[LeArc] ARRL Contest Rate Sheet for November 20, 2002
Joseph L. Rossmiller
[email protected]
Mon, 25 Nov 2002 15:39:35 -0600
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Contester's Rate Sheet
20 November 2002
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Edited by Ward Silver, N0AX
SUMMARY
o The smallest Upcoming Contests listing ever!
o Lots of interesting Web sites to visit in this issue - find 'em
all!
o George Henf KK4CW of GAP Antennas - SK
o Field Day, Texas QSO Party, Indiana QSO Party, and EU Sprint
results available
o Lots of PSK-31 resources
o A Little Perspective, Please
BULLETINS
o CQ WW CW not on Thanksgiving weekend (Nov 30-Dec 1) this year. As
a matter of fact, with the exception of the 4-hour QRP Holiday Sprint
on Dec 1, there are NO contests on Thanksgiving weekend this year.
BUSTED QSOS
o A very tarnished issue last time...in a stunning example of the
perils of using cut-and-paste functions, I managed to get the modes
wrong for the Nov 9-10 WAE (it was RTTY, not CW) and Nov 16-17
Sweepstakes (it was Phone, not CW). I sincerely hope that no one was
unduly inconvenienced...sorry about that.
o The January VHF Sweepstakes announcement on page 95 of December QST
has the wrong dates for the contest. The contest runs from 1900Z
Saturday Jan 18 through 0400Z Monday Jan 20. The ARRL contest rules
Web site has the correct information
(http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2003/01vhfss.html) and the
Contest Corral for January will have the correct information, as
well.
ANNOUNCEMENT & NOTICES FOR 20 NOVEMBER TO 3 DECEMBER 2002
Logs are due for the following contests: =20
o November 20, 2002 RSGB 21/28 MHz Contest, SSB/CW - email to:
[email protected], paper logs to: RSGB-G3UFY, 77 Bensham Manor
Road, Thornton Heath, Surrey CR7 7AF, England
=20
o November 20, 2002 Worked All Germany Contest - email to:
[email protected], paper logs to: Klaus Voigt, DL1DTL, PO Box 12 09 37,
D-01010 Dresden, Germany
o November 25, 2002 Panama Radio Club Anniversary Contest - email
to: [email protected], paper logs to: Radio Club of Panama, PO Box
10745, Panama #4, Republic of Panama
=20
o November 25, 2002 Oceania DX Contest, Phone/CW, e-mail:
[email protected] (phone) or [email protected] (CW), paper
logs to: Oceania DX Contest, c/o Wellington Amateur Radio Club Inc.,
PO Box 6464, Wellington 6030, New Zealand
=20
o November 30, 2002 Iberoamericano Contest - email to: [email protected],
paper logs to: URE Contest Manager, Vicente Aguilella, EA5AL, PO Box
87, 12200 Onda, Castellon, Spain
o November 30, 2002 JARTS WW RTTY Contest - email to:
[email protected], paper logs to: (none)
o December 1, 2002 CQ Worldwide DX Contest, SSB - email to:
[email protected], paper logs to: CQWW Phone, CQ Magazine, 25 Newbridge
Road, Hicksville, NY 11801, USA =20
=20
o December 1, 2002 DARC 10-Meter Digital Contest - email to:
[email protected], paper logs to: Werner Ludwig, DF5BX, PO Box 1270,
49110 Georgsmarienhuette, Germany
=20
o December 3, 2002 Ukrainian DX Contest - email to:
[email protected], paper logs to: Ukrainian Contest Club HQ, PO Box
4850 , Zaporizhzhe 69118, Ukraine
The following contests are scheduled:
Note that the following abbreviations are used to condense the
contest rules summaries:
SO - Single-Op; M2 - Multiop - 2 Transmitters; MO - Multi-Op; MS -
Multi-Op, Single Transmitter; MM - Multi-Op, Multiple Transmitters;
AB - All Band; SB - Single Band; S/P/C - State/Province/DXCC Entity;
HP - High Power; LP - Low Power; Entity - DXCC Entity
CQ Worldwide DX Contest--CW, sponsored by CQ Magazine, 0000Z Nov
23--2400Z Nov 24. Frequencies: 160-10 meters. Categories: SOAB and
SOSB (HP >100W, LP, QRP <5W), MS, MM. MS have 10 minute rule.
