Contester's Rate Sheet for November 2, 2005

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Contester's Rate Sheet
2 November 2005
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Edited by Ward Silver N0AX

I'm glad to be back - let's go to press!

SUMMARY
o CW Sweepstakes and WAE RTTY - Look Out On the Low End!
o EI8IC Mapping Tools and Software
o Shakespeare & Morse
o CQ WW Results Past and Certificates Present
o Scoring Interface XML Proposal by WA7BNM
o Antenna Books Old and New
o What It Takes

BULLETINS
o No bulletins this issue

BUSTED QSOS
o None reported!

ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICES FOR 2 NOVEMBER TO 15 NOVEMBER 2005

Jim KC4HW asked me to let everyone know that logs for the Alabama QSO
Party aren't due until Nov 15th. Full info is available at
http://www.alabamaqsoparty.org/ and for questions email
kc4hw@alabamaqsoparty.org or w4nti@mindspring.com.

The California QSO Party committee is extending the log submission
deadline to November 15th.  The log submission Web site experienced
some "technical problems" that delayed posting of claimed scores.  To
make sure that correct and complete logs get submitted - I've
extended the deadline. Cabrillo logs can be submitted at
http://72.18.228.139/.  The submitted log list is updated manually and
may take some time to be completely updated. (Thanks, KR N6RCE)

November 2 - 432 MHz Fall Sprint, email logs to: w4kxy@arrl.net,
paper logs and diskettes to: Jim Worsham W4KXY, 1915 Oak Wind Lane,
Buford, GA 30519-6766, USA. Find the rules at
http://svhfs.org/fall_sprint_rules.htm.

November 5 - YLRL Anniversary Party, CW, email logs to:
wx4mm@tm-moore.com, paper logs and diskettes to: Mary Moore WX4MM,
1593 Lee Road 375, Valley, AL 36854, USA. Find the rules at
http://www.ylrl.org/ylcontests.html.

November 6 - Oceania DX Contest, Phone and CW, email logs to:
ph@oceaniadxcontestcom or cw@oceaniadxcontestcom, paper logs and
diskettes to: Oceania DX Contest, c/o Wellington Amateur Radio Club
Inc, PO Box 6464, Wellington 6030, New Zealand. Find the rules at
http://www.nzart.org.nz/nzart/Update/Contests/Oceania/2005_oceania_rules.pdf.

November 7 - FISTS Fall Sprint, email logs to: W8PIG@yahoo.com, paper
logs and diskettes to: Dan Shepherd, N8IE, 1900 Pittsfield St,
Kettering, Oh 45420, USA. Find the rules at
http://www.fists.org/sprints.html.

November 12 - Microwave Fall Sprint, email logs to: Rover@wireco.net,
paper logs and diskettes to: Greg Robinson, KB4NVD, 208 Dogwood Acres
Rd., Hampton, TN 37658-3348, USA. Find the rules at
http://svhfs.org/fall_sprint_rules.htm.

November 14 - YLRL Anniversary Party, SSB, email logs to:
wx4mm@tm-moore.com, paper logs and diskettes to: Mary Moore WX4MM,
1593 Lee Road 375, Valley, AL 36854, USA. Find the rules at
http://www.ylrl.org/ylcontests.html.

November 14 - 10-10 Int. Fall Contest, CW, email logs to:
tentencontest@alltel.net, paper logs and diskettes to: Steve
Rasmussen, N0WY, #68684, 312 N 6th Street, Plattsmouth, NE 68048,
USA. Find the rules at http://www.ten-ten.org/rules.html.

November 15 - RSGB 21/28 MHz Contest, SSB, email logs to:
2128ssb.logs@rsgbhfcc.org, paper logs and diskettes to: RSGB-G3UFY,
77 Bensham Manor Road, Thornton Heath, Surrey CR7 7AF, England. Find
the rules at http://www.contesting.co.uk/hfcc/rules/r2128.shtml.

November 15 - Pennsylvania QSO Party, email logs to:
paqsolog@nittany-arc.net, paper logs and diskettes to: PA QSO Party
2005, c/o NARC, PO Box 614, State College, PA 16804-0614, USA. Find
the rules at
http://www.nittany-arc.net/Web%20Packages/parules2005.html.

