In this Issue: Your Editor, Paul Bourque, N1SFE, is on leave. While he's out, Brian Moran, N9ADG, will be filling in as ARRL Contest Update Editor, starting with this issue. Upcoming Contests - Things to Do The CQ WW SSB Contest is October 28 and 29. With propagation on the higher frequencies being some of the best we've seen in decades, 10 and 15 meters will be a great place to find multipliers and run, run, run. It pays to check out the CQ WW Blog for the latest information on this very popular contest. To find planned DX activations during the contest, check out Bill Feidt's, NG3K, website for this contest. ARRL CW Sweepstakes is the weekend of November 4. There are some changes and additions for 2023, including a new overlay category (see the News, Press Releases, and Special Interest section below for more information). Some not-so-recent changes to Radio Amateurs of Canada's Sections also affect Sweepstakes. There are now 85 Sections to contact for a Clean Sweep, and some abbreviations have changed. Contest Summary See the "Contests" section below for complete contest information. 26 October 2023 - 8 November 2023 October 26 October 27 October 28 October 29 October 30 October 31 November 1 November 2 November 3 November 4 November 5 November 6 November 7 November 8 News, Press Releases, and Special Interest The 2023 ARRL Sweepstakes has a new overlay. The ARRL web page states, "Any Single Operator or Single Operator Unlimited entrant can enter using the Limited Antennas Overlay. Operation is limited to the use of single-element antennas such as a single vertical, end-fed wire, or a single dipole antenna no more than 50 feet above ground at its highest point. The antenna(s) may cover multiple bands, as in the case of multiband verticals and dipoles with fan or trap constructions."
The ARRL web page also mentions the update to RAC's Sections for the 2023 Sweepstakes: "Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) updated a couple of their Sections, replacing Maritime (MAR) by making New Brunswick (NB) and Nova Scotia (NS) individual Sections; Greater Toronto Area (GTA) was renamed to be 'Golden Horseshoe' (GH); and Northern Territories has been renamed just 'Territories' (TER) -- this impacts the Sections Lists for RAC events, as well as ARRL Field Day and ARRL Sweepstakes." Starting this year, after you contact all of the Sections for a Clean Sweep, you'll be able to get your mugs and CW and phone pins fulfilled via the ARRL Store (including the ability to buy online with a credit card).
The Northern California Contest Club (NCCC) now sponsors a weekly FT4 Sprint. Only 30 minutes long, it takes place every Friday between 0100Z and 0130Z. "Non-Western Hemisphere stations are welcome to participate. No logs are necessary; please submit your score to 3830scores.com when the Sprint is over." Dennis Egan, W1UE, is the contest manager for this event. You can learn more about the inception of this event from the October 2023 issue of the NCCC Jug newsletter.
The Carrington Event in 1859 was a very large solar storm. Aurora lit the night sky to near-daylight levels. Telegraph wires melted. There were a lot of sparks. Researchers have recently found evidence of an even larger solar storm that occurred 14,300 years ago by analyzing near-fossil tree rings. They found spikes in radiocarbon levels in particular rings, thought to be correlated with cosmic radiation events. They estimate that the severity of the storm was 10 times that of the Carrington Event. Mark Jessop, VK5QI, found a 19 kV line that was causing RFI at his remote HF receiver site. His series of tweets include some pictures of the arcing insulator and noise plots from a KiwiSDR receiver. He points out that "At 19 kV, even 1 mA of leakage means 19 W of RFI!" Word to the Wise Exchange The information that must be sent, received, and logged by each station participating in a contact. Exchanges may be non-varying, such as your signal report and state (59 WA), or they may contain a fragment of information that changes from contact to contact. An example of a varying exchange is the use of a serial number in each contact. Operating Tip If at the conclusion of a contest you find you didn't follow all of the rules, it's OK to still send your log in a checklog. Didn't realize the power limit was 100 W instead of 150 W? Submit your checklog. Your lockout didn't lock out the other stations in a multi-op? Submit your checklog. While it's by no means an exhaustive list, here are some examples of other things that would put your log into the checklog category: - Not following the contest rules. Most contests also have a rule that says you must follow the rules of your license.
