Contester's Rate Sheet for August 8, 2007
******************************************** CONTESTER'S RATE SHEET 8 AUGUST 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 On Your Marks - WAE CW Contest o Get Freckles o Morse Code Memories o Field Day Aloft o Calculator Cornucopia o Verticals On the Beach o New Edition of K9YC's RFI Tutorial o Who's Excited? NEW HF OPERATORS - THINGS TO DO o This weekend is the traditional kickoff of fall DX contest season with the Worked All Europe CW contest This contest has an interesting feature called "QTC". You can get extra points for sending a list of contacts to the other station. This is rather unique among contests, so you should listen to other stations going at it before jumping in yourself. If you would rather not try, it's perfectly OK, just respond with "NO" if the other station asks, "QTC?" BULLETINS o There are no bulletins this issue. BUSTED QSOS o The URL for DL8MBS' on-time analysis (http://www.dl8mbs.de/40984/45289.html) was omitted. o The URL for the Rube Goldberg video apparently got an extra space in it somewhere along the line - try http://tinyurl.com/36qj7f and see if that works better. (Thanks, Chuck W1HIS) CONTEST SUMMARY (Rules follow Commentary section) August 11 - 12 - Worked All Europe, CW - Maryland-DC QSO Party August 18 - 19 - ARRL 10 GHz and Up Contest - North American QSO Party, SSB - SARTG WW RTTY Contest - New Jersey QSO Party - Keymen's Club of Japan Contest, CW - Russian District Award Contest - Silent Key Memorial Sprint, CW --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- Putting up VHF and UHF antennas quickly just got a lot easier due to the Connect Quick boom-to-mast system from Paul K1PJM at Ironworks Design. He has invented a kind of "quick disconnect" for antennas that looks like a real time-saver. His Web site (http://www.connectquick.net/) has illustrations and a video showing how the product works. Ham ingenuity strikes again! Mike WA8MCQ found a good online resource (http://www.g3ynh.info/index.html) for technical articles about HF power transmission. At the top of the page, click on "From Transmitter to Antenna: HF power transmission theory and practice" and you'll find an index page with a lot of articles. "Theory and optimisation of current transformer bridges" is interesting, too. Alex KR1ST just released (http://www.kr1st.com/freckles.htm) a Sidebar Gadget for Windows Vista called Freckles. (Vista is required) Freckles is a small application that will keep you informed of the current Sunspot Number, Solar Flux, and Interplanetary A and K indices. These values are continuously updated so you don't have to go browse the net for the latest numbers or log onto a spotting network to obtain the latest numbers. It also displays the latest Extreme Ultraviolet Telescope image of the sun. In case you hadn't heard, the University of Pittsburgh is using Morse code to study short-term memory. (http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_514637.html) This article features John K3WWP, well-known QRP CW operator, and discusses how the test is run. John says he'll write up the experience in a World Radio magazine article after the study. (Thanks, John AE5X) Another story, this time about RF interference (http://news.com.com/2100-1033_3-6199149.html), has a number of excellent observations about where the fault usually lies. The context is RF interference from TDMA (such as GSM) mobile phones, but the information is just as true when applied to interference from HF equipment. (Thanks, Dan KI6X) OK already, how much does the ratio of up-and-down to back-and-forth matter in the construction of an Inverted-L? LB Cebik provides the REAL answer in the article "Does the Ratio of Vertical Wire to Horizontal Wire Make a Difference in Performance?" It's part of the document "Straightening Out the Inverted-L" (http://www.cebik.com/fdim/fdim10.pdf) (Thanks, Larry N8KU) If you're interested in the history of the telephone system and the many standards and convention still used today, the About.com Web site's "Inventors" section (http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bltelephone7.htm) has plenty of good reading. You can see all of the planned California QSO Party (CQP) operations at http://www.cqp.org/Counties-Plan-2007.html If you are planning an adventure during CQP, this is the place to tell us about it! (Thanks, Marc W6ZZZ) URL of the Week - While looking for information about residual gas in transmitting tubes, Pat AA6EG