Contester's Rate Sheet for August 11, 2004

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Contester's Rate Sheet
11 August 2004
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Edited by Ward Silver N0AX

SUMMARY
o 50th Anniversary of Worked All Europe - CW this weekend
o ARRL 10 GHz Cumulative Contest
o Field Day Web submittal success
o John Kraus W8JK - Silent Key
o IOTA Log Notes
o Wikipedia Phonetics and On-Line Propagation Resources
o Canary in the Coal Mine

BULLETINS
o No bulletins this issue.

BUSTED QSOS
o The Russian WW RTTY contest (http://www.qrz.ru/contest/detail/93)
has been moved to Sep 4 (Thanks, Alan N7BF)

ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICES FOR 11 AUGUST TO 24 AUGUST 2004

Logs are due for the following contests:

August 15 - VK/Trans-Tasman 160m Contest, email to:
vktasman@hotmail.com, paper logs and diskettes to: VK/Trans-Tasman
Contest, 28 Crampton Crescent, Rosanna, VIC 3084, Australia 

August 15 - SARL HF Phone Contest, email to: zs4bs@netactive.co.za,
paper logs and diskettes to: Dennis Green ZS4BS, Box 12104, Brandhof,
9324, South Africa 

August 16 - Mid-Summer Six Club Contest, email to: w4wrl@aol.com,
paper logs and diskettes to: Wayne Lewis Sr, Six Club Contest
Director, 3338 S Cashua Dr, Florence, SC 29501-6306, USA 

August 17 - RSGB RoPoCo 2, email to: ropoco2.logs@rsgbhfcc.org, paper
logs and diskettes to: RSGB G3UFY, 77 Bensham Manor Road, Thornton
Heath, Surrey CR7 7AF, England 

August 19 - DIE Contest, email to: ea5aen@ea5ol.net, paper logs and
diskettes to: EA5AEN, PO Box 11055, Valencia, Spain 

August 21 - North America QSO Party, CW (August), email to:
cwnaqp@ncjweb.com, paper logs and diskettes to: Bruce Horn, WA7BNM,
4225 Farmdale Avenue, Studio City, CA 91604, USA 

August 23 - 10-10 Int. Summer Contest, SSB, email to: (none), paper
logs and diskettes to: Steve Rasmussen, N0WY, 312 N. 6th Street,
Plattsmouth, NE 68048, USA 

August 24 - Quebec QSO Party, email to: qso-log@raqi.ca, paper logs
and diskettes to: Radio Amateur du Quebec (QQP), 4545, Av.
Pierre-de-Coubertin, C.P. 1000, Succursale M, Montreal, QC H1V 3R2,
Canada 

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

HF CONTESTS

50th Anniversary Worked All Europe DX Contest--CW--sponsored by the
Deutscher ARC from 0000Z Aug 14-2359Z Aug 15, (phone is Sep 11-12;
RTTY is Nov 13-14). Frequencies: 80-10 meters according to Region I
band plan. Categories: SOHP, SOLP, MS, SWL. Packet or spotting nets
allowed (SO stations not using spotting assistance will be noted). SO
operate 36 hrs max., up to three off periods of 1 hour min. Non-EU
work EU only except RTTY, where everyone works everyone except own
country. Exchange: RS(T) and serial number. Score 1 pt/QSO and 1
pt/QTC. Final score is QSOs + QTCs x weighted multipliers.
Multipliers: non-EU use WAE countries, EU use DXCC entities plus call
districts in W, VE, VK, ZL, ZS, JA, PY and RA8/9/0. (RTTY use WAE +
DXCC.)  Mults on 80m count x4, on 40m x3, otherwise x2. A QTC is a
report sent from a non-EU station back to an EU station of QSOs that
took place earlier in the contest (RTTY QTC can be exchanged between
any continents). A QTC contains the time, call sign, and QSO number of
the station being reported (e.g. 1307/DL1AA/346). A QSO may only be
reported once and not back to the originating station. A maximum of 10
QTCs can be sent to a single station. The same station can be worked
several times to complete this quota, but only the original QSO has
QSO point value. Keep a list of QTCs sent. For example, QTC 3/7 would
indicate that this is the third series of QTCs sent, and seven QSOs
are reported. For more information: http://www.waedc.de/. Logs due by
Sep 15 (CW), Oct 15 (Phone) or Dec 15 (RTTY) to waedc@dxhf.darc.de or
to WAEDC Contest Manager, Bernhard Buettner DL6RAI, Schmidweg 17,
85609 Dornach, Germany.

