 February 16, 2022 Editor: Paul Bourque, N1SFE | |
In this Issue: Upcoming Contests - Things to Do ARRL International DX Contest- new categories and rules changes for 2022! The CW edition of the ARRL International DX Contest begins at 0000 UTC Saturday, February 19, and concludes at 2359 UTC Sunday, February 20. For 2022, there are new categories added to the event, with the Single-Operator, Single-Band, categories now having three power level subcategories (QRP, Low Power, and High Power) in both Non-Assisted and Unlimited (Assisted) categories. Also new for ARRL DX 2022, for the Affiliated Club Competition, Multioperator DXpedition scores (operations outside the United States and Canada) can be distributed to clubs that each operator declares. The club must be active in the ARRL's Club Eligibility listing, and the operator's call sign must be included in the club's eligibility list. Each eligible operator's portion of the total station score will be attributed to the club of their choosing. See the Affiliated Club Competition rules for more details. Additionally, the Multioperator station accommodations for 2021 have been extended into the 2022 running of the event. This allows multioperator station participants to operate from their home stations in conjunction with the multi-op station. The home stations must be within a radius of 100 kilometers (62 miles) of the multiop station, and must be within the same DXCC entity, US State, or Canadian province. For complete rules and more information, visit www.arrl.org/arrl-dx. North American QSO Party - RTTY Mark, K6UFO, reminds us that the North American QSO Party - RTTY will be held Saturday, February 26 starting at 1800 UTC and continuing until 0559 UTC on Sunday, February 27. The exchange is your name and State, Province, or Country. There are Single Operator assisted and non-assisted categories, as well as Multioperator categories. Single Operator stations can operate for 10 out of the 12 hours, and Multioperator stations can operate the entire 12-hour event. For complete rules, records, and past results please visit the National Contest Journal website. - Thanks to Mark Aaker, K6UFO. Bulletins Some New Rules Going into Effect this Year for ARRL Field Day After the issuance of several rules waivers over the past couple of years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ARRL Field Day rules are being updated on a permanent basis starting with the June 25-26, 2022, event. The maximum PEP output for a transmitter used by anyone submitting a Field Day entry will be 100 W, regardless of entry category. Class D (Home) stations will continue to be able to earn points for contacts with other Class D stations. The club aggregate scoring change initiated in 2020 as a temporary measure will become part of the permanent rules. In the aggregate scoring plan, the scores of individual stations are combined under the aggregate score of a club that is designated on the individual entry form. Another change, involving Media Publicity Rule 7.3.2, has been modified. Field Day participants will now be required to obtain publicity, not just try to do so. Any combination of bona fide media hits would qualify for the bonus points. For example, posting the details of your upcoming or ongoing Field Day activity, or your Field Day results, on a club or news media site, on Facebook, or via Twitter and Instagram would meet the bonus criteria. For more information, visit the ARRL Field Day webpage. Contest Summary Complete information for all contests follows the Conversation section. February 17 February 18 February 19 February 20 February 21 February 22 February 23
February 24 February 25 February 26
February 27 February 28 March 1 March 2
News, Press Releases and Special Interest Announcing the ARRL International Digital Contest The inaugural ARRL International Digital Contest makes its debut the first weekend of June (June 4-5, 2022). Participants can use any digital mode, with the exception of RTTY, that supports the required four-digit grid square exchange. All HF bands from 160 through 10 meters (WARC bands excluded), plus 6 meters are allowed. Rules and more information are available at www.arrl.org/arrl-digital-contest. New Rules in effect starting in June for all ARRL HF Contests Starting with the ARRL International Digital Contest, in all categories that allow assistance (Unlimited), the use of online and other non-amateur radio platforms