November 15 - Makrothen RTTY Contest, email logs to:
tmc-rtty@arcor.de, paper logs and diskettes to: (none). Find the
rules at
http://home.arcor.de/waldemar.kebsch/The_Makrothen_Contest/TMC_Rules.html.

November 15 - RSGB 21/28 MHz Contest, CW, email logs to:
2128cw.logs@rsgbhfcc.org, paper logs and diskettes to: RSGB-G3UFY, 77
Bensham Manor Road, Thornton Heath, Surrey CR7 7AF, England. Find the
rules at http://www.contesting.co.uk/hfcc/rules/r2128.shtml.

November 15 - Illinois QSO Party, email logs to:
jfunk@fossnorthamerica.com, paper logs and diskettes to: RAMS, c/o
John Matz, KB9II, 7079 West Ave, Honover Park, IL 60103, USA. Find
the rules at http://my.core.com/~jematz/ilqp/ilqso05.html 

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 November Sweepstakes--CW, from 2100Z Nov 5 - 0300Z Nov 7. (Phone
from 2100Z Nov 19 to 0300Z Nov 21) Frequencies: 160 - 10 meters, work
stations only once. Categories: SOAB-LP (A), HP (B), QRP (Q),
SO-Unlimited (U), MS (M), School Club (S). Exchange: Serial number,
Category (precedence), Call, Check (last two digits of first year
licensed), and ARRL section. QSO Points: 2 pts/QSO. Score: QSO points
x sections (counted only once). For more information:
http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2005/novss.html. Logs due Dec 7 in
Cabrillo format via on-line form at http://www.b4h.net/cabforms or by
email to sscw@arrl.org (Phone logs due 21 Dec to ssphone@arrl.org) or
to November SS CW (or SSB), ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111.

North American Collegiate ARC Championship--CW (Phone, Nov 19-20).
This is a competition based on Sweepstakes results between club
stations at institutions of higher education beyond the high school
level. Clubs enter Sweepstakes in any of the valid entry categories.
Separate champions will be determined for CW, Phone and Combined
scores. For more information: http://www.collegiatechampionship.org/.

High Speed Club CW Contest, sponsored by the Radio Telegraphy High
Speed Club (HSC) from 0900Z - 1100Z and 1500Z - 1700Z Nov 6.
Frequencies: 80-10 meters, 10-30 kHz above band edge. Categories:
SOAB-LP (<150W), SOAB-QRP (<5W), SWL. Exchange: RST + HSC member
number or "NM". QSO Points: HSC member--5 pts, non-member--1 pt.
Score: QSO points. For more information: http://www.dl3bzz.de/. Logs
due 6 weeks after the contest to hsc-contest@dl3bzz.de or Lutz
Schröer, DL3BZZ, HSC Contest-Manager, Am Niederfeld 6, 35066
Frankenberg / Eder, Germany.

IPA Contest--Phone/CW, sponsored by The International Police
Association Radio Club. CW from 0600Z-1000Z and 1400Z-1800Z Nov 5,
Phone from 0600Z-1000Z and 1400Z-1800Z Nov 6. Frequencies: 80-10
meters with 15-minute band change rule. Categories: SOAB, MS, MM and
SWL. Exchange RST + serial number (IPARC members send "IPA" + state
if US). QSO Points: IPARC members--5 pts, non-member--1 pt. Score:
QSO points x DXCC entities + US states counted once per band.
Multipliers are only counted for QSOs with IPARC members. For more
information: http://www.ipa-rc.de/. Logs due Dec 31 to dl8kcg@darc.de
or Uwe Greggersen, DL8KCG, Hurststr 9, D-51645 Gummersbach, Germany

Ukranian DX Contest--CW/SSB/RTTY, sponsored by the Ukrainian Amateur
Radio League and the Ukrainian Contest Club from 1200Z Nov 5 - 1200Z
Nov 6. Frequencies: 160-10 meters, with 10-minute band change rule.
Categories: SOAB, SOAB-QRP (<5W), SOAB-RTTY, SOSB, MS, MM, SWL.
Exchange: RST + serial number (+ Ukranian region). QSO Points: same
country--1 pt, same continent--2 pts, different cont--3 pts, Ukranian
station--10 pts. Score: QSO points x DXCC entities + WAE countries +
Ukranian regions. For more information: http://www.ucc.zp.ua/. Logs
due 30 days after the contest to urdx@ham.kiev.ua or to Ukrainian
Contest Club HQ, PO Box 4850, Zaporizhzhe, 69118, Ukraine.

