Contester's Rate Sheet for January 1, 2003

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Contester's Rate Sheet
1 January 2003
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Edited by Ward Silver, N0AX

Happy New Year, everybody!!

SUMMARY
o New Contest - East Asia 160m/80m, Jan 11 & 12
o Check the ARRL "Logs Received" Web page
o Save money on QSLing
o Source of Tailtwister rotator repair parts
o VHF Contesting Encouragement

BULLETINS
o The ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes runs from 1900Z Saturday Jan 18
through 0400Z Monday Jan 20. The QST "World Above 50 MHz" column for
January erroneously lists the times as 1800Z -- 0300Z. (This is a
repeat announcement.)

BUSTED QSOS
o The Linux-based logging program being developed by Rein Couperus
PA0RCT is named TLF, not TRF as reported in the last issue, and can be
acquired at http://home.iae.nl/users/reinc/TLF-0.2.html.

ANNOUNCEMENT & NOTICES FOR 1 JANUARY TO 14 JANUARY 2003

Logs are due for the following contests:
 
o January 5, 2003  QRP ARCI Topband Sprint - email to:
rfoltz@turbonet.com, or mail to: Randy Foltz, K7TQ, Attn: Topband
Sprint, 809 Leith St, Moscow, ID 83843, USA  

o January 7, 2003  PSK31 Death Match - email to: bripaw@yahoo.com, or
mail to: (email only)  

o January 8, 2003  ARRL 160-Meter Contest - email to:
160meter@arrl.org, or mail to: 160 Meter Contest, ARRL, 225 Main St,
Newington, CT 06111, USA  

o January 10, 2003  AGB Party Contest - email to: eu1eu@qsl.net, or
mail to: Igor "Harry" Getmann, EU1EU, PO Box 143, Minsk 220005,
Belarus  

o January 13, 2003  Digital Prefix Contest -- post results at: 
http://podxs.com/html/dpx_online_score.html, or mail to: Ernest Mills,
WM2U, 9 Morningside Dr, Ballston Lake, NY 12019-1531, USA  

The following contests are scheduled:

Note that the following abbreviations are used to condense the contest
rules summaries:
SO - Single-Op; M2 - Multiop - 2 Transmitters; MO - Multi-Op; MS -
Multi-Op, Single Transmitter; MM - Multi-Op, Multiple Transmitters; AB
- All Band; SB - Single Band; S/P/C - State/Province/DXCC Entity; HP -
High Power; LP - Low Power; Entity - DXCC Entity

UBA-SWARL 365 Day Contest - All modes - sponsored by the Royal Society
of Radio Amateurs (UBA) and the Short Wave Amateur Radio Listening
(SWARL) during all of 2003. Participants log DXCC entities on all
amateur bands from 160 - 10-meters according to the IARU band plans.
Each entity logged counts one point per band. Logs are due at three
times through the year - 31 March, 30 June, and 30 September to
ONL4299@skynet.be (email only). For more information -
http://www.uba.be/.

There are a number of short contests celebrating the New Year. For
more information, view the Web sites for each contest.
o New Years Snowball Contest - sponsored by the Activity Group of
Belarus (AGB) -  http://www.qsl.net/eu1eu/
o HA Happy New Year Contest - sponsored by the Budapest Society of the
Hungarian Radio Amateur Society and the Puskás Tivadar Radio Amateur
Club -  http://radioklub.puskas.hu/ha5khc/web/
o SARTG New Year RTTY Contest - sponsored by the Scandinavian RTTY
Activity Group (SARTG) - http://www.sartg.com 

ARRL RTTY Roundup - 1800Z Jan 4 - 2400Z Jan 5, operate for 24 hours
max. with no more than two off periods. Frequencies: 80 -- 10 meters.
Categories: SO-LP, SO-HP, MS-LP, MS-HP, 10-minute band-change rule for
MS. Exchange: RST + state/province/serial number. QSO Points: 1
pt/QSO. Score: QSO points x States + Provinces + DXCC entities counted
only once (KH6, KL7 count as DXCC only). For more information -
http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2003/rtty.html. Logs due 4 Feb to
rttyru@arrl.org (Cabrillo format only) or RTTY Round-Up, ARRL, 225
Main St, Newington, CT 06111.

