Contester's Rate Sheet for March 7, 2007
******************************************** CONTESTER'S RATE SHEET 7 March 2007 Edited by Ward Silver N0AX Published by the American Radio Relay League Free to ARRL members - tell your friends! (Subscription info at the end of newsletter) ******************************************** With this issue, the Contester's Rate Sheet celebrates its fifth birthday! That's hard to believe - it seems like just the last issue when I was scrambling for material and wondering what to write. Oh wait, that *was* the last issue! Anyway, happy birthday dear Rate Sheet and to all its loyal readers - thanks! SUMMARY o Keyboarders Delight - NA RTTY Sprint, EA PSK31, BARTG Spring RTTY o Dayton Events - VHF Weak Signal Banquet and RTTY Forum o Phil Goetz N6ZZ - Silent Key o Maker's Faire o Tunable Top Hat and Mountains of Moxons o DVM-based LC Meter Kit o Can We Call You Again? NEW HF OPERATORS - THINGS TO DO o 10-10 Mobile Contest o VA, ID, WI, OK - state QSO parties BULLETINS o No bulletins in this issue. BUSTED QSOS o March 2007 QST lists W4OX as the contest manager for the RTTY Sprint. W0YK is the current RTTY Sprint contest manager and has been since early last year. No need to panic about contest logs, the e-mail address given is correct, as WA7BNM forwards received logs to the right guy! (Thanks, Carl K9LA and others) CONTEST SUMMARY (Rules follow Commentary section) March 10-11 - RSGB Commonwealth - CW - WI QSO Party - OK QSO Party - ID QSO Party - NA RTTY Sprint - EA PSK31 Contest - AGCW QRP Contest - CW March 17-18 - Russian DX Contest - VA QSO Party - 10-10 Mobile Contest - CLARA and Family HF - 9KCC Contest - BARTG Spring RTTY --o- ooo - --o- ooo - --o- ooo - -oo o NEWS, PRESS RELEASES, AND GENERAL INTEREST - oooo o o-o o- - o ooo oooo o o - -o- Tom WA8WZG, Tony WA8RJF and the VHF Weak Signal Group would like to invite all Weak Signal VHF, UHF and Microwave enthusiasts to the 14th Annual VHF Weak Signal Group banquet to be held on Friday evening May 18th - at the Holiday Inn Dayton North, 2301 Wagner Ford Road, Dayton OH. Reservations are required. Cost per person is $35.00 and includes dinner and prize ticket. For tickets please send your registration and payment and an SASE to Tony Emanuele WA8RJF, 7156 Kory Court, Concord, OH 44077-2221. For more information contact Tony at wa8rjf@arrl.net. The 2007 Dayton Hamvention RTTY Forum will be held on Sunday, May 20 from 10:15 AM-12:00 in Room 2 of the Hara Arena. Speakers include Ken K1EA and Ed W0YK. Ken will discuss log checking, distinguish between myth and reality, busted/unique calls, serial numbers, and packet poaching. Ed will discuss ideas for efficiently improving RTTY contesting. Time permitting, there will be a question-and-answer session, following the presentations. (Thanks, Shelby K4WW) Have you had any special insights into how to operate your digital battle station in RTTY contests? Technical papers are solicited for presentation at the 26th Annual ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference to be held September 28-30, 2007 in Hartford, Connecticut. These papers will also be published in the Conference Proceedings (you do NOT need to attend the conference to have your paper included in the Proceedings). The submission deadline is July 31 -. Please send papers to Maty Weinberg, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111 or you can make your submission via e-mail to: maty@arrl.org. Papers will be published exactly as submitted and authors will retain all rights. Martin LU5DX has just posted a new entry in his blog about the 2007 ARRL DX CW contest from LU4DX. It is a three-part article available for viewing at http://www.lu5dx.blogspot.com/ He recorded the whole contest, so as soon as he gets the audio clips from LU4DX, they'll be uploaded. Who uploads all of their