Contester's Rate Sheet for January 10, 2007
******************************************** CONTESTER'S RATE SHEET 10 January 2007 Edited by Ward Silver N0AX Published by the American Radio Relay League Free to ARRL members - tell your friends! (Subscription info at the end of newsletter) ******************************************** SUMMARY o DC to Daylight - NAQP Phone/CW and ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes o New Sights & Sounds and Operating Tip Sections o FT2000 Transceiver Review in February QST o Morse Ring Tones o EU Sprint Contest Results Available o RFI Tutorial by K9YC o HF Propagation Information from Down Under o Stop Painting? BULLETINS o No bulletins in this issue BUSTED QSOS o Contest Corral in QST printed the date of the DARC 10m contest as Jan 7th, but the contest actually takes place on the second Sunday in January, the 14th. (Thanks, Ulrich DG1EH) CONTEST SUMMARY (Rules follow Commentary section) January 13-14 - NAQP CW - DARC 10-meter - NAQCC Monthly Straight Key Sprint - Winter Field Day - Midwinter Contest - Hunting Lions In the Air - 070 PSKFest January 20-21 - ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes - NAQP Phone - HA DX Contest - CW - LZ Open Championship - CW - International United Teenager Contest - UK DX RTTY Contest --o- ooo - --o- ooo - --o- ooo - -oo o NEWS, PRESS RELEASES, AND GENERAL INTEREST - oooo o o-o o- - o ooo oooo o o - -o- ARRL Contest News Membership Services Division head Wayne Mills N7NG has resigned effective 16 January. Wayne has been with the ARRL for the past 6-1/2 years. He managed major upgrades of the DXCC and ARRL Contest programs and shepherded Logbook Of The World to fruition, now well over 100 million QSOs and counting. Wayne's keen understanding of the DXer and contester and his steady hand at the tiller will be missed. One bright spot - he will be back on the air from his home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming making those SS sweeps a little easier. Best wishes, Wayne! - - - - - Henry K4TMC alerts us that the ARRL Lab's review of the new Yaesu FT-2000 transceiver is on-line (http://www.arrl.org/members-only/prodrev/) for ARRL members and will be published in the February 2007 issue of QST. The Microsoft Robotics Studio (http://msdn.microsoft.com/robotics/) commercial tool kit version 1.0 is now available, as is a free non-commercial version. I include this announcement not so much because I think the readers are robot builders, but to perhaps spark some thinking about the possibilities of Ham Radio Studio-style tool kits. Perhaps a digital radio add-on for the Microsoft product would be useful. There are plenty of hybrid applications of radio and robotics. I think contesters can appreciate the parallels between Battle Bots and a big contest. I can also think of no reason why ham radio wouldn't benefit from a similar package of tools. The New York Times ran a good article (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/27/business/27morse.html) called "A Fading Signal". It features WZ8C, W6LD, and W6NL and captures some of CW's mystique and attraction to hams. (Thanks, John N2NC) More reading about ham radio surfaces in the form of a book by Kristen Haring, "Ham Radio's Technical Culture" (MIT Press, ISBN 978-0262083553). The book is about ham radio in the mid-twentieth century and its many contributions to radio and electronics. Haring has also written an article about the culture of ham radio at home, "The "Freer Men" of Ham Radio: How a Technical Hobby Provided Social and Spatial Distance" in the Journal of Technology and Culture, October 2003. You can likely find the article by interlibrary loan or through a professional society. (Thanks, Eric N0HHS) We have all heard of the Ironman Triathlons and the Olympic biathlons, so how about a ham radio equivalent? Ed WA3WSJ has pulled together one interesting