Contester's Rate Sheet for February 21, 2007
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CONTESTER'S RATE SHEET
21 February 2007
Edited by Ward Silver N0AX
Published by the American Radio Relay League
Free to ARRL members - tell your friends!
(Subscription info at the end of newsletter)
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SUMMARY
o Swap The Key For The Mike - ARRL DX and CQ 160 SSB
o A Three-Fer Digital - NAQP RTTY, Open Ukraine, and DARC Corona
o Limited Rover and Reverse VUCC Awards
o Topband Dinner at Dayton and Updated Top Band Records
o Spiderbeam Distributor for NA and WinTest Yahoo! Group
o Moxon Antenna Web site by W4RNL
o Free Antenna Design Software
o A Question of Intent
BULLETINS
o W1AW Special Event For New HF Licensees
BUSTED QSOS
o A golden issue last time!
CONTEST SUMMARY (Rules follow Commentary section)
February 24-25
- CQC Winter QSO Party - CW/Phone
- CQ WW 160 Meter SSB
- UBA Contest - CW
- REF Contest - Phone
- Mississippi QSO Party
- North Carolina QSO Party
- High Speed CW Contest
- North American QSO Party - RTTY
- EU EME Contest - Digital
March 3-4
- ARRL DX Contest - Phone
- DARC 10 Meter Digital Corona
- Open Ukraine RTTY Championship
- Spartan Sprint - CW
--o- ooo - --o- ooo - --o- ooo - -oo o
NEWS, PRESS RELEASES, AND GENERAL INTEREST
- oooo o o-o o- - o ooo oooo o o - -o-
ARRL News
W1AW will be on the air all weekend for this special event
(http://tinyurl.com/29pumg) to celebrate the fact that so many
amateurs have gained or will earn new privileges as a result of the
rule changes. The station will operate starting at 12:01 AM Eastern
Time on Friday, February 23, continuing into the wee hours and
resuming operation during the day. Then W1AW will be on the air on
both days of the weekend, from 10 AM until 5 PM -- perhaps longer as
conditions and enthusiasm dictate. Operation will be on both CW and
SSB, with SSB on the usual W1AW frequencies and "First Contact"
certificates will be available. Look for stations new to HF next
weekend and make them welcome. If that also happens to include an
invitation to upcoming contests, why so much the better! (Thanks, Dan
N1ND)
The Northern Lights Radio Society (NLRS) is excited to announce the
creation and sponsorship of a Limited Rover award for the ARRL's UHF
contest (4-5 August). The purpose of this award is to encourage
roving by those who have fewer bands, and by having fewer bands,
have little to no chance to "win". By encouraging roving, we
encourage continued growth in this fun part of our hobby. Full
details can be found on the NLRS Web site at
http://www.nlrs.org/RoverMania/index.htm , then click on "The Limited
Rover Award". (Thanks, Jon W0ZQ)
The "Reverse VUCC" Rover award was created by the Central States VHF
Society for rovers that has many similarities to the ARRL award. You
can find info about the award on the CSVHFS Web site at
http://www.csvhfs.org/CSVHFVUC.HTML. The award was created as a way
to recognize rovers who do so much for fixed stations by activating
many grids. (Thanks, Bruce W9FZ)
There has been a change in sponsorship for the VHF+ Spring Sprints to
John K9JK and Steve W4SHG. After a report that the Eastern Tennessee
VHF Society was not going to sponsor these popular events in 2007,
John and Steve stepped up with an offer to manage the contests. A
new Web site will be announced shortly and should be ready when
Contest Corral is published in the April issue of QST. The dates
will be approximately the same as last year. A big "Thank You!" to
both John and Steve for keeping these events going - real ham spirit!
Jim AD1C reports that with the help of Scott KA9FOX the recently
inactive DX Cluster Resource by Connection by Chuck K6PBT has been
relaunched at its old URL, http://www.dxcluster.info/ containing a
worldwide listing of both RF and Internet DX Cluster nodes. Special
He is updating the list of Telnet (Internet) clusters and other areas
of the site. The list is also available to software developers -
contact Jim at webmaster@dxclster.info.
