Contester's Rate Sheet for December 18, 2002
*********************** Contester's Rate Sheet 18 December 2002 *********************** Edited by Ward Silver, N0AX Not to get "soggy with nostalgia" as Tom Lehrer might say, but it has been a great year with WRTC2002 and all. Some not-so-great moments, too, with our buddies like KL7Y, W1CW, WA9TPQ and others, passing from the scene. Yet how wonderfully rare it is to have an instant and global community of friends with which to enjoy the magic of radio! To all of the readers in radio land - whether you're celebrating the year's end in the midsummer heat of Zone 32, 13, or 38, or watching a Norman Rockwell snowfall blanket the black and sleeping branches of your favorite antenna support - a very 73 this holiday season from the staff at Rate Sheet World HQ. (i.e. -- Me) SUMMARY o Russian and Stew Perry 160-meter contests back to back o Two new books (and a partridge in a pear tree) o 8th International CCF Contest/DX Meeting o NAQP, Sprint, and NEQP results now available on-line o The Four Deadly Sins of Tower Climbing o To Sked or Not to Sked BULLETINS o If you sent a 10-Meter contest log to the ARRL contest email robot on Sunday night or early Monday morning, you may have received a message in reply stating that your club's name wasn't recognized. This has been fixed and all logs will receive proper credit for ARRL club totals -- there is no need to resubmit your log. (Thanks, N1ND) BUSTED QSOS o AT LAST we have returned to having had a Golden Issue last time! ANNOUNCEMENT & NOTICES FOR 18 DECEMBER TO 31 DECEMBER 2002 Logs are due for the following contests: o December 18, 2002 - ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, SSB - email to: [email protected], paper logs to: November SS Phone, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111, USA o December 18, 2002 - NA Collegiate ARC Championship, SSB - email to: [email protected], paper summaries to: Collegiate Championship, c/o Ken Harker, WM5R, 927 East 46th Street, Apt 102, Austin, TX 78751, USA o December 24, 2002 - ARRL International EME Competition - email to: [email protected], paper logs to: EME Contest, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111, USA o December 31, 2002 - IPA Contest, CW/SSB - email to: [email protected], paper logs to: Uwe Greggersen, DL8KCG, Hurststr 9, D-51645 Gummersbach, Germany o December 31, 2002 - Japan International DX Contest, Phone - email to: [email protected], paper logs to: JIDX Phone Contest, c/o Five-Nine Magazine, PO Box 59, Kamata, Tokyo 144, Japan o December 31, 2002 - All Austrian 160-Meter Contest - email to: [email protected], paper logs to: OEVSV-HQ, HF-Contest Manager, Eisvogelgasse 4/1, A-1060 Vienna, Austria o December 31, 2002 - QRP ARCI Holiday Spirits Homebrew Sprint - email to: [email protected], paper logs to: Randy Foltz, K7TQ, Attn: Holiday Spirits Sprint, 809 Leith St, Moscow, ID 83843, USA o December 31, 2002 - TARA RTTY Sprint - email to: [email protected], paper logs to: William J. Eddy, NY2U, 2404-22nd Street, Troy, NY 12180-1901, USA The following contests are scheduled: Note that the following abbreviations are used to condense the contest rules summaries: SO - Single-Op; M2 - Multiop - 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; LP - Low Power; Entity - DXCC Entity OK DX RTTY Contest - sponsored by the Czech Radio Club, 0000Z - 2400Z Dec 21. SOAB, SOSB, MOAB, SWL categories. Frequencies: 80 - 10 meters according to IARU band plan. Exchange: RS and CQ Zone. QSO Points: 80 & 40 - 3 pts on same continent, 6 pts different cont., 20-10 - 1 pt same cont., 2 pts different cont. Score: QSO points x DXCC entities + OK stations (counted once per band). For information - http://www.crk.cz/eng/DXCONTE.HTM. Logs due 15 Jan to [email protected] or Czech Radio Club, OK DX RTTY Contest, PO Box 69, 113 27 Praha 1, Czech Republic. AGB Activity Party - CW/phone, sponsored by Activity Group Belarus, 2100Z - 2300Z Dec 20. Categories: SO-QRP & HP -CW, -SSB, -Mixed, MS Mixed Mode, SWL. Frequencies: CW 3510 - 3555, SSB 3700 - 3750 kHz, calling frequencies: CW - 3540, SSB - 3720 kHz. No time limit, station may be worked once per 15 min. segment