[SFDXA] The ARRL Contest Update for October 9, 2013

Wed Oct 9 08:19:01 EDT 2013

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The ARRL Contest Update

October 9, 2013
Editor: Ward Silver, NØAX <mailto:rate-sheet at arrl.org>
/Contest Update/ Archive <http://www.arrl.org/contests/update/>
Contest Calendar <http://www.arrl.org/contests/calendar.html>
ARRL Home Page <http://www.arrl.org/>
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IN THIS ISSUE

  * Ahoy Test! Oceania DX CW Contest <#Contests>
  * Arizona, Illinois, Iowa, New York, and Pennsylvania QSO Parties
    <#Contests>
  * Call Sign History Lives On <#News>
  * Doubly Enjoyable Map Quiz <#Newsweek>
  * Sweepstakes Video with N1TA <#Sights>
  * Kansas QSO Party Results <#Results>
  * Acres of Antrennas <#Tech>
  * The Well-Grounded Ham <#Techweek>
  * You Have To Know the Territory <#Conversation>

NEW HF OPERATORS - THINGS TO DO

If you are curious about what you can accomplish with CW QRP, the 
October Fall QRP QSO Party is a good way to find out. You can 
participate with QRP or full power output - the QRPers will be glad to 
work you. You can also try the Worked All Germany contest which is one 
of the more active single-country DX contests, similar to our own ARRL 
DX contests.

BULLETINS

Even with the U.S. government shutdown in full swing, the planned Morse 
code exercise to send 10 meter signals to the Juno spacecraft during its 
flyby of Earth is still on. (Kind of hard to shut down a spacecraft 
moving at several thousand miles per hour...) The JPL project managers 
confirm that Juno will be listening from 1800 to 2040 UTC, October 9^th 
. The original webpage <http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/hijuno/> for the 
activity is now duplicated at the Juno mission website 
<http://missionjuno.swri.edu/hijuno/>. If you experience problems with 
one page, simply load the other page - Preston Dyches, Juno Project 
Public Engagement Team. (Thanks, Bob, N6TV)

BUSTED QSOS

Glad to report nothing terribly broken in the previous issue.

CONTEST SUMMARY

Complete information <#Contests> for all contests follows the 
Conversation <#Conversation> section

*October 12-13*

  * /*North American RTTY Sprint*/
  * 432 MHz Fall VHF Sprint (Oct 9)
  * CWops Monthly Mini-CWT Test (Oct 9)
  * 10-10 Sprint (Oct 10)
  * NAQCC Monthly QRP Sprint--CW (Oct 10)
  * 902+ MHz Fall VHF Sprint
  * Great Pumpkin Sprint--Digital
  * Makrothen RTTY Contest
  * Oceania DX CW Contest
  * Scandinavian Activity Contest--Phone
  * QRP ARCI Fall QSO Party--CW
  * Straight Key Weekend Sprintathon
  * Arizona QSO Party
  * EU Autumn CW Sprint
  * Pennsylvania QSO Party
  * FISTS Fall Sprint--CW

*October 19-20*

  * /*School Club Roundup*/ (Oct 21-25)
  * Arucaria VHF Contest
  * JARTS WW RTTY Contest
  * 10-10 Fall CW QSO Party
  * Iowa QSO Party
  * New York QSO Party
  * Worked All Germany
  * Stew Perry Warmup Contest--CW
  * W/VE Islands QSO Party
  * Telephone Pioneer QSO Party
  * Spooky Feld-Hell Sprint
  * Asia-Pacific Sprint--CW
  * Illinois QSO Party
  * Run For the Bacon--CW (Oct 21)

NEWS, PRESS RELEASES, AND GENERAL INTEREST

You may have noted the demise of the popular VanityHQ website run by 
N4MC but the call sign history portion of the site is now is operational 
at the National Silent Key Archive <http://www.silentkeyhq.com/>. At the 
link under Tools > Research Hams, you can either enter a name or call 
sign and get the same table of information that was provided by 
VanityHQ. (Thanks, Dick N6AA)

