Vince,
I certainly understand your sentiment but I fear that this would promote more fishing activity such as we recently experienced with a certain IW1C... station.


For me the word is challenging not frustrating. Awards are supposed to be challenging, that's what makes them fun.

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73, Rich - W3ZJ

Rich:

I do not see the relevance to potential additional fishing activity. Please explain what you mean.

If someone wants to obtain a Certificate of Accomplishment based on false QSOs, then who are they fooling? I see no harm whatsoever to eQSL.cc if there were an eCertificate program available in addition to the present eAwards.

About all this would amount to is getting the eQSL.cc system to calculate when an accomplishment is made, to send an eMail notification when the acheivement was made, and an opportunity to print out a certificate that shows the date, etc.

The challenge would remain and some fun added.

I would like to hear the opinions of the other users.

73, de ~ Vince ~
WA2RSX

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WA2RSX 73 de OPR: VINCE

I agree with Vince. I have a fairly modest setup and eqsls are not gushing in. When I look at my eAwards, I think boy, I've got a long way to go!
If non-AG eqsls were used for a certificate, at least I could hang that on the wall, not that that's going to be any time soon either, but at least my 300 plus entries in my out box may count for more with out having to get AG eqsls.
I hope EQSL.cc will consider this request, and maybe they will get more users (and donations).
Otherwise, I think you're doing a great job and it's a lot easier than LOTW.

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N1CJG Orest 'Andy' Zajac

IS THIS TOPIC DEAD? I HAVEN'T SEEN ANY ADDITIONS OR COMMENTS LATELY. I GUESS THE CASUAL HAM ISN'T INTERESTED. OH WELL......

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N1CJG Orest 'Andy' Zajac

It does appear that way but maybe we can wake it up again.

As one of the few people who approves AG applications I would estimate that I correct the location information, that is Country, State, Grid square, CQ and ITU Zone on about 25% of the applications I see before approving them. People make mistakes when they fill out the registration information and until they apply for AG those mistakes go completely unnoticed. So, without the AG process where we check these things about 25% of the award credits you would receive would be wrong.

So, let me break the rules and answer a question with a question. Would such an award where approximately 25% of the location information is wrong be worth anything?

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73, Rich - W3ZJ

size=2]

Andy:

People read and some don't read/post.

As far as I am concerned I would like to be able to receive notice/acknowledgement when I have worked all 50 states, all 40 zones, all whatever, without regard to AG stns. I thought that it was clear that this would not be an eAward from my wording in the original post, but apparently not clear enough.

To clarify, my intent is not to promote this as an award, but rather a certificate of accomplishment, the accomplishment being that I have, for example, worked at least one station in each state that is an eQSLer.

Put yet another way: Have eQSL calculate which states have not yet been worked. A table of WAS derived from the eQSL.cc database would do the trick for me (forget the certificate if need be). I would rather not need to scroll to the bottom of My Awards for eWAS just to recall that I still need NORTH DAKAOTA (Yeah, I finally made AG QSO with MONTANA, so I am now one state short of applying for the official eWAS award status.)

Same goes for other type of GOALs: WAZ, for example. It would be nice to be notified when I have worked all 40 CQ Zones (without regard to AG station members).

Call it a stepping stone to an official eAward ...

73, de ~ Vince ~


[

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WA2RSX 73 de OPR: VINCE

Well would it be good if you thought you had 50 states confirmed (regardless of AG) but 25% of the profiles were wrong and you really only had 37 states confirmed?

if you go to your award statistics and scroll to the bottom you will see that eQSL does figure out which States you still need. In addition it provides a list of recommended contacts in those states which is based on the most active AG users in those states. In your case, maybe only North Dakota. In my case, I still need 4 and 2 of them are almost silly. WV a neighboring state and NC just one state away. But that's my fault.I chase DX on 10, 15 and 20 and those states are too close to be heard on those bands. If I did a little day time operating on 40 and 80 I'm sure I would have them pretty quick.

Bye the way I know how many total eQSL confirmed states I have because my local log program, DXKeeper, tells me that. It's 50 with lots of repeats. A certificate proclaiming that would not excite me.

However, maybe you are right and some people would like that.

