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   http://www.arrl.org/contests/update/?issue=2016-10-19   
      
   The ARRL Contest Update   
      
   October 19, 2016   
   Editor: Brian Moran, N9ADG   
      
      
   IN THIS ISSUE   
      
    *  New HF Operators: UK/EI DX, SPTBDC, CQWW DX SSB   
    *  Bulletins: Affiliated Club Competition   
    *  Contest Summary   
    *  News: Makrothen changes, Waterfall Bandmap, and more   
    *  Word to the Wise: Quagi   
    *  Sights and Sounds: California QSO Party Portable   
    *  Results   
    *  Operating Tip: Submit Logs Successfully   
    *  Technical Topics and Information: Dielectric Constants, Smaller   
       Transistors, History of RPi, RFI-free SMPS on Kickstarter, and more   
    *  Conversation: And So It Goes   
    *  Contests   
    *  Log Due Dates   
      
      
      
   NEW HF OPERATORS - THINGS TO DO   
      
   Have you tried JT65 on HF?   
      
   The best bet for some DX this weekend could be the UK/EI DX Contest, unless   
   you're outfitted for 160 meters, and can participate in the warm-up to the   
   Stew Perry Top Band Distance Contest, sometimes called the "Pre-Stew." As it's   
   a weekend without an abundance of contests, you might want to "contest   
   different." Try a new mode, put up a new antenna, or fix a piece of gear.   
      
   Many hams will be traveling to multipliers this week, putting up antennas and   
   fixing gear as they get ready for the CQ WW DX Phone contest on October 29-30.   
      
      
      
   BULLETINS   
      
   Hey Affiliated Club Competition Coordinators! Remember that for your club to   
   be included in the ARRL Affiliated Club Competition, your information needs to   
   be up to date on the Affiliated Club Competition website. You'll receive an   
   authentication email after your information is updated. Note that there is   
   also the ability to update club eligibility rosters before each contest.   
      
      
      
   BUSTED QSOS   
      
   Here is the correct link to the Feld Hell Club Spooky Sprint, which was held   
   last weekend. Logs are due October 19. https://sites.google.com/   
   ite/feldhellclub/Home/contests/sprints/spooky-sprint (Doug, KD4MOJ)   
      
      
      
   CONTEST SUMMARY   
      
   Complete information for all contests follows the Conversation section   
      
   October 20   
      
    *  CWops Mini-CWT Test   
      
   October 21   
      
    *  NCCC RTTY Sprint   
    *  NCCC Sprint   
    *  MCG Autumn Sprint   
      
   October 22   
      
    *  ARRL EME Contest   
    *  UK/EI DX Contest, SSB   
    *  Stew Perry Topband Challenge   
    *  SA Sprint Contest   
      
   October 26   
      
    *  SKCC Sprint   
    *  Phone Fray   
    *  CWops Mini-CWT Test   
    *  UKEICC 80m Contest   
      
   October 27   
      
    *  CWops Mini-CWT Test   
    *  RSGB 80m Club Sprint, SSB   
      
   October 28   
      
    *  NCCC RTTY Sprint   
    *  NCCC Sprint   
      
   October 29   
      
    *  CQ Worldwide DX Contest, SSB   
      
   November 2   
      
    *  Phone Fray   
    *  CWops Mini-CWT Test   
    *  UKEICC 80m Contest   
      
      
      
   NEWS, PRESS RELEASES, AND GENERAL INTEREST   
      
   If you participated in the Makrothen RTTY Contest last week, you'll want to   
   send your logs to scottmcleman36@gmail.com, who has volunteered to collect   
   them for scoring. The continued sponsorship of this contest is evolving, stay   
   tuned for more information.   
      