came across the on-line article http://www.smecc.org/r__m__r__residual_gases.htm and considers it a very good read. Pat also looked into the root source of the article and found SMECC (http://www.smecc.org/) whose mission is preserving Engineering, Communications and Computation History. They are looking for "the three dimensional artifacts, the papers and thoughts of those who pioneered the technology." You just might have something in the junk box to donate! oooo o -o-- -o-- o- o-oo o-oo SIGHTS AND SOUNDS o-- o- - -o-o oooo - oooo oo ooo The K1WHS station is a force on VHF+ and a lot of that is due to the extraordinary antenna systems Dave has assembled. You can get an up-close-and-personal look at the aluminum farm by browsing to http://www.directivesystems.com/ and clicking "VHF Contest Pictures". There are over 70 antennas at the site! For those into both ham radio and flying http://tinyurl.com/2zphnh is a neat combination with a bonus jazz sound track. I'll bet this is really impressive on a big-screen monitor watched from really, really close! (Thanks, Bob N6TV) Here are some photos (http://tinyurl.com/2zrbtf) of the renovation of the US/JA 15 meter Yagi at PJ2T. They show what salt air does to metal and what they have to do down there to combat it.(Thanks, Geoff W0CG/PJ2DX) Perhaps you need an antidote to the rather unimpressive ionospheric conditions as of late? Here it is: http://tinyurl.com/2qbaxl. oo-o oo -o -oo -o-- --- oo- o-o RESULTS AND RECORDS -o-o o- o-oo o-oo oooo o o-o o ARRL Contest Results The email robot for the ARRL UHF Contest had indigestion for a day and was not sending out responses, but should have been fixed by the time of this issue being emailed to you. Try, try again, if necessary. (Thanks, Gene W3ZZ) The August UHF Contest Score Rumors Web form is running at http://www.newsvhf.com/augscores.html and the site is also linked from the contest page at http://www.newsvhf.com/contests.html But this isn't for submitting your logs! (Thanks, Ron WZ1V) - - - - - The Top 400 scores for both modes of CQ WW 160 are available at http://www.cq-amateur-radio.com/ the CQ Magazine Web site. Click on "Contest Rules & Info" then on the contest for which you want to see the scores. Final 2007 results will be in the December 2007 issue of CQ. (Thanks, Dave K4JRB) Booklets with the results of the 2006 RDXC contest (http://www.rdxc.org/) are showing up in mailboxes around the world. From all reports, they are a fine piece of work. oooo o -o-- -o-- --- oo- OPERATING TIP o-- o- -o- o oo- o--o If the contest in which you're operating counts multipliers on each band, make it easy to "move a mult" by keeping a set of pass frequencies in your radio's memories. Then practice changing quickly from VFO to MEMORY mode (and back again). That way, you'll not be flustered trying to think of a good frequency on the fly. 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 Jake K9WN contributes a Web site (http://www.daycounter.com/Calculators) with lots of different electronic calculators. It's got everything from Air Core Inductor design to Z-S-Y parameter conversions! For information on all types of fusing, download the free Littlefuse "Electronic Designer's Guide" at http://tinyurl.com/yqzyz6 The guide covers not only fuses, but resettable PTC fuses and transient and surge protectors, as well. A good tutorial on common op-amp circuit mistakes (http://tinyurl.com/26c4a4) was listed in this month's "Analog Dialogue" from Analog Devices. If you are an analog electronic designer, this is a good newsletter, free and emailed monthly. To drive a dozen ground rods for his tower, Gene AD3F used a 4-inch long piece of 3/4 inch threaded water pipe (black iron.) He screwed an iron cap (available from the same sources) onto one end and slipped the pipe over the ground rod, hammering on the end cap until the rod was in place. Wrapping a bit of tape on the rod at the open end of the pipe prevented scratching the copper cladding while driving each rod. The cap eventually broke after about half the rods, but the pipe and cap are inexpensively replaced. Remember to wear eye protection while bashing away! Where does the term "CAT5" for data cable come from? http://tinyurl.com/yq73fz has the answer and more! While researching some telephone wiring questions, I found this very handy (and aptly named) Web site (http://www.homephonewiring.com/) to contain excellent information about wiring a home's phone system. If you are making a rebar cage for the