including but not limited to social media, live video streaming, and internet chat rooms will be allowed. In all Unlimited and Multioperator categories, the prohibition of self-spotting, and asking another station to spot you, will also be removed. New Features added to WA7BMN Contest Calendar Bruce Horn, WA7BNM, has added a new feature to his Contest Calendar website. The site now includes a 5-Week Calendar. It's a list of contests similar to the 12-Month Calendar but designed to show only those contests in the current week (Monday-Sunday), plus the following four weeks. Contests that are held every week are listed in a separate section to make it easier to view the weekend contests. The Five-Week Calendar is accessible via a direct link at www.contestcalendar.com/fivewkcal.html. ViewProp Tutorial Video Released Rick Kiessig, ZL2HAM, has published a tutorial for his propagation analysis and visualization tool, ViewProp on YouTube. ViewProp uses data from Reverse Beacon Network and DxAtlas to provide a graphical view of propagation. You can view the video at youtube.com/watch?v=McUB2eY5atk. A user forum and discussion group for ViewProp is also available at groups.io. Results and Records Dean Wood, N6DE, has announced that the 2021 California QSO Party (CAQP) results have been released. This year, in addition to the results published on the web, they also produced a YouTube video highlighting every county expedition effort from CQP 2021. Highlights from the video include:
The 2021 CAQP Results are available at cqp.org/Results.html, and you can view the YouTube video at youtu.be/sK-OebMFn7I. The organizers of the Distance Challenge at Quartzfest hav The Distance Challenge was created in 2019 by Bob Wertz, NF7E and Ron Gerlak, KG7OH of the Northern Arizona DX Association, who sponsor the event each year at Quartzfest held in Arizona's Sonoran Desert. Winners receive a Trophy Hard Hat complete with a solar panel, a 3-speed electric fan, light, USB port and a custom built mini-triband on top. The unique hats were created by NADXA member, Larry Gilbert, WB7EUJ, and sponsored by Cable-X-Perts. Technical Topics and Discussion Do you have a good technical topic that you'd like to share with the community? Let me know! Send an email to contest-update@arrl.org and I'll share it here. 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. Contests February 17, 2022 - March 2, 2022 An expanded, downloadable version of QST's Contest Corral is available as a PDF. Check the sponsors' website for information on operating time restrictions and other instructions. HF CONTESTS Walk for the Bacon QRP Contest, Feb 17, 0000z to Feb 18, 0300z; CW; Bands: 20; Maximum 13 wpm, RST + (state/province/country) + Name + (Member No./power); Logs due: Feb 24. CWops Test (CWT), Feb 17, 0300z to Feb 17, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Feb 19. CWops Test (CWT), Feb 17, 0700z to Feb 17, 0800z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Feb 19. RTTYOPS Weeksprint, Feb 17, 1700z to Feb 17, 1900z; RTTY; Bands: 80, 40, 20; [other station's call] + [your call] + [serial no.] + [your name]; Logs due: Feb 24. EACW Meeting, Feb 17, 1900z to Feb 17, 2000z; CW; Bands: 80, 40; EACW Member: RST + Member No. + Nickname, EA non-Member: RST + Nickname + EA province, non-EA: RST + Nickname + DXCC prefix; Logs due: Feb 19. NTC QSO Party, Feb 17, 1900z to Feb 17, 2000z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20; NTC Member: RST + Member No., non-Member: RST + "NM", Less than 25 wpm; Logs due: Feb 20. NCCC RTTY Sprint, Feb 18, 0145z to Feb 18, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: Feb 20. QRP Fox Hunt, Feb 18, 0200z to Feb 18, 0330z; CW; Bands: 20; RST + (state/province/country) + name + power output; Logs due: Feb 19. NCCC Sprint Ladder, Feb 18, 0230z to Feb 18, 0300z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15; Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: Feb 20. K1USN Slow Speed Test, Feb 18, 2000z to Feb 18, 2100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm, Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Feb 20. ARRL Inter. DX Contest, CW, Feb 19, 0000z to Feb 20, 2359z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; W/VE: RST + (state/province), non-W/VE: RST + power; Logs due: Feb 27. Russian PSK WW Contest, Feb 19, 1200z to Feb 20, 1159z; BPSK31, BPSK63, BPSK125; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RU: RST + 2-letter