DARC 10-Meter Digital "Corona"--RTTY/AMTOR/PACTOR/PSK31/Clover,
sponsored by Deutscher Amateur Radio Club from 1100Z - 1700Z Nov 6.
Frequencies (MHz): 28.050-28.150, work stations once per mode.
Categories: SO, SWL. Exchange: RST + serial number. QSO Points:
1pt/QSO. Score: QSO points x DXCC entities + WAE countries + JA/VE/W
call districts (all counted only once). For more information:
http://www.darc.de/referate/dx/cqdlcont/fgdcc.htm. Logs due 4 weeks
after the contest to dl9gs@darc.de or A.Schlendermann DL9GS, Postfach
102201, D-44807 Bochum, Germany.

Radio Club of America QSO Party, SSB/AM, from 1700Z Nov 5 - 0500Z Nov
6. See Web site for frequency schedule. Exchange: RST, QTH, name,
equipment used. RCA members sign their calls "/RCA". For more
information: http://www.radio-club-of-america.org/ or
rlraide@adelphia.net. Logs to mraide@rochester.rr.com or Mike Raide
W2ZE, 21 Canandaiqua Street, Shortsville, NY 14548.

Japan International DX Contest--Phone, from 0700Z Nov 12 - 1300Z Nov
13. Frequencies: 80 -- 10 meters. Categories: SOAB and SOSB (HP
>100W, LP), MO, Maritime Mobile. Exchange: RST + JA prefecture number
or CQ Zone. QSO Points: 80 or 10-meters--2 pts, otherwise 1 pt.
Score: QSO Points x JA prefectures + JD1 provinces (JA stations use
DXCC entities). For more information: http://
jidx.org/jidxrule-e.html. Logs due Dec 31 to ph@jidx.org or JIDX
"PHONE/CW" Contest, c/o Five-Nine Magazine, PO Box 59, Kamata, Tokyo,
144-8691 Japan.

Worked All Europe DX Contest (WAEDC)--RTTY, from 0000Z Nov 12 - 2359Z
Nov 13. Frequencies: 80-10 meters according to Region I band plan.
Categories: SOHP, SOLP, MS, SWL. Spotting assistance allowed (SO
stations not using spotting assistance will be noted). SO operate 36
hrs max., up to three off periods of 1 hour min. Everyone works
everyone format. 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
inside EU, DXCC outside EU, plus call districts.) Mults on 80m count
x4, on 40m x3, otherwise x2. A QTC is a report sent between stations
on different continents of QSOs that took place earlier in the
conteSt 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 Dec 15 to waedc@dxhf.darc.de or to WAEDC Contest Manager,
Bernhard Buettner DL6RAI, Schmidweg 17, 85609 Dornach, Germany.

OK/OM DX Contest--CW, sponsored by the Czech Radio Club (CRC) from
1200Z Nov 12 - 1200Z Nov 13. Frequencies: 160-10-meters. Categories:
SOAB-HP (>100W), SOSB-HP, SOAB-LP, SOSB-LP, SOAB-QRP (<5W), MS, SWL,
packet spotting allowed for all categories. Exchange: RST plus serial
number or OK/OM district. QSO Points: EU to OK/OM--1 pt, non-EU to
OK/OM--3 pts. Score: QSO points x OK/OM districts (OK/OM stations use
WPX prefixes) counted once per band. For more information:
http://okomdx.radioamater.cz/. Logs due Dec 1 to okomdx@crk.cz
or OK-OM DX Contest, CRK, PO Box 69, 113 27 Praha 1, Czech Republic. 