starting at 2100Z. AGB members exchange RST + Serial number + AGB number, non-members RST + serial number. QSO Points: same continent - 1 pt, different cont - 3 pts, AGB members - 5 pts. Score: QSO points x AGB members + DXCC entities. For more information - http://www.qsl.net/eu1eu/. Logs due 11 Jan to [email protected] or Igor Getmann, EU1EU, PO Box 143, Minsk 220005, Belarus. Russian 160-Meter Contest -- CW/SSB -- sponsored by Radio Magazine, from 2100 -- 2300Z Dec 20 in two independent one hour competitions from 21-22Z and 22-23Z. Categories: SO, MO, SO and MO 18 years and younger, Mixed Mode only. Exchange: RST, serial number, and square ID (see http://www.radio.ru/cq/contest/rule/map-2.gif for a map showing the squares) QSO Points: own square -- 1 pt, adjacent sq -- 2 pts, 1 add'l pt each add'l square distant. Score: total QSO points from both hours. For more information -- http://www.radio.ru/cq/contest/rule (Cyrillic only). Logs to [email protected], or "Radio" Magazine, Seliverstov per. 10, Moscow 107045, Russia. Dec 21 - Jan 5 Lighthouse Christmas Lights QSO Party - all modes, sponsored by the Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society, 0000Z Dec 21 - 2400Z Jan 5, 2002. Frequencies: CW - 1.830, 3.530, 7.030, 14.030, 21.030, 28.030 MHz, SSB - 1.970, 3.970, 7.270, 14.270, 21.370, 28.370 MHz. Exchange: year first licensed or ARLS member number or ARLS Lighthouse number + name + SPC. QSO Points: ARLS member - 2 pts, ARLS Lighthouse - 3 pts, 1 pt otherwise. Score is QSO Points. For more information - http://www.arlhs.com/xmas-guide.html. Logs due 31 Jan to Dave Ruch, NF0J, PO Box 20696, Bloomington, MN 55420-0696, USA. Dec 26 DARC Christmas Contest - CW/SSB, sponsored by the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club, 0830Z - 1100Z Dec 26. Frequencies: CW - 3510 - 3560 kHz, 7010 - 7040 kHz, SSB - 3610 - 3650 and 3700 - 3775 kHz, 7040 kHz. Categories: SO-Mixed, SO-CW. Exchange: RS(T) + DOK or Special Station code. QSO Points: 1 pt/QSO. The station calling CQ must QSY after making a QSO. Score: QSO Points x DOK codes + WPX prefixes. For more information - http://www.darc.de/referate/dx/fedcx.htm. Logs due 3 weeks after the contest to [email protected] or Markus van Bergerem, Brandenberg 5, D-47533 Kleve, Germany. Dec 28 - 29 RAC Winter Contest - CW/Phone, sponsored by the Radio Amateurs of Canada, 0000Z - 2359Z Dec 28. Frequencies: CW - 25 kHz up from the band edge (check on the half hour), Phone - 1850, 3775, 7075, 7225, 14175, 21250, 28500 kHz, 50 and 144 MHz for both modes. SOAB-LP, SOAB-HP, SOAB-QRP, SOSB, MO categories. VE stations exchange RST + Province, VE0 and non-VE stations exchange RST + serial number. QSO Points: Outside Canada - 2 pts, VE/VE0 stations - 10 pts, RAC stations - 20 pts. Score: QSO points x VE provinces + territories (counted once per band and mode). For information - http://www.rac.ca/CANWIN.htm. Logs due 31 Jan to [email protected] or Radio Amateurs of Canada, 720 Belfast Road, Suite 217, Ottawa, ON Canada, K1G 0Z5. Stew Perry Top Band Distance Challenge - CW, sponsored by the Boring Amateur Radio Club, 1500Z Dec 28 - 1500Z Dec 29. Categories: SO and MS. Operate 14 hours max. Exchange: grid only. QSO Points: 1 pt + 1 pt for every 500 km distance calculated between grid centers (see Web page for calculation information), QSOs with QRP stations that submit a log count double QSO points. Score: QSO points x Power mult (<5W x 4, 5 - 100W x 2, >100W x 1). For more information - http://jzap.com/k7rat/stew.rules.txt. Note - the RAC contest runs from 0000 to 2359Z on December 28th. As before, the VEs will be happy to trade QSOs - they need RST and a serial number. Logs due 31 Jan (Cabrillo format only) to [email protected] or Boring Amateur Radio Club, 15125 SE Bartell Rd, Boring, OR 97009 USA. Original QRP Contest - CW, sponsored by the QRP Contest Community, 1500Z Dec 28 - 1500Z Dec 29. Frequencies: 80 - 20 meters. Categories: SOAB - VLP (<1W), QRP (<5W), or MP (<20W). Operate 15 hours max. with up to 2 off periods. Exchange: RST + serial number + category. QSO Points: 4 pts if other station submits log, 1 pt otherwise. Multipliers: 2 pts for DXCC entities from submitted logs, 1 pt otherwise. Score will be computed by the log checkers. Logs due 31 January to Dr. Hartmut Weber, DJ7ST, Schlesierweg 13, D-38228, Salzgitter, Germany. 