[SFDXA] The ARRL Contest Update for February 25, 2015

Wed Feb 25 08:41:43 EST 2015

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The ARRL Contest Update

February 25, 2015
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

  * Vox Populus - ARRL DX Phone <#Contests>
  * The Code - YLs, Belgians, Spartans, and More <#Contests>
  * World's Largest Radio Observatory <#News>
  * All 50 State QSO Parties <#Newsweek>
  * WRTC2014 Video by James Brooks, 9V1YC <#Sights>
  * September VHF Results and NAQP Preliminaries <#Results>
  * Electromagnetic Skin <#Tech>
  * One-Way Propagation <#Techweek>
  * Our Unique Story <#Conversation>

NEW HF OPERATORS - THINGS TO DO

The third of the three North American QSO Parties is on this weekend - 
RTTY is the mode. Enjoy a Saturday of digital dabbling. The next weekend 
wraps up the ARRL DX contest with the phone edition - Technicians in 
particular will enjoy the worldwide action on 10 meters!

BULLETINS

Watch out for band edges on phone as it's easy to forget where your 
sidebands are - tune your SSB carrier frequency (what is displayed by 
the transceiver) no higher than 2.5 kHz below an upper band edge on USB 
(14.3475 and 21.4475 MHz, for example) and no lower than 2.5 kHz above 
the lower band edge on LSB (similarly, 7.1275 MHz).

BUSTED QSOS

The Radwav SkyPi-40 mentioned in the previous issue is a transmitter and 
not a transceiver. (Thanks, Bill WA7NWP)

CONTEST SUMMARY

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

*February 28 - March 1*

  * /*North American QSO Party RTTY*/
  * CQ WW 160 Meter SSB--Phone (Feb 27)
  * Worldwide EME Contest
  * UBA Contest--CW
  * North Carolina QSO Party
  * OK1WC Memorial Contest (Mar 2)
  * ARS Spartan Sprint--CW (Mar 3)
  * YL CW Party (Mar 3)

*March 7-8*

  * */ARRL International Phone DX Contest/*
  * CWOps Weekly Mini-CWT Tests (Mar 4)
  * John Rollins Memorial DX Contest--CW (Mar 4)
  * NS Weekly RTTY Sprint (Mar 6)
  * NS Weekly Sprint--CW (Mar 6)
  * Straight Key Weekend Sprintathon
  * Open Ukraine RTTY Championship

NEWS, PRESS RELEASES, AND GENERAL INTEREST

The Reverse Beacon Network's <http://reversebeacon.net/> unending stream 
of radio observations from around the world has been noticed by the 
geophysics community as described in this story by the Earth & Space 
Science News 
<https://eos.org/research-spotlights/radio-blackout-ham-radio-operational-scientific-instrument>. 
The detailed paper, "Ionospheric Sounding Using Real-Time Amateur Radio 
Reporting Networks 
<http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2014SW001132/abstract>" in 
the journal /Space Weather/ is available online, as well. (Thanks, Dave 
KM3T and Pete N4ZR)

The World Wide Lightning Location Network <http://wwlln.net/> is a new 
tool that has been developed for research into our changing climate 
<http://phys.org/news/2015-02-world-thunderstorm-key-climate.html>. 
Perhaps an enterprising amateur will integrate this new data set into 
our plethora of mapping applications! (Thanks, Tom K1KI)

February 11, 2015 marks five years in space for NASA's Solar Dynamics 
Observatory, which provides incredibly detailed images of the whole Sun 
24 hours a day. In honor of SODO's fifth anniversary, NASA has released 
a video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSVv40M2aks> showcasing 
highlights from the last five years of sun watching. Watch the movie to 
see giant clouds of solar material hurled out into space, the dance of 
giant loops hovering in the corona, and huge sunspots growing and 
shrinking on the Sun's surface. (Thanks, Rus K2UA)

In related space science news, /Sky and Telescope 
<http://skyandtelescope.com/>/ magazine reports in the March 2015 issue 
that contact has been lost with the STEREO B spacecraft. The STEREO 
mission <http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/> includes two satellites, A (for 
/*A*/head) and B (for /*B*/ehind), which image the Sun from two 
directions, providing three-dimensional views of solar phenomena, such 
as flares and coronal mass ejections that affect terrestrial radio 
communications. The February 2015 issue includes an article about 
another solar mission, the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph 
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/iris/index.html> (IRIS), which has 
discovered new types of behavior at small scales, dubbed "solar 
tornadoes" and "solar bombs," in the interface region between the 
chromospheres and corona.