Maryland-DC QSO Party--CW/Phone--sponsored by the Antietam Radio
Association, 1600Z Aug 14-0400Z Aug 15 and 1600Z-2359Z Aug 15.
Frequencies (MHz): CW -- 3.643, 7.060, 14.060, 21.060, 28.035, PHONE -
1.895, 3.920, 7.230, 14.270, 21.370, 28.370, VHF/UHF - 50.150, 52.525,
144.15, 146.55, 146.580, 432.15, 446.000. Categories: Club, Mobile,
Novice/Tech, QRP, and Standard. Work stations once per band/mode,
portable/mobiles can be worked again in each county. Exchange: QTH and
category. QSO Points: Club--10 pts, Mobile--5 pts, QRP or
Novice/Tech--4 pts, CW or RTTY or ATV--3 pts, all others--1 pt.
Highest single point value applies. Score: QSO points x MD counties +
Baltimore City + DC. (MD-DC stations also count SPC)  For more
information: http://www.w3cwc.org/rules.html. Logs due Sept 15 to
wa3eop@arrl.net (ASCII format) or Antietam Radio Association, PO Box
52, Hagerstown, MD 21741-0052

North American QSO Party--SSB--sponsored by the National Contest
Journal, 1800Z Aug 21-0600Z Aug 22. Frequencies: 160 - 10-meters.
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 S/P/C. Score: QSOs X States +
Province + NA DXCC entities (count each once per band). For
information: http://www.ncjweb.com/naqprules.php. Logs due 14 days
after the contest to ssbnaqp@ncjweb.com or Bruce Horn, WA7BNM, 4225
Farmdale Avenue, Studio City, CA 91604. The same mailing address is
used for both modes of this contest.

SARTG WW RTTY Contest, sponsored by the Scandinavian Amateur Radio
Teleprinter Society, 0000Z-0800Z and 1600Z-2400Z Aug 21 and
0800Z-1600Z Aug 22. Frequencies: 80-10 meters. Categories: SOAB (HP,
LP <100W), SOSB, MS, SWL. Exchange: RST and serial number. QSO Points:
own country--5 pts, different country on same continent--10 pts, diff.
cont.--15 pts. Score: QSO points x DXCC entities + W/VE/VK/JA call
districts. For more information: http://www.sartg.com/. Logs due Oct 10
to contest@sartg.com or to SARTG Contest Manager, Ewe Håkansson,
SM7BHM, Pilspetsvägen 4, SE-291 66 Kristianstad, Sweden.

Keymen's Club of Japan Contest--CW--sponsored by the Keymen's Club of
Japan, 1200Z Aug 21-1200Z Aug 22. Frequencies: 160-6 meters (JA
allocations on 160 are 1.810- 1.825, 1.908-1.912 MHz). Categories:
SOAB, SOSB (JA only), SWL. Exchange: RST and JA prefecture/district or
continent. QSO Points: 1 pt/QSO (JA count JA/JA--1 pt and JA/DX--5
pts). Score: QSO points x JA pref/dist from each band (JA also count
continents). For more information: http://www.jarl.com/kcj.  Logs due
30 Sep to kcjlog@freeml.com or Yasuo Taneda JA1DD, 279-233 Mori,
Sambu-town, Sambu-gun, Chiba 289-1214, Japan. 

New Jersey QSO Party--CW/Phone--sponsored by Englewood ARA, 2000Z Aug
21-0700Z Aug 22 and 1300Z Aug 22-0200Z Aug 23. Frequencies (MHz):
1.810, 3.535, 7.035, 14.035, 21.100, 28.100, SSB -- 3.950, 7.235,
14.285, 21.355, 28.400, VHF/UHF 50-50.5 and 144-146 MHz. Exchange: QSO
number and SPC or NJ county. QSO points: 3 pts/QSO. Score: QSO points
x NJ counties. NJ stations use NJ counties + states (except NJ) +
provinces, max. 83. For more information: http://www.qsl.net/w2rj.
Logs due Sep 18 to Englewood Amateur Radio Association, Inc., PO Box
528, Englewood, New Jersey 07631-0528.

