Guide to CQWW DX-Contest UBN and NIL Reports

DISCLAIMER

The UBN report is the CQ WW Contest Committee's computer estimate of your entry's score. It shows QSO's that were unique, bad, not-in-log, and those for which credit was deducted.

These reports and your full log have been sent to our log-checkers who will use the data to adjust the final scores. Note that your final score may be adjusted up or down by a log-checker.

It is not impossible that you may have lost credit for a QSO or two that was either good or not your fault. Big logs may have a few, although the majority of entries will have none.

We have the task of adjudicating several thousand logs (3486 on SSB) with unpaid volunteers. Our databases are not perfect, but they are very good. We perform sanity checks on the data bases many times.

Expect a few errors on our part. If there is something significantly wrong, please let us know.

Here are a few examples that we will act on:

I used the special call, VX8XYZ, and mistakenly put my regular call, VE8XYZ, on the entry. This explains most of the Not-in-logs. (Note that the committee has already found almost all of these.)
My 15 and 10 meter logs do not seem to be included. Were they lost by me or along the checking pathway? If they are included, I will have the new QRP record for VE8.

Use of the Computer Analysis

The goal of the activity of the CQ WW CC is to create the means to fairly, and as completely as possible, analyze an entrant's score.

Each log checker starts off with your full log. He also starts with your computer reduced or increased score (second score summary explained below) as the starting point.

By reviewing the UBN data for your log he may visually spot an impossible U-call, thus converting it into a B-call. He can also cross check the U-calls against the calls suggested by the computer as the possible correct QSO.

UBN Explained

Available in your callsign subdirectory is a Unique/Bad/NotInLog report named either cw.ubn or ssb.ubn. For each band you worked, there is a listing of QSOs that have been flagged as either U, B, or N callsigns. At the end of each band evaluation is a BAND SUMMARY which is explained in the next section. Each log checker follows the guidelines of what to do with each case encountered. Here is an example of what you and the log checker might see:

LINE  UNIQUE CALL  POSSIBLE CALLS (NUMBER OF BAND-LOGS)
----  -----------  ------------------------------------
 257 U      n5dfc
 268 N      vp2ec(255)
 278 B      w9kea(1)  w0kea(134)h w9kia(97)h
 299 U     wa2udk  wa2udt(255)h wa2uuk(255)w wa2ubk(13)
 360 U     wb2fwk  wb2fsk(2)
 385 B      kb8in(1)  kb8vn(129)h kb8wn(2)
 386 U      w9uuk
 389 U       nd9f  nd9o(187)h nd3f(72) nd0f(34) nu9f(26)

Explanation of Columns

LINE: QSO # on that band. CODES are:
- U = Unique. This call appears only in your log among calls in the master data base.
- B = Bad. Calls that have been checked against that country's data base and found to be not issued.
- N = Not-In-Log. For whatever reason, your call is NOT in the log of the station you claim to have worked.
UNIQUE CALL: The call of the station you claim to have worked.
POSSIBLE CALLS: These are calls that might be the call you worked (computer one-off guesses based on the master data base). Number of Band-Logs = (255) = # stations in the master data base working that station on a particular band.