contest logs to Logbook Of the World? While you can query the LOTW system for a specific call, there is no "LOTW Directory". If someone is up for hosting a Web page to which contesters could post their calls as being LOTW-savvy, it might serve to spur additional interest in the online-QSLing service. It might also attract more casual contesters looking for WAS, DXCC, IOTA or other awards programs interfaced with LOTW. No need to pester me about it - just put your Web site up and let us know! Drew KO4MA reports the ARRL has amended the Field Day rules in regards to satellite stations. Details are available at http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2007/fd.html. (From the AMSAT News Service Bulletin - http://www.amsat.org/) All you Contest Sponsors out there - please look carefully at your contest rules Web page. If someone needed to ask a question about your contest, would the Web site tell them how? As editor of QST's Contest Corral, I see many Web sites every month in which the sponsors have apparently taken great pains to prevent anyone from ever contacting them with a question. No manager names, calls, or other contact info are given and the only email address is that for logs, rarely checked until AFTER the contest! What if a software author needed to clarify a scoring or exchange question? What if a participant wanted to check an operating rule? Don't hide your identity! Every contest Web site should not only be up to date, but give the reader a way to make contact with you, the sponsor. Widely-known contest stalwart Phil Goetz N6ZZ died suddenly at the end of last week from a cerebral hemorrhage. Phil's call can be found in many, many logs and from many, many places. He was one of the only contesters to have operated from all 40 CQ Zones, completing his "sweep" only recently from, of all places, Zone 5 in an operation from the station of K1ZZ. Phil was also active in the CQ WW committee and in assisting WRTC, among many other things. Donations can be made in Phil's memory to the Ruidoso Public Library, 107 Kansas City Road Ruidoso, New Mexico 88345. RIP N6ZZ. URL of the Week - Although this is not specifically related to contesting, I know that most of my readers are also active on repeaters and in emergency communications. I also know that it's darned near impossible to remember how to use some of the fancy new handhelds with their incredible lists of features. I've found the Mini-Manuals, Quick References, and Radio Cards from http://niftyaccessories.com/ to be very helpful in jump-starting my memory cells. New hams will also find them useful and maybe emergency communications groups that have infrequently-used radios in go-kits. oooo o -o-- -o-- o- o-oo o-oo SIGHTS AND SOUNDS o-- o- - -o-o oooo - oooo oo ooo Jamie NS3T has done a lot of work using recorded audio files for contesting. You can hear how it sounds at http://www.jdupree.com/ns3t.wav and http://www.jdupree.com/ns3t-1.wav Both files are about 500 kbyte each and contain 4 QSOs over about a one minute period. The complete version (27 minutes 90MB WMV) of the 5A7A Video can be downloaded from Rapidshare at http://www.rooody.de/ (Thanks, Rudi DK7PE) oo-o oo -o -oo -o-- --- oo- o-o RESULTS AND RECORDS -o-o o- o-oo o-oo oooo o o-o o The February CW Sprint Results are now available at: http://www.ncjweb.com/sprintcwprelim.php. Log checking reports can be requested via e-mail to tree@kkn.net. (Thanks, Tree N6TR) An interesting VHF+ contest record surfaced recently when it was determined that Bill N4AR holds the record for most grids worked on 2 meters as a single op. 99 grids on 2 meters in one weekend is quite an accomplishment, akin to 200 countries on one band in an HF DX contest. (Thanks, John N8UM) oooo o -o-- -o-- --- oo- OPERATING TIP o-- o- -o- o oo- o--o With a nod to the past, here's the Operating