SEANET Contest--CW/SSB/Digital--sponsored by the SEANET Convention,
1200Z Aug 21-1200Z Aug 22. Frequencies (MHz): CW -- 3.525, 7.025,
14.025, 21.025, 28.025, SSB -- 7.090, 14.220, 21.320, 28.320.
Categories: SO, MS, AB, SB, Mixed and Single Mode combinations. 
Exchange: RS(T) and serial number. QSO Points: SEANET-SEANET--10 pts
(5 pts if same country), SEANET--World -- 10pts. Score: QSO points x
DXCC entities for SEANET entrants, QSO points x SEANET entities for
non-SEANET entrants, counted once per band and mode.  For more
information and list of SEANET countries: http://www.seanet2004.com/.
Logs due Sep 30 to seanet2004@rast.or.th or Ray Gerrard HS0ZDZ, PO Box
69, Bangkok Airport PO, Bangkok 10212, Thailand.

VHF CONTESTS

ARRL 10 GHz Cumulative Contest, 0600 local-2000 local Aug 21 - 2000
local Aug 22. Categories: 10 GHz only and 10 GHz and up. Exchange:
Six-digit Maidenhead Locator. Distance Points equals distance in km
between stations. QSO Points: 100 pts for each unique call worked.
Score: Distance points + QSO points. For more information:
http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2004/10-ghz.html. Logs due Oct 19
to 10GHz@arrl.org or ARRL Contest Branch, 225 Main St., Newington, CT,
06111, USA.

Summer VHF/UHF QSO Party--sponsored by the Colorado QRP Club, from
1600Z Aug 22 - 2200Z Aug 22. Frequencies: 2m and 70 cm FM, 5 watts
output maximum, use recognized simplex frequencies according to the
ARRL band plan, do not use the national simplex frequencies of 146.52
or 446.000 MHz. Categories: Portable, Non-Portable. Exchange: Call
sign, Grid Square, first name, and CQC member # or power. QSO Points:
1 pt/QSO. Total Score: QSO Points x names beginning with different
letters (26 max), counted once per band. 100 point bonus for QSO with
W0CQC. For more information: http://www.cqc.org/contests/summer04.htm.
Logs due 30 days after the contest to contest@cqc.org or CQC Contest,
PO Box 17174, Golden, CO 80402-6019.

NEWS AND PRESS RELEASES

48% of the record 2233 Field Day summaries were submitted via the new
Web applet at http://www.b4h.net/cabforms!  This has eased the data
entry burden at HQ and it was finished earlier than ever before. All
Field Day logs received are listed at
http://www.arrl.org/contests/claimed/.  2003 November Sweepstakes
plaques, 2003 10-Meter Contest certificates, and 2004 DX Contest pins
are shipping. (Thanks, N1ND)

NCJ News by Carl K9LA (NCJ Editor) - For the July/August issue -- In
his VHF/UHF Contesting column, N0JK discusses the Moxon 6m antenna,
and he sums it up with "What a great 6-meter antenna system for the
portable operator!" W9XT, in his CTT&T column, looks at contest tips
that are mode specific. Coax is the topic of the Contesting on a
Budget column by K5AF, with great suggestions on how to save some
money but not sacrifice performance. K7WM reported on the February
2004 NAQP RTTY contest, K4MA reported the February 2004 Phone Sprint
results, and N6TR reported the February 2004 CW Sprint results.
Looking ahead to the September/October issue -- Some of the articles
are a snap shot of KG4LTB's Dayton presentation about youth in
contesting, contest activity maps by WM5R, N4GG's SO2R Part 3, K3NA's
Antenna Interactions Part 6, a receiver evaluation feature by SP7HT,
and much more. We also have a new column, Software for Contesters, by
N4ZR. The results of the January 2004 NAQP CW and Phone contests are
in this issue. (For more information about the National Contest
Journal - http://www.ncjweb.com/)

An interesting story hit the Web last month about a pulsed "mini-EMP"
transmitter that the British police were testing to knock out cars
they were pursuing.
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,2763,1259138,00.html)  No
photos were provided, so let your imagination run rampant.  I thought
I heard some prototypes for this on 40-meters during last year's
contest season. (Thanks, Mark AA6DX)

Al, K4ALH noted that there were no contest listings for the July
31/Aug 1 weekend and wondered if that was correct.  Indeed it was, oh
sharp-eyed surveyor.  Most contests are specified for a monthly
"ordinal" full weekend -- the first, the second, the last, etc.  When
confronted with a weekend that spans a month, that doesn't fit the
mold and so, no contests!  Be sure to pass the word to your
non-contesting friends.

If you are pining away for the QST line scores, you can go to the ARRL
Web site and download the line scores in exactly the same format in
which they have always been printed. For example, try
http://www.arrl.org/contests/results/2003/SeptVHF.pdf.