Exchange RS(T) and CQ zone. QSO Points: same cont--1 pts (NA stations
count 2 pts), diff cont--3 pts. Stations in the same country may be
worked for zone credit only. Score: QSO points x CQ Zones + DXCC
entities + WAE countries counted once per band. For more information
- http://www.cqww.com. Logs due Jan 15 to [email protected] or to CQ
Magazine, 25 Newbridge Rd, Hicksville, NY 11801, USA.
ARRL International EME Contest, 0000Z Nov 23 - 2400Z Nov 24 (2nd
weekend). Frequencies: any band at or above 50 MHz. Categories: SOAB,
SOSB, MO, Commercial. Exchange: signal report. QSO Points: 100
pts/QSO. Score: QSO points x W/VE call areas + DXCC entities (counted
once per band). For more information--
http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2002/rules-eme.html. Logs due 30
days after the contest to [email protected] or EME Contest, ARRL,
225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111.
Holiday Spirits Homebrew CW Sprint--sponsored by the QRP ARCI, 2000Z
- 2400Z Dec 1. Frequencies--1810, 3560, 3710, 7040, 7110, 14060,
21060, 21110, 28060, 28110 kHz. Categories: SOAB, SOSB, SO20-10,
SO160-40, MOAB, DX stations are SOAB only. Exchange: RST, SPC, and
Power or QRP ARCI number. QSO Points: members--5 pts,
non-members/different continent--4 pts, non-members/same cont.--2
pts. Score: QSO points x SPC (counted once per band) x Power
multiplier (<250mW x 15, 250mW - 1W x 10, 1 - 5W x7, >5W x 1) + Bonus
Points (2000 for homebrew (HB) xmtr, 3000 HB rcvr, 5000 HB xcvr).=20
For more
information--http://personal.palouse.net/rfoltz/arci/holispr.htm.=20
Logs due 30 days after the contest to [email protected] or Randy
Foltz, K7TQ, Attn: Holiday Spirits Sprint, 809 Leith St, Moscow, ID
83843.
This is undoubtedly the lightest set of upcoming contests you will
ever see. You know CQ WW is the most popular contest around when
nobody even TRIES to hold another HF contest on the same weekend - on
any mode.
NEWS & PRESS RELEASES
While Sweepstakes is still fresh in the old memory bank, take a few
minutes to post a comment to the ARRL Soapbox Web page. It's really
easy and there are already a number of interesting stories and
photos. But not enough! This is a great opportunity to share the
fun with others - log on to http://www.arrl.org/contests/soapbox/ and
upload text and photos. It's fun!
Array Solutions has added the ICE products home page to their web
site - point the browser at
http://www.arraysolutions.com/Products/ice/index.html. Once there,
burrow into the "Special Publications" page for some meaty articles
on lightning protection, Beverage antennas, and numerous other
topics. (Thanks, Jay WX0B)
Cable Experts has a Web page with some handy coax and connector
resources: http://www.cablexperts.com/cfdocs/tech_data.cfm?bskt=3D0.=20
This includes an attenuation and power rating chart and some good
connector cross-references.
K3EST reminds you to check the CQ WW web page at http://www.cqww.com
to be sure your CQ WW SSB log was received. If you would like to
submit a checklog, when putting together the Cabrillo formatted file,
use the category "Checklog" and the subject line of your email should
read "[yourcall] Checklog". This also works for ARRL and other
contests supported by the Cabrillo format. Speaking of Cabrillo
format, if you need to generate a Cabrillo-format log from some other
format, there are free Cabrillo converters on the Web - such as the
fine general-purpose program LOGCONV at
http://www.qsl.net/ka5wss/logconv/.
Kelly, VE4XT, will be writing up the ARRL Phone Sweepstakes results
and would like to print lots of photos in the QST writeup. If you
are so inclined, Kelly is looking for candid photos of humorous
situtations involving the contest, portrait-like photos (unshaven and
otherwise), and artsy photos of radios, antennas, stations, you name
it. To be suitable for publication, the photos should be of at least
300 dpi resolution, eight inches on a side, or about 600 kbytes or
larger. (Don't hesitate to send him larger files.) The photos should
be emailed to [email protected].
Since the January listing of the rules for the JIDX contest, the
email address for log submissions has changed. If you participated
in the Phone JIDX contest earlier this month, the correct address for
emailing logs is [email protected].
In the "I can dream, can't I?" Department,
http://www.americantowers.com lists 14,000 telecommunications tower
sites for sale. Many of these are obsolete cellular or microwave
towers. Obviously, they're not down in a hole. Why, there are two
less than five miles from me. Hmmm...