Tip from Issue Number One: Unless the station running the pileup explicitly specifies otherwise, always send your full call sign, even if it's a 2x3 with a portable or upgrade designator. By doing so, you increase the likelihood of good things happening. For example, more of your call is likely to be received by the operator on the other end. This reduces the number of stations that are likely to respond (in competition with you) to the partial call. It will also increase the contact rate for you and for the other guy. oo oo-o oo - ooo -o --- - -ooo o-o --- -o- o TECHNICAL TIPS AND INFORMATION -o-- --- oo- o-o o -o --- - - o-o -o-- oo -o --o Alert to all you builders - mechanical, electronic, software - Make Magazine is hosting a "Maker's Faire" and desires to include demonstrations with a ham radio theme. Learn more at http://tinyurl.com/38hhbx. The Faire is coincident with Dayton, but being on the West Coast, there should surely be some builders out there that would love an appreciative audience. Make magazine readers are just the sort of folks that would enjoy ham radio - go get 'em! Here is Cecil W5DXP's scheme for an adjustable (i.e. - tunable) Top Hat. "I ran a wire down the inside of the vertical. The two ends of the wire were attached to a Dacron cord run through a pulley in a tree. When the wire was inside the vertical's aluminum tubing, there was no top hat. When the wire was pulled outside the tubing, there was a top hat. Resonance at any frequency on the 80 meter band could be had by adjusting the length of the top hat wire that was outside the aluminum tubing. I installed small metal pulleys at the top and bottom of the vertical to avoid wearing out the wire and Dacron cord. Steve K6SGH sends word of another Web site devoted exclusively to Moxon antennas - http://www.moxonantennaproject.com/. It has Moxon designs, including multiband and experimental Moxons, from hams all over the world. Collars are used to hold tubing, such as a mast, in place against a load or support. They are also used to hold gears or cams in place on a mast. These may be hard to find but Art K6XT and Bruce K0YW have an inexpensive and widely available substitute - use the saddles from two properly-sized muffler clamps and bolt them together around the mast. To hold the gear on his mast, K0YW drilled four small holes to hold 10-32 screws that went through matching holes in the gear. The result was a strong adjustable height gear mounting that had perfect concentricity with the mast. To hold the mast and antenna weight, stacking 2-3 collars works very well for sizeable vertical loads. GE feed-through's for coax, available at Home Depot, work great with RG-8X. A long 3/8" drill bit and some caulking are all that is required to feed the coax through the wall in professional style. (Thanks, Brian K7ON) The question was posed, "Just how straight must a Beverage antenna be?" To which Tom W8JI replied, "Not terribly unless you run pairs. Then the pairs must be reasonably aligned, say within 1/8th wave, or loss of null depth occurs. An arrow straight Beverage makes the owner feel better though, and that is worth several dB." If you are wondering about the location of your grid, it is almost always between the plate and cathode. (Thanks for the chuckle, Dave AA3UR) TECHNICAL URL OF THE WEEK -- Jim Shrum AB9LM uses his DVM as an inductance or capacitance meter with the adapter described at: http://tinyurl.com/yrk3z3 including complete schematics and PCB layouts. The adapters work well down into the uH and pF range. There are meters that have this function built-in, but you can save a few bucks and have fun making your own. A kit based on the same design (http://electronics-diy.com/lc_meter.php) was also found by Mike G8NXD. o- -o-o -o-o oo- o-o o- -o-o -o-- oo ooo o--- --- -ooo CONVERSATION --- -o o oo -o -o-o --- -o - o ooo - oo -o --o So - Can We Call You Again? Last weekend should have seen quite a few U.S. calls hitherto unknown on HF make an appearance in the pileups. It would have been nice to have better propagation to welcome our newcomers, but they'll have nowhere to go, but up, right? And CQ WPX SSB is just around the corner. What do you think about HF, Technicians? Did you have fun? Was it cool to work Argentina or Africa or Hawaii or New Zealand? We hope we'll see you again in the pileups - and there is another opportunity every weekend. Ah, but I'll bet the fraction of newcomers that read this newsletter is miniscule. What do these newcomers read? How can we get in touch with them to let them know about the fun they can have doing HF contesting? How will they know when contests are happening and where to go for information? We, the U.S. contest community, have a golden opportunity to add to our ranks. But only if we are willing to do a little shovel work. The first step is to find the call signs new to HF that gave the contest a try. Perhaps the operators in South America and other places that had good 10 meter propagation would post their logs after the submission deadline. Any call with the Technician format (2-by-3 or 1-by-3) could be extracted and the FCC database queried for class. That's our pool of potential new contesters! The next step is to let them know we see them. Email, postcards, even personal phone calls to someone nearby are in order. Invite them to a club meeting, let them know about contest calendars, ask if they need help submitting a log or if there is anything you can do to help out. Remember how you felt after your first DX contest? Exactly! And they need resources - how-to articles, tutorials, propagation predictions and analysis, even information about how to prepare and submit a log. How about a page on eham.net or QRZ.com collecting How-To information about HF and HF contesting? There was a good pullout in QST this past month for Technician Class licensees getting ready to try HF. It can also be downloaded from http://www.arrl.org/HFWelcome/Welcome.pdf Don't assume someone else will do it - they won't! The ARRL can only do so much while you can make contact with the personal touch that means a lot to a ham trying something new. If you've been wondering how to help keep ham radio and HF operating vital and vigorous, here's your chance. The new HF operators have had their first date with HF. Will they call us for a second chance? 73, Ward N0AX -o-o --o- - o ooo - -o-o --o- - o ooo - CONTESTS -- 7 MARCH THROUGH 20 MARCH -o-o --o- - o ooo - -o-o --o- - o ooo - 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 (>100 W); LP - Low Power; QRP (5W or less) HF CONTESTS RSGB Commonwealth Contest--CW, sponsored by the RSGB from 1000Z Mar 10 - 1000Z Mar 11. Open to British Commonwealth stations only, work stations once per band outside your own call area. HQ stations may be worked by everyone and count as a separate call area. Frequencies: lower 30 kHz of 80-10 meters. Categories: SO--open (full-time), --restricted (12 hrs max), Headquarters -- MO and SO, no spotting assistance. Scoring: 5 pts/QSO, first 3 QSOs with a call area count 25 pts. For more information: http://www.rsgbhfcc.org/. Logs due Apr 9 to commonwealth.contest@rsgbhfcc.org. Wisconsin QSO Party--Phone/CW, sponsored by the West Allis RAC from 1800Z Mar 11 - 0100Z Mar 12. Frequencies (MHz): CW 3.550, 3.705,7.050, 14.050, and 21 - 440, Phone 3.890, 7.230, 14.290, 21.350, 28.400, 50 - 440, no repeater QSOs. Categories: SO, MS, MM and Mobile. No county line operations. Exchange: S/P/C or WI county. QSO Points: Phone - 1 pt, CW - 2 pts. Score: Pwr mult x QSO pts x WI counties (max 72), WI stations use QSO pts x WI counties + S/P/C, WI mobiles/portables add 500 bonus points for county with 12 or