Contester's Rate Sheet for February 12, 2003
*********************** Contester's Rate Sheet 12 February 2003 *********************** Edited by Ward Silver, N0AX SUMMARY o ARRL DX CW -- this weekend! o WRTC2002 Video - U.S. Premier in Seattle o Silent Keys -- Jim Maxwell W6CF and Sandy Lynch W7BX o WWV historical Web site o Antenna Tuner simulator on the Web o 160-meter Propagation articles by Bill Tippett W4ZV o In-Depth Contest Reporting BULLETINS o No bulletin items this issue BUSTED QSOS o The address for Vermont QSO Party logs was incorrect in the last issue. Logs are due 1 Mar to Chris Knox N1GBB, Vermont QSO Party Coordinator, Central Vermont Amateur Radio Club, 1339 Aseltine Road, Northfield, VT 05663. (Thanks, Steve KA1LHZ) ANNOUNCEMENT & NOTICES FOR 12 FEBRUARY TO 25 FEBRUARY 2003 Logs are due for the following contests: February 15 - Asia-Pacific Sprint, CW - email to: apsprint@kkn.net - paper logs to: (none) February 17 - LZ Open Contest - email to: lz1fw@yahoo.com - paper logs to: LZ Open Contest, PO Box 830, Sofia 1000, Bulgaria February 17 - 10-10 Inter. Winter Contest, SSB - email to: (none) - paper logs to: Steve Rasmussen, N0WY, 312 N. 6th Street, Plattsmouth, NE 68048, USA February 18 - 070 Club PSKFest - email to: PSKFest@aol.com - paper logs to: Steve Dominguez, N6YIH/7, 5657 Elkhorn Ave., Boise, ID 83705-2817, USA February 18 - MI QRP January CW Contest - email to: n8cqa@att.net - paper logs to: L.T. Switzer, N8CQA, 427 Jeffrey Avenue, Royal Oak, MI 48073-2521, USA February 18 - Hungarian DX Contest - email to: contest@enternet.hu - paper logs to: MTTOSZ Gyor Varosi Radioklub, PO Box 79, 9002 Gyor, Hungary February 18 - North American QSO Party, SSB - email to: ssbnaqp@ncjweb.com - paper logs to: Bruce Horn, WA7BNM, 4225 Farmdale Ave., Studio City, CA 91604, USA February 19 - ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes - email to: JanuaryVHF@arrl.org - paper logs to: January VHF, ARRL, 225 Main St., Newington, CT 06111, USA February 24 - RSGB 1.8 MHz Contest, CW - email to: 1st160.logs@rsgbhfcc.org - paper logs to: RSGB-G3UFY, 77 Bensham Manor Road, Thornton Heath, Surrey CR7 7AF, England February 25 - REF Contest, CW - email to: cdfcw@ref-union.org - paper logs to: F5LBL, Gerard Karpe, Chemin des Roses Malerargues, 30140 Thoiras, France February 25 - UBA DX Contest, SSB - email to: berger@cyc.ucl.ac.be - paper logs to: Michel Le Bon, ON4GO, UBA HF Contest Manager, Chee de Wavre 1349, 1160 Bruxelles, Belgium 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 ARRL International DX Contest, CW, 0000Z Feb 15--2400Z Feb 16. Frequencies: 160 -- 10 meters. Categories: SOSB, SOAB (HP >150W, LP, QRP <5W), MS, M2, MM. Exchange: RST + State or Province or Power (KH6 and KL7 count as DX). QSO Points: 3 pts/QSO. Score: QSO points x DXCC entities (DX counts states + provinces). For more information -- http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2003/intldx.html. Logs due 18 Mar to dxcw@arrl.org (Cabrillo format only) or DX CW, ARRL, 225 Main St., Newington, CT 06111. YL International QSO Party--CW--sponsored by YL International SSB System, 0000Z Feb 15 through 2400Z Feb 16, two 6-hr off times required. Frequencies: 160 -- 10. Categories: CW, SSB, or mixed mode, SOAB, YL/OM Team, DX/US Team. Exchange: Callsign, RST, State, County, YLISSB member number. QSO Points: YLISSB members on own continent--2 pts, on other cont--6 pts, DX members--3 pts, non-members--2 pts. QSO party points may not be made on the YL net frequency of 14.332 MHz. Score: QSO Points x SPC + Teams. For more information -- http://www.qsl.net/yl-issb/. Logs due Apr 30 to 2hamsrus@comcast.net to N4KNF/N4ZGH, 2160 Ivy Street, Port Charlotte, FL 33952. CQ WW 160-meter SSB Contest, 0000Z Feb 22 - 2359Z Feb 23. Exchange: RS and SPC. Categories: SO-QRP (<5 W) -LP(<150 W) -HP, MO categories. New rules - SO may operate only 30 hours and the DX window has been dropped. Enter as MO if packet or spotting nets are used. QSO Points: own entity - 2 pts, same continent - 5 pts, diff. cont. - 10 pts, /MM