base of your soon-to-be-installed tower, the rectangular frame may seem pretty wobbly. Well, it is! Steve K7LXC solves the problem thus, "As a frame with just verticals and horizontals it has no inherent ability to stand up by itself. I always add an X (a pair of diagonal pieces) to each face to strengthen it. Then you can stand on the cage without it collapsing." Here's some good stuff about verticals on the beach from Team Vertical's Jamaica Beach Contest Experiences: http://www.k2kw.com/verticals/tests.html http://www.k2kw.com/verticals/whyvert.html http://www.k2kw.com/verticals/learning.html I'm still working on the beach part! (Thanks, Pat AA6EG) TECHNICAL URL OF THE WEEK -- Jim K9YC has posted a new version of his excellent tutorial (http://audiosystemsgroup.com/RFI-Ham.pdf) on RFI, Ferrite Chokes, Baluns, and audio for hams. It has the same filename as the original, but the title shows Rev 1, 25 Jul 07. The new stuff is primarily about choke baluns wound with big coax (RG8X, RG8). There is a major update to the Choke Cookbook, based on extensive measurements of these chokes. There are also some additions to the appendices, and a few tweaks and typos fixed throughout the document. 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 Who's Excited? Last week I was counseling us curmudgeons to not be such wet blankets about conditions not being (cue the soft lighting and orchestra) as good as "back then", whenever "back then" was. This time, I think I'll turn it around and go the other way. That's the nice thing about being the editor AND the author - I don't have to be consistent. This time, I'm writing about excitement. Maybe that's an oxymoron, writing about excitement, but I'll give it a try. Are you excited about something in ham radio? Not something in the past, something RIGHT NOW! Something that makes you want to run down to the workshop, fire up the radio, climb up the tower, gallop out into the back forty, back out of the garage, pedal off down the street, open the toolbox, throw some line over a branch, fill out a QSL, go to a meeting. Wait, go to a meeting? Well, yeah, a meeting! What is it? What is it that makes nearly 2^14th of you read this newsletter every two weeks? What keeps your filaments hot or your meters jumping? Surely, there is at least one thing in ham radio that makes you glad to be alive, just so you can do that thing! Tell somebody about it! Don't tell ME about it - tell somebody you don't know about it! Put it on a Web site. Write it up for the newsletter of a club that does something completely different. Write a short piece for your local weekly paper. Talk about it at church or in a social group. Show a new ham and who cares if they've never done anything like that before. Don't hide your excitement as if it was something to be embarrassed about! Don't think you'll look foolish to be excited. Are you kidding? Excited people are interesting and a welcome relief from the cynics and know-it-alls. We have viral marketing, viral lyrics, viral videos, viral memes, viral virals. Why can't ham radio get a little bit of that? Put our stuff out there! In a world that has more opportunities for spectators than at any time in the history of civilization, why be a shrinking violet? And it wouldn't hurt to crack a big, old goofy grin while you're doing it! Put your hat on backwards and yell, "WOO-HOO!" into the camera. Hiram won't roll over in the grave if you let everybody know you're having a good time! Laugh! I know some excited, spirited hams. They like contesting. They're good at it and they're excited about being good at it. And nobody outside of contesting has ever heard of them or their excitement. You can change that! 73, Ward N0AX -o-o --o- - o ooo - -o-o --o- - o ooo - CONTESTS -- 8 AUGUST THROUGH 21 AUGUST 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 Worked All Europe DX Contest--CW, sponsored by the Deutscher ARC from 0000Z Aug 11 - 2359Z Aug 12, (Phone is Sep 8 - 9; RTTY is Nov 10 - 11). Frequencies: 80-10 meters according to Region I band plan. Categories: SOHP, SOLP, MS, SWL. Spotting assistance allowed in all categories. SO operate 36 hrs max., up to three off periods of 1 hour min. Non-EU work EU only except RTTY, where everyone works everyone. Exchange: RS(T) and serial number. Score 1 pt/QSO and 1 pt/QTC. Final score is QSOs + QTCs x weighted multipliers. Multipliers: non-EU use WAE countries, EU use DXCC entities plus call districts in W, VE, VK, ZL, ZS, JA, PY and RA8/9/0. (RTTY