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The ARRL Contest Update
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
March 14, 2012
Editor: Ward Silver, N0AX
==> IN THIS ISSUE
- March Radio Mania - Russian DX Contest
- Everywhere Rare - CQ WPX SSB Contest
- Three-Way Contests Around the World
- ZL1AMO and W1BIH/PJ9JT - Silent Keys
- Our Numbered Day
- Using HFTA At Your Location
- Locusts and Ohio
- Note Names of Noise
- Scheme-It Online Schematic Capture
- Two Score and More
NEW HF OPERATORS - THINGS TO DO
The Russian DX Contest is rapidly becoming a popular spring-time DX
contest and counts for WRTC scoring points, too. Then on the month's
last weekend, put your call on the air as a sought-after prefix in the
CQ WPX SSB contest! You can also work on your WAS by chasing the OK,
VA, and ND QSO Parties.
BULLETINS
There are no bulletins in this issue.
BUSTED QSOS
No discombobulations were reported in the previous issue.
CONTEST SUMMARY
Complete information for all contests follows the Conversation section
March 17-18
- CWops Monthly Mini-CWT Test (Mar 14)
- Feld-Hell St Patrick's Day Sprint
- 10-10 Mobile QSO Party
- BARTG HF RTTY Contest
- CQIR - Ireland Calling
- Russian DX Contest
- Oklahoma QSO Party
- Virginia QSO Party
- North Dakota QSO Party
- Run For the Bacon--CW
March 24-25
- CLARA and Family HF Contest (Mar 20)
- NAQCC Monthly QRP Sprint--CW (Mar 22)
- CQ WPX SSB Contest
==> NEWS, PRESS RELEASES, AND GENERAL INTEREST
The threes are cleaning up in operating events lately and I don't mean
Maryland-DC, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. The ARRL Triple Play award
and other multi-mode contests have
now been followed by the World Wide Iron Ham Contest
from Brazil and the Greek Triathlon DX
Contest . Limber up the
fingers to type, squeeze, and send in all three modes! (Thanks, Kostas
SV1DPI and Oms PY5EG)
The 16th Annual SVHFS Conference
will be held on April 20-21 in Charlotte, NC. There will be an antenna
gain "shootout" and a noise figure test on Friday. ARRL President, Kay
Craigie N3KN will be the featured speaker on Friday. There are plenty
of technical and operating presentations, commercial vendors, plus a
flea market on Friday evening. The Saturday banquet keynote speaker
will be Nobel laureate Joe Taylor K1JT. (Thanks, Jim W4KXY)
Many clubs are looking for ways to help their newly-licensed members
become active and learn HF operating skills. The upcoming ARRL Rookie
Roundup (April 15th) has added the
Multioperator category along with Team competition to help clubs do
just that. Set up an all-day operating event, activate the club
station, arrange for an open house - whatever is best for your club.
Challenge another local club for bragging rights - competition is fun!
As an extra bonus, you'll be training and recruiting a crop of
brand-new Field Day operators, too!
The tongue-in-cheek suggestion by Guy N7ZG of using the Q signal QTK to
tell a pileup of spot-clickers to spread out got a lot of interest. I
found, however, that QTK is actually a real Q-signal and means "What is
the speed of your aircraft in relation to the surface of the Earth?"
(Upon which I naturally wondered, "Laden or unladen?" but I digress...)
Doing a little research on Q codes
, I found the far better amateur
net operations Q signal, QNY, which means "Shift to another frequency".
Seriously - why not use QNY to mean "spread out"? Even if no one knows
exactly what it means, it will confuse enough of the stations to let
you work a few of the remaining callers.
K5RQ eloquently compared ham radio to Facebook as the "original social
network" in this Sarasota SRQ article
.
Come to think of it, QSLing is a lot like collecting friends! (Thanks,
Dan K1TO)
Richard Krajewski WB2CRD authors a regular blog for EE Times called
"The Noble Profession
".
Recently, he penned the article "Who Needs Career Fairs When We Have
Best Buy?