- Verifying contact details before or after the contest. If allowed by the contest rules, it's generally OK to use call histories, "check" databases, and so on, which may also include online lookups to sites like www.qrz.com during the contest, but not OK to make changes to the log after the contest ends. For example, sending an email to a station after the contest, asking for or confirming the exchange details.
- Corrections to the log after the contest, based on information not received in the contest. For example, reading www.3830scores.com reports and realizing you copied a call incorrectly and going back to the contest log and correcting it.
- Using a combination of remote and local receiving and transmitting gear when the rules state, "All transmitters, receivers, and amplifiers must be within a single 500-meter diameter circle."
- Submitting a log claiming operation from one state/country/continent, while the station is really in another.
- In an ARRL contest, phoning someone in that last rare Section you need and having them contact you.
- Asking someone to spot you during CQ WW contests.
- Recording the entire ARRL Sweepstakes contest audio, then listening to it after the contest and correcting entry errors.
- Checking your log against others from your contest club for corrections before submission.
- Coordinating contacts with other radio club members via Slack, email, text message, phone, chat, and non-contest radio frequencies during the contest.
 Technical Topics and Discussion Many of the presentations from the June 2023 Software Defined Radio Academy, held in conjunction with The HAM RADIO in Friedrichshafen, Germany, are available on YouTube. One that may be of particular interest to HF contesters is called SDRA'23 - 04 - G3ZIL & G4HZX: Propagation path analysis on HF, using SDR and FST4W. In addition to the more common modes of propagation via the F2 layer, they identify some characteristics of "less commonly known modes including two-hop side scatter that can dominate at frequencies above the maximum usable frequency for a band and time of day." Many ham-radio-related projects use embedded computers now, such as Arduino compatibles, ESP32 variants, and Raspberry Pis. The Raspberry Pi 5 is now becoming available, with a claim of 2 - 3x the speed of the previous generation. Tom's Hardware, a generally well-regarded review website, found a lot to like about the new board, with increased performance, built-in RTC, and even a power button. Some of the expansion HATs will need updating, and with great power comes great need for active cooling. If you use wire nuts in your around-the-shack projects, you might want to check out WAGO wire connectors and their equivalent from other vendors. They use either a push-in or lever mechanism to hold wires in place, and like wire nuts, come in various sizes for ranges of wire gauges. You can find them at many home improvement stores and via online retailers. To some, these also look nicer than wire nuts in primary-supply wiring in old amps undergoing restoration. The ham-amplifiers Groups.io group had a couple of interesting discussions recently regarding fading or weak amplifier tubes. Besides tips on the tells of a fading tube, Mike Sawyer, W3SLK, noted that failing tubes still have uses for amp builders: "My elmer Eric, WB4VVI (SK), always insisted on using a tube with low or no output to test the HV section and grid drive section. That way if you missed something during your construction and an 'event' happens during the testing phase, you will have ruined a tube of little value as opposed to a new [one] or one with full output." The Pinecil is a portable soldering iron. It heats in about 6 seconds; charges with USB-C, QC, or a coaxial connector, and is based on IronOS open-source code for its firmware. There's even an extensive Wiki to learn more about it. Might be just the thing to make small repairs in the field. 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 (filling in temporarily for Paul, N1SFE) Contests 26 October 2023 - 8 November 2023 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) , Oct 26, 0300z to Oct 26, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Oct 28.
CWops Test (CWT) , Oct 26, 0700z to Oct 26, 0800z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Oct 28.
RSGB 80m Autumn Series, SSB , Oct 26, 1900z to Oct 26, 2030z; SSB; Bands: 80; RS + Serial No.; Logs due: Oct 29.
NCCC FT4 Sprint , Oct 27, 0100z to Oct 27, 0130z; FT4; Bands: (see rules); 4-character grid square; Logs due: Oct 29.
NCCC RTTY Sprint , Oct 27, 0145z to Oct 27, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: Oct 29.
NCCC Sprint , Oct 27, 0230z to Oct 27, 0300z; CW; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: Oct 29.