Recently on the CQ-Contest reflector (http://www.contesting.com/FAQ)
Tonno ES5TV asked about our vision of contesting in 10 years. He got
a *lot* of responses! "I consolidated all the answers and sorted them
into categories with submitters call added and the full package can
be found as pdf file at http://www.lhv.ee/images/files/2017.pdf In
February 2017 I will post a follow-up and we will see who was right
and who was wrong!"
Goetz DJ3IW points out that it is a good idea for CW contest sponsors
and managers to review and update their recommended frequencies on 40
meters. The combination of increasing RTTY activity, changing band
plans, and an international RTTY calling frequency of 7040 kHz is a
potent combination. Flexibility on the part of all parties is always
welcomed.
Paul K4UJ wants everyone that uses WinTest to know that he has
created a Yahoo group for Win-Test. You can join at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/win-test It will not replace the mail
list on the WinTest site, but is complementary.
Spiderbeam fans, including expeditioners and other portable
operators, will be pleased to learn of the new North American
distributor. Paul K4UJ will carry all Spiderbeam antennas, fiberglass
and aluminum masts in stock, as well as spare parts at
http://www.dx-is.com/ (Thanks, Con DF4SA)
An extremely useful set of statistical data from the Russian DX
Contest is reported by Igor UA9CDC, including World Stations
Statistic by Band/Time/QSO (http://tinyurl.com/yvsyqh) and World
Stations Statistic by QSO Points/Band (http://tinyurl.com/2b7z3v).
Igor gives a big thank you (spacibo!) to the RDXC Committee.
In the competitive Zillion Miles Per Watt competition, the last
update on the JPL website on the Voyager I and II status can be found
at http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/weekly-reports/index.htm
presenting status in late 2006. Just add a few million miles or so
to the numbers for Feb. 2007! (Thanks, Paul NA5N)
Although the name of Shockley is well-known as the inventor the
junction transistor, there are many other nearly unknown names that
were intimately involved. In Bob Pease's "What's All This..." column
in Electronic Design magazine (http://www.electronicdesign.com/) for 1
February, he reviews and recommends "History of Semiconductor
Engineering", a new book by Bo Lojek. It's available on-line and may
be through your local library, as well.
Want to give your big VHF+ antenna system a workout? From the AMSAT
News Service bulleting ANS-049, "Some satellite operators may be able
to copy EME signals from the Japanese Big Dish Project. JAMSAT is
participating with several other organizations in setting up a
32m-Dish EME station in Ibaragi, Japan. They plan to be active on
144MHz, 432MHz, 1296MHz and 5.6GHz from 23 Feb to 24 March at
possible windows. Full information is available at
http://8n1eme.jp/modules/news/ along with the planned EME operating
schedule. (Thanks, AMSAT http://www.amsat.org/)
Larry F6FVY has created a small "point and click" interface
(http://f6fvy.free.fr/qthLocator) to Google Maps that gives your
QTH-locator (grid square), and coordinates. There is also a full
screen page (http://f6fvy.free.fr/qthLocator/fullScreen.php) that
allows entry of a 6-char grid square, to which the map will be
automatically centered and zoomed.
Here's something fun to play with - how many Morse palindromes
(patterns that sound the same forwards and backwards, ignoring
spaces) can be made from properly-formed US call signs, including
possessions and territories? Of those palindromes, how many are also
text palindromes, with the same character order backwards and
forward. I don't know, so send me your answer with an explanation.
TopBanders attending the Dayton Hamvention should check out the
annual TopBand Dinner on Friday. It's held at the Barnsider
Restaurant and costs $29 per ticket, with cocktail hour beginning at
6:15 PM and dinner at 7:30 PM. For more information, email George
K8GG at k8gg@arrl.net.