   Steve, N2IC, submits: "The Waterfall Bandmap (WB) combines a live waterfall   
   display with call sign and frequency spotting information. The beauty of the   
   WB is that you do not need complex and potentially unreliable tools to   
   interface the WB to your station. The WB tracks the frequency of your   
   transceiver, and obtains DX spots directly from N1MM+. Unlike other waterfall   
   implementations, the WB does not require virtual COM port splitters, VSPE,   
   Omnirig, separate telnet connections, and the like. N1MM+ provides all the   
   information that WB needs to work with your SDR receiver or sound card I/Q   
   output to synchronize with your non-SDR station transceiver. WB works with any   
   radio compatible with LP-PAN (such as the K3), Flex 6000 series, and the   
   majority of SDR receivers, such as the Perseus, QS1R, or SDRplay. Best of all,   
   Waterfall Bandmap is freeware. More information is available from the   
   WaterfallBandmap Yahoo group.   
      
   RSGB's Youth Committee is raising funds for YOTA (Youngsters On The Air) 2017   
   by providing supporter pins at various funding levels. One hundred percent of   
   all donations will go to YOTA.   
      
   Any time Heathkit gets mentioned, ears of hams of a certain age perk up.   
   Electronic Design argues that manufacturer and aftermarket development kits   
   have taken the place that Heathkit once occupied as the supplier of   
   educational electronics platforms. (Ward, N0AX)   
      
   In a bit of an interesting twist, a Kickstarter effort, goTenna, has built a   
   mesh network hardware add-on to cellular phones so that they can be used in   
   locations where there is no mobile operator infrastructure, for example remote   
   DX locations, Burning Man, or inside a Faraday hangar. It uses Bluetooth to   
   communicate with the cellphones, and it sounds like it has a bit of 'cognitive   
   radio' capability. (Dennis, N6KI)   
      
   The 41st IPARC (International Police Association Radio Club) contest is coming   
   up on first weekend in November this year. The International Police   
   Association is an international friendship and cooperation organization, with   
   chapters in many parts of the world. The German section of the IPARC hosts the   
   rules for the radio contest, and more information on IPARC is available on the   
   German website. (Uwe, DJ6QQ)   
      
   If you operated in the Oceania DX Contest, logs are due by the end of October.   
   Cabrillo phone logs go to ph@oceaniaDXcontest.com, CW logs to cw   
   oceaniaDXcontest.com, SWL logs to info@oceaniaDXcontest.com.   
      
      
      
   WORD TO THE WISE   
      
   Quagi   
      
   The Quagi is an antenna for UHF or VHF that combines helpful characteristics   
   of a Yagi with those of a cubical quad antenna. It generally consists of a   
   quad-style loop for the reflector and driven elements, with Yagi-style   
   director elements. An eight-element design was originally described by Wayne,   
   N6NB, an April, 1977 issue of QST, followed up by an easy to build 15 element   
   "Long Boom Quagi" in QST for February, 1978. The quad elements allowed for   
   ease in construction and impedance matching.   
      
      
      
   SIGHTS AND SOUNDS   
      
   Jim, K9YC, and Frank, W6JTI, usually "operate from very quiet places in the   
   middle of nowhere" for contests like the California QSO Party. Here's a   
   write up of their 2016 operation http://www.k9yc.com/7QP.pdf (PDF).   
      
      
      
   RESULTS AND RECORDS   
      
   The results of the August UHF Contest are now online, including line scores   
   for all log submissions, as well as club aggregate scores and top-ten lists.   
   There will be an expanded results article for the contest in the not too   
   distant future. (Wayne, N6NB)   
      
   "Thanks to the efforts of N5KO and K5OT, complete sets of Sweepstakes records   
   for both modes are now available at Sweepstakes page on the ARRL website as   
   well as the Contest Records page. The records are available by category, by   
   division, and by section. A complete list of winners by category, extending   
   back to the first Sweepstakes in 1930, is also provided. For fans of   
   statistics, the number of logs submitted each year and a cross-reference of   
   call signs is also provided. This is some nice work! Is there a record in your   
   location or favorite category that might be within reach this year?" (Bart,   
   W9JJ)   
      
      
      
   OPERATING TIP   
      
   Submitting Logs Successfully   
      
   Many contests are shortening the time between contest end and the log   
   submission deadline. It pays to check the rules to make sure the log deadline   
   hasn't changed since the last time you entered the contest. Also, more and   
   more contests are publishing the list of submitted logs on their web site. Get   
   in the habit of checking the 'received logs' pages to make absolutely sure   
   your log was received.   
      