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73, Rich - W3ZJ

I didn't mean to re-open up a hornet's nest here, I just agree with Vince in that when you check your award status, it would be nice to know how many states, countries, zones, etc. you have gotten eqsl's from. You could seperate the counts, one column for AG and another for others.
73

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N1CJG Orest 'Andy' Zajac

<quote>You continue to miss my point. During my QSO I am given the state, country, sometimes grid of the other station. I don't need eQSL.cc's error prone data to advise me of that information; I would prefer to rely on the info received during QSO. Info during QSO is more likely to be 100% accurate, and is certainly more immediate than what the eQSL.cc database provides.
<\quote>

Vince I think I understand your point but I invite you to look at the data that's in your Outbox and your Inbox/Archive. You will notice that there is no location information about you or the stations you worked present in that data. You may upload that data in your ADIF file but eQSL does not store it. Thus the only location information that eQSL has in it's database is that which is in the stations profile. So what you are asking is impossible.

<quote>
At what point does DXKeeper advise you that the other stn is also a registered user of eQSL.cc ? that is not a rhetorical questin, and I will appreciate your answer.
<\quote>

1) Click a button to upload your QSO's to eQSL. It will automatically create an ADiF file of your new QSO's since the last upload and upload it to eQSL.

2) Alter your log has been accepted by eQSL, click another button to synchronize your local log with the data in your eQSL Inbox/Archive. It then downloads your Inbox+Archive data and matches it with the data in your log.

You can then generate a report showing all of you eQSL confirmed contacts as well as tracking information showing States and Countries etc.

I believe logger32 can do this also but requires a bit more manual operation on your part. I think there are other log programs that can do this also but I couldn't name them.

<quote>When to my delight I worked a station in MONTANA, I asked the operator if he was a registered eQSL.cc user. He wasn't. But, he then decided to join eQSL.cc. When I received his eQSL card, I then sent him the canned msg requesting that he become AGed; he DID ! In this instance, things worked out in my (and others) favor, with an increase in the number of AGed users from MONTANA.
<\quote>

Ahhh! Congratulations !!

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73, Rich - W3ZJ

<quote>
Thus the only location information that eQSL has in it's database is that which is in the stations profile. So what you are asking is impossible.
<\quote>

What makes my request impossible? Let's eliminate those section(s); I'm willing to compromise.

I do understand that the location information that eQSL has is within the user database. Within the last paragraph in my last post:

<quote>, LOGGER(16) in my case, presently provides, because the eQSL.cc database of registered users would be used to generate such a report.<\quote>


What I am asking for is not presently possible, however, that is not to say that what I am asking for is impossible. With some skillful programming (Dave) and by using the data presently within the eQSL database, the summary report could be generated. I did not say nor did I mean to imply that ONLY my OUTBOX is required to produce the desired summary report. AFAIK, the INBOX+ARCHIVE BOX data would not be required.

A lookup of the profiled data for each and only the stations that are included within my OUTBOX is required, AFAIK. Stations within my OUTBOX represent the stations with whom I claim a QSO. Continue processing that station location data to generate the desired summary report. I am forced to accept the error rate reflected within the eQSL user profiled data in anycase. ( I maintain that it is the eQSL user's responsibility to guarantee accuracy of his profile data. )

Let me go back to an earlier point. When I wrote the first posting I asked that notification of/progress toward working 50 states be similiar to what is presently derived from AG only data. Remove the criteria of AGed QSOs and I believe what I had asked for is very possible.

It is time to introduce a non-AG certiciate program.

Configure the eQSL.cc system to announce the accomplishiment to the user via an eMail and to produce a certificate that acknowledges when a specific goal has been achieved, but do not include the AG requirement.

I beleive that the coding required to generate a summary report would make partial use of or repeat the coding that already exists for generation of the eAWARDS. I might be mistaken, but what I ask for is doable by those that are adequately motivated and are skillful programmers!

Thanks for answering my question about DXKeeper.
<quote>
1) Click a button to upload your QSO's to eQSL. It will automatically create an ADiF file of your new QSO's since the last upload and upload it to eQSL.

2) Alter your log has been accepted by eQSL, click another button to synchronize your local log with the data in your eQSL Inbox/Archive. It then downloads your Inbox+Archive data and matches it with the data in your log.