Kid's Day - Phone - sponsored by the Boring Amateur Radio Club from
1800Z to 2400Z Jan 4. Frequencies: 28350 - 28400, 21380 - 21400, 14270
- 14300 kHz, and 2-meter repeaters with permission of repeater control
ops. Exchange: Name, age, and favorite color. If the operator has
changed, a station can be contacted again. For more information -
http://www.jzap.com/k7rat/ or read the QST article about the contest
on page 96 of the December issue. No scores or logs are required -
every participant is eligible to receive a colorful certificate. Send
a 9 X 12 SASE to Boring Amateur Radio Club, 15125 SE Bartell Rd,
Boring, OR 97009. 

AGCW Winter QRP Contest - CW - sponsored by the DL CW Activity Group
(DL-AGCW) from 1500Z Jan 4 - 1500Z Jan 5, 15 hours max with at least
one 5-hour break. Frequencies: 80 through 10-meter bands. Categories:
SO-VLP (<1 W), QRP (<5 W), MP (<25 W), QRO. Exchange: RST, serial
number and category. QSO Points: QRP-VLP, QRP-QRP, VLP-QRP and VLP-VLP
count 3 pts, QSOs with MP and QRO stations - 2 pts, QRO-QRO not
allowed. Score: QSO points X DXCC entities counted once per band. For
information - http://www.agcw.de. Logs due Feb 10 to qrp-test@agcw.de
or Lutz Noack, DL4DRA, Hochschulstr. 30/702, D-01069 Dresden,
Germany.

North American QSO Party - CW - sponsored by the National Contest
Journal from 1800Z Jan 11 - 0600Z Jan 12 on the 160 - 10-meter bands.
Categories: SOAB and M2, 100 W power limit, operate a maximum of 10
hours (off times must be at least 30 min and M2 entries may operate
the entire contest). Exchange: Name and SPC. Score: QSOs X States +
Province + NA DXCC countries (count each once per band). For
information - http://www.ncjweb.com/naqprules.php. Logs due Feb 11 to
cwnaqp@ncjweb.com or Bruce Horn, WA7BNM, 4225 Farmdale Avenue, Studio
City, CA 91604. The same mailing address will be used for both modes
of this contest.

Hunting Lions in the Air - CW/Phone - sponsored by the South African
District 410B of the Int'l Association of Lions Clubs from 0000Z Jan
11 - 2400Z Jan 12th. Frequencies: 80 - 10 meters, work stations once
per band regardless of mode. Categories: SOAB, MS. Exchange: RST and
serial number, Lion club members also sign /L or "Lion" and send name,
district and club name. The Midrand Lions station ZS6LCM/L will act as
the Melvin Jones Memorial club this year instead of W7YU. QSO Points:
non-Lion station - 1 pt, with Lions - 5 pts, 25 points with ZS6LCM/L.
Score: QSO points X number of Lions clubs worked (count only once).
For more information -
http://www.sarl.org.za/public/contests/lionita.htm or email
rad.handfield-jones@pixie.co.za Logs due Feb 28 to
rad.handfield-jones@pixie.co.za or to Lion Rad Handfield-Jones ZS6RAD,
Lions Club of Midrand, PO Box 1548, Halfway House, 1685, South
Africa.

DARC 10-meter Contest - CW/SSB - sponsored by the Deutscher Amateur
Radio Club   from 0900Z -1059Z Jan 12. Frequencies: CW 28.000 - 28.200
MHz, SSB 28.300 - 28.700 MHz, work stations once only. Categories:
SO-Mixed Mode and SO-CW for DL and non-DL. Exchange: RS(T) and serial
number, DL stations add DOK code. QSO points: 1 pt/QSO. Score: QSOs x
WAE and DXCC entities + DOK codes. For more information -
http://www.darc.de/referate/dx/fedcz.htm. Logs due 31 Jan to
10m-contest@darc.de or Frank Steinke, DL8WAA, PO Box 1188, D-56238
Selters, Germany 

Midwinter Contest - sponsored by the Dutch YL Committee, CW from 1400Z
- 2000Z Jan 12, SSB from 0800Z - 1400Z Jan 13. Frequencies: 80 -
10-meters, SSB 3.600-3.650, 7.080-7.090, 14.270-14.300, 21.270-21.300,
28.470-28.500 MHz. Categories: YL-SSB, YL-CW, OM-SSB, OM-CW, SWL.
Exchange: RS(T) and sequence number, OMs start with 001 and YLs start
with 2001. QSO Points: YL - 5 pts, OM - 3 pts. Score: QSO points x
DXCC entities counted once per mode. Logs due 28 Feb to
jkoekkoek@freeler.nl or PA3GQG - Contest Manager Midwinter Contest,
Olmenplein 3, 6463 EV Kerkrade, The Netherlands.