idea called The Polar Bear Challenge (http://www.wa3wsj.com/PBChallenge2007.html) that involves swimming, running/hiking/walking, cycling/skiing, and radio. For those that need an incentive to get out of the shack chair now and then, this might just be the ticket. How about some other similar programs from the creative minds of Rate Sheet readers? Where's the Real DX? Look up - and out! The latest issue of Microwaves & RF magazine contains an overview of the new ALMA millimeter-wave radio telescope (http://tinyurl.com/y4hapb) that is under construction in the northern Chilean desert. There will be 66 dishes operating from 31.3 - 950 GHz! CQ Dog-Xray! Occasionally, the Rate Sheet lists Lighthouse contests, popular as a casual event for the novelty or to collect the great souvenirs. If you follow these operations, there's a new Yahoo! Group (http://www.yahoogroups.com/) titled "IARC-USLHS" for the International Amateur Radio Chapter - US Lighthouse Society. (Thanks, Don W7WLL) To really impress your friends, and keep CW alive in the bargain, you need Morse Code ring tones for your phone! You can even get the phone to send the call of the person calling with a little trickery. For the Motorola Q phones and possibly others, try http://tinyurl.com/yjnlgk. (Thanks, Lynn N7CFO) URL of the Week - From Slashdot (http://www.slashdot.com/) comes word of a free 2007 astronomical naked-eye observing calendar (http://www.astrowhatsup.com/download-the-book) by Tammy Plotner, called "What's Up? 365 Days of Skywatching". Hams tend to have a passing interest in skyward events so this might be an interesting item to have on one's hard drive. oooo o -o-- -o-- o- o-oo o-oo SIGHTS AND SOUNDS o-- o- - -o-o oooo - oooo oo ooo This is a new section of the Rate Sheet for interesting on-line items for listening to or watching. Got a video or photo or recording of a QSO? This is the place for a URL to your creation! A new NCDXF promotional video is available on Google Video, courtesy of Bob N6TV. You'll recognize the masterful work of James 9V1YC in this 10-minute presentation about what NCDXF is and does - a must-watch at http://tinyurl.com/yn3bsz or http://www.ncdxf.org/ in the Videos area. (Thanks, Tim N4GN) These are some of the new antennas making the Big Noise from RD3A: http://www.rz3az.atk.ru/RZ3AXX/5_sloper_160m.JPG http://www.rz3az.atk.ru/RZ3AXX/stack_4_7ele_20m.JPG http://www.rz3az.atk.ru/RZ3AXX/stack_3_8ele_10m_15m.JPG (Thanks, Yuri VE3DZ) OK - no excuses for not working Russia on 40-meters: http://ru1a.ru/new/rus/photoalbum.php?antennas/40m_4x4y/ (Thanks, John N2NC) Mobileers and rovers, take note: http://www.k0bg.com/ (Thanks, Paul WN7T) oo-o oo -o -oo -o-- --- oo- o-o RESULTS AND RECORDS -o-o o- o-oo o-oo oooo o o-o o The results of the EU Sprint Contest - Autumn SSB have just been released at: http://www.eusprint.com/ Once again both the UBN and the logs are public; just click on a callsign to see the UBN report or to download the log in ASC format. (Thanks, Paolo I2UIY) 2006 Vermont QSO Party results are now on-line at the W1BD club Web site, http://qsl.net/w1bd (Thanks, Allen W1AAT) oooo o -o-- -o-- --- oo- OPERATING TIP o-- o- -o- o oo- o--o This section will be an opportunity to pass on those little bits of enlightenment that help us improve our skills and have more fun contesting. Trying to keep one's mind on the job is difficult in almost any competition, but in radio contesting, it's crucial. For a whole collection of ideas, browse to the January 2007 archives of cq-contest at http://lists.contesting.com/archives//html/CQ-Contest/ then click "Thread" and search for "Improving Concentration". Thanks to Marc W6ZZZ for the idea! oo oo-o oo - ooo -o --- - -ooo o-o --- -o- o TECHNICAL TIPS AND INFORMATION -o-- --- oo- o-o o -o --- - - o-o -o-- oo -o --o The HF Systems section of the Australian Government IPS Radio and Space Systems