use WAE inside EU, DXCC outside EU, plus call districts.) Mults on 80m count x4, on 40m x3, otherwise x2. A QTC is a report sent from a non-EU station back to an EU station of QSOs that took place earlier in the contest (RTTY QTC may only be exchanged between continents). A QTC contains the time, call sign, and QSO number of the station being reported (e.g. 1307/DL1AA/346). A QSO may only be reported once and not back to the originating station. A maximum of 10 QTCs can be sent to a single station. The same station can be worked several times to complete this quota, but only the original QSO has QSO point value. Keep a list of QTCs sent. For example, QTC 3/7 would indicate that this is the third series of QTCs sent, and seven QSOs are reported. For more information: http://www.waedc.de/ or [email protected]. Logs due by Sep 15 (CW to [email protected]), Oct 15 (Phone to [email protected]) or Dec 15 (RTTY to [email protected]). Please use your call sign as the subject of the email. Maryland-DC QSO Party--CW/Phone/Digital, sponsored by the Antietam Radio Association from 1600Z Aug 11 - 0400Z Aug 12 and 1600Z-2359Z Aug 12. Frequencies (MHz): CW -- 3.643, 7.060, 14.060, 21.060, 28.035, Phone - 1.895, 3.920, 7.230, 14.270, 21.370, 28.370, VHF/UHF - 50.150, 52.525, 144.15, 146.55, 146.580, 432.15, 446.000. Categories: Club, Mobile, QRP, and Standard. Work stations once per band/mode, portable/mobiles can be worked again in each county. Exchange: QTH and category. QSO Points: Club--10 pts, Mobile--5 pts, QRP--4 pts, CW or Digital--3 pts, all others--1 pt. Highest single point value applies. Score: QSO points x MD counties + Baltimore City + DC. (MD-DC stations also count states and DXCC entities) For more information: http://www.w3cwc.org/funcontest.htm. Logs due Sept 15 to [email protected] or Antietam Radio Association, PO Box 52, Hagerstown, MD 21741-0052. North American QSO Party--SSB, sponsored by the National Contest Journal from 1800Z Aug 18 - 0600Z Aug 19. 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 + Provinces + NA DXCC entities (count each once per band). For information: http://www.ncjweb.com/naqprules.php Logs due 14 days after the contest via Web entry form at http://www.ncjweb.com/naqplogsubmit.php to [email protected] or Bruce Horn, WA7BNM, 4225 Farmdale Avenue, Studio City, CA 91604. SARTG WW RTTY Contest, sponsored by the Scandinavian Amateur Radio Teleprinter Group from 0000Z-0800Z and 1600Z-2400Z Aug 18 and 0800Z-1600Z Aug 19. Frequencies: 80-10 meters. Categories: SOAB (HP, LP), SOSB, MS, SWL. Exchange: RST and serial number. QSO Points: own country--5 pts, different country on same continent--10 pts, diff. cont.--15 pts. Score: QSO points x DXCC entities + W/VE/VK/JA call districts. For more information: http://www.sartg.com/. Logs due Oct 9 to [email protected] or to SARTG Contest Manager, Ewe H�kansson, SM7BHM, Pilspetsv�gen 4, SE-291 66 Kristianstad, Sweden. New Jersey QSO Party--CW/Phone, sponsored by Englewood ARA from 2000Z Aug 18 - 0700Z Aug 19 and 1300Z Aug 19 - 0200Z Aug 20. Frequencies (MHz): 1.810, 3.535, 7.035, 14.035, 21.100, 28.100, SSB -- 3.950, 7.235, 14.285, 21.355, 28.400, VHF/UHF 50-50.5 and 144-146 MHz. Exchange: QSO number and S/P/C or NJ county. QSO points: 3 pts/QSO. Score: QSO points x NJ counties. NJ stations use NJ counties + states (except NJ) + provinces, max. 83. For more information: http://www.qsl.net/w2rj. Logs due Sep 15 to Englewood Amateur Radio Association, Inc., PO Box 528, Englewood, New Jersey 07631-0528. Keymen's Club of Japan Contest--CW, sponsored by the Keymen's Club of Japan from 1200Z Aug 18 - 1200Z Aug 19. Frequencies: 160-6 meters (JA participation on 160 primarily 1.810- 1.825 MHz). Categories: SOAB, SOSB (JA only), SWL. Exchange: RST and JA prefecture/district or continent. QSO Points: 1 pt/QSO (JA count JA/JA--1 pt and JA/DX--5 pts). Score: QSO points x JA pref/dist from each band (JA also count continents). For more information: http://www.jarl.com/kcj or [email protected]. Logs due 20 Sep to kcjlog@kcj&#8722;cw.com or Akira Sasaki, JH8CBH, 210−13 Zenikamecho, Hakodate, 042-0922 Japan. Russian District Award Contest--CW/SSB, sponsored by the Tambov Award Group from 1400Z Aug 18 - 0800Z Aug 19. Frequencies: 160 - 10 meters. Categories: SOAB (CW, SSB, Mixed), MS (with 10-min rule), SWL, Portable SO and MS - Russian only. Exchange: RS(T) + serial number or Russian District code. QSO Points: 10 pts/QSO. Total Score: QSO Points x Russian districts, counted