Contester's Rate Sheet for March 19, 2008
******************************************** CONTESTER'S RATE SHEET 19 March 2008 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 CQ WPX SSB -- Keep The ITU Chart Handy! o Fred Fish W5FF Award o Prop and SPLAT! o Power on HC8 o Unhand that Key! o Getting It Together on the Tower o Controlling Control Cables o We Shall See NEW HF OPERATORS - THINGS TO DO o Time to put your new call sign prefix to work in the WPX SSB contest. Just keep track of your serial number and you, too, can be the quarry instead of just another hound! BULLETINS o No bulletins in this issue. BUSTED QSOS o A golden issue last time! CONTEST SUMMARY (Rules follow Commentary section) March 22-23 - Lighthouse Spring Lites QSO Party (Mar 20-30) - BARTG Spring RTTY Contest March 29-30 - CQ WPX SSB Contest Rather a light crop, isn't it? --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- ARRL Contest Branch Manager, Sean KX9X writes to let us know, "The ARRL is pleased to announce a new VHF achievement award in the name of Fred Fish, W5FF (SK). This award <http://www.arrl.org/awards/ffma> honors Fred's singular achievement of working and confirming all 488 grid squares in the 48 contiguous United States on 6 meters. We hope this award will help promote activity on 6 meters and encourage the activation of rare grid squares, DXpedition-style." The Mother Lode Contest Club (MLDXCC) announces the 9th Annual Contest Dinner on Friday April 25 - at the International DX Convention in Visalia, CA (hosted by the Mother Lode DX and Contest Club.) Wayne Burdick, N6KR, co-founder of Elecraft and principal designer of the Elecraft K3, will be speaking on "Contest Ergonomics and the Elecraft K3." Advance reservation and payment are required this year. For all of the details and to sign up, please visit: <http://mldxcc.com/contestdinner2008.html> (Thanks, Jeff WK6I) If you missed WB8IMY's "Eclectic Technology" column in the March issue of QST (page 95), take another look. The PropNet project <http://propnet.org/> is a great tool for determining what band is actually open to where. All those beacon stations out there, to mis-quote "Eleanor Rigby", "Who are they for?" Well, by observing and publishing reception reports on the Web, they're now a lot easier to be used by contesters, that's who. True, the network doesn't operate below 30 meter and not at all on 20 and 15, but it does bracket those bands nicely. (Thanks, Tim K3LR) And there's more about this propagation testing stuff, as Larry W7IUV checks in. "Most of you are aware of the WSJT software suite written by K1JT for use on the VHF/UHF bands. Joe has just provided a new software package called WSPR ("whisper") intended for use on HF as a QRP beacon/propagation tool. <http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT/WSPR_Announcement.TXT> It uses one of the newer JT modes (JT4) and can be set up for VHF/UHF path analysis. Unlike normal beacons, it will also listen for other WSPR beacons on the same frequency!" Don't you just love checking out sites like "physics.princeton.edu"? Although it started on March 7th - definitely check out the NCCC Sprint Ladder (NSL). NSL is a series of fast-paced contests that run for a half hour on Thursday and limited to 100 watts. The complete schedule is on-line at <http://tinyurl.com/yqdve2>. (Thanks, Howie N4AF) The ARRL internet surfer, WA1LOU, has posted an interesting summary <http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2008/03/07/10006> of a Web page called SPLAT! <http://cs.ecok.edu/~bw/SPLAT/> SPLAT! calculates path loss for frequencies from 20 MHz to 20 GHz. You input your location, antenna height, and frequency and it calculates a regional coverage pattern for you using the Longley-Rice Irregular terrain model and assuming vertical polarization. It's a local coverage program and should be a good tool in the rover's planning kit. Each plot takes a few minutes to generate and you must enter your station's lat/long with some precision. Another freeware on-line alternative is Radio Mobile at <http://www.cplus.org/rmw/english1.html> (Thanks, Jim KK6MC and Ron WZ1V) Contest Club Finland's PileUP! Is available on-line at <http://www.helsinki.fi/~korpela/PU/PU.html>. Its 36 pages include pictures from CCF-events, a detective story, full report from the Canary Islands, greetings from YU8, BY and FO/m. WPX records in OH, CCF humor, WAV-audio files for pileup contests in phone and CW for you to test your skills, and much more. (Thanks, Ilkka OH1WZ) The ARRL's Web guru, Jon KE3Z, points out that publishing PDF documents on the Issuu Web site <http://www.issuu.com/> makes your