Contester's Rate Sheet for December 1, 2004

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Contester's Rate Sheet
1 December 2004
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Edited by Ward Silver N0AX

SUMMARY
o Step Away From the Bandswitch, Sir - ARRL 10-Meter and 160-Meter
Contests
o Put That Sound Card Interface to Work - Meteor Scatter Contest
o Ham Radio for Dummies - 2nd Printing!
o DigiPan 2.0 Available for Download
o Ed Hare W1RFI's Methods of Measurement
o Antique Corner - SOS Anniversary & Homebrew Artillery
o A Manner of Speaking

BULLETINS
o No bulletins this issue.

BUSTED QSOS
o Sharp-eyed Russ K7INA was the first to notice that poor
cut-and-paste technique on my part led to the dates for CW SS being
left on the SSB SS announcement.  I trust no one tried to travel
backwards in time to work Phone Sweepstakes, but I apologize for
screwing up the dates.

ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICES FOR 1 DECEMBER TO 14 DECEMBER 2004

Logs are due for the following contests:

December 1 - CQ Worldwide DX Contest, SSB, email to: ssb@cqww.com,
paper logs and diskettes to: CQWW Phone, CQ Magazine, 25 Newbridge
Road, Hicksville, NY 11801, USA 

December 1 - OK/OM DX Contest, CW, email to: okomdx@crk.cz, paper logs
and diskettes to: OK-OM DX Contest, CRK, PO Box 69, 113 27 Praha 1,
Czech Republic 

December 4 - YO International PSK31 Contest, email to: yo5crq@qsl.net,
paper logs and diskettes to: Radioclubul YO5KAD, PO Box 220, RO-4800
Baia Mare, Romania

December 6 - RSGB 2nd 1.8 MHz Contest, CW, email to:
2nd160.logs@rsgbhfcc.org, paper logs and diskettes to: RSGB-G3UFY, 77
Bensham Manor Road, Thornton Heath, Surrey CR7 7AF, England 

December 7 - Ukrainian DX Contest, email to: urdx@ham.kiev.ua, paper
logs and diskettes to: Ukrainian Contest Club HQ, PO Box 4850,
Zaporozhye 69118, Ukraine 

December 7 - DARC 10-Meter Digital Contest (Nov), email to:
df5bx@darc.de, paper logs and diskettes to: Werner Ludwig, DF5BX, PO
Box 1270, 49110 Georgsmarienhuette, Germany 

December 8 - ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, CW, email to: SSCW@arrl.org,
paper logs and diskettes to: November SS CW, ARRL, 225 Main St.,
Newington, CT 06111, USA

December 8 - NA Collegiate ARC Championship, CW, email to:
SSCW@arrl.org, email log summary to: wm5r@arrl.net, paper logs and
diskettes to: November SS CW, ARRL, 225 Main St., Newington, CT 06111,
USA 

The following contests are scheduled:

Note that the following abbreviations are used to condense the contest
rules summaries:
SO - Single-Op; M2 - Multi-Op - 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

ARRL 160-Meter Contest - CW, from 2200Z Dec 3 - 1600Z Dec 5. Work
US/VE only, no DX-to-DX QSOs, and reserve 1.830 - 1.835 MHz for
intercontinental QSOs. Remember that JA stations can operate from
1.810 - 1.825 MHz. Categories: SO-QRP/LP/HP, MS.  Exchange: RST and
ARRL/RAC section or ITU region for maritime mobiles (DX sends RST
only). QSO Points: US/VE - 2 pts, DX - 5 pts.  Score: QSO points x
ARRL/RAC sections + DXCC entities.  For more information:
http://www.arrl.org/contests/forms/.  Logs due Jan 5, 2005 to
160meter@arrl.org or 160-Meter Contest, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington,
CT 06111.

Top Band Sprint - CW/SSB, sponsored by QRP ARCI, 0000Z - 0600Z Dec 2.
Frequencies: 160-meters only. SO-CW, SO-SSB, SO Mixed-Mode categories.
Exchange: RST, S/P/C and power or QRP ARCI number - work stations once
per mode. QSO Points: members - 5 pts, non-members/different continent
- 4 pts, non-members/same cont - 2 pts. Score: QSO points x total
S/P/C x power multiplier (see Web site). Portable using battery and
temp antenna add 5000 pts. For more information:
http://2hams.net/ARCI/index.htm. Submit entry form via contest Web
site. Logs due 30 days after contest to wb5khc@2hams.net or QRP ARCI
Contest Manager, Tom Owens WB5KHC, 1916 Addington Street, Irving,
Texas 75062-3505.