Art RX9TX points out that UA9S/T/W stations may be in either Zone 16
or 17 since the Russian license authorities did not strictly follow
the CQ WAZ boundary when assigning calls.  Don't let your logging
software "assume" a zone.  In any and all cases, the zone you should
log is what the station sends.

After printing the contest logging software links in the last issue, I
picked up some additional resources from readers. For example,
RoverLog (http://roverlog.2ub.org/) by Tom Mayo N1MU is primarily
intended for VHF+ rovers, but it has rig control and networking
capabilities, too. (Thanks, Buck KC2HIZ)  WinMorse
(http://www.winmorse.com/) is a free text to Morse Code conversion
application for Windows that offers various output audio formats so
that you can play the text back in real time or save it to disc/CD.
(Thanks, Hank K8DD)

John Kraus W8JK passed away on July 20 at age 94.  John was the
inventor of the corner reflector, helix and W8JK antennas.  Hardly a
one of us did not consider him a true radio pioneer and one of the ham
radio immortals.

RESULTS AND RECORDS

The list of June VHF QSO Party Logs Received is posted to the ARRL Web
site at  http://www.arrl.org/contests/claimed.  Be sure yours is
listed! Based on a participant query, we discovered that at some time
during the submission of logs for the 2004 January VHF Sweepstakes
there was apparently a problem with the robot receipting and storing
logs.  Contest Branch staff searched the queue of all saved email for
the event and identified logs that had not been included.  These have
been sent to the Log Checker for the event to be scored and returned. 
We also contacted via email each of the participants and explained the
situation.  We have also contacted the robot keeper asking him to see
if he can identify what may have caused the situation to happen. All
omitted scores have now been incorporated into the on-line scoring
database and line scores. (Thanks, Dan N1ND)

IOTA Manager, Don G3XTT passes along this report on IOTA log
submissions. "This year we have been testing a two-stage submission
process, where you are directed to a Web form after sending in your
log. Although we prefer Cabrillo logs, we are prepared to accept most
formats. However, this means we need to be sure we have collected the
correct entry info -- category, island, etc. which takes a lot of
manual effort. Even with Cabrillo logs, not all logging programs
collect the required entry data, so again it helps if entrants confirm
this via the Web form. So far, we have received nearly 700 logs via
this process. The main difficulty appears to have been that we used
Javascript for the Web form, whereas many entrants were using old
browsers that did not support this. Javascript has now been removed
and compatibility with older browsers improved! The correct address
for logs is iota.logs@rsgbhfcc.org. If you have not received an
acknowledgement, you may have sent your log to the wrong address.  The
latest version of EI5DI's SCICheck (10.25) corrects a "missing QSO"
problem and CT V10.01.008 (http://www.k1ea.com/download/ct10_01.zip)
now supports Cabrillo for IOTA.  There is also a Web form for entering
IOTA QSOs at http://www.b4h.net/cabforms/iota_cab.php.  The list of
logs submitted is on-line at
http://www.contesting.co.uk/hfcc/iota_online_logs.shtml."

The final results of the Helvetia Contest 2004 are now on-line at 
http://www.uska.ch/html/de/contest/kwresults.html.  The writeup is
being translated from German into English, but the results and
pictures are multi-lingual. (Thanks, Dominik HB9CZF)

EA QRP Contest (CW) results are available as a PDF document at 
http://www.eaqrp.com/concurso/resultado_test_cw_2004.pdf. The EA-QRP
Club also has a new domain (http://www.eaqrp.com/). (Thanks, Miguel
EA1BP)

Are you interested in helping out with in-depth analysis of your
favorite contest?  If so, please let Dan N1ND know at n1nd@arrl.org. 
Even if a lead author has been assigned, regional writeups and
specialty analysis or other contributions are always welcome.

TECHNICAL

After a short note on stubs, Doug N6TQS noted that surplus 75-ohm
hardline makes excellent stubs that are very low loss and can be
coiled like regular cable.  But doesn't the cable have to be 50-ohm
cable?  No -- not for shorted and open stubs where SWR is infinite
along the stub.

Ken K0PP sent a clarification about the wiring for prop pitch motors
and indicators.  Ken correctly notes that the Selsyn position sensors
are not part of the motor itself and can be mounted externally in a
number of ways.  They're not inside the motor housing.  Also, the
motors have three wires - two for the motor and one for ground - not
two, although it's common practice to either tie the ground wire to
one of the motor leads or rely on the mounting hardware to provide a
ground.

Stuck in antenna-restricted housing?  Ted N8TW has a Web page that
describes his antenna techniques at http://www.qsl.net/n8tw/index.html
and may give some ideas to you or someone with similar obstacles.

