Contester's Rate Sheet for March 22, 2006
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CONTESTER'S RATE SHEET
22 March 2006
Edited by Ward Silver N0AX
Published by the American Radio Relay League
Free to ARRL members!
(Subscription info at the end of newsletter)
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SUMMARY
o CQ WPX SSB Annual Prefix Scramble
o Low Power Spring Sprint and VHF Spring Sprint - 144 MHz
o NCJ News by K9LA
o Real-time Scoring Web Site
o RTTY Roundup Record Database
o World's Most Obnoxious Alarm Clocks
o Microwave Antenna Book by W1GHZ
o Something You Know
BULLETINS
o The Rate Sheet rang the 14,000 subscriber bell for the 8 March
issue!
BUSTED QSOS
o A golden issue last time!
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LOG DUE DATES - 22 MARCH TO 4 APRIL 2006
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March 22 - NAQCC 80m Straight Key/Bug Sprint, email logs to:
[email protected], paper logs and diskettes to: Tom Mitchell, KB3LFC,
RD6 Box 122A, Kittanning, PA 16201, USA. Find rules at:
http://www.arm-tek.net/~yoel/sprint200603.html.
March 25 - Mississippi QSO Party, email logs to: (none), paper logs
and diskettes to: Vicksburg ARC, 64 Lake Circle Drive, Vicksburg, MS
39180, USA. Find rules at: http://www.arrlmiss.org/2006msqop.pdf.
March 27 - Run for the Bacon QRP Contest, email logs to:
[email protected], Upload log at:
http://partsandkits.com/fp/autolog.asp, paper logs and diskettes to:
Larry Makoski, W2LJ, 327 Clinton Place, South Plainfield, NJ 07080,
USA. Find rules at: http://www.fpqrp.com/fpqrprun.html.
March 28 - CQC Winter QSO Party, email logs to: [email protected],
paper logs and diskettes to: Colorado QRP Club, Box 17174, Golden, CO
80402-6019, USA. Find rules at:
http://www.cqc.org/contests/winter06.htm.
March 28 - REF Contest, SSB, email logs to: [email protected],
paper logs and diskettes to: F6CTT, Joseph Cornee, 31, rue des
EcoButs, 44230 St Sebastien Sur Loire, France. Find rules at:
http://concours.ref-union.org/reglements/actuels/reg_cdfhf_fr_0503.pdf.
March 28 - UBA DX Contest, CW, email logs to: [email protected], paper
logs and diskettes to: Marc Domen, ON7SS, Ferdinand Coosemansstraat
32, B-2600 Berchem-Antwerpen, Belgium. Find rules at:
http://www.uba.be/hf_contests/rules/ubatestworld_en.html.
March 31 - New Hampshire QSO Party, email logs to: [email protected],
paper logs and diskettes to: Great Bay Radio Association, 78
Littleworth Rd, Dover, NH 03820, USA. Find rules at:
http://www.wz1f.net/2006_NH_QSO_Pary_Rules_rev_004__1_.pdf.
March 31 - CQ 160-Meter Contest, SSB, email logs to: [email protected],
paper logs and diskettes to: CQ 160-Meter Contest, 25 Newbridge Road,
Hicksville, NY 11801, USA. Find rules at:
http://cq-amateur-radio.com/160ContestRules122705NEW.pdf.
March 31 - Dutch PACC Contest, email logs to: [email protected],
paper logs and diskettes to: Ad van Tilborg, PA0ADT, Schepenenveld
141, 7327 DB Apeldoorn, Netherlands. Find rules at:
http://www.veron.nl/pacc/rules2006.html.
March 31 - YL-ISSB QSO Party, email logs to: [email protected],
paper logs and diskettes to: Jim Flowers, VE1JIM, 13 Rufus Ave,
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3N 2L4, Canada. Find rules at:
http://www.hfradio.org/yl-issb/qsoparty/qsorules.htm.