AMSAT <http://amsat.org> Engineering is looking for hams interested in 
developing ground station equipment for future satellites. An 
inexpensive L-Band uplink converter is something that is of interest 
right now for LEO satellites as part of the recently approved technology 
funding. If you are interested in helping, please contact AMSAT 
Engineering by completing this form <http://ww2.amsat.org/?page_id=1121> 
to tell Jerry Buxton, NØJY the Vice President of Engineering, how you 
can volunteer your time and skills to help AMSAT engineering build 
satellites and other required hardware/software. (From AMSAT 
<http://www.amsat.org/> News Bulletin ANS-046)

Yes, it still had that "new radio smell", reported John VE3EJ who got to 
use the brand-spanking-new IC7850 right out of the box during the ARRL 
DX CW contest oni 20 meters at K3LR. How did it work? "Flawlessly!" said 
VE3EJ. (Photo by NØAX)

Hosted by the Mt Airy VHF Club Packrats <http://www.packratvhf.com/>, 
the 2015 Mid-Atlantic States VHF Conference will be held October 2-4 at 
the Holiday Inn in Bensalem, PA, near Philadelphia. Speakers and papers 
are being solicited right now, so contact Rick K1DS 
<mailto:rick1ds at hotmail.com> with your proposals.

Dennis N6KI did a little online research and found that the radio 
operator of one of the Antonov 225 
<http://gelio.livejournal.com/193025.html> Russian aircraft - the 
largest in the world - is a ham; UY7MH, Gennady Antipov.

CQ World Wide Director, Randy K5ZD, reports that John N2NC and a team of 
volunteers have now extended the CQ WW online database 
<http://www.cqww.com/stats.htm> back to its beginnings in 1953. Given 
the amount of activity these days, it's hard to believe there were only 
167 phone entries and 187 CW entries back then. Among other interesting 
stats, you can see the winning score <http://www.cqww.com/winners.htm> 
every year for any combination of country/category.

*Website of the Week* - The website of the week refers to all of the 
state QSO party websites out there! There are either individual state 
contests or regional contests that feature sometimes hard-to-work states 
for WAS-chasers. A tip to contest managers - add a simplified "How To 
Play In Our Contest" rule set right on the contest's first page so 
visitors can participate as easily as possible in these popular events.

WORD TO THE WISE

Sad news was received Monday morning that competitor and station host 
Dich Pechie KB1H suffered a heart attack and died after participating in 
the ARRL DX CW contest through the weekend - a huge and unexpected loss 
to his family and the Yankee Clipper Contest Club community. Without 
inferring that the contest had anything to do with his demise, it is 
nevertheless a good idea to take care of yourself before, during, and 
after these marathon radio events in which we sit at our radios for hour 
after hour, often foregoing good nutrition, sleep, and exercise.

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SIGHTS AND SOUNDS

James Brooks 9V1YC has produced a professional documentary 
<https://vimeo.com/119947598?ref=tw-share> on the 2014 WRTC event. 
Fast-paced and of the highest quality, this hour-long video makes for 
great viewing and the many interesting elements make this program 
well-suited for a club program attended by hams and non-hams alike.

Imagine putting up a broadcast tower by hand! These hardworking Haitians 
put it all up without all the heavy machinery usually employed - check 
out their work on the IFARC Facebook 
<http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ha%C3%AFti-International-Friendship-Amateur-Radio-Club/699788813435750>page! 
(Photo by N3BNA)

The 4V1JR team operated in this past weekend's ARRL DX CW contest using 
a large broadcast facility currently under construction. The 
International Friendship Amateur Radio Club has put together a Facebook 
page 
<https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ha%C3%AFti-International-Friendship-Amateur-Radio-Club/699788813435750> 
showing how they erected a 180-foot tower completely by hand with a lot 
of people pulling the 340-lb sections all the way up the tower. 
Fortunately the project was a success and there were no injuries. CQ 
Haiti! (Thanks, Dale N3BNA)

This upcoming March 5^th webinar 
<https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1210821051936697601> shows 
how the 2013 VK9CZ DXpedition to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands made 51 
QSOs with U.S. Zone 5 (East Coast) on 80 meters. 21 of these QSOs - more 
than 40 percent - were with stations in Florida. This presentation 
discusses several possible propagation mechanisms for this gray line 
event, and concludes that propagation through the dark ionosphere, 
rather than along the gray line itself, was the responsible mechanism.