"
that takes a look at how kids get interested in technology. His key
point is that you give them access and let them play with it!
I wonder if this speech-squashing gun
would work on an out-of-control pileup? (Thanks, Tom K1KI)
Contest logging for the blind is a lot easier if they can use software
that is friendly to screen reader programs such as JAWS
.
One such program is White Stick Log
from the UK. (Thanks, Mike
NF4L)
This nice note was received by Tim K3LR after the ARRL DX Phone
contest, "hi my name is jake or m6jbr i made contact with you today at
6:55 GMT and i thought that i would give you a bit more info i am 14 i
have been licenced since september 2011 you are the 3rd hf contact and
i was using a ts 440s from the south west of england a place called
bristol nice talking to you 73s" Welcome to the world of HF radiosport,
Jake! It's good to see enthusiastic operating from our newest hams.
Pete N4ZR writes in to let us know of an updated article on the
Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) website called "What Does a Flare Look
Like?
".
While you're there, you might also be interested in the article on the
listings of RBN stations and use the Options menu to display a
real-time map of stations the RBN is hearing. It's so fascinating that
you need to remember to get on the air, too!
NOAA has released a test version of Ovation
- a new space weather product
that provides a real-time estimate of the auroral intensity, including
that of the aurora australis at the South Pole. The program also shows
where the aurora is expected to be visible. This was an interesting
site over the past week as major flares and coronal mass ejections
(CMEs) were occurring. (Thanks, John N2NC)
NASA invites you watch the 2012 Exploring Space Lectures held at the
National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. live on the web:
- Big Bang for the Buck: Cosmology from WMAP
(March 22)
- The Little Satellite That Could
(April 11)
- Gamma Ray Bursts and the Birth of Black Holes
(May 16)
- Seeking Planets Like Earth
(June 5)
(From the AMSAT ANS-071 bulletin)
VHF+ DXers may be interested in this article on the new Sub-millimeter
Array of radio telescopes atop Mauna
Kea in Hawaii. The array is the most accurately guided RF antenna in
the world and receives 180 through 700 GHz with a beam width of less
than one arc-second. No gain figures are reported but I imagine there
are a lot of zeroes involved. (Thanks, Jeremy W7EME)
Can the astronauts on the ISS see you shining a light at them? The
AMSAT ANS-071 bulletin reports that "On March 4, about 65 amateur
astronomers were in position at the Lazano Observatory in Springbranch
Texas (near San Antonio). They turned on searchlights and waited as the
ISS was set to make an appearance in the sky. Astronaut Don Pettit,
KD5MDT had no trouble seeing the flashes." Watch the video
and take a look at this light-frequency
QSO.
Legendary DXpeditioner and keen CW operator Ron Wright ZL1AMO died last
week at the age of 75. Ron put many Pacific multipliers in many logs -
in and out of contests. A cab driver who enjoyed sharing his holidays
with all of us, Ron's last expedition was to Fiji in 2002. (Thanks,
Jess W6LEN)
Another giant was added to the list of Silent Keys, as well, as John
Thompson W1BIH died in the month of his 97th birthday. John took to the
air from Curacao as PJ9JT in the 1970s and was the first to construct a
large contest station on the Dutch islands off the northern coast of
South America. His signals were legendary and so were the scores from
the station you now know as PJ2T. (Thanks, Jack W1WEF)
Web Site of the Week - Happy Pi Day ! (3.14)
Have an irrationally transcendent day!
WORD TO THE WISE
Checklog - if you realize you've operated in some way that makes you
ineligible to participate in the contest, submit your log as a
checklog. That's an option in the Cabrillo format - place the line
CATEGORY-OPERATOR: CHECKLOG in the log file's header section. That way,
your contacts can still be used for log checking and the sponsors
appreciate that.
==> SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
The Northern California Contest Club (NCCC) has published a video
of program author Dean N6BV giving tips
on using his HFTA terrain analysis program. (Thanks, Jim K9YC)
Take a look at a great YouTube video on the RZ9OZO family club station
and some amazing 4 and 6-year-old operators. You want young operators?
