Contester's Rate Sheet for June 15, 2005

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Contester's Rate Sheet
15 June 2005
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Edited by Ward Silver N0AX

SUMMARY
o Kid's Day - The Perfect Invitation to Field Day!
o SMIRK 6-Meter QSO Party
o New Weekly Sprint by NCCC
o NCJ News by K9LA
o Easy-Learning Field Day Software by N3FJP
o Tons of Tower Tips
o Don't Let Fall Interrupt Summer

BULLETINS
o No bulletins this issue

BUSTED QSOS
o QEZ is not the Super Secret Masters of Electronics magazine for VNA
owners, but rather just a typo intended to be QEX, the great monthly
compendium of technical articles. (Thanks, Jack W6FB)

ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICES FOR 15 JUNE TO 28 JUNE 2005

Logs are due for the following contests:

June 15 - Indiana QSO Party, email logs to: [email protected], paper
logs and diskettes to: HDXCC, c/o Mike Goode N9NS, 10340 Broadway,
Indianapolis, IN 46280-1344, USA 

June 17 - VK/Trans-Tasman 80m Contest, Phone, email logs to:
[email protected], paper logs and diskettes to: VK/trans-Tasman
Contest, 28 Crampton Crescent, Rosanna, VIC 3084, Australia 

June 18 - Asia-Pacific Sprint, SSB, email logs to: [email protected],
paper logs and diskettes to: (none), June 20 - RSGB National Field
Day, email logs to: [email protected], paper logs and diskettes
to: RSGB G3UFY, 77 Bensham Manor Road, Thornton Heath, Surrey CR7
7AF, England 

June 21 - EU PSK DX Contest, email logs to: [email protected], paper
logs and diskettes to: Scottish-Russian ARS, PO Box 7469, Glasgow G42
0YD, Scotland 

June 22 - His Maj. King of Spain Contest, CW, email logs to:
concursoshf@ure.es, paper logs and diskettes to: URE HF Contests, PO
Box 220, 28080 Madrid, Spain 

June 24 - US Counties QSO Party, SSB, email logs to: US:
[email protected], non-US: [email protected], paper logs and
diskettes to: US: Duane Travers, WV2B, 99 Oregon Hill Rd., Lisle, NY
13797-1002, USA, non-US: Scott Nichols, VE1OP, PO Box 1796, North
Sydney, NS B2A 3S9, Canada
 
The following contests are scheduled:

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; LP - Low Power; Entity - DXCC Entity

HF CONTESTS

Summer Madness Sprint - CW, sponsored by the Northern California
Contest Club, every Thursday evening, beginning June 16 (except Aug
11) through Sep 1 at 0230Z (Friday UTC). The "NS" follows the NCJ NA
Sprint rules with the following exceptions: Power is 100 watts or
less, dupes are permitted after just one intervening QSO, the sprint
QSY rule is relaxed to 1 kHz in all cases, and 160 meters is used in
addition to 20, 40 and 80 meters. A station's weekly score is the
number of stations worked times the number of multipliers.  Report
your scores on http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score. Complete rules
are available at: http://www.nccc.cc/.

Kid's Day Operating Event - from 1800Z - 2400Z Jun 18 (see the note
in News and Press Releases)

West Virginia QSO Party - CW/SSB, sponsored by the West Virginia
State Amateur Radio Council, from 1600Z Jun 18 - 0200Z Jun 19.
Frequencies: 80 - 10 meters, CW - 35 kHz from band edge, Phone - 35
kHz from General Class band edge and Novice/Tech 10-meter segment.
Categories: SO, MM and Mobile, all categories may be HP, LP (<100W),
QRP (<5W), Phone, CW, or mixed mode. Work stations once per band/mode
and WV stations from each county (WV mobiles keep separate log for
each county). Exchange: RS(T) and WV county or S/P/C. QSO Points:
Fixed stations: CW - 2 pts, SSB - 1 pt; Mobiles: CW - 3 pts, SSB - 2
pts; Bonus - 100 pts for QSOs with W8WVA once per band/mode, WV
mobiles add 100 points per county activated with minimum of 1 QSO.
Score: QSO points x WV counties (+ S/P/C for WV stations), add bonus
to final score, multipliers count only once. For more information:
http://www.qsl.net/wvarrl. Logs due Jul 20 to [email protected] or Dave
Ellis WA8WV, 610 Hillsdale Drive, Charleston, WV 25302.