oblast, non-RU: RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Feb 25. Feld Hell Sprint, Feb 19, 1900z to Feb 19, 2059z; Feld Hell; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; (see rules); Logs due: Feb 23. FISTS Sunday Sprint, Feb 20, 2100z to Feb 20, 2300z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; FISTS: RST + (state/province/country) + first name + FISTS No., non-FISTS: RST + (state/province/country) + first name + "0"; Logs due: Mar 6. Run for the Bacon QRP Contest, Feb 20, 2300z to Feb 21, 0100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST + (state/province/country) + (Member No./power); Logs due: Feb 27. K1USN Slow Speed Test, Feb 21, 0000z to Feb 21, 0100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm, Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Feb 23. OK1WC Memorial (MWC), Feb 21, 1630z to Feb 21, 1729z; CW; Bands: 80, 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Feb 25. Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest, Feb 22, 0100z to Feb 22, 0159z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6; RS + age group (OM, YL, Youth YL or Youth); Logs due: Feb 23. RTTYOPS Weeksprint, Feb 22, 1700z to Feb 22, 1900z; RTTY; Bands: 80, 40, 20; [other station's call] + [your call] + [serial no.] + [your name]; Logs due: Mar 1. SKCC Sprint, Feb 23, 0000z to Feb 23, 0200z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6; RST + (state/province/country) + Name + (SKCC No./"NONE"); Logs due: Feb 25. QRP Fox Hunt, Feb 23, 0200z to Feb 23, 0330z; CW; Bands: 20; RST + (state/province/country) + name + power output; Logs due: Feb 24. Phone Weekly Test, Feb 23, 0230z to Feb 23, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15; NA: Name + (state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: Feb 25. A1Club AWT, Feb 23, 1200z to Feb 23, 1300z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: RST + Name; Logs due: Feb 28. CWops Test (CWT), Feb 23, 1300z to Feb 23, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Feb 26. Mini-Test 40, Feb 23, 1700z to Feb 23, 1759z; CW; Bands: 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Feb 25. Mini-Test 80, Feb 23, 1800z to Feb 23, 1859z; CW; Bands: 80; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Feb 25. CWops Test (CWT), Feb 23, 1900z to Feb 23, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Feb 26. UKEICC 80m Contest, Feb 23, 2000z to Feb 23, 2100z; CW; Bands: 80; 6-Character grid square; Logs due: Feb 23. CWops Test (CWT), Feb 24, 0300z to Feb 24, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Feb 26. CWops Test (CWT), Feb 24, 0700z to Feb 24, 0800z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Feb 26. RTTYOPS Weeksprint, Feb 24, 1700z to Feb 24, 1900z; RTTY; Bands: 80, 40, 20; [other station's call] + [your call] + [serial no.] + [your name]; Logs due: Mar 3. EACW Meeting, Feb 24, 1900z to Feb 24, 2000z; CW; Bands: 80, 40; EACW Member: RST + Member No. + Nickname, EA non-Member: RST + Nickname + EA province, non-EA: RST + Nickname + DXCC prefix; Logs due: Feb 26. RSGB 80m Club Championship, CW, Feb 24, 2000z to Feb 24, 2130z; CW; Bands: 80; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Feb 25. NCCC RTTY Sprint, Feb 25, 0145z to Feb 25, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logsdue: Feb 27. QRP Fox Hunt, Feb 25, 0200z to Feb 25, 0330z; CW; Bands: 20; RST + (state/province/country) + name + power output; Logs due: Feb 26. NCCC Sprint Ladder, Feb 25, 0230z to Feb 25, 0300z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15; Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: Feb 27. K1USN Slow Speed Test, Feb 25, 2000z to Feb 25, 2100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm, Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Feb 27. CQ 160-Meter Contest, SSB, Feb 25, 2200z to Feb 27, 2200z; SSB; Bands: 160; W/VE: RS + (state/province), DX: RS + CQ Zone; Logs due: Mar 4. REF Contest, SSB, Feb 26, 0600z to Feb 27, 1800z; SSB; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; French: RS + Department/Prefix, non-French: RS + Serial No.; Logs due: Mar 6. FTn DX Contest, Feb 26, 1200z to Feb 27, 1200z; FT4; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; 4-character grid square; Logs due: Mar 6. UBA DX Contest, CW, Feb 26, 1300z to Feb 27, 1300z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; ON: RST + Serial No. + section, non-ON: RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Mar 