Here they are! (Thanks, Yuri VE3DZ)
While you're enthusing about the new operators appearing on the air,
Mauro PP5MCB just posted this video of 13-year-old Vitor, PU5DCB
operating in the ARRL
DX Phone contest. Vitor was operating in the Single-band, 15 meter
category.
The N1MM Logger Overview Webinar has been posted on the Potomac Valley
Radio Club (PVRC) website under the "Recorded
Webinars" link. As a reminder, Part 2, Multi-Op & Digital Contesting is
also available. PVRC President, Ken K4ZW also wishes to thank Pete
N4ZR, Rich VE3KI, Steve N2IC, and Larry K8UT for putting together this
series of presentations.
How tall is your tower? Not as tall as the Tokyo Sky Tree
- the world's tallest free-standing broadcast tower!
Here's what a solar flare sounds like - the M8-class flare that hit
Earth on March 10th was captured in this audio recording of the blast
by an amateur astronomer in New Mexico.
==> RESULTS AND RECORDS
The results of the 2011 Ohio QSO Party are now available at the Ohio
QSO Party web site . (Thanks, Jim K8MR, OhQP
Chairman )
Sponsor, Rick K6VVA reports that the 2012 Locust QSO Party (LQP) final
results have been posted and include a
first-ever surprise 3-way tie in one category, a special poem offering
by N6ZFO, and a few other unusual Soapbox Comments this year.
OPERATING TIP
A reminder - asking to be spotted is considered "self-spotting" and is
specifically not allowed in nearly all contests.
==> TECHNICAL TOPICS AND INFORMATION
Pink or White? No, we're not talking about your dinner wine selection,
we're talking about noise. What do all those different names for noise
mean? Find out in this Electronic Design article
that summarizes the terminology - pass the popcorn noise, please!
The documentation on K2AV's Folded Counterpoise Antenna (FCA)
contain a lot of good
information. Take a look around the W0UCE web site for more!
Pres N6SS reports how he discourages nibbling of his "Beverage On
Ground (BOG)" wires by the local rodentia: "BOGs here are made from #14
stranded insulated house wire...before rolling (them) out at the start
of each low band season the reel is submerged for a week in a tub of
diesel fuel mixed with a bag of chili powder. This procedure renders
the wire far less tasty to Arizona critters. In 15 years not a single
'chew thru' has occured."
Jim W6RMK reports that the IEEE/ANSI RF safety standard, C95.1-2005
, can now
be downloaded for free now. OET Bulletin 65 is the usual amateur
reference and a good summary but you can also download the actual
standard now.
If you would like to see what a real college Electrical Engineering
course is like these days and have the necessary math background, MIT
is making their course 6.002x (Circuits and Electronics)
available. Circuits and Electronics is a
first course and is in the core of department subjects required for all
undergraduates in EECS (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science).
(Thanks, Steve N2IC)
Everybody has encountered the dreaded Philips-head slots worn down to
the point where a screwdriver can't grip enough to turn the screw. This
Apartment Therapy article
has a good idea - use a rubber band!
If you deal with electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) testing or
certification, you'll encounter tests that require a Line Impedance
Stabilization Network (LISN)
.
This fixture enables a device to operate from ac power while test
equipment measures emissions from the device conducted on the power
conductors. (Thanks, Kurt KD7JYK)
Scope probes are explored in the article "Probing Pointers
" by Jack Ganssle
N3ALO in the March 2012 issue of Embedded System Design.
Here's a great antenna and tower tip from a veteran of many skyhook
projects - "Always drill U-bolt holes two drill sizes (that's
two-64ths) bigger than the actual size of the U-bolt. Got a 3/8"-stock
U-bolt? Make the holes 13/32-inch. Be happy up there." (Thanks, Glenn
K6NA)
Mitch DJ0QN discovered this handy db-and-watts calculator
on-line from Rohde & Schwarz. It also handles voltage conversions and
VSWR-return loss, among other things. No need now to convert units back
and forth when making a combined calculation.
