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The ARRL Contest Update
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
December 5, 2012
Editor: Ward Silver, N0AX
==> IN THIS ISSUE
- Fly To the HF Ceiling - ARRL 10 Meter Contest
- ARRL Rookie Roundup Fetes the New Fists
- The VooDoo That You Do
- New HF ala Mode Recipe by K1JT
- Using the RBN as a Test Instrument
- CQ WW CW Raw Scores - Check Your Submission
- Insulators with a Twist
- What's All This About Bandscopes?
- A Cooperative Venture
NEW HF OPERATORS - THINGS TO DO
You don't have to be a General or higher to take advantage of HF
contesting fun this weekend as the ARRL 10 Meter Contest lights up the
band. Technicians (and the few remaining Novices) can participate right
in the thick of the action. The following weekend is the CW edition of
the ARRL Rookie Roundup - pound a little brass and raise your code
speed another few notches.
BULLETINS
CQ WW logs were due five days after the contest - earlier than reported
in the previous issue!
BUSTED QSOS
Brad AA1IP notes that gentleman who achieved trans-Atlantic DX with a
QRPP transmitter
was in this instance Michael Rainey, AA1IJ. Also, the video "I Want a
Big Tower" was done by KT8K and Phil Gildersleeve's call was W1CJD, not
W1ICD. I can't wait to see my log checking report for CQ WW CW.
CONTEST SUMMARY
Complete information
for all contests follows the Conversation
section
December 8-9
- ARRL 10 Meter Contest
- SNS and NS Weekly Sprints--CW, Digital, (Dec 7)
- 28 MHz SWL Contest
- UBA Winter Contest
- AWA Bruce Kelly QSO Party--CW
- SKCC Weekend Sprintathon--CW
- Great Colorado Snowshoe Run--CW
December 15-16
- ARRL Rookie Roundup--CW
- NA High-Speed Meteor Scatter Contest--Digital (Dec 11)
- NAQCC Monthly QRP Sprint--CW (Dec 12)
- CWops Monthly Mini-CWT Test (Dec 12)
- Russian 160 Meter Contest (Dec 14)
- Feld-Hell Happy Birthday Sprint
- OK DX RTTY Contest
- Croatian CW Contest
- Holiday Spirits Homebrew Sprint--CW
- Run For the Bacon--CW (Dec 17)
==> NEWS, PRESS RELEASES, AND GENERAL INTEREST
The VooDoo Contest Group is hanging it up following this year's last
spell of operation from EL2A. As Ned AA7A reported, "After 18 years of
wandering around in West Africa, the famed VooDoo Contest Group's
hardware has been disassembled, parted out and distributed among
returning operators, local EL operators and club stations or pounded
into raw metal. The VooDoo Contest Group spirit survives and we may
mount another operation next year from somewhere, but it will not be in
West Africa in proximity to EL and the tired pile of VooDoo hardware."
As a long-time fan of the VooDudes, I can only tip my hat in admiration
and offer "Well done!" on behalf of the many Contest Update readers who
logged many a welcome multiplier from their efforts.
The 2013 Southeastern VHF Society Conference will be held on April
19 and 20, 2013 in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Sponsored by the Florida Weak
Signal Society , there will be a full slate of
events including a banquet, tours, antenna and noise figure testing,
along with a flea market. There will be vendor displays and technical
presentations both days. (Thanks, AMSAT
Bulletin ANS-337)
Now is the time to get prepared for the new categories in ARRL VHF+
contests discussed in the previous issue: FM-Only and 3-Band. Aimed at
entry-level VHF+ contesters, take the opportunity to publicize these
categories in your local club newsletters, meetings, and online
discussions. Folks new to contesting probably won't have contest
logging software so you can help them learn about that, too! This is
certainly a "teachable moment" so start early - don't miss the
opportunity.
It's a good idea to perform a test transmission of your CW messages
before the contest gets going - I heard one station sending "CQ SS" at
the beginning of the WW CW contest. Maybe "SS" is a cut form of "WW"
but I doubt it - I can't say that I've not made similar mistakes
though!
Jim K1TN confirms that radio-sport.net has ceased online publication,
noting that a final wrapup
by Jamie NS3T has
been posted on the site in the past couple of days.
The Potomac Valley Radio Club newsletter
for December contains lots of
photos of member shacks - some little, some mighty, some SO2R
(Single-op, Two Radios). A "virtual open house" is a great idea for
your club newsletter, too!