TARA RTTY Mêlée - sponsored by the Troy Amateur Radio Assn, 0000Z -
2400Z Dec 4. Categories: SOAB-HP (>150 W), SOAB-LP (<150 W), MOAB,
SWL, 10 min band change rule for MO. Frequencies: 80 - 10 meters,
operate 16 hours max. Exchange: RS + State/Province or serial number
for DX. QSO Points: 1 pt/QSO. Score: QSO points x S/P/C counted once
only (US and VE only count as S/P). For more information:
http://www.n2ty.org/seasons/tara_melee_rules.html. Summary sheets (no
logs) due 31 Dec via on-line submission form at
www.n2ty.org/seasons/tara_melee_score.html.

TOPS Activity Contest - CW - sponsored by TOPS, from 1800Z Dec 4 -
1800Z Dec 5. Frequencies: 80m. Categories: SO, SO-QRP, MO. Exchange:
RST, serial number (+ TOPS number, if member). QSO Points: own entity
- 1 pt, own continent - 2 pts, different cont - 6 pts, with /MM - 6
pts, with TOPS member - 2 pts, between TOPS members, 6 points, with
GB6AQ - 10 points. Score: QSO Points x WPX prefixes worked. Logs due
Jan 31, 2005 to helmut.klein@chello.at or Helmut Klein OE1TKW,
Nauseagasse 24/26, A-1160 Wien, Austria.

Holiday Spirits Homebrew CW Sprint - sponsored by the QRP ARCI, 2000Z
- 2400Z Dec 5. Frequencies (MHz) - 1.810, 3.560, 7.040, 14.060,
21.060, 28.060 kHz. Categories: SOAB, SOSB, SO20-10, SO160-40, MOAB,
DX stations are SOAB only. Exchange: RST, S/P/C, and Power or QRP ARCI
number. QSO Points: members - 5 pts, non-members/different continent -
4 pts, non-members/same cont. - 2 pts. Score: QSO points x S/P/C
(counted once per band) x Power multiplier (<250mW x 15, 250mW - 1W x
10, 1 - 5W x7, >5W x 1) + Bonus Points (2000 for homebrew (HB) xmtr,
3000 HB rcvr, 5000 HB xcvr). For more information:
http://2hams.net/ARCI/index.htm. Submit entry form via contest Web
site. Logs due 30 days after contest to wb5khc@2hams.net or QRP ARCI
Contest Manager, Tom Owens WB5KHC, 1916 Addington Street, Irving,
Texas 75062-3505.

Wake Up! QRP Sprint - CW - sponsored by the RU QRP Club, from 0400 -
0600Z Dec 4 in four ½-hour periods.  Frequencies: 40, 20 meters.
Categories: SO QRP only. Exchange: RST, serial number, suffix of
previous station ('QRP' for 1st QSO). QSO Points: 1 pt/km, calc. by
contest mgr. Total Score: QSO Points x unique stations contacted. For
more information: http://ruqrp.narod.ru/index_e.html. Logs due 7 days
after the contest to master72@lipetsk.ru or RU-QRP Club, PO Box 229,
Lipetsk, 398043 Russia.

ARRL 10-Meter Contest - 0000Z Dec 11 - 2400Z Dec 12, operate 36 hours
max. Categories: SO-QRP/LP/HP in Mixed Mode/CW/SSB, MS (includes SO
stations using any spotting assistance). Exchange: W/VE (incl. KH6 and
KL7) send RST and state or province, DX sends RST and serial number,
maritime mobile send RST and ITU region (1 - 3).  Novices and
Technicians add '/N' or '/T' to their calls on CW for QSOs to score
extra points. QSO Points: SSB  -  2 pts, CW  -  4 pts, CW with /N or
/T  -  8 pts. Score: QSO points x SPC + ITU regions. Note that
District of Columbia (DC) counts as a separate multiplier. For more
information: http://www.arrl.org/contests/forms/.  Logs due Jan 12,
2005 to 10meter@arrl.org or 10-Meter Contest, ARRL, 225 Main St,
Newington, CT 06111.

