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The ARRL Contest Update
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
March 2, 2011
Editor: Ward Silver, N0AX
==> IN THIS ISSUE
- ARRL DX Phone - Sideband Serenade
- Sprint Summits - SNS/NS, ARS, CWops, QRP, NAQP
- Hamvention Awards for 2011
- Who You Callin' a LOFAR?
- Webinar Triplets
- IARU HF Championship Extended Results
- Preliminary SS Results and a Hat Trick
- Can You Hear Me Now?
- Full Duplex at Stanford
- An EZ Choice
NEW HF OPERATORS - THINGS TO DO
After cracking your CW knuckles in the ARRL DX CW contest, this
weekend's ARRL DX Phone contest will test tongue-tied transmissions.
It's geomagnetically stormy upstairs as this issue goes to press, but
persevere - if you hang in there and the competition doesn't...you may
prevail!
BULLETINS
No bulletins in this issue - although you should all take time out to
write your Congressional representative about House Bill HR 607
.
BUSTED QSOS
I was informed that "Leavin' On A Jet Plane" was originally by John
Denver and Dr Beldar has been gently disabused of his misattribution to
Peter, Paul, and Mary.
CONTEST SUMMARY
Complete information for all contests follows the Conversation section
Mar 5-6
- SNS and NS Weekly Sprints--CW (Mar 4)
- ARRL Int'l Phone DX Contest
- Open Ukraine RTTY Championship
- ARS Spartan Sprint--CW (Mar 8)
- CWops Monthly Mini-CWT Test (Mar 9)
- John Rollins Memorial DX Contest--CW (Mar 9)
Mar 12-13
- Worldwide EME Contest
- RSGB Commonwealth Contest--CW
- AGCW QRP Contest--CW
- QRP ARCI HF Grid Square Sprint--CW
- EA PSK31 Contest
- Idaho QSO Party
- North American RTTY Sprint
- Wisconsin QSO Party
- CLARA and Family HF Contest (Mar 15)
==> NEWS, PRESS RELEASES, AND GENERAL INTEREST
The Contest Update would like to congratulate all winners of the 2011
Dayton Hamvention awards. The Amateur of the
Year is Shirley Roberts, N8LX of Dayton, OH for her record of public
service. The Albemarle Amateur Radio Club, WA4TFZ, of Charlottesville,
Virginia was named Club of The Year for exemplary contributions in
public service, emergency communications and youth recruiting. The
Technical Excellence Award went to a familiar name, Roy Lewellan, W7EL
and more about Roy is written in the Conversation section of this
issue.
WRTC 2014, Inc. , host of the 2014 World
Radiosport Team Championship competition, is pleased to announce that
it has received a significant financial contribution from the Northern
California DX Foundation (NCDXF). "We
appreciate this early show of support from NCDXF," said Doug Grant,
K1DG, Chairman of WRTC-2014. "We intend to follow the example set in
previous WRTC competitions to provide a high level of competition on an
unbiased playing field. In addition, we intend to use the event to
promote amateur radio competition to a wider audience inside and
outside the hobby." To provide assistance with WRTC-2014 fund raising
efforts, the Northern California DX Foundation has established a
special account to receive tax-deductible donations of $100 or more
from individuals. Donations to this account should be made by checks
payable to NCDXF, but with the notation "WRTC-2014," and mailed to the
WRTC-2014 Fund, NCDXF, Rusty Epps W6OAT, 651 Handley Trail, Emerald
Hills, CA 94062 USA. For information on sponsorship, or for general
information about WRTC-2014, contact WRTC Chairman, Doug Grant, K1DG,
via e-mail at k1dg@wrtc2014.org. This is a good opportunity to help the
next WRTC get off to a fast start!
The North Coast Contesters are proud to announce that Scott Redd, K0DQ
will
be the featured speaker during the 19th Annual Dayton Contest Dinner
on Saturday, May 21, 2011 at the Crowne
Plaza in downtown Dayton, Ohio. K0DQ was the operator behind the
impressive WW1WW
all-band effort last weekend in the ARRL International DX CW contest
and is an engaging speaker.