URL of the Week - After listening to those ops in the Caribbean
having *so* much fun this weekend, wouldn't it be nice to do it
yourself? http://www.qsl.net/oh2mcn/license.htm and
http://www.dxholiday.com/ will help you get started on the licensing
process. And don't forget
http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regulations/io/ (Thanks, Bob N7XY
and Paul K4UJ)
oooo o -o-- -o-- o- o-oo o-oo
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
o-- o- - -o-o oooo - oooo oo ooo
Our favorite TV ham with a monstrous signal makes another appearance
on YouTube.com (http://tinyurl.com/2h2mpc) - and this time in
English! We all know that singing on the air is strictly against the
rules, but Hermann's rendition of 'My Mother's Eyes" isn't any worse
than some of the signals I hear on the air! (Thanks, Dave KM3T)
oo-o oo -o -oo -o-- --- oo- o-o
RESULTS AND RECORDS
-o-o o- o-oo o-oo oooo o o-o o
ARRL Contest Results - certificates for the 2006 June VHF QSO Party
have been finished and should be hitting the mail shortly. (Thanks,
Tom KC1J)
Results of the 2006 Ukrainian DX Contest are now on-line at
http://www.ucc.zp.ua/urdx2006.htm (Thanks, Vladimir (Bob) UT1IA)
The Locust QSO Party Final Results have been published at
http://www.k6vva.com/lqp/lqpfinalresults.html - congrats to the NCJ
Subscription Wiinners! (Thanks, Rick K6VVA)
The LZ DX Contest Committee announces that final results of the 2006
LZ DX Contest are now on-line at http://tinyurl.com/29zw83. Thanks to
LZ5AZ (http://www.lz5az.com/) for the updated design. Good work since
the contest was held in November! (Thanks, Wally LZ2CJ)
Yuri K3BU reports that the Top Band Records Web page has been moved
to a new address - http://www.k3bu.us/topband_records.htm He also
reports that there is a new section listing stations that have worked
WAS and DXCC over a single contest weekend.
The compiled Soapbox for the February Sprint contests is on-line at
http://www.eskimo.com/~mwdink/3830/ (Thanks, Dink N7WA)
oooo o -o-- -o-- --- oo-
OPERATING TIP
o-- o- -o- o oo- o--o
With so many locations having similar postal codes or section
abbreviations (think San Diego and South Dakota), it's really
important to enter the right information into your log. If the
software you use allows more than one abbreviation for the same
location, such as SD, SGO, SDG, SDGO, etc for San Diego, it might be
a good idea to remove any duplicates with other locations. This is
particularly important for new operators that might enter AK for
Arkansas or MI for Missouri, with an unintentional busted QSO as the
result.
oo oo-o oo - ooo -o --- - -ooo o-o --- -o- o
TECHNICAL TIPS AND INFORMATION
-o-- --- oo- o-o o -o --- - - o-o -o-- oo -o --o
Jim KG0KP offers this easy, no-filing way to expose the brass body
material of a PL-259 for soldering. "A drill press, a wooden jig
clamped in a drill vise, and a quarter inch drill bit (a normal one,
not those goofy new ones with the outer cutting point) used like a
countersink bit (just cone the hole) does this 'filing' in a jiffy.
Easy and quick." (Thanks, Jim KG0KP)
If you worry about the size of wire for ground plane radials, Steve
N0SM provides a sample calculation. "Say you are dumping 2000W CW
into the vertical antenna, and it has a base impedance of 34 ohms.
Ohm's Law says that you've got a current of around 8 Amps total. If
you're dividing that up among 60 radials, that's 130 mA per radial,
well within the current handling ability of AWG26." And that's how
to figure it out!
In the spirit of "Use It Up, Wear It Out, Make It Do", Julius N2WN
has found a good use for the new plastic coffee cans. "The 39- and
52-ounce cans are excellent forms for winding coaxial choke baluns,
almost exactly 6 inches in diameter. I've also used them as
weatherproof housings for matching components and switching. Holes
can easily be made and sealed in them (I use hot glue or RTV). If you
goof on a layout, it's not a big deal. They work fine for low power
applications (no information on high power). I use the smaller ones
for beverage component housings."