Organic AM demodulation? It's possible as shown in this impromptu video 
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG0mnOCHvww> which demonstrates you 
really can hear the grass growing. Well, burning maybe...(Thanks, Ken 
WBØQNA)

The Voice of America's Edward R Murrow station is open for your visit by 
taking this online video tour 
<http://swling.com/blog/2012/12/for-your-holiday-enjoyment-a-tour-of-the-edward-r-murrow-transmitting-station/>. 
(Thanks, Art WØKG)

The latest helmet-cam video <http://youtu.be/GjGUfRhjyDU> presentation 
of a tower climber at work is fascinating, if a little scary. (Thanks, 
David WA1OUI)

RESULTS AND RECORDS

The package of results for the ARRL's September VHF Contest is now 
online <http://www.arrl.org/contest-results-articles>, including the 
full results, line scores, results database, and log checking reports 
(LCRs). Log checking reports for the June VHF Contest have been posted, 
as well. (Thanks, ARRL Contest Branch Manager, Matt W1MSW)

Preliminary results for the January CW and SSB North American QSO 
Parties are now posted on the NCJ website <http://ncjweb.com/naqp/>. 
Please check your category and QSO totals to make sure they appear to be 
accurate. If if something appears to be off or wrong contact the contest 
managers, Bill ACØW <mailto:ssbnaqpmgr at ncjweb.com> for SSB and Chris 
KL9A <mailto:cwnaqpmgr at ncjweb.com> for CW, so it can corrected for the 
final results.

Considering that the station in Virginia was totally snowed in, 
operating from a balcony in sunny Florida looks pretty good! Bill W3UL 
was part of the ARRL DX CW K4VV remote multi-multi 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/no-one-in-the-shack-as-station-logs-4200-contacts-in-arrl-dx-cw-contest> 
team. (Photo from W3UL)

A team of operators mounted the first totally remote 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/no-one-in-the-shack-as-station-logs-4200-contacts-in-arrl-dx-cw-contest> 
Multioperator Unlimited category effort in last weekend's ARRL DX CW 
contest at the station of K4VV. After putting in a lot of work to get 
the station ready, it turned out to be a good decision to go remote 
because weather made it impossible to be on-site. The team wound up with 
4224 QSOs and 556 multipliers for a score of 7.040 Mpts. There weren't 
even any candy wrappers to pick up afterward! (Thanks, Bill W3UL)

Pete N4ZR reports that Saturday and Sunday of ARRL DX CW ranked second 
and third among the busiest days on the RBN /ever/. While the system's 
new servers seemed to have performed very well, the RBN managers would 
like to receive by email <mailto:skimmer at dxwatch.com> any reports of 
anomalies such as delays.

OPERATING TIP

How important is accurate operating? Here's another example from the 
ARRL DX CW contest's post-even claimed score totals:

  * TI5W: 8119 QSOs x 361 multipliers = 8,751,723 points
  * PJ4X: 8275 QSOs x 354 multipliers = 8,725,392 points

The net result is a lead by TI5W equal to about 7 minutes worth of 
operating.

Ad <http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=cu&t=i&i=2015-02-25&p=1>
TECHNICAL TOPICS AND INFORMATION

This new magnetic-sensitive foil 
<http://www.gizmag.com/magnetic-sensing-skin/35902/>, when applied to 
the skin, could give people a sense of "magnetoception". Maybe you could 
literally keep in touch with your ham radio friends? As contributor 
Dennis N6KI suggests, "Just think of all the possibilities!"

The best way to secure a tower's grounding wire to its ground rod is by 
welding and the easiest way to make that weld is Erico's CADWELD 
Exothermic Welding process. Among the line of Erico products now carried 
by DX Engineering <http://www.dxengineering.com/search/brand/erico>, the 
"one-shots" make copper-to-copper or copper-to-steel electrical 
connections without the need for outside heat or power sources. The 
result is a permanent bond that won't loosen or corrode over time, which 
is important for lightning protection.

This online grey line map <http://dx.qsl.net/propagation/greyline.html> 
is a handy resource that lets you keep an eye on propagation 
opportunities while your ears are busy listening for the bands to open.