Nothing encourages participation in a club's contest efforts like 
recognition of good efforts and the Yankee Clipper Contest Club 
<http://yccc.org/> has plenty of those! Shown with their awards at the 5 
October meeting, Ed W1MA (L), Scott NE1RD, and Igor N1YX (R) were some 
of the many YCCC members who helped their club take home several "Top 
Club" prizes. (Photo by NØAX)

The /N1MM Logger/ team has begun a major re-write of the program in 
Visual Basic's .Net. The rewrite will also take advantage of the wide 
availability of multi-core computers for improved performance. The new 
version is expected to run under Windows XP, 7 and 8 with .Net 4 
installed (The .Net 4 Framework is a free download from Microsoft). The 
re-write is expected to take from six months to one year. Everything 
will need to be thoroughly tested, and there likely be a need for 
volunteer testers, so please let the N1MM team 
<http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/n1mmlogger/info> know if you can 
help in that respect. (Thanks, Tom N1MM)

/MSRX <http://www.dj5hg.de/dj5hg_download.html> /is a new//package of 
meteor scatter software developed by Klaus der Heide, DJ5HG. At least a 
few amateurs are using it in conjunction with /WSJT/ here in the states. 
Both programs can run at the same time on your computer, allowing you to 
achieve a kind of "diversity" reception. (Thanks, Brian N3HJX)

The story of the iPhone's creation has been packaged in this bite-sized 
techno-thriller 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/magazine/and-then-steve-said-let-there-be-an-iphone.html> 
in the pages of the /New York Times/. We may know how this story turned 
out but that doesn't make it any less exciting, especially for those of 
us who have worked in product development environments. (Thanks, Tim K3LR)

Fans of acoustic music, analog recording, and pre-DSP radio will enjoy 
this recent /EDN /column, "Where Acoustic & Analog Still Rule the Roost 
<http://www.planetanalog.com/author.asp?doc_id=561240>," by Vincent 
Biancomano, who also happens to be WB2EZG. Are mechanical filters and 
analog noise blankers really the best? See what 'EZG thinks! (Thanks, 
Josh W6XU)

Joe K1JT gave a well-received presentation on digital communication and 
the /WSJT/ software package at the recent W9DXCC Convention. The 
presentation 
<http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT/W9DXCC_2013_K1JT.pptx> is 
available online as a PowerPoint file. (Thanks, Jim N7US)

He's smiling because the job is almost done! Read about Glenn WØGJ's 
move south in the September TCDXA GRAY LINE REPORT. (Photo by WØGJ)

The September issue of /The GRAY LINE REPORT 
<http://tcdxa.org/Newsletters/September2013Grayline.pdf>/, the Twin 
Cities DX Association newsletter, has a couple of great stories you'll 
enjoy. First, Glenn WØGJ presents the trials and tribulations of moving 
a big station from Minnesota to Iowa - he needed an extra week in the 
year to do it! Then Bill WØOR tells the tale of operating from the 
Ecuadorian mountains in the 2013 ARRL DX CW contest. Lots of great 
pictures and story-telling!

Ken WØKAH suggests "listening to air traffic controllers and pilots is 
good practice for keeping transmissions short and concise. The same goes 
for copying the clearances given to aircraft departing on instrument 
flight plans (all commercial flights departing a major airport). 
liveatc.net <http://www.liveatc.net> is an excellent resource that is 
available over the internet, free of charge. Listen to approach or 
departure control at any of the major airports for the traffic between 
pilots & controllers. For hard-core copy practice, listen to clearance 
delivery at Chicago, Boston, New York, etc. A good source for looking up 
airport codes is airnav.com <http://www.airnav.com>, just click on 
/Airports/ and enter a city or airport name, such as Kennedy, Logan, 
Boston, etc. You'll get a list of airports to choose from." That's one 
environment in which you definitely want 100% copy!

