 November 8, 2023 Editor: Paul Bourque, N1SFE | ||
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.
Upcoming Contests - Things to Do There are quite a few contests coming up this weekend, including the NA SSB Sprint Contest. The Sprint format can really pump up the excitement level. The German Amateur Radio Club's (DARC) Worked All Europe (WAE) RTTY Contest format is also a little different from the normal fare, with a QTC feature that can boost scores (make sure you review the contest rules and are aware of the allowed frequencies). If you hear RTTY on 10 meters, it could be the 10-10 Int. Fall Digital Contest. Phone operators may enjoy the Japan International DX (JIDX) Phone Contest, and CW operators can participate in the OK/OM DX Contest. ARRL Phone Sweepstakes returns the weekend of November 18. See the previous issue of the Contest Update for changes to Sweepstakes for 2023.
Contest Summary See the "Contests" section below for complete contest information. November 9 - November 23, 2023 November 9 November 10 November 11
November 12 November 13
November 14 November 15
November 16 November 17 November 18
November 19 November 20 November 21 November 22 News, Press Releases, and Special Interest As mentioned above, the NA SSB Sprint Contest is this weekend on November 12, from 0000 - 0359 UTC (this is Saturday evening, November 11, in NA time zones). According to the Bob Hayes, KW8N, Contest Manager, there are no state QSO parties to compete for your contesting attention during this time. "This is a 4-hour SSB contest with many trophies, plaques, and certificates and a drawing for door prizes from all of the entries scoring at least 1,500 points." To encourage participation across all of the possible state and province multipliers, the sponsors have set up a Planned Activity web page for this event and are encouraging sign-ups. Beacon CS3B has been destroyed by a wildfire (https://www.iaru-r1.org/2023/hf-beacon-cs3b-madeira-destroyed-in-wildfire/). This beacon site was installed relatively recently, and was a part of the Northern California DX Foundation's (NCDXF) International Beacon Project (IBP), a series of HF beacons operating on 14.100, 18.110, 21.150, 24.930, and 28.200 MHz. KD9SV Products has been acquired by DX Engineering. Since 1987, Gary Nichols, KD9SV, has been producing well-regarded low-band receiving equipment. Production of his gear for 160 and 80 meters will be assumed by DX Engineering. DX Engineering CEO Tim Duffy, K3LR, said: "We remain dedicated to making sure these types of well-respected legacy devices, which have helped so many operators around the globe, continue to be available for improved contesting and DXing results." AU2JCB is a special event call sign commemorating the birth date and radio accomplishments of Indian scientist Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose. Bose was a pioneer in early radio, especially at microwave frequencies, starting his work in 1894. He was even experimenting with semiconductors around the turn of the century. AU2JCB will be active from November 23 through December 11, 2023. AU3JCB and AU5JCB will also be active during this period. Thanks to Datta Deogaonkar, VU2DSI, for this information. Registration for 2024's Contest University will open on December 16. This event will be held at the Hope Hotel in Dayton, Ohio, on May 16, the day before the official opening of the Dayton Hamvention. Advance registration is the only way to attend Contest University in person. Note that the Hope Hotel registration has been open since July, and rooms may already be limited. Find out how a lost cell phone turned into a version of a modern-day foxhunt, with the biggest challenge being that it was lost in an area with no cellular coverage. The story might inspire other license-free hunts without specialized equipment. Word to the Wise Off Time Periods of non-operation during a contest. Operation includes the activity of listening, so listening during off-times is not allowed. Sights and Sounds
Randy Foltz, K7TQ, made a short video overview of the installation of Bob Lee's, N7AU, 80-meter three-element Yagi antenna by Hector Garcia, XE2K. Results and Records While the World Series distracted some during the recent CQ World Wide SSB Contest, conditions were good to great on the high bands, but many found 160, 80, and 40 meters to be lacking. You can catch up with the self-reported scores on www.3830scores.com, and peruse the raw scores at https://cqww.com/raw.htm?mode=ph. The ARRL CW Sweepstakes was held last weekend. Early conditions were favorable for many, however a solar storm affected propagation later on in the contest. West coast operator Bob Norin, W7YAQ, noted that 10 and 15 meters were shut down on Sunday, and on 20 meters, the east coast signals sounded watery. Operating Tip Caution: Software Updates before a Contest In today's world of self-updating computers, be mindful of changes to your configuration that may inadvertently happen when software is upgraded. Microsoft Windows can change port assignments, sound devices, and so forth after updates, which could make radio control problematic. Updates to any software involved in your contest operation should be treated with caution just before a contest