Jeff ACØC recently upgraded his FTdx5000 radio and documented 
<http://www.ac0c.com/main/page_ft5k_cw_occupied_bandwidth.html> a very 
significant improvement in occupied transmit bandwidth - a major 
improvement over previous versions and another good step in the 
direction of cleaner transmit signals. Talk to your Yaesu dealer about 
installing the upgrade firmware package. (Thanks also, Jim K9YC)

If you are rebuilding old radios and are looking for the right 
capacitors and other components, Hayseed Hamfest 
<http://www.hayseedhamfest.com/> offers kits of components to save you a 
lot of shopping. You can then use the new-found spare time to make your 
own artisanal vacuum tubes 
<http://hackaday.com/2014/11/21/artisanal-vacuum-tubes-hackaday-shows-you-how/>! 
(Thanks, Kelly VE4XT and Tim K3HX)

Owen VK2OMD (ex-VK1OD) published a lot of excellent technical material 
on a variety of topics but the site was off-line for a time. I'm pleased 
to report that Owen is back online <http://owenduffy.net/blog/>!

While grappling hooks are usually associated with movie-style prison 
breaks, rock-climbing, and various forms of pilferage, this 
High-Performance Grappling Hook 
<http://www.instructables.com/id/High-Performance-Grappling-Hook/> from 
the Instructables project archives might have a home in your ham radio 
tower tool tote!

*Technical Web Site of the Week* - Carl K9LA has a new post on his 
website, a review of one-way propagation 
<http://k9la.us/Feb15_One-Way_Propagation_Revisited.pdf>. Carl has also 
created a history of his propagation columns 
<http://k9la.us/html/monthly_feature.html> for the now-discontinued 
/WorldRadio/ and /CQ Plus/. (From ARRL Propagation Bulletin ARLP008)

CONVERSATION

Our Unique Story

At K3LR <http://k3lr.com>this weekend, I was part of the 15 meter team 
with Doug K1DG. From before dawn until way past dusk, we were each 
focused on a radio, trying to work every DX station that emitted so much 
as a call sign. We tried hard and knew well there were more stations 
"out there." With the headphones on and watching the grey line 
<http://dx.qsl.net/propagation/greyline.html> move across the map minute 
by minute, you catch yourself /willing/ the band to open, thinking "Come 
on...just a little bit farther!"

"Just one more QSO!" is going through K3LR's mind at the 160 meter 
position as dawn approaches on Sunday morning of the ARRL DX CW contest. 
(Photo by NØAX)

With a big monobander stack, we sure attracted a lot of attention and 
occasionally I could hear a station (or several!) calling just under the 
noise, darting beneath the surface like shadowy radio fish that I could 
never quite land. I've been that shadow as have we all - so close and 
yet so far from that QSO you so badly want to complete. Some managed to 
catch a short swell, riding a wave of QSB, fluttery but strong enough 
for those few seconds to make it in the log, maybe never to be heard 
again. Other stations, I'm sure, tuned away but came back later and made 
the QSO with a better path between us.

Experienced operators know well that when conditions are marginal or a 
band is just opening or closing, signals will come and go very quickly. 
A path may open and close in just a few seconds and you either make that 
QSO right then or you don't at all - there may be no "later." At 
sunrise, there were quite a few contacts during which I could literally 
hear the band opening as the Sun illuminated just a little bit more of 
the F layer with each passing second. Even though each QSO was very 
short, that was enough time to hear the world turn just a little bit more!

Propagation is what makes ham radio totally unique among hobbies. 
Astronomers have their "good seeing" and certainly the upper atmosphere 
affects what they do, but to us the ionosphere (at least at HF and lower 
VHF) is life itself. And we can't see it at all! I'm sure that most of 
us share the experience, though, of looking up into the sky and sensing 
the signals flying back and forth above our heads. It gives you 
goose-pimples, doesn't it!

Our "seeing" doesn't depend on whether you're using the latest product 
from the commercial labs or a home-built rig from your own workbench. 
When the power is switched on and the headphones come to life or a 
waterfall display starts cascading down the screen, each transceiver and 
antenna open a little window into a world that most people have never 
experienced. It's a unique story - and one we can all be proud to tell.

