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   http://www.arrl.org/contests/update/?issue=2015-07-14   
      
   The ARRL Contest Update   
      
   July 14, 2015   
   Editor: Brian Moran, N9ADG   
      
   IN THIS ISSUE   
      
   ú CQWW VHF, RTTY Galore   
   ú RBN as a multi-use item   
   ú Anticipating The Big One   
   ú '39 Contest QSL   
   ú RTTY Scores, Awaiting More   
   ú F2 propagation on 50MHz   
   ú Skimming with an SDR Dongle   
   ú The Good Old Days   
      
      
   NEW HF OPERATORS - THINGS TO DO   
      
   Try RTTY! There's an NCCC RTTY Sprint on (US) Wednesday evening, which is a   
   good warm-up for the NAQP RTTY, which is also coming up. The Contest   
   University PowerPoint Presentation by W0YK Essentials of RTTY Contesting from   
   2014 is one good place to start, as is AA5AU's Getting Started on RTTY (PDF).   
   If you're going to try RTTY in the Sprint, you'll need The Art of RTTY   
   Sprinting.   
      
      
   BULLETINS   
      
   A new weekly SSB event is starting July 28 (July 29 for you UTC types). The   
   "Phone Fray" rules are based on the North American QSO Party (NAQP). According   
   to Dean, NW2K: "To accommodate busy schedules, the contest lasts for just   
   30-minutes and will be great for fast-paced NAQP practice and welcoming new   
   contesters of all skill levels. 100 watts max makes everyone loud! No logs,   
   just report scores to 3830scores.com."   
      
      
   BUSTED QSOS   
      
   "You need to include a strong warning with the suggestion for trying Win10   
   that once Windows 10 is installed YOU CAN'T GO BACK to your original system   
   unless you totally reinstall your original operating system with the original   
   system disks. ... Win8.1 has been great and I am looking forward to   
   Win10."(Carl, K0TNT)   
      
      
   CONTEST SUMMARY   
      
   Complete information for all contests follows the Conversation section   
      
   July 16   
      
    *  CWops Mini-CWT Test   
    *  NAQCC CW Sprint   
      
   July 17   
      
    *  QRP Fox Hunt   
    *  NCCC RTTY Sprint   
    *  NCCC Sprint   
      
   July 18   
      
    *  Trans-Tasman Low-Bands Challenge   
    *  DMC RTTY Contest   
    *  Feld Hell Sprint   
    *  CQ Worldwide VHF Contest   
    *  North American QSO Party, RTTY   
      
   July 19   
      
    *  RSGB Low Power Contest   
      
   July 20   
      
    *  Run for the Bacon QRP Contest   
      
   July 22   
      
    *  SKCC Sprint   
    *  CWops Mini-CWT Test   
      
   July 23   
      
    *  CWops Mini-CWT Test   
    *  RSGB 80m Club Championship, Data   
      
   July 24   
      
    *  QRP Fox Hunt   
    *  NCCC RTTY Sprint   
    *  NCCC Sprint   
      
   July 25   
      
    *  RSGB IOTA Contest   
    *  County Hunters CW Contest   
      
   July 26   
      
    *  County Hunters CW Contest   
    *  ARS Flight of the Bumblebees   
      
   July 29   
      
    *  CWops Mini-CWT Test   
    *  Phone Fray   
      
      
   NEWS, PRESS RELEASES, AND GENERAL INTEREST   
      
   The RBN is being used for scientific research into Space Weather. The   
   investigator mined historic RBN data to see if there was a correlation between   
   reduced propagation reports and solar events.   
      
   A new class of metallic materials which appears to act as a conductor and an   
   insulator simultaneously has been described by scientists at the University of   
   Cambridge. Samarium hexaboride is an insulator at low temperatures. However   
   when the researchers examined a sample while it was subject to a magnetic   
   field, they observed free mobility of electronics more indicative of a   
   conductor. Though this compound has been studied for decades, it's still too   
   soon to tell what this latest observation could mean. The original article   
   appeared in Quanta Magazine. (Dennis N6KI)   
      
      
   It's out there. http://stuffin.space   
      
   If you'd like to see the magnitude and particulars of intended and unintended   
   objects orbiting our home planet, try http://stuffin.space/. Be aware that it   
   will give your browser a workout and performs better on faster computers.   
      
   Lockheed Martin broke ground on the new S-band 'space fence' back in May, with   
   a stated capability of detecting softball sized objects in earth orbit.   
      
   Contest robots? No, a robot contest challenge. Each robot weighs over 9000   
   pounds and is piloted by humans.   
      
   "Cascadia Rising 2016" is a year-long earthquake preparedness exercise   
   culminating in a four day simulation of a subduction zone earthquake's effect   
   on the Pacific Northwest in June 2016. This exercise puts the potential of a   
   quake like this in context, relating it to recent and historical seismic   
   events in Asia and other locations. Certainly there would be an Amateur Radio   
   component of the disaster response, with impacts far beyond the immediately   
   devastated area. VHF repeaters in the affected areas would likely be either   
   inoperative or unable to communicate with distant regional coordination   
   centers, and communications traffic would likely be passed via HF voice and   
   digital modes. If you're interested in participating in the four days in June,   
   and located primarily in the states of Oregon, Washington and the Province of   
   British Columbia you should contact your local ARRL ARES EC or RAC EC or Mike   
   Chaplin, mhchaplin43@hotmail.com NC7Q. Outside of the PNW, contact either Mike   
   or your county based ARES Emergency Coordinator.   
      
      
   Web Site of the Week - Nasa.gov's New Horizons Mission   
      
   The big news this week for NASA is the Pluto flyby by the New Horizons   
   spacecraft. After leaving Earth in early 2006, it has reached its destination   
   and is returning closer photos of Pluto than we've ever had before. One has to   
   continue to admire the planning and engineering that goes into long term   
   missions like these. How are the communications for the spacecraft done? Check   
   out this paper.   
      
      
   WORD TO THE WISE   
      
   Grazing Incidence - Radio waves hitting a layer of the ionosphere at very   
   small angles with respect to the layer, which are then reflected, are referred   
   to as "grazing incidence." Picture a rock skipping across a lake - the smaller   
   the angle between the path of the rock and the surface of the lake, the more   
   likely a skip. See the Article referenced in Technical Topics for more   
   information as it relates to 6 meters!   
      
      
   SIGHTS AND SOUNDS   
      
   Danny, K7SS sends along the G5RV QSL from 1939. W7ESK, Rush Drake, later went   
   on to use the call W7RM. Danny writes "Rush was born 1918... First big MM on   
   the west coast..won the CQWW for the country a few times in the 1970s... first   
   and only time, that a west coast station has won." At the time of the Q, W7ESK   
   was 21 years old. Later on he'd go on to own a famous QTH on Foul Weather   
   Bluff overlooking Puget Sound, and become a member of the CQ Contest Hall of   
   Fame.   
      
   "NU1AW from 7 land is not your pappy's NU1AW running from the east coast." -   
   Dink, N7WA's lament in his 3830 score report.   
      
      
   RESULTS AND RECORDS   
      
   A sneak peek: The scores database and log checking reports for the 2015 ARRL   
   RTTY Roundup are available on the ARRL web site.   
      
   "In the ARRL VHF Contest, the K5QE team claimed 130 grids on 2m, which if   
   confirmed may be a new record." (Terry W8ZN)   
      
      
   OPERATING TIP   
      
   If a 'dupe' calls you while you're running, work them and continue. There are   
   very few, perhaps zero, contests which will penalize you for logging duplicate   
   contacts. Do not explain to your caller that you've worked before. It   
   generally takes more time than just working them again. However, if they've   
   called you three times before in the same contest, you don't have to answer   
   their fourth call. Respond to someone else. The only exception to consider may   
   be contests with long exchanges, like Sweepstakes.   
      
      
   TECHNICAL TOPICS AND INFORMATION   
      
   Though primarily targeted towards explaining how F2 Propagation on 50MHz   
   works, this article by K6MIO on 50 MHz F2 Propagation provides a good   
   explanation of atmospheric ionization, and choice other tidbits, such as that   
   >50% of the mass of the earth's atmosphere is concentrated in the lower 6km...   
      