Explanation of CODE

Code U = Unique Call - This is a call that nobody else reported working in the database. It will probably be followed by a list of possible calls with the same information as shown above. U-calls are not removed from your log unless converted into a B-call by ACTIONs below.
Abbreviations after possible calls:
- h = We have the log for this station.
- w = We have a disk from the station, and a QSO took place.
- n = We have a disk from the station, but no QSO took place.
ACTION by Log Checker:
- U-calls that are obvious typos are removed. Examples: KP2A08 or P4OL. NO EXTRA PENALTY.
- U-calls that are impossible are converted into B-calls and are REMOVED x PENALTY. Examples: JS9SEW, F9GDF etc.
- U-calls that can be cross-checked by a log checker against a one-off computer-suggested log and found to be a positive cross check are converted into B-calls and are REMOVED x PENALTY.
```
EXAMPLES:
    212 U       n2wss  n2wsq(20) n2lss(3) n2wks(3)
    271 U      xe1rkk  xe3rkk(255)w xe2rkk(5)
    152 U      jh0isq  jh0ikq(36)h jh1isq(4)
     76 U      ja1qxp  ja1yxp(255)n ja1wxp(39) ja1qop(12)
     86 U        kf2a  kp2a(255)n wf2a(255) kf2o(255)h
    
```
Code B = Bad Call - This call is not in the official country data base, or it is a U-call converted into a B-call. It may be followed by a list of possible calls. These are calls that are in the database and differ by one or more character. The log checker will be shown the partial call, the number of other stations who have worked that call, and possibly a letter as follows after the calls.
Abbreviations after calls:
- h = We have the log for this station.
- w = We have a disk from the station, and a QSO took place.
- n = We have a disk from the station, but no QSO took place.
ACTION by Log Checker:
- B-calls that are obvious typos are removed. NO EXTRA PENALTY.
- All other B-calls are REMOVED x PENALTY
```
EXAMPLES:
     98 B        k2wj(1)  k2zj(255)n k2wi(255)h k2wk(255)h
    135 B       ok2ds(3)  ok2db(70)h ok2js(18) ok2ds(3)
    157 B       ka4py(1)  ko4py(93) kb4py(3) kd4py(3)
    214 B      wa2unk(1)  wa2uuk(255)w wa2ubk(13) wa2unp(5)
    
```
Code N = Not in log - No QSO could be found in the indicated log. This means the call of the log being processed could not be found in the log of the station listed.
Abbreviations after calls:
- d = indicates that the log is in the master database
- p = indicates that the log was received, but not the log is NOT in the master database.
ACTION by Log Checker:
- All N-calls with nothing next to them = REMOVE x PENALTY.
- All N-calls with something next to them. NO ACTION -- UNLESS the call is cross-checked and nothing resembling the log being processed is at the proper time slot, then REMOVED x PENALTY.
- All N-calls with obvious typo (e.g., letter O instead of numeral 0) at time slot. CREDIT ALLOWED.
```
EXAMPLES:
     320 N      hz1ab(255)
    2015 N      yt7aa(239)  ra1aa (190)p
     244 N       ir1a(255)  tm5b (255)d
     807 N       ti1c(255)  n7tr(1) k2tr(15)d n5tr(10)p
    
```
In the last example (807), if the N6TR log is being processed, it means that N6TR did not appear in the TI1C log, but N7TR, K2TR and N5TR all were found in the TI1C log.

The log checkers have several months to eyeball your log and check it against the computer printouts. It still is the human brain that decides what to check in your log. It is a particular log checker that verifies your entry.

UBN Band Summary

At the end of each of your bands is a BAND SUMMARY. Here is an example of what it looks like (using P29AS.20 as the example).

2181 calls, 62 (U or B), ( 2.8%), 62 (U+1 or B or N) ( 2.8%)
359 cross-checked, 3 not-in-log.
Lost countries? (B/N/U+1) : UK
NIL QSO points removed (no possible logs) = 16 (2 QSOs).
BAD QSO points removed = 120 (10 QSOs).

Explanation of BAND SUMMARY:

`2181 calls`	# of QSOs on that band.
`62 (U or B)`	# of QSOs that are Unique or Bad calls.
`(2.85%)`	% of (U or B).
`62 (U+1 or B or N)`	# QSO that are Unique + 1 or Bad or Not in log.
`(2.8%)`	% of (U+1 or B or N).
`359 cross-checked`	359 QSO on that band were cross checked against logs on hand.
`3 not-in-log`	3 QSOs you claim were not found in other stations' logs.
`Lost countries? (B/N/U+1) : UK`	The UK multiplier is in danger of being lost from the log. The question is there to indicate to the log checker to look on the band in question to see if another UK was worked. If there was, then the mult is not lost.
`NIL QSO points removed (no possible logs) = 16 (2 QSOs).`	The only N-calls that are removed are solitary N-calls, i.e., with no possible calls to the right. Experience has taught us that these ARE really not QSOs. 2 QSOs (with appropriate point value) x PENALTY = 16 points lost.
`BAD QSO points removed = 120 (10 QSOs).`	All Bad QSOs are removed automatically. 10 QSOs (with appropriate point value) X PENALTY = 120 points lost.

Final Summaries: Your Scores

At the end of your UBN report are two calculations of your score. The FIRST SCORE SUMMARY is your raw score recalculated by the CQ WW CC using the latest CTY file. In this way all the logs are treated the same way. We make every effort to make the .CTY file up-to-date and complete.

The SECOND SCORE SUMMARY is your score reduced/increased by removing all B- and N-calls (with nothing next to them). It does not include the UBN data but just your relevant score determining data. The % which your QSO total and score was reduced/increased is shown.

Your PUBLISHED FINAL SCORE in CQ magazine. The SECOND SCORE SUMMARY will either equal your published score or it may differ from it due to actions by a CQ WW CC log checker.