Tony WA8RJF invites all Weak Signal VHF, UHF and Microwave enthusiasts
to the 16th VHF Weak Signal Group
banquet (no,
you won't have to whisper) to be held on Friday evening, May 20th, 2011
at the Doubletree Dayton Downtown Hotel, 11 South Ludlow St. Dinner
begins at 7:15 PM, followed by Dana Whitlow, K8YUM presenting "Noise at
Arecibo - It's Not Just the Coqui". Reservations are required at a cost
per person of $35.00 which includes valet parking. Send a check and an
SASE to: Tony Emanuele WA8RJF , 7156 Kory Court,
Concord Township, Ohio 44077-2221, including the names and calls of all
attendees as well as an email address.
Geoff W0CG/PJ2DX reports that PJ2T's log for the recent ARRL DX CW
contest is the first to have broken the 10 million-point barrier in
that contest with a claimed score
of 10.8 megapoints from
10,345 QSOs. Will the record still stand after the log checking
process? Tune in later this year for the final results!
Don W7WLL, the "K" sorter for the W7 QSL Bureau, cautions us that there
are maximum weight, maximum size, and other surcharges for certain
conditions when calculating postage. If your package or envelope is
anything out of the ordinary, read the fine print when using the USPS
postage calculator .
The 160 meter band was full of signals from end to end last weekend
during the CQ 160 Meter WW SSB contest. Numerous correspondence noted
that this was the first time for such complete occupancy of Top Band -
all the way to 1.999 MHz! Yet not all hams have full access to the
band. Henk PA5KT's online table of 160 meter allocations
helps
you find where the DX may transmit - the rest is up to you!
The May 1953 QST article by W3FQB, "The Man Who Broke the Bank"
certainly seems prescient in its anticipation of station automation.
ARRL members can find the article online for
some amusing reading. (Thanks, Tim K3LR)
Web Site of the Week - Not a Top Band array, Europe's continent-wide
Low Frequency Radio Array (LOFAR)
radio telescope combines some
simple antennas with distributed computer processing to create a huge
telescope tuning 115 to 190 MHz. The first radio "pictures" are just
being delivered - is anybody out there during the VHF+ contests?
WORD TO THE WISE
Jim K1TN contributes another pair of QST
articles predicting
technology the modern radiosport participant will find familiar: "The
Mind of the Contester," (July 1990) and "Packet With a Purpose,"
(August 1990).
==> SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
The Potomac Valley Radio Club (PVRC) has two
excellent contesting webinars lined up for March. On Wednesday, March 9
at 9 PM EST, World Radio Online propagation editor, Carl Luetzelschwab
K9LA will discuss several topics pertaining to HF propagation. And on
Sunday, March 13 at 2 PM EDT (note the time change to DST) CQ WPX
Contest Director, Randy Thompson K5ZD will hand out some tips for fun
and success in WPX. Registration links for both presentations are
posted on the PVRC website. In addition, the K3LR webinar on Contest
University is also online in the Recorded Webinars. (Thanks, Ken K4ZW)
Rick NQ4I has posted a video about NQ4I CQWW SSB
, shot, edited and published by Lu, W4LT.
Celebrate the 100th birthday of "Uncle" Leo Meyerson, W0GFQ
, one of ham radio's legends, as he is
interviewed by NBC's Willard Scott on "The Today Show" on Wednesday
morning, March 9th. A mentor to many, Leo was the man behind the World
Radio Lab "Globe" and "Galaxy" equipment used by so many in the 1950's,
1960's and beyond. (Thanks, Gene W4IMT)
You can do what off the Moon? The AMSAT bulletin
ANS-051 notes that a video of
Earth-Moon-Earth (EME) station HB9MOON demonstrating moon-bounce as
part of the Google Science fair experiment, "How do you measure the
distance between Earth and the Moon?"