The PhoneSat Cubesat is planned for launch aboard a new commercial
rocket from Orbital Sciences Corp around December 17. Phonesat carries
an amateur radio payload on 437.425 MHz and has been chosen as one of
the winners in the Aerospace category for the Popular Science magazine
"Best of What's New 2012 " awards. The
satellite is built around the Nexus smartphone and will use its 5MP
camera for Earth observation, and 3-axis accelerometer and 3-axis
magnetometer for attitude determination. Hey, how's the coverage up
there? (Thanks, AMSAT Bulletin ANS-330)
This is the time of year when many clubs have elections. If you or
your club is looking for guidance as to how to run an election,
Robert's Rules of Order for Elections
is available online. Robert's Rules can seem a little formal but they
do help a group conduct business in an orderly manner.
"Gee whiz," says the 3830 data master aggregator Dink, N7WA, "Less than
24 hours (after CQ WW CW - Ed.) and already more than 480K of soapbox
comments !"
Web Site of the Week - From the latest West Mountain Radio
newsletter comes word Joe K1JT has
released a new version of WSJT called WSJTX
that includes a
new mode called JT9 primarily designed for LF/MF. It is similar to JT65
but with a much reduced bandwidth. The mode is being used on the 30
meter band at 10.130 USB.
WORD TO THE WISE
Comfort - In the ergonomics department, Kirk K4RO reports that the best
new accessory in his station during CQ WW CW was a big exercise ball.
Using it as a chair at times stretched muscles and provided "huge
relief to lower back and legs." Your editor also enjoyed the results of
a new dual-firmness chair pad from Relaxobak
, recommended by Rick K6VVA.
The photo at right shows how Bud W2RU operates standing up with a
small stool providing the necessary "lift" to his keyboard. After
relating the suggestion of compression socks, I heard from fellow
Contest Update reader and contester, Steve N8WL whose Activskin
product line includes full-support hosiery
designed for comfort while being worn for long periods. Attention to
comfort keeps the operator healthy, happy, and most importantly - on
the air and making points!
==> SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
Last month, W8NN and K8UT delivered a presentation to the SouthEast
Michigan DX Association (SEMDXA) titled "Using the RBN as an Antenna
Performance Tool
." Among
the topics is a description of the testing protocol, which the testers
found required strict compliance to permit valid comparison of antenna
A to antenna B to antenna C. (Thanks, Larry K8UT)
Rick ZL2HAM just released a very nice short video
showing propagation during
the CQ WW CW between ZL and the rest of the world. Reception is
displayed on an az-el map as reported by the Reverse Beacon Network
(RBN). This clearly shows how propagation changes with the Sun's
position, gray line, and other factors. (Thanks, Tom K1KI)
The Van Allen Probes Mission, part of NASA's Living With a Star
program, studies the physical dynamics of Earth's radiation belts and
space weather. A video of this mission, including classroom activities
about space weather has been released by the Johns Hopkins University
Applied Physics Laboratory. (Thanks, AMSAT Bulletin
ANS-330 and Bill, W3XO)
Fred K3ZO sent along a link to this video
taken during the SEANET
convention, illustrating what a great institution ham radio is in
furthering international understanding and brotherhood. You might even
understand why someone would pass up a major contest in order to
attend.
Just at the end of the CQ WW CW contest, your editor was watching the
logging software's Gray Line window. At 0000Z as the Sun hit the
western boundary of the map, a quirk of the program turned the whole
map to night for one minute. How appropriate!
==> RESULTS AND RECORDS
Raw scores for CQWW CW 2012 are now available. These scores were
calculated by the log checking software before any cross checking is
performed. Final scores will show changes between 2-20% depending on
the accuracy of the operator. Please check that your entry is in the
correct category and report any errors or
questions. (Thanks, CQ WW DX Contest Director Randy K5ZD)
The good news is that last year's ARRL 10 Meter Contest attracted a
record number of participants and there are snazzy new certificates,
too. The bad news is that load will make the certificates be a little
late this year - the ARRL Contest Branch is working hard, though, and
will have them in the mail soon. (Thanks, ARRL Contest Branch Manager,
Sean KX9X)
Results of the 2012 Texas QSO Party are now available on the TQP
website . Plaques for the winners are anticipated
to be mailed starting in January. A special thanks is extended to the
Texas stations who combined to activate 250 of the 254 counties!
(Thanks, Chuck NO5W and Keith NM5G, TQP Coordinators)
Raw scores have been published for this year's WAE DX RTTY
contest
held in November. (Thanks, Mike WU9D)
Tack JE1CKA reports that the Japan International DX Contest committee
has uploaded the JIDX 2012 CW results.
