Contest Log Analysis: Rate Sheets and What They Teach You

The contest ends, the log is submitted and most operators go to bed. The ones who improve year after year do one more thing: they study what happened. Contest log analysis means reading your own log the way a coach reads a match recording, looking for the hours when the rate collapsed, the bands where you waited too long, the multipliers you found late and the breaks that cost more than they gave. You need no special software. A spreadsheet, your logger’s reports and an honest hour at the end of the weekend are enough. This guide explains what to look at, what each pattern usually means and how to turn it into a specific plan for the next contest.

Start With a Clean, Complete Log

Analysis is only as good as the data. Before you look at any numbers, make sure the log is final: duplicates marked, mistyped callsigns corrected and the exchange fields filled in. If you are still fixing the log, the numbers will change. Submit the entry first and analyse second, so that you are not tempted to change the log to flatter the result. Our guide to Cabrillo logs and the UBN process explains the submission format and the check reports that sponsors publish afterwards. Those reports are themselves an analysis tool, because they list the contacts that were removed and the reason for each.

The standard interchange format for submission is Cabrillo, a plain text file in which each contact is one line beginning with the word QSO. Each line holds the frequency, the mode, the date and time in UTC, your callsign and exchange, and the other station’s callsign and exchange. Because it is plain text with a regular structure, you can load a Cabrillo file into a spreadsheet or a short script and calculate almost anything you need.

The Rate Sheet: Your Main Instrument

A rate sheet shows how many contacts you made in each hour of the contest, broken down by band. Most contest loggers can display the rate while you operate and produce an hourly summary afterwards, and a spreadsheet can build one from a log in a few minutes. It is the single most useful view of a contest, because it shows the shape of the weekend in one table.

Look for these features:

• The peak hours. Which hours were your best, on which band and in which mode? Those are the hours you should plan around next time.
• The dead hours. A sudden fall in rate may be a band closing, a rest break, an equipment fault or a long search for multipliers. Match each dip to a cause, using your memory and the soapbox notes you made.
• Consistency. A steady rate of fifty contacts an hour is often worth more than alternating hours of one hundred and ten. Large swings suggest you are changing bands too often or taking breaks at the wrong time.
• The first and last hours. A slow start is common and usually fixable with a better pre-contest checklist. A weak last few hours show fatigue and are an argument for better rest planning.

Also look at the best ten-minute or sixty-minute peak rate compared with your average. A big gap between the peak and the average means you can run fast when conditions allow, and your problem is the time spent between those runs.

What Each Pattern Usually Means

Treat the table as a set of hypotheses, not verdicts. The same pattern can have different causes, and the log shows what happened, not why.

Band Changes and Time on Each Band

Every band change costs time. You retune, find a clear frequency, wait for callers and spot your own frequency, and during that time the rate drops. Count your band changes and the time you spent on each band. If you made forty changes in a twenty-four hour contest, ask whether each one earned back its cost. Sometimes a change is correct because the band is dying and another is opening, and sometimes it is a restless reaction to a quiet ten minutes.

Compare the bands in terms of contacts per hour of operating time, not total contacts. A band on which you spent two hours and made two hundred contacts is more productive than one on which you spent six hours and made four hundred. If a band was consistently poor for you, the cause could be your antenna, the time of day or the conditions. Our article on run or search and pounce explains how the mode of operating changes the rate on each band, which is part of the explanation for what you see.

Multipliers: When You Found Them

In most contests the score is the number of points multiplied by the number of multipliers, so each multiplier counts the same whenever you find it, but the ones you find early give you more time to work the same multiplier again on other bands. Make a list of each multiplier with the time and band at which you first worked it.

• Which multipliers did you miss? Compare your list with the full list of possible multipliers and note the ones you never worked. Were they simply not on the air, or did you not look for them?
• When did new multipliers stop arriving? A flat line in the second half of the weekend suggests that you have worked the easy ones and need a plan for the hard ones, such as scheduled searches at the right time of day.
• Which bands had a poor multiplier count? A band with many contacts and few multipliers may need a few minutes of searching.

Another useful ratio is the number of multipliers per thousand contacts. If it is much lower than the leaders’ ratio in the published results, you may be running too much and searching too little.

