Texas DX and Contest Club, ARRL has been beta-testing a web-based log submission form during recent ARRL events, including this year’s November Sweepstakes. This online form, created by longtime “Contest Calendar” database developer Bruce Horn, WA7BNM, will ensure that submitted logs are correctly formatted and contain all required information. Using the web-based system will raise the quality of submitted logs, so that log checkers can do their jobs more effectively. Logs received by e-mail or web will be listed on the ARRL Logs Received page, so entrants can verify their log’s category, club membership (if any), and time at which it was received.

The web-based log submission tool for ARRL contests will be available beginning with the 2015 ARRL 160 Meter Contest.