George Henf KK4CW - SK. George was one of the principals in the GAP
Antenna Company since its inception. Many of us have used his GAP
verticals. George passed away on 8 Nov. (Thanks, Steve AB2ET)
RESULTS AND RECORDS
The 2002 Field Day results are now online at
http://www.arrl.org/contests/results/index.html#2002. Certificates
with the new graphics are in the process of being mailed for the 2001
160 Meter and 10 Meter contests. Next up will be the 2002 RTTY
Roundup, January VHF SS, and ARRL International DX contests. (Thanks,
Dan N1ND)
The results for the 2002 Texas QSO Party are available
http://www.k5vuu.com/tqp/ and the results for the Indiana QSO Party
are available on the Hoosier DX and Contest Club (HDXCC) web site -
http://www.hdxcc.org/.
Paolo, I2UIY, writes, "Starting on November 1, 2002 the EU Sprint
finally has its own
web page at http://www.qsl.net/eusprint. Here you will find
everything about the EU Sprint: rules in several languages, results,
prizes and software to download. Please visit the page and help us to
keep it up. We want your articles about the EU Sprint, share with us
your tactics and secrets!"
TECHNICAL & TECHNIQUE
Waterproofing - is there any other subject so pertinent during the
late fall? Gleaned from the TowerTalk reflector, here are three
useful products to keep water and moisture on the right side of
whatever it is that you want keep water on the right side of.=20
- GC "Red Glypt" comes in a small bottle with a brush and is sold
through electronics distributors.
- Star Brite "Liquid Electrical Tape" available at Home Depot and
Napa Auto Parts in different colors like red, blue, white, and black.
I personally like this stuff for making coax pigtails waterproof.
- Dow Aquarium sealant is good and tough, doesn't give off corrosive
acetic acid when curing and comes in clear, white, and black.
Another tip from various parties - when making coax pigtails,
thoroughly tin the braid at the boundary of your waterproofing so
that the spaces between the strands are filled with solder. That
prevents the wicking of moisture up into the rest of the braid behind
the waterproofing. I hate when that happens! (Thanks, TowerTalkians)
A great batch of recommendations came through regarding what to hang
on the end of a rope as a counterweight to keep wire antennas under
tension. What thinkers we have out there in Radio Land!
- Buckets or paint cans filled with concrete, rocks, oyster shells,
or casino chips
- Ingots "from your local foundry"
- Cinder blocks, cored brick or big chunks of wood with a screw eye
in 'em
- Heavy, black tie-down cords
- UV-resistant (or painted) jugs filled with water
- Window sash weights - may be available free from window installers
- Garage door springs (use a safety wire)
- Large transformers
- Politicians
I understand that there will be great deals on frozen turkeys after
the holidays, too...they'll probably last all winter. (More great
ideas from the crowd on TowerTalk)
You've probably noticed a growing number of contests dedicated to or
adding PSK31. If you are interested, but not sure how to get
started, there is a pretty good resource page for PSK at
http://www.aintel.bi.ehu.es/psk31.html. The ARRL TIS lists articles
and other information at http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/psk31.html. For
software to operate PSK31, the freeware package DigiPan comes very
highly recommended and can be downloaded at http://www.digipan.net.
Other software resources can be found at
http://www.westmountainradio.com/links.htm. The eHam Web site also
has reviews of some of the more popular PSK software at
http://www.eham.net/reviews/products/28. No excuses, now! (Thanks to
Rod, N0RC and Dave, N0IT)
If your receiver took a beating last weekend or you're getting ready
for the ARRL 160-Meter contest, Gary Nichols KD9SV has some
interesting products such as front-end protection, preamps, and
antenna switchboxes at http://johnjeanantiqueradio.com/gary.htm.
If you've ever wondered how the quad antenna was invented (and why),
the following Web site has the story -
http://www2.gvsu.edu/~w8gvu/qad-hst.html. Be sure to win bets at the
next after-meeting-meeting in the bar!
CONVERSATION
A Little Perspective, Please
The following was written in response to a commonly-heard (and
sincere) concern about the technical expertise of new hams. It's
unquestionable that times have changed - the hobby and the people in
it are changing. How can we accommodate this trend?