Run Versus Search and Pounce

If your logger records whether each contact was made while running or while searching, compare the two. Running usually produces a higher rate, and search and pounce produces multipliers. The best balance depends on the contest and your station, but extreme splits are worth questioning. An operator who is running ninety percent of the time may be leaving multipliers behind, and one who is searching most of the time may be leaving rate behind. Even if your logger does not record the distinction, the shape of the rate sheet often tells the story: a stretch of steady high rate looks like a run, and a stretch of low irregular rate with many band changes looks like a search.

Breaks, Rest and Mistakes

Look at your longest breaks. A planned rest in the hours when the band was poor is efficient, while a break during a strong opening is expensive. Plot the hours of sleep against the rate. If your best hours came after a rest, plan rest earlier. If your worst hours came after a long stretch of operating, plan shorter, more frequent breaks. Our article on rest and time management in 24 and 48 hour contests covers how to build a schedule.

Also look at your errors. If the sponsor publishes a log check report, read the list of removed contacts, and look for patterns. Do the errors cluster in the late hours, when you were tired? Are they mostly in the callsign, or in the exchange? Are they mostly on one band or in one mode? A pattern points to a cause: tiredness, a poor headset, a bad listening position or an exchange you did not understand. Our guide to Super Check Partial and call history files explains a tool that reduces callsign errors.

Compare Yourself With Others

Raw numbers mean more when you have something to compare them with. Two sources help.

1. Public logs. Some contests publish the logs of all entrants. The CQ World Wide DX Contest, for example, states that it makes the logs of all entries public, other than check logs, to give participants transparency and the chance to study them for better strategies and techniques. See the CQ WW public logs page. The logs are in Cabrillo format, so the same spreadsheet or script that you use for your own log will read them. Pick a station in your category, with a similar antenna setup and score, and compare their rate sheet with yours. Where did they run, and where did they search? When did they change bands?
2. Score reports. Many operators post scores to a public site, and the 3830 Scores site collects posted scores for a wide range of contests and offers contest summaries. Compare your score and your breakdown with those in your class and region.

Be fair in the comparison. A station with a large antenna system and a tower has advantages you cannot copy in a day, so compare with entries that are close to yours in category and power. Our guide to contest categories explains how to choose a class that gives you a sensible group of peers.

Turning the Analysis Into a Plan

An analysis that produces no changes is entertainment. Close it with a short list of decisions.

1. Pick one or two changes. Trying to fix everything at once is the way to fix nothing. For example: stay on a band at least thirty minutes unless the rate falls below a set number, and schedule a ten-minute search at the top of every other hour.
2. Write down specific numbers. A goal of a better rate is vague. A goal of beginning the contest with a rate of sixty an hour in the first two hours is clear.
3. Record what to prepare. If the analysis shows a station problem, such as a noisy band or a poor receive antenna, list the work and set a date to do it.
4. Keep your notes with the log. Store the rate sheet, the multiplier list, your notes and your final score together. Next year’s analysis is much stronger when you can compare it with this one.
5. Use the right contest. If your analysis points to a weakness in a particular skill, such as copying callsigns quickly, a weekly short contest is a cheap way to practise. Our contest calendar guide suggests how to pick the next one.

The Bottom Line

Contest log analysis is a cheap, powerful habit. Build a rate sheet, count your band changes, list your multipliers with the time you found them, find your longest gaps, read the check report and compare your log with a public log from a station like yours. Then pick one or two changes and write them down before the next contest. The operators who improve fastest are not always the ones with the best stations. They are the ones who learn from every log.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a rate sheet in contesting?

A rate sheet is a table that shows how many contacts you made in each hour of the contest, usually broken down by band. It shows the shape of your operating and highlights the hours when the rate rose or fell.

Which software do I need for contest log analysis?

None in particular. Your contest logger probably has rate and summary reports, and the Cabrillo file is plain text that a spreadsheet or a short script can read. Start with the simplest tool you already have.

How many band changes are too many?

There is no single number, because it depends on the contest and the conditions. Compare each change with its cost in lost rate, and ask whether the new band was better than the old one for long enough to repay it.

Where can I find other stations’ logs to study?

Some contests publish the logs of all entrants. The CQ World Wide DX Contest, for example, makes the logs of all entries public, except check logs. Compare a station in your own category and power level with your log.

How soon after the contest should I do the analysis?

Within a few days, while you still remember what happened. Your memory of why the rate fell in a particular hour is much better in the first week than a month later. Write short notes during the contest to help.

Is it worth analysing a contest I did only casually?

Yes, if you want to improve. Even a short look at the rate by hour and the multiplier list can show you one thing to try next time, and it takes less than an hour.