73, Ward NØAX

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CONTESTS

*25 February through 10 March*

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*

CQ WW 160 Meter SSB--Phone, from Feb 27, 2200Z to Mar 1, 2200Z. Bands 
(MHz): 1.8. Exchange: RST and state/province or CQ zone. Logs due: 5 
days._Rules <http://www.cq160.com>_

UBA Contest--CW, from Feb 28, 1300Z to Mar 1, 1300Z. Bands (MHz): 
3.5-28. Exchange: RS, serial, and ON province. Logs due: 2 weeks._Rules 
<http://www.uba.be/en/hf/contest-rules>_

North American QSO Party RTTY--Digital, from Feb 28, 1800Z to Mar 1, 
0600Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: Name and S/P/C. Logs due: 7 
days._Rules <http://www.ncjweb.com>_

North Carolina QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Mar 1, 1500Z to Mar 2, 
0059Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28, 50, 144, CW 
3.54,7.04,7.14,14.04,21.04,28.04,50.04,144.04; Phone 
3.86,7.26,14.26,21.36,28.36,50.16,52.04(FM),144.26,146.58(FM) MHz. 
Exchange: NC county or S/P/C, RS(T) optional. Logs due: Mat 22._Rules 
<http://rars.org/ncqsoparty>_

OK1WC Memorial Contest--Phone,CW, from Mar 2, 1630Z to Mar 2, 1730Z. 
Bands (MHz): 3.5, 7. Weekly on Monday, see website for bands. Exchange: 
RS(T) and serial. Logs due: 5 days._Rules <http://www.memorial-ok1wc.cz>_

ARS Spartan Sprint--CW, from Mar 3, 0200Z to Mar 3, 0400Z. Bands (MHz): 
3.5-28. Monthly on the first Monday evening local time. Exchange: RST, 
S/P/C, and power. Logs due: 2 days._Rules <http://www.arsqrp.blogspot.com>_

YL CW Party--CW, from Mar 3, 1900Z to Mar 3, 2100Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5. 
Exchange: RST, serial, if YL "YL," name. Logs due: Mar 31._Rules 
<http://www.agcw.de>_

CWOps Weekly Mini-CWT Tests--CW, from Mar 4, 1100Z - See website. 
Multiple time periods. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Weekly on Wednesday, 28 to 
38 kHz above band edge. Exchange: Name and member number or S/P/C. Logs 
due: 2 days._Rules <http://www.cwops.org/cwt.html>_

John Rollins Memorial DX Contest--CW, from Mar 4, 2300Z - See website. 
Multiple time periods. Bands (MHz): 7,14. Exchange: RS, name, and S/P/C. 
Logs due: 4 weeks._Rules <http://www.antiquewireless.org>_

NS Weekly RTTY Sprint--Digital, from Mar 6, 0145Z to Mar 6, 0215Z. Bands 
(MHz): 3.5-14. Weekly on Thursday evenings local time. Exchange: Serial, 
name, and S/P/C. Logs due: 2 days._Rules <http://www.ncccsprint.com>_

NS Weekly Sprint--CW, from Mar 6, 0230Z to Mar 6, 0300Z. Bands (MHz): 
1.8-14. Weekly on Thursday evenings local time. Exchange: Serial, name, 
and S/P/C. Logs due: 2 days._Rules <http://www.ncccsprint.com>_

ARRL Int'l Phone DX Contest--Phone, from Mar 7, 0000Z to Mar 8, 2359Z. 
Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: RS and state, province, or power. Logs 
due: Apr 8._Rules <http://www.arrl.org/contests>_

Straight Key Weekend Sprintathon--CW, from Mar 7, 1200Z to Mar 7, 2359Z. 
Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50. Exchange: RST, QTH, name, member nr if member. 
Logs due: 5 days._Rules <http://www.skccgroup.com>_

Open Ukraine RTTY Championship--Digital, from Mar 7, 1800Z - See 
website. Multiple time periods. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: Regional 
abbreviation and serial. Logs due: Apr 30._Rules 
<http://uarl.com.ua/openrtty>_

*VHF+ CONTESTS*

Worldwide EME Contest--Phone,CW, from Feb 28, 0000Z to Mar 1, 2400Z. 
Bands (MHz): 2.3G. Exchange: TMO/RS(T) and "R". Logs due: Jun 15._Rules 
<http://www.dubus.org>_

North Carolina QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Mar 1, 1500Z to Mar 2, 
0059Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28, 50, 144, CW 
3.54,7.04,7.14,14.04,21.04,28.04,50.04,144.04; Phone 
3.86,7.26,14.26,21.36,28.36,50.16,52.04(FM),144.26,146.58(FM) MHz. 
Exchange: NC county or S/P/C, RS(T) optional. Logs due: Mat 22._Rules 
<http://rars.org/ncqsoparty>_

