 January 30, 2013 Editor: Ward Silver, NØAX | ||||||
IN THIS ISSUE
NEW HF OPERATORS - THINGS TO DO The CQ WPX RTTY Contest is becoming very popular. If you are set up to operate on the digital modes, why not give this contest a try? Elsewhere, February is a big month for state (and province!) QSO parties, featuring Vermont, Minnesota, British Columbia, Delaware, Louisiana, and New Hampshire. (That's one-tenth of Worked All States right there!) BULLETINS There are no bulletins in this issue. The Triathlon DX Contest was left out of the contest listings for Feb 2-3 in the emailed edition of this newsletter. See the contest section for more information. BUSTED QSOS It was observed that the new Ontario sections (GTA, ONE, ONN, ONS) were omitted from the printable line scores released with the ARRL Sweepstakes preliminary results. The database query to generate line scores has been repaired and new line scores are available online. CONTEST SUMMARY Complete information for all contests follows the Conversation section February 2-3
February 9-10
Ed VK2JI writes that, "The land of the Kangaroo and Koala are to stage their own Contest University in February. It will form part of the Wyong Field Day weekend. (A field day in Australia is what is called a Hamfest in the US). Taking place on Saturday the 23rd of February, this "Mini Contest University" is aimed at beginners to contesting to help them get involved and is the first time there has been such an event held in Australia. It is hoped that many people will come for the weekend with the Sunday "Field Day" being the largest gathering of Amateur Radio enthusiasts in the southern hemisphere, which has taken place for decades on the Central Coast of New South Wales about 50 km north of the Sydney Harbour.
Marek SP7DQR has created SWL_DQR_Log, a contest logging program specialized for use by SWLs in contesting. Since the program is very configurable, it can be used in at least 90% of the international contests having a SWL section. The latest version (1.2.0) includes dupe checking, too. (Thanks, Igor UV5EOZ) A pair of European kit websites have come to our attention. Paul GØODP recommends that we "look at Tim Walford's site...some excellent kits to suit all budgets and tastes. [The kits] are basic and don't have the component positions painted on the board nor the metalwork but have good documentation and leave scope for appropriate enhancements." Chris KF6VCI points us to the list of German kits at the QRP Project website. An interesting designer's note about those kits is that they are "designed for the European RF environment. That means [these] kits can handle the strange BC RF levels we have to fight with." In 1901 Guglielmo Marconi transmitted the first ever transatlantic radio signals from Poldhu on the western coast of the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall in the far south-west of England. Thanks to the hospitality and cooperation of the Marconi Centre and the Poldhu Amateur Radio Club, the M5E team of Olof GØCKV, Kazu JK3GAD, Seppo OH1VR, and Oliver W6NV will again activate the Marconi Centre for the ARRL DX CW contest from the site overlooking the English Channel. CQ Nebraska - Jeff NEØDX reports that the Heartland DX Association will NOT be sponsoring the 2013 Nebraska QSO Party in April. If your club is interested in taking up the challenge for just this year or permanently, please contact Jeff. It is not necessary to hold the contest in April - that is when it was originally scheduled. From CQ Communications, we learn that renowned DXer, DXpeditioner and contester Wayne Mills, N7NG, of Jackson, Wyoming, has been named CQ magazine's DX Editor, beginning with the April 2013 issue. Mills - a 1999 inductee into the CQ DX Hall of Fame - succeeds Carl Smith, N4AA, who has stepped down after writing the magazine's DX column for 13 years.
Here's something to shoot for...Doug K1DG reports that while several W6s have won the CQ WW Phone Contest - WA6VEF was the most recent - no W6 has ever won the present-day CQ WW CW. W6QD is the only W6 to ever win the "World Wide DX Contest" on CW, a contest sponsored by CQ's predecessor, Radio, and is generally considered to be the primordial CQWW. Web Site of the Week - If you struggle to explain why ham radio is still relevant in a world so highly interconnected, this Wired UK online article focuses on QSL cards to tell the story in a very compelling way. "You can tweet all you want, but..." Well done! (Thanks, Tim K3LR) WORD TO THE WISE Extreme - the next time you try to explain ham radio contesting, try calling it "Extreme Wireless". With all the "extreme" sports on the TV channels, the characterization of radiosport as an extraordinary form of something they already know about might make a connection with your audience. Tim N6WIN posted this video of Dan N6MJ operating CW as Single-Operator, Two Radio in the recent North American QSO Party. Oh, and browsing the Internet (non-ham materials, contesters!) with a smartphone at the same time. Oh, and running at a rate of well over 100 QSOs per hour. This is why Dan was on one of the USA's WRTC-2010 operator teams!
