Contester's Rate Sheet for May 16, 2007
******************************************** CONTESTER'S RATE SHEET 16 May 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) ******************************************** SUMMARY o The Dayton Hamvention Is Upon Us! o Recover With WPX CW o New Radio Controller from microHAM o New Contesting Web Site by NS3T o Hillar Raamat N6HR, SK o Dayton Ham-Cam o Using Your Receiver As a Field-Strength Meter o Splicing and S-Meters o Whither Hamfests? NEW HF OPERATORS - THINGS TO DO o Practice your contest skills and log some rare counties in the US Counties QSO Party. Then hop over to the CW bands and look for South American stations in the All American Contest. Over Memorial Day weekend the annual "funny call sign" contest known as WPX CW provides a great complement to holiday activities. BULLETINS o No bulletins in this issue. BUSTED QSOS o Gary K9AY should have been reported as being the author of the ARRL 160 Meter Contest Web write up at http://www.arrl.org/contests/results - apologies. o Dennis KG4RUL noted that my suggestion to use "punchier" phonetics could have been construed as an instruction to make up your own. This is generally not a good idea at all. One of the three common sets of phonetics (ITU, Military, DXer City-Country) should have a phonetic that does the job. Stay with these well-known words as good operating practice. CONTEST SUMMARY (Rules follow Commentary section) May 19-20 - 40th Annual Baltic Contest - EU PSK DX Contest - His Majesty King of Spain Contest - US Counties QSO Party, SSB - All America Contest, CW - EU EME Contest May 26-28 - CQ Worldwide WPX Contest, CW - QRP ARCI Hootowl Sprint, CW - MI QRP Memorial Day CW Sprint --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- Congratulations to the Yankee Clipper Contest Club as it celebrates it's 30th year of competing in the Unlimited club category from the Northeastern US. Now having close to a membership count of nearly 400, the club has steadily been growing since its inception in 1977. For the balance of 2007, YCCC members will be adding "/30" to their calls and a special certificate is available for contacting 10 of these members. See http://www.yccc.org/ for more information on one of the USA's largest contest clubs. (Thanks, Mark K1RX/30) Innovative hardware developer microHAM announces the release of MicroKEYER II, another state-of-the-art, all-in-one radio controller. Designed around the USB interface now standard on all PCs, the MicroKEYER II includes a high-performance sound card and supports many digital modes directly. Just the list of new and upgraded features is stunning. Read them for yourself at http://www.microham.com/Downloads/MKII.pdf as well as the preliminary information on the companion Station Master at http://www.microham-usa.com/Downloads/SM.pdf microHAM will have a booth at the Dayton Hamvention, so be sure to stop by and talk to them. (Thanks, Joe W4TV) Jamie NS3T has just turned on a new radiosport Web site (http://www.radio-sport.net/) that aims for timely content. "Each week, I want to help tell the story of what contests are coming up, what happened the previous weekend and more - basically a "sports page" on ham radio contesting." Check out the discussion of the upcoming WPX CW contest and Jamie's operator ranking. Definitely worth a browser bookmark. QRP contesting enthusiasts will be pleased to learn that there is a contest calendar just for them. Ken N2CQ publishes a QRP-specific calendar on the American QRP Club Web site. (http://www.amqrp.org/contesting/contesting.html) Continuing in the QRP range, Doug KI6DS reports that this year there will be several QRP companies and clubs at Dayton with their booths organized in a "QRP Row". QRP Row starts with the GQRP Booth, then the Michigan QRP Club Booth, followed by the ARCI Booth. The American Morse Equipment, Pacific Antenna, NorCal QRP Club, and Hendricks QRP Kits are close by. Elecraft will be on the next row around the corner from the QRP Row with W5JH Radio Products across the aisle. This is a good example of organizing like endeavors to attract customers and improve our Dayton shopping experience! Well done! And watch for Kanga US in their usual spot (booths 41 & 42) with their new microT2 transmitter and