March 31 - AGCW YL-CW Party, email logs to: (none), paper logs and
diskettes to: Dr. Roswitha Otto, DL6KCR, St. Nikolaus Str. 26,
D-52396 Heimbach, Germany. Find rules at:
http://www.agcw.de/english/contest/ylcwp_e.htm.
March 31 - AGCW QRP Contest, email logs to: [email protected], paper
logs and diskettes to: Edmund Ramm, DK3UZ, Anderheitsallee 24,
Bramfeld, D-22175 Hamburg, Germany. Find rules at:
http://www.agcw.de/english/contest/agcw_qrp_e.htm.
April 1 - North Carolina QSO Party, email logs to:
[email protected], paper logs and diskettes to: NC QSO PARTY,
c/o Henry Heidtmann W2DZO, 8812 Merry Hill Court, Clemmons, NC 27012,
USA. Find rules at: http://www.w4nc.com/pages/6/index.htm.
April 1 - Poisson d'Avril Contest, email logs and account numbers to
[email protected]. Paper logs and items of monetary
value may be left in an unmarked paper bag underneath the Lexus
parked behind the Colpitts Pond Pizzeria in Windham, NH. Find the
rules if you can.
April 2 - SARL VHF/UHF Contest, email logs to:
[email protected], paper logs and diskettes to: VHF Contest
Committee, 69 Erskine Street, Scottburgh 4180, South Africa. Find
rules at:
http://www.sarl.org.za/public/contests/SARL_Contest_Manual.pdf.
April 2 - UBA Spring Contest, CW, email logs to: [email protected],
paper logs and diskettes to: Lode Kenens ON6KL, Oudestraat 8, B-3560
Lummen, Belgium. Find rules at:
http://www.uba.be/hf_contests/rules/uba_spring_en_2006.rtf.
April 3 - RSGB Commonwealth Contest, email logs to:
[email protected], paper logs and diskettes to:
RSGB-G3UFY, 77 Bensham Manor Road, Thornton Heath, Surrey CR7 7AF,
England. Find rules at:
http://www.contesting.co.uk/hfcc/rules/rberu.shtml.
April 3 - AGCW VHF/UHF Contest, email logs to: [email protected], paper
logs and diskettes to: Manfred Busch, DK7ZH, Ebachstr. 13, D-35716
Dietzhoelztal-Mandeln, Germany. Find rules at:
http://www.agcw.de/english/contest/agcw-dl0_e.htm.
April 3 - 10-10 Int. Mobile Contest, email logs to:
[email protected], paper logs and diskettes to: Steve
Rasmussen, N0WY, 312 N 6th Street, Plattsmouth, NE 68048, USA. Find
rules at: http://www.ten-ten.org/rules.html.
April 4 - ARRL Inter. DX Contest, SSB, email logs to:
[email protected], paper logs and diskettes to: ARRL Intl DX Contest -
Phone, ARRL, 225 Main St., Newington, CT 06111, USA. Find rules at:
http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2006/intldx.html.
April 4 - DARC 10-Meter Digital Contest (Mar), email logs to:
[email protected], paper logs and diskettes to: Werner Ludwig, DF5BX, PO
Box 1270, 49110 Georgsmarienhuette, Germany. Find rules at:
http://www.darc.de/referate/ukw-funksport/sonder/tei-digi.htm
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CONTESTS - 22 MARCH TO 4 APRIL 2006
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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
CQ WW WPX Contest--SSB, sponsored by CQ Magazine from 0000Z Mar 25 -
2400Z Mar 26. Frequencies: 160 -- 10 meters. Categories: SOAB, SOSB,
SO-Assisted, -HP, LP, and --QRP, MS (10-min rule), M/2, MM,
SO-Rookie, SO-Tribander-and-Single-Wire. SO operate 36 hours max with
off times at least 60 min. Exchange: RS(T) + serial number. QSO
Points: different continents - 3pts (14-28 MHz) and 6 pts (1.8-7
MHz), with North America - 2 pts (14-28 MHz) and 4 pts (1.8-7 MHz),
with own country - 1 pt. Score: QSO points x prefixes worked (i.e.,
N8, KA1, HG73, JD1) counted only once. For more information:
http://www.cqwpx.com/. Logs due May 1 to [email protected].