stations count 5 points, but no multiplier. Score: QSO points X states + VE call areas (VY0 added this year) + DXCC entities (KH6 and KL7 count as DXCC only). For more information -- http://www.cq-amateur-radio.com/infoc.html. Logs due by Mar 31 to cq160@kkn.net or CQ 160 Contest, 25 Newbridge Rd, Hicksville, NY 11801, USA. REF French Contest--Phone--from 0600Z Feb 22 -- 1800Z Feb 23. Contact French stations including Corsica, Overseas Territories, and EU Council station TP2CE. Frequencies: 80 - 10-meters. Categories: SOAB, MS, and SWL. Exchange: non-French stations send RST and serial number, French send RST and department number or prefix. QSO Points: different continent - 3 pts, 1 pt otherwise. Score: QSO points X departments and prefixes counted once per band. For more information -- http://www.ref.tm.fr. Logs are due April 15 to f5lbl@ref-union.org or Reseau des Emetteurs Francais, REF Contest, BP 7429, 37074 Tours Cedex, France. UBA Contest--CW--from 1300Z Feb 22 -- 1300Z Feb 23. Frequencies: 80 - 10-meters, according to the IARU band plan. Categories: SOAB, SOAB-QRP, SOSB, MS, packet is allowed for all classes. Exchange: RST and serial number, ON stations add their province abbr. QSO Points: QSOs with ON stations - 10 pts, with other EU - 3 pts, outside EU - 1 pt. Score: QSO points X ON provinces + ON prefixes + DXCC entities counted once per band. For more information -- http://www.uba.be. Logs due 30 days after the contest to berger@cyc.ucl.ac.be or Michel Le Bon, ON4GO, UBA HF Contest Manager, Chée de Wavre 1349, B-1160 Bruxelles, Belgium. FYBO (Freeze Your Butt Off) Winter QRP Field Day--CW-- sponsored by the AZ ScQRPions from 1600Z - 2400Z Feb 22. Use QRP calling frequencies on HF bands, work stations once per band. Categories are SO, MO, and Novice/Tech--indicate home or field. Exchange: RST, SPC, name, power, and temperature in degrees F at operating position. Score: total QSOs x SPC (counted only once) x Temperature multiplier x 4 (if field location) x 2 (if alternative pwr) x 2 (if QRP). Temp mult--65+ x1, 50-64 x2, 40-49 x3, 30-39 x4, 20-29 x5, <20 x6. Add 10,000 points for a QSO with NQ7RP. For more information -- http://www.extremezone.com/~nk7m/fybo2003.htm. Logs due 30 days after the contest to nk7m@extremezone.com or Bob Hightower, Att: FYBO, 1905 N Pennington Drive, Chandler, AZ 85224. CQC Winter QSO Party--CW/Phone--sponsored by the Colorado QRP Club, 2200Z Feb 23 to 0400Z Feb 24. Frequencies (MHz): CW--1.825, 3.560, 3.710, 7.040, 7.110, 14.060, 21.060, 21.110, 28.060, 28.110, SSB--1.910, 3.985, 7.285, 14.285, 21.385, 28.385. Categories are SOAB, SOSB, SO-Homebrew. Exchange: RST, SPC, name, CQC member number or power output (5W max). QSO Points: CW--CQC member--6 pts, non-member--4 pts, Phone--members--3 pts, non-members--2 pts. Score: QSO Points X SPC (count once per band) X names (one name from each letter of the alphabet) + 1000 pts for QSO with W0CQC. For more information -- http://www.mtechnologies.com/cqc/. Logs due 30 days after the contest to contest@cqc.org (ASCII text only) or Colorado QRP Club, Box 371883, Denver, CO 80237-1883. North Carolina QSO Party--CW/Phone--sponsored by the Forsyth Amateur Radio Club, 1700Z Feb 23 -- 0300Z Feb 24. Frequencies (MHz): CW--3.540, 3.740, 7.040, 7.140, 14.040, 21.040, 21.140, 28.040, 28.140, Phone--3.860, 7.260, 14.260, 21.360, 28.360 and any VHF/UHF, note no 160-meter QSOs. Categories: SO, Mobile, Club, all stations 100W max. output. Mobiles may be worked again as they change counties. Exchange: RST and NC county, ARRL/RAC section, or DX prefix. QSO Points: phone--2 pts, CW--3 pts, NC mobile--3 pts (either mode). Score: NC stations--QSO points x NC counties + ARRL/RAC sections + 1 DXCC entity, others--QSO points x NC counties (max 100). 