Submitting Logs

The CQ WPX Contest Committee asks everyone who participates in the contest to submit their log in electronic format by email. Even small logs are very helpful in the log checking process and are greatly appreciated.
There are several ways to submit your log.

1. Logs in the Cabrillo file format can be sent by e-mail to ssb@cqwpx.com for SSB and cw@cqwpx.com for CW.
2. Logs in Cabrillo format can be uploaded, checked and submitted from the Log Check page.
3. Logs in ADIF format can be submitted through the adif conversion page.

All logs submitted are received by a log processing robot. If your log has been submitted correctly, the robot will reply with an e-mail containing a tracking (confirmation) number. If there is a problem with your log, the robot will send you an error message containing suggestions for how to fix your log. Read this e-mail carefully. Most log submission problems are minor and can be easily corrected. Submit your log as many times as needed. Once you receive the tracking number, your log has been accepted.
To help filter out spam, the robot expects to find an amateur radio callsign as the only item in the Subject line of the email. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THE CALLSIGN YOU USED IN THE CONTEST (THE ONE IN YOUR LOG) APPEARS IN THE SUBJECT LINE OF THE E-MAIL. If this information is not there, your log may be rejected by the robot.
You can view the current list of logs received: SSB Logs Received or CW Logs Received.

A Checklist for Sending E-mail Logs

1) Completely fill out the header information in the Cabrillo file.

Your contest logging software may do this for you. Even so, we recommend that you open the log file with a text editor like Notepad or Wordpad and check that all information is entered in the correct format. See the Cabrillo format page for an example log file with explanations of the fields.

Whatever is recorded in the header of your Cabrillo file is how we will process your entry. 

Check the Cabrillo file header closely before submitting your log. Items may have been omitted or may be incomplete. If you did not answer all of the questions correctly when you set up the contest in the logging program or have changed your mind about your category, or the operator list has changed and you do not correct these items, the wrong information WILL get posted to the Cabrillo file.

The only way to change your log entry once the robot has accepted it is for you to submit another log.

2) Name the Cabrillo log file with the call you used in the contest (e.g., K5ZD.LOG).
3) Use the Cabrillo LogCheck page to confirm that your log contains all required information.
4) Attach the log file to an email. In the subject line of the email please put only the callsign you used during the contest. Do not include any other information in the subject line or the body.
5) Send to the email address based on the contest. WPX SSB logs go to ssb@cqwpx.com. WPX CW logs go to cw@cqwpx.com.
6) You should receive a confirmation email back from the robot in a few minutes. Please read the confirmation email and make sure there are no error or warning messages at the bottom.  If not then your log has been accepted and the process is complete.

Common Errors

Many logs not accepted by the robot are due to simple errors that can be easily corrected. The error message from the robot should explain the problem, but it is always a good idea to check the following before sending your log.

• Confirm your log is in Cabrillo format.
• The log begins with START-OF-LOG: and has both dashes with a colon at the end.
• The contest name in the log looks like this (These are the only two that are accepted.):
  CONTEST: CQ-WPX-SSB
  CONTEST: CQ-WPX-CW 
• The category is in the format shown on the Cabrillo log format page. Note the differences between Cabrillo v3 and v2!
  Note: If you are submitting a multi-two entry, please make sure the transmitter column is included.  This column should be set to 0 for all QSOs made by transmitter 1 and set to 1 for all QSOs made by transmitter 2.
• You are a USA entry that does not include the ARRL-SECTION or LOCATION field to indicate where you operated from.
• The last line in the log is END-OF-LOG:
• The time and date (UTC) must be within the contest period. If not, the robot may think the log is for the wrong contest. 
• Check the summary area of the log to be sure there are spaces after the colons and the keys are properly hyphenated. 
• Be sure each line in the summary has a key. If you need more lines for your address or for your comments , add as many ADDRESS: and SOAPBOX: lines as you need.
• If you want your score to be contributed to a club, please spell out the full club name using one of the names from the list of club names.

If you get an error message from the robot that you do not understand, send an e-mail to questions@cqwpx.com

Software for Typing in Paper Logs or Converting ADIF Files

DL8WAA has created a free software application called LM that makes it very easy and fast to type in a paper log and convert it into a Cabrillo file that can be mailed to the log robot. The LM software can also read ADIF files and convert them to Cabrillo format.
Visit the LM web site at http://contestsoftware.com/e/home.htm to obtain the free download.

PAPER LOGS

E-mail logs via the robot are encouraged. If you can not send an electronic log, you may mail your log to CQ WPX Contest, P.O. Box 481, New Carlisle, OH 45344 USA.. Please mark the envelope plainly as WPX SSB or WPX CW.
Click here to obtain a copy of the paper log submission forms (summary sheet and log page).