31 Dec - 1 Jan ARRL Straight-Key Night -- 0000 -- 2400Z Jan 1. Like Field Day, it's "not a contest", but many of us enjoy dragging out the old J-38 and pretending we're Morse champ Ted MacElroy. The object of this friendly event is to enjoy some good, old-fashioned QSO fun, using straight keys. The emphasis is on rag-chewing rather than on fast contest-type exchanges. Instead of sending RST before sending the signal report, send the letters SKN, to indicate your participation and to clue in passersby who may be listening that SKN is going strong. Send the ARRL Contest Branch a list of stations worked, plus your vote for the best fist you heard (it doesn't have to be one you worked). Also, include your vote for the most interesting QSO you had or monitored, as well as any interesting comments you have for the Feedback section of the SKN 2002 write-up. Entries are due 31 Jan to [email protected] or to SKN, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. NEWS & PRESS RELEASES November Sweepstakes cups and pins orders continue to come in -- get your cup and pin ordered because last year they sold out! (Anybody want to trade for a 2001 Sweep cup?) -- Thanks, Dan N1ND. For users of N3FJP's Contest Log software -- Scott N3FJP writes, "I have received several requests from visually impaired hams who report that the labels identifying the fields are above the text boxes, preventing their screen readers from identifying the field that currently has the focus. I have added code so that as each data entry field receives the focus, a WAV file of the voice of my lovely XYL, Kimberly KA3SEQ will identify the field. To enable this function, the WAV files will have to be downloaded from my Web site (http://www.n3fjp.com) or copied from my CD to the program's working directory. These enhancements are free to registered users." Wes, WZ7I contributes a couple of book reviews -- "Wirebook IV", by Press Jones N8UG, is a new edition of his book on coax, antenna wire, balanced line, grounding, and baluns. It is available from Marshall Emm at http://www.morsex.com/books/ (that URL stands for Morse Express - don't let your imagination get the best of you!) or from the author at http://www.thewireman.com/wirebook.html. "DXing 101X", by Rod Dinkins AC6V, would make a great gift to the library of the fairly new ham. It's available from HRO at http://www.hamradio.com/. CQ WW notes - If you are submitting club scores in CQ WW, club activity managers can send their club eligibility lists to [email protected]. You can also contribute photos and comments from the contest by sending them to [email protected] (indicate SSB or CW). They will be posted on the CQ WW Web site at http://www.cqww.com. Email log submissions are really growing in popularity -- 3600 SSB logs have been received via the Internet. "Please send us your log no matter how small. We on the CQ WW Contest Committee realize that the great majority of entrants in the CQ WW contests are "Little Guns". It is your participation that makes the contest fun for everyone...including the "Big Guns". If you have not sent your log yet, please do. If you don't know how to send a Cabrillo log, we will help you. You can send a message to [email protected]. We have helped over 500 people figure out how to submit a Cabrillo log. You could be next." (Thanks, Bob K3EST) WA9TPQ -- SK. In another unpleasant bit of news, Bill WA9TPQ passed away on 10 Dec. Bill was a frequent entry in many logs. Cedrick K9YO writes of Bill, "Thanks for teaching me most everything I know about contesting today. You gave me the chance to enjoy and experience new modes in Ham Radio. Tell your Elmer 'Thanks' before it's too late, because you never know." The 8th International CCF Contest/DX Meeting in Finland will be held from 17 -- 19 Jan in Vantaa, Finland. Featured programs include "CQ WW CW 2002 at EA8ZS" by OH2XX, "Serious RTTY Contesting" by OH2BP, "WRTC2002 Analysis" by K3NA, "ZA1B CQ WW CW" by OH5BM, and "Logistics Behind a Contest Expedition -- C53M/C56R" by OH9MM. There is also a Contest Dinner at which the WRTC2002 video by W6AQ and 9V1YC will make its debut. Check out the Web site at http://www.qsl.net/ccf. Registration is required by 31 Dec. (Thanks to the hard-working Contest Club Finland board.) Lee, KM4YY alerts us to the NK0E Palm Serial Sender Kit. It interfaces a PDA running GoLog with your transceiver and automatically provides contest logging, memory keyer, and dupe QSO checking. Information can be found at http://www.njqrp.org/palmserialsender/index.html. To help get more folks on the air for VHF/UHF contests, the K8GP group is making available very high quality RF cables at a VERY low cost. These are commercial cables at prices less than you often pay for hand made cables at hamfests. These are all 50-ohm cables and most function well above 10GHz. See http://www.k8gp.net/cables for pictures, quantities available and prices. Contact Gene W3ZZ at [email protected] for orders and questions. Orders of $200 or more get a 10% discount. Shipping is extra. (Thanks, Gene W3ZZ) RESULTS AND RECORDS "The results for the 2002 New England QSO Party have been posted to the NEQP web site at http://www.neqp.org/. We had a great first year with logs from 260 people. Special congratulations to N4PN for working all 67 counties! Hope you'll join in for the 2003 event - May 3-4, 2003." (Thanks, Tom K1KI) Claimed scores for the 2002 North American Collegiate ARC Championship (these are not official scores) are posted at http://www.collegiatechampionship.org/. (Thanks, Ken WM5R) The 2002 CQ VHF Contest results are scheduled to run in the June 2003 issue of CQ. (Thanks, Rich W2VU) The following NCJ contest results are now available on the NCJ Web site, http://www.ncjweb.com: Jan 2002 NAQP CW, Sep 2002 SSB Sprint, and Sep 2002 CW Sprint. The NAQP results are in PDF format on the NAQP Results page. The Sprint results are in the gray-shaded NCJ Results Database area at the top of the NA Sprint Results page. PDF files will be added as soon as they are available. The full results of all three contests will be in the Jan/Feb 2003 issue of NCJ. (Thanks Carl, K9LA) The results of the 46th CQ-M International DX Contest are available at the CQ-M contest home page - http://www.mai.ru/~crc/cq-m/cqmain_e.htm. (Thanks Dmitri, RW3FO) TECHNICAL & TECHNIQUE Chuck, N4NM points out the Four Deadly Sins of Tower-Climbing in a post on the Towertalk reflector. To wit -- climbing while Tired, Complacent, Irritated, and Hurried. This time of year, if we're up on the tower, we are probably in violation of at least two or three. You might add "Cold" (and for readers in the Southern Hemisphere, add "Hot"). Mark N5OT pointed out that the best thing is to have a procedure that you go through EVERY TIME you tie off or clip on. That way, when one of the sins gets the upper hand, the habit will be there when you really need it. We've had quite enough SKs in the past couple of months -- take a break fellas. Safety first. Got clicks? Modifications for the FT1000D, MP, Mark V, and Field keying circuits are described on the Web site of W8JI -- http://www.w8ji.com/keyclick.htm. International Radio (http://www.qth.com/inrad/) also supplies the components for a simple modifiation to these radios. You might also browse the extensive discussions on key clicks on the CQ-Contest and Topband reflector archives -- at http://www.contesting.com, enter "cq-contest click" or "topband click". (Note -- this is a general technique for finding messages on a topic in the list archives.) Not all contest logging software is Windows or MS-DOS-based. For those of you running Linux, TRF, a TR-like console based logging program, (http://home.iae.nl/users/reinc/TLF-0.2.html) by Rein Couperus (PA0RCT) is actively being developed. CX, a CT-like console based logging program, (http://cx.dk8lv.net) was written by the Bavarian Contest Club. Screen shots are available at http://cx.dk8lv.net/screens.html. This program may not be under active development. These site links were contributed by Pat N8VW. In the "Accidental Discovery of Radioactivity Department", Ford N0FP reports that using at SteppIR tribander on top of a shunt-fed tower