*Web Site of the Week* - Ready for a real map-memory test? A landlocked 
country surrounded only by other landlocked countries may be called a 
"doubly landlocked 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landlocked_country#Doubly_landlocked_country>" 
country. A person in such a country has to cross at least two borders to 
reach a coastline. There are currently two such countries in the 
world...no peeking at the atlas! (Thanks, Dave NN1N)

WORD TO THE WISE

*/10-minute rule/* - often quite a surprise to the new multiops team, 
the 10 minute rule restricts band changes for some multi-operator 
categories for certain contests. The implementation of the rule depends 
on the contest - in some cases it has been replaced by a band change 
rule. The rule was designed to prevent the interleaving of QSO's on 
different bands for "single" transmitter categories by stations which 
actually have multiple transmitters on different bands. This would be a 
/good/ rule to understand before the big CQ WW contests at the end of 
the month. (From the Contest University Glossary 
<http://contestuniversity.com/attachments/Contesting_Terminology.pdf> by 
Pat Barkey, N9RV)

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SIGHTS AND SOUNDS

At home in his new office, Mike DeChristopher, N1TA, has settled in as 
the ARRL Contest Branch Manager. (Photo by NØAX)

Just in time for the 80^th running of the ARRL November Sweepstakes, in 
this latest video, ARRL Contest Branch Manager Mike DeChristopher, N1TA, 
presents a brief history, rules review, a look at special awards for the 
80th anniversary, and some tips & tricks from the real pros. The video 
will be presented live (free registration 
<https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/752799242> is required) on 
Tuesday, October 22 at 9 PM EDT and archived at some subsequent date. 
(Thanks, Ken K4ZW)

Congratulations to Gary KN4AQ on Episode 100 <HAMRADIONOW.tv> of Ham 
Radio Now TV!

What the heck was that?!?! An Alberta, Canada police officer's dashboard 
camera captured this very large fireball 
<http://globalnews.ca/news/863623/watch-huge-meteor-flashes-across-alberta-sky/> 
from a meteor's entry into the atmosphere. I'm awake! I'm awake!

Even during relatively low-activity periods there is plenty of 
excitement on a very large ball of gas heated by nuclear fusion! You can 
see a long filament erupt of the surface of the Sun in the September 
30^th Spaceweather video 
<http://spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=30&month=09&year=2013>. 
And yes, we felt it here on Earth!

How is the Internet used, allocated, distributed, and managed around the 
globe? This collection 
<http://www.buzzfeed.com/alexnaidus/cool-visualizations-that-show-how-we-use-the-internet> 
of maps and graphics presents a lot of information interesting and 
thought-provoking ways.

Just a few more weeks until "CQ SS" hits the airwaves on November 2nd!

RESULTS AND RECORDS

The preliminary results are available for the 2013 Kansas QSO Party 
<http://www.cs.hesston.edu/w0bh/ksqp/2013KSQPPrelimResults.pdf>. Logs 
were due Oct 1 with results from 245 logs posted Oct 2. Two operators, 
N6MU and N8II have confirmed sweeps of all 105 Kansas counties! (Thanks, 
KSQP Coordinator, Bob WØBH)

The full results for the 2012 Stew Perry Contest 
<http://www.kkn.net/stew/> are now posted on the Stew Perry web page. 
This is also a reminder that the PreStew event is coming up on the 
weekend of Oct 19th - and the Big Stew will be on December 28/29th. 
(Thanks, Stew Perry Manager Tree, N6TR)

OPERATING TIP

In a previous issue, it was suggested to save your logging software 
configuration at the end of a contest after you've gotten it set up the 
way you wanted. Pete N4ZR noted that /N1MM Logger/ does not save 
Function Key messages in the /N1MM Logger/'s configuration file - they 
must be saved separately in a ".mc" file. This is typical of most 
logging software - messages are saved and recalled separately from the 
operating configuration. As Pete notes, "Many of us maintain a 
sub-directory full of past, "perfected" Function Key message files that 
we can call up." Pete's right and it's a good idea to have sets of 
messages for different styles of operating, too: fast/high-rate, 
slow/low-rate, Sunday afternoon, and so on.

