 May 11, 2022 Editor: Paul Bourque, N1SFE | |
Upcoming Contests - Things to Do The inaugural Canadian Prairies QSO Party takes place this weekend. The event starts at 1700 UTC Saturday, May 14, and concludes at 0300 UTC Sunday, May 15. The Canadian Prairie provinces consist of Manitoba (VA4/VE4), Saskatchewan (VA5/VE5), and Alberta (VA6/VE6). Stations outside of the three Canadian Prairie provinces work as many VE/VA 4, 5, and 6 stations in as many electoral districts as possible. Stations inside the Canadian Prairie provinces work everyone. Complete rules are available at www.cpqp.ve6hams.ca/rules-2/. The Central States VHF Society is sponsoring the fifth and final Spring Sprint this weekend, which will be focusing on 6 meters (50 MHz). The Sprint begins at 2300 UTC Saturday, May 14, and runs through 0300 UTC Sunday, May 15. Full rules are available at www.sites.google.com/site/springvhfupsprints/home/2021-information. The first round of the Youngsters On The Air (YOTA) Contest 2022 runs Saturday, May 21, from 0800 UTC until 1959 UTC. All amateurs are welcome, as the contest includes entry categories for youth (youngsters) aged 25 and under, and those over the age of 25. For full rules and entry category details, visit www.ham-yota.com/.
The Arkansas QSO Party takes place from 1400 UTC on Saturday, May 21, until 0200 UTC on Sunday, May 22. Participants should note that there are updated rules for the 2022 event, including new three letter county abbreviations, and the ability to use any digital mode capable of sending, receiving and logging the required QSO exchange. Visit www.arkp.com for rules and other information. Bulletins New Multioperator Category and Youth Overlay Added to IARU HF World Championship A new Multioperator, Two Transmitter Category has been added to the 2022 IARU HF World Championship, which occurs during the second weekend in July (July 9 - 10, 2022). The rules for the new category mirror those of the 2022 World Radiosport Team Championship (WRTC) event, which was postponed this year and rescheduled for 2023. The new category was added to provide a real-world practice event for those teams competing in the WRTC event. Complete rules are available at www.arrl.org/iaru-hf-world-championship. In addition, a Youth overlay has been added to the Single Operator categories in the event for those participants who are aged 25 and younger. New Super Check Partial Files Available Stu Phillips, K6TU, has announced that a new release of the Super Check Partial database is available at www.supercheckpartial.com. If you find any errors in the files, please let Stu know by sending an email to logs@supercheckpartial.com. The next release of the database will be in early June. Any requested changes to call signs that are received by noon PST on June 1, 2022 will be included in the next release. - thanks to Stu Phillips, K6TU Contest Summary See the "Contests" section below for complete contest information. May 12 May 13 May 14
May 15 May 16 May 17 May 18
May 19
May 20 May 21
May 23 May 24 May 25 News, Press Releases, and Special Interest N3FJP EU-DX Contest Log 1.0 is Now Available The N3FJP Amateur Radio Software team has just completed a brand-new addition to its software suite. EU-DX Contest Log 1.0 has all the features that you've come to expect in N3FJP. You will find EU-DX Contest Log 1.0 at www.n3fjp.com/eudx.html. As always, upgrades and additional programs that we add to our software package are free to registered package subscribers. For more information about the N3FJP software suite, visit www.n3fjp.com. - thanks to Scott Davis, N3FJP Special Canadian Call Signs to Honor Queen's Platinum Jubilee Canada's amateur radio regulatory agency has granted hams in Canada the right to use special call signs in honor of Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee, from May 14 to July 14, 2022. Some Canadian radio amateurs will be using the prefixes XK, XJ, VG, and VX in place of the prefix normally assigned to their province or territory. These special prefixes may be encountered on the air during the June VHF Contest, ARRL Field Day, RAC Canada Day Contest, and the IARU World HF Championship. For more information, visit the Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) website. - thanks to Greg Danylchenko, VE3YTZ Word to the Wise Prefill Prefill refers to the features of some contest logging software packages which automatically fill in exchange information based upon information obtained either before or during the contest. For example, if you work W1AW in ARRL November Sweepstakes, the software might enter "CT" in the ARRL Section field for either based upon previous contests, or based upon working W1AW on a different band in the current contest. If the prefill information is different from what the station actually changes, it is up to the operator to manually correct it. Sights and Sounds
Kelli Trapani K6KEL, participated in ARRL Rookie Roundup along with her father, Sal, K6SAL, acting as coach. She said that one of the highlights was contacting a pilot in flight over Colorado. [Sal Trapani, K6SAL, photo]