Web site (http://www.ips.gov.au/HF_Systems) makes quite a bit of tasty ionospheric and propagation data available with a couple of mouse clicks. The North America section will be of interest to most Rate Sheet readers, but the coverage is worldwide. Of particular interest at the HAP charts that indicate the preferred band to contact mobile stations from a particular city, a situation typical of most contest operations. Lots of answers to questions about RFI are addressed in the tutorial that has just been published by Jim K9YC. He says it's not finished, but far enough along to publish. Grab a copy at http://audiosystemsgroup.com/RFI-Ham.pdf (Thanks, Jim K9YC) If you are using a modern spectrum analyzer at work or have one in your club or other facilities, you might be interested in the Microwaves & RF article "Beware Of Spectrum Analyzer Power Averaging Techniques" (http://tinyurl.com/u3yzg). The author addresses several common techniques and the different results and errors they present. Here's a source for small hobby tools - "Micro-Mart" < http://micromart.com/> - and they also carry PC board supplies such as ferric chloride and carbide drill bit assortments. (Thanks, Steve KD1JV) Paul AD4IE tips us off to a good source of odd-length rebar bits and pieces that are just the ticket for portable and Field Day operating. "I got rebar from an industrial construction site where they throw the excess out! I got a load of 5/8 and one inch thick rebar for the club for free before they threw it in the dumpster. All that it took was a quick explanation that it could be used for emergency communications by a non-profit group of volunteers. I cut the rebar into manageable lengths with a metal blade on my circular saw." TECHNICAL URL OF THE WEEK -- No doubt you have been presented with one or more broken gifts to fix or at least to perform last rites upon. As a ham, you can fix stuff, right? You'll get a chuckle out of WA1LOU's ARRL Web column at http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2006/12/22/1/ on that very subject. Plus, Stan tosses in a couple of handy Web sites, as well. (Thanks, Keith WB2VUO) o- -o-o -o-o oo- o-o o- -o-o -o-- oo ooo o--- --- -ooo CONVERSATION --- -o o oo -o -o-o --- -o - o ooo - oo -o --o Stop Painting? Regarding the end of CW testing and the future of CW on the airwaves, I thought this statement from Paul W9AC was worth consideration, "An artist does not stop painting because cameras can more accurately capture an image." Nor does a fly fisherman stop fishing because there are fish in the store or a sailor scrap his sailboat because a power cruiser can go faster. Morse will be a part of ham radio for a long time, as long as someone wants to use it. Well, as long as TWO people want to use it. The question is whether it will drift off into obscurity or stay healthy. For inspiration, we can look to RTTY - the fastest growing contest mode of all! Who would have thought ten years ago that would be the case today? RTTY required an external gadget, cables everywhere, strange filtering, and so forth. Today, with a simple audio interface, a computer sound card, and free or cheap software, anybody can get on RTTY. Wow! Looked at the RTTY contest scores lately? In the CW universe, high-speed Morse competition based on RUFZ and other programs is attracting some good young operators. The speeds are ridiculous - 200 wpm has been reached - and I don't expect to hear dots and dashes flying by quite that fast on 40 meters. In fact, I can't hear dots and dashes AT ALL at 200 wpm. It's like bar code! Nevertheless, there is plenty of interest to be tapped. That's where you come in, of course. Lift that chin up and let's see if we can't actually make a compelling story out of Morse on the airwaves. I can say for sure that we won't convince a single person to take it up by loudly claiming that the hobby is all "dumbed down." When a prospective customer hears that sort of talk, the chances are pretty good that they'll just keep their money in their pocket as they walk on down the street. Lately I've been looking at some pretty funny pictures of Novices that have all grown up into serious operators. They're sitting in front of ancient gear all lashed together and it's a wonder that they didn't all get electrocuted. What sold these kids on ham radio? It sure wasn't a bunch of old timers telling them how everything was better twenty years ago. It was pictures and stories of other people having what looked like fun and was something they could join on their own terms. Well, back to trying to find a clear frequency in between all those obsolete Morse signals! Seems like a guy can't hardly find a spot to call CQ anymore with all the signals on the band... 73, Ward N0AX -o-o --o- - o ooo - -o-o --o- - o ooo - CONTESTS -- 10 JANUARY TO 23 JANUARY 2007 -o-o --o- - o ooo - -o-o --o- - o ooo - Note that the following abbreviations are used to condense the contest rules summaries: SO - Single-Op; M2 - Multi-Op - 2 Transmitters; MO - Multi-Op; MS - Multi-Op, Single Transmitter; MM - Multi-Op, Multiple Transmitters; AB - All Band; SB - Single Band; S/P/C - State/Province/DXCC Entity; HP - High Power (>100 W); LP - Low Power; QRP (5W or less) HF CONTESTS North American QSO Party--CW, sponsored by the National Contest Journal from 1800Z Jan 13 - 0600Z Jan 14. Frequencies: 160 - 10-meters. Categories: SOAB and M2, 100 W power limit, operate a maximum of 10 hours (off times must be at least 30 min and M2 entries may operate the entire contest). Exchange: Name and S/P/C. Score: QSOs X States + Province + NA DXCC countries (count each once per band). For information: http://www.ncjweb.com/naqprules.php. Logs due Jan 28 via Web entry form at http://www.ncjweb.com/naqplogsubmit.php, to cwnaqp@ncjweb.com or Bruce Horn, WA7BNM, 4225 Farmdale Avenue, Studio City, CA 91604. DARC 10-meter Contest--CW/SSB, sponsored by the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club from 0900Z -1059Z Jan 14. Frequencies: CW 28.000 - 28.200 MHz, SSB 28.300 - 28.700 MHz, work stations once only. Categories: SO-Mixed Mode and SO-CW. Exchange: RS(T) and serial number, DL stations add DOK code. QSO points: 1 pt/QSO. Score: QSOs x WAE and DXCC entities + DOK codes. For more information: http://www.darc.de/referate/dx/fedcz.htm. Logs due 22 Jan to 10m-contest@dxhf.darc.de or Frank Steinke, DL8WAA, PO Box 1188, D-56238 Selters, Germany. NAQCC Monthly Straight Key Sprint--sponsored by the North American QRP CW Club from 0130Z - 0330Z Feb 14. Frequencies (MHz): 3.560, 7.040, 14.060. Exchange: RST, S/P/C, and NAQCC member number (Pwr for non-members). QSO Points: member--2 pts, non-member--1 pt. Score: QSO Points x S/P/C, multiply by 2 if all straight key or by 1.5 if all bug. For more information and the yearly contest schedule: http://www.arm-tek.net/~yoel. Logs 6 days after the contest to naqcc33@alltel.net or Tom Mitchell, KB3LFC, RD6 Box 122A, Kittanning, PA 16201. Winter Field Day--all modes, sponsored by the Society for the Preservation of Amateur Radio (SPAR) from local noon Jan 13 to local noon Jan 14. Frequencies: 160-10 meters. Categories: SO, Two Op, Multi, Indoor, Outdoor, Home. Exchange: call sign, RS(T), category, local outside temperature. QSO Points: 1 pt/QSO. Score: QSO points x modes operated on each band. For more information and bonus points: http://www.spar-hams.org/contests/winterfd/index.php. Logs due 15 Feb to winterfd@spar-hams.org. Midwinter Contest--CW/SSB, sponsored by the Dutch YL Committee, CW from 1400Z - 1800Z Jan 13, SSB from 1000Z - 1400Z Jan 14. Frequencies: 80 - 10-meters, SSB 3.600-3.650, 7.080-7.090, 14.270-14.300, 21.270-21.300, 28.470-28.500 MHz. Categories: YL-SSB, YL-CW, OM-SSB, OM-CW, SWL. Exchange: RS(T) and serial number, OMs start