Jim W5QM passes along the Wikipedia link to phonetics --
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nato_phonetic_alphabet.  There are some
older alphabets there, too.  Fun and educational to boot, especially
if you'd like to brush up on your World War One trench slang.

Here is a pair of good, on-line propagation resources.  K1TTT has
posted an on-line MOF/LOF (Maximum/Lowest Operational Frequency)
propagation applet at http://www.k1ttt.net/mofjava/mofjavab.html. 
Serge Stroobrandt ON4BAA has a very nice propagation site with links
to real-time solar data, K1TTT's applet, and other useful items like a
grey-line map.  Good stuff!

CONVERSATION

Canary in the Coal Mine

This morning I was reading the paper over an outdoor breakfast and
found myself watching the swallows congregating on my stack of
antennas.  We have a large migratory population of barn and
violet-green swallows in the neighborhood during the summer.  They
collect on the antennas between "bug feeds" over the fields and
pastures in the neighborhoods.  In the early fall, they concentrate
even more as they prepare for beginning their journey south.  We have
counted upwards of 150 birds on the various yagis, all spaced a wing's
breadth apart, chattering to each other and occasionally taking a
swoop down for a tasty insect.  It's a marvelous scene.

Such events get me thinking about the ham's place in the world.  Are
we separate from the birds and bugs, outside their domain? For birds,
our antennas provide the most desirable perches. To me, we're just
another part of the natural world, using aluminum and copper to
broadcast our songs around the planet in the radio spectrum.  Surely,
the parallel can be made between the red-winged blackbird calling from
a cattail stem and a crisp CQ out to the South Pacific on 15-meters. 
Just as much as the birds are inhabitants of the air, hams are
inhabitants of the airwaves.

Our position in the technical environment is sometimes questioned. 
For example, in the current dispute over BPL, ham radio is often
treated as a hobby of antiquated obstructionists, bent on stifling
progress to preserve our unimportant hobby.  I'm sure that our
Washington, DC representatives often have to explain why our
activities justify spectrum space to those who aren't familiar with
the current scope of Amateur Radio.  Yet, I sense an important analogy
to an earlier time when other "unimportant" inhabitants of a different
environment turned out to be vital and valuable.

In our capacity as "canaries in the coal mine", hams are providing an
important service to other users of the radio spectrum and, by
extension, to the public served by them.  Forty years ago,
organizations of hunters and fishermen started raising the alarm about
the pollution and loss of habitat that was decimating wildlife.  I
very clearly remember the attitude expressed by many that these
sportsmen, too, were just doomsayers and anti-progress Luddites.  How
could they think of challenging technical progress just to satisfy
their own selfish desires?  After all, couldn't they hunt or fish
somewhere else?  Wasn't there plenty of meat and fish at the store? 
Who needed to hunt and fish, anyway?  Those of you under the age of 40
may not realize what an unorthodox message, and in some quarters
unwelcome, these groups were delivering at the time.

To their credit, these organizations kept "on message" as we say
nowadays, and when an objective look was made at the wildlife habitat,
it became shockingly obvious that not only was the wildlife at risk,
but so were we all.  I see hams doing the same.  We have complained
for years about the rising tide of electromagnetic pollution that
degrades a vital international resource - the RF spectrum.  Usually
there was only minor and grudging acknowledgement of the facts and,
until recently, little enforcement of the law.

With BPL, the issue has come to the fore.  The prolonged and reasoned
protest by hams of this ill-applied technology has successfully
attracted the attention of others that would stand to lose greatly. 
Reasoned technical arguments on the merits have resulted in a serious
evaluation of the potential for severe "loss of habitat" on HF and VHF
frequencies.  Agencies and organizations that may have been inclined
to ignore BPL are now waking up to the reality of its potential.  What
was it that woke them up, but the call of the canary in distress?

When I respond to yet another columnist's cheerful and uncritical
regurgitation of a press release, I always point out to them that the
hams may be a small population of radio users, but we are the ones
that see earliest the danger to all.  By sending our SOS now, we are
alerting others to avoid damage that would be expensive and disruptive
to repair.  What is the value of not having to abandon large swaths of
spectrum?  What will be the savings if critical services are
preserved?

Just like the solitary trampers of the woodlands and waders of the
rivers a generation ago, hams are doing the public a great service by
speaking out.  We must stay on our message, be articulate, and
continue to be watchful of our home.  The swallows, ducks, and fish
could not speak for their home, but we do not have that limitation. 
It is the obligation of our service to give voice to its defense.

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