document unsearchable by online search engines and internally -- probably not so good -- among other things. So you might want to "try before you fly" with a real document. At this weekend's Mike and Key hamfest in Puyallup, WA (bonus points for proper pronunciation of "Puyallup") I spent some time scanning the dozens of bins filled with the many useful adapters, cables, gadgets, and radio gewgaws of Wired Communications of Scottsdale, AZ <http://www.wiredco.com/>. Yes, this hobby is surely wireless! Regardless, West Coast hams can look for this electronics fireworks stand at hamfests this season. URL of the Week - The next time you work HC8N, their signal may be powered by electrons that were terribly inconvenienced by these big beaters <http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/mar08/6020> recently installed in the Galapagos. (Thanks, Doug K1DG) oooo o -o-- -o-- o- o-oo o-oo SIGHTS AND SOUNDS o-- o- - -o-o oooo - oooo oo ooo Care for a brand-new type of "Hand Key"? George K5TR sent this neat video <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8XJHXzchBg> of a keyless way of sending CW. A commercial version is also available from <http://www.qrp4fun.de/en/s7c.htm>. Now - add one more ring and make it a paddle. Use Zigbee as a wireless link to the keyer itself. No wires. No more chasing the paddle around the desk. No more moving your hands off the keyboard during a fast run. Git 'er done! I'll be in the line to buy one. (Thanks also, Dick K6KR) Wally LZ2CJ points us to a small online photo album <http://s260.photobucket.com/albums/ii15/lz9w/?start=all> of the LZ9W QTH, LZ9W members, and LZ9W antennas. (Also thanks, Steve K7LXC) Here are some neat photos of the "Kosmonavt" series of satellite tracking ships operated by the Soviet Navy through the 1980's. There are some pretty impressive antennas on these ships! I'll bet riding out a storm with those antennas above the water line made for some serious rolls! (Thanks, Tom K1TC) I think most ham radio operators can identify with the urge expressed by the kids in this European commercial <http://www.veryfunnyads.com/index.html?id=25417> (Thanks, Rich KZ9K) 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 Branch Manager, Sean KX9X reports that 2,586 logs were received for ARRL DX CW and 1,734 logs have been received so far for the SSB weekend. Sweepstakes mugs and pins should go out this week (look for the writeup in the May issue of QST) and the June VHF QSO Party certificates will be printed soon. The results for the 2007 California QSO Party are now available on the CQP Web site <http://www.cqp.org/>. Participation is even with last year, although QSO totals were down due to conditions. The 2007 certficates and the 2006 contest certficates will be sent simultaneously and the patience regarding the latter is appreciated. (Thanks, Kevin K6TD) Beginning in 2008, the Russian DX Contest will adopt an open log policy <http://www.radio-sport.net/rdxc08_pre.htm>. RDXC also asks every participant to keep exact frequencies in the log file for better log checking. (Thanks, Jose CT1BOH) The results of the 2007 Manchester Mineira All America CW Contest are now available on the CWJF Group Web site <http://www.powerline.com.br/cwjf> (Thanks, Ed PY4WAS) oooo o -o-- -o-- --- oo- OPERATING TIP o-- o- -o- o oo- o--o If that second radio in one ear is too confusing, you may need more practice hearing different things in each ear. Our natural wiring expects and looks for the same sound in both ears. To do SO2R, we have to learn to turn off that circuit for a while. When you're on the air between contests, DXing or whatever, listen to regular old radio in one ear, such as the ball game, talk show, music. Anything but radio. This will help you get used to the two streams of audio. Later, you can graduate to two streams of radio chatter. Can the Top Ten be far behind? 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 An open-source PCB design software suite called Kicad <http://iut-tice.ujf-grenoble.fr/kicad> is free and there are versions for Linux and Windows Libraries and worldwide support are available. There is also a support forum at Yahoogroups <http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/kicad-users>. (Thanks, Martin OK1RR) While many of you tower toppers are already aware of the TowerJack appliance for getting tubular tower sections apart <http://www.towerjack.com/>, are you also aware that the same company makes a device to get them back together again? The Leg-Aliner puts the leverage where you need it and without that banging and those interesting words. (Thanks, Dino K6RIX) If your feedlines occasionally