Zombie Shuffle , Oct 27, 1500 local to Oct 27, 2359 local; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RS(T) + (state/province/country) + (Zombie number/area code) + name; Logs due: Nov 15.
K1USN Slow Speed Test , Oct 27, 2000z to Oct 27, 2100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm, Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Oct 29.
CQ Worldwide DX Contest, SSB , Oct 28, 0000z to Oct 29, 2359z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RS + CQ Zone No.; Logs due: Nov 3.
Ham Spirit Contest, CW , Oct 28, 0600z to Oct 29, 0559z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST + ITU Zone No. + 2-character grid field; Logs due: Nov 5.
Classic Exchange, CW , Oct 29, 1300z to Nov 1, 0700z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6, 2; Name + RST + (state/province/country) + rcvr/xmtr manuf/model; Logs due: Nov 30.
K1USN Slow Speed Test , Oct 30, 0000z to Oct 30, 0100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm, Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Nov 1.
QCX Challenge , Oct 30, 1300z to Oct 30, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST + Name + (state/province/country) + Rig; Logs due: Nov 5.
ICWC Medium Speed Test , Oct 30, 1300z to Oct 30, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due: Nov 2.
OK1WC Memorial (MWC) , Oct 30, 1630z to Oct 30, 1729z; CW; Bands: 80, 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Nov 3.
QCX Challenge , Oct 30, 1900z to Oct 30, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST + Name + (state/province/country) + Rig; Logs due: Nov 5.
ICWC Medium Speed Test , Oct 30, 1900z to Oct 30, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due: Nov 2.
Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest , Oct 31, 0100z to Oct 31, 0159z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6; RS + age group (OM, YL, Youth YL or Youth); Logs due: Nov 1.
QCX Challenge , Oct 31, 0300z to Oct 31, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST + Name + (state/province/country) + Rig; Logs due: Nov 5.
ICWC Medium Speed Test , Oct 31, 0300z to Oct 31, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due: Nov 2.
Phone Weekly Test , Nov 1, 0230z to Nov 1, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15; NA: Name + (state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: Nov 3.
Silent Key Memorial Contest , Nov 1, 0600z to Nov 1, 0859z; CW; Bands: 80, 40; RST + SK call sign you wish to recognize; Logs due: Nov 15.
A1Club AWT , Nov 1, 1200z to Nov 1, 1300z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: RST + Name; Logs due: Nov 6.
CWops Test (CWT) , Nov 1, 1300z to Nov 1, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Nov 4.
Mini-Test 40 , Nov 1, 1700z to Nov 1, 1759z; CW; Bands: 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Nov 3.
Mini-Test 80 , Nov 1, 1800z to Nov 1, 1859z; CW; Bands: 80; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Nov 3.
CWops Test (CWT) , Nov 1, 1900z to Nov 1, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Nov 4.
UKEICC 80m Contest , Nov 1, 2000z to Nov 1, 2100z; SSB; Bands: 80; 6-Character grid square; Logs due: Nov 1.
Walk for the Bacon QRP Contest , Nov 2, 0000z to Nov 3, 0300z; CW; Bands: 40; Maximum 13 wpm, RST + (state/province/country) + Name + (Member No./power); Logs due: Nov 9.
CWops Test (CWT) , Nov 2, 0300z to Nov 2, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Nov 4.
CWops Test (CWT) , Nov 2, 0700z to Nov 2, 0800z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Nov 4.
NRAU 10m Activity Contest , Nov 2, 1800z to Nov 2, 2200z; CW, SSB, FM, Digital; Bands: 10; RS(T) + 6-character grid square; Logs due: Nov 16.
SKCC Sprint Europe , Nov 2, 2000z to Nov 2, 2200z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6; RST + (state/province/country) + Name + (SKCC No./"NONE"); Logs due: Nov 9.
NCCC FT4 Sprint , Nov 3, 0100z to Nov 3, 0130z; FT4; Bands: (see rules); 4-character grid square; Logs due: Nov 5.