Spring QRP Homebrewer Sprint - CW/PSK31, sponsored by New Jersey QRP
Club, 0000Z - 0400Z Mar 27. Frequencies: QRP CW and PSK31 frequencies
on 80 - 10 meters, CW and PSK31 are considered separate bands.
Exchange: RST + S/P/C + Output Power. QSO Points: Commercial
Equipment - 2 pts, Homebrew Xmtr or Rcvr - 3pts, Homebrew Xmtr and
Rcvr or Xcvr - 4 pts. Kits ok as homebrew. Power Multiplier: 0>250 mW
= x 15, 250 mW>1W = x10, 1>5W = x7, >5W = x1. Score: QSO Points x
S/P/C (counted once per band) x power multiplier. For more
information: http://www.njqrp.org/data/qrphomebrewersprint.html. Logs
due 30 days after the contest to [email protected] (text format) or Ken
Newman, N2CQ, 81 Holly Drive, Woodbury, NJ 08096.
Missouri QSO Party - CW/SSB, sponsored by the Boeing Employees
Amateur Radio Society of St. Lous (BEARS) from 1800Z Apr 1 - 0500Z
Apr 2 and 1800Z - 2400Z Apr 2. Frequencies: CW - 40 kHz from band
edge and 1810 kHz; Phone - 1850, 3980, 7280, 14280, 21380, 28310 kHz,
work MO stations once per band and mode. Categories: Fixed, MO
Mobile, MO Rover. Exchange: RST, serial number, and MO county or
S/P/C. QSO Points: CW - 2 pts, Phone - 1 pt. Score: MO stations - QSO
Points x States + Provinces + MO counties + 1 for DX; non-MO stations
- QSO Points x MO counties. Multipliers count only once. QSOs with
W0MA count add'l 100 QSO points. For more information:
http://www.qsl.net/w0ma. Logs due 30 days after the contest to
[email protected] or [email protected] or James L Kinser N0AJ, 2147
Encino Drive, Florissant, MO 63031-7627.
Low Power Spring Sprint - CW, sponsored by N4AF from 0000Z to 0359Z
Apr 1. All rules same as North American Sprint
(http://www.ncjweb.com/) except power categories are LP and QRP. For
more information: http://pvrc.org/lpsprint_2006/rules.htm. Logs due 7
days after the contest to [email protected].
50th Annual QCWA Spring QSO Party - CW/Digital/SSB, sponsored by the
Quarter Century Wireless Association from 1800Z Apr 1 - 1800Z Apr 2.
Frequencies (MHz): CW - 1.810, 3.540, 7.035, 14.040, 21.050, 28.050;
Phone - 1.845, 3.890, 7.244, 14.262, 21.365, 28.325 plus all VHF/UHF
bands, no crossband or repeater QSOs. Categories: Phone, Digital,
Mixed. 15 QSOs with each station maximum and only one QSO with
stations in home QCWA chapter. Exchange: Last two digits of year
licensed and QCWA chapter or S/P/C. QSO Points: Phone - 1 pt,
CW/Digital - 2 pts. Score: QSO Points x QCWA chapters + S/P/C counted
once per band. W2MM counts as a 3-point multiplier on each band. For
more information: http://www.qcwa.org/qso-party.htm. Send logs to
[email protected] or Robert Buus W2OD, 8 Donner St, Holmdel NJ
07733-2004.
EA RTTY Contest, sponsored by the Uni�n de Radioaficianados Espa�oles
(URE.) from 1600Z Apr 1 - 1600Z Apr 2. Frequencies: 80 -- 10 meters,
according to IARU band plan. Categories: SOAB, SOSB, MOAB, SWL.