   If you have a question about the rules, first, read the rules again. If your   
   question is still unresolved, a polite email to the contest sponsor/director   
   could clear things up in a jiffy.   
      
   For example, here's a question I sent to Ed, W0YK, CQ WW RTTY Contest Director:   
      
   "Hi Ed, in the RTTY contest a couple of weeks ago, there was a station in zone   
   8 sending zone 11 as the exchange. When asked for his 'CQ zone', he replied   
   with 11; for the CQ WW RTTY Contest, what is the correct number for a station   
   to log? What was sent, or what the correct zone would be?"   
      
   Ed wrote back:   
      
   "In this case, I'd go ahead and log '11' if you think that is what he will   
   have in his log. The log checking will assign multiplier credit based on what   
   the actual multiplier is, not what the station sent. But for cross-checking,   
   it is safer for you to have in your log what he has in his log. If he was   
   insisting on '54', then I'd log 8, because the robot and log checking will   
   complain if the number is not in the range of 1-40."   
      
   An email exchange with the contest director could be more insightful than a   
   dozen email reflector messages for rules interpretation questions.   
      
      
      
   TECHNICAL TOPICS AND INFORMATION   
      
   If you're building your own capacitors out of various materials, you might   
   want to measure the dielectric constant. KE9V tweeted this link to a hackaday   
   article on doing just that. http://hackaday.com/2016/10/12/measu   
   ing-the-dielectric-constant-for-diy-capacitors/ (KE9V via Twitter)   
      
   Molybdenum disulfide was used recently by researchers to create a transistor   
   with a gate size of one nanometer. The gate was formed out of a single carbon   
   nanotube, and another unconventional material, zirconium dioxide, was used for   
   the channel material. The size reduction reflects a 5 to 1 advantage over what   
   is presumed to be a five nanometer lower limit for silicon transistors, but to   
   be commercially successful, manufacturing process optimization will have to   
   occur, according to an article in EE Times.   
      
   We're beginning to see the use of Raspberry Pi computers for the foundation of   
   a number of Amateur Radio projects. Design News recently published the history   
   of the Raspberry Pi project.   
      
   An RFI-free switching power supply is the goal of a recently tri   
   ly-oversubscribed Kickstarter project. Who would have thought there would be   
   such demand for a board level +/- 15 volt power supply module?   
      
   One terabit per second data transmission via radio waves may be within reach,   
   as researchers at Rice University are using pulses of RF at up to 10 GHz to   
   achieve these data rates. (Dennis, N6KI)   
      
   A counterpoint to exercise treadmill RFI horror stories? Here is a teardown of   
   an RFI-free treadmill, made by Johnson Fitness. Highlights include separate   
   toroids on the power and ground leads to the DC motor, a single point ground   
   for DC, AC, and electronics grounds. (John, NU3E, via RFI Reflector)   
      
   On the high end of network-enabled receiving hardware would be the EM100XT   
   from Rohde & Schwarz. Besides being weatherproof with an IP67 rating, it also   
   has a built-in GPS for timing and frequency accuracy. A direct audio output   
   complements its built-in demodulation capabilities for modes including USB,   
   LSB, AM, FM, CW. I/Q sample data is available via an Ethernet interface.   
   Frequency coverage is from 9 kHz through 7.5 GHz. The EM100XT has the same   
   functionality as the R&S EM100 unit.   
      
      
      
   CONVERSATION   
      
   And So It Goes...   
      
   Today's gear is more reliable, and has more features than ever. Today's radio   
   manufacturers face new and increasing challenges when comparisons of   
   miniaturization, portability, power consumption, connectivity, user interface,   
   and industrial design sense are being made between their products and consumer   
   electronics items such as cellular phones and tablet computers.   
      