more QSOs. Power multiplier: x2 (<5 W ), x1.5 (<150 W), x1 (>150 W). For more information: http://www.warac.org/. Logs due April 13 to k9kr@tds.net or Wisconsin QSO Party, West Allis RAC, PO Box 1072, Milwaukee, WI 53201. Oklahoma QSO Party--Phone/CW/Digital, sponsored by the Oklahoma DX Association (OKDXA) from 1400Z Mar 10 - 0200Z Mar 11 and 1400Z - 2000Z Mar 11. Frequencies (MHz): SSB--3.860, 7.260, 14.260, 21.360, 28.360; CW--3.545, 7.045, 14.045, 21.045, 28.045. Categories: SOHF-HP, -LP, -QRP, MS, Rover (OK only). Exchange: signal report and OK county or S/P/C. QSO points: Phone--2 pts, CW/Digital--3 pts. Score: QSO points x OK counties (OK stations use OK counties + S/P/C) counted only once. For more information: http://www.okdxa.org/. Logs due Apr 30 to logs@okdxa.org (ADIF or Cabrillo format preferred) or OKDXA, PO Box 2591, Claremore, OK 74018-2591 Idaho QSO Party--CW/Phone/Digital, from 1300Z Mar 10 - 0200Z Mar 11 and 1300Z Mar 11 to 0200Z Mar 12. Frequencies (MHz): CW - 35 kHz above band edge, Phone - 7.260, 14.260, 21.335, 28.470 MHz, plus 50, 144, 440 MHz. Categories: SO, MS, MM, Mobile, School, Special Event, all may be QRP/LP/HP (150 W or more) and Mixed/CW/Phone/Digital. QSO Points: see Web site. Score: QSO Points x ID counties (non-ID stations use S/C), all multipliers count once per mode. For more information: http://www.nt4tt.com/. Logs due 30 days after the contest to nt4tt@msn.com or via the Web site. North American RTTY Sprint, sponsored by NCJ from 0000Z-0400Z Mar 11. Frequencies 80 -- 20 meters. North American stations work everyone; others work NA stations only. Exchange both callsigns, serial number, name, and S/P/C. The same station can be worked multiple times provided 3 contacts separate the contact in both logs, regardless of band. QSY rule: Stations calling CQ, QRZ, etc, may only work one station in response to that call; they must then move at least 1 kHz before working another station or 5 kHz before soliciting another call. Once you are required to QSY, you may not make a new QSO on the previous frequency until you have made a contact at least 1 or 5 kHz (as required) away. For more information: http://www.ncjweb.com/. Logs due 7 days after the contest via the contest Web site, to rttysprint@ncjweb.com, or Douglas McDuff W4OX, 10380 SW 112th St, Miami, FL 33176. EA PSK31 Contest, sponsored by the Unión de Radioaficionados Españoles (URE), from 1600Z Mar 10 -1600Z Mar 11. Frequencies: 80-10 meters. Categories: SOAB, SOSB, MO. Exchange: RST + serial number or EA province. Scoring: own continent 1 pt on 20-10 meters, 2 pts on 80-40 meters, diff. cont. 3 pts on 20-10 and 6 pts on 80-40. Score: QSO pts x EADX100 countries + EA provinces + US/VE/JA/VK call areas. For more information: http://www.ure.es/hf/concursos/eapsk31/baseseapsk31ingles.pdf. Logs due Apr 11 to psk31@ure.es. AGCW QRP Contest--CW, sponsored by the DL Activity Group CW (AGCW-DL) from 1400Z - 2000Z Mar 10. Frequencies: 80 - 10-meters. Categories: SO-VLP (<1 W), QRP (<5 W), MP (<25 W), QRO. Exchange: RST, serial number, category, and AGCW member number or "nm" if non-member. QSO Points: QRP-VLP, QRP-QRP, VLP-QRP and VLP-VLP - 3 pts, QRP-MP and QRO - 2 pts, QRO-QRO not allowed. Score: QSO points x AGCW members counted once per band. For more information: http://www.agcw.org/. Logs due Mar 31 to qrp-test@agcw.de or Edmund Ramm DK3UZ, Anderheitsallee 24, Bramfeld, D-22175 Hamburg, Germany. Russian DX Contest--CW/SSB, from 1200Z Mar 17 - 1200Z Mar 18. Frequencies: 160 - 10 meters. Categories: SOAB -HP, -LP, -QRP (Mixed only), SOSB, MS (10-min rule), M2, SWL, SO may enter Mixed Mode, CW, or SSB, MS,M2 and SWL are Mixed only. Exchange: RS(T) + serial number, RU stations--RS(T) + Oblast designator. QSO points: own entity - 2 pts, different entity, same continent - 3 pts, diff. cont. - 5 pts, with Russians - 10 pts. Score: QSO points x DXCC entity + Oblasts, counted once per band. For more information: http://www.rdxc.org/. Logs due 45 days after the contest to rusdxc@contesting.com or to Russian DX Contest, PO Box 88, 119311 Moscow, Russia. Virginia QSO Party--Phone/CW/Digital, sponsored by the Sterling Park ARC from 1800Z Mar 17-0200Z Mar 19. Frequencies MHz): CW 1.805 and 50 kHz above band edge, Phone 1.845, 3.860, 7.260, 14.270, 21.370, 28.370, Novice/Tech 28.370, VHF/UHF 50.130, 144.200, 146.58, 223.50, 446.00, Digital on common frequencies. No repeater or crossmode QSOs. Categories: SO, MS, MM; Fixed, Expedition, and Mobile. Exchange: serial number and VA county/city or S/P/C. QSO points: Phone -- 1 pt, CW or Digital -- 2 pts, VA Mobile -- 3 pts. Score: QSO points × VA city/counties + S/P/C (counted only once). VA mobiles add 100 pts per VA city/county activated. Add 500 pts for QSO with K4NVA. For more information: http://www.qsl.net/sterling/VA_QSO_Party/QSOParty.htm. Logs due Apr 15 to nq4k@arrl.net or Virginia QSO Party, Call Box 599, Sterling, VA 20167. 10-10 Mobile Contest--any mode, sponsored by 10-10 International from 0000Z-2359Z Mar 17. Frequencies: 10-meters only. Categories: Fixed, Mobile. Exchange: Call, Name, S/P/C, county (US, Canada, and England) and 10-10 membership number, if any. QSO Points: 1 pt/QSO. Score: Fixed--QSO Points x counties, Mobiles--QSO Points x counties worked + counties activated. For more information: http://www.ten-ten.org/. Logs due Apr 2 to tentencontest@alltel.net or Steve Rasmussen N0WY, 312 N 6th Street, Plattsmouth, NE 68048. CLARA and Family 2007 HF Contest --Phone/CW, sponsored by the Canadian Ladies Amateur Radio Association from 0000Z - 2400Z Mar 13 and 0000Z - 2400Z Mar 17, operate 24 hours max. Frequencies (MHz): CW 14.033, 21.033, 7.033, 3.688. Phone 28.300, 21.255, 14.120, 14.285, 7.033, 7.200, 3.750, 3.900, work CLARA and YL stations once per band/mode, crossmode counts as phone. Categories: SO only. Exchange RS(T), name, QTH, and CLARA member status (family, non-mbr YL, OM). QSO Points: CLARA mbr--5pts, CLARA family mbr--2 pts, non-CLARA YL--3pts, OMs--1 pt. Score: QSO points x VE provinces and DXCC entities (if QSO with YL), counted once only. For more information: http://www.clara.comm.sfu.ca/events.html. Logs due Apr 30 to ve7ony@rac.ca or Leona VE7ONY, PO Box 266, 2475 Dobbin Rd #22, Westbank BC V4T2E9. 9KCC Contest--CW/SSB, sponsored by the 9K Contest Club (Kuwait) from 1200Z -- 1600Z Mar 18. Frequencies: 15-meters only, work stations only once. Categories: SO, SSB or CW for 9K or non-9K. Exchange: RS(T) and serial number. QSO Points: 1 pt/QSO. Score: QSO points x DXCC entities + number of different 9K stations. For more information: http://www.qsl.net/9kcc/9KCCRule.htm. Logs due 30 days after the contest to 9k2rr@9kcc.com or Faisal N Al-Ajmi, 9K2RR, PO Box 1124, Alfarwanya 80000 Kuwait BARTG Spring RTTY Contest--sponsored by the British Amateur Radio Teledata Group from 0200Z Mar 17 - 0200Z Mar 19. Frequencies: 80 -- 10 meters. Categories: SO-Expert, SOSB, SOAB (one band change per 5 min), SOAB-6 hour, MS, MM, and SWL. SO operate 30 hours max. SOAB-6 first six hours. Operators with a Top Ten log during the past three years must enter as an Expert. Exchange: three-digit serial number and four-digit time. Multipliers: DXCC entities + W/VE/JA/VK call areas, counted once per band. Score: QSOs x multiplier x continents (count only once). For more information: http://www.bartg.demon.co.uk/. Logs via email only in Cabrillo format due May 1 to ska@bartg.demon.co.uk (with the call and entry class in the subject line and the log included as an attachment). VHF+ CONTESTS No VHF+ contests are scheduled. -oo --- -o - -- oo ooo ooo -o-- --- oo- o-o LOG DUE DATES - 7 MARCH THROUGH 20 MARCH o-oo --- --o -oo o o- -oo o-oo oo -o o