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TECHNICAL TOPICS AND INFORMATION

Not a trick of perspective, that's KØMD inspecting WØGJ's new full-size 
40 meter beam! (Photo by WØGJ)

How big is that antenna? Glenn WØGJ points out that his full-size 40 
meter beam on a 50-foot boom covers 0.092 acres. (See photos in the 
newsletter mentioned previously.) Let's see, at 4047 square meters per 
acre, that's 372 square meters or 0.21 square wavelengths at 7.1 MHz if 
I did the math right. There's a new marketing metric for you - square 
wavelengths!

How do they do that audio pitch-shifting thing? The 
theoretically-inclined among us might enjoy learning about the 
Constant-Q Transform 
<http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/sound-bites/4421452/Audio-pitch-shifting---the-constant-Q-transform>, 
often employed in such signal processing antics.

For resistors that must handle transient overloads, such as Beverage 
terminations, be sure to use a bulk composition type resistor, either 
metal-oxide or carbon, that can handle surges without changing value. 
Carbon film or metal film components increase in value after short 
duration, high-energy surges, because the surge blows part of the film 
layer away. Ohmite's OX/OY series 
<http://www.ohmite.com/cat/res_ox_oy.pdf> of "Ceramic Composition" 
resistors are a good choice and available from many distributors. 
(Thanks, Mike W4EF)

Here's a brief tutorial 
<http://www.antenna-theory.com/tutorial/smith/smithchart4.php> based on 
the Smith chart that shows what happens to an impedance as it is 
transformed via a length of transmission line. If you know the length of 
the feed line (in wavelengths including the velocity factor) you can 
transform impedances around the Smith chart and determine what the 
impedance of one end looks like from the other end. (Thanks,

Which is older - the flashlight and dry cell or those delicious old 
QSLs? We don't know but that battery Dave NN1N and his dad found still 
pumps out a solid 1.5 V! (Photo by NØAX)

Earl N8SS)

When using coax to make a capacitor, do you connect both leads at one 
end or the shield at one end and the center conductor on the other? 
"Neither. Instead fold the coax and connect to both ends in parallel.

In other words, connect the center conductors in parallel and the 
shields in parallel. This will greatly reduce the loss due to the 
resistance of the conductors." (Thanks, Rick N6RK)

Need a control panel that says, "Set everything to 11!"? Brian N9ADG 
sent this great set of online instructions for etching your own brass 
panels <http://electro-music.com/forum/topic-26116.html> for homebrew 
projects.

*Technical Web Site of the Week* - Being in the process of installing 
some new towers and antennas, I'm using information on grounding from a 
variety of sources. Tom W8JI has provided a good web page on lightning 
protection <http://www.w8ji.com/station_ground.htm> with a number of 
helpful photos that may help you design your own station.

CONVERSATION

You Have to Know the Territory

In the previous issue, the Conversation section discussed visualization 
and how it provided data that could influence tactics and strategies in 
radiosport. Titling this essay with a quote from the musical, "Music 
Man," is meant as a caveat - that the visualization is itself not the 
competition. A set of statistics on players is not the game, no matter 
how complete, just as measurements of signal characteristics are not the 
contact.

Radiosport is about, well, radio: the ability of competitors to use 
radio equipment and radio waves to contact other competitors. (This 
discussion is not about /how/ the radio is operated, just the exchange 
of information /using/ the equipment.) That's what the sport is about - 
having radio "know-how" and taking advantage of it.