   For consumers of radio gear, "consumer electronics-esque" rapid innovation can   
   have some downsides; our rigs may not stay current for as long as they used   
   to, despite the ability to upgrade firmware. Manufacturers may End-of-Life a   
   radio for various reasons related to cost or continuing availability of key   
   components. And to repair or modify our equipment, we need to have continually   
   newer tools, and newer skills.   
      
   I was recently troubleshooting a transceiver that I originally purchased new   
   in 2001. At the time, it had all of the performance of the brand's top of the   
   line radio, without some user interface bells and whistles and second   
   receiver. It was great as a main radio for a time, then slid into its role as   
   a multiplier radio, then mostly for RTTY and VHF. Four years ago, I put it   
   aside for repair after the transmit power diminished markedly and consistently   
   during a contest, and found that the manufacturer no longer repaired this   
   model. Last year I started to work on it, but discovered that some of the   
   driver transistors were now made of unobtainium, and that to really get into   
   the radio I'd need to upgrade my tools and techniques to handle surface mount   
   parts. I ordered an inexpensive hot-air rework station, a head-mounted   
   magnifier, and some replacement silicon, then reassembled and put the rig   
   aside, as that's the best way I find to not lose anything. I've seen the   
   sentiment that surface mount technology is hard, and bad for amateur radio   
   gear. Perhaps the same was said of printed circuit technology in the 1950s as   
   it supplanted point-to-point wiring. I would argue that the benefits of SMD   
   clearly outweigh the drawbacks. Other projects and demands intervened, and I   
   was unable to get back to the radio until last week.   
      
   With the radio back on the bench last week, I found the service manual on   
   line. An interest group dedicated to this radio model indicated that there   
   were some parts of the driver chain known to have issues. Crowd sourced repair   
   information on the Internet is an essential part of the new toolset, and the   
   skills I needed were the ability to find the information, and then filter that   
   for what was important and valid. Every repair begins with Google.   
      
   I determined that the fault was likely in one or both of two successive driver   
   stages. Using the hot air tool, I removed the transistor in the first driver   
   stage, and then easily re-installed it with my eBay-sourced replacement.   
   Turning on the power led to rapid dismay, as the claimed exact same-numbered   
   replacement provided a dead short and burned up a surface mount resistor.   
   After extensive examination of the circuit for other problems, I still found   
   that two others transistors in the same snippet of tape and reel exhibited the   
   same behavior, leading me to disbelieve that I'd received the correct parts.   
   Avoiding mislabeled, substitute, or counterfeit parts is another modern   
   challenge.   
      
   So, I researched and found a very reputable source which had the parts in   
   stock, ordered them, and reassembled the rig, and put it aside...   
      
   That's all for this time. Remember to send contesting related stories, flea   
   market pictures, book reviews, tips, techniques, press releases, errata,   
   schematics, club information, pictures, stories, blog links, and blog links to   
   contest-update@arrl.org   
      
   73, Brian N9ADG   
      
      
      
   CONTESTS   
      
   20 Oct - 2 Nov 2016   
      
   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, Oct 19, 1300z to Oct 19, 1400z, Oct 19, 1900z to Oct 19,   
   2000z, Oct 20, 0300z to Oct 20, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m;   
   Member: Name + Member No., non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs   
   due: October 22.   
      
   NCCC RTTY Sprint, Oct 21, 0145z to Oct 21, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: (see rules);   
   Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: October 23.   
      
   NCCC Sprint, Oct 21, 0230z to Oct 21, 0300z; CW; Bands: (see rules); Serial   
   No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: October 23.   
      
   MCG Autumn Sprint, Oct 21, 1600z to Oct 21, 2000z; CW, SSB; Bands: 160, 80,   
   40, 20m; RS(T) + Serial No.; Logs due: November 5.   
      
   UK/EI DX Contest, SSB, Oct 22, 1200z to Oct 23, 1200z; SSB; Bands: 80, 40, 20,   
   15, 10m; UK/EI: RS + Serial No. + District Code, DX: RS + Serial No.; Logs   
   due: October 23.   
      
   Stew Perry Topband Challenge, Oct 22, 1500z to Oct 23, 1500z; CW; Bands: 160m   
   Only; 4-Character grid square; Logs due: November 7.   
      