CQ WE (Western Electric)--CW/Phone/Digital, from 1900Z Nov 12 - 0500Z
Nov 14. Frequencies: 160 - 70 cm (no repeater contacts). Categories:
SOAB (Bell and non-Bell). Exchange: Call, name, Bell location, Years
of Bell service (non-Bell send "ZZ" and "1"). QSO Points: equal to
years of service. Score: sum of QSO points x location codes for each
mode (locations counted once only). For more information:
http://cqwe.cboh.org/. Send logs to cyaffey@columbus.rr.com or Carl L
Yaffey K8NU, 435 Walhalla Rd, Columbus, OH 43202.

VHF+ CONTESTS

ARRL EME Contest, from 0000Z Nov 12 - 2400Z Nov 13. Frequencies: 50 -
1296 MHz. 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://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2005/eme.html. Logs due Dec 13 to
emecontest@arrl.org or EME Contest, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT
06111.

NEWS & PRESS RELEASES

On page 93 in the November 8 - issue of PC Magazine, John C. Dvorak
began his "Inside Track" article with a kudos for amateurs involved
with the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. The byline was "The most
overlooked participants in Katrina relief were the ham radio folks.
Bush should give them all medals." That's a nice notice in a widely
read forum. (Thanks, Aaron NN6O)

Tim EI8IC has posted a screenshot of his planned "contest log
visualization tool" at his Web site
http://www.mapability.com/ei8ic/logview. If Tim can come up with
software up to his usual high standards, this should be a very
interesting application!  While you're there, Tim has what seems to
be the only free map of ARRL/RAC sections on the Web. It's available,
just in time for Sweepstakes, at
http://www.mapability.com/ei8ic/maps/sections.html or
http://www.mapability.com/ei8ic/maps/sections.gif. The sections map
is part of Tim's 'NAOMI', the North American Overlay Mapper, a suite
of 49 full screen overlay-maps, covering North America. Pretty tasty
stuff!

The notion of secret logs only visible after the contest is beginning
to look vulnerable. For example, several stations are making their
operations viewable in almost real-time. Doug W9WI posted his CQ WW
SSB contacts on a Web site immediately after they were made. Randy
K5ZD and several others have made streaming audio and video
available. With Internet connectivity nearly ubiquitous in contest
shacks, it won't be much longer until a substantial fraction of the
entire contest is available for viewing or listening in while it
happens. The impact on contest operations and scoring is likely to be
relatively small, but the effect on awards programs, such as DXCC, is
yet to be determined. May we all live in interesting times!

The ITU has made several informative chapters of the new book
"Handbook on Emergency Communications - Edition 2005" available for
download in both PDF and Microsoft Word formats. The download will
take a while, but the book is available at
http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/emergencytelecoms/publications.html.

Mal N7MAL made a well-received proposal for state QSO parties that
deserves some mention. He proposes that if you're in the target
state, call "CQ [state]QP". If you're outside the target state, call
"CQ [state]". For example, in the California QSO Party, out-staters
call "CQ CA" while in-staters call "CQ CQP" or "CQ CAQP". In this day
and age of national call signs that don't denote region, such a
simple protocol would work wonders. There is precedent - the NA
Sprint convention of a CQ-ing station sending their call within the
exchange and a responding station (that will inherit the frequency)
sending their call at the end of the exchange. By using (and
publicizing) these conventions, it's much easier to tell what's going
on and everyone benefits.

Sigurd LB3KB has contributed a Morse training program to further the
continued use of Morse code. His computer program makes it easy to
learn the code and can be downloaded from
http://justlearnmorsecode.com/. Feel free to distribute the Web URL!