Exchange: RST and serial number or EA Province. QSO Points: 10 - 20
meters: own continent - 1 pt, diff cont - 2 pts; 40 and 80 meters:
own cont - 3 pts, diff cont - 6 pts. Score is QSO points x DXCC
entities + EA provinces + W/VE/JA/VK call areas counted once per
band. If operating portable, sign /call area. For more information:
http://www.rttycontesting.com/rules/earttyrules2006.pdf. Logs due May
12 to [email protected] as ASCII text or Cabrillo format or EA RTTY
Contest, PO Box 220, E - 28080 Madrid, Spain.
SP DX Contest - CW/SSB, sponsored by the PZK Polish Amateur Radio
Union and the SP DX Club from 1500Z Apr 1 - 1500Z Apr 2. Frequencies:
160 -- 10 meters, according to the IARU Region I band plan, no
crossmode QSOs. Categories: SOAB and SOSB (CW, SSB, or Mixed),
SO-Three Band Mixed, SO-QRP, MS Mixed (incl. nets, packet, Internet),
SWL Mixed. Exchange: RS(T) and serial number or Polish province. QSO
Points: 3 pts for each SP contact, SP stations count 3 pts outside
EU, 1 pt for EU (no pts for SP-SP QSOs). Score is QSO points x
provinces (counted once per band and mode) or DXCC entities (for
Polish stations). For more information:
http://www.contest.spdxc.org.pl/en/index.php. Logs due Apr 30 to
[email protected] (Cabrillo format preferred) or to Polski
Zwiazek Krotkofalowcow, SPDX Contest Committee, PO Box 320, 00-950
Warszawa, Poland.
Kids Roundup - Phone, sponsored by the Anne Arundel Radio Club, Jr
(AARC, Jr), from 1400Z Apr 1 - 2200Z Apr 2. Frequencies: 80 meters
-70 cm. See Web site for categories and QSO Point rules. Exchange:
Call sign, QTH, category, first name. Contacts with amateur radio
station KI3DS count 25 points. For more information:
http://www.ki3ds.org/. Logs due May 1 to [email protected] or AARC Jr,
Attn: Bob Rose, 7901 Pepperbox Lane, Pasadena, MD 21122-6328.
Radio Poltergeist Roundup - Spark and Arc Modulation, sponsored by
the Friends Of Old Logs Society on April 1st. Frequencies: all of
them. Categories: Commercial and Amateur. Exchange: send "S". QSO
Points: 1 point for each "S" heard across the pond. For more
information: http://www.qcwa.org/w1aa.htm. Logs due Oct 31 to G.
Marconi, PO Box 1901, Podunk-on-Bunyip, Anatolia.
DX YL to North American YL Contest - CW, sponsored by YLRL from 1400Z
Apr 4 - 0200Z Apr 6, work 24 hours max. (Phone - Apr 11-13)
Frequencies: all HF bands. Exchange: RST, serial number and ARRL
Section, province, or DXCC entity. QSO Points: 1 pt/QSO. Score: QSO
Points x S/P/C counted only once x 1.5 (<100 W CW, 200 W SSB) For
more information: http://www.ylrl.org/. Logs due 30 days after the
contest to [email protected] or Nancy Rabel Hall KC4IYD, PO Box 775,
North Olmsted, OH 44070.
VHF+ CONTESTS
VHF Spring Sprints - CW/SSB, sponsored by the Eastern Tennessee DX
Association from 7-11 PM local time, 4 Apr. Frequencies: 144 MHz.
Fixed and Rover categories. Exchange is Grid Square only, count 1 pt
per QSO. Score is QSO Points x Grid Squares, score each sprint
separately. Rovers and Microwave sprints total all points and all
grids worked from each grid. For more information:
http://www.etdxa.org/vhf.htm. Logs must be emailed or postmarked
within four weeks of the contest to [email protected] or
ETDXA/WU4O Jeff Baker, 2012 Hinds Creek Road, Heiskell, Tennessee
37754.
