In reply to MM0FMF:
Hi Andy, thanks a lot for starting the new routine to upload the S2S. I’ve done one and it works ok.
I’ve just one question; it seems the S2S are valid starting in January 2013, as far as I can see in the honour roll…
Is that correct? If this was the case I have to upload also my January S2S, but I understood the award was running since February and not retrospective?
Thanks for the clarification. 73
Ignacio
In reply to EA2BD:
The award starts 1-Feb-2013. For about 1hr today I allowed any S2S QSO to be logged. This was because I wanted some real data in the database to experiment with. Now I have enough I have enabled the date check. When I have finished I will clean up the out of date entries.
Andy
MM0FMF
In reply to MM0FMF:
Hi Andy,
Ive just logged 12 entries without a hitch, apart from the minor issue of the scrolling problem which Rod pointed out earlier. Im delighted to see it all up and running.
Many thanks…
73 Mike
2E0YYY
In reply to 2E0YYY:
Ditto, works a treat! Thanks all for making this possible.
73
Gerald
2W0GDA
In reply to K6ILM:
Hi Elliott,
we should discuss why the s2s chaser entries do not automatically enter into the activator logs.
When I first read that, I thought “What a splendid idea”! Some hours later it has dawned on me that the entry procedures for activator logs are not parallel; in fact they are quite distinct. Chaser logs are submitted one-at-a-time, whereas activator logs are submitted as a whole batch together.
ie, if you entered a S2S log, you will have also, automatically, entered all the data needed for ONE QSO of an activator log, not a complete ready-to-be-submitted activator log.
I guess there is a way for this data to be temporarily stored, and for it to already appear as a few lines of pre-entered logs when you start to enter the activation involved. I also guess that this may demand much greater immediate memory capacity of the servers, and that it is quite a way down Andy “Mr Database” MM0FMF’s list of priorities. (Below bringing the SWL section into the Database at the very least!).
Tom M1EYP
peacemaker #6
In reply to K6ILM:
The thing I love about answering Elliott’s questions is they seem so sensible and straightforward but no matter how you answer you end up getting deeper and deeper into a world where you cannot extricate yourself without making work for yourself that you cannot excuse yourself from doing! Have you considered a career in the law or maybe as a politician? 
It’s a cool idea but isn’t feasible for lots of reasons. The main one being the system just isn’t designed like that. I’d blunt my fingers typing in the explanation as to why though. But it’s made me think about a few things that maybe something many people want.
However, Tom is right. The SWL section is something I promised Tom a way back and needs time spending on it. It’s next after the S2S CSV uploader, SOTA complete honour roll and S2S and complete score vetting for Barry.
Andy
MM0FMF
If I’m reading the rules correctly, for those of us activating a summit multiple times throughout the year, it’s best not to enter any s2s contacts until the end of the year, otherwise you could potentially being throwing points away by not logging your most prolific s2s activation.
I’m I correct in my thinking?
Pete
In reply to G4ISJ:
I’m I correct in my thinking?
No.
Andy
MM0FMF
In reply to G4ISJ:
Hi Peter,
You will recieve the S2S points for the summit YOU are activating once per year (assuming you make at least one S2S). If you re-visit the same summit in the calender year, you will only receive the points for the summits you CHASE.
73 Mike
2E0YYY
In reply to 2E0YYY:
OK Mike, I’ll have to read the rules again.
I thought you could only claim points from a summit once per year, i.e. the points you’ve claimed for Shining Tor on the 2nd are the only S2S chasing points you can have from there until next year.
Are there therefore 2 awards, chaser and activator?
Pete
In reply to G4ISJ:
I thought you could only claim points from a summit once per year
No, activation points once/year from any summit.
Activation summit to chased summit is once per day.
Are there therefore 2 awards, chaser and activator?
No. Look at the S2S log to see how the scoring works. Also the S2S award is fully independent of the Chaser and Activator awards.
EDIT: I forgot this bit… If you think it’s a little tricky to follow the rules imagine how much fun it was getting the software to score it! I think it took me 4 attempts in the end.
Andy
MM0FMF
A great new award Andy especially for relatively new activators, it gives us all a level playing field starting from now.
Thanks & 73
Nick G4OOE
In reply to G4OOE:
I just drive the computers, most of the deep thought on awards comes from the other MT members. I think at one point some of the MT were losing the will to live as we churned the ideas back and forward for this.
We don’t want too many awards and we do want them to be challenging enough to be worthwhile. We don’t want to devalue the effort chasers/activators put in in the past to claim an award either. Yet the awards have to be achievable for the small stations and averagely fit person. If the awards only work for super fit people who just happen to be world class DXers then we have failed. It makes setting the rules very difficult so we can meet all our criteria. As you say, the nice thing about this is everyone starts at the same point, newcomers and old hands.
Andy
MM0FMF
In reply to MM0FMF:
EDIT: I forgot this bit… If you think it’s a little tricky to
follow the rules imagine how much fun it was getting the software to
score it! I think it took me 4 attempts in the end.
About 30 years ago I had to code a system for Bonus calculations for weekly paid Council Tradespeople… in COBOL. You have my sympathy.
73
Gerald
2W0GDA
In reply to MM0FMF:
Hi Andy,
the nice thing about this is everyone starts at the same point, newcomers and old hands<
I’ll run with both Awards here and of course the original though slightly different version on the other website (582 S2S’s todate - of which 500 have been verified and awarded to me). It would have been a shame to have wasted all that effort in the past.
And of course looking forward to SOTA Complete
Keep up the good work. Much appreciated what you and all the MT do on our behalf.
Jack(;>J
GM4COX
In reply to 2E0XYL:
In reply to MM0FMF:
I wonder whether there will also be an honour roll
for SOTA Complete?
There is now! This was a pig of a SQL query to write. Well I had one working but it used temporary tables and I was sure I could do it in one query (with sub queries). So I played about and came up with a query that doesn’t use temporary tables. It does use an MS SQL Server only command which irritates. You know it’s there and one day it will come back and bite you on the bum.
I should have updated the user specific log to use a similar query rather than the current one which requires the data to massaged by the C# code afterwards. I’ll clean it up one day.
This gave me something to whilst I waited for the rain to stop, then the snow to stop and then more rain to spot. B-awful weather so far this year which hasn’t made me to eager to get out on to the bogs er I mean hills!
S2S CSV uploader next…
Andy
MM0FMF