28 MHz SWL Contest - sponsored by Lambert Wijshake NL-10175,
coincident with ARRL 10-Meter contest. SO-SSB and SO-CW categories, no
packet. Log the ARRL 10-Meter multipliers and signal report at the SWL
QTH, with a minimum RS/RST of 33/339 and a maximum of only three
stations from each DXCC entity. QSO Points: The first station from a
DXCC entity counts 5 points, the second 3 points, and the third 1
point. Score: QSO points x States and Provinces x DXCC entities. Logs
due Jan 31, 2005 to nl10175@amsat.org or Lambert Wijshake NL-10175,
Kattedoorn 6, 8265-MJ Kampen, Netherlands. To receive the results,
include 2 IRC or 1$.

Great Colorado Snowshoe Run - CW, sponsored by the Colorado QRP Club
from 0200Z - 0359Z Dec 11. Frequencies: 40 meters only. Categories:
SO-QRP (Antenna classes of Wires, Verticals, or Beam)  Exchange: RST +
S/P/C + Antenna Class + CQC no. or Power. The same station may be
worked up to three times, with 30 minutes between QSOs. QSO Points:
1st QSO with station - 3 pts, 2nd QSO - 2 pts, 3rd QSO - 1 pt. Score:
QSO Points x S/P/C x CQC members. For more information:
http://www.cqc.org/contests/snow2004.htm. Logs due Jan 17, 2005 to
contest@cqc.org (ASCII only) or Colorado QRP Club, PO Box 17174,
Golden, CO 80402. 

VHF CONTESTS

ARRL International EME Contest - 0000Z Dec 4 - 2400Z Dec 5.
Frequencies: 50 - 1296 MHz. Categories: SOAB, SOSB, MO, Commercial.
Exchange: signal report. QSO Points: 100 pts/QSO. Score: QSO points x
W/VE states/provinces + DXCC entities (counted once per band). For
more information: http://http/://www.arrl.org/contests/forms/. Logs due
Jan 5, 2005 to emecontest@arrl.org or EME Contest, ARRL, 225 Main St,
Newington, CT 06111.

North American Meteor Scatter Contest - any mode, sponsored by the
WSJTGROUP from 0000Z Dec 11 - 0700Z Dec 15 (the Geminids meteor
shower). Frequencies (MHz): 50, 144, 222, 432, via meteor scatter.
Categories: SOSB, SOAB, (HP, LP < 200W), Assisted or Unassisted. No
QSOs with your own or adjacent grid squares, QSOs are counted as
Scheduled or Random. Exchange: full call signs, grid square and QSOs
must be acknowledged. QSO Points, Assisted / Unassisted: 50 - 1 / 3
pt, 144 - 1 / 3 pts, 222 - 3 / 9 pts, 432 - 10 / 30 pts. Score: QSO
Points x grid squares counted once per band + random QSOs. For more
information: http://www.ykc.com/wa5ufh/Rally/NAHSMS.htm. Logs due Jan
12 to wa5ufh@ykc.com or Randy Tipton, 778CR123, Edna, Texas 77957.

Along with the Meteor Scatter Contest, The WSJTGROUP announces the new
Century Grid Award. The Century Grid Award is available to all
operators worldwide. Past contacts using HSCW or any other High Speed
Meteor Scatter technique is accepted along with all your FSK441 or
JT6M contacts. The rules are posted on the WSJTGROUP Web page
http://www.ykc.com/wa5ufh/.

NEWS AND PRESS RELEASES

All certificates for both modes of the 2004 DX Contest have been
mailed and shipping of the plaques has begun. The combined list (paper
and electronic) of logs received for the 2004 ARRL September VHF QSO
Party and 2004 ARRL 10 GHz and Up Contest were posted to
http://www.arrl.org/contests/claimed. (If you find a problem, contact
Dan at n1nd@arrl.org.) The August UHF Web results were finalized and
opened to the public. (Thanks, Dan N1ND)

I am very pleased to announce that your editor's book "Ham Radio for
Dummies"
(http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesTitle/productCd-0764559877.html)
will be getting a second printing in January.  The first printing was
very well received, even making a list of Top 50 titles in Technology!
I know we have a lot of friends, neighbors, and relatives out there
that might appreciate a copy of "Ham Radio for Dummies" as a holiday
present - after all, it's for new and non-hams - so I am hopeful that
it will continue to spread the word about our great hobby.  Thank you,
loyal readers, for your support and recommendation!