Not your average code practice tape, raise your literary
consciousness by listening to Shakespeare's sonnets in Morse Code as
MP3 files at 7, 13, 20 wpm. They're accessible at
http://retards.org/radio/shakespeares_sonnets_cw. Now when someone
gives you a funny look while you're listening, you can give them a
knowing nod and murmur, "Ah, Shakespeare!"  Dealing with funny looks
at other times is up to you. (Thanks, Nathan KE7BOJ)

Several have proposed getting rid of signal reports in contest
exchanges. Maybe what we need is just new definitions. I have a
modest example here.
  59(9) - From a contester - here comes the real stuff
          From a DXer - yeah, yeah, send me the card
          From everybody else - I can hear ya pretty good
  57(9) - Solid copy, what did you say your name was?
  55(9) - Weak as a kitten, repeat everything twice
  54(9) - Make that three times.
  45(9) - Got my signal report, but missed everything else
  44(9) - You're really 59(9) but I'm getting the dinner bell
  33(9) - I heard your signal a while ago and I think you're there
  22(9) - I saw your call on packet (Hey, Fred, is he sending yet?)

Being fresh from a DXpedition, I have QSLs on the brain, so this
week's Portuguese lesson is a conversation about those little pieces
of cardboard we all love to get.
Please send me your QSL.
   Por favor envie-me seu QSL.
My QSL-card is one hundred percent sure.
   Meu cartao-QSL e cem por cento.
How many IRCs do I have to enclose?
   Quantos IRC's eu devo incluir?
I have run out of QSLs.
   Eu estou sem QSL's.
Do you have a QSL-manager?
   Voce esta usando um QSL-manager?
My QSL-manager is WA3HUP.
   Meu QSL manager dele e WA3HUP.
Thanks to the Radio Amateur's Conversation Guide by OH2BR and OH2BAD

RESULTS AND RECORDS

The list of Logs Received for the 2005 ARRL 10 GHz and Up Contest has
been posted at www.arrl.org/contests/claimed  If you find an error in
your listing or if your entry is not listed please contact Dan N1ND
at 860-594-0232 or by email at n1nd@arrl.org

The CQ WW results for all contests 1999-2004 are now available
on-line. You can view them by logging into CQ's Web site at
http://www.cq-amateur-radio.com/cqwwpastresults.html. This is a very
welcome addition to the growing amount information available on-line.
(Thanks, John K1AR)

Not only are past results now on line, but certificates from the 2004
CQ WW are flooding mailboxes in every zone, it seems. Good job, CQ! 
And nice-looking certificates they are, too.

The results of the 2005 Ukrainian DX Digital Contest are available at
http://www.qsl.net/ur5fav/udrpc/rslt2005w.html. Winners should look
for awards to be mailed directly. (Thanks, Nick UX0FF)

Jurij MM0DMV, CIS DX Contest Manager, reports that results for the
2004 CIS DX Contest are now available at
http://www.srars.org/cisdxc.htm.

TECHNICAL

Bruce WA7BNM reports, "The aggregate real time scores Web page WA7BNM
posted during CQWW SSB was implemented by extracting scoring info
posted by each of three contestants (N2IC, K1TTT, W9WI) who provided
periodically updated scores during the contest Although this worked
on a small scale, a standardized means of providing real time
scoringinfo is needed. As a proposed solution, I've drafted an XML
Document Type Definition (DTD) for periodically reporting contest
results during a contest. Links to the DTD and example XML files can
be found at http://www.hornucopia.com/xml4contestresults.html."  This
would be the foundation for an interface through which real time
contest scoring data could be exchanged between a competitor and a
master data base or even between competitors. Just as the Cabrillo
format took a big step towards automating log processing, a standard
interface will enable logging software authors to design and build in
new features. Bruce welcomes comments and suggestions at
bhorn@hornucopia.com.

Dave G4GED reports that interference TO his DSL modem from his
160-meter operation was a consequence of the rest of the house phone
wiring picking up the signal. (I have a similar problem on
80-meters.)  He was able to reroute the phone wiring so that it runs
from his service box to the DSL modem to the rest of the house. He
then wound about 5-meters of phone line on a large ferrite toroid and
that keeps the common-mode RF from getting to the DSL modem.

Cables, connectors, and adapters are literally everywhere in the ham
shack. To that end, you may want to check out Wired Communications
(http://www.wiredco.com/ - "We'll Get You Wired..."). They have a
pretty extensive on-line catalog and their display at the ARRL SW
Convention in Riverside, CA was impressive.