   The RBN (Reverse Beacon Network) gets continued notice as a means to do solar   
   science:http://www.earthmagazine.org/article/amateur-radio-users   
   help-scientists-st udy-space-weather/. The RBN was also mentioned for this use   
   in a previous issue of this newsletter.   
      
   The HobbyPCB RS-UV3 is a tri-band VHF/UHF building block providing an FM   
   Transceiver on 144/220/450 MHz. It plugs directly into an Arduino as a shield,   
   but can also be used with other 3.3/5.0v serial capable computers like   
   Raspberry Pi and Beaglebone. It claims on-board support for beacon, repeater,   
   single channel voice, Echolink, APRS and Packet.   
      
   If you generate any type of information in electronic form such as station   
   documentation, source code, logger macros, configuration information, and the   
   like, you should be familiar with version control, and using it for your   
   electronic files. Some of the benefits of doing so include being able to have   
   a log of document changes over time, being able to easily roll back changes   
   when they don't quite work as planned, and about a hundred other reasons. Many   
   of the programs that provide version control (e.g. mercurial, git, etc.) are   
   free. Here's a nice introduction about why you should be using version control.   
      
   If you're using a computer to generate your RTTY signals, you might not be   
   aware that the timing of our transmitted characters could be affected by   
   everything else your computer has to do at the same time (e.g. logging,   
   anti-virus, spot processing, etc.). There's a great guest column by Larry,   
   K8UT about bit jitter in NCJ July/August 2015's "RTTY Contesting" column, and   
   how it can be eliminated by hardware generation of RTTY characters. Here's a   
   link to Ed W0YK's previous comments on eliminating Jitter from the RTTY   
   contesting reflector. The reason why you should be aware of this issue is that   
   stations receiving a jittery signal may not be able to decode it effectively,   
   and they'll ask for repeats. Or, if you're calling CQ, listeners may not be   
   able to decode your call.   
      
   If you are doing SDR work, and need to go faster than audio speeds, you're   
   probably using FPGAs. If you're using FPGAs you have to target a particular   
   vendor's chips with a particular tool chain - the low-level programming   
   information (bitstream format) isn't available. Here's an article on how a   
   team reverse engineered the bitstream of a Lattice Semiconductor iCE40 part,   
   making it possible to use open source tools to program it.   
      
   In a related vein, here's a small form factor open source design for a   
   miniPCIe FPGA development board, using a Xilinx part.   
      
   Lithium cells have been wonderful to power our higher-power portable Ham gear,   
   however there have been incidents of some cells self-destructing when damaged   
   or defective. One failure mode is attributed to the formation of dendrites   
   between the anode and cathode of the cell, effectively shorting it. Stanford   
   researchers have found that adding a two-chemical combination to cell   
   chemistry can potentially reduce 'spiky' dendrite formation. Their potential   
   solution (also applicable to other battery chemistries) is still a few   
   generations away from commercial production.   
      
   Some hams bemoan the use of surface mount electronics in modern gear. But how   
   about ICs? Taken to an extreme, it would be possible to build a CPU using   
   non-integrated circuits... and someone has done (most of) it. No estimate on   
   when a mobile version of this 16 bit processor will be available, but it could   
   involve 18 wheels.   
      
      
   Technical Web Site of the Week - rtl-sdr.com   
      
   Perhaps you've heard of the DVB-Dongle, one of which is also known RTL-SDR   
   dongle - it's a low cost (less than $20) SDR receiver in the form factor of a   
   USB key, originally intended for DVB-T reception with a computer. They can be   
   repurposed for general purpose SDR usage. This site provides a representative   
   set of articles featuring the RTL-SDR, including setting up CW-Skimmer with   
   RTL-SDR and HDSDR.   
      
      
   CONVERSATION   
      
   The Good Old Days   
      
   As is inevitable when hams gather and chat about all the important things that   
   we need to chat about, there's nostalgia for the 'good old days.' That period   
   for many seems to be the "honeymoon period" of about the time they received   
   their license, to some other time between then and now. It's rare that I hear   
   'today' being included in the good old days. It's great to have the wonderful   
   memories of our Elmers, the thrill of working our first contacts, our first   
   rigs, but it's not taking away from any of those recollections to also   
   appreciate and take advantage of the Amateur Radio landscape of today.   
      
   From my Amateur Radio Contesting viewpoint, today we have transceivers that   
   have never been better at taking the smallest perturbations in the ether, and   
   turning it into audio. The materials that we are able to employ for our   
   stations can literally be products of the space age. We can get almost any   
   part or material to our doorstep in a few short days if necessary. We can have   
   the experience of 1927 on 160 meters using CW, and then also recover signals   
   we can't even hear reflected from the surface of the moon. With the same gear.   
   When we submit our scores to the 'crowdsourced' score reporting sites (e.g.   
   3830scores.com), we can likely know the 'unofficial results' of a contest in   
   just a few days.   
      
   Through the continuing efforts of organizations like the ARRL, Contest   
   University, WWROF, regional radio and contest clubs, and many others, today's   
   Elmers are being immortalized on the Internet through webinars, videos, and   
   presentations in various formats. We'll have their wisdom to enjoy for a long,   
   long time.   
      
   Contest sponsors are evolving to strongly preserve and protect the integrity   
   of the varied entry classes, so that the 'boy and his radio' (and 'girl and   
   her radio') and the SOnR(A) entrants are scored only against their peers. The   
   interval between contest end and contest results is growing ever shorter. The   
   variety and frequency of radio contests continue to increase.   
      
   There are challenges, to be sure, including some that we've been facing for a   
   while, such as an aging population, issues of continued recruitment into the   
   hobby, and the public perception of relevance in the face of other   
   communications technologies.   
      
   But on balance, it's great to be a ham in 2015!   
      
   73, Brian N9ADG   
      
      
   CONTESTS   
      
   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   
      
   CWops Mini-CWT Test, Jul 15, 1300z to Jul 15, 1400z, Jul 15, 1900z to Jul 15,   
   2000z, Jul 16, 0300z to Jul 16, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m;   
   Member: Name + Member No., non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs   
   due: July 18.   
      
   NAQCC CW Sprint, Jul 16, 0030z to Jul 16, 0230z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20m; RST +   
   (state/province/country) + (NAQCC No./power); Logs due: July 19.   
      
   QRP Fox Hunt, Jul 17, 0100z to Jul 17, 0230z; CW; Bands: 20m Only; RST +   
   (state/province/country) + name + power output; Logs due: July 18.   
      
   NCCC RTTY Sprint, Jul 17, 0145z to Jul 17, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: (see rules);   
   Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: July 19.   
      
   NCCC Sprint, Jul 17, 0230z to Jul 17, 0300z; (see rules); Bands: (see rules);   
   Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: July 19.   
      
   Trans-Tasman Low-Bands Challenge, Jul 18, 0800z to Jul 18, 1400z; CW, Phone,   
   Digital; Bands: 160, 80, 40m; RS(T) + Serial No.; Logs due: July 25.   
      
   DMC RTTY Contest, Jul 18, 1200z to Jul 19, 1200z; RTTY; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15,   
   10m; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: August 19.   
      
   Feld Hell Sprint, Jul 18, 1600z to Jul 18, 1759z; Feld Hell; Bands: 160, 80,   
   40, 20, 15, 10, 6m; (see rules); Logs due: July 25.   
      
   North American QSO Party, RTTY, Jul 18, 1800z to Jul 19, 0559z; RTTY; Bands:   
   80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; NA: Name + (state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs   
   due: July 26.   
      
   RSGB Low Power Contest, Jul 19, 0900z to Jul 19, 1200z, Jul 19, 1300z to Jul   
   19, 1600z; CW; Bands: 80, 40m; RST + Serial No. + Power; Logs due: July 27.   
      
   Run for the Bacon QRP Contest, Jul 20, 0100z to Jul 20, 0300z; CW; Bands: 160,   
   80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; RST + (state/province/country) + (Member No./power); Logs   
   due: July 26.   
      
   SKCC Sprint, Jul 22, 0000z to Jul 22, 0200z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15,   
   10m; RST + (state/province/country) + Name + (SKCC No./power); Logs due: July   
   24.   
      
   CWops Mini-CWT Test, Jul 22, 1300z to Jul 22, 1400z, Jul 22, 1900z to Jul 22,   
   2000z, Jul 23, 0300z to Jul 23, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m;   
   Member: Name + Member No., non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs   
   due: July 18.   
      
   RSGB 80m Club Championship, Data, Jul 23, 1900z to Jul 23, 2030z; RTTY, PSK;   
   Bands: 80m Only; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: July 30.   
      
   QRP Fox Hunt, Jul 24, 0100z to Jul 24, 0230z; CW; Bands: 20m Only; RST +   
   (state/province/country) + name + power output; Logs due: July 18.   
      
   NCCC RTTY Sprint, Jul 24, 0145z to Jul 24, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: (see rules);   
   Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: July 19.   
      
   NCCC Sprint, Jul 24, 0230z to Jul 24, 0300z; (see rules); Bands: (see rules);   
   Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: July 19.   
      
   RSGB IOTA Contest, Jul 25, 1200z to Jul 26, 1200z; CW, SSB; Bands: 80, 40, 20,   
   15, 10m; RS(T) + Serial No. + IOTA No.(if applicable); Logs due: August 16.   
      
   County Hunters CW Contest, Jul 25, 1400z to Jul 26, 0000z, Jul 26, 1400z to   
   Jul 27, 0000z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; RST + (state+county/"DX"); Logs   
   due: August 31.   
      
   ARS Flight of the Bumblebees, Jul 26, 1700z to Jul 26, 2100z; CW; Bands: 40,   
   20, 15, 10m; Home: RST + (state/province/country) + Power, Bumblebee: RST +   
   (state/province/country) + Bumblebee no.; Logs due: August 9.   
      
   CWops Mini-CWT Test, Jul 29, 1300z to Jul 29, 1400z, Jul 29, 1900z to Jul 29,   
   2000z, Jul 30, 0300z to Jul 30, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m;   
   Member: Name + Member No., non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs   
   due: July 18.   
      
   Phone Fray, July 29, 0230Z to July 29 0300Z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15;   
   Op name and QTH (S/P/C) for NA stations. Op name only for non-NA stations;   
   Logs due: 48 hours after contest end.   
      
   VHF+ CONTESTS   
      
   CQ Worldwide VHF Contest, Jul 18, 1800z to Jul 19, 2100z; Any mode (see   
   rules); Bands: 6, 2m; 4-character grid square; Logs due: August 2.   
      
   LOG DUE DATES   
      
   July 15, 2015   
      
    *  ARRL June VHF Contest   
      
   July 16, 2015   
      
    *  NRAU 10m Activity Contest   
      
   July 18, 2015   
      
    *  PODXS 070 Club 40m Firecracker Sprint   
    *  QRP Fox Hunt   
    *  CWops Mini-CWT Test   
      
   July 19, 2015   
      
    *  NCCC Sprint   
    *  NCCC RTTY Sprint   
    *  QRP ARCI Summer Homebrew Sprint   
    *  SKCC Weekend Sprintathon   
    *  NAQCC CW Sprint   
      
   July 20, 2015   
      
    *  DARC 10-Meter Digital Contest   
    *  10-10 Int. Spirit of 76 QSO Party   
      
   July 21, 2015   
      
    *  Kid's Day Contest   
      
   July 22, 2015   
      
    *  All Asian DX Contest, CW   
    *  RSGB 80m Club Championship, SSB   
      
   July 26, 2015   
      
    *  WAB 144 MHz Low Power Phone   
      
   July 28, 2015   
      
    *  Ukrainian DX DIGI Contest   
    *  ARRL Field Day   
      
      
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   ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS   
      
   ARRL Contest Update wishes to acknowledge information from WA7BNM's Contest   
   Calendar and SM3CER's Contest Calendar.   
      
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   )\/(ark   
      
   ... Practice good mirth control, use a conundrum.   
   ---   
    * Origin:  (1:3634/12.73)