starts. A prudent person might spend a half hour before the contest verifying that everything is operating as it should be. Technical Topics and Discussion An accurate time setting for your PC is critical for operating the FTX modes and for when time is used in a networked multi-operator setting. On a DXpedition, where there's limited or no access to the internet, this could be a challenge. Inexpensive GPS USB dongles can be used in combination with software like NMEATime2 to obtain accurate time from GPS satellites, and a computer running Windows can be made into an NTP server for all of the computers on your network. Be careful with spray lubricant, as it may be incompatible with some plastics. Here's an article from This Old House that offers the best practices for using WD-40. According to the article, you should be especially careful around polystyrenes and polycarbonates. An article on the CAIG Laboratories website recommends that their DeoxIT D5 liquids be used exclusively on metal contacts, and not the surrounding non-metallic materials, such as phenolic. Phenolic and other materials can absorb the liquid with unintended negative consequences. Conversation NN Problems with Cut Numbers The topic of cut numbers comes up periodically, especially for contests that use serial numbers or power numbers in the exchange, such as February's ARRL International DX contests, or some CQ World Wide contests. Cut numbers, originally only for CW, substitute letters with fewer elements for numbers. For example, N with two elements is used instead of 9 with five (disregarding the difference in time between dots and dashes, which makes the savings even greater). Using cut numbers for RST is so common, we sometimes forget that they are actually cut numbers. RST is not usually checked during contest log scoring and acts more as a placeholder, denoting that "the exchange part you need to copy is next." No running station in a contest wants a true and accurate signal report. For CW RST, sending 5NN is customary and expected. For RTTY RST, you should send 599. Sending 5NN in Baudot takes more time.For SSB readability and strength, 59 is as short as it needs to be. The decision to use cut numbers for other parts of the exchange is more nuanced. It may seem faster to send ETT instead of a number (500). But if cut numbers have to be repeated because a short exchange was covered by noise, the other operator is not familiar with cut numbers and asks for repeats, or the other operator is confused about what to log after copying the cut numbers, then they aren't serving their intended purpose. Those who make thousands of contacts in a weekend, operating for the full contest interval and running for hours on end, might make more contacts using cut numbers. The small savings per contact could add up to matter. But how many S&Pers who aren't familiar with cut numbers, requiring repeats, does it take before any savings are consumed by the extra time taken for those contacts? Less experienced S&Pers may face challenges in receiving cut numbers -- logging them, and even submitting the log. A logging program may not accept letters instead of numbers for the contest exchange. If a log is submitted with cut numbers in the exchange field, does the contest sponsor score it as-is? Turns out, it depends on the contest! For CQ World Wide contests, per the Rules FAQ: "Q: A station sends me 'cut numbers' on CW. What should I enter in the log? The log checking software is expecting to see a log with sent and received zone numbers. No matter what someone sends you, it is your responsibility to convert it into the zone number you thought they were trying to communicate." It's different for ARRL contests. The ARRL International DX Contest will accept cut numbers for power in Cabrillo logs and convert them to regular numbers. You might hear 1K or K as a shortcut - not technically cut numbers, but both are understandable as 1,000. Another potential drawback: Someone that has found cut numbers to be confusing in the past may be inclined to not call the running stations using them. How about if both stations are fluent in cut numbers? Not as safe as you'd think. Most CW sending these days is handled by the logging software, so saving time using a cut number would probably require special case handling using a paddle, alternative macro, or some other means. Anything outside of the normal flow of QSOs is risky. For varying parts of the exchange, such as a serial number, a good practice is to only use cut numbers in one instance -- T for any leading zeroes. There's even a N1MM Logger+ setting to do this automatically for you. 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 November 9 - November 23, 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) , Nov 9, 0300z to Nov 9, 0400z; 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 VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest , Nov 15, 1700z to Nov 15, 2100z; FT8; Bands: 1.2G; 4-character grid square; Logs due: Nov 20. Log Due Dates November 9- November 23, 2023 November 9
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November 21 November 22 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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