All-Asian DX Contest - CW - sponsored by the Japan Amateur Radio
League from 0000Z Jun 18 - 2400Z Jun 19. (SSB - Sep 3 - 4).
Frequencies: 160 - 10 meters (160 is CW only), incl. 10-min. band
change rule. Categories: SOAB, SOSB, MO, Low Power (Asian stations
only), Junior (JA stations <20 years), Senior (JA stations >70
years). Exchange: RS(T) and a two digit number denoting the
operator's age. YL stations may send 00. QSO Points for non-Asian
stations: 40 - 15 meters - 1 pt, 80 and 10 meters - 2 pts, 160 meters
- 3 pts. Score: QSO pts � Asian prefixes (WPX rules). For more
information and Asian station QSO points:
http://www.jarl.or.jp/English/. Logs due Jul 31 (Oct 31 for phone) to
[email protected] (SSB logs to [email protected]) or JARL, All Asian DX
Contest, 170-8073, Japan.

Quebec QSO Party - CW/Digital/Voice - sponsored by the Radio Amateurs
du Quebec from 1700Z Jun 18 - 0300Z Jun 19. Frequencies: 80 - 2
meters, no repeater contacts. Categories: SOAB (150 W max), MO, QRP,
VHF (QRP and VHF are VE2 and NA stations only). Exchange: RS(T) and
Quebec region or S/P/C, /MM send ITU zone. QSO Points: Voice - 1 pt,
CW/Digital - 2 pts, VE2RIO - 10 pts. Score: QSO Points x VE2 regions
and ITU Zones counted once per band and mode. For more information:
http://www.raqi.ca/qqp. Logs due Aug 24 to [email protected] or Radio
Amateur du Quebec (QQP), 4545 Av Pierre-de-Coubertin, CP 1000,
Succursale M, Montreal QC, Canada H1V 3R2.

Spanish Islands Contest - CW/SSB/RTTY, sponsored by the Diploma Islas
Espa�olas (DIE), from 0600Z - 1200Z Jun 19. Frequencies: 80 - 10
meters. Exchange: RST + DIE number or serial number. QSO Points:
Island stations - 2 pts/QSO, otherwise 5 pts/QSO. For more
information: www.ea5ol.net/die. Logs due 60 days after the contest to
[email protected] or EA5AEN, PO Box 11055, Valencia, Spain.

VHF+ CONTESTS

SMIRK QSO Party - sponsored by the Six Meter International Radio
Klub, 0000Z Jun 19 - 2400Z Jun 20. Frequencies: phone QSOs within the
lower 48 states and Canada above 50.125 MHz; only DX QSOs between
50.100 and 50.125 MHz. SO category only. No repeater QSOs. Exchange:
SMIRK number and grid square. QSO Points: SMIRK member - 2 pts,
non-member - 1 pt. Score: QSO points x grid squares. For more
information: www.smirk.org. Logs due Aug 1 to [email protected] or
Dale Richardson AA5XE, 214 Palo Verde Dr., Kerrville, TX 78028 USA.

NEWS AND PRESS RELEASES

NCJ News by Editor Carl Luetzelschwab K9LA - The July/August issue is
at the printer and should be in the mail around the end of the month.
This issue has three technical features: Modifying the DXDoubler for
N1MM Logger Operation by N4ZR, Part One of A Study of Verticals By
the Sea by K3LC, and Part 7 (antennas pointing in opposite
directions) of K3NA's Antenna Interactions series. Some of the
general features include an update of the VY2ZM station by OH5DX, an
early WRTC2006 article by OH2BH, and summaries of the Dayton Contest
Forum and Contest Dinner by K1DG and K3LR, respectively. Regular
columns discuss Stealth Contesting (in W9XT's CTT&T column and in
N0JK's VHF-UHF Contesting column), Using Amps for RTTY (in W6WRT's
RTTY Contesting column), and Drilling Holes (in K4ZA's Workshop
Chronicles column). Rounding out this issue are results for the
February 2005 SSB and CW Sprint contests, the January 2005 NAQP CW
contest, and the February 2005 NAQP RTTY contest.

