CQ WW logs, 2005 - 2015

The logs for the 2015 running of the CQ WW CW contest are now available from CQ. This means that logs from the period 2005 to 2015 are now available for both SSB and CW.

As before, I have created a compressed file that contains all the cleaned QSO lines from the Cabrillo files from all the logs for all the years for which data are available. The MD5 checksum of this file is: 84864c3d7a7f80653243a35ae014f0dc.

I have also created an augmented file, in compressed format, that adds useful data to each QSO. Each QSO line in the augmented file includes an additional four columns, with the following meanings:

1. The letter "A" or "U" indicating "assisted" or "unassisted"
2. A four-digit number representing the time if the contact in minutes measured from the start of the contest. (I realise that this can be calculated from the other information on the line, but it saves a lot of time to have the number readily available in the file without having to calculate it each time.)
3. Band
4. A set of eight flags, each encoded as T/F: 

• a. QSO is confirmed by a log from the second party 
• b. QSO is a reverse bust (i.e., the second party appears to have bust the call of the first party) 
• c. QSO is an ordinary bust (i.e., the first party appears to have bust the call of the second party) 
• d. the call of the second party is unique 
• e. QSO appears to be a NIL 
• f. QSO is with a station that did not send in a log, but who did make 20 or more QSOs in the contest 
• g. QSO appears to be a country mult 
• h. QSO appears to be a zone mult

The MD5 checksum of this file is: f2ab0dc3af3a4b5ed3f1846953c4d03b.
  
Note that the flags in the augmented data are calculated from the raw data independently of CQ. This is because:

1. for reasons I cannot guess, CQ does not make the actual scoring code available ;
2. the checklogs are not public, and hence represent additional data that CQ can use in determining the values of the flags. 

 

CQ WW Videos Updated

I have updated the set of CQ WW video maps on my youtube channel (channel N7DR). These video maps cover all the years for which public logs are currently available.

To access individual videos directly:

• CQ WW CW 160m (2005 - 2015)
• CQ WW CW 80m (2005 - 2015)
• CQ WW CW 40m (2005 - 2015)
• CQ WW CW 20m (2005 - 2015)
• CQ WW CW 15m (2005 - 2015)
• CQ WW CW 10m (2005 - 2015)

 

• CQ WW SSB 160m (2005 - 2015)
• CQ WW SSB 80m (2005 - 2015)
• CQ WW SSB 40m (2005 - 2015)
• CQ WW SSB 20m (2005 - 2015)
• CQ WW SSB 15m (2005 - 2015)
• CQ WW SSB 10m (2005 - 2015)

 

• CQ WW RTTY 80m (2012 - 2014)
• CQ WW RTTY 40m (2012 - 2014)
• CQ WW RTTY 20m (2012 - 2014)
• CQ WW RTTY 15m (2012 - 2014)
• CQ WW RTTY 10m (2012 - 2014)

 

CQ WW SSB 2015 logs

The logs for the 2015 running of the CQ WW SSB contest are now available from CQ.

As usual, I have created a compressed file that contains all the cleaned QSO lines from the Cabrillo files from all the logs for all the years for which data are available. As the 2015 data for the CW running of the contest are not yet available, this file contains only the SSB data. Currently, the file covers all the QSOs in the years from 2005 to 2015. The MD5 checksum of this file is: b532ba3307583c379c826314b81a5d04.

I have also created an augmented file, in compressed format, that adds useful data to each QSO. Each QSO line in the augmented file includes an additional four columns, with the following meanings:

1. The letter "A" or "U" indicating "assisted" or "unassisted"
2. A four-digit number representing the time if the contact in minutes measured from the start of the contest. (I realise that this can be calculated from the other information on the line, but it saves a lot of time to have the number readily available in the file without having to calculate it each time.)
3. Band
4. A set of eight flags, each encoded as T/F: 

• a. QSO is confirmed by a log from the second party 
• b. QSO is a reverse bust (i.e., the second party appears to have bust the call of the first party) 
• c. QSO is an ordinary bust (i.e., the first party appears to have bust the call of the second party) 
• d. the call of the second party is unique 
• e. QSO appears to be a NIL 
• f. QSO is with a station that did not send in a log, but who did make 20 or more QSOs in the contest 
• g. QSO appears to be a country mult 
• h. QSO appears to be a zone mult

The MD5 checksum of this file is: 1e3f1862d4c8126a5e85639368941d3a.
  
Note that the flags in the augmented data are calculated from the raw data independently of CQ. This is because:

1. for reasons I cannot guess, CQ does not make the actual scoring code available ;
2. the checklogs are not public, and hence represent additional data that CQ can use in determining the values of the flags.

Obviously, a huge number of analyses can be performed with these various files. There follow a few that interested me. 

Geographical Participation

How has the geographical distribution of entries changed over time? 