with 001 and YLs start with 2001. QSO Points: YL--5 pts, OM--3 pts. Score: QSO points x DXCC entities counted once per mode. For more information: http://www.qsl.net/pi4ylc/Engels/midwinter%20contest.htm. Logs due 15 Feb to jckoekkoek@home.nl or PA3GQG - Contestmanager Midwintercontest, Keulenheide 1, 6373 AP Landgraaf, The Netherlands. Hunting Lions in the Air--CW/Phone, sponsored by the South African District 410B of the Int'l Association of Lions Clubs from 0000Z Jan 13 - 2400Z Jan 14. Frequencies: 80 - 10 meters, work stations once per band regardless of mode. Categories: SOAB, MS. Exchange: RST and serial number, Lion club members also sign /L or "Lion" and send name, district and club name. The Midrand Lions station ZS6LCM/L will act as the Melvin Jones Memorial club this year. QSO Points: non-Lion station--1 pt, with Lions--5 pts, 25 points with ZS6LCM/L. Score: QSO points X number of Lions clubs worked (count only once). For more information: http://www.sarl.org.za/public/contests/lionita.asp. Logs due Feb 28 to rad.handfield-jones@pixie.co.za or to Lion Rad Handfield-Jones ZS6RAD, Lions Club of Midrand, PO Box 1548, Halfway House, 1685, South Africa. 070 PSKFest--sponsored by the Penn-Ohio DX Society (PODXS) from 0000Z-2400Z Jan 13. Frequencies: 80-10m. Categories: SOSB and SOAB (QRP, MP <50W, HP <100W). Exchange: RST and S/P/C. QSO Points: 1pt/QSO. Score: QSO points x S/P/C (counted only once). For more information: http://www.podxs.com/html/pskfest.html. Logs due Feb 14 to jbudzowski@peoplepc.com or Jay Budzowski N3DQU, 109 S. Northview Ave, New Castle, PA 16102. North American QSO Party--Phone, 1800Z Jan 20 - 0600Z Jan 21 (see Jan 13-14). Logs due Feb 4 to ssbnaqp@ncjweb.com or Bruce Horn WA7BNM, 4225 Farmdale Ave., Studio City, CA 91604. HA DX Contest--CW, sponsored by the Hungarian DX Club from 1200Z Jan 2 - 1200Z Jan 21. Frequencies: 160 - 10-meter bands. Categories: SOAB, SOSB, MS, MM, and SWL. Exchange: RST and serial number, HA stations send county or HADXC member number. QSO Points: Own DXCC entity--1pt, same continent--1 pt, different cont--3 pts, HA stations--6 pts. Score: QSO points X HA counties and members on each band. For more information: http://www.mrasz.hu/. Logs due 30 days after the contest to contest@enternet.hu or MTTOSZ, Gyôr Városi Rádióclub, 9200 Gyôr, PO Box 79, Hungary. LZ Open Championship--CW, sponsored by the LZ Open Contest Club from 0400Z - 1200Z Jan 20. Frequencies: 3.5 and 7 MHz. Categories: MS, SO, and SO-QRP. Exchange: 6-digits, serial number and serial number received in previous QSO. E.g. - the first QSO exchange is '001 000'. A station can be worked once every 30 minutes. QSO Points: same entity--1 pt, different entity--2 pts. Score: total QSO points. For more information: http://www.linkove.com/lz-open-contest/rules/rules.htm. Logs in Cabrillo format due 30 days after the contest to lz1gl@yahoo.com or PO Box 830, Sofia 1000, Bulgaria. International United Teenager Contest--CW/SSB, sponsored by "Radio-TLUM" Ukraine, from 0600Z - 1400Z Jan 20 for operators under 18 years of age. Frequencies: 80 - 10 meters. Categories: SOSB, SOMB, MO, RT (veterans). Exchange: RS(T) and age or RS(T) and "RT" for veterans. For scoring and other information: http://www.sk3bg.se/contest/utcont.htm. Logs due 30 days after the contest to CQ UT Contest, Radio-TLUM, PO Box 5000, Vinnytsa, 21018 Ukraine. UK DX RTTY Contest--sponsored by the Scottish-Russian ARS from 1200Z Jan 20 - 1200Z Jan 21. Frequencies: 80 - 10-meters. Categories: SOAB (HP, LP <100 watts), MS. Exchange: RST and serial number, UK stations send UK region code. QSO Points: Own DXCC entity--1pt, same continent--2 pts, different cont--3 pts, UK stations--5 pts. Score: QSO points x UK regions + DXCC entities on each band. For more information: http://www.ukdx.scotham.net/. Logs in Cabrillo format due 30 days after the contest to