Example First Score Summary

P29AS Papua New Guinea  1997 CQ Phone  10:16, Friday, 06-Mar-98
1709 station logs, 1944498 QSOs, 100214 calls, 40540 common, 59674 unique

CALLS  COM  U+B  %U+B  1BN  %1BN   QPts  Zn  CTY  BScore  FileName
-----  ---  ---  ----  ---  ----   ----  --  ---  ------  --------
1     1      0   0.0    0   0.0      0   1    1        0  P29AS.160
185   170   15   8.1   15   8.1    466  18   27    20970  P29AS.80
1389 1304   85   6.1   85   6.1   3903  35   87   476166  P29AS.40
2181 2119   62   2.8   62   2.8   6342  38  119   995694  P29AS.20
4080 3966  114   2.8  116   2.8  12041  36  118  1854314  P29AS.15
1371 1310   61   4.4   74   5.4   4006  33   94   508762  P29AS.10
-------------------------------------------------------------------
9207 8870  337   3.7  352   3.8  26758 161  446 16242106  P29AS.ALL

Example Second Score Summary

Score totals with NIL and Bad call penalties factored in:
1                                    0   1    1        0  P29AS.160
181                                418  18   27    18810  P29AS.80
1374                              3723  35   87   454206  P29AS.40
2169                              6206  38  118   968136  P29AS.20
4056                             11753  36  118  1809962  P29AS.15
1347                              3726  33   94   473202  P29AS.10
----------------------------------------------------------------
9128                             25826 161  445 15650556  P29AS.ALL
-0.9%                                              -3.6%

Explanation of FIRST and SECOND SCORE SUMMARY Columns:

CALLS # calls claimed
COM # calls you worked that were worked by others
U+B # Unique+Bad calls on band
%U+B U+B / total QSOs on band
1BN # One-off-Unique+Bad+NIL QSOs on that band
%1BN 1BN / total QSOs on band
Qpts QSO points on that band
Zn # zones claimed on that band
CTY # countries claimed on that band
BScore band score
FileName Your call.band

N-I-L Report Explained

Also available is a Not-In-Log report named either cw.nil or ssb.nil. This report shows other stations who claim to have worked you, but who are not in your log. EXAMPLE:

N-I-L REPORT FOR P29AS - generated 20:25, Friday, 06-Mar-98
C6AJT.20      jo2ajt (30) jh6ajt (3)
DK1FW.20      ok1fw (2)
EA1JO.15      ea1je (261)d ea1ho (152)
EA3BHK.20     ea3bhr (4) ea3bhb (524)d
EA5ARC.15     ea5prc (4)

...snip...

Explanation: C6AJT claims to have worked P29AS on 20 meters, but he is not in the P29AS.20 log. The calls to the right are other stations who ARE in the P29AS log with callsigns similar to the missing call.

So, How Do You Compare?

Here is a preliminary table to use to compare your UBN vs others in your category. Not all categories are shown at this time. CQ WW SSB Average unique rates for each category. Each number in the table is the average of the top ten entrants of that category.

                160   80   40   20  15   10
   WORLD-AB     0.6  2.2  2.7  2.4  2.6  2.6
     USA-AB     0.7  1.5  1.5  2.9  2.6  2.9
  EUROPE-AB     1.5  2.7  3.1  4.1  4.2  3.0
WORLD-SBAND     7.6  5.2  4.0  3.6  3.5  3.3
  WORLD-QRP     0.0  0.3  0.5  1.0  1.1  1.2
  WORLD-ASS     1.1  0.8  0.6  1.9  2.0  2.4
   WORLD-MS     2.7  3.9  3.5  4.4  4.7  4.7
     USA-MS     2.4  2.1  1.8  3.2  3.1  2.4
   WORLD-MM     4.8  5.8  4.4  4.7  4.8  4.2

Objective

The purpose of the CQ WW CC's log checking and evaluation is to help all entrant's improve and to more legitimately certify the winners. Every one makes mistakes. Use the information to improve.

`CALLS`	# calls claimed
`COM`	# calls you worked that were worked by others
`U+B`	# Unique+Bad calls on band
`%U+B`	U+B / total QSOs on band
`1BN`	# One-off-Unique+Bad+NIL QSOs on that band
`%1BN`	1BN / total QSOs on band
`Qpts`	QSO points on that band
`Zn`	# zones claimed on that band
`CTY`	# countries claimed on that band
`BScore`	band score
`FileName`	Your call.band