Contest Settings
The contest settings control everything that is related to the currently running contest. When starting a new contest, the settings are initialized using the defaults from the configuration file. After this initialization, every change to the contest settings is stored in the contest log file, the changes have no effect on the configuration file.
The contest settings dialog is opened using "File > Settings..." in the main menu. All changes are effective once you close the dialog.
The Callsign field contains the call that you are using in the contest (for example a club call), while the Operator field contains your personal call. In the Locator field you can provide your maidenhead locator that is used to calculate rotor angles and distances to other stations.
Hello Contest uses the conval library to do all the calculation of points and multis. Therefor you need to select the contest definition from the Definition drop down list. This selection also controls everything else that is defined in the contest rules:
- which exchange fields are available,
- how callsigns are visualized in the callsign information and spots windows,
- how the exchange values are predicted,
- the duration of the contest.
The Name is a simple description of the current contest, you can enter whatever is helpful for you. It is also used to propose a file name when saving the contest log file, or exporting the log into other formats.
Start Time (UTC) defines the official start time of the current contest in UTC. You can enter the time using the format DD-MM-YYYY HH:mm, or you can use the two buttons:
- Today for the current date at midnight (00:00h) UTC
- Now for the current date and the current hour
The start time is used to visualize the current time in the context of the contest, and also for the calculation of the several rates.
The section My Exchange contains an entry field for each exchange field defined in the selected contest definition. Here you enter your exchange values:
If the contest uses RST or a serial number for exchange, those values can automatically be generated by Hello Contest. The generated RST depends on the currently used mode: 599 for cw and digital, 59 for phone.
You can also choose to provide a custom RST value:
When Sprint is activated, Hello Contest switches automatically between run and search&pounce whenever a new QSO is logged.
You may select a Call History File that is used to predict exchange values based on former contests.
Below the call history filename, you can select for each exchange field, which corresponding Call History Field is used to predict the value for this specific exchange field.
The Rate Goals are used to visualize your current performance in the score and QSO rate windows. You may provide goals for
- QSOs per hour
- Points per hour
- Multis per hour