ooo March 7 - ARS Spartan Sprint, email logs to: hjohnc@adelphia.net, paper logs and diskettes log summary at: http://www.arsqrp.com/ars/ss_log.html, paper logs and diskettes logs to: (none). Find rules at: http://www.arsqrp.com/ars/pages/spartan_sprints/ss_rules_new.html March 9 - CQ WW RTTY WPX Contest, email logs to: wpxrtty@kkn.net, paper logs and diskettes to: CQ RTTY WPX Contest, 25 Newbridge Road, Hicksville, NY 11801, USA. Find rules at: http://www.cq-amateur-radio.com/RTTY_WPX_Rules_2007.pdf March 9 - Delaware QSO Party, email logs to: QSOparty@fsarc.org, paper logs and diskettes to: Contest Chairman, FSARC, PO Box 1050, Newark, DE 19715, USA. Find rules at: http://www.fsarc.org/DEQSO.html March 10 - North American QSO Party, RTTY, email logs to: (see rules, web upload preferred), upload log at: http://www.ncjweb.com/naqplogsubmit.php, paper logs and diskettes to: Shelby Summerville, K4WW, 6506 Lantana Ct, Louisville, KY 40229-1544, USA. Find rules at: http://www.ncjweb.com/naqprules.php March 10 - Wake-Up! QRP Sprint, email logs to: ru2fm@rambler.ru, paper logs and diskettes to: Valentin Kovalchuk, Internatsionalnaya str. 29 kv 39, Kaliningrad, 236011, Russia. Find rules at: http://www.qrp.ru/sprint_e.htm March 12 - KCJ Topband Contest, email logs to: kcjlog@kcj-cw.com, paper logs and diskettes to: Akira Sasaki, JH8CBH, 210-13 Zenikame-cho, Hakodate 042-0922, Japan. Find rules at: http://www.kcj-cw.com/top_test/07_topband_test_e.pdf March 12 - FISTS Winter Sprint, email logs to: W8PIG@yahoo.com, paper logs and diskettes to: Dan Shepherd, N8IE, 1900 Pittsfield St, Kettering, Oh 45420, USA. Find rules at: http://www.fists.org/sprints.html March 13 - YLRL YL-OM Contest, SSB, email logs to: kc4iyd@yahoo.com, paper logs and diskettes to: Nancy Rabel Hall, KC4IYD, PO Box 775, North Olmsted, OH 44070, USA. Find rules at: http://www.ylrl.org/ylcontests.html March 15 - Minnesota QSO Party, email logs to: MNQP@ISD.NET, paper logs and diskettes to: MNQP, 4745-170th Lane NE, Ham Lake, MN 55304-5233, USA. Find rules at: http://www.w0aa.org/mnqp_2007_rules.htm March 15 - AGCW Semi-Automatic Key Evening, email logs to: semiautomatic@agcw.de, paper logs and diskettes to: Manager: Ulf-Dietmar Ernst, DK9KR, Elbstrasse 60, D-28199 Bremen, Germany. Find rules at: http://www.agcw.de/english/contest/sake_e.htm March 15 - Louisiana QSO Party, email logs to: laqso@bellsouth.net, paper logs and diskettes to: LAQSO Party, 508 Hache St, Houma, LA 70364, USA. Find rules at: http://www.qsl.net/kd5wdy/LAQSO_Rules/laqso_rules.html March 15 - OMISS QSO Party, email logs to: (none), paper logs and diskettes to: OMISS QSO Party, c/o Jeff Kelly K4JRK, 1280 Buck Creek Road, Sylvania, GA 30467, USA. Find rules at: http://www.omiss.net/qsoparty.html March 19 - ARRL International DX Contest, CW, email logs to: DXCW@arrl.org, paper logs and diskettes to: ARRL Intl DX Contest, CW, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111, USA. Find rules at: http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2007/intldx.html March 19 - ARRL School Club Roundup, email logs to: (none), paper logs and diskettes to: School Club Roundup, c/o Lew Malchick, N2RQ, Brooklyn Technical HS, 29 Fort Greene Place, Brooklyn, NY 11217, USA. Find rules at: http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2007/scr/scr.pdf ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION The Contester's Rate Sheet wishes to acknowledge information from the following sources: WA7BNM's Contest Calendar Web page - <http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal> SM3CER's Web site - <http://www.sk3bg.se/contest> ARRL members may subscribe at no cost by editing their Member Data Page as described at <http://www.arrl.org/contests/rate-sheet>. Excel and Windows are trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation