[SFDXA] The ARRL Contest Update for March 23, 2016

Wed Mar 23 09:09:53 EDT 2016

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The ARRL Contest Update

March 23, 2016
Editor: Brian Moran, N9ADG <mailto:contest-update 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

  * New HF Operators: CQ WW WPX, NA SSB Sprint, MI & MS QSO Parties
    <#233318837430267-NewHF>
  * Bulletins: ARRL August UHF Contest Cancelled for 2016
    <#233318837430267-Bulletins>
  * Contest Summary <#233318837430267-ContestSummary>
  * News: Pea Shooter Station, LED Lights, RHR Youth Program
    <#233318837430267-News>
  * Word to the Wise: Overlay Category <#233318837430267-Word>
  * Sights and Sounds: CW Speed, SJRA is 100 Years Old, and More
    <#233318837430267-Sights>
  * Results: CQ WW Rates, USA CQ WW WPX Rookie Winner Advice, and More
    <#233318837430267-Results>
  * Operating Tip: Rule Review - Use Only One Call in a Contest
    <#233318837430267-OperatingTip>
  * Technical Topics and Information: KX3 Controlled from Android Phone,
    New Arduino Variation, and more <#233318837430267-Tech>
  * Conversation: Contesting Needs You... To Share Your Station with New
    Contesters <#233318837430267-Conversation>
  * Contests <#233318837430267-LogsDue>
  * Log Due Dates <#233318837430267-LogsDue>

NEW HF OPERATORS -= THINGS TO DO

The CQ WW WPX Phone contest is coming up this weekend. This contest has 
a "Rookie" category overlay for single operators that have been licensed 
for 3 years or less, and in 2015, KK4TXZ used his Yaesu FT-897 and wire 
antennas to win that category in the US. According to Mark: "I didn't 
set my goal to be the winner for the Rookie entry, but I did want to put 
in a good showing when I started up." I asked Mark whether he had advice 
for entrants in the Rookie category - see Mark's comments in Records and 
Results <#233318837430267-KK4TXZ>.

Kevin, K7ZS, wearing his NA SSB Sprint T-shirt prize that he won last 
year. The upcoming North American SSB Sprint is Apr 3, 2016 00:00 UTC. 
[Photo courtesy of Mark, W7ZB]

The next weekend, in addition to the Missouri and Mississippi QSO 
parties, the 4-hour-long North American SSB Sprint Contest 
<http://ssbsprint.com/> will occur. Sprints have a unique format, where 
camping on a frequency is specifically disallowed. You can call CQ on a 
frequency and work someone, but then it's "their" frequency. You have to 
move. They get to work someone that calls them, then *they* have to 
move. It's fast-paced and can be exciting, fun, and frustrating all at 
once. There's even a prize drawing among logs submitted with more than 
50 contacts. If you're thinking of entering, read the rules on the 
website, understand the exchange format, and make sure your logging 
program can handle it. The NA SSB Sprint has experienced a resurgence 
recently. In February 2015, 367 logs were sent in -- the most ever for 
this event.

BULLETINS

*2016 August UHF Contest Cancelled*

ARRL's VHF Contest Revitalization Committee fielded dozens of comments 
from members concerning possible changes to the annual UHF contest, 
historically held on the first weekend of August each year. Many of the 
commenters expressed dissatisfaction with the timing of the event; it 
occurred at the hottest time of the year, and its placement on the 
contest calendar was too close to other VHF/UHF events. In order to 
address member input, the Revitalization Committee recommended to the 
Programs and Services Committee (PSC) that the 2016 August UHF Contest 
be cancelled, and the PSC agreed with the recommendation. The 
Revitalization Committee continues to study the possibility of 
redesigning or replacing the August UHF Contest with a similar event at 
another point in the calendar - possibly in the spring -- for 2017. The 
Committee expects to solicit comments in the near future as it weighs 
several design alternatives.

BUSTED QSOS

*Roger, er, Correct!*

Eric, K3NA, points out "In commercial communications (military, marine, 
aeronautical), R (or 'roger') simply means 'I received your 
transmission.' C (or 'correct') is used to answer a question in the 
positive... I know many hams use 'R' to stand in for 'okay' or 'correct' 
-- but it really isn't proper and can be confusing. To the extent that 
contesters, as highly competent radio operators in demanding 
circumstances, may be called upon to assist in communications 
emergencies, we should develop the discipline to use the 
prowords/prosigns that we will find on other radio circuits."

Also regarding cut numbers, Alan, AD6E, noted: "Loggers generally do 
that interpretation internally so if you log ATT then '100' appears in 
the log. Not sure which loggers, as I'm a Writelog user. With WL, the 
power is NOT translated, but in Sweepstakes it is translated for NR and 
CK. It would be nice if things were consistent."

*Links!*

"Squeak," AD7K, noted that the correct URL for K1TTT's deconstruction of 
an LED spotlight should be 
http://wiki.k1ttt.net/LED%20Bulb%20deconstruction.ashx.

Jim, KR9E, correctly noted that the links in the table of contents 
didn't go anywhere. This was an unfortunate side effect of an uncaught 
failure of an editing tool. I will endeavor to do better.

CONTEST SUMMARY

Complete information <#233318837430267-Contests> for all contests 
follows the Conversation <#233318837430267-Conversation> section

*March 24*

CWops Mini-CWT Test <http://www.cwops.org/cwt.html>

RSGB 80m Club Championship, SSB 
<http://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2016/r80mcc.shtml>

*March 25*

QRP Fox Hunt <http://www.qrpfoxhunt.org/winter_rules.htm>

NCCC RTTY Sprint <http://www.ncccsprint.com/rttyns.html>

NCCC Sprint <http://www.ncccsprint.com/rules.html>

*March 26*

FOC QSO Party <http://g4foc.org/qsoparty/>

CQ WW WPX Contest, SSB <http://www.cqwpx.com/rules.htm>

*March 28*

Low Power Spring Sprint 
<http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/lowpowerspringsprint2016.pdf>

*March 30*

Phone Fray <http://www.perluma.com/Phone_Fray_Contest_Rules.pdf>

CWops Mini-CWT Test <http://www.cwops.org/cwt.html>

UKEICC 80m Contest 
<http://www.ukeicc.com/which-contest/contest-rules/ukeicc-80m-contests-rules>

*March 31*

CWops Mini-CWT Test <http://www.cwops.org/cwt.html>

*April 1*

NCCC RTTY Sprint <http://www.ncccsprint.com/rttyns.html>

NCCC Sprint <http://www.ncccsprint.com/rules.html>

*April 2*

15-Meter SSTV Dash Contest <http://contests.wsstvc.org/rules/>

LZ Open 40m Sprint Contest <http://www.lzopen.com/lzocc40/indexF.htm>

Mississippi QSO Party 
<http://www.arrlmiss.org/2016_Mississippi_QSO_Party_-_Rules.pdf>

Missouri QSO Party <http://www.w0ma.org/mo_qso_party.htm>

SP DX Contest <http://www.spdxcontest.pzk.org.pl/reg/reg_g.html>

EA RTTY Contest <http://concursos.ure.es/en/eartty/bases/>

*April 3*

Missouri QSO Party <http://www.w0ma.org/mo_qso_party.htm>

North American SSB Sprint Contest <http://ssbsprint.com/rules/>

UBA Spring Contest, 6m <http://www.uba.be/hf/contest-rules/spring-contest>

RSGB RoLo SSB <http://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2016/rolo.shtml>

*April 4*

RSGB 80m Club Championship, CW 
<http://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2016/r80mcc.shtml>

*April 5*

ARS Spartan Sprint 
<http://arsqrp.blogspot.com/2009/02/so-whats-spartan-sprint-and-how-do-i.html>

*April 6*

Phone Fray <http://www.perluma.com/Phone_Fray_Contest_Rules.pdf>

CWops Mini-CWT Test <http://www.cwops.org/cwt.html>

UKEICC 80m Contest 
<http://www.ukeicc.com/which-contest/contest-rules/ukeicc-80m-contests-rules>

NEWS, PRESS RELEASES, AND GENERAL INTEREST

Big Guns, Little Pistols, and now "Pea Shooters?" Gary, NA6O, has a 
great article in the Northern California Contest Club's February 2016 
newsletter <http://nccc.cc/jug/2016/02Feb2016.pdf> entitled "Contesting 
with a Pea-Shooter Station." Gary's perspective is one of attempting ham 
activities from "denied areas" like those subject to restrictive CC&Rs, 
rental apartments, or other dampening influences. But his article is 
really a fun read and chock full of practical advice and hints that will 
make you a better operator, regardless of your situation.

Tony, N2TK, found better basement lighting performance after replacing 
his fluorescent shop lights with Commercial Electric #54103161 35 W, 
3200 Lumen LED fixtures from Home Depot. Each fixture cost about $40 in 
his area. Besides more light output than the two-tube T12 fixtures they 
were replacing, they were also RF quiet as indicated on his Elecraft P3. 
He also was "inspired" to replace 400 W of incandescent lighting in his 
garage. Four of the newer LED fixtures supply more light than his old 
setup, with a net savings of 260 W. (N2TK via Elecraft Reflector)

The Remote Ham Radio folks have had a youth program 
<http://www.remotehamradio.com/youth/> running for a number of months 
where young operators are sponsored to use RHR's well-appointed network 
of stations with the guidance of experienced operators. Check their 
website for the program qualifications.

WORD TO THE WISE-- "Overlay Category"

A contest entry classification used in addition to a standard entry 
category is an *overlay category*. An example is in the CQ WW WPX 
Contest, the "Single Operator" category has a "TB-WIRES" overlay for 
those stations using a tri-bander beam type of antenna for 20 through 10 
meters, and wire antennas for 160 through 40 meters.

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SIGHTS AND SOUNDS

SJRA members operating the club station on 40 meters in 1958. [Photo 
courtesy of the SJRA]

*The SJRA ARRL-Affiliated Club Celebrates 100 years! *The South Jersey 
Radio Association <http://www.sjra.org> was founded in 1916, and has 
been an ARRL Affiliated club since 1920. With 2016 being the one 
hundredth anniversary of its existence, and number of activities are 
planned, including a 10-day QSO Party in June. Anyone can become a 
Centennial member of the radio club 
<http://www.sjra.org/basic-page/sjra-centennial>, and participate as a 
club member in the 2016 on-the-air activities.

Here are sounds of "grow op" RFI 
<https://ws.onehub.com/folders/5ff746cc> that George, K7HBN, had to deal 
with: "These are clips of the most obnoxious elements of the noise, the 
interference also included strong carriers throughout the HF spectrum 
from below 80 meters up to about 15 meters. For instance, on 20 meters, 
there would be a strong carrier at just below 14 MHz then one at 14.022, 
14.024,14.026 14.044 and more through the band and on a panafall display 
you could see these carriers randomly spaced throughout the HF spectrum. 
Above about 21 MHz the noise was characteristic of what you might expect 
from grow light ballasts. The noise on 15, 12, 10, and 6 meters was 
generally 15 to 25 over S9 compared to S1 or S2 when the lights or 
whatever were off. I think the noise on the clips may be associated with 
some "irrigation" system. Although it took some time initially, I was 
pleased with the response from the FCC inspector, and hopefully this has 
been totally resolved."

The equipment is used for "indoor agricultural operations." It is /not 
permitted by FCC rules /for equipment to radiate like this, but 
unfortunately this situation has become more prevalent as state 
legalization and licensing of marijuana grow operations has occurred. It 
may worsen even yet as initiatives to legalize home growing make it 
through various state legislatures. A state-licensed-and-legal grower 
should respond to a request to eliminate this RFI, as they likely don't 
want the attention of any federal (e.g. FCC) agency. A non-licensed 
operation is a different story. One would think that keeping RFI to a 
minimum would be a financially prudent minimization of energy costs, and 
help reduce the chances for detection by AM radio 
<https://www.policeone.com/drug-interdiction-narcotics/articles/8224280-How-cops-are-catching-grow-ops-with-AM-radios/>. 

Zone 38 operators. From left to right: ZD8W/W6NV, ZD8AA/N6AA, ZD8A/K6NA, 
ZD8G/W6XD, ZD8Z/N6TJ, ZD8O/N5ZO. [Photo courtesy of Arnold, N6HC]

*Zone 38, Where are you? *The Southern California Contest Club met at 
N6HC's QTH, and some of the operators responsible for your Zone 38 
contest multipliers gathered for a group photo. (Thanks Marko, N5ZO)

RESULTS AND RECORDS

KP3Z and HK1NA were neck and neck during the 2016 ARRL DX Phone Contest. 
See N6TV's interactive version

Bob, N6TV writes: "Here's an interactive chart 
<https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bGMzfx1Sc47ldkkN3MCtVze_Kuh9cfcaH2mAE0N2vFI/pubchart?oid=155853378&format=interactive> 
I created to compare the claimed scores of KP3Z (N6MJ, op) vs. HK1NA 
(N6KT, op) during the 2016 ARRL DX Phone Contest, hour-by-hour. It was a 
very close horse race. After 28 hours, they were less than 1000 points 
apart. At the finish, HK1NA had more QSOs, but KP3Z had more 
multipliers, especially on 80 meters and 160 meters. Thanks to Danny and 
Rich for sharing their logs with me."

"The CQ WW rate records have now been updated with details from the 2015 
CW logs. See http://www.cqww.com/rates/. We have also added the ability 
to select rates by year. It is interesting to see how many high rate 
records were set in 2015." -- Randy, K5ZD

Logs received so far for the Spring Stew Perry are available 
<http://www.kkn.net/stew/STEWSCR.TXT>.

As the USA winner of the CQ WW WPX SSB Rookie Single Operator category 
in 2015, Mark, KK4TXZ, has this advice for approaching the CQ WW WPX SSB 
Contest next week:

The first words of wisdom I would provide are that you should get a good 
night of rest prior to the contest, and expect that you're going to be 
hoarse afterwards. Take breaks, even if it's for 15 minutes. You have to 
have off time during the contest, so take a break every 1:45-2:00 hours 
while you're in the chair. Make sure you are familiar with the rules of 
the class that you plan on entering. Make sure that you are using the 
correct overlay for the logging software that you choose to use (I use 
/N1MM/). I remember my first contest that I made an entry into, I had 
selected the incorrect overlay, and it pretty much made my entry null. 
Check the night before to make sure that there haven't been any changes. 
There's been more than one instance where this has happened.

The second is to perform a test on your equipment at least 2 hours prior 
to the contest. It's good to do a SWR reading on your antennas to make 
sure that everything is working outside of the shack. Once you have that 
within your desired settings, then hook everything up, to ensure that no 
gremlins have attacked it overnight.

Have a copy of Murphy's Laws in your shack, as well as a copy of your 
band plan, to ensure you're operating within your license privileges. 
The night prior to the contest, I checked everything out at my station, 
including the antennas, and I left my PC running for the night. I was 
under the assumption that I could just sit in the chair, and get to 
work. When the time to kick off came, I got blown away by the high power 
stations. The key to performing well is just patience, and persistence. 
If you can't get through to a station after calling several times, move 
on the dial (if you're doing a S&P). I found that the majority of the 
calls that I got through to happened after the big guns were searching 
for "fresh meat". Make sure that your call is repeated back to you 
correctly, and you confirm the call of the station when you record it in 
your log (properly!). It's frustrating to have points deducted when you 
did make a QSO, and to have those deductions made after you did make 
contact, but human error caused recording of it to be inaccurate.

Lastly, I'd recommend that you set realistic goals for your experience. 
When I entered, I wanted to just get some contesting experience, and as 
time went on, I saw that my score was rising pretty darn quickly. Of 
course, the hour and a half that I missed at the beginning while trying 
to get my logging/spotting software to work out right didn't help, and 
rather frustrated me further didn't help, but in the end, I found it to 
be a great learning experience!

Rick, N6RK, commenting on the recent Stew Perry contest: "I felt like a 
slowpoke sending at 20 to 24 WPM while some stations were zooming along 
at 30 WPM. I just think that top band needs the slower speed. Rates are 
not high enough that a few extra seconds per QSO matters in this 
contest. Also, you actually lose time if high speed causes you to have 
to ask for a fill."

OPERATING TIP

In ARRL Contests, it's *against **the rules* 
<http://www.arrl.org/general-rules-for-all-arrl-contests>, and 
unethical, to "use more than one call sign from any given station 
location in a single contest" - see Rule 3.3. There is an exception, 
Rule 3.5, for shared use of a "family station," however the operator 
must be different. According to Ward, N0AX: "One of the log checkers has 
'noticed' some folks working stations multiple times with different 
calls -- club calls, old personal calls, etc. Once you know what to look 
for, it's obvious in the logs. While this was once a relatively common 
practice, it's frowned on (or illegal) today -- we should not do it. 
Don't work your buddies with multiple calls - just don't."

Ad <http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=cu&t=i&i=2016-03-23&p=1>
TECHNICAL TOPICS AND INFORMATION

AG1LE is controlling his KX3 from his Android phone 
<http://ag1le.blogspot.com/2016/02/kx3-remote-control-and-audio-streaming.html>. 
He's used a Raspberry Pi 2 as a server, along with a Mumble codec for 
the audio; those pieces could be applicable to any rig.

"I've been playing with a pre-production model of the Arduino MKR1000 
(Maker 1000) board using the Atmel ATSAMW25 SoC chip that includes Wi-Fi 
on a 'gum stick' form factor board. It is super easy to do IoT (Internet 
of Things) with it. Look for it to become available in the next few 
weeks at about the $20 price point." (Perry, K4PWO)

If you need a font for your website that has ASCII zero represented with 
a slash, one choice is named Anonymous Pro 
<https://www.google.com/fonts>. However, it's still a mono-spaced font.

Radar is being developed by the military that uses a waveform that will 
be hard to distinguish from noise 
<https://thestack.com/world/2016/03/16/u-s-army-developing-encrypted-radar-waveform/>. 
The lack of a identifiable signature will help disguise its use. The 
amateur bands already are already subject to intrusion by signals that 
we can today identify as radar. If this type of technology becomes 
pervasive, will we just have more "noise?"

The Embedded Systems Conference <https://escb.tech.ubm.com/2016> is in 
Boston on April 13-14. If you're involved in the embedded electronics 
industry, you may qualify for free admission. While the focus is on 
embedded computers and IoT, at least one of the exhibitors, Rohde & 
Schwarz, should be a familiar name from the RF side.

CONVERSATION

Contesting needs you...to share your station with new contesters!

"We need more young contesters!" - It's a familiar lament. It's driven 
by the average reported age of recent contesting surveys 
<http://cqww.com/blog/2015-cq-ww-survey-results-part-1/>, and the yearly 
post-ARRL-Sweepstakes observations of the "first licensed" year part of 
the exchange. A "head survey" at any meeting shows the predominant hair 
color (when there is hair) to be gray.

"This is a problem we need to solve!" So we try. We 
demographic-centroid-dwellers put together events and activities to 
convert non-contesters to contesters. If we were selling something, and 
perhaps we are, we'd call this the "funnel." A non-contester goes 
through a number of steps to learn of contesting, learn about 
contesting, participate in contesting, and "become a contester" by 
participating on their own. Improving our numbers is all about 
understanding what we can do at each step of the way.

The "top of the funnel" is where a candidate gets exposure to 
contesting, like at your club's Field Day operation at a local park. 
There could be non-hams lurking about, so the answer to the question 
"What's amateur radio good for?" should be crisp, relevant, and tuned to 
your audience, as some of the things that made the hobby so full of the 
magic and wonder for us in our youth rate just a "meh" from today's 
young people. "I like to enter contests where the goal is to exchange 
information with as many people from as many different countries around 
the world in a limited amount of time," is one I've used.

Stan, K5GO, who is on the Contest Advisory Committee subcommittee 
working on youth in contesting issues, sent me an e-mail in which he 
suggested how the use of a reasonably equipped station, with reasonable 
antennas for all bands of relevance with guidance from a seasoned 
contester could accelerate the "learning phase."

KG7JNQ, being mentored by Tom, K7RI. Tom's well-appointed station helps 
ops to concentrate on operating [Photo courtesy of Curt, WR5J]

As a contester, consider making your station and your time available to 
potential new contesters by inviting them over to help operate your 
station for parts of other contests beyond Field Day and Kids Day. The 
goal will be to "win" by having your guest operator(s) learn and have a 
positive experience. You might want to recruit help from others in your 
contest or radio club, and make sure you're sensitive to parental 
concerns about time commitments, homework, supervision, and the like.

2014 Battle Plan for K7RI in the ARRL 10 Meter Contest. [Courtesy of 
Tom, K7RI]

You should involve recruits in contest planning, including overall 
strategy, and specific plans for their operating interval. Help them 
start to think like a contester, considering band conditions, 
multipliers, rates, and the like - tell them how you think about the 
contest and what you think is important. As the control operator 
<http://www.arrl.org/regulatory-faqs>, you should plan to be closely 
monitoring operations during the contest to answer questions and provide 
guidance. Also remember that for DX contacts, if you have a non-licensed 
operator, third-party traffic 
<http://www.arrl.org/third-party-operating-agreements> rules apply. 
Countries that are not on the third-party list may not be contacted by 
an unlicensed operator.

Keep the operating session reasonably short and focused and be on the 
lookout for fatigue or frustration from your contester-in-training. Try 
running, searching and pouncing, and multiplier hunting as your 
candidate can absorb the experiences. Be ready to modify your planned 
operation to keep it fun for your guest.

If you do this, please share the results of your station-sharing effort 
with Stan, K5GO, or send them to me and I'll forward them on.

73, Brian N9ADG

That's all of the contest update goodness for this time. Remember to 
send your contesting related tips, techniques, surplus equipment, press 
releases, errata, pictures, stories, blog links, and Twitter handles to 
contest-update at arrl.org <mailto:contest-update at arrl.org>.

Ad <http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=cu&t=i&i=2016-03-23&p=2>
CONTESTS

*24 Mar - 6 Apr 2016*

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

*HF CONTESTS*

CWops Mini-CWT Test <http://www.cwops.org/cwt.html>, Mar 23, 1300z to 
Mar 23, 1400z, Mar 23, 1900z to Mar 23, 2000z, Mar 24, 0300z to Mar 24, 
0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; Member: Name + Member No., 
non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: March 26.

RSGB 80m Club Championship, SSB 
<http://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2016/r80mcc.shtml>, Mar 24, 2000z to Mar 
24, 2130z; SSB; Bands: 80m Only; RS + Serial No.; Logs due: March 31.

QRP Fox Hunt <http://www.qrpfoxhunt.org/winter_rules.htm>, Mar 25, 0100z 
to Mar 25, 0230z; CW; Bands: 80m Only; RST + (state/province/country) + 
name + power output; Logs due: March 24.

NCCC RTTY Sprint <http://www.ncccsprint.com/rttyns.html>, Mar 25, 0145z 
to Mar 25, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; 
Logs due: March 27.

NCCC Sprint <http://www.ncccsprint.com/rules.html>, Mar 25, 0230z to Mar 
25, 0300z; CW; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: 
March 27.

FOC QSO Party <http://g4foc.org/qsoparty/>, Mar 26, 0000z to Mar 26, 
2359z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, VHF; FOC-Member: RST + Name + 
Member No., non-Members: RST + Name; Logs due: April 9.

CQ WW WPX Contest, SSB <http://www.cqwpx.com/rules.htm>, Mar 26, 0000z 
to Mar 27, 2359z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; RS + Serial No.; 
Logs due: April 1.

Low Power Spring Sprint 
<http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/lowpowerspringsprint2016.pdf>, Mar 
28, 1400z to Mar 28, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; RST + 
4-character grid square + power category (A/C/Q/X/Y); Logs due: April 27.

Phone Fray <http://www.perluma.com/Phone_Fray_Contest_Rules.pdf>, Mar 
30, 0230z to Mar 30, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15m; NA: Name + 
(state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: April 1.

CWops Mini-CWT Test <http://www.cwops.org/cwt.html>, Mar 30, 1300z to 
Mar 30, 1400z, Mar 30, 1900z to Mar 30, 2000z, Mar 31, 0300z to Mar 31, 
0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; Member: Name + Member No., 
non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: April 2.

UKEICC 80m Contest 
<http://www.ukeicc.com/which-contest/contest-rules/ukeicc-80m-contests-rules>, 
Mar 30, 2000z to Mar 30, 2100z; CW; Bands: 80m Only; 4-Character grid 
square; Logs due: March 30.

NCCC RTTY Sprint <http://www.ncccsprint.com/rttyns.html>, Apr 1, 0145z 
to Apr 1, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs 
due: April 3.

NCCC Sprint <http://www.ncccsprint.com/rules.html>, Apr 1, 0230z to Apr 
1, 0300z; CW; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: 
April 3.

15-Meter SSTV Dash Contest <http://contests.wsstvc.org/rules/>, Apr 2, 
0000z to Apr 3, 2359z; SSTV; Bands: 15m Only; WSSTVC-Member: RSV + "W" + 
4-digit member no., non-Members: RSV + Serial No.; Logs due: April 18.

LZ Open 40m Sprint Contest <http://www.lzopen.com/lzocc40/indexF.htm>, 
Apr 2, 0400z to Apr 2, 0800z; CW; Bands: 40m Only; 3-Digit Serial No. + 
3-Digit Serial No. received from last QSO; Logs due: April 12.

Mississippi QSO Party 
<http://www.arrlmiss.org/2016_Mississippi_QSO_Party_-_Rules.pdf>, Apr 2, 
1400z to Apr 3, 0200z; CW, SSB, Digital; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 
*VHF/UHF*; MS: RS(T) + county, non-MS: RS(T) + (state/province/country); 
Logs due: April 30.

Missouri QSO Party <http://www.w0ma.org/mo_qso_party.htm>, Apr 2, 1400z 
to Apr 3, 0400z, Apr 3, 1400z to Apr 3, 2000z; CW, Phone, Digital; 
Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, *VHF/UHF*; MO: RS(T) + county, non-MO 
W/VE: RS(T) + (state/province/territory), DX: RS(T) + "DX"; Logs due: May 3.

SP DX Contest <http://www.spdxcontest.pzk.org.pl/reg/reg_g.html>, Apr 2, 
1500z to Apr 3, 1500z; CW, SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; SP: 
RS(T) + 1-character province, non-SP: RS(T) + Serial No.; Logs due: 
April 30.

EA RTTY Contest <http://concursos.ure.es/en/eartty/bases/>, Apr 2, 1600z 
to Apr 3, 1600z; RTTY; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; EA: RSQ + province, 
non-EA: RSQ + Serial No.; Logs due: April 18.

North American SSB Sprint Contest <http://ssbsprint.com/rules/>, Apr 3, 
0000z to Apr 3, 0400z; SSB; Bands: 80, 40, 20m; [other station's call] + 
[your call] + [serial no.] + [your name] + [your 
state/province/country]; Logs due: April 10.

RSGB RoLo SSB <http://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2016/rolo.shtml>, Apr 3, 
1900z to Apr 3, 2030z; SSB; Bands: 80m Only; RST + previous postcode 
received; Logs due: April 10.

RSGB 80m Club Championship, CW 
<http://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2016/r80mcc.shtml>, Apr 4, 1900z to Apr 
4, 2030z; CW; Bands: 80m Only; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: April 11.

ARS Spartan Sprint 
<http://arsqrp.blogspot.com/2009/02/so-whats-spartan-sprint-and-how-do-i.html>, 
Apr 5, 0100z to Apr 5, 0300z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; RST + 
(state/province/country) + Power; Logs due: April 7.

Phone Fray <http://www.perluma.com/Phone_Fray_Contest_Rules.pdf>, Apr 6, 
0230z to Apr 6, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15m; NA: Name + 
(state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: April 8.

CWops Mini-CWT Test <http://www.cwops.org/cwt.html>, Apr 6, 1300z to Apr 
6, 1400z, Apr 6, 1900z to Apr 6, 2000z, Apr 7, 0300z to Apr 7, 0400z; 
CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; Member: Name + Member No., 
non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: April 8.

UKEICC 80m Contest 
<http://www.ukeicc.com/which-contest/contest-rules/ukeicc-80m-contests-rules>, 
Apr 6, 2000z to Apr 6, 2100z; CW; Bands: 80m Only; 4-Character grid 
square; Logs due: April 6.

*VHF+ CONTESTS*

UBA Spring Contest, 6m 
<http://www.uba.be/hf/contest-rules/spring-contest>, Apr 3, 0600z to Apr 
3, 1000z; CW, Phone; Bands: 6m Only; ON: RS(T) + Serial No. + UBA 
Section, non-ON: RS(T) + Serial No.; Logs due: April 17.

See the Mississippi and Missouri QSO Parties, above.

LOG DUE DATES

*March 24, 2016*

  * QRP Fox Hunt <http://www.qrpfoxhunt.org/winter_rules.htm>

*March 25, 2016*

  * Phone Fray <http://www.perluma.com/Phone_Fray_Contest_Rules.pdf>
  * SKCC Sprint
    <http://www.skccgroup.com/operating_activities/weekday_sprint/>

*March 26, 2016*

  * Feld Hell Sprint
    <https://sites.google.com/site/feldhellclub/Home/contests/sprints/leprechaun-sprint>
  * QRP Fox Hunt <http://www.qrpfoxhunt.org/winter_rules.htm>
  * CWops Mini-CWT Test <http://www.cwops.org/cwt.html>

*March 27, 2016*

  * NCCC Sprint <http://www.ncccsprint.com/rules.html>
  * Run for the Bacon QRP Contest <http://fpqrp.org/pigrun/>
  * UBA Spring Contest, 2m
    <http://www.uba.be/hf/contest-rules/spring-contest>
  * NCCC RTTY Sprint <http://www.ncccsprint.com/rttyns.html>

*March 28, 2016*

  * Stew Perry Topband Challenge <http://www.kkn.net/stew/>
  * EA PSK63 Contest <http://concursos.ure.es/en/eapsk63/bases/>
  * BARTG HF RTTY Contest <http://www.bartg.org.uk/>

*March 29, 2016*

  * South Carolina QSO Party <http://scqso.com/rules/>
  * South America 10 Meter Contest <http://sa10m.com.ar/cqsa10m_rules.html>

*March 31, 2016*

  * AGCW QRP Contest
    <http://www.agcw.org/index.php/en/contests-and-cw-activities/qrp-contest>
  * AGCW YL-CW Party
    <http://www.agcw.org/index.php/en/contests-and-cw-activities/yl-cw-party>
  * RSGB 80m Club Championship, SSB
    <http://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2016/r80mcc.shtml>

*April 2, 2016*

  * Nauryz DX Contest
    <http://www.nauryz-dx-contest.com/index.php/rules/contest-rules-2016>

*April 3, 2016*

  * SARL VHF/UHF Analogue/Digital Contest
    <http://www.sarl.org.za/Web3/Members/DoDocDownload.aspx?X=20151130131559djqp8afPgb.PDF>
  * UBA Spring Contest, SSB
    <http://www.uba.be/hf/contest-rules/spring-contest>
  * WAB 3.5 MHz Phone <http://wab.intermip.net/Contests.php>
  * Russian DX Contest <http://www.rdxc.org/asp/pages/rulesg.asp>

*April 4, 2016*

  * AGCW VHF/UHF Contest
    <http://www.agcw.org/index.php/en/contests-and-cw-activities/vhf-uhf-contest>

*April 5, 2016*

  * NSARA Contest <http://nsara.ve1cfy.net/?page_id=82>
  * ARRL Inter. DX Contest, SSB <http://www.arrl.org/arrl-dx>
  * Bucharest Contest <http://yo3test201x.blogspot.ro/p/blog-page.html>

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ARRL Contest Update wishes to acknowledge information from WA7BNM's 
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