JIDX Phone logs are still being accepted - check the Logs Received list
to be sure yours has been accepted.
From Doug K1DG, "I *think* these are still the highest country totals
worked during a contest on one band. On SSB: K3LR 192 (20 meters) and
PJ4B 190 (15 meters) both in the 1999 contest." If anybody else has
documented higher totals, please let the editor know about it!
OPERATING TIP
Don't confuse other participants by transmitting information in an
unexpected order or at an unexpected point during the contact. For
example, send your Sweepstakes information in the same order described
by the rules: number, precedence, call sign, check, and section.
Remember that "thanks" is most often used to conclude a contact and is
usually interpreted as "QRZ?" Sent too early, TU cues callers to begin
calling while you are still in the middle of a contact - this gets the
whole pileup out of sync and slows everything down. To maintain rhythm
and rate, don't confuse your customers!
==> TECHNICAL TOPICS AND INFORMATION
C-shaped screw-in electric fence insulators
make neat and cheap insulator for Beverage antennas. The ends of the C
overlap so the wire can be slipped into the insulator then held with a
90-degree rotation of the screw. The wire is then free to slide in the
insulator. Most any farm or horse supply store should have them.
(Thanks, Grant KZ1W)
Arne N7KA recommends this explanatory website
for clearing up the mystery of bearing types.
A downloadable collection of RF calculations
made by
Andy G0FTD has been made available in a spreadsheet. (Thanks, AMSAT
Bulletin ANS-330)
For up to the minute propagation information, Thomas NZ4O has created
his MF/HF/6M Radio Wave Propagation Subscription Service
. The $30.00 per year subscription is for
daily MF/HF/6M radio wave propagation forecasts similarly to the
emailed DX bulletins.
For Yagi designers, a trio of programs are available to help you with
the mechanical design of the elements for survivability under wind and
ice loading. YagiStress by Kurt K7NV is
perhaps the best-known of the three. Bob K0RC has converted the W6QHS
(now W6NL) Lotus element taper spreadsheet to Excel 2003 XLS format
. The spreadsheet has some new worksheets
from the original and Bob's Revision 3 of an SWR charting tool is also
available. Steve W3AHL recommends the $39 DX Engineering design tool,
Yagi Mechanical .
Once an antenna has been designed with a constant element diameter
using EZNEC or similar modeling tools, these
mechanical design tools can be used to change the element taper
schedule to achieve the required mechanical properties while keeping
the element resonant at the right frequency.
To prevent vibration from loosening the bolts holding a rotator to
the tower mounting plate, Jim K0XU first installs a stud, held with
Loctite thread locking compound
and a jam nut. The protruding studs also make it easier to align the
rotator with the holes in the rotator plate. A jam nut is also added to
the nut below the plate. Even if the nuts come off, the rotator still
can't move.
Technical Web Site of the Week - The December issue of the Packrat VHF
"Cheese Bits "
newsletter contained a detailed article about the use of multiple band
scopes for VHF+ contesting. "What's All This Multiple Bandscope Stuff,
Anyhow?" By Roger W3SZ is a good example of how to make good use of
this new tool for contesters.
==> CONVERSATION
A Cooperative Venture
Big contests like CQ World Wide really test our ability to coexist in
our limited amount of spectrum. As I've observed before in this column,
radiosport is one of the rare competitions requiring the contestants to
cooperate with each to score points. No cooperation, no points. The
increased activity of late requires particularly intense cooperation.
Of course, what constitutes effective and appropriate cooperation
differs between competitors. There are a wide range of strategies
varying from casual search-and-pounce to all-out 48-hour scouring of
the bands for contacts. As a result, there are no one-size-fits-all
"best" practices. Nevertheless, there are basic requirements everyone
must satisfy: call signs and the exchange information must be
transmitted and received so that both stations can submit a log
containing the correct information.
That's an odd way of describing the requirement: ...so that both
stations can submit a log containing the correct information. Note that
I didn't say, must be transmitted and received correctly. What's the
difference? The second, more conventional statement implies the
information has been exchanged in real-time. The first only requires
that the information be recorded correctly in a log and that is all
that the sponsors examine; the log.
Also unlike most other sports, radiosport scoring is based on the
contents of a written record after the competition is finished. As
such, it really doesn't matter how the information makes its way from
one station to the other as long as the methods comply with the
requirements of one's entry category. That makes it possible to not
even transmit some aspect of the information, such as call signs, if
one assumes that it is known either from previous contacts or over some
other channel, such as spotting networks.