   SA Sprint Contest, Oct 22, 2000z to Oct 23, 0000z; CW, SSB; Bands: 40, 20m;   
   RS(T) + Serial No.; Logs due: October 28.   
      
   SKCC Sprint, Oct 26, 0000z to Oct 26, 0200z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15,   
   10m; RST + (state/province/country) + Name + (SKCC No./power); Logs due:   
   October 28.   
      
   Phone Fray, Oct 26, 0230z to Oct 26, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15m;   
   NA: Name + (state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: October 28.   
      
   CWops Mini-CWT Test, Oct 26, 1300z to Oct 26, 1400z, Oct 26, 1900z to Oct 26,   
   2000z, Oct 27, 0300z to Oct 27, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m;   
   Member: Name + Member No., non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs   
   due: October 29.   
      
   UKEICC 80m Contest, Oct 26, 2000z to Oct 26, 2100z; CW; Bands: 80m Only;   
   4-Character grid square; Logs due: October 26.   
      
   RSGB 80m Club Sprint, SSB, Oct 27, 1900z to Oct 27, 2000z; SSB; Bands: 80m   
   Only; [other station's call] + [your call] + [serial no.] + [your name]; Logs   
   due: November 3.   
      
   NCCC RTTY Sprint, Oct 28, 0145z to Oct 28, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: (see rules);   
   Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: October 30.   
      
   NCCC Sprint, Oct 28, 0230z to Oct 28, 0300z; CW; Bands: (see rules); Serial   
   No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: October 30.   
      
   CQ Worldwide DX Contest, SSB, Oct 29, 0000z to Oct 31, 0000z; SSB; Bands: 160,   
   80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; RS + CQ Zone No.; Logs due: November 4.   
      
   Phone Fray, Nov 2, 0230z to Nov 2, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15m;   
   NA: Name + (state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: November 4.   
      
   CWops Mini-CWT Test, Nov 2, 1300z to Nov 2, 1400z, Nov 2, 1900z to Nov 2,   
   2000z, Nov 3, 0300z to Nov 3, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m;   
   Member: Name + Member No., non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs   
   due: November 5.   
      
   UKEICC 80m Contest, Nov 2, 2000z to Nov 2, 2100z; CW; Bands: 80m Only;   
   4-Character grid square; Logs due: November 2.   
      
      
      
   VHF+ CONTESTS   
      
   ARRL EME Contest, Oct 22, 0000z to Oct 23, 2359z; CW, Phone, Digital; Bands:   
   50-1296 MHz; Signal report; Logs due: December 21.   
      
      
      
   LOG DUE DATES   
      
   October 20, 2016   
      
    *  NRAU 10m Activity Contest   
      
   October 21, 2016   
      
    *  Phone Fray   
      
   October 22, 2016   
      
    *  Microwave Fall Sprint   
    *  CWops Mini-CWT Test   
      
   October 23, 2016   
      
    *  RSGB RoLo CW   
    *  NCCC RTTY Sprint   
    *  NCCC Sprint   
    *  Asia-Pacific Fall Sprint, CW   
    *  Run for the Bacon QRP Contest   
    *  UBA ON Contest, SSB   
    *  WAB HF Phone   
      
   October 25, 2016   
      
    *  10-10 Int. 10-10 Day Sprint   
      
   October 29, 2016   
      
    *  New York QSO Party   
    *  TARA PSK Rumble Contest   
      
   October 30, 2016   
      
    *  GTC CW Cup   
    *  UBA ON Contest, CW   
      
   October 31, 2016   
      
    *  10-10 Int. Fall Contest, CW   
    *  New Hampshire QSO Party   
    *  Texas QSO Party   
    *  FISTS Fall Slow Speed Sprint   
    *  JARTS WW RTTY Contest   
    *  Oceania DX Contest, CW   
    *  Oceania DX Contest, Phone   
    *  Worked All Germany Contest   
    *  YLRL DX/NA YL Anniversary 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.   
      
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