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NEWS, PRESS RELEASES, AND GENERAL INTEREST
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National Contest Journal News by NCJ Editor Carl Luetzelschwab K9LA
Although the May/June 2006 issue of NCJ is still in production, plans
are already underway for the July/August issue -- which will be a
special issue devoted to WRTC2006 (as was the July/August 2002 issue
for WRTC2002). Several WRCT2006 articles are already in the works,
and there is room for more to commemorate the fifth running of the
premier contesting event. If you'd like to contribute a
WRTC2006-related article for the July/August NCJ, please e-mail Carl
at "[email protected]"; so we can discuss your idea. Thanks!
National Contest Journal - http://www.ncjweb.com/
- - - - -
The experimental real-time score reporting Web site will be up and
running for this weekend's CQ WPX SSB contest. You can view results
posted on this site at: http://www.hornucopia.com/realscores.php. You
can get a tool to upload your score from:
http://www.k1ttt.net/software/realtimescore.zip. It automatically
uploads scores with the N1MM logger, or can be used manually if you
log with any other program. This is part of an effort to standardize
real time score reporting
(http://www.hornucopia.com/xml4contestresults.html). (Thanks, Dave
K1TTT)
Swinging to the oldest technology of radio, coincident with the
announcement that telegrams no longer handled by Western Union, Paul
NA5N wrote a nice historical article on telegraphy and early wireless
messaging. It's available on the El Defensor Chieftain's Web site at
http://www.dchieftain.com/news/59586-03-04-06.html (Thanks, Bob KI0G)
Looking for "just the right word?"
http://www.worldwidewords.org/index.htm may be a good place to stash
nuggets for when an attack of lethologica strikes. (Thanks, Jack
WA0RJY)
More good reading - here's a good article on the SuitSat experiment
from Electronic Design, a leading engineering trade magazine:
http://www.electronicdesign.com/Articles/Index.cfm?AD=1&ArticleID=12096
(Thanks, Kevin KD5ONS)
From the Experts-Exchange (http://www.experts-exchange.com/) March
15th newsletter - Maybe this is what's wrong with TV weathermen: A
new piece of software can tell the difference between colors.
Developed by a colorblind electrical engineer, the software not only
helps people who have difficulty distinguishing between colors, but
"helps normally-sighted users work more efficiently with complex
color-based data representation." There's a beta-download at
http://www.colorhelper.com/.
Timmmm-berrrrrrrrr!
http://www.radiotowersite.com/rt_broadcast_twr.asp (Thanks, John
VE3EJ)
Kelly and Stewart Brand were the brains behind the Whole Earth
Catalog and its many successors, along with many, many innovative and
seemingly 'out there' projects in the 70's and 80's... some of which
are now in the mainstream. Check out Kevin Kelly's Cool Tools Web
site at: http://www.kk.org/cooltools/index.php.(Thanks, Todd WB2ZAB)
Larry N8LP's LP-100 Digital Vector RF Wattmeter is officially for
sale at http://www.telepostinc.com/. The LP-100 is based on the QEX
cover article from Jan/Feb 2006, adding a new vector impedance screen
displaying Z, R, and X from 0-999.9 ohms). Larry will have a booth at
Dayton with a limited supply of LP-100s. He will also be showing his
other kits - wattmeters, a SteppIR tuning relay, and others.
Ready in time for the WPX Phone, there is a new release of the Super
Check Partial database files available at http://www.k5zd.com/scp/.
This set of files was created out of 2,838,521 QSOs from 2,311 logs.
The full data set contained 111,753 unique calls resulting in a
master.dta fileof 38,965 calls after filtering. And don't forget to
update your CTY files from http://www.k1ea.com/, particularly for WPX
contests!(Thanks, Randy K5ZD and Jim AD1C)
As opposed to a Portuguese lesson, this time we'll have some visa
information instead. Americans traveling to Brazil are required to
have a visa. The visa must be obtained from a Brazilian embassy or
consulate and you must enter Brazil within 90 days of its date of
issue. Since WRTC-2006 will be 90 days away on April 6th, it's time
to start arranging to get yours. The Web site at
http://www.brasilemb.org/consulado/consular1.shtml has more
information. Click on "Tourist Visa" for the complete details.