NCCC RTTY Sprint , Nov 3, 0145z to Nov 3, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: Nov 5.
NCCC Sprint , Nov 3, 0230z to Nov 3, 0300z; CW; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: Nov 5.
K1USN Slow Speed Test , Nov 3, 2000z to Nov 3, 2100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm, Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Nov 5.
YB Banggai DX Contest , Nov 4, 0000z to Nov 4, 2359z; SSB; Bands: 40, 10; RS + Age; Logs due: Nov 11.
IPARC Contest, CW , Nov 4, 0600z to Nov 4, 1800z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; USA IPA Members: RST + Serial No. + "IPA" + State, non-USA IPA Members: RST + Serial No. + "IPA", non-IPA Members: RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Nov 30.
ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, CW , Nov 4, 2100z to Nov 6, 0300z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Serial No. + Precedence (Q/A/B/U/M/S) + [your call sign] + Check + ARRL/RAC Section; Logs due: Nov 13.
IPARC Contest, SSB , Nov 5, 0600z to Nov 5, 1800z; SSB; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; USA IPA Members: RS + Serial No. + "IPA" + State, non-USA IPA Members: RS + Serial No. + "IPA", non-IPA Members: RS + Serial No.; Logs due: Nov 30.
EANET Sprint , Nov 5, 0800z to Nov 5, 1200z; Any; Bands: Any; RS(T); Logs due: Nov 15.
High Speed Club CW Contest , Nov 5, 1400z to Nov 5, 1700z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Members: RST + HSC No., non-Members: RST + "NM"; Logs due: Nov 19.
K1USN Slow Speed Test , Nov 6, 0000z to Nov 6, 0100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm, Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Nov 8.
ICWC Medium Speed Test , Nov 6, 1300z to Nov 6, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due: Nov 9.
OK1WC Memorial (MWC) , Nov 6, 1630z to Nov 6, 1729z; CW; Bands: 80, 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Nov 10.
ICWC Medium Speed Test , Nov 6, 1900z to Nov 6, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due: Nov 9.
RSGB 80m Autumn Series, Data , Nov 6, 2000z to Nov 6, 2130z; RTTY, PSK; Bands: 80; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Nov 9.
Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest , Nov 7, 0100z to Nov 7, 0159z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6; RS + age group (OM, YL, Youth YL or Youth); Logs due: Nov 8.
ARS Spartan Sprint , Nov 7, 0200z to Nov 7, 0400z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST + (state/province/country) + Power; Logs due: Nov 9.
ICWC Medium Speed Test , Nov 7, 0300z to Nov 7, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due: Nov 9.
Phone Weekly Test , Nov 8, 0230z to Nov 8, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15; NA: Name + (state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: Nov 10.
A1Club AWT , Nov 8, 1200z to Nov 8, 1300z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: RST + Name; Logs due: Nov 13.
CWops Test (CWT) , Nov 8, 1300z to Nov 8, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Nov 11.
Mini-Test 40 , Nov 8, 1700z to Nov 8, 1759z; CW; Bands: 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Nov 10.
Mini-Test 80 , Nov 8, 1800z to Nov 8, 1859z; CW; Bands: 80; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Nov 10.
CWops Test (CWT) , Nov 8, 1900z to Nov 8, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Nov 11. VHF+ CONTESTS ARRL EME Contest , Oct 28, 0000z to Oct 29, 2359z; CW, Phone, Digital; Bands: 50 MHz and up; Signal report; Logs due: Dec 26. VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest , Nov 1, 1700z to Nov 1, 2100z; FT8; Bands: 144 MHz; 4-character grid square; Logs due: Nov 6.
VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest , Nov 8, 1700z to Nov 8, 2100z; FT8; Bands: 432 MHz; 4-character grid square; Logs due: Nov 13. Log Due Dates 26 October 2023 - 8 November 2023 October 26 October 27 October 28 October 29 October 30 October 31 November 1 November 2 November 3 November 4 November 5 November 6 November 8 ARRL Information Click here to advertise in this newsletter, space subject to availability. Your One-Stop Resource for Amateur Radio News and Information Join or Renew Today! 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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