Straight Key Weekend Sprintathon--CW, from Mar 7, 1200Z to Mar 7, 2359Z. 
Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50. Exchange: RST, QTH, name, member nr if member. 
Logs due: 5 days._Rules <http://www.skccgroup.com>_

LOG DUE DATES

*25 February through 10 March*

  * February 25 - _ARRL January VHF Contest
    <http://www.arrl.org/january-vhf>_
  * February 26 - _QRP Fox Hunt
    <http://www.qrpfoxhunt.org/winter_rules.htm>_
  * February 26 - _RSGB 80m Club Championship, CW
    <http://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2015/r80mcc.shtml>_
  * February 27 - _Russian PSK WW Contest
    <http://www.rdrclub.ru/russian-ww-psk-contest/49-rus-ww-psk-rules>_
  * February 27 - _SKCC Sprint <http://www.skccgroup.com/sprint/sks/>_
  * February 28 - _Feld Hell Sprint
    <https://sites.google.com/site/feldhellclub/Home/contests/sprints/bingo-sprint>_
  * February 28 - _AGCW Straight Key Party
    <http://www.agcw.org/index.php/en/contests-and-cw-activities/straight-key-party-htp>_
  * February 28 - _SARL Youth Day Sprint
    <http://www.sarl.org.za/Document_Store/CONT_20150101_SARL_Contest_Manual_2015.pdf>_
  * February 28 - _Triathlon DX Contest
    <http://triathlon-dx-contest.gr/contest/index.php/rules>_
  * February 28 - _PODXS 070 Club Valentine Sprint
    <http://www.podxs070.com/o7o-club-sponsored-contests/valentine-sprint>_
  * February 28 - _QRP Fox Hunt
    <http://www.qrpfoxhunt.org/winter_rules.htm>_
  * February 28 - _CWops Mini-CWT Test <http://www.cwops.org/cwt.html>_
  * March 1 - _SPAR Winter Field Day
    <http://www.spar-hams.org/contests/winterfd/index.php?pg=2>_
  * March 1 - _OMISS QSO Party <http://www.omiss.net/Facelift/qsoparty.php>_
  * March 1 - _NCCC RTTY Sprint <http://www.ncccsprint.com/rttyns.html>_
  * March 1 - _SARL Digital Contest
    <http://www.sarl.org.za/Document_Store/CONT_20150101_SARL_Contest_Manual_2015.pdf>_
  * March 3 - _F9AA Cup, CW
    <http://www.site.urc.asso.fr/urchaut-6/om-6/131-trophee-f9aa.html>_
  * March 3 - _RSGB 1st 1.8 MHz Contest
    <http://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2015/r1st-160m.shtml>_
  * March 5 - _ARS Spartan Sprint <http://www.arsqrp.blogspot.com/>_
  * March 6 - _CQ 160-Meter Contest, SSB <http://www.cq160.com/rules.htm>_
  * March 7 - _SARL Hamnet 40m Simulated Emerg Contest
    <http://www.sarl.org.za/Document_Store/CONT_20140101_SARL_Contest_Manual_2014.pdf>_
  * March 8 - _British Columbia QSO Party
    <http://www.orcadxcc.org/bcqp_rules.html>_
  * March 8 - _Vermont QSO Party <http://www.ranv.org/vtqso.html>_
  * March 8 - _YLRL YL-OM Contest
    <http://ylrl.org/index.php/contests-and-dx-awards>_
  * March 8 - _North American QSO Party, RTTY
    <http://www.ncjweb.com/NAQP-Rules.pdf>_
  * March 9 - _REF Contest, SSB
    <http://concours.ref-union.org/reglements/actuels/reg_cdfhf_dx.pdf>_
  * March 9 - _FYBO Winter QRP Sprint
    <http://www.azscqrpions.com/fybo2009rules.html>_
  * March 9 - _RSGB 80m Club Championship, Data
    <http://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2015/r80mcc.shtml>_
  * March 10 - _AWA Amplitude Modulation QSO Party
    <http://www.antiquewireless.org/awa-on-the-air.html>_
  * March 10 - _Black Sea Cup International
    <http://bscc.ucoz.ru/index/0-21>_
  * March 10 - _Dutch PACC Contest <http://pacc.veron.nl/>_
  * March 10 - _Mexico RTTY International Contest
    <http://www.rtty.fmre.mx/english/RTTY%202015%20Ing.pdf>_

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ARRL Contest Update wishes to acknowledge information from WA7BNM's 
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