What changed
Submitting a contest log — edited Aug 31, 2026 by Unknown editor
This is the first recorded version, so every line is shown as added. Note: Imported from content/wiki
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Contest sponsors want one file in one format, sent before a deadline. Getting that right takes about
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five minutes and is where a surprising number of entries fall over.
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## Cabrillo
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**Cabrillo** is the plain-text format nearly every contest uses. Its header declares who you are and
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what you entered; each line after that is one contact.
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```
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START-OF-LOG: 3.0
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CONTEST: ARRL-DX-SSB
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CALLSIGN: KX4XYZ
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CATEGORY-OPERATOR: SINGLE-OP
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CATEGORY-POWER: LOW
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CATEGORY-BAND: ALL
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CLAIMED-SCORE: 12480
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NAME: Sam Example
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QSO: 14200 PH 2026-02-21 1834 KX4XYZ 59 TN K1ABC 59 KW
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END-OF-LOG:
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```
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Your logging software writes this for you — in N1MM+ it is File → Export → Cabrillo, and it will
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prompt for the category fields. The three things worth checking by hand:
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- **CONTEST** must be the exact identifier the sponsor lists, or the robot cannot classify your entry.
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- **CATEGORY-** lines must match what you actually did. Claiming Low Power while running an amplifier
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is the one mistake that gets an entry moved to Checklog.
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- **Times are UTC** and dates are `YYYY-MM-DD`.
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Some sponsors accept **ADIF** instead, and a few smaller contests still take a plain summary sheet.
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State QSO parties often have their own web form.
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## Sending it
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Most contests use a **web upload with a scoring robot** — you paste or upload the file and get an
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immediate report of what it parsed. A few still take email to a submission address, in which case
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attach the file and put nothing clever in the subject line.
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Deadlines are firm and short: commonly **5 to 30 days** after the contest ends. Check the rules;
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missing it usually means your log is accepted only as a checklog.
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## What happens next
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- The robot **parses and acknowledges** your file. Read the confirmation email — it tells you the
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category it filed you under and the score it computed, which is a useful sanity check.
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- **Log checking** cross-references every contact against the other station's log. Contacts the other
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station did not log, or logged with a different callsign or exchange, are removed and usually carry
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a penalty. This is why you should log what you *heard*, not what you assumed.
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- **Results** appear weeks or months later, listing every entrant with a claimed and a final score,
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and often the error rate.
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## Entering as a checklog
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If you made a handful of contacts and do not care about a score, submit anyway with the category the
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rules give for a checklog. Your log still helps verify everyone you worked, which is a real
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contribution and costs you nothing.
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## Club and multi-operator entries
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Contests score clubs as well as individuals: enter the club's name in the `CLUB:` field exactly as the
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sponsor spells it, and every member's entry contributes. Multi-operator entries need every operator's
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callsign in the header, and the category rules about who may transmit when are stricter than most
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first-timers expect — read them before Field Day weekend, not during it.