ukdxc@scotham.net or UK DX RTTY Contest Committee, PO Box 7469, Glasgow, G42 0YD, Scotland, UK. VHF+ CONTESTS ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes--1900Z Jan 20 - 0400Z Jan 22. Frequencies: all bands 6-meters and above. Categories: SO-LP/-HP/-Portable, Rover, MO, Limited MO. Exchange: Grid Square. QSO Points: 50/144 MHz - 1 pt, 222/440 MHz - 2 pts, 902/1296 MHz - 4 pts, 2.3 GHz and above - 8 pts. Score: QSO Points x Grid Squares (counted once per band), Rovers count Grid Squares from which they were able to complete a QSO. For more information and power limits: http://www.arrl.org/contests. Logs due Feb 21 to januaryvhf@arrl.org or January VHF Sweepstakes, ARRL, 225 Main St., Newington, CT 06111. -oo --- -o - -- oo ooo ooo -o-- --- oo- o-o LOG DUE DATES - 10 JANUARY TO 23 JANUARY 2007 o-oo --- --o -oo o o- -oo o-oo oo -o o ooo January 10 - ARRL 10-Meter Contest, email logs to: 10meter@arrl.org, paper logs and diskettes to: 10 Meter Contest, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111, USA. Find rules at: http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2006/10-meters.html January 10 - DARC Christmas Contest, email logs to: xmas@dxhf.darc.de, paper logs and diskettes to: Markus van Bergerem, Brandenberg 5, 47533 Kleve, Germany. Find rules at: http://www.darc.de/referate/dx/xedcxr.htm January 15 - OK DX RTTY Contest, email logs to: okrtty@crk.cz, paper logs and diskettes to: Czech Radio Club, OK DX RTTY Contest, PO Box 69, 113 27 Praha 1, Czech Republic. Find rules at: http://www.crk.cz/ENG/DXCONTE.HTM January 15 - CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW, email logs to: cw@cqww.com, paper logs and diskettes to: CQWW CW, CQ Magazine, 25 Newbridge Road, Hicksville, NY 11801, USA. Find rules at: http://www.cq-amateur-radio.com/WW_Rules_20083006.pdf January 15 - Russian 160-Meter Contest, email logs to: contest@radio.ru, paper logs and diskettes to: Radio Magazine, 10 Seliverstov per, 107045 Moscow, Russia. Find rules at: http://www.radio.ru/cq/contest/rule-results/index11.shtml January 15 - New Mexico QSO Party, email logs to: N5KEV@msn.com, paper logs and diskettes to: Kevin Carr, 5319 Ridge Rock Ave NW, Albuquerque, NM 87114-4130, USA. Find rules at: http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/newmexqp.pdf January 16 - Croatian CW Contest, email logs to: 9acw@hamradio.hr, paper logs and diskettes to: Hrvatski RadioAmaterski Savez, for Croatian CW Contest, Dalmatinska 12, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia. Find rules at: http://www.hamradio.hr/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=342 January 18 - ARCI Holiday Spirits Homebrew Sprint, email logs to: contest@qrparci.org, paper logs and diskettes to: ARCI Holiday Spirits, c/o Jeff Hetherington, VA3JFF, 139 Elizabeth St W, Welland, Ontario L3C 4M3, Canada. Find rules at: http://www.qrparci.org/component/option,com_extcalendar/Itemid,/extmode,view/extid,43/lang,en/ January 19 - NA High Speed Meteor Scatter Winter Rally, email logs to: wa5ufh@ykc.com, paper logs and diskettes to: (none). Find rules at: http://www.ykc.com/wa5ufh/Rally/NewRules.htm January 22 - AGCW VHF/UHF Contest, email logs to: vhf-uhf@agcw.de, paper logs and diskettes to: Manfred Busch, DK7ZH, Ebachstr 13, D-35716 Dietzhoelztal-Mandeln, Germany. Find rules at: http://www.agcw.org/agcw-con/2006/Englisch/agcw-dl0_e.htm ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION The Contester's Rate Sheet wishes to acknowledge information from the following sources: WA7BNM's Contest Calendar Web page - <http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal> SM3CER's Web site - <http://www.sk3bg.se/contest> ARRL members may subscribe at no cost by editing their Member Data Page as described at <http://www.arrl.org/contests/rate-sheet>. Excel and Windows are trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation