This year the number of Hams who sent the log has been very high and some SWLs logs had only one or two rows not covered by the correspondent Ham log. So, I decided to calculate for the final score only the rows covered by the correspondent Ham log. The rows which show, after checking by the software by Marek SP7DQR, <????> at the end were considered not valid for points.

This assumption could have penalized some SWLs, like Tanio JA4-4665, which operated from Continents outside Europe, where the percentage of Ham logs sent to the Contest Manager is not so high. By other side, if the log of an SWL is not very correct I found that almost all the rows with <????> at the end are referred to wrong calls.

Anyway great part of SWLs logs has been of excellent quality and has been much more correct than the Ham logs (this year I had to correct more than 150 Ham logs !!!). The best percentages are shown in the following table.

As you can see, the table includes the first three SWLs in the overall score and this is a proof of the high level of SWL participation.

For our Contest the UBN (Unique-Bad-Not in log) Report consists in the original Cabrillo log with a marking at the end of each row, as follows:

_OK_ = the QSO hrd is OK and corresponds to the HAM log
???? = log(s) not available
RPRT = the report or the IOTA Reference does not correspond to the HAM log
NIL_ = the correspondent’s call is not OK (Not In Log)
ERR_ = there is an error of band or mode
TIME = the time has an error of more than 15 minutes
4SWL = the correspondent's rule has not been respected

The rows with ???? has been counted as not OK.
I will be glad to send a copy of UBN Report to everyone will ask for it.

A ufb contest & propagation ! It makes a lots of fun.

Roland ADXB OE-527

Anbei: 1 x QSL-SWL-rapport fur IK8LH

Gunter DE2GSS

Hi Gunter, thanks for your log. Regarding your QSL I would have been happy to forward it but I am sorry, I didn't find the IK8LH call in any callbook.

(The Contest Manager)

Hi Dan,
attached my this year's contest log. Nice to see that 15m- and 10m-bands will slowly come back. Hope you have had a good time and enjoy this summer, despite the many contests ahead of us.

Best 73's and ciao

Wolfgang DL-P01-17291

Congratulations for great contest.

Francisco EA30

Dear Dan,
tnx for your mail. No problem with my final score and sorry for my incorrect log, congratulations for your MDXC-SWL web.

73 Toni EA-1033-URE

Hi Toni, don't worry for the log. I spent much more time to type the paper logs received, hi. I forwarded your congratulations to Stefano I3-2782/VE, the web-master.

(The Contest Manager)

Hello,
I see on the web site, you have the provisional score.

Do you have receive all log ?

Just for information, when you can give the finale score with the final classement ?

Thanks you,

73 David PRIJAC

Hi David, you can read the reason of the delay to publish the results in the final notes.

(The Contest Manager)

Just to say:" I took part at it ". Hope next time maybe.

Stefano IE3-802SWL

Dear Dan,

thank you very much for your E-mail reply.

The certificate for 2008 was received here in good conditions. It was noticed that it was printed and sent out in LZ-land, and it was around mid June, I think, received it.

Thank you very much.

73 de JA4-4665, Tanio

Hi Tanio, it's always a pleasure to meet you. This year, after a long waiting for the certificates, I asked Emil LZ3HI, owner of the Gold Print Service, to print the 2008 certificates. From your and other messages received, Emil seems to have made a very good work.

(The Contest Manager)

Little time for serious contesting this year but lot of fun again. Thanks Dan for an excellent processing of results and a beautiful award of the IOTA SWL Contest 2008. I hope to keeping the IOTA SWL Contest for the future!

Roman OK1-31457

Hello Dan,

thanks for all info. I hope I will have more time for IOTA Contest next year. Is there anything new in possibility to count contest QSOs for the IOTA awards without necessity to have QSL cards?

73! Jan OK1-34856

Hi Jan, thanks for your interest in our <battle>. Just after your message, I sent to the IOTA Chairman the message in the final notes.

(The Contest Manager)

Hello Dan. My log is ok? My first e-log from SP7DQR.

Richard OK2-310971/DL

Hello Richard, yes your log was OK, there was no necessity to send another paper log! The software SWL_DQR_Log by SP7DQR needs some preliminary tests but it is easy to use.

(The Contest Manager)

Dr OM's,
Tnx for the very nice Contest !

Avinir UA1-143-1 (UA1ZZ)

Dear Avinir, your welcome! I tried to contact you but I didn't find your e-mail. Anyway, searching on the web, I found a Russian OM with the same family name and the same address. He quickly answered me as follows.

(The Contest Manager)

Hallo Dan!

Avinir, UA1-143-1 (also UA1ZZ), is my father, and I will give all your information and regards to him! Sorry about uncorrected log, he don't use a computer, and I can not help him, because now I live in Moscow and he is in Murmansk (HI).

Thank you very much, Dan! See you on the bands!

73! De RA1ZZ/3

I wrote that the delay in the results will be explained at the end. In fact I was waiting for an answer from the IOTA Chairman to my e-mail, which follows.

Dear John G3LAS,

perhaps you know that from 2006 I recovered, with the sponsorship of the MDXC/SWL, the SWL Category of the IOTA Contest. Without this action the SWLs could not participate anymore in this wonderful Contest.

And, let me tell you, without the action of an SWL, the great Geoff Watts, neither the IOTA Program or the IOTA Contest should exist at all.

I just read on the IOTA web site that from Easter 2010 Hams can claim credit online for QSOs made in the 2009 IOTA Contest. And the SWLs? When they can claim credit for QSO/HRDs in the IOTA Contest?

As Contest Manager of the 2009 IOTA SWL Contest I am finishing to cross-check the SWL logs versus the Ham logs. Logs kindly provided by Don G3XTT. Unfortunately some of these logs are of very poor quality and this year I had to correct approx. 150 Ham logs. Without this correction, the cross-checking software by Marek SP7DQR cannot work properly.

When the scores are ready I usually write some comments together with the final results to be published in the MDXC/SWL web site. And my comments include the answers I received to the above request, to claim credit for Contest QSO/HRDs also by SWL side. Last year I published the answer received by Roger G3KMA. And the previous year the answer received by Martin G3ZAY. Always the same answer: sorry, but the software team is too busy.

Why this difference between Hams and SWLs? The software team is busy and the Hams can claim credit later; the software team is busy and the SWLs can claim credit never. But the IOTA Program includes both the Hams and the SWLs in the IOTA Performance Listings.

Let me finish with some speeches by your national poet: If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die?

Vy 73 de

Dan, I1-12387

IOTA SWL Contest Manager

I quickly received an answer from John G3LAS which expressed his sympathy for my words, but told me that he was not anymore the IOTA Chairman. After this, I received another e-mail from Don G3XTT who told me that now he is the new Chairman of the IOTA Committee and that he will reply to my message.

I am still waiting for his answer, but I can not delay anymore in publishing the results. I will let you know the answer as soon as I will receive it.

The next IOTA Contest will be run on 24/25 July 2010 and the full rules will be published, as usual, in the MDXC/SWL site.

The Contest Manager

Dan Rolla, I1-12387