For PSK enthusiasts, DigiPan 2.0 is now available for download at
http://www.digipan.net/. DigiPan 2.0 now simultaneously decodes all
signals in the IF passband and stations calling CQ are highlighted
automatically. (Thanks, Skip KH6TY)

Mike N9BOR writes to announce the K9YA Telegraph e-zine about Morse
Code.  It's free and has been growing steadily since the first issue
in Jan 2004.  Subscription information is available at
http://www.k9ya.org/.  The e-zine is delivered in PDF format by
email.

You may be aware that OSCAR-7, long thought dead, came back to life a
few months ago is operational when illuminated by the sun. (It is
thought that a battery's internal short opened up due to thermal
cycling, freeing the solar cells to run the electronics, although the
batteries are quite dead.) Emily, W0EEC has created a Web site to
allow the users of AO-7 to record contacts, observations and use of
the satellite more effectively at:
http://www.emilyshouse.com/experthams/ao7/main.php. This includes the
ability to log contacts.

If you're using Super Check Partial files during the contest, wouldn't
be nice to have the Morse simulator programs be able to send the calls
to you for practice?  Of course, but how? Larry F6FVY says that you
can use the MEdit software (freeware) written by Alex VE3NEA at
http://www.netvampire.com/ham/Files/MEdit.zip. Alex has written many
interesting tools for contesters - take a look at
http://www.dxatlas.com/ for more information on programs such as Morse
Runner.  It supports Win 95 through XP, and implements QRN, QRM, QSB,
flutter and even Lids!  Adjustable CW pitch and bandwidth are
included. (Thanks also to Tom N1MM and David N9KT)

John VK4UC reports, "We recently have formed a national Internet-based
VK Contest Club with 45 members so far: http://www.vkcc.com/. About
half might be considered serious international contesters who are
active and submit a log to at least two contests a year.  A third to
half of these are ex-pats who had developed their interest in
contesting 
back in their country of origin."  One of their early successes has
been to grow the VK/ZL Contest into the Oceania Contest with
increasing log submissions and a rosy future.

For more than any of us want to know about spy beacons (such as the
"letter stations" found at the low end of 40 meters), check out
http://www.cvni.net/radio/nsnl/.  It contains a huge amount of
information on the subject. (Thanks, Jack WA0RJY)

Last week contained an important anniversary - on 22 November 1906,
delegates attending the Berlin Radiotelegraphic Conference voted to
use SOS as the letters for the international signal of distress.
(Thanks, Rod N0RC)

This speaks for itself. "Many of us finished SS Phone one mult short
of a sweep, missing only Newfoundland. Such an uproar developed on the
NCCC reflector that it was felt necessary by a few to obtain some kind
of recompense for keeping our butts in the chair. 
Therefore, I introduce The 79not80 Coffee Mug for those who fell short
- http://www.withmy2hands.org/k6kyj/79not80.htm" (Thanks, Ron K6KYJ
and Tom ND2T)

RESULTS AND RECORDS

Tack JE1CKA reports that the log received list for the JIDX contest in
on-line and browseable at http://jidx.org/2004ph-loglist.html. The
2004 CW contest results are at
http://jidx.org/2004cw.html.

TECHNICAL

Your ARRL membership dollars at work - Ed Hare W1RFI of the ARRL Lab
drafted some test procedures using amateur receivers that support the
need to establish background noise levels in advance of BPL
deployments.  The techniques may be useful in any such measurements
and your comments would be appreciated.  Look for the documents at
http://www.arrl.org/~ehare/bpl/measurements.html and
http://www.arrl.org/~ehare//aria/ARIA_MANUAL_TESTING.pdf.  Ed would
like to see more amateurs making quantitative measurements at their
stations, though, especially if done over time of day and time of
year. There is a lot of information to be gathered, such as spectrum
occupancy; maximum, minimum and typical signal levels; the levels of
discrete noise sources and the level of the indeterminate noise in the
quiet part of the band. Ed can be contacted at w1rfi@arrl.org - way to
go, Ed!

Lest my book touting be seen as too one-sided, here's a fabulous
guilty pleasure that can be shared by tinkerers old and young. "The
Art of the Catapult" by Wiliam Gurstelle covers a wide variety of
flinging machinery - ballistae and slings, onagers, trebuchets,
ancient artillery - with instructions on how you might build your own.
 Impress your neighbors!  Along with the technical details, tales of
Alexander the Great and John Crabbe will prove captivating as you
while away the hours between bouts of ballistic misbehavior.