Have you ever wondered why Marconi used kites to hold up his antennas? The beginning of this short video by Dave KM3T from the recent KM1CC operation on Cape Cod should explain the decision. Looney Tunes fans will enjoy this Donald Duck cartoon - what is happening at the 2:20 mark? It sounds vaguely familiar although the note is a little rough... (Thanks, Tad K7RA) The full extended results article for the IARU HF Championship by Carl K9LA is now online at the ARRL Contest Branch Results website. Preliminary results for 2012 Phone Sweepstakes by Steve N2IC, including printable line scores, will be available shortly - just in time to show your weekend breakfast group! (Thanks, Sean KX9X) CQ World Wide Contest Director, Randy K5ZD notes, "We are closing the CQWW SSB 2012 results this week and I noticed there are still some plaques available for sponsorship. If you are interested in sponsoring a plaque to cover the 2012 contest (or are looking ahead to 2013), please contact John K1AR for details. Thanks to everyone who helps to sponsor a plaque for the CQWW contest." The total number of logs received this year for the 2012 9A (Croatia) CW Contest was 1,073. Claimed scores are now available as well. If your call sign is listed in the wrong category, please send a note to the BARTG has posted the new 2010-2011-2012 Experts list which is used in all of the BARTG RTTY Contests. (BARTG contest results take participant experience into account when determining category.) BARTG has also published the results for the last SPRINT75 and HF RTTY contests on their web site. (Thanks, Arthur G1XKZ) OPERATING TIP A common question among contesting newcomers is whether they must submit a log for the contact to count for the other station. No, you don't need to submit a log for credit to be given. Contacts are only considered "bad" if the log-checkers can definitively show that a call sign or exchange was miscopied. Yes, some bad contacts get through but the usual policy is to assume QSOs are good unless proven bad. Chad WE9V is re-computerizing his station and passes along these tips about a couple of useful tips for station builders:
One area of scientific measurement of interest to hams is ambient electromagnetic noise measurement. The recent article, "Revision of the Methodology for Processing Radio Noise Measurements in the Medium-Wave Band" by Landa, et al. in IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine for Dec 2012 covers noise measurement below 2 MHz for radio service planning, antennas, processing techniques. The article also lists many references on noise measurement that may be of interest in their own right.
Frank W3LPL notes that "Inexpensive RG-6 with a copper clad steel (CCS) center conductor is much more widely available than solid copper, especially with desirable options such as a tough polyethylene (PE) jacket and flooded construction. CCS looks like a reasonable choice except for very long cable runs on 160 and 80 meters. A copper clad center conductor may be a problem if a device (e.g. a preamp or relay) is remotely powered through the coaxial cable. When purchasing CCS RG-6, it's very important to immediately test its loss characteristics. It appears that some unscrupulous suppliers are selling factory rejected RG-6 or selling RG-6 from unreliable manufacturers. We should be careful to purchase from trusted suppliers, [for example] on ebay they will be suppliers with 100% positive feedback. It's easy to use an MFJ-259 [antenna analyzer] to quickly check cable loss, using its cable loss mode. [The test is] more accurate if you build or purchase a simple 50:75 ohm broadband matching transformer." Frank measured the dc resistance of the solid copper and copper clad steel center conductors of RG-6 coax. "I also measured the quad-shield DC resistance and both cables measured the same.