get hung up on thrust bearing hardware at the top of the tower, Joe WD0M suggests Cool-Whip. "Well, it's the container, actually. I took the container, cut a hole in it the size of the mast, split it down the side so it could slip over the mast, put it on top of the tower upside down, then used tape to cover the container all the way around. That covered up the top of the tower, the thrust bearing bolts, and provided a smooth surface for the cables to slide over." For our non-US readers, Cool-Whip is a non-dairy version of whipped cream sold in round, plastic tubs. Kiwa Electronics <http://www.kiwa.com/>, one of the vendors serving the SWL market, also has a number of filters, preamps, and low-band products hams will find useful. I can vouch for the performance of their AM broadcast reject filter. A post from Stan K5GO <http://www.k5go.com/> shares some information on an anti-icing paint, Wearlon Super F1. It has a high silicone content and sheds ice quickly. He has verified the anti-icing ability against unpainted antennas at his station. It is made specifically so that ice will not build up on the surface. My experience is that although I did not do the very best job of applying the paint, it works well. It has a high content of silicone. If ice starts to form, it slides off pretty quickly. For questions, he recommends calling distributor Nick Patenaude at Ecological Coatings in Clifton Park, NY (518-664-3468). The paint is expensive ($189/gal), but far less expensive than replacing an antenna. A visit to Stan's Web site will demonstrate that he has a lot of antenna to protect. Following a query about how to sample RF in a feed line for display on an oscilloscope, I came up with this little circuit off the 'net - <http://www.qsl.net/k6ls/rfsampler.html>. You can either use a Tee-connector to make the feed line tap or build it into a project box. I uncovered two good on-line resources, should you ever need technical information on fast-scan video. <http://tinyurl.com/yq7oz3> is an application note from Maxim Electronics called "Video Basics". It covers the fundamentals of analog video. The e-Panorama Web page <http://www.epanorama.net/links/videosignal.html> is comprehensive, pointing to all sorts of references in support of detailed discussions of various topics. Both are good to file away for future reference -- I did! For antenna system homebrewers, Ron KK1L has published <http://home.comcast.net/~kk1l/kk1l_2x6switch> his design for a two-radio/six-antenna switch similar to the popular WX0B "Six Pak" < http://arraysolutions.com/Products/sixpak.htm>. (Thanks, Al, KE1FO) Those of you rebuilding an old radio may want to add Old Radio Parts <http://www.oldradioparts.net/index.html> to your list of bookmarked sites. They seem to have a quite a selection, including tubes and the ever-popular Magnavox "lion" sticker that would look good on your linear amplifier. I assume they specialize in (Old Radio) Parts and not Old (Radio Parts), but caveat emptor. And why don't radios and amplifiers have names these days? Cars and trucks do...wouldn't you go for a Ramcharger amp or a Cougar as your search-and-pounce rig? (Thanks, Dennis N6KI) From a popular cartoon, "Now for something you'll REALLY like!" -- Dave K1TTT points us to a site <http://tinyurl.com/ysvtl9> that offers some practical and inexpensive methods of controlling cables. I like the foam insulation pipe and jumbo paper clip methods, myself. Actually, the Lifehacker site is full of good stuff. TECHNICAL URL OF THE WEEK -- An updated oldie-but-goodie, a paper on HF common-mode interference to transducers and sensors is on-line at Analog Device's "Analog Dialogue" Web site <ttp://tinyurl.com/29yqrm>. It discusses how HF signals are picked up and discusses methods of keeping them out of audio and low-frequency equipment. While this article relates to measurement setups, a lot is directly applicable to audio and telephone equipment, too. 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 We Shall See After last week's caffeine-fueled and somewhat inchoate ramblings on beacons turned inside-out (would that be a caebsno?), this week comes news of a pair of pingers. (see "News, Press Releases, and General Interest") I have mentioned the PropNet project before and it seems to be taking another step up in capabilities. A little later, I picked up a story from the Pacific NW VHF Society reflector about K1JT's new two-way beacon that uses special coding techniques to not only determine what it can hear, but with what signal-to-noise ratio! Holy moley! The effects, real or imagined, on contesting and DXing aside, the sudden explosion in