Trey N5KO and Dan N1ND have been busy at ARRL HQ spending significant
time going through the parameters for the next version of the
Cabrillo format.  They also began the planning process to move some
of the robot set-ups (such as initializing for the next contest,
editing the automated responses, archiving older submissions) from
Trey to the Contest Branch staff. WA7BNM is also collaborating on a
process for Web  submission of contest club eligibility lists.
(Thanks, Dan N1ND)

If you just can't get enough of that Dayton ambiance and frivolity,
the K8CX 2005 Dayton Photo Gallery is now up with 157 photos at
http://hamgallery.com/dayton2005. Can you find this year's winner in
the beer can stacking contest? (Thanks, Tim K3LR)

Don't forget Kid's Day (http://www.arrl.org/FandES/ead/kd-rules.html
) on June 18th from 1800 - 2400Z. W1AW and the special event station
K1D will both be ready. With help from some area youngsters and
fellow ARRL staffers, ARRL Education and Technology Program ("The Big
Project") Coordinator Mark Spencer, WA8SME, will be at the helm of
W1AW.  This a great way to let your favorite ham-to-be get some of
that oh-so-important chair time!

Summer doldrums and low sunspots? No worries, mate! It's time for
Summer Madness, the NCCC Thursday Night Sprint series ("NS"),
starting this coming Thursday night, June 16. This year for the first
time there are beverage awards of the type NCCC has made famous in
the CQP, courtesy of N6RO. For rules, see the listing in the HF
Contests section above or http://www.nccc.cc/ and click on the NCCC
Sprint link halfway down the page.  The sponsors ask that you hold
your speed down for the first ten minutes to work newcomers. (Thanks,
Bill N6ZFO)

Stuart K5KVH reminds us that for Field Day 2005 there is a new bonus
for having attendees operate who are under18 years old.  They do not
have to be licensed if working under a control operator and otherwise
follow third party rules. 

Looking for simple Field Day logging software that a non-contester
can quickly learn? Try N3FJP's ARRL Field Day Contest Log v2.7
(http://www.n3fjp.com/). Also, don't wait until the Saturday morning
of Field Day to install and test out the software on your network! If
you haven't already done so, get the PCs together before Field Day,
hook them up and make sure that each PC is able to access and update
the common data file. Problems solved very easily in a relaxed
atmosphere can seem insurmountable when the clock is ticking.  Scott
also has released version 2.8 of his General Contact Logger program.
(Thanks, Doug AH6B and Scott N3FJP)

Planning a vacation to Canada this summer?  If you're planning on
operating from VE while you're there, US amateurs operating in Canada
must abide by  Industry Canada RIC-2:
- A US amateur who is qualified to send and receive in Morse code
(passed Element 1 - Ed) at a speed of at least 5 wpm may operate an
amateur station in Canada in accordance with the provisions
applicable to the holder of an Amateur Operator's Certificate with
Basic, Morse Code (5 wpm) and Advanced Qualifications.
- A US amateur who is not qualified to send and receive in Morse code
may operate an amateur station in Canada in accordance with
provisions applicable to the holder of the Amateur Operator's
Certificate with Basic and Advanced Qualifications.
No paperwork is required. Under the terms of the agreement, the
visitor should give his or her call sign and location, e.g. VE3FRS/W9
or N9CFX/VE3. However, it is unlikely that anyone would complain if
the form VE3/N9CFX were used. Documents pertaining to Amateur Radio
are available from the Industry Canada web site. Questions about
those documents should be sent to [email protected]. (Thanks,
Buck N4PGW)

Penninger Radio (http:// www.Penninger.com), a new manufacturer, is
advertising high-quality ground, roof mounts, tubing, clamps and
other products, such as a really slick tilt over ground mount for
verticals or masts. (Thanks, Bill W9OL)

Arasu VU2UR reports that the dates for the Seanet Contest are 1200Z
Jul 16th to 1200Z Jul 17th.  The contest is a mixed-mode only.  The
Seanet Contest Web site (http://www.seanet2005.com/html/News.htm) is
in error and will be corrected shortly.