I recall a letter written to the ARRL (that was it...just "ARRL", not
even a department) by a high-school kid asking the question, "Can a
dipole can be made twice as long by grounding one end?" He only had
room for a low, 40-meter dipole and wanted to get on 80-meters. That
was a pretty dumb question, but he got a courteous reply from the
ARRL technical staff that answered the question and added some
interesting information and a copy of an article about ground-plane
verticals (which was the source of the confusion in the first place).
The kid went away happy and figured out another way to get on
80-meters.
=20
Taking a quick look through the rules and regulations, I see nothing
about requiring an engineering degree to get a ham license. Do you
have to be an ex-military radio chief? Nope, nothing about that in
there either. How about a being a senior wireless communications
tech? That's funny, they seem to have overlooked that obvious
requirement, as well. What could the FCC have been thinking?
=20
I teach electrical engineering labs at Seattle University and I will
agree that kids coming into the program have a lot less hands-on
electronics experience than 30 years ago. Rarely have any of them
built squat. What they have instead is a highly developed
appreciation for complex systems based on their experiences building
and operating computer-based network applications. Yes, even gaming
networks. In the old days, the focus was on the box. Today,
innovation is happening at the systems level. People are getting into
the hobby because they are interested in the communications aspects,
not necessarily from the design angle - although they can easily
decide to pursue it.
=20
As a sometime-editor of the QST "The Doctor Is In" column working
with answers relayed from various ARRL staffers I think you have to
consider where the questions can be reasonably expected to come from.
The ARRL doesn't receive very many "How do I convert my home-brew 10
Gbit/sec laser modulator to run from nuclear power" questions - the
people asking these questions just don't have a convenient Elmer to
help them through the rough spots we all encounter (and often like to
forget). If someone came up to you at a club meeting and asked a
simple question like these, how would you respond face-to-face? There
are an awful lot of hams that got into the hobby after cobbling
together something out of a magazine and stumbling around on the air
rather badly until they were rescued by a friendly local ham or club.
If we want to dry up the hobby for good, and quickly, I can think of
no better way than to raise the barrier to entry by demanding skills
that are largely disappearing from the general population. Yes,
electronic know-how makes ham radio a lot more fun - but it's not the
only thing the hobby has to offer. We should be figuring out to help
those interested learn electronics instead of dissing 'em because
they don' t know it already.=20
A couple of my son's friends came over to play Sweepstakes this past
weekend. One has his license, one doesn't - neither knows enough
about electronics to fill a specimen jar. Yet, after screwing around
on Field Day and reading their license manuals, they know something
about operating a radio, a little about antennas, a dab of
propagation, and are getting exposed to stuff they would otherwise
never see. While they weren't operating, we were working on the bench
to build a new computer and finish some PL-259 soldering. It was fun
for them - maybe they'll stick with it. I know one is going to go
put up a dipole for the 10-Meter Contest in a couple of weeks.
By the way, the dumb kid was me in 1972 and the letter was from Lew
McCoy, W1ICP. It was like a letter from God himself and the league
letterhead might as well have been stone tablets. The detailed,
instructive reply went a long way towards cementing my life-long
relationship with the hobby. I now have an engineering degree and
more than 30 years of experience - largely due to getting into this
marvelous hobby that has room both for newbies greener than June
apples and grizzled veterans of the solder wars. Let's lighten up and
figure out how to help others enjoy it.=20
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Contester's Rate Sheet wishes to acknowledge information from the
following sources:
WA7BNM's Contest Calendar Web page -
http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/ ARRL Contest page -
http://www.arrl.org/contests/
SM3CER's Web site - http://www.sk3bg.se/contest/
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THE ARRL CONTEST RATE SHEET is published every other Wednesday (26=20
times each year), by the American Radio Relay League--The National=20
Association For Amateur Radio--225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111; tel=20
860-594-0200; fax 860-594-0259. Editor: Ward Silver, N0AX.
The ARRL Contest Rate Sheet offers a useful source of timely=20
information for both the active and casual contester. The Rate Sheet=20
includes information about events during the following two-week period,=20
time-sensitive news items, upcoming deadlines, and other news of=20
interest to contesters.
For permission to quote or reprint material from the ARRL Contest Rate=20
Sheet, send a request including the issue date, a description of the=20
material requested, and a description of where you intend to use the=20
reprinted material to the ARRL Editorial & Production Department:=20
[email protected].=20
Editorial questions or comments: Ward Silver, N0AX, [email protected]
Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!):=20
[email protected]
The ARRL Contest Rate Sheet is available to ARRL members via email free=20
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