"It appears that copper clad steel RG-6 is a good choice for remote powered preamps and relays except for very long cable runs." Frank goes on to remind us, "When using a remotely powered device it's extremely important to prevent even the slightest moisture entry. RG-6 compression connectors are NOT waterproofed at the threaded end of the connector, additional waterproofing is absolutely essential. The Thomas & Betts NS500 Nut Seal costs only a few cents and it very effectively waterproofs the connector threads. The inside of the connector should be stuffed with STUF Di-Electric Filler to prevent moisture accumulation from condensation. The finished connection should first be wrapped with electrical tape, then a final layer of waterproofing should be applied." A recent Instructables project describes an 8-outlet relay box controlled by an Arduino microprocessor. This could form the basis of all sorts of customizable shack automation projects. Another Instructables project would be particularly good for family members - it shows how to use simple electrical testers around the home. Knowing how to use a voltmeter to check whether a circuit is live could save a life! Here in the Midwest and other places, the dry winter months are the static months. While there are certainly commercial products to reduce static, Don AE5K reports, "I have always had very good luck with a mixture of Downy fabric softener and water [at about a] 1:10 ratio in a plastic spray bottle. A little goes a long way and it is cheap and smells nice." Larry N6NC added a couple of selectable antenna connections to his MN-2700 tuner by removing the direct-wire terminals and the insulating plate on which they were mounted. The internal connections ran directly to the antenna select switch. An aluminum plate with SO-239 connectors replaced the insulating plate and by carefully locating the SO-239s, the internal wiring could be reused without modification. This also makes it easy to return the tuner to its original configuration for resale. All tuners are slightly different but the same general process can be used to add selectable antennas on many tuners. Technical Web Site of the Week - The direction and strength of the Earth's magnetic field is important data for determining ionospheric stability. You can build your own magnetometer and hook it up to a computer for about $100. As correspondent Dave K1WHS observes, "It sure is obvious when a magnetic storm occurs!" Dave uses one for predicting auroras and chasing DX contacts on 144 MHz. Beyond the Machine After the new FM-Only and 3-Band categories were added to the ARRL VHF Contests, I was interested in whether there was an observable difference in activity. A little research on the VHF Contesting reflector turned up results that fell squarely into one of two camps: (1) No and (2) Definitely. If you operated away from cities, you probably didn't see any significant change in activity on or off the FM simplex channels. There just aren't enough hams out there in rural and other lightly populated areas for an FM station to work a lot of other people. In fact, there generally aren't that many active VHF+ contesters in those regions, either! However, if you are in a more populated area, the results might have been different as Les N1LF reported. "I'm happy to report that efforts to increase contest activity using the new FM-Only category during the January ARRL VHF Contest was a resounding success here in Alabama. We had two ARES groups who deployed for several hours on Saturday. One group opened the Emergency Operations Center in Shelby County at the EMA. Another group went "hilltopping" at a local high school with an elevated location. They deployed a 25-foot mast and directional antennas (Arrow-type Yagis) to test their ability to operate simplex over great distances.
"One big surprise was the number of QSO's made on 440 MHz simplex. In past attempts at involving FM operators, we had enjoyed almost no success on 440 due to low power, poor locations, and ineffective antennas. This year we worked nearly as many on 440 as on 2 meters. 6 meter FM activity here was literally nonexistent. Anyone who had 6 meters seemed to be using a "DC to Daylight" rig and would simply switch to SSB to make the contact. There is very little 6 Meter FM repeater activity here, so it's not too surprising. With no E-skip during the contact we didn't make a single contact on 6 FM. "The real treats were three contacts late on Sunday night (9 PM, one hour before the end of the contest) when I still heard operators hanging in there and calling CQ on 146.55 and 146.58. I also learned of a FM simplex long range net here in Alabama that operates on Sunday nights at 8PM. Previously, I had been unaware of it at all. I plan to become active on that net, and try to encourage this cadre of well equipped operators to join the fun in June. "Hopefully CQ Communications will follow suit and add