The debate about sending one's call has been going on for at least
thirty years. The top-scoring, most experienced operators endorse the
technique of not sending their calls during every contact as one method
(among many) of controlling pileup size. (Note that I am referring here
to DX stations and not getting into issues of satisfying FCC rules
about identification.) As long as the pileup inhabitants don't have to
wait "too long" (whatever that means) and the DX station is good at
pulling complete calls out of the pile and behaving consistently from
contact to contact, rate for both the caller and callee are maximized.
It is easy for this to break down, of course. The most common reason
for chaos is poor cooperation by the callers, such as not listening and
calling out of turn or getting out of sync. The bigger the pileup, the
more likely these will occur, leading to a large mess best described as
a "snarl" or "swarm". If you've ever been on the DX end of a big
pileup, you know how hard it can be to maintain rate when the callers
won't use good calling technique. Another cause for pileups to break
down in disorder is when the DX station behaves erratically; such as
changing the response from contact to contact or not being able to pull
out full calls with lots of back-and-forth to confirm information, to
name just a couple of reasons. It is much, much easier for a station in
the pileup to maintain discipline if the station running the pileup is
consistent and gives clear signals as to what to do.
So there is a bargain to be made: The callers are expected to listen,
not call out of turn, and give their full calls while the DX station is
expected to establish a consistent and effective pattern of operating
to which the callers respond. Part of that effectiveness is identifying
one's call. Too many stations were heard during the CQ WW CW contest
not giving their call signs for excessive periods - minutes at a time
in some cases. This violates the bargain that underlies cooperation,
especially from the perspective of the callers who are giving up extra
time for no additional benefit to them.
Is it the assumption that callers are getting the correct call sign
from the spotting networks? Consider that from the final CQ WW Claimed
Scores , there were 2604
Single-Op, All Band logs (all three power categories) and 1735
Single-Op, Assisted logs. Assuming that single-band logs were submitted
in about the same ratio, 60 percent of the callers were not connected
to the spotting networks. Thus, if a station is not sending a call,
more than half of the stations available to the pileup have no idea who
the station is! They have to either sit there and wait for a call sign
to be sent - which costs them QSOs - or they have to tune away from
that pileup and come back later which is a risk that they will miss out
on a contact.
It also means a lot of them are guessing the call - so they are either
making a duplicate contact or putting the wrong call in their logs. Not
just logging a busted call for which they would get the penalty but
probably logging the call of a different active station they think they
are calling which causes the DX station to get a NIL (not in log)
penalty, as well! This is not a good tradeoff and a good reason to
limit the practice of sending call signs infrequently.
Note that I am not opposed to giving your call "every few QSOs" as a
matter of practice or kicking it into high gear and working a
half-dozen stations in a quick burst without giving your call. This is
a long-established and successful method of controlling pileup size and
keeping the rate up for everybody. What I am opposed to is a station
going ten or twenty QSOs (or more) on a regular basis before
identifying. It wastes the time of the callers and leads to unnecessary
log checking penalties. It is bad practice and poor cooperation.
Should there be a rule requiring sending a call every X contacts? Well
no, but I think there should be clearly-expressed expectation that
stations running pileups should avoid long periods of not giving their
call signs. A rule is too inflexible and who is going to enforce it,
realistically? I am as frustrated as anybody else but I eventually must
agree that we can't fix this particular problem through more rules. It
can be addressed through education and by pointing out good technique.
For example, in the CQ WW CW PJ2T, ED9Z, PJ4A, PJ4D, CW5W, EL2A, YN2CC,
NH2T, HK1NA, 8P5A, LT1F, ZD8W, and the big KH6 and 7 stations - among
others - all made lots and lots of QSOs while signing quite frequently.
Not every time and I am not saying they were all on best behavior from
beginning to end...but certainly enough to keep order and not raise
blood pressures around the world unnecessarily. Good job - thank you!
Scores and participation have been increasing over the past years.
Pileups are getting really, really big. The contests and the band
openings aren't getting any longer. This puts more pressure on us to
behave well during the contest. We need to focus on cooperating with
each other - on both ends of the pileup. Callers and callees both need
to maintain a disciplined approach to pileups that does not
disproportionately require either group to waste time, forego contacts,
or risk higher log checking penalties. It's called cooperation and we
all benefit from it.
73, Ward N0AX
==> CONTESTS
5 December through 18 December 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
ARRL 10 Meter Contest--Phone,CW, from Dec 8, 0000Z to Dec 9, 2400Z.
