Contester's Rate Sheet for November 14, 2007
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CONTESTER'S RATE SHEET
14 NOVEMBER 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)
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SUMMARY
o Back to Back Slugfests - Phone Sweepstakes & CQ WW CW
o Southeastern VHF Conference Call for Papers
o The First Log-Checking DQ
o An X-Class Flare - Caught In The Act
o FAQ's on RF Detectors
o Rope Grabs - Another Tower Tool
o Receiving Antenna Comparisons
o 2B = 2Do
NEW HF OPERATORS - THINGS TO DO
o Phone Sweepstakes is one of the most exciting contests for
newcomers to HF. The bands are full of loud signals that are easy to
work and a very modest station can generate QSO's for hours. Take
your time, learn the rhythm of the exchange, and have a ball!
BULLETINS
o No bulletins this issue.
BUSTED QSOS
o A golden issue last time!
CONTEST SUMMARY (Rules follow Commentary section)
17-18 November
- ARRL Sweepstakes, Phone
- Collegiate ARC Championship, Phone
- LZ DX Contest
- RSGB 1.8 MHz Contest, CW
- PSK63 QSO Party
24-25 November
- CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW
- ARRL International EME Contest
--o- ooo - --o- ooo - --o- ooo - -oo o
NEWS, PRESS RELEASES, AND GENERAL INTEREST
- oooo o o-o o- - o ooo oooo o o - -o-
Sweepstakes SSB this weekend is a great event to get some of the
newer hams in your area involved. If you aren't planning a major
effort in SS, consider being an Elmer by opening your station up to
some newcomers; your investment of time might create new contesters.
(Thanks, Sean KX9X)
Ken K5KA, Sweepstakes Contest Manager, notes that QSO totals over
1500 were reached in the CW weekend for the first time in a while.
He also notes, "Another highlight for me was when I found Bill, K4LTA
CQing Sunday and worked him at 35 wpm or so. For those of you who do
not know, Bill is sightless. So, if you want a real challenge, try
doing SS CW (or any contest for that matter) with a blindfold.
Thanks for getting on Bill." Food for thought!
The Southeastern VHF Society is calling for the submission of papers
and presentations for the upcoming 12th Annual Southeastern VHF
Society Conference to be held in Orlando, Florida on April 25th and
26th, 2008. Papers and presentations are solicited on both the
technical and operational aspects of VHF, UHF and Microwave weak
signal amateur radio. The deadline for the submission of papers and
presentations is February 29, 2008. Send all questions, comments and
submissions to the program chair, Steve Kostro, N2CEI at
[email protected]. For further information about the
conference please go to http://www.svhfs.org/
Steve NN4X posted a link (http://tinyurl.com/23hfh3) to an
interesting article on the movement of the Northern Magnetic Pole.
It seems to be headed for Siberia and may actually be close to the
geographical North Pole by 2020 or sooner! This will certainly
affect the location of the auroral oval, possibly improving polar
propagation from the western US and Canada to both East Asia and
Europe. The South Magnetic Pole is also moving - also in a northerly
direction, towards Australia. This link
(http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showflat.php?Number=133295) discusses
both poles and has a very cool animated graphic showing the movement
of the poles since the late 1500's.
If you think the rig-in-an-Altoid-tin radios are tiny, try this
(http://tinyurl.com/2v5xel) on for, um, size! Don't sneeze - you'll
lose the radio! (Thanks, George K5TR)
Though the KN4LF Daily LF/MF/HF Frequency Radiowave Propagation
Forecast at http://www.kn4lf.com/kn4lf6.htm is available by
subscription only, there is also an archive site of all forecasts. It
is updated every Thursday at http://www.kn4lf.com/kn4lfh.htm - the
KN4LF Daily LF/MF/HF Frequency Radiowave Propagation Forecast Archive
Site. Access to the archive is free and it contains a wealth of
solar, space weather and geomagnetic data. (Thanks, Thomas KN4LF)
The Army Foreign Science And Technology Center has recently made the
classic book "Shortwave Antennas" by Ayzenberg, G. Z. available to
the public as a 714-page 49 Mbyte PDF file. Antennex publisher Jack
Stone has posted a copy
(http://guests.antennex.com/rooms/science/classics.htm) in the
Antennex Guest Rooms' "Antenna Science, Classic Works" section. It is
also available for $10 on CD from http://tinyurl.com/23yfgk The book
covers many excellent antenna designs just as useful today as they
were as solar cycle 19 was just a pimple of the face of the Sun.
(Thanks, Steve K7LXC)
Jim AD1C has released (http://software.ad1c.us/#Cabrillo) beta-test
version 4.0 of his Cabrillo-to-CT BIN converter program. It allows
you to use CT to create reports based on a Cabrillo formatted file
from some other logging program. Cabrillo 3.0 and 2.0 formats are
supported. The contest has to be one that CT supports, of course.
Dave KA1NCN notes that 2-by-4 calls from VK (VK#xxxx) are beginning
to show up in contest logs.
(http://www.geocities.com/vk4hjv/wafle.html) Don't be nervous, don't
be frightened, don't be scared...be prepared!
URL of the Week - Is log checking a ham radio invention? Or did it
come from something much earlier? Find out in this fascinating story
(http://www.telegraph-history.org/horace-g-martin/hgmp1.htm) about
one of the best CW operators ever. (Thanks, Rich KL7RA)
oooo o -o-- -o-- o- o-oo o-oo
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
o-- o- - -o-o oooo - oooo oo ooo
Why not contribute your own sights? The ARRL Soapbox Web page
(http://www.arrl.org/contest/soapbox) is ready for your post-contest
reportage. As you bask in the post-contest glow, don't just sit there
woolgathering, take a few moments to upload your thoughts. It's of
interest to everybody, pictures or not!
If you're longing for the good old days when the ol' Sun actually did
have a decent pox, you can replay this MPEG
(http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap071106.html) of an X-class flare
producing region in full roar. Or is this a re-enactment of when I
actually swallowed a Thai hot pepper?
Remember the neat Lissajous (LIS-sa-joo) figures in the old ARRL
Handbooks? Here's a Web site
(http://www.ngsir.netfirms.com/englishhtm/Lissajous.htm) with a
terrific Java animation and a thorough description of how the figures
are created.
The N7PP Multi-Op team posted a video
(http://www.youtube.com/:80/watch?v=2X1gvCbjlcc) of their race to
400,000 points in the Salmon Run contest from a log cabin in Asotin
County this past September. (Thanks, Jim K7WA)
David VR2YDC sent a link
(http://bd7pa.blog.163.com/blog/static/16159478200792942551188) to
photos of the recent B7P CQ WW contest operation. While the captions
are all in Chinese characters, I believe the photos speak the
universal language of ham radio.
Jean-Pierre VA2SG has posted a video
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8MjvxlZdLw) of his CW Sweepstakes
operation. (Thanks, Claude VE2FK)
The CQ WW committee is looking for photos of your contest operations
to add to the magazine writeup and the Web site. Please send digital
pictures or scanned photographs to [email protected]. (Thanks, Steve
N2IC)
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 Branch Report - by Sean KX9X, Contest Branch Manager
We've received over 800 logs for SS CW here at HQ in the past 2
weeks!
If you haven't submitted your log yet, there's still a little time.
SS CW logs must be received no later than Wednesday, December 5 in
order to be an official entry. All certificates for the 2006 ARRL 10
Meter and ARRL 160 Meter contests have now gone out the door. Next up
are the plaques and certificates for the 2007 ARRL DX Phone and CW
contests. Please have patience while we get those awards taken care
of.
From the November 9th issue of The ARRL Letter we learn that the 2007
ARRL Field Day Results are now online: ARRL Field Day Manager Dan
Henderson, N1ND, said, "I was most pleased to see the all-time record
number of participants and reporting stations. Refarming of the bands
and the elimination of the code requirements have helped renew on the
air activity. Now the challenge for all of us in Amateur Radio is to
keep the growth and momentum going." You can find the results in the
Members Only section of the ARRL Web site
http://www.arrl.org/members-only/contests/results/2007/FD/
The Oceania DX Contest Web site (http://www.oceaniadxcontest.com/) has
a list of received logs (including claimed scores), along with
information about the required log format and rules. (Thanks, Brian
ZL1AZE and the Oceania DX Contest Committee)
oooo o -o-- -o-- --- oo-
OPERATING TIP
o-- o- -o- o oo- o--o
In line with this week's Conversation, the worst thing you can do for
your score is trade accuracy for speed. Busted QSO's can take a big
bite out of a score. You don't have to slow down very much to get
the information right. And that's what it's all about, isn't it?
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
Individual chassis punches can be pretty expensive, but Ocean State
Electronics sells a nice chassis punch kit
(http://www.oselectronics.com/ose_p64.htm) for $53.95. The sizes are
the common ones for ham use, such as UHF feedthrough holes and such.
(Thanks, Joe KH6/W3GW)
An FAQ on RF Detectors - design, function, performance - is available
at http://www.electronicdesign.com/ from Electronic Design magazine's
19 October issue. Enter 17106 into the "Drill Deeper" window to find
the article.
Hal N4GG points out that a strong caveat is in order for the paint
can stubs mentioned in the previous issue of this newsletter. If
wrapped into tight radius coils, the center conductor of coax stubs
using foam center insulation, particularly RG-8X, will migrate and
eventually short to the shield due to heating. The inside of a paint
can may be too tight a radius for foam-insulated coax. With good
quality RG-213 or non-foam coax or low power this should not be a
problem.
After experiencing RFI from compact florescent bulbs (CFB) installed
on a dimmer-controlled circuit, Phil KB9CRY discovered that not all
CFB's will work properly with a dimmer! He replaced the
trouble-causing bulbs with dimmer-rated bulbs and the RFI
disappeared.
Here are a couple articles about running networking cable outdoors:
http://tinyurl.com/2zdfw9 and http://tinyurl.com/a3tou thanks to
Roger Fulton.
Dave N6NZ writes to let us all know about "rope grabs". "These are
wonderful devices. They are lightweight, secure, and less cumbersome
than the usual belts and rebar hooks. A rope grab attaches to a life
line, and has a spring-loaded clutch mechanism such that the rope
grab will follow you up the tower, but must be held in release
position in order to descend. Here is a URL to a lifeline system
similar to the one I use
http://www.guardianfall.com/product.php?id=102 and many others are
available. I have a second rope grab of a different design that I
use as a clutch on my haul rope. Very convenient."
TECHNICAL URL OF THE WEEK -- Lee K7TJR has updated his popular
Receiving Antenna Comparison Web site
(http://www.k7tjr.com/rx1comparison.htm) with new information. This
includes Eznec file downloads for all the antennas in the chart and
azimuth plots for each. Just right for the bands open now!
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
2B = 2Do
'Tis Sweepstakes season and with its extra-long exchange, we are all
working hard on improving our copying accuracy! Or are we? Emails
flit through my Inbox asking, "Does anyone have the latest exchange
database?" Or, "Let's all make sure our databases are up to date!"
Or, "I want to make sure my prefill function works."
People, people, people! Why is it that we have contests? Think,
please...I will wait...and the answer is? Fun? BZZZZT! So that
Podunk Radio Club can challenge the superiority of Bandsweepers
Anonymous? DOUBLE BZZZZT!
Let's take a look at the Basis and Purpose of the FCC rules. These
are the reasons we get to play with a zillion dollars worth of HF
spectrum, telling each other our precedence, check, and section.
Where does 97.1 say anything about fun? Or internecine rivalries?
It doesn't! The purpose of contests, like everything else that
happens on the air in ham radio, should line up with one of those
five basics. If the activity happens to be a tremendous amount of
fun (like contesting), so much the better because that encourages
people to take part. That it happens to be fun, however, is
secondary.
Contesters are fond of telling non-contesters that contesting
improves operator skill, technical know-how, trains us for emergency
operation, advances the radio art, and (at least for DX contests)
fosters international goodwill.
So tell me, how is it, exactly, that GUESSING at what is sent by
using a database with check and section from previous years advances
any of those? What is it about short-circuiting the need to actually
copy what is sent that makes us better operators? There is a fine
line between using a computer as a tool to facilitate the
transcription of information from the airwaves to a log and lazily
letting the computer help you make a guess at what might have been
sent. While experienced contesters may know how to manage this
camel's nose in their tent, I am not sure new contesters do.
"Database disease" causes "accuracy rot", the bete noire of
high-performance operating. Most contesters want to improve their
skills, and accuracy is one of the most important. If you look at
the amazing accuracy figures of the operators that fill out the Top
Ten, it's not unusual at all to see error rates of less than one
percent over thousands of calls. How did they get to be that
accurate? I can tell you for sure that it did NOT involve letting a
database prefill the exchange field for them.
It's not justified either to say, "I only use it to confirm what I
copied!" All that does is slow you down and remove that last little
mental test that asks, "Am I sure I got it right?" You're just
kidding yourself if you think that databases of any sort - exchange
or call sign and even automatic zone identification - are anything
but a crutch that prevent you from honing your radio skills.
If you don't have a top-level accuracy rate, then you shouldn't be
using a database. It's that simple. TURN IT OFF! When you've
trained your ears and brain to copy accurately and you can get it in
the log accurately, and the number of errors starts getting down to
the one percent level, then (and only then) should you think about
turning on the prefill feature. You'll have reached the point where
you can tell the difference between a tool and a crutch.
But by then, you won't need it, will you?
73, Ward N0AX
-o-o --o- - o ooo - -o-o --o- - o ooo -
CONTESTS -- 14 NOVEMBER THROUGH 27 NOVEMBER 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
ARRL November Sweepstakes--Phone, from 2100Z Nov 17 - 0300Z Nov 19.
Frequencies: 160 - 10 meters, work stations only once. Categories:
SOAB-LP (A), HP (B), QRP (Q), SO-Unlimited (U), MS (M), School Club
(S). Exchange: Serial number, Category (precedence), Call, Check
(last two digits of first year licensed), and ARRL section. QSO
Points: 2 pts/QSO. Score: QSO points x sections (counted only once).
For more information: http://www.arrl.org/contests Logs due Dec 19
in Cabrillo format via on-line form at http://www.b4h.net/cabforms or
by email to [email protected] or to November SS Phone, ARRL, 225 Main
St, Newington, CT 06111.
North American Collegiate ARC Championship--Phone from 2100Z Nov 17 -
0300Z Nov 19. This is a competition based on Sweepstakes results
between club stations at institutions of higher education beyond the
high school level. Clubs enter Sweepstakes in any of the valid entry
categories. Separate champions will be determined for CW, Phone and
Combined scores. For more information:
http://www.collegiatechampionship.org/.
LZ DX Contest--CW/SSB, sponsored by the Bulgarian Federation of Radio
Amateurs from 1200Z Nov 17 - 1200Z Nov 18. Frequencies: 80-10 meters
with 10-minute mode change rule. Categories: SOAB (CW, Phone, Mixed),
SOAB-QRP Mixed, SOSB-Mixed, MS-Mixed, SWL. Exchange: RST + ITU zone
or 2-letter LZ district. QSO Points: same continent--1 pt, different
cont--3 pts, LZ station--10 pts. Score: QSO points x ITU zones + LZ
districts counted once per band. For more information:
http://www.qsl.net/lz1fw/contest Logs due 30 days after the contest
to [email protected] or BFRA, PO Box 830, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria.
RSGB 1.8 MHz Contest--CW, from 2100 Nov 17 - 0100Z Nov 18. For more
information: http://www.rsgbhfcc.org/. Logs due 16 days after the
contest to [email protected] or RSGB--G3UFY, 77 Bensham Manor
Road, Thornton Heath, Surrey CR7 7AF, England.
PSK63 QSO Party--sponsored by the European PSK Club from 0000Z to
2400Z Nov 18. Frequencies: 160-10 meters, near PSK calling
frequencies. Categories: SOAB, 100 watts max, spotting assistance
allowed. Exchange: EPC member number or signal report plus serial
number. QSO Points: EPC members--5 pts, otherwise 1 pt. Score: QSO
Points x EPC numbers from all bands. For more information:
http://www.eu.srars.org/. Logs due 30 days after the contest to
[email protected].
CQ Worldwide DX Contest--CW, sponsored by CQ Magazine, from 0000Z Nov
24 to 2400Z Nov 25. Frequencies: 160-10 meters. Categories: SOAB and
SOSB (HP, LP, QRP), MS, M2 (new), MM. MS has 10 minute rule. Exchange
RS(T) and CQ zone. QSO Points: same cont--1 pts (NA stations count 2
pts), diff cont--3 pts. Stations in the same country may be worked
for zone credit only. Score: QSO points x CQ Zones + DXCC entities
and WAE countries counted once per band. For more information:
http://www.cqww.com/. Logs due Jan 15 to [email protected] or to CQ
Magazine, 25 Newbridge Rd, Hicksville, NY 11801.
VHF+ CONTESTS
ARRL International EME Contest, from 0000Z Nov 24 - 2400Z Nov 25.
Frequencies: 50 -- 1296 MHz. Categories: SOAB, SOSB, MO, Commercial.
Exchange: signal report. QSO Points: 100 pts/QSO. Score: QSO points x
W/VE states/provinces + DXCC entities (counted once per band). For
more information: http://www.arrl.org/contests Logs due Dec 17 to
[email protected] or EME Contest, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT
06111.
-oo --- -o - -- oo ooo ooo -o-- --- oo- o-o
LOG DUE DATES - 14 NOVEMBER THROUGH 27 NOVEMBER 2007
o-oo --- --o -oo o o- -oo o-oo oo -o o ooo
November 15, Arkansas QSO Party, email logs to: [email protected], paper
logs and diskettes logs to: Bill Smith, K1ARK, 3032 Strawberry Drive,
Fayetteville, AR 72703, USA. Find rules at:
http://zinfoserv.com/arkan/docs/2007arkqsorules.pdf
November 15, California QSO Party, email logs to: [email protected],
upload log at: http://logs.cqp.org/, paper logs and diskettes logs
to: NCCC, c/o Kevin Rowett, K6TD, 21906 Monte CT, Cupertino, CA
95014, USA. Find rules at: http://www.cqp.org/Rules.html
November 15, Pennsylvania QSO Party, email logs to:
[email protected], paper logs and diskettes logs to: PA QSO
Party 2007, c/o NARC, PO Box 614, State College, PA 16804-0614, USA.
Find rules at: http://www.nittany-arc.net/Paqso_pdfs/paqso07rules.pdf
November 15, Makrothen RTTY Contest, email logs to:
[email protected], paper logs and diskettes logs to: (none). Find
rules at:
http://home.arcor.de/waldemar.kebsch/The_Makrothen_Contest/TMC_Rules.html
November 17, 50 MHz Fall Sprint, email logs to: [email protected],
paper logs and diskettes logs to: Ray Rector WA4NJP, 3493 Holly
Springs Rd, Gillsville, GA 30534, USA. Find rules at:
http://svhfs.org/fall_sprint_rules.htm
November 19, ARRL School Club Roundup, email logs to: (none), paper
logs and diskettes logs to: School Club Roundup, c/o Lew Malchick,
N2RQ, Brooklyn Technical HS, 29 Fort Greene Place, Brooklyn, NY
11217, USA. Find rules at:
http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2007/scr/scr.pdf
November 20, Worked All Germany Contest, email logs to:
[email protected], paper logs and diskettes logs to: (none). Find
rules at: http://www.darc.de/referate/dx/xedcgr.htm,
November 20, Stew Perry Topband Challenge, email logs to:
[email protected], paper logs and diskettes logs to: BARC, 15125 SE
Bartell Rd, Boring, OR 97009, USA. Find rules at:
http://jzap.com/k7rat/stew.rules.txt
November 22, Illinois QSO Party, email logs to: [email protected], paper
logs and diskettes logs to: WIARC, PO Box 3132, Quincy IL 62305-3132,
USA. Find rules at: http://www.w9awe.org/ILQP%202007%20Rules.pdf
November 23, ARCI Fall QSO Party, email logs to: [email protected],
paper logs and diskettes logs to: ARCI Fall QSO Party, 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,45/lang,en/
November 23, 070 Club 160m Great Pumpkin Sprint, email logs to:
[email protected], paper logs and diskettes logs to: Steve
Dominguez, N6YIH, 11700 Fairlawn Ct, Boise, Idaho 83709, USA. Find
rules at: http://www.podxs.com/html/160_meter_sprint.html
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>.
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