Anyone looking for a way to keep an eye on all the changes and
opportunities in ham radio can stay current by "just" contributing an
article to their local ham club newsletter. Articles are always
welcome on a personal specialty, favorite subject, or just something
that catches the writer's attention. It's a great way to see your
name and call in print, too! The editor will polish your writing, but
needs your articles to keep the newsletter interesting and
informative. (Thanks, Dick WB0IZY)

Bob K6XX noticed a nice article called "Rediscovering Ham Radio"
about building radios in the June 1 issue of the online Electronic
Design Web site at
http://elecdesign.com/Articles/Index.cfm?AD=1&ArticleID=10509. The
author is well-known industry writer Lou Frenzel W5LEF.  Lou shares
some thoughts about why ham radio is finding it difficult to adopt
the latest communications technologies.

A great deal of the fun in WRTC comes from - at last! - meeting some
of those familiar call signs from around the world. The Lonely Planet
Western Europe phrase book gives a general way to inquire and respond
about your country of origin:
Where are you from? - De onde �? - dy O de EH?
I am from... - Sou... - so...
Then add the name of your country, such as:
The United States - dos Estados Unitos - duz'sh-TAH-du-zu-NEE-dush.

RESULTS AND RECORDS

Line scores for the latest ARRL 10-Meter and RTTY Roundup reports
should be available soon in the QST PDF files on the Web at
http://www.arrl.org/contests/results/. ARRL DX CW results are nearly
ready for release, and mailing of the 2004 10 GHz and 160-Meter
certificates is complete, as well.

TECHNICAL

Let's have some tower and antenna tips!  Start with the Ten Most
Common Tower Building Mistakes by professional tower rigger Steve
K7LXC. The article is listed under Tech Notes at
http://www.championradio.com/.

Getting a mast mounted in a self-supporting tower can be difficult,
particularly with long masts.  The trick?  Build the tower *around*
the mast! "After you have the first/bottom section built and
concreted into place (allow for a week or so of curing), remove all
the braces on one side of the lone tower section.  Then you can lean
the mast against the inside of the tower and reassemble the braces. 
Once the CM is inside the base, finish the construction.  After the
tower is completed, you'll need a ginpole at the top.  Feed the haul
line from the ginpole down through the bearing(s) and the rotator
plates and thread it through the mast from the top.  Securely tie the
end of the haul rope onto a shackle that will support the bottom of
the mast while hauling it up through the two or three shelves.  This
means that the knot must be small enough to fit into the mast and the
shackle small enough to slide through the openings in the plates and
bearings.  Once the mast emerges from atop the tower, lock it
temporarily into place with something - I used two pair of
back-to-back muffler clamps (NOT hose clamps - Ed.) around the mast
and resting on the top and middle bearings.  With the clamps securely
holding the mast in place, remove the haul rope and use a come-along
to lift the mast, plus antennas, into their final positions."
(Thanks, Gene AD3F)

G1YGY suggested to Peter G3RZP a very delicate method of checking
that the rotator and the thrust bearing(s) line up and don't bind.
Measure the current drawn by the rotator as it goes round: it should
be substantially constant. If it goes up at one place, suspect
misalignment. Don VE6JY uses a DC rotator and lifts a small battery
to the top of the tower to try a few complete rotations on the spot
to find alignment or coax snagging issues.

What ham can resist a free antenna support? "I buy used pole-vaulting
poles from my local high school. They replace a few each year and
sell them at a low cost." The poles can be mounted on PVC pipe
anchored in the ground (Thanks, Bill AD8P)

Radio for Cliff Dwellers is the topic of "Home Ham Radio Projects for
the One Bedroom Apartment" - by George S. Hughes, W0WEB.  It's full
of useful tips for new hams with limited space -
http://www.emcomm.org/svares/projects/new_ham.htm - with lots of
great ways to encourage newcomers into the hobby.

Here's a surprising tip from Jim N5IB - "When you stack three
PowerPole connectors side by side the outer two are just about the
right spacing for 450 ohm window line! The actual spacing will be
0.62", with the line being spaced about 0.8" The nice wide flat
mating connector surfaces ought to be good for RF. This makes for
easily disconnectable sections and terminations.

Bob N5NJ shares some information on sleep deprivation. "My other
hobby these days is long distance motorcycle riding.  As you can
imagine, falling asleep during a "run" has much more significant
potential impact in that activity than in radio contesting.  However,
the same principles apply." Bob references the 53-page report at
http://trb.org/publications/ctbssp/ctbssp_syn_7.pdf as a good source
of information.