Bands (MHz): 28. Exchange: RS(T) and State/Prov or serial. Logs due:
Jan 9. Rules
ARRL Rookie Roundup--CW, from Dec 16, 1800Z to Dec 16, 2359Z. Bands
(MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: Both calls, name, check, S/P/XE or "DX". Logs
due: See web. Rules
SNS and NS Weekly Sprints--CW,Digital from Dec 7, 0200Z to Dec 7,
0300Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-14. Weekly on Thursday evenings local time.
Exchange: Serial, name, and S/P/C. Logs due: 2 days. Rules
28 MHz SWL Contest--Phone,CW, from Dec 8, 0000Z to Dec 9, 2400Z. Bands
(MHz): 28. Exchange: Log ARRL 10 Meter Contest QSOs. Logs due: Jan 31.
Rules
UBA Winter Contest--Phone,CW,Digital, from Dec 8, 1700Z to Dec 9,
2100Z. Multiple operating periods. Bands (MHz): 1.8-7. Exchange: RS(T)
and UBA section or serial. Logs due: 3 weeks. Rules
AWA Bruce Kelly QSO Party--CW, from Dec 8, 2300Z to Dec 9, 2300Z.
Multiple operating periods. Bands (MHz): 3.5,7. Exchange: RST, Xmtr
type, power, name. Logs due: 30 days. Rules
SKCC Weekend Sprintathon--CW, from Dec 9, 0000Z to Dec 9, 2359Z.
Monthly beginning on the second Saturday local time. Bands (MHz):
3.5-28. Exchange: RST, S/P/C, SKCC nr or power. Logs due: 5 days. Rules
Great Colorado Snowshoe Run--CW, from Dec 9, 2100Z to Dec 9, 2259Z.
Bands (MHz): 14. Exchange: RST, S/P/C, class, CQC number or power. Logs
due: 30 days. Rules
NAQCC Monthly QRP Sprint--CW, from Dec 12, 0130Z to Dec 12, 0330Z.
Monthly on 2nd Tuesday or 3rd Wednesday local time (alternating). Bands
(MHz): 3.5-14. Exchange: RST, S/P/C, and NAQCC mbr nr or power. Logs
due: 4 days. Rules
CWops Monthly Mini-CWT Test--CW, from Dec 12, 1300Z to Dec 13, 0400Z.
Multiple operating periods, twice monthly on 2nd and 4th Wed. Bands
(MHz): 1.8-28. Frequencies (MHz): 18 to 28 kHz above band edge.
Exchange: Name and member number or S/P/C. Logs due: 2 days. Rules
Russian 160 Meter Contest--Phone,CW, from Dec 13, 2100Z to Dec 13,
2300Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8. Exchange: RS(T), serial, square ID (see
website). Logs due: Jan 20. Rules
Feld-Hell Happy Birthday Sprint--Digital, from Dec 15, 0000Z to Dec 15,
2400Z. Monthly on 3rd Saturday. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: RST,
S/P/C, Feld-Hell member nr. Logs due: 7 days. Rules
OK DX RTTY Contest--Digital, from Dec 15, 0000Z to Dec 16, 2400Z. Bands
(MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: RST and CQ Zone. Logs due: Jan 15. Rules
Croatian CW Contest--CW, from Dec 15, 1400Z to Dec 16, 1400Z. Bands
(MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: RST and serial. Logs due: 30 days. Rules
Holiday Spirits Homebrew Sprint--CW, from Dec 16, 2000Z to Dec 16,
2359Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: RST, S/P/C, ARCI number or Power.
Logs due: 14 days. Rules
Run For the Bacon--CW, from Dec 17, 0200Z to Dec 17, 0400Z. Monthly on
3rd Sunday night (local). Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: RST, S/P/C,
Flying Pig nr or power. Rules
VHF+ CONTESTS
NA High-Speed Meteor Scatter Contest--Digital, from Dec 11, 0000Z to
Dec 17, 0200Z. Bands (MHz): 50-222. Exchange: Both calls, grid square,
acknowledgement. Logs due: Jan 15. Rules
==> LOG DUE DATES
5 December through 18 December 2012
- December 6 - ARS Spartan Sprint
- December 6 - RSGB 80m Club Sprint, CW
- December 6 - QRP Fox Hunt
- December 8 - Wake-Up! QRP Sprint
- December 8 - QRP Fox Hunt
- December 9 - SARL Digital Contest
- December 9 - NCCC Sprint
- December 10 - JIDX Phone Contest
- December 13 - QRP ARCI Topband Sprint
- December 15 - Ten-Meter RTTY Contest
- December 17 - QRP ARCI Topband Sprint
- December 17 - CQ SA SSB Contest
- December 18 - LZ DX 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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