In the latest issue of Analog Devices' "Analog and Mixed Signal
Newsletter" an interesting part caught my eye in the following article
on a 4-way active RF splitter: http://www.analogzone.com/hfp_1108.htm.
 The ADA4302-4 is a receive-signal level part and I'm sure some of the
agile thinkers out there could adapt it to the VHF+ ham shack right
away.  The part's ratings start at 54 MHz, but it looks to be
applicable well below that for HF use, as well.

Clearly more applicable to the technical section - admirers of Wes
Hayward W7ZOI and Doug DeMaw W1FB will enjoy reading Wes' tribute to
Doug and Byron Goodman W1DX on his Web site:
http://users.easystreet.com/w7zoi/w7zoi-page.html. Click on the photo
of W1FB, W7ZOI, and W1DX about halfway down the page. (Thanks, Denny
N9JXY)

CONVERSATION

A Manner Of Speaking

(Carl K9LA, NCJ Editor contributed the following editorial.)

After the February 2003 Phone Sprint, I received an e-mail from a very
upset 20m operator. He complained that the Sprint contest tore up his
QSO on the 20m band. I waited a couple days, and then called him on
the phone. I found out that he was an occasional contester, and we
ended up having a nice chat about contesting. The result of that
episode was a short article titled "NCJ Point-Counterpoint" that was
published on page 36 in the July/August 2003 NCJ. This article ended
with a section called Contesting Etiquette, and it listed seven items
that contesters could adhere to in order to minimize problems with
non-contesters.

Recently, more discussion has taken place on the cq-contest reflector
and in the Contest Rate Sheet about several other contesting topics.
From these discussions, a new Contesting Etiquette list has been
generated, and it includes the original seven items. Here's the new
list:

1. If 'contest-free zones' are listed in the rules, obey them
(regardless of what everyone else is doing). Similarly, obey any band
plans that are on the books.

2. Check the frequency (for more than a millisecond) before CQing.

3. If the station you want to work is operating split, check his
listening frequency before calling. If there's a QSO on that
frequency, don't call. The excuse that 'I'll make it quick, so that
shouldn't disrupt anything' needs to be multiplied by the number of
other contesters thinking the same thing.

4. Measure or have a friend monitor the bandwidth of your transmitted
signal when it's in the 'contest mode.' If it's significantly wider
than what's generally accepted, fix it. Contests are not an excuse to
have poor or excessively wide audio. This applies to key clicks on CW,
too. What mucks this up is the performance of our receiver under
crowded band conditions with strong signals -- it may really be that
the non-contester's receiver is the problem, and that needs to be
stated politely (admittedly a delicate situation).

5. Speaking of polite, always be polite if you get into a delicate
situation.

6. Strike up a conversation with the 'enemy' and ask if he/she would
like to join in a multi-op contest operation from your QTH. Hey, it
doesn't hurt to ask!

7. Encourage contesting etiquette among fellow contesters.

8. Give your call often - even if you have a good run going. This will
prevent comments such as 'what's your call?' and will probably prevent
dupes. Top contesters identify often. In a similar vein, don't call
someone blindly not knowing his call. Put his frequency in memory and
come back later -- maybe you'll luck out and hear him give his call.

9. Always send in a log, no matter how many QSOs you made. It helps
the log checkers with their job.

10. Understand how to put your rig on the same frequency as the
station you're calling. This applies mostly to CW. Enlist the aid of a
local to make sure you got it right.

11. Always abide by the rules specific to the contest you're operating
in. This one shouldn't need to be mentioned, but unfortunately there
is a very small minority of contesters who believe winning is more
important than playing fair.

12. Use standard phonetics as much as possible and enunciate clearly
so that your call is understood without someone having to ask.
Although this applies mostly to those contesters whose primary
language is not English, it can happen to any of us. A good example is
my call in a phone contest. Many times the response to K9LA is 'the
kilo lima alpha station?' The nine in K9LA is not hard and gets lost
between the K and the L and A. I usually place extra emphasis on the
nine to make sure it gets through.

I'm sure this list could go on and on. But this is a start. Please
share this with fellow contesters and with your contest club. The more
we get the word out, the better our contesting activities will be.

73, Carl K9LA

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