50 bonus points for working Cherokee or Dare counties (150 for working both) and 50 points for working W4NC or W4WS (150 points for both). Mobiles add 100 bonus points for each NC county activated. For more information -- http://www.w4nc.com. Logs due April 1 to henry@summitschool.com or NC QSO PARTY c/o W2DZO, 934 Franklin Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101 Grupo Argentino De CW Key Day--CW--from 1800Z Feb 22 -- 0600Z Feb 23. Frequencies (MHz): 3.530, 7.030, 14.030, 21.030, 28.030. Exchange: RST and GACW number. For more information -- http://gacw.no-ip.org. Logs due Mar 15 to gacw@lan.no-ip.org or GACW, PO Box 9, B1875ZAA -- Wilde, Buenos Aires, Argentina. NEWS & PRESS RELEASES There will be a new 2003 Field Day packet this year, including information on the new "F" class for stations operating at an EOC (Emergency Operations Center). The redesigned DX Contest certificates started to hit the mails during the week of January 27 and the newly designed June VHF plaques for 2001 are actually in the mail -- really! (Thanks, Dan N1ND) More than 60 DXers and contesters got together in Seattle, WA to host Martti OH2BH and Pertti OH2PM (on their way home from the AH3D operation) at the U.S. Premier of the WRTC2002 video. It's quite a show with uptempo, pro-sports narrative, fast action, and top contesters. Excellent graphics and editing done by contesting's own James Brooks, 9V1YC. Shot by James and Dave Bell W6AQ, this is an all-time best ham radio video. The DVD version has some extra data and programming on it, as well. The video is available from http://home1.pacific.net.sg/~jamesb/. In case you were wondering about our National Institute of Standards time and frequency reference stations, Bob N6WG contributes a very interesting short history of WWV at http://tf.nist.gov/stations/wwvhistory.htm. Tibor, HA1AH (ha1ah@firemail.de), announces a new software package for contest logging. It supports several DX contests, including HA and Russian contests. It supports multi-stations networking, packet interface, ADIF export/import, full Cabrillo support, and other features. A test download can be downloaded from Tibor's Web site at http://www.cq.hu/ha1ah. The AGCW contest rules are being changed. The new rules and dates are available at http://www.agcw.de. (Thanks, Kai-Uwe Hoefs, DL1AH) Silent Key -- Jim Maxwell W6CF. Jim's passing leaves a big, big hole in ham radio. You might want to check out some of his history on the ARRL Web site (http://www.arrl.org). He was a personal friend going back more than a dozen years, but many have been blessed to call him friend for much longer. N6TJ, a frequent contributor to this newsletter and for whom W6CF served as QSL manager for many years, offers these thoughts. "I first met Jim in October 1962, when we both worked at Lockheed in Sunnyvale. Our mutual friend Hillar N6HR (then WA6HRS), arranged for Maxwell (then W6CUF, of course, and I was W6BHY) and I, to multi-op the CD Party from the Lockheed club station WA6GFY. Thirty minutes before the contest starts, HERE COMES MAXWELL, dragging the wires from his very old Vibroplex, and with enough groceries to last a week. That was the beginning to our 40+ years of friendship. Jim handled my QSLing for 25 years, and was a great promoter of anything contesting, DXing, and especially CW. When I took a job on Ascension Island in 1968, it was Jim who 'picked' my ZD8Z call sign. We had many QSO's over the years, and he was always encouraging me with his friendly smile, keen wit, and devotion to our hobby. Jim was the smartest man I've ever known. God, I'll miss him. Rest In Peace, Dear Friend." Silent Key #2 -- a little less known than W6CF, but a very visible piece of the contest and DX-ing scene in the Pacific Northwest, Sandy Lynch W7BX passed away this last Saturday as a consequence of a sudden infection. Sandy was best known for his rapier wit. Our convention hospitality suites will never be the same without him. For those of you working the CW Sprint this past weekend -- the names "Jim" and "Sandy" were tributes to these gentlemen. The name "Cat" was a tribute to the lovely XYL of contester Mark Obermann AG9A who lost her battle with illness just the week before. It's been a tough last few weeks -- I hope we can all be using our own names in the contest for a