semi-autonomous stations that can collect and report on actual propagation is an incredible tool! If I was a student of radio propagation, I would be really interested in the data that will surely erupt from this burgeoning network of -- what are we going to call them -- possibly propwatchers? Here, in real time, with data logged and available at the click of a mouse, is the ability to give us "radio eyes", to see the ionosphere as our antennas do. Bright over there, dim behind us, absorbingly dark in that direction. Check out the layers! And look -- the transequatorial path is lighting up! What does sunrise "look like" in all the bands from dc to daylight? The worldwide propwatchers could give us a full picture of what we so long have only imagined. Who watches the propwatchers? We do! In the meantime, what to do with these little gadgets? First, start replacing the CW beacons on 10 meters and 6 meters with propwatchers. (Note -- I believe it is required and it would certainly be good practice to retain the regular CW ID to assuage us humans that we can keep on playing, too.) If we have a grid of propwatchers on those two bands, we might just find that they support a lot more propagation than we think they do. Contesters have long known that the higher bands suddenly open around 0000Z on weekends...why is that? Could it be that they are open at other times? Next, tackle the low bands. How about a grid of propwatchers on 160, 80, and 40 meters monitoring the sweep of sunset and sunrise as the world spins its way around the sun? Wouldn't it be cool to see a real, live picture of the fabled dawn enhancement surfing along on the terminator at a thousand miles an hour? I'd love to see a playback of the effects of a solar flare smacking into the magnetosphere. Is there *really* better Top Band propagation on the night BEFORE the flare hits? And what about the occasionally captured rara avia -- a long-delayed echo, chordal hops, the oft-speculated Pedersen Ray? For pure research, raw data -- and lots of it -- is the key. Ham radio can provide a great service by installing propwatchers wherever beacons are permitted. Could the NCDXF beacon network be enhanced with propwatch technology, since special waivers of the rules are required below 28 MHz for beacons? Should we ask for a change in the rules to permit a small segment of each band, say 5 kHz, to be used for automatically controlled beacon stations? This is neat stuff! Primarily an HF contester, I'm really interested in better visualization of what's happening out there in radio land. Instead of devising more technology to get in between me and the aether, I would like to see more technology that gets me ever closer and in more intimate contact with the aether! This is only the beginning. Brighter minds than this humble busker's are busy at the keyboard and the workbench -- devising, studying, improving, testing. What will tomorrow -- literally tomorrow -- bring? We shall see. 73, Ward N0AX -o-o --o- - o ooo - -o-o --o- - o ooo - CONTESTS -- 19 MARCH THROUGH 1 APRIL 2008 -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) An expanded, downloadable version of QST's Contest Corral in PDF format is available at <http://www.arrl.org/contest>. HF CONTESTS Lighthouse Spring Lites QSO Party, CW/SSB/Digital, from 0000Z Mar 20 - 2359Z Mar 30. Frequencies: 1.8-28 MHz; CW -1.830,3.530,7.030,14.030,21.030,28.030; SSB - 1.970,3.970,7.270,14.270,21.370,28.370. Exchange: ARLHS number or serial, name, S/P/C. Logs due 30 Apr. For more information: http://arlhs.com/. BARTG Spring RTTY Contest, from 2200Z Mar 22 - 2200Z Mar 24. Frequencies: 3.5-28 MHz. Exchange: 3-digit serial and 4-digit time. Logs due on 1 May. For more information: http://www.bartg.org.uk/ CQ WPX SSB Contest, from 0000Z Mar 29 - 2400Z Mar 30. Frequencies: 1.8-28 MHz. Exchange: RS and serial. Logs due on 1 May. For more information: http://www.cqwpx.com/ VHF+ CONTESTS No VHF+ Contests are scheduled. -oo --- -o - -- oo ooo ooo -o-- --- oo- o-o LOG DUE DATES - 19 MARCH THROUGH 1 APRIL 2008 o-oo --- --o -oo o o- -oo o-oo oo -o o ooo March 22 - HA3NS Sprint Memorial Contest, email logs to: ha3kna@tolna.net, paper logs and diskettes to: Radio Club, PO Box 169, 7100 Szekszard, Hungary. Find rules at: http://radioamator.honlapepites.hu/?PHPSESSID=e57dd37c356355de9489e83e42&p=1280 March 24 - Run for the Bacon QRP Contest, email logs to: (none), upload log at: http://www.gentzow.com/fpqrp/autolog.php, paper logs and diskettes to: (none). Find rules at: http://www.gentzow.com/fpqrp/fpqrprun.php March 25 - REF Contest, SSB, email logs to: cdfssb@ref-union.org, paper logs and diskettes to: F6CTT, Joseph