If you want to have a SILVER LOG, it's easy and a SILVER LOG makes my job of cross-cheking logs much much easier when I don't have to edit your log
before putting it in the cross-checking program. Let's look at the simple steps that take you but a couple minutes at most to fix, but take me hours
if there are a lot of logs that need editing.

Here is an excerpt from a perfect SILVER LOG (SL from now on) we are going to study a line at a time. First of all note there MUST be 8 items in EACH line.
If a line has fewer or more, that's an immediate clue it is not a SL and something needs to be fixed.

K3WWP 40 0030 VE3MO ON 1578 1 2 
K3WWP 40 0031 AA9L WI 0827 2 2 
K3WWP 40 0033 KD8FKD OH 4585 3 2 
K3WWP 40 0034 KB9ILT IL 5588 4 2 
K3WWP 40 0038 AA3OI PA 5W 5 1 
K3WWP 40 0040 KB8FE OH 1542 - 2 
K3WWP 40 0042 K0EUN MN 5813 6 2 
K3WWP 40 0044 W9UX WI 0033 - 2 
K3WWP 20 0050 K9OSC MN 3894 - 2 
K3WWP 20 0052 KI0I MO 4578 7 2 
K3WWP 20 0054 N0TA CO 2028 8 2 

I will number each item 1 through 8 from left to right and discuss each one thoroughly.

1. YOUR call sign. This must be the first item in each line. Obviously if it is not there, the cross-checker won't know whose log it is checking.

2. The band on which the QSO was made. It must be in the format as shown above which is correct. DO NOT put an M, m, or meters after the number.
    ONLY the number of the band - 20, 40, or 80 - that's all.

3. The time of the QSO. This is one of the items that eliminates a lot of logs from being a SL. Let's look at the errors first:

    A. There should not be a colon in the time, this is WRONG - 00:30, 01:30
    B. Time should not be AM or PM, this is WRONG - 8:30PM
    C. Any time that is outside of the ranges 0030-0230 or 0130-0330, whichever is in effect depending on whether your current time is
       Standard or Daylight Savings. this is WRONG - 0430, 2235
    D. DO NOT put a Z or z after the time, this is WRONG - 0035Z, 0140z
    E. A missing leading zero is WRONG - 135, 240

    The time should be simply FOUR digits in the correct time frame, this is CORRECT - 0135, 0222, 0315

4. The call of the station you worked. This is pretty straightforward. Just remember to include any portable DX prefixes or suffixes.
    It should be PJ4/K4BAI, not just K4BAI, K3WWP/VE3, not just K3WWP
    DO NOT include any non-DX portable indicators. It should be KQ1P, NOT KQ1P/2.

5. The State, Province, or DX entity. Use standard TWO letter abbreviations for states and provinces. That is ON, NOT ONT, NY NOT N.Y.
    For DX, use the common prefix of that country. That is DL for Germany, PJ4 for Bonaire, etc.

6. The NAQCC member number OR power, one or the other. Never leave it blank. The number can be either 4 digits with leading zero(es) or just the number.
    That is 0033 and 33 are equally correct.
    A power MUST have a capital W at the end. That is 5W, 50W, 100W. DO NOT use a lower case w. DO NOT omit the W.

7. The most popular reason a log is not a SL is this column. Every time you work a NEW state, province, or country (SPC), put the number of
    that SPC in this column. Look at the log above. You will see the following:

    ON was the first SPC (or multiplier) worked, so a number 1 goes here.
    WI was the next new SPC so a number 2 goes here
    OH, IL, PA were the next in line, so they are numbered 3, 4, and 5 respectively

    So far, so good, but here comes the part that confuses a lot of folks for some reason.
    QSO # 6 was with KB8FE in OH. Now OH was worked before so it is not a new SPC. Since it is not new, YOU MUST put a hyphen (-) here to indicate
    it is not new. DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT do any of the following if a SPC is not new.

    DO NOT simply leave a blank space
    DO NOT repeat the number from the last new SPC
    DO NOT use anything other than a hyphen (-) for a non-new SPC

8. Another problem area for SLs is this last column. Quite simply, it should be 2 if the QSO was with a member, or 1 if the QSO was with a non-member.
The problem seems to come when someone does not download the latest GenLog data file the day of the sprint.
    Then since the newest members are not on the older GenLog data file you use, those members will show up with a 1 instead of a 2.
    That's the most common reason, but there are others too numerous to mention. The solution is simple though, if you just take a few seconds
    to look at your log and fix any point values that need it before you submit your log. If you have a member number in column 6, be sure there is a 2 in
    column 8. If you have a power in column 6, be sure there is a 1 in column 8.

That's all there is to it. If you use GenLog, be sure you are using the latest GenLog data file,
and use the correct GenLog file as your log, and take a quick glance at the log before you submit it to correct any obvious errors, you're guaranteed a SL.
If you're not sure which is the correct file to submit, see the GenLog illustrated tutorial on the club web site.

Just a couple further notes. It is not necessary to try to line things up neatly into 8 columns. All that is necessary is to have at least one SPACE
between the items.
Logs should be in ALL UPPER CASE letters, but that is easy to fix with a couple key strokes if for any reason you don't have a caps lock key on your
computer or forget to use it.

This is the first draft of this check list. As I look at future logs and find a different kind of error, I'll add that to the list.