only once. For more information: http://rdaward.org/rdac1.htm. Logs due 30 days after the contest to [email protected] or [email protected] or [email protected] or Roman A.Novikov, POBox 21, Tambov, 392000, Russia. Silent Key Memorial Sprint--CW, sponsored by the QRP ARCI from 1500Z -- 1800Z Aug 18. Frequencies (MHz): 1.810, 3.560, 7.030, 7.040, 14.060, 21.060, 28.060. Categories: SOAB, SB, High Bands (20-10), Low Bands (160-40). Exchange: RST + S/P/C + QRP ARCI member number or power. QSO Points: non-member, same continent--2 pts, non-member different cont--4 pts, member--5 pts. Score: QSO points x S/P/C x Power multiplier (<55 mW x 20, <250 mW x 15, <1 W x 10, <5 W x 7, >5 W x 1). Add 5000 points if portable with temporary antenna. For more information: http://www.qrparci.org/. Logs due 18 Sep to [email protected] or Silent Key Memorial Sprint, c/o Jeff Hetherington, VA3JFF, 139 Elizabeth St W, Welland, Ontario, Canada L3C 4M3. VHF+ CONTESTS ARRL 10 GHz and Up Contest, 6 AM local Aug 18 -- 12 AM (Midnight) local Aug 19 (also Sep 15-16). Categories: 10 GHz only and 10 GHz and up. Exchange: Six-digit Maidenhead Locator. Distance Points equals distance in km between stations. QSO Points: 100 pts for each unique call worked. Score: Distance points + QSO points. For more information: http://www.arrl.org/contests Logs due Oct 16 to [email protected] or ARRL Contest Branch, 225 Main St, Newington, CT, 06111, USA. -oo --- -o - -- oo ooo ooo -o-- --- oo- o-o LOG DUE DATES - 8 AUGUST THROUGH 21 AUGUST 2007 o-oo --- --o -oo o o- -oo o-oo oo -o o ooo August 8 - ARCI Summer Homebrew Sprint, email logs to: [email protected], paper logs and diskettes to: ARCI Summer Homebrew Sprint, 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,55/lang,en/ August 10 - DL-DX RTTY Contest, email logs to: [email protected], paper logs and diskettes to: (none). Find rules at: http://drcg.de/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24&Itemid=36 August 13 - FISTS Summer Sprint, email logs to: [email protected], paper logs and diskettes to: Dan Shepherd, N8IE, 1900 Pittsfield St, Kettering, Oh 45420, USA. Find rules at: http://www.fists.org/sprints.html August 14 - IARU HF World Championship, email logs to: [email protected], paper logs and diskettes to: IARU HF Championship, IARU International Secretariat, Box 310905, Newington, CT 06111, USA. Find rules at: http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2007/iaru.html August 15 - VK/Trans-Tasman 160m Contest, CW, email logs to: [email protected], paper logs and diskettes to: VK/trans-Tasman Contest, 28 Crampton Crescent, Rosanna, VIC 3084, Australia. Find rules at: http://home.iprimus.com.au/vktasman/RULES.HTM August 15 - WLOTA Contest, email logs to: [email protected], paper logs and diskettes to: WLH Award, 18 Allee Roch-Bihen, 44510 Le Pouliguen, France. Find rules at: http://www.wlota.com/wlota/contest/regtest.htm August 16 - DIE Contest, email logs to: [email protected], paper logs and diskettes to: EA5AEN, Apartado 9055 en, 46080 Valencia, Spain. Find rules at: http://www.ea5ol.net/die/die2007.doc August 18 - North American QSO Party, CW, email logs to: (see rules, web upload preferred), Upload log at: http://www.ncjweb.com/naqplogsubmit.php, paper logs and diskettes to: Bruce Horn, WA7BNM, 4225 Farmdale Avenue, Studio City, CA 91604, USA. Find rules at: http://www.ncjweb.com/naqprules.php August 18 - Quebec QSO Party, email logs to: [email protected], paper logs and diskettes to: Radio Amateur du Quebec (QQP), 4545, Av. Pierre-de-Coubertin, C.P. 1000, Succursale M, Montreal, QC H1V 3R2, Canada. Find rules at: http://www.raqi.ca/qqp/qqp-e.pdf August 19 - SARL HF Phone Contest, email logs to: [email protected], paper logs and diskettes to: Bloemfontein Radio Amateur Club, Box 12104, Brandhof, 9324, South Africa. Find rules at: http://www.sarl.org.za/SARL%20Contest%20Manual%202007.pdf August 20 - 10-10 Int. Summer Contest, SSB, email logs to: [email protected], paper logs and diskettes to: Steve Rasmussen, N0WY, #68684, 312 N. 6th Street, Plattsmouth, NE 68048, USA. Find rules at: http://www.ten-ten.org/rules.html August 21 - RSGB RoPoCo 2, 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/rropoco.shtml August 21 - CQC Great Colorado Gold Rush, email logs to: [email protected], paper logs and diskettes to: Colorado QRP Club, PO Box 17174, Golden, CO 80402-6019, USA. Find rules at: http://www.cqc.org/contests/gold2007.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