while. RESULTS AND RECORDS The Web-based results for the September VHF QSO Party and the 10 GHz contest are now available to the public. Log checking has also been completed for the 2002 CW Sweepstakes. (Thanks, Dan N1ND) The Web results of the September VHF QSO Party include a PDF version of the article that appears in QST and a expanded Web version of that article including links to all the boxes that used to appear in print and now appear only on the Web. Some of this content will be available only to ARRL members and will be so marked. If you are unsure as to how to make full use of the Web results and the associated links, there is a special sidebar article describing how to do so. There is really a lot of information there! (Thanks, Gene W3ZZ) TECHNICAL & TECHNIQUE If you have static build-up problems on your antennas, there are several possible solutions. John W0UN points out that, "If you get a nearby lightning strike it is possible to blow high-value, small-wattage resistors and never know it--then you no longer have static protection. If you are using monobanders then you could use shorted 1/4 wave coaxial stubs. They provide the DC shunt you want as well as reducing your second harmonic by about 30 dB (and high-order even harmonics). If you need a broadband static drain then use the ICE lightning suppressors. They have a DC drain from a toroidal RF choke that is better than a small resistor--plus they have a DC block that may be useful (or may not--depending on your needs for DC down the coax)." Array Solutions and Cable Experts both carry the ICE products. (also thanks to Jon NA9D) The latest QST (Feb) has a product evaluation of several high-power "full legal limit" antenna tuners -- very good reading. You may not be aware of how many different settings an antenna tuner may have that match to a load - some are much more efficient than others. Rather than burn up your tuner trying figure out which is which, an excellent way of getting some practice off-the-air is W9CF's online T-network tuner simulator, at http://fermi.la.asu.edu/w9cf/tuner/tuner.html. The simulator is faster, you can't damage it, you can give it any load impedance you like, and it also calculates percentage power loss. A general method to match with the lowest loss in a "T"-network tuner is to always start with the output capacitor at maximum capacitance and tune the inductor next. This is all explained in great detail in "Getting the Most Out of Your T-Network Antenna Tuner" by W4ULD in QST.January 1995. Frank Witt, AI1H also wrote a two-part classical article on how to evaluate your antenna tuner, especially on loss (April and May 1995 QST).(Thanks, Chuck W1HIS and Joe, W1JR) In case you were wondering, "A Stratwarm is a major disturbance of the winter polar middle atmosphere (troposphere to D-region) resulting from a breakdown of the polar vortex into two cells. Air trapped in the vortex is mixed by the new meridional flow and can be exposed to sunlight. Solar Lyman alpha ionizes the nitric oxide, enhancing electron density and producing strong HF absorption. This comes from NOAA: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/stp/SOLAR/solarda3.html. The link will take you to a paper: "SOLAR DATABASES FOR GLOBAL CHANGE MODELS"; by H.E. Coffey, E.H. Erwin and C.D. Hanchett; Solar-Terrestrial Physics Division NOAA NESDIS National Geophysical Data Center; 325 Broadway, Boulder, Colorado 80303." (Thanks, Rod N0RC) Need some pre-made coaxial cables? Here are some sources gleaned by Dave K1TTT after a recent request on the Towertalk reflector (http://www.contesting.com). - Cable Experts - http://www.cablexperts.com - Davis RF - http://www.davisrf.com - The RF Connection - http://www.therfc.com - Radio Warehouse - http://www.radio-warehouse.com - The Wireman - http://www.thewireman.com/ - ComTek - http://www.comteksystems.com - Universal Radio - http://www.universal-radio.com/ - Pasternack Enterprises - http://www.pasternack.com Bill W4ZV posted his 160-meter articles on unusual 160-meter propagation at: http://users.vnet.net/btippett/long_and_skew_path_articles.htm. Bill (and AA1K) also just completed their 160-meter WAZ, one of the hardest things to do in all of ham radio. Congrats! (Thanks, Bill W4ZV) CONVERSATION In-Depth Contest Reporting Scott, W4PA, and I are going to be creating the contest writeups for the ARRL DX contests once again for 2003. Last year, we got a taste of the possibilities of a Web-based write up. This year, we feel that - with your help - we can look deeper into the scores and improve the breadth and scope of the coverage. The key element will be getting information from the participants. There are two aspects that we will tackle this year... First - regional coverage. Because the Web write-up can, for all intents, be as long as we want, it's high time to introduce in-depth regional coverage. An obvious way to divide the North American coverage is by ARRL Divisions - there are 15 of them. It would also be great to have regional coverage from Canada, Europe, Japan, South America, and Oceania. What we need is a volunteer (an individual or a group) from each of the ARRL Divisions and elsewhere around the world to write about the competition from their region. They will be given access to score data from that region in the same form in which Scott and I get them. This is an EXCELLENT way for those great regional races and records to be identified. No one knows your regional operators, stations, and propagation like you do, so please consider lending a hand. Print space limitations have "squeezed out" many great contest stories and accolades in past years - those days are gone! If you are interested in doing this quite-manageable job, please contact either W4PA (w4pa@yahoo.com) or me (n0ax@arrl.net). You don't have to be a polished writer - just enthusiastic - we'll act as your editors. Second - more information about the competitors themselves. ARRL HQ can only process so much information - they have their hands full handling the logs and checking the QSOs. There is a lot of interesting information that doesn't fit in the line scores, but makes a difference at the personal level and simply as human interest. We are going to try to collect some of this information -- Bruce Horn WA7BNM has graciously volunteered to create a Web page that will act as a survey form. Scott and I will analyze the results, adding a new dimension to contest coverage beyond just the points and categories. We hope you'll agree that these new elements will add interest and excitement to the traditional post-contest writeups. For the best possible writeups, you should add your information soon after the contest while it is still fresh! We'll be looking forward to receiving it! Here are just some of the questions: Latitude & Longitude (approximate) If you entered a single op category, did you operate SO2R? Would you consider your operation to have been a serious or casual effort? If you entered the same category as last year, what was last year's score? How many hours of work did you do in the shack or on antennas during the week preceding the contest? Did you have specific goals for this year's contest? Did you achieve those goals? Which band had the biggest increase in QSOs? Which band had the biggest increase in mults? What was your top rate in QSOs/hour? What was the percentage of time you spent CQ-ing vs. Search-and-Pouncing How many hours did you spend on the air? How many hours of sleep did you get? The Web sites will be available after the contest at these URLs: CW: http://www.hornucopia.com/surveys/arrldxcw.php SSB: http://www.hornucopia.com/surveys/arrldxssb.php I sure hope you'll log on afterwards and fill in all or some of the information. In addition, if you've chafed at relative anonymity in the past and wished that some of the great competition in your region could make the write-up, please consider getting a couple of friends together to help make those great stories known! See you in the pileups this weekend! 73, Ward N0AX 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/