East Asia 160/80m DX -- CW -- sponsored by 59 Magazine, from 0900Z Jan
11 -- 2200Z Jan 12. Work Zone 19, Zone 25, and Ogasawara stations.
Frequencies: 160 -- 80 meters. Categories: SOAB, SOSB (no power
divisions). Spotting assistance (no self-spotting) allowed for SOAB
and SOSB entrants. SO-Conservative category restricted to receive on
one frequency at a time, operator must be station licensee, multi-band
only, no spotting assistance of any kind. CQ-ing on alternate bands is
not permitted. Exchange: RST + CQ Zone. QSO Points for East Asia
entrants: Zone 19/25/JD1o -- 1 pt on 80, 3 pts on 160, EU/OC/NA -- 3
pts on 80, 9 pts on 160, AF/SA -- 6 pts on 80, 18 points on 160. QSO
Points for others: 10 pts on 80, 30 pts on 160. MM stations count for
multipliers, but no QSO Points. Score: QSO points x DXCC entities + CQ
Zones counted once per band. For more information --
http://tamo.dip.jp. Logs due Feb 15 to ja1ely@bb.mbn.or.jp (Cabrillo
format only -- put call and category in subject line).

NEWS & PRESS RELEASES

Version 2.9 of WSJT is available for download as an upgrade from
http://pulsar.princeton.edu/~joe/K1JT, or http://www.dk5ya.de. A
baker's dozen of new features are included. A new manual will be
coming out with version 3.0. WSJT is an abbreviation for the name of
the program "Weak Signal communications, by K1JT." The program
currently supports two digital signaling modes: FSK441 is designed to
support communication using the very brief "pings" from meteor trails
in the ionosphere and JT44, designed for tropo-scatter, iono-scatter,
and Earth-Moon-Earth (EME) paths. Both modes provide very significant
improvements in sensitivity over traditional CW.

RESULTS AND RECORDS

The list of logs received for the 2002 ARRL "10 GHz and Up" contest
has been posted at http://www.arrl.org/contests/claimed/. If you find
an error in your entry or your entry is missing, please contact Kathy
Allison, KA1RWY at kallison@arrl.org or by phone at 860-594-0295. And
while you're there, take a look for your submitted logs for ARRL
Sweepstakes, 10-Meter, and 160-Meter contests -- with all these
contests, its easy to forget one. (Thanks, Dan N1ND)

The WAE CW results have been posted at
http://www.darc.de/referate/dx/fedcw2c.htm.  (Thanks, Eric K9GY)

The results of the Adventure Radio Society's December Spartan Sprint
are available at http://www.natworld.com/ars with N4BP winning the
Skinny Division and NC7J topping the Tubby Division.

TECHNICAL & TECHNIQUE

With all those contest QSLs rolling in, Larry N7DF contributes a
money-saving tip. "I found that you can save money on sending QSL
cards to overseas bureaus from the US by using a postal rate called
"surface mail letter post". If you have about a pound of cards (150 or
so) going to a single bureau such as JA, DL or I this is definitely
the way to go. The rate is $3.80 to most European Countries, $4.95 to
the rest of the world except $4.05 to VK, ZL and JA. The rate scales
up by 60 cents for each additional 4 ounces. This is quite a bit
cheaper than outgoing ARRL bureau rate of $8 per pound."  The ARRL
bureau rate includes sorting for multiple outbound bureaus. Jim, AD1C
also wrote an article about using this special rate for KC1XX's large
volume of outbound QSOs - http://www.ad1c.com/HamRadio/kc1xx_qsl.htm.

Feeling knotty around the New Year?  Why knot?  We all use knots in
many different applications for holding, joining, hauling, raising,
and so forth. It's a good idea to know the appropriate knot and how to
tie it. Here are some how-to references:
o "The Camper's Knot Tying" - - 50 need-to-know knots
o "Outdoor Knots" - 14 essential knots on waterproof plastic cards
(credit card size)
o "Rock Climbing Tying Kit" -- Comes with a practice carabiner, 2-24"
alpine ropes and
   a 16-knot booklet
If you'd like to win some bets at Dayton, the following Web site shows
how to tie a bowline one-handed!
http://www.iland.net/~jbritton/bowline.htm. (Thanks to Dale KG5U and
Bob K8IA)

With the recent (and likely upcoming) stormy weather, some Tailtwister
owners might be looking for spare parts. Tree N6TR reports that the
gear drive train for the AR-22 is identical to that of the T2X -- all
the same part numbers. If you have to do repair on your Tailtwister,
buying a new or used AR-22 might be a considerably less expensive way
to get the parts.

