 March 7, 2018 Editor: Paul Bourque, N1SFE | |||
IN THIS ISSUE
The weekly Thursday evening NS RTTY sessions are a good place to iron out issues with your RTTY configuration, and get ready for the upcoming North American Sprint, RTTY contest this weekend. If you like the more traditional RTTY contest format, the BARTG RTTY Contest is just over a week away. The BARTG contest exchange includes three sets of numbers: signal report, contact number, and UTC time. Make sure you have your logger set up correctly, and you might want to have an additional macro for contact number and UTC fills. For a more relaxed time, there are plenty of QSO Parties to get on different bands and different modes. Be sure to check the rules for each as the exchanges vary based on the event. 8 Mar - 21 Mar 2018 Complete information for all contests follows the Conversation section March 8 March 9 March 10
March 11
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March 18 March 19 March 21 The 2018 Contest University course outline is available on the Contest University website. Many 'Professors Emeritii' will be returning this year to present, and one new session that caught my eye is "Utilizing Digital Modes FT8 and MSK144 for Competitive Advantage in VHF Contests" to be presented by W5ZN. Contest University will be held May 17, 2018, from 7:00am to 5:00pm, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dayton, Ohio. A number of ham radio related interest groups previously hosted on Yahoo are moving or have moved to other services. If you can't find your favorite group, or notice that the activity seems less than you recall, check some of the other popular services such as Groups.IO, Google Groups, or even more traditional email reflectors like Contesting.com. For example, the support group for N1MM Logger+ started moving to Groups.IO on February 27. If you are using N1MM Logger+ in one of the upcoming RTTY Contests, make sure you're using version 1.0.7099 or later. An issue was fixed recently that may affect serial number incrementing. Today's Amateur gear containing microprocessors usually has provisions for upgrading the software via a computer link or memory card. DX Engineering has published a blog article on Firmware Upgrades including the steps to take to make sure updates are trouble free. According to an article in EETimes, there's a new telephone museum in Waltham, Massachusetts, encompassing the range of telephone technology, from the early patents to telephone system signaling to today's modern cellular phones. According to the museum website, it also offers workshops in basic electronics and a curriculum is also being developed into after-school programs for school-aged youth in the Boston area. One of the goals is to inspire participants to become Electrical Engineers. Nordics on the Air (NOTA) is the first regional spinoff from the Youngsters on the Air (YOTA) program. Organized by the Swedish Amateur Radio Association SSA, this year's event took place March 1 through March 4, and consisted of social, educational, and competitive events focused on Amateur Radio. From Gary, ZL2IRB: "This is cool, especially for those of us participating in the ARRL International Grid Chase: Gridmapper, a Google Earth mapper, courtesy of Johan, WG7J, that slurps up an ADIF log file and spits out the grid squares we have worked and confirmed. It's easy enough to just use but if the options puzzle you, click the question-mark-diamond at the top of the web page." Azimuthal Map is a great new way to view Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) data on various maps and graphs, thanks to HA8TKS and CT1BOH. Go to the Azimuthal Map website, then check "Dxcall" and enter your own call sign to see where you are being heard displayed on a Great Circle map. Other tabs at the top provide many other useful ways to look at the live data RBN data, including a scrolling "band map". (Bob, N6TV) The Visalia DX Convention Contest Dinner will be held Friday, April 20, 2018, at the location of the International DX Convention in Visalia, California. Now in it's 19th year, the event is hosted by the Mother Lode DX and Contest Club. Tickets for this event must be purchased in advance via the Contest Dinner website by April 16, 2018. This year's dinner program by K3LR is entitled "25 Years of Multi Multi Contesting at K3LR." (Jeff, WK6I) The HF Voyager is an 'autonomous, ocean-going drone' with a remotely controlled Amateur Radio station on board. According to Rusty, W6OAT, it's possible to work the craft using FT8 on 20 meters. Depending on battery state and whether the functionality is enabled by the remote operator, the craft will respond to direct calls and upload completed QSOs to its website. (via Elecraft email reflector)
Pallet A pallet, as related to an RF amplifier, is module usually consisting of one or more solid state devices, input/output networks, and bias circuitry. Standardized, pre-tested modules can be easier and more cost effective for homebrew constructors than individual transistors requiring specialized printed circuit board layout, mounting, and soldering techniques. DR9A, the Northern Black Forest Contest Group, posted video of their 2017 effort in the IARU VHF Contest. The video intersperses operating with detailed drone footage of their antennas. Note how rotators aren't used on 432 MHz, since they have fixed, stacked Yagi antennas in eight directions. (PackRats Cheese Bits via Ward, N0AX)