So there seem to be no major variations over time: the percentage of logs from western EU has decreased somewhat, and the percentage from JA/HL and zone 28 has slightly increased.

In terms of raw numbers of logs, almost everywhere with substantive participation has shown a reasonably consistent increase:

Popularity

I not-infrequently come across statements to the effect that contesting in general, and CQ WW in particular, are increasingly popular. Usually, no evidence for the statement is provided, as if it were self-evident; the only purported evidence I have seen is referral to the fact that the number of entries is increasing -- which is manifestly not the same as an increase in the popularity.

By definition, popularity demands some measure of people (or, in our case, the simple proxy of callsigns). So we can look at the number of calls in the logs as a function of time:

I find this graph particularly interesting, not just because it shows that the popularity of CQ WW SSB appears to have peaked a few years ago, but also because it shows that the result is quite robust regardless of how many times one deems it necessary for a call to appear before that call is deemed a participant.

Activity

We can also look at the change in activity as a function of year. Activity depends on the number of people participation, and on how many QSOs those people make:

Here the words "distinct QSOs" is intended to convey that a QSO is counted once, even if both participants have contributed a log.

Not unexpectedly, this plot shows that the total number of QSOs is dominated by conditions, and, in particular, the state of 10m during the contest.

 

2015 RBN data

All the postings to the Reverse Beacon Network in 2015, along with the postings from prior years, are now available in the directory https://copy.com/smnSEO4RoQuTj4mC.

Some simple annual statistics for the period 2009 to 2015 follow (the 2009 numbers cover only part of that year, as the RBN was instantiated partway through the year).

Total posts:

2009:   5,007,040
2010:  25,116,810
2011:  49,705,539
2012:  71,584,195
2013:  92,875,152
2014: 108,862,505
2015: 116,754,643

 Total posting stations:

2009: 151
2010: 265
2011: 320
2012: 420
2013: 473
2014: 515
2015: 512

 Total posted callsigns:

2009: 143,724
2010: 266,189
2011: 271,133
2012: 308,010
2013: 353,952
2014: 398,293
2015: 433,812

Obviously, much more comprehensive statistics may be derived rather easily from the files in the directory.

Cleaned and augmented QSO information from CQ WW contest files from 2007 to 2014

Thanks to W7EJ, I have been able to extend the historical database of cleaned and augmented CQ WW data back one further year, to 2007. As far as I can tell, there is no source anywhere for CQ WW logs prior to 2007.

The new cleaned data are in a single compressed (xz) file downloadable from:
   https://www.copy.com/s/t%3AjLcUe4NDu7BvPcfC%3Bp%3A%252Fpublic-logs/cq-ww/cq-ww-2007--2014-clean.xz%3Boid%3A148

The MD5 checksum of this file is:
  1d96c696ae20a87f4de7a66e2a523519

Similarly, the augmented data are downloadable from:
   https://www.copy.com/s/t%3AjLcUe4NDu7BvPcfC%3Bp%3A%252Fpublic-logs/cq-ww/cq-ww-2007--2014-augmented.xz%3Boid%3A149

The MD5 checksum of this file is:
  a7674758f3a7c2878944be9f1b6dfd81

Unauthorised EPUB versions of books on iTunes and B&N

I have discovered that the company that produces my hardcopy books for Engine House Books (lulu.com) has also, unbeknownst to me, been auto-converting the PDF files into EPUB and making the results available for sale on iTunes and at the Barnes and Noble NOOK store.

I never explicitly authorised them to do this, and, as far as I know, my permission was never even sought. Presumably, there's some legalese in the Lulu Terms of Service that gave them the right to perform these (what I regard as underhanded) activities without explicit consent from me.

 I have now explicitly removed the EPUB files from Lulu, and will check periodically to make sure that they don't return. As best I understand it, my having removed the files from Lulu will also result in their removal from iTunes and B&N in short order.

In case you wonder why I would not want the books available, there are several issues (apart from the obvious one of their doing this without seeking explicit permission):

1. As the EPUB files were auto-generated, they contained no manual corrections or interventions to improve the look on a reader.
2. The PDF files contain some material that either will not autoconvert sensibly to EPUB (which is really a form of HTML) or material that should not sensibly be present in an electronic version of the book.
3. The fonts and general style that Lulu chose were, frankly, embarrassingly bad.
4. The prices set by Lulu were considerably higher than those I normally set for electronic books.

I am (admittedly slowly) working my way through my fiction books and making them available in electronic formats, using manual conversion from the original text files, as opposed to automated conversion from PDF files.

Category Five is the latest to be converted, and should be appearing shortly in the iTunes and B&N Nook stores.

"Category Five"

My techno-thriller, Category Five, has been converted to Kindle format, and is now available from Amazon. The price is $3.50.

It takes a fair amount of work to convert a book to the various electronic formats (I should write a blog post about that sometime). I will make the book available in other formats and at other online stores as soon as I can.