If you design and build filters or transformers, you no doubt have
struggled with the calculations required to select the right toroid
and figure out how many turns are required. This chore has been nicely
automated by Dieter W8DIZ with a nice toroid calculator program. The
software is available for free downloading at
http://www.kitsandparts.com/tcalc.html. The latest version was
released Dec 29th and also includes a nice page listing all the
characteristics of the common toroids and ferrite materials.

With all the 160-meter activity going on, those of you inclined to be
building new antennas, preamps, and other neat RF stuff for the
low-bands, should definitely check out WA1ION's Web site. It's full
(and I mean full) of projects, articles, and other information. Worth
bookmarking.

CONVERSATION

Teaching Old and New Dogs New Tricks

Rick K1DS, Editor of the Mt. Airy VHF Radio Club newsletter
"Cheesebits", contributes the following item:

"The VHF SS January Contest is the focal highlight of the year for
most hams active in VHF-UHF-Microwave. Research has shown that there
has been a decline in both the number of participants and number of
log entries in this contest. Please use this information to encourage
your club members to try to be active for this activity. 

"Many hams already have equipment for 6 meters and higher bands.
Others have FM handhelds for 146, 222 and 446 and maybe even 1296.
Some have bought low band rigs that cover 6-meters, while others might
have the newer rigs that include 50, 144 and 432. This is an open
invitation for them to participate, if only for a few contacts, a few
hours, or on a band or two. They will find plenty of activity,
courteous and cooperative hams, and a willingness to 'make the
contact.' Try it! You'll like it!"

This applies to many of the traditional HF contest community that may
feel a little out of their comfort zone above 30 MHz. Until recently,
the number of non-FM VHF contacts that I had made was just a few -- it
took a lucky acquisition of an old TS-600 all-mode 6-meter rig to get
me on for some VHF contests. Those of us that have purchased a IC-706,
FT-847, TS-50, or other all-band radio should give the VHF contests a
try. If you don't have directional antennas for those bands at home,
give mountaintopping or rover-ing a try. Even in January weather, you
can have a lot of fun with a trip to a local high spot or a
lightly-populated grid square.

If you've never tried it -- type "VHF Contesting" into Google or one
of the other search engines. You'll get a ton of choices to browse --
NS9E's Web site has some good tutorials, for example -
http://www.lionlmb.org/vhftest.html. Dan N9RLA also has a nice
rover-oriented page at http://www.qsl.net/n9rla/. With the great new
radios we have access to, there's really no reason not to give it a
try. And be sure to send in your log, no matter how small!

And now for something completely different.

Many wonder about the proper usage of the word "y'all" as found in
points largely southeast of Denver, Colorado.  Northeastern Yankees
and West Coast Californians worry constantly about the proper forms of
address when in QSO with hams from the 4th and 5th districts.  DX hams
must be very confused, indeed!  Well, worry no longer.  Karl W8TIF,
recently posted to the QRP-L email list the following True Knowledge -
invaluable to all: "Lewis Grizzard, now SK and whom I consider a guru
of  'Southern Speak', was a famous columnist for a Chicago newspaper
and then for many years a syndicated columnist from his native
Atlanta, Georgia.  In one of his columns he defined the proper use of
y'all -- the contraction of 'you all'.  A true Southerner uses 'you'
(note that 'you' may have more than one syllable at lower latitudes --
Ed.) when addressing one person - never 'y'all'! 'Y'all' is reserved
when addressing more than one person (such as a gaggle of beautiful
ladies -- 'Are y'all coming over to my house for a party tonight?')
Texans are notorious for using 'y'all' when addressing just one
person, and 'all y'all' when addressing more than person - as in the
example above.  A related pronoun, 'youse', as in 'youse guys' is
found all over the Midwest (Wisconsin, parts of Illinois and a bit of
Indiana) as well as New Yawhk and New Joisey. So just remember, when
addressing just one person, simply use "you". When more than one
pretty lady (or a pileup -- Ed.), y'all is acceptable. Now, do all
y'all have that straight?

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Contester's Rate Sheet wishes to acknowledge information from the
following sources:
WA7BNM's Contest Calendar Web page -
http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/ ARRL Contest page -
http://www.arrl.org/contests/
SM3CER's Web site - http://www.sk3bg.se/contest/