You can then generate a report showing all of you eQSL confirmed contacts as well as tracking information showing States and Countries etc.

I believe logger32 can do this also but requires a bit more manual operation on your part. I think there are other log programs that can do this also but I couldn't name them.
<\quote>


So, if I understand correctly, DXKeeper grabs CONFIRMED QSO data from the eQSL.cc database, and then DXKeeper processes the retrieved data to generate a summary report.
If LOGGER(32) can do this also, as you suggest, then perhaps it is time for me to upgrade to LOGGER(32).

So, LOGGER(32) DXKeeper, and perhaps other logging programs are capable of processing confirmed QSO data that is available from the eQSL.cc database. Great ! I note that you have not said that DXKeeper downloads my OUTBOX (i.e., worked station data).

My request is, however, less complicated, since the process would use QSO data and other data for stations worked to generate the desired summary report and that required data is present within the eQSL.cc database, right now, without any manual operation/interaction with my station's logging program.

LOGGER(16) is capable of displaying a combined color-coded chart/tabulation of stations worked and of stations confirmed for the various award interests: WAS, IOTA, DXCC, CQ ZONES. However, it does not identify stations that are also registered with eQSL. What I have been asking for is what LOGGER(16) already does for me, but get eQSL to do the summary report genertion by considering its (growing) user database of callsigns. And, I am not asking that eQSL do the summary report to reflect band/mode criteria. But, base it on my claim for having worked a station/callsign who just happens to also be a registered eQSL user.

73, de ~ Vince ~
WA2RSX on IOTA NA-026

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WA2RSX 73 de OPR: VINCE

Hi everyone!
I agree with Vince.
I think that mistakes will and beside that who eats AG status.

The Example:

eQSL F5KEE
ITU:14 CQ:27 ???

73!
Vlado

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LZ2ZG Vladimir "Vlado" Gerganov

This is what the eDX award is for. You can earn the eDX award regardless of whether you are AG or not.

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Of course, that's just my opinion... I could be wrong!

73,
Dave Morris, N5UP

This whole thread is another argument to get rid of all Non-AG registrations... certainly if 25 % of those are incorrect! Make AG compulsory.

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VK2GWK Henk Tobbe

On what data do you base that ridiculous assertion?

Vince's post near the beginning of this thread advocates another category of award that does not require AG. I could live with that and might even enjoy it.

How about providing two columns in the award listings? One column for certified QSO's and another for non-certified QSO’s. Whether or not Dave could offer a free printed certificate for non-certified awards is questionable as he donates the time and money to deliver those free certificates to those who have worked long and hard enough to earn them.

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73, Rich - W3ZJ

<quote>As one of the few people who approves AG applications I would estimate that I correct the location information, that is Country, State, Grid square, CQ and ITU Zone on about 25% of the applications I see before approving them.</quote>

One of your own posts, Rich. If 25 % percent of the (location) data of participants is wrong, then there is something wrong with the registration/update system.

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VK2GWK Henk Tobbe

> One of your own posts, Rich. If 25 % percent of the (location) data of
> participants is wrong, then there is something wrong with the registration/update
> system.

Ahh! but what I said was that we check and correct that information as part of the AG approval process. It's the non-ag accounts that have never had a human review the information that they entered on the registration form. It's surprising how many hams don't know the difference between an ITU region and an ITU zone and don't bother to click the links that are provided on the registration form to help them. Another common error is to reverse ITU and CQ zone numbers. Grid squares are also often wrong or missing and some don't seem to know what country they live in. But this is all checked and corrected as part of the AG approval process.

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73, Rich - W3ZJ

Some time back, I erroneously said "This is what the eDX award is for. You can earn the eDX award regardless of whether you are AG or not."

I don't know what I was thinking. The eDX does require AG, but it is much easier to earn because it only requires 25 countries, and you can earn it as an SWL.

I suppose we could come up with a non-AG award, if you guys want to. Maybe something that doesn't require the QTH information to be verified. Like maybe something for collecting 100 eQSLs on each of 3 bands or something. I don't know.

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Of course, that's just my opinion... I could be wrong!

73,
Dave Morris, N5UP