Technical Web Site of the Week - Al AB2ZY reports success in using
Scheme-It, a new web-based schematic capture tool
hosted by Digi-Key. The tool also compiles a Bill of Materials (BOM)
and the results are shareable across the web. As the article points
out, this will probably save a few napkins and tablecloths - since the
service can be accessed by a web browser wherever you are, including a
restaurant or coffeehouse!
==> CONVERSATION
Two Score and More
After I got home from operating at K3LR in the ARRL CW contest I
remembered that February of 1972 was the month I received my FCC
license after having passed the Novice test in late December - it took
a long time to get the paperwork through back then.
My first glimpse of a call sign (WN0GQP) came, interestingly, on the
mailing label of an envelope from The Little Print Shop - the dominant
QSL printer in those days. They had access to the FCC database and were
no doubt contacting every new Novice as soon as the call was assigned.
I remember looking at the envelope thinking, "Who is WN0GQP?" before
realizing that was MY CALL! Then I had to wait a few more days for the
actual license to arrive - a very long wait, I remember.
So when I got back home after the contest, I decided to take a look
and see just when I finally did get on the air four decades ago - I
still have the QSL from my first contact with WB5FXC so I sent him a
QSL yesterday, commemorating that first contact. The QSO took place on
the 16th of February - just one day before my annual flight to
Pittsburgh this year. It is truly great to have spent my 40th
anniversary of ham radio manning the 15 meter position with K1DG and
sharing the weekend with the team. I couldn't have written a better
script!
In relating this to the K3LR team, we happily discovered there were
five of us celebrating our 40th ham radio anniversaries: host Tim K3LR,
20 meter operator John VE3EJ, and the 80 meter team of Phil K3UA and
Dave K5GN. It must have been something in the 1971 air!
As I considered those 40 years, I started thinking about the events and
equipment and other memories along the way. Although some of them had
been captured in my station log on paper - these days I log on computer
and rarely add the kind of notes so common when entries were in pencil
or pen. John K1AR gave me a good idea - to start an open file to
capture some of these moments before I forget them.
Sure enough, once I began typing in milestones, memories started
popping out of the dusty trunks in my mental attic and I could barely
type fast enough. Now each time I open the file, more appear as if they
had been waiting for me to call them up. My rate has been terrific!
Start noting what makes ham radio exciting and enjoyable today - even
if you just got your ticket last week. All you have to do is open a
simple text file or a notebook and start recording. Don't wait two
score and more!
73, Ward N0AX
==> CONTESTS
14 March through 27 March 2012
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 Monthly Mini-CWT Test--CW, from Mar 14, 1100Z. Multiple operating
periods, twice monthly on 2nd and 4th Wed. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28.
Frequencies: 18 to 28 kHz above band edge. Exchange: Name and member
number or S/P/C. Logs due: 2 days. Rules
Feld-Hell St Patrick's Day Sprint--Digital, from Mar 17, 12 PM (local)
to Mar 17, 2 PM. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Monthly on 3rd Saturday.
Exchange: RST, S/P/C, Feld-Hell member nr. Logs due: 7 days. Rules
10-10 Mobile QSO Party--Phone, CW, Digital, from Mar 17, 0001Z to Mar
17, 2359Z. Bands (MHz): 28. Exchange: Call, name, county & S/P/C, 10-10
number. Logs due: Mar 31. Rules
BARTG HF RTTY Contest--Digital, from Mar 17, 0200Z to Mar 19, 0200Z.
Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: 3-digit serial and 4-digit time. Logs
due: May 1. Rules
CQIR - Ireland Calling--Phone, CW, from Mar 17, 1200Z to Mar 18, 1159Z.
Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: Serial and county code. Logs due: Apr
15. Rules
Russian DX Contest--Phone, CW, from Mar 17, 1200Z to Mar 18, 1200Z.
Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: RS(T), serial or oblast abbr. Logs due:
See web. Rules
Oklahoma QSO Party--Phone, CW, Digital, from Mar 17, 1300Z. Multiple
operating periods. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28, 50, Frequencies: CW 35 kHz
above band edge; Phone 3.860, 7.195, 14260, 21.335, 28.470, 50.130 MHz.