Tormet Engineering DDSv4 DDS VFO. Anemometers (wind speed measuring instruments) can be handy around the ham shack to tell when it might be a good idea to crank down a tower. Thomas KN4LF recommends Wind and Weather (http://www.windandweather.com/) as selling a couple of accurate stand-alone anemometers for under $200. Davis Instruments (http://www.davisnet.com/) also makes the Weather Wizard III. Larry N0IS suggests taking a look at the products of Inspeed (http://www.inspeed.com/), too. If you want to use your ham ingenuity, Dec 2001 QST, p 59, is the home of the article "A Poor Man's Anemometer" by Gregory N9PUG in Hints and Kinks. (Thanks also to Bob W5RN) Randy K5ZD is looking for logs for input to the Super Check Partial database files (http://www.k5zd.com/scp). Please send the same Cabrillo format log that was submitted to the contest sponsor from any of the following contests: CQ WW DX - CW, Phone, RTTY CQ WPX - CW, Phone, RTTY CQ 160M - CW, Phone ARRL DX - CW, Phone ARRL Sweepstakes - CW, Phone ARRL RTTY Roundup ARRL 10M ARRL 160M IARU Radiosport Russian DX Contest Worked All Europe - CW, Phone, RTTY Simply add your log as an attachment to the email and send to k5zd@contesting.com. The next release will be in mid May prior to CQ WPX CW. Pete N4ZR reports that he has just completed an update of the World HF Contest Station Database, so if you have submitted changes to your record they should now be reflected. Information on the hardware at more than 3300 stations is available at http://www.pvrc.org/WCSD/WCSDsearch.htm How does yours stack up? Jim N6TJ supplies sad news this week. "It is with great sadness that I report the passing of our dear friend, Hillar Raamat, N6HR (ex - K2ALE, WA6HRS, ZD8HR, etc). Hil passed away on April 29th, shortly after operating the 7QP Contest with his wife Elsie N7YX. He was 74 years young. Originally from Estonia, he immigrated to the USA after WW2, and became a very successful engineer and entrepreneur." A founding member of NCCC, and a member of NCDXC, WWDXC, and other groups, he will certainly be missed. Care for an amusing project? Take a look at the Strange Antenna Challenge (http://www.n0ew.org/k0s/k0s_2007/k0s_2007.php), sponsored by Erik N0EW and Dwayne WB5PLJ. I'm sure the creative minds of my readers will find this amusing and stimulating. (Thanks, Tad K7RA) URL of the Week - Jim N5SPE reminded me of this very useful Web site (http://www.datasheetarchive.com/) to look up data on electronic parts. Just type in your 'part number' and hit the Search button. Put that URL in your browser's Favorites list to save the day! oooo o -o-- -o-- o- o-oo o-oo SIGHTS AND SOUNDS o-- o- - -o-o oooo - oooo oo ooo If you can't go to the Dayton Hamvention yourself, join in on the fun with live streaming video and audio and chat room action. The first three days (May 18-20) will be broadcast live at http://wa5kub.com/ Tom WA5KUB will also be broadcasting the 500 mile drive to Hamvention, starting Wednesday, May 16 at approximately 1300Z. Pictures from the 2007 Visalia DX Convention available now on Dick W7ZR's Web site (http://www.w7zr.com/) under "Photos." Here is a contest video from the HB9CT group for the 2007 Helvetia Kontest. Their beautiful mountaintop location looks like a set for the movie Heidi, and their tower-trailer is impressive! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPT_DqPHAtU (Thanks, Tim K6GEP) oo-o oo -o -oo -o-- --- oo- o-o RESULTS AND RECORDS -o-o o- o-oo o-oo oooo o o-o o ARRL Contest Results If your counter is covered with unwashed coffee cups, take heart! Tom KC1J reports that the 2006 Sweepstakes Cups arrived at HQ and are being prepared for mailing as I type. oooo o -o-- -o-- --- oo- OPERATING TIP o-- o- -o- o oo- o--o Mark KO1U wrote to discuss sending his call extra times when operating QRP. I suggested that he only send it extra times when the responding station gets the call wrong or asks for a repeat. For example, N0AX: CQ Contest from N0AX KO1U: KO1U N0AX: KM1U you are 59 WA KO1U: KO1U N0AX: KO1U you are 59 WA KO1U: Roger, you are 59 MA N0AX: Thank you, QRZ Contest from N0AX That keeps the amount of excess information to a minimum so that the rate for both stations is maximized. Don't send your exchange back before the other station gets the call correct because sending your exchange is a tacit acknowledgement that no correction is needed. And speaking of excess information, there is no need to add "/QRP" to your call sign in a contest, unless QRP stations count extra, and rarely even then. Adding the extra characters just makes it harder to copy your call correctly. 