(Thanks, Dennis WJ2R)
URL OF THE WEEK - For those of you that have been stuck in "Phone
Tree Purgatory", Tim K3HX contributes this handy site:
http://www.gethuman.com/. The site has a long list of companies and
methods of bypassing the usual phone phollies to go straight to a
live operator. You can also report your own discoveries and rate
companies.
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RESULTS AND RECORDS
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ARRL CONTEST RESULTS NEWS
The online results of the 2005 ARRL November CW Sweepstakes are
available to ARRL Members at http://www.arrl.org/contests/results.
The PDF and printable line scores will be available to non-members
around April 7. Pins for the contest were also received from the
vendor and are being packaged for mailing. The combined List of Logs
Received for the January VHF Sweepstakes was also posted to the ARRL
Web. (Thanks, Dan N1ND)
- - - - -
The entire RTTY Roundup Results have been entered into the contest
score database at http://www.kkn.net/~k5tr/scoredb/. Both the DX and
the US/VE records will be published in a sidebar to the writeup for
the 2006 contest in the ARRL Web version of the article. Records
will be listed to the section level in all four categories from 1989
- 2006. (Thanks, Jay WS7I)
Along with the results of the Original QRP Contest, the contest
sponsors also compiled a very interesting list of what rigs were used
in the contest. There are a LOT of different QRP rigs listed at
http://www.qrpcc.de/contestergebnisse/oqrp/2006/. (Thanks, Lutz
DL1RNN)
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TECHNICAL TIPS AND INFORMATION
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Scott KA9FOX ran across this Web site and thought of the many sleepy
contesters that may need one of these products:
http://tinyurl.com/zsy54
When you install underground conduit, make sure there are a few
(two?) low spots along the run. At these spots install a PVC tee in
the conduit, with the open end of the tee facing the dirt beneath.
Dig a pit (a couple of cubic feet in volume) underneath this opening
and fill it with gravel. Fasten garden weed-block cloth over the tee
opening to allow the water to drain but to keep varmints out. The
water that gets in will flow along the slope of the conduit to these
openings and drain into the gravel-filled sump. (Thanks, Brian N9ADG)
If loud fans are driving you nuts, Phil N9LAH found a source of quiet
replacements at http://tinyurl.com/ktgel. This could decimate the
market for noise-gate circuits in voice keyers and processors.
Roger K8RI has a good idea for making coax connector boots - snip the
fingers out of a heavy duty rubber glove. This won't replace
electrical tape as a sure-fire waterproofing technique, but in
less-demanding applications it would be very useful.
For those of us that can never seem to get fully trained on where all
the CT program's special keys are during a contest, Bob N6TV reminds
us that you can remap your keyboard using CT's DEFINEKEY comand. Bob
remaps as follows:
- semicolon (;) Sends call+exchange (remapped INSert)
- quote (') Send TU message (remapped + key)
- period (.) Calls CQ (remapped F1)
- comma (,) Sends a Question Mark (remapped F6) - love this one
- backslash (\) Sends my call (remapped F4)
When building a new gadget, sometimes you can't get ICs in anything
but SMT (surface-mount) packages. When that happens, you'll need
special boards to hold the chips or adapt them to convention
through-hole boards. Nick WA5BDU likes the SMT proto boards from
Futurlec. http://www.futurlec.com/SMD_Adapters.shtml. The "Surfboard"
adaptor boards and similar items from Capital Advanced Technologies
(http://capitaladvanced.com/products.htm) are available from Digi-Key
(http://www.digi-key.com/) and ham vendor FAR Circuits
(http://www.farcircuits.net/) has some similar boards as well.