Exchange: RS(T) and OK county or S/P/"DX". Logs due: Apr 30. Rules
Virginia QSO Party--Phone, CW, Digital, from Mar 17, 1400Z to Mar 18,
0200Z and Mar 18, 1200Z to Mar 18, 2400Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50-440.
Frequencies: CW 1.805, 50 kHz+ band edge; Phone
1.845,3.86,7.26,14.27,21.37,28.37; 50.130, calling frequencies on
144/220/440. Exchange: Serial and VA county/city or S/P/C. Logs due:
Apr 15. Rules
North Dakota QSO Party--Phone, CW, from Mar 17, 1800Z to Mar 18, 1800Z.
Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50,144. Exchange: RST and ND county or S/P/C. Logs
due: May 15. Rules
Run For the Bacon--CW, from Mar 18, 0200Z to Mar 18, 0400Z. Monthly on
3rd Sunday night (local). Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: RST, S/P/C,
Flying Pig nr or power. Rules
CLARA and Family HF Contest--Phone, CW, from Mar 20, 1700Z, Multiple
operating periods. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Frequencies: CW 3.688, 7.033,
14.033, 21.033; Phone 3.750, 3.900, 7.033, 7.200, 14.120-130, 14.288,
21.288, 28.488 MHz . Exchange: RS(T), name, QTH, and CLARA. Logs due:
Apr 15. Rules
NAQCC Monthly QRP Sprint--CW, from Mar 22, 0030Z to Mar 22, 0230Z.
Bands (MHz): 3.5-14. Monthly on 2nd Tuesday or 3rd Wednesday local time
(alternating). Exchange: RST, S/P/C, and NAQCC mbr nr or power. Logs
due: 4 days. Rules
CQ WPX SSB Contest--Phone, from Mar 24, 0000Z to Mar 25, 2400Z. Bands
(MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: RS and serial. Logs due: Apr 18. Rules
VHF+ CONTESTS
Oklahoma QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Mar 17, 1300Z. Multiple
operating periods. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28, 50, Frequencies: CW 35 kHz
above band edge; Phone 3.860, 7.195, 14260, 21.335, 28.470, 50.130 MHz.
Exchange: RS(T) and OK county or S/P/"DX". Logs due: Apr 30. Rules
Virginia QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Mar 17, 1400Z to Mar 18,
0200Z and Mar 18, 1200Z to Mar 18, 2400Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50-440.
Frequencies: CW 1.805, 50 kHz+ band edge; Phone
1.845,3.86,7.26,14.27,21.37,28.37; 50.130, calling frequencies on
144/220/440. Exchange: Serial and VA county/city or S/P/C. Logs due:
Apr 15. Rules
North Dakota QSO Party--Phone,CW, from Mar 17, 1800Z to Mar 18, 1800Z.
Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50,144. Exchange: RST and ND county or S/P/C. Logs
due: May 15. Rules
==> LOG DUE DATES
14 March through 27 March 2012
- March 14, 2012 UBA DX Contest, CW
- March 15, 2012 Louisiana QSO Party
- March 15, 2012 Minnesota QSO Party
- March 15, 2012 AGCW Semi-Automatic Key Evening
- March 15, 2012 NAQCC-EU Monthly Sprint
- March 17, 2012 North American Sprint, RTTY
- March 18, 2012 SKCC Weekend Sprintathon
- March 18, 2012 YL-ISSB QSO Party
- March 18, 2012 High Speed Club CW Contest
- March 19, 2012 AWA Amplitude Modulation QSO Party
- March 19, 2012 ARRL School Club Roundup
- March 19, 2012 DARC 10-Meter Digital Contest
- March 20, 2012 ARRL International DX Contest, CW
- March 24, 2012 QRP ARCI HF Grid Square Sprint
- March 25, 2012 UBA Spring Contest, CW
- March 27, 2012 REF Contest, SSB
==> 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) 2012 American Radio Relay League, Inc. All
Rights Reserved
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Address all comments and questions to the editor as described in this
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