How did the world's first transistor work? Here's an interesting video
on the subject. (Thanks, Brian VE5RDV)
Is the word "ruins" a verb or a noun in the video title, "Marconi ruins
surface in Wellfleet
"?
Watch and find out! (Thanks, Guy N7UN)
I like novel visualizations of data sets (I need a hobby, apparently)
such as this animation of Twitter network retweets
at the time
of Egyptian president Mubarak's resignation. What would a big contest
look like if presented this way?
Rich NU6T found visualizing 1 watt per square meter to be difficult,
but recommends this photo as a
good training aid.
==> RESULTS AND RECORDS
The IARU HF Championship writeup
by Carl K9LA is now
online in extended form including extra material from the W1AW/8 hosts
and operators. Hustling to get the Sweepstakes results out, the
hard-working results authors Kelly VE4XT and Steve N2IC have provided
preliminary results for
both modes of the November 2010 SS. The full QST and extended online
article packages will be published in the weeks ahead. (Thanks, ARRL
Contest Branch Manager, Sean KX9X)
Preliminary results for the February CW Sprint
are now posted online. Who
is the operator that achieved the coveted "Hat Trick"? (Thanks, CW
Sprint Manager, Tree N6TR)
A summary of the RAC Canada Winter Contest logs received
and entry category for
each has been posted. results from previous years are also online for
your enjoyment. Please contact contest chairman, Sam VE5SF
if you have questions, concerns, or feel there
have been errors in the category assigned to your contest entry.
There are more than 500 kbytes of soapbox commentary
for the ARRL DX CW contest as
captured from 3830 claimed-score postings by Dink, N7WA.
OPERATING TIP
Rick "The Locust" K6VVA was operating from KP2CW in the ARRL CW DX
contest - by remote control, no less - and noted not just the usual
packet-pileups, but "everyone was exactly ZERO BEAT (or within a few
Hz) apparently as a result of point-and-click with no single station
loud enough to rise above the pack." Needless to say, this makes
high-rate operation well-nigh impossible. The technology of
cycle-resolution frequency control and accuracy has unintended
consequences! The solution? When selecting spots point-and-shoot style,
take your hand off the mouse and wiggle the big knob in the middle of
your radio before launching your call sign.
==> TECHNICAL TOPICS AND INFORMATION
Wouldn't it be great to go back after a contest and generate a report
of your signal strength compared to other stations in your area? For CW
contests, that capability exists today by using the Reverse Beacon
Net's Analysis tool. Pete N4ZR
explains, "It is graphical and only handles one skimmer and one 24-hour
day at a time, but up to 10 stations can be compared at once. It's
pretty informative, particularly because the graphical representation
and your eye can filter out the odd variations and easily see trends,
like who opens the band first, and who is stronger in which part of the
opening." Game on!
Larry N7DF has found a website
with some interesting
information to help us figure out what goes on in Top Band propagation
if VLF conditions relate to MF conditions.
Regarding the use of Morse code for communication with folks with
compromised speech or textual abilities, Frank KR1ZAN notes that Thomas
King has a book on the subject titled, "Modern Morse Code in
Rehabilitation and Education: New Applications in Assistive
Technology".
If you know a puzzle fan, then maybe this Design News "Gadget Freak
"
case will spark your creative juices in creating a custom conundrum
just for them!
Technical Web Site of the Week - Multi-multi station owners, rejoice!
From Slashdot comes the news that "Scientists at
Stanford University have built a radio that can transmit and receive at
the same time
on the same frequency." I wonder if those scientists ever operate at
W6YX? Don't get too excited - it's only for WiFi - but can 20 meters be
far behind?
==> CONVERSATION
An EZ Choice
In case you hadn't heard the news, the Dayton Hamvention's Technical
Excellence Award for 2011 has been given to Roy Lewellan, W7EL, author
of the EZNEC antenna modeling program. It's
entirely appropriate that Roy was recognized for making
professional-quality antenna modeling software available and affordable
to hams!