Set up on Missouri's highest point, Tom Sauk Mountain, George ABØRX 
obviously knows his territory, enjoying some great tropospheric 
propagation during the ARRL September VHF Contest. (Photo by ABØRX)

The essential position of know-how in radiosport makes it important for 
us to retain as a central element of the sport. User interface 
technology and powerful software being what they are, it could be very 
easy to encapsulate radiosport in some kind of visually attractive 
metaphor for what is actually happening on the air. Imagine each signal 
having a visual avatar on a screen with its size determined by signal 
strength, for example. It might be easy to start forgetting that what 
we're really dealing with is signals.

Here's an analogy: I used to develop industrial ultrasonic ranging 
equipment for level monitoring in bins of materials, tanks, chutes, and 
so on. The basic concept was "sonar in air," sending pulses of sound 
into the bin and watching for echoes, measuring the round trip time, and 
computing how much material was in the bin or silo or whatever 
enclosure. We regularly used oscilloscopes in the field to monitor the 
electronic signals in the ultrasonic receiver so we could see what the 
signal processing software would have to deal with in the way of 
reflections, obstructions, absorption, and noise. (Let me tell you, 1" 
aggregate falling out of a steel chute into a concrete bin makes a heck 
of a good white noise source...) It was very easy to start talking about 
"bumps" and "spikes" instead of "echoes" when devising strategies and 
tactics for making the measurements.

The danger was, of course, that one would forget the real-world 
environment coloring and affecting the sound pulse returned to the 
receiver and then digitized for processing. In doing so, the system 
became an abstract game in which the entities that were acquired and 
manipulated were no longer physical entities. There were several 
instances in which errors occurred due to thinking about "bumps" and 
"spikes" that discounted real-world effects on the real-world echoes.

The same can occur with visualizations that use real-world data, add 
some assumptions and algorithms, and present it as the game. As we get 
better and better at visualization, it will be more and more important 
to not lose sight of what the game really is. We have access to the 
playing fields of spectrum because our competitions improve radio 
know-how, not because we enjoy playing the game.

To preserve the value of radiosport to the Amateur Service, we must 
insure that radio know-how is not just essential to being able to engage 
in radiosport, but that it is essential to /success /in radiosport. How 
we will accomplish this will be a challenge with each new innovation, 
especially as even the radios themselves become software and data, but 
rise to the challenge we must. We have to make sure that to win the game 
"you have to know the territory."

73, Ward NØAX

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CONTESTS

*October 9 to October 22*

An expanded, downloadable version of QST's Contest Corral in PDF format 
<http://www.arrl.org/contest-calendar> is available. Check the sponsor's 
Web site for information on operating time restrictions and other 
instructions.

*HF CONTESTS*

*/North American RTTY Sprint/*--Digital, from Oct 13, 0000Z to Oct 13, 
0400Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-14. Exchange: Both call signs, serial, QTH, 
name. Logs due: 7 days. Rules <http://www.ncjweb.com/>

*/School Club Roundup/*--Phone,CW,Digital, from Oct 21, 1300Z to Oct 25, 
2359Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50+. Exchange: RST, class and S/P/C. Logs 
due: 30 days. Rules <http://www.arrl.org/school-club-roundup-scr>

10-10 Sprint--Phone,CW,Digital, from Oct 10, 0001Z to Oct 10, 2359Z. 
Bands (MHz): 28. Exchange: Call, name, 10-10 number, S/P/C. Logs due: 
Oct 25. Rules <http://www.ten-ten.org/>

NAQCC Monthly QRP Sprint--CW, from Oct 10, 0030Z to Oct 10, 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 <http://naqcc.info/>

Great Pumpkin Sprint--Digital, from Oct 12, 8 PM to Oct 13, 2 AM. Bands 
(MHz): 1.8. Exchange: RST and S/P/C. Logs due: 2 weeks. Rules 
<http://www.podxs070.com/>

Makrothen RTTY Contest--Digital, from Oct 12, 0000Z to Oct 13, 1600Z. 
Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: 4-character grid square. Logs due: Nov 
15. Rules <http://home.arcor.de/waldemar.kebsch>