allows you to "tune" the top hat. Changing the frequency to which the SteppIR is set changes the lengths of the elements and thus the effective diameter of the tower's top-hat. Ford reports being able to shift the resonant frequency 60 kHz using this technique. "Well don't that beat all?" -- Andy Devine. CONVERSATION To Sked or Not to Sked? In the one or two weeks preceding a big VHF contest, it's not uncommon to receive an email that looks like this: "You are invited to contact our multi-op effort from the top of atop Mt. Atlantis in grid XY99. Our goal is to set a new record and we need your contact. We will be using the call N0AX and be active on 50 MHz through light. If you're interested in EME, HSMS, AEIOU, or Smoke Signals, contact [email protected] to make a schedule, etc." On HF, pre-contest schedules are uncommon and while not specifically forbidden, are certainly frowned upon. Information about calls and bands are of marginal use, since any seriously active effort will be heard worldwide on several bands. Schedules made during the contest on bands other than the ones being used in the contest, via packet or nets, or by non-amateur means are verboten, of course, in both HF and VHF contests. However, if pre-contest scheduling is the norm for VHF and UHF contests, why is it accepted there and not on HF? Not having enough of a background above 30 MHz to have a worthy opinion, I asked Gene Zimmerman, W3ZZ, QST's "Above 50 MHz" editor and a grizzled veteran of the mountaintop battles. "Especially when operating from out of the way places, it behooves the VHF+ operator(s) to advertise as much as possible. One major reason is the sharp antennas that everyone uses. If you are not in the direction of what passes for a major population area, no one will point at you and thus you will be 40 dB below the peak of the receiving antenna pattern. With a good signal at 400 miles having a 10 dB signal-to-noise ratio if you're lucky, you can see where this is leading. "Most of the 'advertising' is by an email reflector but if you know the 'locals' it is not considered bad form to contact them directly. This is a win-win situation -- they point at you because they may need you as a DX station -- you get their QSO's as a portable. "In fact, given that one of the goals of VHF+ contesting is pushing the distances one's station can cover, there are those who advocate a more controversial approach - eliminating the ban on making schedules by any means in real time during a VHF contest. The reasoning is that stations at the other end of an unusual (and often short-lived) propagation path may be unaware of its existence. The purpose is not to create contacts just for your own station but to generate activity for anyone included in the unusual propagation. More activity, more interesting contacts, more fun for everyone." I can understand and accept this line of reasoning. VHF+ contesting is quite a different beast, particularly on the more unusual modes like EME and Meteor Scatter where schedules and not random CQs are the norm. I suppose that if 200-foot boom Yagis were common on the HF bands and propagation as marginal as it can be on VHF, then schedules and advertising would probably be OK there, too. Don't forget the upcoming January VHF Sweepstakes on 18 -- 20 Jan! Many of us now have rigs with 6-meters, 2-meters, and even 70 cm CW and SSB, so there's no reason not to give the bands a try. If you don't have a good set of antennas up at home, try mobiling out to a lesser-populated grid or a high spot. Remember that most activity is with horizontally-polarized antennas. Dipoles work great on 6-meters and quads and yagis are pretty easy to homebrew for the higher bands. They don't have to be 800 feet high to work, either! ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Contester's Rate Sheet wishes to acknowledge information from the following sources: WA7BNM's Contest Calendar Web page - http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/ ARRL Contest page - http://www.arrl.org/contests/ SM3CER's Web site - http://www.sk3bg.se/contest/ Windows and MS-DOS are trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation