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 Powerpole connectors have become common around the ham shack and mobile installation. They are also the standard for ARES power connections. One frequently mentioned drawback of this connector style is that the bodies don't lock together. One solution to the problem is relayed by Mark K5LXP - "BLOK LOK" clamps (http://www.powerwerx.com/category.asp?CtgID=1680) from Powerwerx. These are plastic clips that hold the mated connectors together. Just right! (Thanks, Mark K5LXP) If you don't have a calibrated field-strength meter, you might consider using...yes, your amateur receiver and a sound card! This procedure is described at http://www.vk1od.net/fsm/index.htm and is based on Ed Hare W1RFI's "Manual Testing of Field-Strength Levels Using Conventional Receivers" at http://www.arrl.org/~ehare/aria/ARIA_MANUAL_TESTING.pdf (Thanks, Kevin N7WIM) Although counterintuitive, it is true that a tree gets taller by growing at its top, not by extending its trunk along its length. I.e. - branches do not move farther apart as the tree grows. In addition, a tree grows thicker as it grows taller. Eventually anything attached to the trunk will eventually wind up inside the trunk. Many species of conifers will "bury" nails, fencing, forest service telephone wires, etc. within just a few years. Food for thought as we eye those leafy antenna supports in our back yards. (Thanks, Don N8DE and Brent K7MEI) To repair a damaged rotator control cable, one of Steve K7LXC's customers provided some AVAYA 709-SC telephone pair splicing connectors. They worked fabulously with the multi-conductor cable. "Just push the non-stripped wires into the end of the connector and squeeze it together with a pair of pliers. The connectors are clear so you can see the wire pairs are connected correctly and that they're pushed in far enough - you just about can't screw them up. They even have some silicone inside that squishes out when you seat them, providing a layer of weather proofing." The connectors work for 22 through 26 gauge wire. TECHNICAL URL OF THE WEEK -- How big is that signal, really? We all know that S-meters vary in sensitivity from rig to rig, but how much do they vary, really? Greg W8WWV decided he would find out! He measured the S-meter sensitivities and calibrations of eight different radios and posted the results (http://www.seed-solutions.com/gregordy/Amateur%20Radio/Experimentation/SMeterBlues.htm#) for us to enjoy and ponder. In case you're interested, the IARU recommendation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S_meter) is also online. (Thanks, Kevin N7WIM) 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 Whither Hamfests? Note the difference between "wither" (meaning to shrivel or dry up) and "whither" (meaning "to what place? where?"). Very often, I hear hamfest more closely associated with the former as attendance falls and familiar events "go dark." Is the hamfest doomed? To be sure, on-line auction and for-sale sites have decimated the amount and diminished the quality of equipment and parts for which hamfests were once the premier source. After all, with information on nearly anything available for the effort of a few keystrokes, why go to all the trouble of making the trek, standing in line, and wandering the aisles? Without that guaranteed need, can the traditional hamfest survive? Well, probably not if the primary focus remains on selling and buying - technology has overcome the tailgate laden with dusty boatanchors and heaps of semi-identifiable gadgetry. Instead, let's look at what the hamfest can provide that the on-line venue just can't... - demonstrations - seminars, classes, and lectures - competitions - equipment testing and of course - face-to-face meetings, and - license exams These just don't work as well over the Internet. A hamfest that evolves from an "intergarage junque transfer" to more of a convention-style show may very well prosper. Today's newer hams - in their 30's and 40's - need a good reason to mark off a weekend day on the refrigerator calendar. They need to have an experience unavailable on line and they should be able to take away something of value. Dayton is coming up this weekend and the enthusiasm on the email reflectors and Web sites is palpable, even as the legendary flea market continues to shrink. Around 25,000 hams will flock to southwestern Ohio this weekend to partake of the main activities, hold their own sub-hamfests, meet old friends, make new friends, check out the new gear from all the manufacturers - drinking great draughts from the deep well that is Amateur Radio in the 21st century. Wither hamfests? I don't think so. 73, Ward N0AX -o-o --o- - o ooo - -o-o --o- - o ooo - CONTESTS -- 16 MAY THROUGH 29 MAY 2007 -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 40th Annual Baltic Contest--CW/SSB, sponsored by the Lithuanian Radio Sports Federation from 2100Z May 19 - 0200Z May 20. Frequencies (MHz): CW 3.510-3.600, SSB 3.600-3.650 and 3.700-3.750. Categories: SO-CW/SSB/Mixed, MS, SWL. Exchange: RS(T) and serial number. QSO Points: Baltic (YL/ES/LY) stations count EU--1 pt and non-EU--2 pts, EU stations count Baltic--10 pts, non-Baltic--1 pt; non-EU stations count Baltic--20 pts, non-Baltic--1 pt. Score: total QSO points. For more information: http://www.lrsf.lt/bcontest. Logs due Jul 1 to lrsf@lrsf.lt or PO Box 210, LT-3000 Kaunas, Lithuania. EU PSK DX Contest--sponsored by the Scottish-Russian Amateur Radio Society from 1200Z May 19 - 1200Z May 20. Frequencies: 80 - 10 meters. Categories: SOAB (HP, LP). Exchange: RST and EU area code or serial number: QSO Points: own country--1 pt, different country--2 pts, diff. continent--3 pts, DX to EU--5 pts. Score: QSO points x EU area codes + DXCC entities. For more information: http://www.srars.org/. Logs due 28 days after the contest to eudx@scotham.net or EU PSK DX Contest Committee, PO Box 7469, Glasgow, G42 0YD, Scotland, UK His Majesty King of Spain Contest--CW, sponsored by the Union de Radioaficionados Espaņoles (URE) from 1800Z May 19 - 1800Z May 20 (SSB is June 23-24). Frequencies: 160-10 meters using IARU Region 1 band plan. Categories: SOAB, SOSB, and MS. Exchange: RST and serial number or EA province. QSO Points: 1 pt/QSO. Score: QSO points x EA provinces counted once per band. For more information: http://ure.es/. Logs due 20 Jun (SSB by 23 Jul) to concursoshf@ure.es or URE HF Contests, PO Box 220, 28080 Madrid, Spain. U.S. Counties QSO Party--SSB, sponsored by The Mobile Amateur Radio Awards Club, from 0000Z May 19 - 2400Z May 20. Frequencies (MHz): 3.880, 7.240, 14.275, 21.340, 28.340. Work fixed stations once/band and mobiles once from each county and band. Categories: US fixed, mobile operator, mobile team, Canadian operator and DX operator. For more information: http://www.marac.org/. Logs are due Jun 30 to maracssbcontest@sktc.net (preferred) or to Bill Blake, K0ERE, 214 S 1st St, Clearwater, KS 67026. All America Contest--CW, sponsored by the Juiz de Fora CW Group from 1500Z May 19 - 2359Z May 20. Frequencies: 80 - 10 meters. Categories: SOAB, SOAB-QRP, SOSB, MS. Spotting assistance allowed for all classes, no self-spotting. Exchange: RST + continent (CWJF members add /M, QRP add /QRP, and YL add/YL). QSO Points: own country--1 pt, same continent, different country--2 pts, diff cont--3 pts, with member, QRP, or YL--5 pts. Score: QSO points x prefixes (NA stations use SA prefixes, SA stations use all prefixes) counted once per band. For more information: http://www.powerline.com.br/cwjf. Logs due 30 July to cwjf@powerline.com.br in Cabrillo format. CQ WW WPX Contest--CW, sponsored by CQ Magazine from 0000Z May 26 - 2400Z May 27. Frequencies: 160 -- 10 meters. Categories: SOAB, SOSB, SO-Assisted, -HP, LP, and --QRP, MS (10-min rule), M/2, MM, SO-Rookie, SO-Tribander-and-Single-Wire. SO operate 36 hours max with off times at least 60 min. Exchange: RS(T) + serial number. QSO Points: different continents - 3pts (14-28 MHz) and 6 pts (1.8-7 MHz), with North America - 2 pts (14-28 MHz) and 4 pts (1.8-7 MHz), with own country - 1 pt. Score: QSO points x prefixes worked (i.e., N8, KA1, HG73, JD1) counted only once. For more information: http://www.cqwpx.com/. Logs due July 1 to cw@cqwpx.com. QRP ARCI Hootowl Sprint--CW, sponsored by the QRP ARC International from 2000 - 2400 local May 27. 