Oceania DX CW Contest--CW, from Oct 12, 0800Z to Oct 13, 0800Z. Bands 
(MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: RST and serial. Logs due: Oct 31. Rules 
<http://www.oceaniadxcontest.com/>

Scandinavian Activity Contest--Phone, from Oct 12, 1200Z to Oct 13, 
1200Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: RS and serial. Logs due: 2 weeks. 
Rules <http://www.sactest.net/>

QRP ARCI Fall QSO Party--CW, from Oct 12, 1200Z to Oct 13, 2359Z. Bands 
(MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: RS(T), S/P/C, QRP ARCI number or pwr. Logs due: 
14 days. Rules <http://www.qrparci.org/contests>

Straight Key Weekend Sprintathon--CW, from Oct 12, 1200Z to Oct 13, 
2359Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50, Monthly on the second Saturday local 
time. Exchange: RST, QTH, name, SKCC nr or "none". Logs due: 5 days. 
Rules <http://www.skccgroup.com/>

Arizona QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Oct 12, 1600Z - See website. 
Multiple time periods. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28, 50, 144, CW--1.812, 3.548, 
7.048, 14.048, 21.048, 28.048, 50.048;SSB--1.848, 3.848, 7.189, 14.248, 
21.348, 28.448, 50.148, 146.48 MHz. Exchange: Serial and S/P/C. Logs 
due: Oct 31. Rules <http://www.azqsoparty.org/>

EU Autumn CW Sprint--CW, from Oct 12, 1600Z to Oct 12, 2000Z. Bands 
(MHz): 3.5-14. Exchange: Both call signs, serial, name. Logs due: 15 
days. Rules <http://www.eu-sprint.com/>

Pennsylvania QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Oct 12, 1600Z - See 
website. Multiple time periods. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50,144, CW--40 kHz 
above band edge and 1.810; SSB--1.850, 3.825, 7.200, 14.280, 21.380, 
28.480 MHz. Exchange: Serial and ARRL/RAC section. Logs due: Nov 14. 
Rules <http://www.nittany-arc.net/>

FISTS Fall Sprint--CW, from Oct 12, 1700Z to Oct 12, 2100Z. Bands (MHz): 
3.5-28. Exchange: RST, S/P/C, name, FISTS number or pwr. Logs due: 30 
days. Rules <http://www.fists.org/operating.html#sprints>

JARTS WW RTTY Contest--Digital, from Oct 19, 0000Z to Oct 20, 2400Z. 
Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: RST and age (YL may send '00'). Logs due: 
Oct 31. Rules <http://www.jarts.jp/>

10-10 Fall CW QSO Party--CW, from Oct 19, 0001Z to Oct 20, 2359Z. Bands 
(MHz): 28. Exchange: Call, name, 10-10 number, S/P/C. Logs due: Nov 4. 
Rules <http://www.ten-ten.org/>

Iowa QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Oct 19, 1400Z to Oct 19, 2300Z. 
Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50+. Exchange: RS(T) and IA county, state/prov, or 
"DX". Logs due: Nov 20. Rules http://www.wa0dx.org

New York QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Oct 19, 1400Z to Oct 20, 
0200Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50+, CW--1.820, 3.550, 7.050, 14.050, 
21.050, 28.050; Phone--1.870, 3.825, 7.200, 14.290, 21.350, 28.400 MHz. 
Exchange: RS(T), NY county, state/prov, or "DX". Logs due: 14 days. 
Rules <http://www.nyqp.org/>

Worked All Germany--Phone,CW, from Oct 19, 1500Z to Oct 20, 1459Z. Bands 
(MHz): 3.5-28. See website. Exchange: RS(T) and serial or DOK code. Logs 
due: 2 weeks. Rules <http://www.darc.de/referate/dx/contest/wag/en>

Stew Perry Warmup Contest--CW, from Oct 19, 1500Z to Oct 20, 1500Z. 
Bands (MHz): 1.8. Exchange: 4-char grid square. Logs due: 30 days. Rules 
<http://www.kkn.net/stew>