While there are other fine antenna modeling programs available,
EZNEC has become the standard tool used by amateurs world-wide for
antenna design and experimentation. Its modest cost, accurate results,
and ease of use have completely changed the game of amateur antenna
design. In the scope of its effects on and benefits delivered to
amateurs, it has been Promethean. It is to Amateur Radio what SPICE is
to analog electronics and the forward pass to football.
After Roy's mid-1990's introduction of ELNEC (the MS-DOS precursor to
EZNEC), the world changed. An amateur (i.e. - me, for instance) could
suddenly create, enter, simulate, evaluate, and revise an antenna
design on a personal computer in a continuous flow of development. The
results were actually representative of the actual antenna's
performance, the effects of ground could be included, and the output
was graphic - not tabular. ELNEC gave way to EZNEC and we were on our
way.
Those of us that have been around a while remember the old "cut and
try" (and try, and try, and try...) era of antenna design and
construction before computer modeling. If we were fortunate enough to
know a professional antenna designer, we might get a few "runs" on
their software but there was no such thing as "interactive design".
Graphic output of radiation patterns and SWR curves were a fantasy.
Mostly, we had to take on faith the tables in handbooks and articles in
magazines, cut and drill, then hope the resulting antennas would work
for us while having little understanding of the subtleties involved in
what makes an antenna work - or not.
If there was ever an instance that warranted the over-used phrase
"paradigm shift", this was surely one. As a result, amateur
experimentation in antenna design exploded, leading to many innovations
such as new configurations of parasitic arrays, whole new classes of
receiving antennas, antenna stacking design, and others too numerous to
count. It is now expected that any new antenna design comes with a
model - almost always an EZNEC model.
While as Larry W7IUV once said, "I don't think anyone has made an
EZNEC-to-EZNEC QSO yet," somewhere an amateur is using EZNEC software
right now to invent or improve or learn about an antenna in a way that
was simply unimaginable before. Then they certainly will make that QSO
and many more. A tip of the Contest Update cap to Roy Lewellan, W7EL.
73, Ward N0AX
==> CONTESTS
Mar 2 - Mar 16
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
ARRL Int'l Phone DX Contest--Phone, from Mar 5, 0000Z to Mar 6, 2400Z.
Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: RS and state, province, or power. Logs
due: Apr 4. Rules
SNS and NS Weekly Sprints--CW, from Mar 4, 0200Z to Mar 4, 0300Z. Bands
(MHz): 1.8-14. Frequencies: Weekly on Thursday evenings local time.
Exchange: Serial, name, and S/P/C. Logs due: 2 days. Rules
Open Ukraine RTTY Championship--Digital, from Mar 5, 2000Z to Mar 5,
2359Z and Mar 6, 0800Z to Mar 6, 1159Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28.
Frequencies: Multiple operating periods. Exchange: Regional
abbreviation and serial. Logs due: Apr 4. Rules
ARS Spartan Sprint--CW, from Mar 8, 0200Z to Mar 8, 0400Z. Bands (MHz):
3.5-28. Frequencies: Monthly on the first Monday evening local time.
Exchange: RST, S/P/C, and power. Logs due: 2 days. Rules
CWops Monthly Mini-CWT Test--CW, from Mar 9, 1100Z to see Web site.
Bands (MHz): 3.5-14. Frequencies: Multiple operating periods, monthly
on the second Wednesday, 18 to 28 kHz above band edge. Exchange: Name
and member number or S/P/C. Logs due: 2 days. Rules
John Rollins Memorial DX Contest --CW, from Mar 9, 2300Z to Mar 10,
2300Z and Mar 12, 2300Z to Mar 13, 2300Z. Bands (MHz): 7,14.
Frequencies: Multiple operating periods. Exchange: RS, name, and S/P/C.
Logs due: 4 weeks. Rules
RSGB Commonwealth Contest--CW, from Mar 12, 1000Z to Mar 13, 1000Z.
Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: RST and serial (Commonwealth only). Logs
due: 30 days. Rules
AGCW QRP Contest--CW, from Mar 12, 1400Z to Mar 12, 2000Z. Bands (MHz):
3.5-28. Exchange: RST, serial, class, AGCW number or NM. Logs due: Mar
31. Rules
QRP ARCI HF Grid Square Sprint--CW, from Mar 12, 1500Z to Mar 12,
1800Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Frequencies: QRP calling frequencies.
Exchange: RST, 4-digit grid square, QRP ARCI number. Logs due: Apr 12.
Rules
EA PSK31 Contest--Digital, from Mar 12, 1600Z to Mar 13, 1600Z. Bands
(MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: RST + serial or EA province. Logs due: 30
days. Rules
Idaho QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Mar 12, 1900Z to Mar 13, 1900Z.
Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50-440, Frequencies: CW 35 kHz above band edge;
Phone 7.260, 14.260, 21.335, 28.470 MHz, plus 50, 144, 440 . Exchange:
RS(T) and S/P/C. Logs due: 30 days. Rules
North American RTTY Sprint--Digital, from Mar 13, 0000Z to Mar 13,
0400Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-14. Exchange: Both call signs, serial, name,
and S/P/C. Logs due: 7 days. Rules
Wisconsin QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Mar 13, 1800Z to Mar 14,
0100Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28, 50+, Frequencies: CW 3.550, 7.050, 14.050;
Phone 3.890, 7.230, 14.290, 21.350, 28.400. Exchange: WI county or
S/P/C. Logs due: Apr 20. Rules
CLARA and Family HF Contest --Phone,CW, from Mar 15, 1700Z to Mar 16,
1700Z and Mar 19, 1700Z to Mar 20, 1700Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28.
Frequencies: Multiple operating periods. Exchange: RS(T), name, QTH,
and CLARA . Logs due: Apr 15. Rules
VHF+ CONTESTS
Worldwide EME Contest--Phone,CW, from Mar 12 , 0000Z to Mar 13, 2400Z.
Bands (MHz): 144, 10G+. Exchange: TMO/RS(T) and "R". Logs due: Jun 25.
Rules
Idaho QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Mar 12, 1900Z to Mar 13, 1900Z.
Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50-440, Frequencies: CW 35 kHz above band edge;
Phone 7.260, 14.260, 21.335, 28.470 MHz, plus 50, 144, 440 . Exchange:
RS(T) and S/P/C. Logs due: 30 days. Rules
Wisconsin QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Mar 13, 1800Z to Mar 14,
0100Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28, 50+, Frequencies: CW 3.550, 7.050, 14.050;
Phone 3.890, 7.230, 14.290, 21.350, 28.400. Exchange: WI county or
S/P/C. Logs due: Apr 20. Rules
==> LOG DUE DATES
Mar 2 - Mar 16
March 3 - RSGB 80m Club Championship, CW
March 4 - PODXS 070 Club Valentine Sprint
March 6 - EPC WW DX Contest
March 6 - Mexico RTTY International Contest
March 6 - Russian PSK WW Contest
March 6 - Vermont QSO Party
March 7 - FYBO Winter QRP Sprint
March 8 - Black Sea Cup International
March 8 - Delaware QSO Party
March 12 - North American QSO Party, RTTY
March 13 - UBA DX Contest, CW
March 13 - KCJ Topband Contest
March 14 - FISTS Winter Sprint
March 14 - YLRL YL-OM Contest
March 15 - AGCW Semi-Automatic Key Evening
March 15 - Dutch PACC Contest
March 15 - Louisiana QSO Party
March 15 - Minnesota QSO Party
==> 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
editing their Member Data Page as described at
http://www.arrl.org/contests/update/.
Copyright (c) 2011 American Radio Relay League, Inc. All
Rights Reserved
the ARRL COntest UPdate posted to the ls_arrl echo via
Radio REscue NEt operations BBS, 1:116/901 thanks to Daryl
Stout, n5vlz, sysop of the THunderbolt BBS, 1:382/33.
Address all comments and questions to the editor as described in this
electronic newsletter.
---
* Origin: (1:116/901)
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