Results and Records 2021 Oceania DX Contest Results Now Available The Oceania DX (OCDX) Contest Committee is pleased to announce that the final results for the 2021 OCDX contest are now available at www.oceaniadxcontest.com. The organizers would like to congratulate all the winners and thank everyone who participated in the 76th running of the contest. We had a fantastic turnout, despite the relatively poor ionospheric conditions and COVID-19 restrictions that limited DXpedition activity. A total of 1,908 logs were submitted, consisting of 1,178 phone logs and 730 CW logs. This is an increase from the previous record of 1,603 logs received in 2020, and sets a new benchmark for the OCDX contest. The 2022 OCDX contest will be held over the first two full weekends of October. ARRL Rookie Roundup - SSB Results Released The 2022 Rookie Roundup - SSB results have been released and are available at contests.arrl.org. Thirty-seven Single Operator entries and four Multioperator entries were received for the event. Complete scores, soapbox comments, and photos are available at the website. Downloadable certificates are available by clicking on the "Certificates" tab at the top of the page. Winter NAQP Certificates Available Certificates for the winter 2022 North American QSO Party events are now available for download from the National Contest Journal (NCJ) website at www.ncjweb.com. Full results will be released in the May issue of NCJ. - thanks to Bill Lippert, AC0W Technical Topics and Discussion
- thanks to The Orbital Index 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 May 12, 2022 - May 25, 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 CWops Test (CWT), May 12, 0300z to May 12, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 14. CWops Test (CWT), May 12, 0700z to May 12, 0800z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 14. RTTYOPS Weeksprint, May 12, 1700z to May 12, 1900z; RTTY; Bands: 80, 40, 20; [other station's call] + [your call] + [serial no.] + [your name]; Logs due: May 19. EACW Meeting, May 12, 1900z to May 12, 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: May 14. NCCC RTTY Sprint, May 13, 0145z to May 13, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: May 15. NCCC Sprint, May 13, 0230z to May 13, 0300z; CW; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: May 15. K1USN Slow Speed Test, May 13, 2000z to May 13, 2100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm, Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 15. Portuguese Navy Day Contest CT1DBS Memorial, May 14, 0900z to May 15, 0900z; CW, SSB, Digital; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; NRA Club Member: RS(T) + Club ID + Member No., non-member: RS(T) + QSO No.; Logs due: Jun 4. VOLTA WW RTTY Contest, May 14, 1200z to May 15, 1200z; RTTY; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST + QSO No. + CQ Zone; Logs due: May 31. CQ-M International DX Contest, May 14, 1200z to May 15, 1159z; CW, SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RS(T) + Serial No.; Logs due: May 25. Canadian Prairies QSO Party, May 14, 1700z to May 15, 0300z; CW, Phone; Bands: 40, 20, 15, 10; VE4/5/6: RS(T) + district code, Non-VE4/5/6: RST + (state/province/"DX"); Logs due: May 30. Run for the Bacon QRP Contest, May 15, 2300z to May 16, 0100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST + (state/province/country) + (Member No./power); Logs due: May 22. K1USN Slow Speed Test, May 16, 0000z to May 16, 0100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm, Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 18. ICWC Medium Speed Test, May 16, 1300z to May 16, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due: May 19. OK1WC Memorial (MWC), May 16, 1630z to May 16, 1729z; CW; Bands: 80, 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: May 20. ICWC Medium Speed Test, May 16, 1900z to May 16, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due: May 19. Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest, May 17, 0100z to May 17, 0159z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6; RS + age group (OM, YL, Youth YL or Youth); Logs due: May 18. ICWC Medium Speed Test, May 17, 0300z to May 17, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due: May 19. RTTYOPS Weeksprint, May 17, 1700z to May 17, 1900z; RTTY; Bands: 80, 40, 20; [other station's call] + [your call] + [serial no.] + [your name]; Logs due: May 24. Phone Weekly Test, May 18, 0230z to May 18, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15; NA: Name + (state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: May 20. A1Club AWT, May 18, 1200z to May 18, 1300z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: RST + Name; Logs due: May 23. CWops Test (CWT), May 18, 1300z to May 18, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 21. Mini-Test 40, May 18, 1700z to May 18, 1759z; CW; Bands: 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: May 20. Mini-Test 80, May 18, 1800z to May 18, 1859z; CW; Bands: 80; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: May 20. RSGB 80m Club Championship, Data, May 18, 1900z to May 18, 2030z; RTTY, PSK; Bands: 80; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: May 19. CWops Test (CWT), May 18, 1900z to May 18, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 21. Walk for the Bacon QRP Contest, May 19, 0000z to May 20, 0300z; CW; Bands: 20; Maximum 13 wpm, RST + (state/province/country) + Name + (Member No./power); Logs due: May 26. NAQCC CW Sprint, May 19, 0030z to May 19, 0230z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20; RST + (state/province/country) + (NAQCC No./power); Logs due: May 22. CWops Test (CWT), May 19, 0300z to May 19, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 21. CWops Test (CWT), May 19, 0700z to May 19, 0800z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 21. RTTYOPS Weeksprint, May 19, 1700z to May 19, 1900z; RTTY; Bands: 80, 40, 20; [other station's call] + [your call] + [serial no.] + [your name]; Logs due: May 26. EACW Meeting, May 19, 1900z to May 19, 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: May 21. NTC QSO Party, May 19, 1900z to May 19, 2000z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20; NTC Member: RST + Member No., non-Member: RST + "NM", Less than 25 wpm; Logs due: May 22. NCCC RTTY Sprint, May 20, 0145z to May 20, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: May 22. NCCC Sprint, May 20, 0230z to May 20, 0300z; CW; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: May 22. K1USN Slow Speed Test, May 20, 2000z to May 20, 2100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm, Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 22. UN DX Contest, May 21, 0600z to May 21, 2100z; CW, SSB; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Kazakhstan: RS(T) + District Code, non-Kazakhstan: RS(T) + QSO No.; Logs due: Jun 5. NZART Sangster Shield Contest, May 21, 0800z to May 22, 1100z; CW; Bands: 80; ZL: RST + Serial No. + Branch No., non-ZL: RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Jun 18. YOTA Contest, May 21, 0800z to May 21, 1959z; CW, SSB; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Single Op: RS(T) + age (on Jan 1 of year of contest), Multi-Op: RS(T) + average age of ops (on Jan 1 of year of contest); Logs due: May 28. His Maj. King of Spain Contest, CW, May 21, 1200z to May 22, 1200z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; EA: RST + province, non-EA: RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Jun 6. EU PSK DX Contest, May 21, 1200z to May 22, 1200z; BPSK63; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; EU: RST + EU area, non-EU: RST + QSO No.; Logs due: May 27. Arkansas QSO Party, May 21, 1400z to May 22, 0200z; CW, Phone, Digital (no FT8); Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6, 2; AR: RS(T) + County, non-AR: RS(T) + (state/province/"DX"); Logs due: Jun 10. Feld Hell Sprint, May 21, 1600z to May 21, 2159z; Feld Hell; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6; (see rules); Logs due: May 24. Baltic Contest, May 21, 2100z to May 22, 0200z; CW, SSB; Bands: 80; RS(T) + Serial No.; Logs due: Jun 1. QRP ARCI Hootowl Sprint, May 23, 0000z to May 23, 0100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST + (state/province/country) + (ARCI no./power); Logs due: Jun 9. K1USN Slow Speed Test, May 23, 0000z to May 23, 0100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm, Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 25. ICWC Medium Speed Test, May 23, 1300z to May 23, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due: May 26. OK1WC Memorial (MWC), May 23, 1630z to May 23, 1729z; CW; Bands: 80, 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: May 27. ICWC Medium Speed Test, May 23, 1900z to May 23, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due: May 26. Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest, May 24, 0100z to May 24, 0159z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6; RS + age group (OM, YL, Youth YL or Youth); Logs due: May 25. ICWC Medium Speed Test, May 24, 0300z to May 24, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due: May 26. RTTYOPS Weeksprint, May 24, 1700z to May 24, 1900z; RTTY; Bands: 80, 40, 20; [other station's call] + [your call] + [serial no.] + [your name]; Logs due: May 31. SKCC Sprint, May 25, 0000z to May 25, 0200z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6; RST + (state/province/country) + Name + (SKCC No./"NONE"); Logs due: May 27. Phone Weekly Test, May 25, 0230z to May 25, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15; NA: Name + (state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: May 27. A1Club AWT, May 25, 1200z to May 25, 1300z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: RST + Name; Logs due: May 30. CWops Test (CWT), May 25, 1300z to May 25, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 28. Mini-Test 40, May 25, 1700z to May 25, 1759z; CW; Bands: 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: May 27. Mini-Test 80, May 25, 1800z to May 25, 1859z; CW; Bands: 80; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: May 27. CWops Test (CWT), May 25, 1900z to May 25, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 28. VHF+ CONTESTS 50 MHz Spring Sprint, May 14, 2300z to May 15, 0300z; not specified; Bands: 6; 4-character grid square; Logs due: May 28. VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest, May 18, 1700z to May 18, 2000z; FT8; Bands: 1.2G; 4-character grid square; Logs due: May 23. SARL VHF/UHF Digital Contest, May 21, 0300z to May 22, 0900z; Digital; Bands: 50 MHz, 70 MHz, 144 MHz, 432 MHz, 1296 MHz; RST + 6-character grid locator; Logs due: May 29. See Also: Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest, Arkansas QSO Party, Feld Hell Sprint, SKCC Sprint Log Due Dates May 12 May 13 May 14 May 15
May 16 May 17 May 18 May 19 May 20 May 21 May 22
May 23 May 24 May 25 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, it features articles by top contesters, letters, hints, statistics, scores, NA Sprint, and QSO Parties. Subscribe to QEX - A Forum for Communications Experimenters. Published bimonthly, it 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 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 emailing 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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Last November, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued its first purchase contracts for radio occultation (RO) data from GeoOptics and Spire Global. RO measures the Doppler shift of a received signal (usually from GNSS sources like GPS satellites) due to bending in a planet's atmosphere, and uses it to produce high-quality temperature, pressure, and moisture data. RO was used by Mariner to measure the existence of an atmosphere on Mars. NOAA wants GeoOptics and Spire Global to generate 20,000 measurements per day, and seems to be particularly interested in using this data for hurricane forecasting. A previous RO mission, COSMIC, was able to improve typhoon path prediction by 24%.