W/VE Islands QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Oct 19, 1600Z to Oct 20, 
2359Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50. Exchange: RS(T) and S/P/C or island 
designator. Logs due: Nov 30. Rules <http://www.usislands.org/>

Telephone Pioneer QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Oct 19, 1900Z - See 
website. Multiple time periods. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50-432. Exchange: 
Year of membership and chapter. Logs due: Dec 10. Rules 
<http://www.tpqso.com/>

Spooky Feld-Hell Sprint--Digital, from Oct 19, 2000Z to Oct 19, 2200Z. 
Bands (MHz): 3.5-7,21-28. Exchange: RST, S/P/C, Feld-Hell member nr. 
Logs due: 2 weeks. Rules <http://www.feldhellclub.org/>

Asia-Pacific Sprint--CW, from Oct 20, 0000Z to Oct 20, 0200Z. Bands 
(MHz): 14-21. Exchange: RST and serial. Logs due: 7 days. Rules 
<http://jsfc.org/apsprint/aprule.txt>

Illinois QSO Party--Phone,CW, from Oct 20, 1700Z to Oct 21, 0100Z. Bands 
(MHz): 1.8-28, 50,144. Exchange: RS(T) and IL county or S/P/C. Logs due: 
Nov 17. Rules <http://www.w9awe.org/ILQP.html>

Run For the Bacon--CW, from Oct 21, 0200Z to Oct 21, 0400Z. Bands (MHz): 
1.8-28. Monthly on 3rd Sunday night (local). Exchange: RST, S/P/C, 
Flying Pig nr or power. Rules <http://www.fpqrp.org/>

*VHF+ CONTESTS*

*/School Club Roundup/*--Phone,CW,Digital, from Oct 21, 1300Z to Oct 25, 
2359Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50+. Exchange: RST, class and S/P/C. Logs 
due: 30 days. Rules <http://www.arrl.org/school-club-roundup-scr>

902+ MHz Fall VHF Sprint--Phone,CW,Digital, from Oct 12, 7 AM to Oct 12, 
1 PM. Bands (MHz): 902+. Exchange: 6-character grid locator. Logs due: 4 
weeks. Rules <http://www.svhfs.org/>

Straight Key Weekend Sprintathon--CW, from Oct 12, 1200Z to Oct 13, 
2359Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50, Monthly on the second Saturday local 
time. Exchange: RST, QTH, name, SKCC nr or "none". Logs due: 5 days. 
Rules <http://www.skccgroup.com/>

Arizona QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Oct 12, 1600Z - See website. 
Multiple time periods. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28, 50, 144, CW--1.812, 3.548, 
7.048, 14.048, 21.048, 28.048, 50.048;SSB--1.848, 3.848, 7.189, 14.248, 
21.348, 28.448, 50.148, 146.48 MHz. Exchange: Serial and S/P/C. Logs 
due: Oct 31. Rules <http://www.azqsoparty.org/>

Arucaria VHF Contest--Phone,CW, from Oct 19, 0000Z to Oct 20, 1600Z. 
Bands (MHz): 50,144. Exchange: RS(T) and 4-char grid square. Logs due: 
10 days. Rules <http://www.avhfc.com/>

Iowa QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Oct 19, 1400Z to Oct 19, 2300Z. 
Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50+. Exchange: RS(T) and IA county, state/prov, or 
"DX". Logs due: Nov 20. Rules http://www.wa0dx.org

New York QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Oct 19, 1400Z to Oct 20, 
0200Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50+, CW--1.820, 3.550, 7.050, 14.050, 
21.050, 28.050; Phone--1.870, 3.825, 7.200, 14.290, 21.350, 28.400 MHz. 
Exchange: RS(T), NY county, state/prov, or "DX". Logs due: 14 days. 
Rules <http://www.nyqp.org/>

Telephone Pioneer QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Oct 19, 1900Z - See 
website. Multiple time periods. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50-432. Exchange: 
Year of membership and chapter. Logs due: Dec 10. Rules 
<http://www.tpqso.com/>

Illinois QSO Party--Phone,CW, from Oct 20, 1700Z to Oct 21, 0100Z. Bands 
(MHz): 1.8-28, 50,144. Exchange: RS(T) and IL county or S/P/C. Logs due: 
Nov 17. Rules <http://www.w9awe.org/ILQP.html>

LOG DUE DATES

*October 9 to October 22*

  * October 10, 2013 ARS Spartan Sprint <http://www.arsqrp.blogspot.com/>
  * October 10, 2013 SARTG WW RTTY Contest
    <http://www.sartg.com/contest/wwrules.htm>
  * October 11, 2013SARL 80m QSO Party
    <http://www.sarl.org.za/Documents/SARL_Contest_Manual_2013_Issue_11.pdf>
  * October 11, 2013 Arkansas QSO Party
    <http://www.arkanhams.org/aqp2013rules.pdf>
  * October 11, 2013 EPC Russia DX Contest
    <http://www.epc-ru.ru/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=351&Itemid=113>
  * October 12, 2013 CWops Mini-CWT Test <http://www.cwops.org/onair.html>
  * October 12, 2013 NAQCC Straight Key/Bug Sprint
    <http://naqcc.info/sprint201310.html>
  * October 13, 2013 NCCC RTTY Sprint Ladder
    <http://www.ncccsprint.com/rules.html>
  * October 13, 2013 NCCC Sprint <http://www.ncccsprint.com/rules.html>
  * October 13, 2013 UBA ON Contest, 6m
    <http://www.uba.be/en/hf/contest-rules/on-contest>
  * October 13, 2013 TRC DX Contest
    <http://www.trcdx.org/html_ham/english/contest.html>
  * October 14, 2013 AGCW VHF/UHF Contest <http://www.arrl.org/10-ghz-up>
  * October 14, 2013 ARRL 10 GHz and Up Contest
    <http://www.arrl.org/10-ghz-up>
  * October 15, 2013 FISTS Get Your Feet Wet Weekend
    <http://www.fists.org/operating.html>
  * October 15, 2013 4 State 4x4 QRP Sprint
    <http://www.4sqrp.com/FourByFour/20134%20State%204x4%20QRP%20Sprint.pdf>
  * October 16, 2013 RSGB 80m Club Sprint, CW
    <http://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2013/rsprint.shtml>
  * October 16, 2013 ARRL September VHF Contest
    <http://www.arrl.org/september-vhf>
  * October 17, 2013 NRAU 10m Activity Contest
    <http://www.nrau.net/activity-contests/below-30mhz.html>
  * October 19, 2013 North American Sprint, RTTY
    <http://www.ncjweb.com/sprintrules.php>
  * October 20, 2013 SKCC Weekend Sprintathon
    <http://www.skccgroup.com/operating_activities/weekend_sprintathon/>
  * October 20, 2013 EU Autumn Sprint, SSB
    <http://www.eu-sprint.com/index.php?page=140&lang=g>
  * October 20, 2013 AGB NEMIGA Contest
    <http://www.ev5agb.com/contest/agb_nemiga.htm>
  * October 20, 2013 QRP Afield <http://newenglandqrp.org/afield>
  * October 20, 2013 International HELL-Contest
    <http://www.darc.de/de/referate/ukw-funksport/hf-hell-wettbewerb/teilnahmebedingungen/>
  * October 21, 2013 15-Meter SSTV Dash Contest
    <http://contests.wsstvc.org/rules/>
  * October 21, 2013 South Carolina QSO Party <http://scqso.com/rules/>
  * October 21, 2013 RSGB 21/28 MHz Contest
    <http://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2013/r2128.shtml>

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ARRL Contest Update wishes to acknowledge information from WA7BNM's 
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