an FM-Only category to their contest as well. It's a great way to draw in newcomers. But if only works if weak signal operators embrace the mode, monitor those frequencies to give out contacts, and do some outreach work in advance of the events. ARES groups are a great place to mine for newcomers." Similar successes were reported in the Chicago-Milwaukee area (probably no coincidence that the W9RH club sponsors an FM Simplex contest in February - see the contest listings below) and in the Northeast. Not in the Los Angeles and San Francisco area as Tim NU6S reported little FM (and VHF+ activity), so there is a lot of work to do. VHF+ contesting is always a regional event. Unless there are huge sporadic E openings on 6 meters, there are basically five or six "different" contests going on: Northeast, Southeast, Upper Midwest, West Gulf, Northwest, and Southwest. What "works" for one region probably doesn't get the same results in another due to topography and population and operating preferences. We all have to keep our thinking caps on and not miss a chance to encourage and entice new hams to go "beyond the machine"! 30 January through 12 February 2012 An expanded, downloadable version of QST's Contest Corral in PDF format is available. Check the sponsor's Web site for information on operating time restrictions and other instructions. HF CONTESTS North American Sprint--CW, from Feb 3, 0000Z to Feb 3, 0400Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-14. Exchange: Both call signs, serial, name, and S/P/C. Logs due: 7 days. Rules School Club Roundup--Phone,CW,Digital, from Feb 11, 1300Z to Feb 15, 2359Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50+. Exchange: RS(T), Class, S/P/C. Logs due: 30 days. Rules NS Weekly Sprint--CW, from Feb 1, 0200Z to Feb 1, 0300Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-14. Frequencies (MHz): Weekly on Thursday evenings local time. Exchange: Serial, name, and S/P/C. Logs due: 2 days. Rules Triathlon DX Contest--Phone,CW,Digital, from Feb 2, 0000Z to Feb 2, 2359Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: RS(T) and serial. Logs due: 28 Feb. Rules EPC WW PSK Contest--Digital, from Feb 2, 0000Z to Feb 3, 2400Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: RST and serial. Logs due: 30 days. Rules Vermont QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Feb 2, 0000Z to Feb 3, 2400Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50,144. Exchange: RS(T) and VT county or S/P/C. Logs due: 30 days. Rules Ten-Ten Winter Phone QSO Party--Phone, from Feb 2, 0001Z to Feb 3, 2359Z. Bands (MHz): 28. Exchange: Call sign, name, QTH, 10-10 number. Logs due: Feb 20. Rules Black Sea Cup International--Phone,CW, from Feb 2, 1200Z to Feb 3, 1159Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: RS(T) and HQ ID, member nr or ITU zone. Logs due: 30 days. Rules FYBO Winter QRP Field Day--Phone,CW, from Feb 2, 1400Z to Feb 2, 2400Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: RS(T), S/P/C, name, power, temp in deg F. Logs due: 30 days. Rules Minnesota QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Feb 2, 1400Z to Feb 2, 2400Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50+, Frequencies (MHz): CW 1.850, 3.550, 7.050, 14.050, 21.050, 28.050; SSB 1.870, 3.850, 7.250, 14.270, 21.350, 28.450. Exchange: Name and MN county or S/P/C. Logs due: Mar 15. Rules Straight Key Party--CW, from Feb 2, 1600Z to Feb 2, 1900Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5. Exchange: RST, serial, category, name, age. Logs due: Feb 28. Rules British Columbia QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Feb 2, 1600Z to Feb 3, 0400Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Frequencies (MHz): CW 1.815,3.535,7.035,14.035,21.035,28.305; SSB 1.845,3.85,7.23,14.25,21.3,28.4; Digital per band plan. Exchange: RST and BC district or S/P/Territory or DX. Logs due: Mar 31. Rules Delaware QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Feb 2, 1700Z to Feb 3, 2359Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50+, Frequencies (MHz): CW 1.825, 3.55, 7.05, 14.05, 21.05, 28.05, 50.95; SSB 1.86, 3.96, 7.26, 14.26, 21.36, 28.36, 50.135; Digital per band plan. Exchange: RS(T) and DE county or S/P/C. Logs due: 30 days. Rules XE Int'l RTTY Contest--Digital, from Feb 2, 1800Z to Feb 3, 1759Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: RST and XE state or serial. Logs due: 30 days. Rules OK1WC Memorial Contest--Phone,CW, from Feb 4, 1600Z to Feb 4, 1659Z. First through fourth Monday of each month. Bands (MHz): 3.5, 50, 144 - see website. Exchange: RS(T) and serial. Logs due: 7 days. Rules ARS Spartan Sprint--CW, from Feb 5, 0200Z to Feb 5, 0400Z. Monthly on the first Monday evening local time. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: RST, S/P/C, and power. Logs due: 2 days. Rules YL-OM Contest--Phone,CW,Digital, from Feb 8, 1400Z to Feb 10, 0200Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: Call sign, RST, serial and S/P/C. Logs due: 30 days. Rules YLISSB QSO Party--CW, from Feb 9, 0000Z to Feb 10, 2359Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: Call sign, RS(T), ISSB number. Logs due: Mar 22. Rules CQ WW RTTY WPX--Digital, from Feb 9, 0000Z to Feb 10, 2400Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: RST and serial. Logs due: Feb 15. Rules Asia-Pacific Sprint--CW, from Feb 9, 1100Z to Feb 9, 1300Z. Bands (MHz): 7,14. Exchange: RST, serial. Logs due: 7 days. Rules Dutch PACC Contest--Phone,CW, from Feb 9, 1200Z to Feb 10, 1200Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: RS(T) and Dutch province or serial. Logs due: Mar 10. Rules Louisiana QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Feb 9, 1500Z to Feb 10, 0300Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Frequencies (MHz): CW 1.84, 3.54, 7.04, 14.04, 21.04, 28.04; Phone 1.865, 3.865, 7.255, 14.255, 21.365, 28.465; VHF 50.095, 50.135, 144.05, 144.21. Exchange: Call sign, RS(T), LA parish or S/P/C. Logs due: Mar 15. Rules OMISS QSO Party--Phone, from Feb 9, 1500Z to Feb 10, 1500Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: RS, S/P/C and OMISS nr or "DX". Logs due: Mar 30. Rules New Hampshire QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Feb 9, 1600Z to Feb 10, 0400Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Frequencies (MHz): CW - 1.815 and band edge + 45kHz; Phone - 1.875, 3.935, 3.950, 7.235, 14.280, 21.380, 28.390. Exchange: RS(T) and NH county or S/P or "DX". Logs due: Mar 31. Rules FISTS CW Winter Sprint--CW, from Feb 9, 1700Z to Feb 9, 2100Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: RST, S/P/C, first name, FISTS nr or power. Logs due: 30 days. Rules RSGB - First 1.8 MHz Contest--Phone,CW, from Feb 9, 2100Z to Feb 10, 0100Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8. Exchange: RST, serial, UK district. Logs due: 16 days. Rules AM QSO Party--Phone, from Feb 9, 2300Z to Feb 10, 2300Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-14. Exchange: RS, name, and S/P/C. Logs due: 4 weeks. Rules Classic Exchange--Phone, from Feb 10, 1400Z to Feb 11, 0800Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50,144, Frequencies (MHz): AM--1.890, 3.880, 7.160, 7.290, 14.286, 21.420, 29.000, 50.400, 144.300; SSB--1.885, 3.870, 7.280, 14.270, 21.370, 28.390, 50.125, 144.200. Exchange: RST, QTH, model of rcvr and xmtr. Logs due: 30 days. Rules VHF+ CONTESTS Milwaukee FM Simplex Contest--Phone, from Feb 10, 1900Z to Feb 10, 2130Z. Bands (MHz): 50-440. Exchange: Call sign and grid square. Logs due: Mar 10. Rules Maine 2m FM Simplex Challenge--Phone, from Feb 10, 1900Z to Feb 10, 2300Z. Bands (MHz): 144, Frequencies (MHz): FM simplex frequencies only. Exchange: Call sign, power, city name. Logs due: 15 days. Rules School Club Roundup--Phone,CW,Digital, from Feb 11, 1300Z to Feb 15, 2359Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50+. Exchange: RS(T), Class, S/P/C. Logs due: 30 days. Rules Vermont QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Feb 2, 0000Z to Feb 3, 2400Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50,144. Exchange: RS(T) and VT county or S/P/C. Logs due: 30 days. Rules Minnesota QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Feb 2, 1400Z to Feb 2, 2400Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50+, Frequencies (MHz): CW 1.850, 3.550, 7.050, 14.050, 21.050, 28.050; SSB 1.870, 3.850, 7.250, 14.270, 21.350, 28.450. Exchange: Name and MN county or S/P/C. Logs due: Mar 15. Rules Delaware QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Feb 2, 1700Z to Feb 3, 2359Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50+, Frequencies (MHz): CW 1.825, 3.55, 7.05, 14.05, 21.05, 28.05, 50.95; SSB 1.86, 3.96, 7.26, 14.26, 21.36, 28.36, 50.135; Digital per band plan. Exchange: RS(T) and DE county or S/P/C. Logs due: 30 days. Rules OK1WC Memorial Contest--Phone,CW, from Feb 4, 1600Z to Feb 4, 1659Z. First through fourth Monday of each month. Bands (MHz): 3.5, 50, 144 - see website. Exchange: RS(T) and serial. Logs due: 7 days. Rules Louisiana QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Feb 9, 1500Z to Feb 10, 0300Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28, 50, 144. Frequencies (MHz): CW 1.84, 3.54, 7.04, 14.04, 21.04, 28.04; Phone 1.865, 3.865, 7.255, 14.255, 21.365, 28.465; VHF 50.095, 50.135, 144.05, 144.21. Exchange: Call sign, RS(T), LA parish or S/P/C. Logs due: Mar 15. Rules Classic Exchange--Phone, from Feb 10, 1400Z to Feb 11, 0800Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50,144, Frequencies (MHz): AM--1.890, 3.880, 7.160, 7.290, 14.286, 21.420, 29.000, 50.400, 144.300; SSB--1.885, 3.870, 7.280, 14.270, 21.370, 28.390, 50.125, 144.200. Exchange: RST, QTH, model of rcvr and xmtr. Logs due: 30 days. Rules LOG DUE DATES 30 January through 12 February 2012
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