Do you make your own PC boards using special PCB transfer paper and
photocopier images ironed onto the blank board? John WB8RCR made a
successful experiment with regular photo-quality paper. "With HP
Everyday Photo Paper (the cheap stuff) the result was amazing.  After
soaking the paper/board in hot water for about 15 minutes, the paper
suddenly popped off of its own accord, leaving virtually all of the
toner on the board. Even after etching the toner was well stuck to
the board and it took quite a bit of elbow grease to get it off, but
the result was pretty satisfying." Ron G4ZIS observes that, "The
photo paper technique works well, but the printer type and toner are
quite important. I find Brother printers and toner work best. It is
all to do with the temperature at which the toner melts."

CONVERSATION

Don't Let Fall Interrupt Summer

As the summer begins, so does tower and antenna work.  Aside from
troubleshooting HV power supplies, there is no other aspect of
amateur radio that has more opportunities for trouble.  With Krassy
K1LZ taking a fall on CY9 this week and Joe NK7U the week before,
safety should be the first thing on any tower (or tree) climber's
mind.  For a refresher course, check out the ARRL Antenna Book's
"Tower Safety" and "Antenna Supports" chapters.  The following
contributed items are just a few of the many steps each of us must
take to keep our climbing chores from becoming a threat to life and
limb.

With those weekend projects frequently taking longer than expected,
it's easy to spend a log more time on the tower than you expected. 
Towers are windy, sunny places and that can dry you out quickly. The
folks on the TowerTalk reflector
(http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/Towertalk) contributed
some good tips to avoid cramping and dehydration on the tower:
- Load up on potassium before the climb - bananas are a good source
- Calcium (calcium citrate or milk) is also recommended
- Drink lots of water before and during the tower climb
- Quinine water is occasionally recommended, as is a teaspoon of
mustard
- Stretch your legs and arms regularly, particularly before and after
a long pull
- Don't forget the sunscreen!

We worry a lot about getting up the tower, what about getting back
down?  Jack NK7J alerts us to the Petzl ID. "I always take up a 11mm
line with me as my personal safety line. I hook it to the tower where
I am working, then I attach my Petzl ID onto the rope.  The ID is a
one-person rappelling device that is pretty dumb proof. To rappel you
pull on the handle and the rope slides through. If you pull too hard
it simply brakes and you stop. I use it in case I get in a situation
where I have may have severe cramping or have hurt one of my legs or
something and cannot climb down. This works well if you are up there
and a sudden storm comes along and you need to get down fast. (Having
seen K4OJ make like a tower windsock in a sudden Tampa storm, I can
testify to this being a real possibility - Ed.)  Self-rescue is your
best option most of the time. The ID well worth the price ($200)
along with some good kernmantle rope. Keep it in a stuff bag at the
bottom and let it feed out as you climb with the rope attached to
your belt. When you're done for the day, stuff the rope and you're
set for next time."

We also tend to put heavy loads on our ropes and cables, sometimes
unintentionally when something jams or hangs up. A snapping rope,
chain, or cable is deadly. It's easy to forget just how much stretch
there is in a chain or cable - at their working or breaking load they
don't have to stretch very far physically to store tremendous energy.
When lifting or hauling, check the length between the anchor points
and make that the absolute minimum distance you are willing to stand
from either anchor point. The most dangerous places are within about
a half a length to the right or left of either anchor point. The
whipping action sometimes throws parts from what ever was hooked up
and they can be thrown a *long* way. (Thanks, Roger K8RI)

It's so easy to become careless, especially when you're tired or
after a long time at work.  We so badly want to get those beautiful
skyhooks mounted and ready to launch their potent signals.  The next
thing you know, a part or tool is dropped, a line starts to untie
itself or slip, and an accident is just seconds away.  We've all been
there. After each part of the work, relax, clear your mind and run
through your mental checklist of how you're going to do the next
part.  Have a Plan B - always! Take a few moments to remind yourself,
"It's not a race."  And while you're up there, spend a little time
looking around and enjoying the view - not everybody gets to do this,
you know!

73, Ward N0AX

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