Preliminary results for the 2018 January ARRL VHF Contest have now been posted. There were a few new records, including the first-ever SOFM entry submitted by N2VHZ in the Midwest division with 1 QSO, 1 Multiplier on 144 MHz. "Submitting a log, no matter how small, counts for more than one would think." Preliminary results for the 2018 ARRL RTTY Roundup have also been posted. Despite the relentless decline of band conditions, the total number of contacts in submitted logs was slightly higher than 2017. Ten meters was good for fifty total QSOs. In the first-ever Heavy Metal overlay category for those using mechanical teletype hardware, WA3FRP made 275 QSOs and used 1.5 quarts of machine oil. Just kidding about the oil. Search and Pounce to Run On busy, crowded bands, finding a clear frequency to run may take a while. Earn some points while you're looking by searching and pouncing until you find a good spot. Don't forget, the object is to find an empty frequency to run, so only work stations that are calling CQ. Tune past contacts in progress, and don't get involved in pile-ups. During last summer's solar eclipse, researchers at MIT's Haystack Observatory and the University of Tromsø, Norway, observed bow waves created in the ionosphere by the shadow of the eclipse. The waves are created because the "eclipse shadow is supersonic with respect to the local sound speed in the upper atmosphere" according to Phil, W1PJE, a co-author of the study. The referenced article contains a visualization of the collected data. According to an article referenced on SpaceWeather.com, decreased solar activity can allow more cosmic rays to penetrate Earth's atmosphere. Those rays can be harmful to humans, and also negatively affect radio wave propagation by increasing ionospheric radio wave absorption. (David, WA1OUI) New polymer technology is behind a recent breakthrough in capacitor energy storage, and future commercially produced capacitors could rival or exceed the energy storage capacity of current Lithium batteries, according to researchers. Capacitors offer higher current capacities than batteries, but traditionally can't store as much charge. (Ward, N0AX) The Arecibo radio telescope will be managed by a consortium led by the University of Central Florida (UCF) under a new operating agreement. Starting April 1, the consortium will administer the 54 year old facility. Repairs after damage by Hurricane Maria and upgrades to expand the capabilities to serve new users are high on the to-do list. The facility's dish is 305-meters in diameter, and on 430 MHz has an EIRP of 2.5 terawatts (pulsed). This issue's Conversation is written by Duffey, KK6MC, the author of the results article for the 2018 January ARRL VHF/UHF Contest. He is an avid UHF/VHF contester and rover. His first VHF experience as a novice, WN0MWN, was with a Heathkit Twoer and a home brew 3 element beam. He is particularly interested in how the complexion of VHF/UHF contesting is changing and is trying to make analytic studies and objective evaluations of the impact recent innovations have had on VHF/UHF contesting. The Digital Modes and the 2018 January ARRL VHF/UHF Contest James Duffey, KK6MC These observations are meant to provoke some productive and objective thought and discussion on using the digital modes in VHF/UHF contesting and are not meant to criticize any specific individual. Digital modes are here to stay in contesting and we need to figure out how best to use them to benefit everyone in the contest. The January ARRL VHF/UHF contest had significant FT8 and MSK144 activity. Many new calls were heard on FT8 that had not previously been heard in VHF/UHF contests. Both activity and number of QSOs made on 6 meters were up from previous years. Nearly a third of QSOs made on 6 meters were reported as digital. Yet, there were complaints about the digital activity. These complaints included:
I think that these are all symptoms of using a mode that is less than a year old and that many of these issues will be addressed as the mode matures. But we can productively direct how these problems are resolved if we deal with them objectively and rationally. Some of these complaints are easily addressed through education, for instance spreading the word that one should use the contest mode on FT8 during a contest. Others are harder, such as dividing time between analog and digital modes. Even though the January contest did not have widespread Sporadic E (Es) propagation, many ops found out that marginal, weak, and short-lived Es openings could be worked using FT8, and they were rewarded with additional points and multipliers. And, despite the difficulties in getting MSK144 to recognize the /R suffix for a complete exchange, at least one rover found MSK144 to be a good roving mode and gave out rare grids to several ops. There were also several meteor scatter QSOs made while in motion by rovers. However, I find it odd that after years of collectively wringing our hands over steady or declining participation in VHF/UHF contests that some are now criticizing the increased activity that the digital modes, primarily FT8, are bringing to contesting. I realize that there is more to the sentiments some express than that, but to me, any increase in activity is good, particularly for the January contest when propagation is often flat. I think that there are three primary reasons that FT8 and MSK144 are popular:
It does not do much good to complain that FT8 ops would do better on CW if they don't know CW. And there are a lot of ops on FT8 that don't know CW. But if conditions support it, they should go to SSB, and we should spread the word that when the indicated SNR on FT8 is over a certain threshold, say +6dB for SSB and maybe -14dB for CW, the band is probably open and they would have higher rates on CW or SSB depending on the operator's skill. During VHF/UHF contests, operators are accustomed to switching modes to pick up more points, since CW and SSB don't prevent contacts with the other mode. Using FT8 in this way in a contest is more difficult since its band segment cannot support CW and SSB signals without inducing interference to the other FT8 operators in the band. Operators using FT8 must choose how to spend their time. Neither CW nor SSB are good alternatives to MSK144 for meteor scatter QSOs during a contest. MSK144 has proved very productive and is here to stay. FT8 can also be used to make meteor scatter contacts, and hence there are now more operators that can utilize this type of propagation. I think that this is good. Matching the propagation mode to the appropriate digital modes is an operator skill to be learned. The assertion that the digital modes take activity away from the conventional modes is a real effect and one I have observed first hand. I am not sure how best to deal with this, but educating today's FT8 operators on the conditions when contacts can be made on SSB or CW would be a start. They can go to the analog modes after their FT8 QSO is complete, after a minute or so. After doing this a few times, hopefully it will become second nature. The conflict between MSK144 and other modes is not as easily resolved as the time commitment required for meteor scatter is longer. I have heard ops explain that they work FT8 because that is where the activity is and there is nothing to work on CW or SSB, and at the same time rovers in those same areas will complain that there is no one to work on CW or SSB because all of the ops they usually work are on FT8. Emphasizing FT8 over CW or SSB because of lack of analog activity is a self fulfilling prophecy. FT8 operators should be encouraged to monitor various forms of assistance so that they can be alerted when CW and SSB contacts are available. For example, an operator can keep an APRS window and local VHF chat room/activity windows open to alert that there are other sources of QSOs and points. I think the digital modes offer great contesting opportunities for the entry-level operator and modestly equipped stations. Education and guidance are still needed to turn digital operators into VHF/UHF contesters. Constructive thoughts and comments are welcome. That's all for this time. Remember to send contesting related stories, book reviews, tips, techniques, press releases, errata, schematics, club information, pictures, stories, blog links, and predictions to contest-update@arrl.org 73, Brian N9ADG 8 Mar - 21 Mar 2018 An expanded, downloadable version of QST's Contest Corral is available as a PDF. Check the sponsor's website for information on operating time restrictions and other instructions. HF CONTESTS CWops Mini-CWT Test, Mar 7, 1300z to Mar 7, 1400z, Mar 7, 1900z to Mar 7, 2000z, Mar 8, 0300z to Mar 8, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; Member: Name + Member No., non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: March 10. VHF+ CONTESTS UBA Spring Contest, 2m, Mar 11, 0700z to Mar 11, 1100z; CW, Phone; Bands: 2m Only; ON: RS(T) + Serial No. + UBA Section, non-ON: RS(T) + Serial No.; Logs due: March 25. AGCW VHF/UHF Contest, Mar 17, 1400z to Mar 17, 1700z (144), Mar 17, 1700z to Mar 17, 1800z (432); CW; Bands: 144 MHz, 432 MHz; RST + "/" + Serial No. + "/" Power class + "/" + 6-character grid locator; Logs due: April 2. Also see SKCC Weekend Sprintathon, Oklahoma QSO Party, QCWA QSO Party, Wisconsin QSO Party, CLARA Chatter Party, Louisiana QSO Party, Virginia QSO Party, Feld Hell Sprint, above. 8 Mar - 21 Mar 2018 March 8, 2018 March 9, 2018 March 10, 2018 March 11, 2018 March 12, 2018
March 14, 2018 March 15, 2018
March 16, 2018 March 17, 2018 March 19, 2018 March 18, 2018
March 21, 2018 ARRL Information Click here to advertise in this newsletter, space subject to availability. Your One-Stop Resource for Amateur Radio News and Information ARRL membership includes QST, Amateur Radio's most popular and informative journal, delivered to your mailbox each month. Subscribe to NCJ - the National Contest Journal. Published bimonthly, features articles by top contesters, letters, hints, statistics, scores, NA Sprint and QSO Parties. Subscribe to QEX - A Forum for Communications Experimenters. Published bimonthly, features technical articles, construction projects, columns and other items of interest to radio amateurs and communications professionals. Free of charge to ARRL members: Subscribe to The ARRL Letter (weekly digest of news and information), the ARES E-Letter (monthly public service and emergency communications news), Division and Section news -- and much more! ARRL offers a wide array of products to enhance your enjoyment of Amateur Radio. Visit the site often for new publications, specials and sales. Donate to the fund of your choice -- support programs not funded by member dues! Reprint permission can be obtained by sending email to permission@arrl.org with a description of the material and the reprint publication. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ARRL Contest Update wishes to acknowledge information from WA7BNM's Contest Calendar and SM3CER's Contest Calendar. | |||
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