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://www.qrparci.org/. Logs due 30 days after contest to contest@qrparci.org or ARCI Hootowl Sprint, c/o Jeff Hetherington VA3JFF, 139 Elizabeth St W, Welland, Ontario, Canada L3C 4M3. MI QRP Memorial Day CW Sprint--sponsored by the MI QRP Club from 2300Z May 27 - 0300Z May 28. Frequencies: 160 - 6-meters. Categories: SOAB with classes A (<250 mW), B (<1 W), C (<5 W), D (>5W). Exchange: RST, S/P/C, and MI-QRP number or power output. QSO Points: MI-QRP members--5 pts, non-member W/VE--2 pts, DX--4 pts. Score: QSO points x S/P/C counted once per band. If homebrew RX or TX, multiply by 1.25. If both RX and TX are homebrew, multiply by 1.5. For information: http://www.miqrp.org/. Logs due 30 days after the contest to k8nwd@arrl.net or Tim Pepper, K8NWD, 4391 Clintonville Rd, Waterford, MI 48329. VHF+ CONTESTS EU EME Contest--any mode--sponsored by DUBUS and REF, 0000Z May 19 - 2400Z May 20. Frequencies: 1.2 GHz. Categories: QRP and QRO--based on EIRP, Pro, CW, Digital, Mixed, Assisted. Exchange: callsigns TMO/RST and "R". QSO Points: 100 pts for random, 10 pts for scheduled QSO. Score: QSO Points x S/P/C from random QSOs. For more information: http://www.dubus.org/ or info@dubus.de. Logs due Jun 7 for CW/SSB to f6hye@ref-union.org or Patrick Magnin, F6HYE, Marcorens, F-74140 Ballaison, France. -oo --- -o - -- oo ooo ooo -o-- --- oo- o-o LOG DUE DATES - 16 MAY THROUGH 29 MAY 2007 o-oo --- --o -oo o o- -oo o-oo oo -o o ooo May 19 - TARA Skirmish Digital Prefix Contest, email logs to: (none), post log summary at: http://n2ty.org/seasons/tara_dpx_score.html, paper logs and diskettes to: John C. Durbin, N8PSK, 175 Footville Richmond Rd E, Jefferson OH 44047, USA. Find rules at: http://www.n2ty.org/seasons/tara_dpx_rules.html May 20 - ES Open HF Championship, email logs to: esopen@erau.ee, paper logs and diskettes to: Toomas Soomets, ES5RY, PO Box 177, Tartu 50002, Estonia. Find rules at: http://www.erau.ee/modules.php?op=modload&name=Info&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=64 May 21 - 10-10 Int. Spring 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 rules at: http://www.ten-ten.org/rules.html May 21 - Michigan QSO Party, email logs to: logs@miqp.org, paper logs and diskettes to: Mad River Radio Club, c/o Dave Pruett, 2727 Harris Road, Ypsilanti, MI 48198, USA. Find rules at: http://www.miqp.org/MiQP_Rules.htm May 21 - Microwave Spring Sprint, email logs to: springvhfsprints@sysadnet.com, paper logs and diskettes to: Microwave Spring Sprint, Steve Gilmore, W4SHG, 11 Ryan Way, Stafford, VA 22554, USA. Find rules at: http://www.sysadnet.com/vhfsprintrules.htm May 22 - EA-QRP CW Contest, email logs to: eaqrp_test@yahoo.es, paper logs and diskettes to: Vocalia de concursos (Concurso CW), PO Box 17, E-16080, Cuenca, Spain. Find rules at: http://www.eaqrp.com/concurso/test_eaqrp_cw-en.htm May 22 - YU DX Contest, email logs to: logs@yudx.net, paper logs and diskettes to: Savez radio-amatera SCG, YU DX Contest, PO Box 48, 11001 Beograd, Serbia and Montenegro. Find rules at: http://arenaqs.com/yudx/rulesengl.pdf May 25 - Kids Roundup, email logs to: ki3ds@ki3ds.org, paper logs and diskettes to: AARC, Jr, 7901 Pepperbox Lane, Pasadena, MD 21122-6328, USA. Find rules at: http://ki3ds.org/modules.php?name=FAQ&myfaq=yes&id_cat=2&categories= May 29 - Florida QSO Party, email logs to: logs@floridaqsoparty.org, paper logs and diskettes to: Florida QSO Party, c/o Ron Wetjen, WD4AHZ, 5362 Castleman Dr, Sarasota, FL 34232, USA. Find rules at: http://www.floridaqsoparty.org/rules.html May 29 - SP DX RTTY Contest, email logs to: sprtty@pzk.org.pl, paper logs and diskettes to: SPDX RTTY Contest Manager, Christopher Ulatowski, Box 253, 81 - 963 Gdynia 1, Poland. Find rules at: http://www.pkrvg.org/zbior.html May 29 - 50 MHz Spring Sprint, email logs to: springvhfsprints@sysadnet.com, paper logs and diskettes to: 50 MHz Spring Sprint, Steve Gilmore, W4SHG, 11 Ryan Way, Stafford, VA 22554, USA. Find rules at: http://www.sysadnet.com/vhfsprintrules.htm 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