Cornee, 31, rue des EcoButs, 44230 St Sebastien Sur Loire, France. Find rules at: http://concours.ref-union.org/reglements/actuels/reg_cdfhf_fr_0610.pdf March 25 - UBA DX Contest, CW, email logs to: ubacw@uba.be, paper logs and diskettes to: Francis Bauweraerts, ON6LY, Lokerenstraat 110 bus 5, B-2300 Turnhout, Belgium. Find rules at: http://www.uba.be/hf_contests/pdf/ubatest_dx.pdf March 27 - Bucharest Contest, email logs to: yo3jw@k.ro, paper logs and diskettes to: Bucharest Contest, Fenyo Stefan Pit, CP 19-43, 033210 Bucuresti 19, Romania. Find rules at: http://www.738899.lx.ro/Regulament%20Bucuresti%20engleza.pdf March 31 - Hunting Lions in the Air Contest, email logs to: zs1fg@telkomsa.net, paper logs and diskettes to: The HLITA Contest Committee, Lions Club of Midrand, PO Box 1548, Halfway House 1685, South Africa. Find rules at: http://www.sarl.org.za/SARL%20Contest%20Manual%202007.pdf March 31 - British Columbia QSO Challenge, email logs to: ve7kfy@rac.ca, paper logs and diskettes to: Delta Amateur Radio Society, 1108 56th Street, Delta, BC V4L 2A3, Canada. Find rules at: http://www.deltaamateurradio.com/BC%20QSO%20CONTEST.htm March 31 - CQ 160-Meter Contest, SSB, email logs to: 160ssb@kkn.net, paper logs and diskettes to: CQ 160-Meter Contest, 25 Newbridge Road, Hicksville, NY 11801, USA. Find rules at: http://cq-amateur-radio.com/NEW160_CntRules_200810207.pdf March 31 - 10-10 Int. Mobile Contest, email logs to: (none), paper logs and diskettes to: Steve Rasmussen, N0WY, 312 N 6th Street, Plattsmouth, NE 68048, USA. Find rules at: http://www.ten-ten.org/rules.html March 31 - Dutch PACC Contest, email logs to: pacc@dutchpacc.com, paper logs and diskettes to: PACC Contest Manager, c/o VERON Central Bureau, PO Box 1166, 6801 BD Arnhem, The Netherlands. Find rules at: http://www.veron.nl/pacc/ March 31 - Mississippi QSO Party, email logs to: (none), paper logs and diskettes to: Vicksburg ARC, 64 Lake Circle Drive, Vicksburg, MS 39180, USA. Find rules at: http://www.arrlmiss.org/msqsoprty.pdf March 31 - New Hampshire QSO Party, email logs to: NHQSO@comcast.net, paper logs and diskettes to: Great Bay Radio Association, 78 Littleworth Rd, Dover, NH 03820, USA. Find rules at: http://www.w1fz.org/pdf/2008_NHQSO_Rules.pdf March 31 - AGCW QRP Contest, email logs to: qrp-test@agcw.de, paper logs and diskettes to: Edmund Ramm, DK3UZ, Anderheitsallee 24, Bramfeld, D-22175 Hamburg, Germany. Find rules at: http://www.agcw.org/agcw-con/2006/Englisch/agcw_qrp_e.htm March 31 - AGCW YL-CW Party, email logs to: (none), paper logs and diskettes to: Dr. Roswitha Otto, DL6KCR, St Nikolaus Str 26, D-52396 Heimbach, Germany. Find rules at: http://www.agcw.org/agcw-con/2006/Englisch/ylcwp_e.htm March 31 - AGCW VHF/UHF Contest, email logs to: vhf-uhf@agcw.de, paper logs and diskettes to: Manfred Busch, DK7ZH, Ebachstr 13, D-35716 Dietzhoelztal-Mandeln, Germany. Find rules at: http://www.agcw.org/en/?Contests:VHF-UHF_Contest March 31 - EA PSK31 Contest, email logs to: psk31@ure.es, paper logs and diskettes to: (none). Find rules at: http://www.ure.es/hf/concursos/eapsk31/baseseapsk31ingles.pdf April 1 - ARRL Inter. DX Contest, SSB, email logs to: DXPhone@arrl.org, paper logs and diskettes to: ARRL Intl DX Contest, Phone, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111, USA. Find rules at: http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2008/intldx.html April 1 - North Carolina QSO Party, email logs to: henry@summitschool.com, paper logs and diskettes to: NC QSO PARTY, c/o Henry Heidtmann W2DZO, 8812 Merry Hill Court, Clemmons, NC 27012, USA. Find rules at: http://www.w4nc.com/2008ncqsoparty.html April 1 - DARC 10-Meter Digital Contest, email logs to: df5bx@darc.de, paper logs and diskettes to: Werner Ludwig, DF5BX, PO Box 1270, 49110 Georgsmarienhuette, Germany. Find rules at: http://www.darc.de/referate/ukw-funksport/sonder/tei-digi.htm April 1 - UBA Spring Contest, CW, email logs to: ubaspring@uba.be, paper logs and diskettes to: Michel Gertis, ON4CAQ, Mommenstraat 69, B-3550 Heusden Zolder, Belgium. Find rules at: http://www.uba.be/hf_contests/rules/uba_spring_en.pdf April 1 - Feld Hell Sprint, email logs to: (none), post log summary at: http://www.wa6l.com/contests/autolog.html, paper logs and diskettes to: John Graf, WA6L, 23085 Old Ranch Rd, Alpine, CA 91901, USA. Find rules at: http://feldhellclub.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=61&Itemid=71 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>. Copyright 2008 American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved Windows and Vista are trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation