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The ARRL Contest Update
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
December 19, 2012
Editor: Ward Silver, N0AX
==> IN THIS ISSUE
- Auld Lang Call Signs - Straight Key Night
- A Pot Full of Fun - Stew Perry Top Band Distance Challenge
- A Century of Signs
- The Best Engineer Jokes
- W9DXCC 2012 in Pictures
- Certificates In Your Christmas Sock
- Updated GAMMA Software by N6MW
- Your USA Source for Slicers
- Prestidigitation On A Winter's Solstice
NEW HF OPERATORS - THINGS TO DO
If you've never entered a 160 meter contest, you'll definitely want to
determine your grid square and give the Stew Perry contest a try. The
contest is scored by distance and power so even the little pistols can
do well. And before you step out for New Year's Eve, connect up a
straight key and pound a little brass on Straight Key Night or operate
in one of the several New Year's Day contests.
BULLETINS
A heartfelt year-end tip of the Contest Update cap to you and your
families as we close out 2012 and start a new calendar. May the year
2013 be a good one for us all!
The next edition of the Contest Update (Jan 2) will be somewhat
attenuated as your editor takes a bit of a break from wearing the
letters off yet another keyboard.
BUSTED QSOS
Jeff K8ND corrected my call sign error - Joerg, shown operating at PJ2T
is DF9LJ, not DL9FJ. Froeliche Weinachten, Joerg!
CONTEST SUMMARY
Complete information for all contests follows the Conversation section
Dec 22-23
- Lighthouse Christmas Lights QSO Party (Dec 21)
- RAEM Contest--CW
- SKCC Straight Key Sprint
- DARC XMAS Contest (Dec 26)
Dec 29-30
- NAQCC Milliwatt Sprint (Dec 27)
- Original QRP Contest--CW
- ARRL Straight Key Night (Jan 1)
- New Years Snowball Contest (Jan 1)
- SARTG New Year RTTY Contest (Jan 1)
- AGCW Happy New Year Contest--CW (Jan 1)
==> NEWS, PRESS RELEASES, AND GENERAL INTEREST
December 13 marked 100 years of Amateur Radio licensing, which began in
1912. Dave Sumner, K1ZZ, noted in the January 2012 QST editorial "It
Seems to Us" that in the four months following the August 13, 1912
passage of the legislation, 1,185 amateur stations were licensed - just
a small fraction of the number that were active at the time. We are
well over 700,000 in the US now...for a quick tally of the current
numbers check out AH0A's web site .
The Reverse Beacon Network is good at showing where you can be heard
but what about a tool for showing what you can hear from other places?
Faros from Afreet Software (a.k.a. -
Alex VE3NEA, creator of CW Skimmer and other software) checks reception
of the NCDXF beacons
from around the world and around the clock and on all the high bands.
(Thanks, Chad WE9V)
Array Solutions has announced that both the
2500A (automatic tune) and 2500HF (manual tune) OM Power amplifiers
were recently granted approval for sale in the USA by the FCC. (Thanks,
Bob W5OV)
Does it seem like you are working a lot of dupes? It felt that way to
Contest Log Analyzer author, Bob K0RC
during the recent ARRL 160 Meter Contest. In response, he added a new
worksheet to the analyzer that collects and displays the dupes in a
log. "This year I had 978 entries in my log with 22 dupes, or about
2.2%. In 2011 there were 471 QSOs with 2 dupes (0.4%), and in 2010
there were 961 QSOs with 10 dupes (1.0%). So my logs do show the
significant increase in dupes." Since there is no penalty for logging a
duplicate contact in an electronic log, maybe the "dupe taboo" is being
relaxed. If you do work a dupe - be sure to leave it in the log and
help new contesters understand they should, too.
With the smartphone app becoming nearly ubiquitous, are there any Morse
code training programs? Sure! Recommendations include Ham Morse,
CWText, and Hot Paw. If anything on a smartphone is cool, then morsing
must also be, correct? (Thanks, Julio AK4VL and Tom WB8WOR)
There are many Morse training programs such as the ARRL's training CD
that uses the Koch method of sending fast characters with lots of
spacing or IK0YGJ's Zen and the Art of Radio Telegraphy
. Phil W0XI has a CW practice
resource page
and
groups like SKCC , FISTS
, and CWops offer lots
of information and help! (Thanks, Jay W5JAY and Terry WA0ITP)
Web Site of the Week - Who says engineers can't have a little fun with
themselves? This EDN website
collected quite a few of my favorite engineer jokes and a couple that I
hadn't heard. Good for a holiday chuckle by you and your friends!
WORD TO THE WISE
The white noise that you hear on an empty frequency is the
transmissions of all the hams who have gone before us. (Relayed by Sean
N7OUW)
==> SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
Two sets of photos from 2012 W9DXCC by
Ben K9IDQ have been added to the W9DXCC web site Photo Gallery.
(Thanks, Randy K9OR)
There is a wealth of information in the webinars archived on the
Potomac Valley Radio Club
and World Wide Radio Operators Foundation
websites. Watch for new webinars being announced and added!
==> RESULTS AND RECORDS
Single-Operator certificates for the 2011 ARRL 10 Meter Contest - all
1,078 of them - have finally been processed. The Multi-op certificates
are being processed and will be followed by the 2012 RTTY Roundup
certificates and plaques. (Thanks, ARRL Contest Branch Manager, Sean
KX9X)
The results for the PreStew event from
October are now posted. Many thanks to the 200+ people who sent in
their log. (Thanks, Tree N6TR)
The CW OPEN results are now
online. Al AD6E reports, "Looks like the next CW OPEN will be Sept 7
beginning with the first session at 0000-0359Z. This change of times is
aimed to increase participation in both Europe and Asia. As before, all
parts of the world will have two "good" sessions during the day/evening
and one "bad" session in the middle of the night."
OPERATING TIP
This week's tips involve ways to be more effective when operating SO2R
(Single-Op, Two Radios):
- Set the CW sidetone pitches to be a little different on the two
radios. (Thanks, Glenn K6NA)
- Glue a small micro-switch to the keyboard, paralleled with the foot
switch. It can also be configured as a SO2R receive focus switch for
non-SSB contests. (Thanks, Kirk K4RO)
- To hear the sidetone from an external keyer, run a wire from the
keyer speaker, through a resistor, and tee it into the headphone
connector. (Thanks, Steve N2IC)
==> TECHNICAL TOPICS AND INFORMATION
Bill Wortman N6MW has reworked the GAMMA program provided as a
supplement to the Antenna Book
and that is useful to
readers of the ARRL Handbook
andLow-Band DXing by
ON4UN , as well. The
previous version of GAMMA failed to find solutions to the calculations
when the when the combination of the desired feed line impedance
exceeds the product of the raw antenna resistance and the gamma step-up
value. Bill's new code fixes that problem and can be found on the
Antenna Book and ARRL Handbook web pages as a compressed "zip" file.
The ARRL extends its thanks to N6WM for his contribution, as well as to
Greg Ordy W8WWV for making some tests of the code.
A terrific book on batteries, "Batteries in a Portable World
" by Cadex CEO
Isidor Buchmann, is in stock at the ARRL Store. Buchmann also started
the popular Battery University
website which has a wealth of information about the use and care of
batteries.
Crank-up towers often squeak and squall when being lowered or raised
and sometimes when flexing from the wind. Spencer K5GAK says he "solved
that problem with some bicycle dry Teflon lube from one of the online
bike shops. It goes on as a liquid and the solvent evaporates leaving a
Teflon coating."
Sometimes relay contacts that handle received signals (such as
transmit-receive relays) develop thin films of oxide or other material
that present a high resistance to low voltage signals. (Higher voltages
punch right through the film and clear the resistance.) Tom W8JI has
published a contact cleaning procedure
that may help you
clear up an intermittent receive problem caused by a relay contact.
Dennis N6KI noticed this locking power plug
that might
be useful in securing your station or preventing unauthorized (or
unwise) energizing of a piece of gear.
VE7BQH's tables of antenna performance
for 6 meters, 2 meters,
and 70 cm are now updated on the web site of Lance W7GJ. (The link is
about halfway down the page.) The tables are now in spreadsheet (Excel)
format with the band listings on individual worksheets.
Want to make your own radar from "stone knives and bearskins"? The
November 2012 IEEE Spectrum article "Coffee-Can Radar
" shows
how, using a laptop for the computational horsepower. A video
describing the project is also
available.
The art store is always a fertile place for the imagination and the
workbench. A note in The Canadian Amateur by VE3DCU points out that
painting panels for artists (a simple wood
frame with a paintable hardboard panel) can be used for simple circuits
that don't require a shielded enclosure.
What has KB9YIG, purveyor of the SoftRock SDR kits been up to? He's
still pumping out designs
.
The time has never been better to try an SDR radio!
Night Fire Electronics is a recent entry into the
kits and parts scene. Along with a wide selection of electronic
products, their component collections and prototyping boards are very
useful.
This simple and artistic Instructables knife-holder project
is adaptable to holding all manner of small tools and can act as a
third-hand during assembly and soldering. Who says the workbench can't
look good as well as be functional?
Technical Web Site of the Week - Does anyone make variable capacitors
these days? Yes and right here in Ohio! Oren Elliott Products
is the primary supplier of "bread
slicer" capacitors in the USA. There are a wide variety of values and
voltages available as the graphic above illustrates. They also make
variable inductors and planetary reduction drives. (Thanks, Carl KM1H)
==> CONVERSATION
Prestidigitation On A Winter's Solstice
A small quasi-literary offering from the N0AX archives to my many
readers at the end of 2012. Keep it magical!
This quiet eve with all asleep
The time has come alone to keep
My schedule
Without a station's sign at hand
I simply tune across the band
To listen
Detecting falls of frozen flake
Faint cracklings distant nimbus make
Their message
This window onto blackest night
Envisioned through electric sight
Of wireless
A station under sun or star
From key or voice or touch afar
Is calling
Waves fly beyond to skybound plane
Yet gently bent to ground again
The signal
Whose fields my silent wires find
Imperatives electrons mind
In current
Miniscule yet well received
A miracle by me perceived
As magic
73, Ward N0AX
==> CONTESTS
19 Dec 2012 through 1 Jan 2013
An expanded, downloadable version of QST's Contest Corral in PDF format
is available. Check the
sponsor's Web site for information on operating time restrictions and
other instructions.
HF CONTESTS
Lighthouse Christmas Lights QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Dec 21,
0001Z to Jan 8, 2359Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50,144. Exchange: Serial or
ARLHS number. Logs due: Jan 31. Rules
RAEM Contest--CW, from Dec 23, 0000Z to Dec 23, 1200Z. Bands (MHz):
3.5-28. Exchange: Serial and lat/long in degrees. Logs due: Jan 25.
Rules
SKCC Straight Key Sprint--CW, from Dec 26, 0000Z to Dec 26, 0200Z.
Monthly on the 4th Wednesday UTC. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50. Exchange:
RST, S/P/C, name, SKCC nr or power. Logs due: 5 days. Rules
DARC XMAS Contest--Phone,CW, from Dec 26, 0830Z to Dec 26, 1059Z. Bands
(MHz): 3.5-7. Exchange: RS(T) and DOK or special station code. Logs
due: 3 weeks. Rules
NAQCC Milliwatt Sprint--CW, from Dec 27, 0130Z to Dec 27, 0330Z. Bands
(MHz): 3.5-14. Exchange: RST, S/P/C, and NAQCC mbr nr or power. Logs
due: 4 days. Rules
Original QRP Contest--CW, from Dec 29, 1500Z to Dec 30, 1500Z. Bands
(MHz): 3.5-14. Exchange: RST, serial, and category. Logs due: Jan 31.
Rules
New Year's Eve and New Year's Day Contests
ARRL Straight Key Night--CW, from Jan 1, 0000Z to Jan 1, 2400Z. Bands
(MHz): 3.5-28, 50+. Exchange: General QSO information. Logs due: Jan
31. Rules
New Years Snowball Contest--Phone,CW, from Jan 1, 0000Z to Jan 1,
0100Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5. Exchange: RST, serial, AGB number. Logs due: 3
weeks. Rules
SARTG New Year RTTY Contest--Digital, from Jan 1, 0800Z to Jan 1,
1100Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-7. Exchange: RST, serial, Happy New Year in
your language. Logs due: Jan 31. Rules
AGCW Happy New Year Contest--CW, from Jan 1, 0900Z to Jan 1, 1200Z.
Bands (MHz): 3.5-14. Exchange: RST, serial, AGCW number. Logs due: Jan
31. Rules
VHF+ CONTESTS
Lighthouse Christmas Lights QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Dec 21,
0001Z to Jan 8, 2359Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50,144. Exchange: Serial or
ARLHS number. Logs due: Jan 31. Rules
SKCC Straight Key Sprint--CW, from Dec 26, 0000Z to Dec 26, 0200Z.
Monthly on the 4th Wednesday UTC. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50. Exchange:
RST, S/P/C, name, SKCC nr or power. Logs due: 5 days. Rules
ARRL Straight Key Night--CW, from Jan 1, 0000Z to Jan 1, 2400Z. Bands
(MHz): 3.5-28, 50+. Exchange: General QSO information. Logs due: Jan
31. Rules
==> LOG DUE DATES
19 Dec 2012 through 1 Jan 2013
- December 19 - ARRL Rookie Roundup, CW
- December 20 - VU International DX Contest
- December 20 - QRP Fox Hunt
- December 21 - Homebrew and Oldtime Equipment Party
- December 22 - Feld Hell Sprint
- December 22 - QRP Fox Hunt
- December 23 - Run for the Bacon QRP Contest
- December 23 - NCCC Sprint
- December 30 - QRP ARCI Holiday Spirits Homebrew Sprint
- December 30 - Russian 160-Meter Contest
- December 31 - Kentucky QSO Party
- December 31 - IPARC Contest
- December 31 - All Austrian 160-Meter Contest
- December 31 - TARA RTTY Melee
- December 31 - TOPS Activity Contest
- January 1 - ARRL 160-Meter Contest
- January 1 - ARRL EME Contest
==> ARRL INFORMATION
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==> ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ARRL Contest Update wishes to acknowledge information from WA7BNM's
Contest Calendar and SM3CER's
Contest Calendar .
The ARRL Contest Update is published every other Wednesday (26 times
each year). ARRL members may subscribe at no cost or unsubscribe by
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Copyright (c) 2012 American Radio Relay League, Inc. All
Rights Reserved
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