Laport's Radio Antenna Engineering is a classic antenna book,
published in 1952 by McGraw-Hill. Available in reprint via various
sources, it is also available as a 32 Mbyte PDF file for free
download at http://books.lulu.com/content/159004. This is a 574 page
book, so be prepared to go take out the garbage or do a chore while
you're waiting for the Internet to deliver the whole file. (Thanks,
John W0UN)

Also on the subject of antenna books, Antennex
(http://www.antennex.com/) announces the release of "Exotic Antennas".
Dealing primarily with the merging technology of compact antennas,
the book contains 50 chapters of the theory, construction, use and
test performance of some of the most popular compact designs.

"I was looking for a 12 VDC power supply for my station and found the
XPower Powerpack 1500
(http://www.xantrex.com/web/id/63/p/1/pt/24/product.asp). It is a
car-sized gel-cell battery on wheels with a handle and a 1500 watt AC
inverter built in. It has a smart charger to recharge from household
current and a cable to recharge from a car battery. It has battery
terminals for large current DC applications as well as a cigarette
lighter plug to use smaller 12 VDC equipment from it. Best of all, it
fits neatly under the shack desk." (Thanks, Al K7NHV)

CONVERSATION

What It Takes

Here I am, back from the K7C expedition which involved sailing 2700+
miles in a relatively small boat with 18 other people. Let me just
say that you get to know your fellow travelers fairly well under such
circumstances.

Of course, the expedition has generated pages of statistics,
breakdowns, graphics, logs, rates, and so forth but the real story
that doesn't often make it into the magazines or convention programs
is the one of how individuals work together to make it happen.
On-the-air operation gets the most attention, but it takes a long
time of dealing with innumerable details before (and after) the
expedition in order for the actual operating to ever have a chance of
taking place.

The stars of DXing and contesting are often those you see in
photographs with the headphones on, bent over the keyboard, filling
the log. What it takes to be such an OM or YL is much more than just
operating prowess. One must be multi-talented and be able to carry
the mental and physical load. There isn't much room on the successful
contest teams or expeditions for prima donnas or excessively
specialized operators.

To paraphrase Robert Heinlein from "The Notebooks of Lazarus Long",
for a team to be successful, its members should be able to change a
tube, plan an antenna raising, take apart a radio (and get it back
together), navigate to the site, lay out an antenna farm, tell a
joke, compute a score, build a tower, dispense medicine, control a
pileup, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, analyze
propagation, wash dishes, fix the logging software, cook something,
operate efficiently, yield the chair graciously. No specialization
allowed.

I found all of these traits in my companions out there at the remote
end of the Hawaiian islands, closer to Japan than North America, and
during our voyages out and back. (Note - Pacific legend Captain Bill
Austin of the Machias fills Heinlein's original bill pretty well, I
must say.)  What made K7C appear in your receivers was much more than
just radios and antennas. It was a combined human effort reaching
back many months and which will continue for months yet.

If there was a load to be hauled, it got hauled. If there was a mast
to push up, it got pushed up. Hole to dig?  Dug. Dishes to wash or
generator to refuel?  Say no more. Pileup to corral?  Consider that
shift filled. That intense focus, day in and day out, created for me
a sense of disorientation on return to civilization. As we sailed
back along Oahu's southern shore (on schedule, it must be said) in
the early morning, all of us stood quietly along the port rail,
taking in the island with its hotels, marinas, and modern life. Our
travels ending, it was time to reload all of our regular daily
concerns and constraints. Even though the trip back was rough, I'm
sure most of us felt at least a fleeting temptation to turn that boat
around and head back out to another exotic location where we could
once again put our shoulders to the proverbial wheel together.

That's what it takes and I'm sure those of you operating at the many
multi-ops last weekend experienced some of the same feelings. In a
hobby that often lionizes the lone wolf, how satisfying it is to
achieve success by relying on the efforts of the team; most assuredly
greater than the sum of its parts. I hope that all my readers will
get a similar opportunity to excel in the company of as fine a group
of compatriots as I've been privileged to enjoy.

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