(Thanks, Michael Taylor)
If you have RF noise entering your house (and shack) and being
re-radiated on the power lines, Tom W8JI observes that it may be
possible to "detune" the lines and stop the re-radiation. "I built a
bypass capacitor with two 120VAC rated .01uF capacitors, each one
tied from one side of the line to the safety ground, into a plug. I
just moved that plug around to different outlets until I found one
that detuned the power lines, and made the noise radiating from the
lines in my house disappear. The noise virtually vanished even though
I'm positive the source of noise several hundred feet away still
remained." Make sure you use line-rated capacitors!
Here's an excellent on-line resource on microwave antennas - Paul
Wade W1GHZ's online Microwave Antenna Book at
http://www.qsl.net/n1bwt/contents.htm. (Thanks, Dave AD6A)
We all have numerous pairs of headphones and boom-mike headsets, many
of which need new earphone pads now and then. While the manufacturer
probably sells replacement pads (Heil Sound is particularly good on
this count), in a pinch you might try the sets from Radio Shack
(http://www.radioshack.com/). Part numbers 33-375, 33-379, and 33-380
replace many types of foam headphone pads. (Thanks, Lloyd K3ESE)
TECHNICAL LINK OF THE WEEK - When you are looking for a particular
IC, you can browse site after site looking for it or you can try
http://www.findchips.com/. FindChips will retrieve pricing and
availability from several on-line vendors, making your shopping a
whole lot easier. (Thanks, Michael VE3TIX)
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CONVERSATION
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Something You Know
In the course of discussions about DXing and QSLing, it occurred to
me that the problem of DX QSO authentication has many parallels in
the field of contest log checking.
Log checking is getting better and better, able to speedily
accomplish electronically what took W1WY, W1YL, and others months of
rooting through piles of paper logs. Along with identifying the
miscreants of radiosport - the callbook padders, packet poachers, and
rubber clockers - a wealth of valuable information is also generated
for honest competitors. Your log checking report is a veritable
phone book of pointers to areas in which you can improve.
The log-checking process is one of verification. Verification
consists of comparing "something you know" (QSO time-date-band-mode)
to what someone else knows. Verification has to be performed "blind"
to both submitters and neither may compare information outside the
contest before submitting a log.
Log checking is really very good, but it is facing a new challenge
driven by technology and habits. The strongest challengers are the
use of spotting assistance during the contest, log cleaning tools
after the contest, and data bases both during and after the contest.
Just by observing on-the-air behavior, it is clear that the use of
new technology is an implied challenge to the definition of what it
means to be a "better" operator as determined by log checking.
Eventually we must address the question "Should 99% of contesters
receive penalties because of the 1% that are perceived to cheat?" In
fact, people do demonstrably cheat. Contests with strong
log-checking programs have been validated as the consensus standard
by the participation of contesters.
Nevertheless, let's not lose sight of the difference between
participation for enjoyment and participation for competition.
Participation for enjoyment is not so much concerned with
verification. Participation for competition is entirely different and
can only prosper in an environment of strong verification.
Striking a balance between enjoyment and competition is difficult.
Strong verification without compensating incentives can discourage
casual entrants, preventing them from becoming competitive entrants.
Weaker verification undermines the validation of competitive
rankings. Improving the environment for one can damage the
environment for the other.
Where we are really heading is to an entirely new paradigm of
verification. Soon, all QSOs everywhere will be public instantly.
When this happens, a new mechanism for verification will have to be
devised. Will QSO exchanges need to be encrypted? Will a PIN need
to be pre-registered with the contest sponsors? Will the competitors
need a back-channel for verification (some kind of Internet gadget)?
If QSOs are public instantly, can verification also be made instant?
There will have to be a "something you know" for any contesting
program to have meaning. After all, that is what contests are all
about - I achieved this and you did not. (an advanced form of
"Naa-naa-na-naa-naa") For contest results to have meaning, there
must be a verified personal achievement. Technology for playing and
for verification must advance as peers, lest the enjoyment of the
activity as a competitive sport be destroyed.
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
SM3CER's Web site - http://www.sk3bg.se/contest