13. South Carolina QSO Party, Feb 26, 1500z to Feb 27, 0159z; CW, Digital, Phone; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6; SC: RS(T) + County, non-SC: RS(T) + (state/province/"DX"); Logs due: Mar 29. North American QSO Party, RTTY, Feb 26, 1800z to Feb 27, 0559z; RTTY; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; NA: Name + (state/DC/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: Mar 6. NA Collegiate Championship, RTTY, Feb 26, 1800z to Feb 27, 0559z; RTTY; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; NA: Name + (state/DC/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: Mar 6. High Speed Club CW Contest, Feb 27, 1400z to Feb 27, 1700z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Members: RST + HSC No., non-Members: RST + "NM"; Logs due: Mar 13. North Carolina QSO Party, Feb 27, 1500z to Feb 28, 0100z; CW, Phone, Digital; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6, 2; NC: County, non-NC: (state/province/"DX"); Logs due: Mar 14. K1USN Slow Speed Test, Feb 28, 0000z to Feb 28, 0100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm, Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Mar 2. QCX Challenge, Feb 28, 1300z to Feb 28, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST + Name + (state/province/country) + Rig; Logs due: Mar 6. OK1WC Memorial (MWC), Feb 28, 1630z to Feb 28, 1729z; CW; Bands: 80, 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Mar 4. QCX Challenge, Feb 28, 1900z to Feb 28, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST + Name + (state/province/country) + Rig; Logs due: Mar 6. RSGB FT4 Contest, Feb 28, 2000z to Feb 28, 2130z; FT4; Bands: 80, 40, 20; 4-character grid square; Logs due: Mar 1. Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest, Mar 1, 0100z to Mar 1, 0159z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6; RS + age group (OM, YL, Youth YL or Youth); Logs due: Mar 2. QCX Challenge, Mar 1, 0300z to Mar 1, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST + Name + (state/province/country) + Rig; Logs due: Mar 6. RTTYOPS Weeksprint, Mar 1, 1700z to Mar 1, 1900z; RTTY; Bands: 80, 40, 20; [other station's call] + [your call] + [serial no.] + [your name]; Logs due: Mar 8. AGCW YL-CW Party, Mar 1, 1900z to Mar 1, 2100z; CW; Bands: 80; YL: RST + Serial No. + "/YL/" + name, OM: RST + Serial No. + "/" + name; Logs due: Mar 15. Phone Weekly Test, Mar 2, 0230z to Mar 2, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15; NA: Name + (state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: Mar 4. A1Club AWT, Mar 2, 1200z to Mar 2, 1300z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: RST + Name; Logs due: Mar 7. CWops Test (CWT), Mar 2, 1300z to Mar 2, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Mar 5. Mini-Test 40, Mar 2, 1700z to Mar 2, 1759z; CW; Bands: 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Mar 4. Mini-Test 80, Mar 2, 1800z to Mar 2, 1859z; CW; Bands: 80; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Mar 4. CWops Test (CWT), Mar 2, 1900z to Mar 2, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Mar 5. UKEICC 80m Contest, Mar 2, 2000z to Mar 2, 2100z; SSB; Bands: 80; 6-Character grid square; Logs due: Mar 2. AWA John Rollins Memorial DX Contest, Mar 2, 2300z to Mar 6, 2300z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20; RST + Eqpt Type + Eqpt Year; Logs due: Apr 1. VHF+ CONTESTS VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest, Mar 2, 1700z to Mar 2, 2000z; FT8; Bands: 144 MHz; 4-character grid square; Logs due: Mar 7. See Also: Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest, SKCC Sprint, North Carolina QSO Party, South Carolina QSO Party Log Due Dates February 17 February 18
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March 1 March 2 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 a choice of one print magazine: QST, the monthly membership journal, or On the Air, ARRL's new bimonthly publication for beginner and intermediate hams. All ARRL members can access all four ARRL magazines - QST, On the Air, NCJ, and QEX - digitally. 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. | |
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e announced the 2022 winners! This year's winners were Jim, K6SV, in the in the SSB/CW 100-Watt category; Randy, K7AGE, in the FT-8 category; Jim, W1RO, in the QRP category; and Marco, AA5ET, in the W7Q Special Event Trailer Operation.