L.B. Cebik W4RNL has written extensively on Moxon antennas
(http://www.cebik.com/moxon/moxpage.html) including design figures
for various bands. If you're interested in this antenna, the Web
site is worth a look. (Thanks, Dave AB7E)
Looking for that perfect 160-meter 5/8-wave vertical holder-upper?
Try http://www.arizonaballoon.com/ for some Kytoons that will get your
heart thumping! The Helikites at http://www.allsopphelikites.com/ are
also guaranteed to get you thinking. (Thanks, Jim W1PID and Nigel
G8IFF)
One great aspect of ham radio is life-long learning. Not many of us
have time to go back to school, but there are some great on-line
simulations at http://tinyurl.com/luwko of many technical topics. I
like the projectile, myself! (Thanks, Jim K7WA)
No one is ever happy with the speed of a wireless connection after
using it three times. Here's a product that's sure to return the
gleam to your eye if data speeds just aren't quite up to expectations
- http://j-walk.com/other/wifispray (Thanks, Andy N6JLJ)
TECHNICAL URL OF THE WEEK -- Jerry K4SAV contributes three Web sites
that offer free antenna modeling software based on the NEC-2
software. "The free demo version of EZNEC 4.0 (http://www.eznec.com/)
is fully functional except for limiting you to 20 segments, which
will be good only for simple antennas. Download the EZNEC 4.0 Demo
program. The EZNEC help file contains many answers to your questions.
Another option is MMANA-GAL, based on MININEC, available at
http://mmhamsoft.amateur-radio.ca/ 4NEC2 is a full blown version of
NEC2 including an optimizer, downloadable at
http://home.ict.nl/%7Earivoors/Home.htm Have fun!
o- -o-o -o-o oo- o-o o- -o-o -o-- oo ooo o--- --- -ooo
CONVERSATION
--- -o o oo -o -o-o --- -o - o ooo - oo -o --o
A Question of Intent
Welcome to all of you new HF operators! You will find HF operating
to be incredibly interesting and incredibly challenging. There are a
huge variety of operating events and wild changes in propagation. You
will be able to use the ionosphere in brand new ways and the upcoming
ARRL DX SSB contest is a great way to start. You can operate on 10
meter SSB or perhaps join a multi-operator effort nearby. Either
way, you're going to have a ball - welcome!
If you do decide to enter the contest, be sure to send in your log so
that your score can be listed in the results. As a consequence of
sending in the log, you'll also receive a Log Checking Report (LCR)
that gives you invaluable feedback on how well you copied all of the
information in the contest. Your first LCR may surprise you with the
errors that you made - I know I was sure surprised to see my score
shrink because penalties were assessed for logging errors.
I was a little embarrassed until I realized that I wasn't being
accused of cheating. I was simply being assessed something similar
to a five-yard penalty for jumping offside! I made a mistake, that's
all. I wasn't corking my bat, just failed to execute. I decided to
improve my accuracy and my scores improved, as well.
Some folks get their hackles up when a penalty is assessed because
they feel accused of intentionally violating a rule. We all know
that there are some people that *do* intentionally violate rules -
they're called cheaters. But that is certainly NOT the only reason
for penalties to exist.
I'll say it again - assessing a penalty is NOT an accusation of
cheating. True, penalties keep people that attempt to cheat from an
ill-gotten gain, but the penalty does not brand every bad QSO a
dishonest QSO or accuse an operator of dishonesty. That is jumping
to unwarranted conclusions. (Before I go further, let me insert the
disclaimer that while I am the Chair of the Contest Advisory
Committee, these are my personal opinions and not CAC or ARRL
policy.)
Let's go back to why we have contests and why we have amateur radio.
Contests are a means of increasing an operator's skill and technical
abilities. Contests are fun, sure, but there is no mention of "fun"
in the FCC's Basis and Purpose for the Amateur Service, Rule 97.1.
By being an enjoyable activity, contests get people on the air and
that furthers the mission of the Amateur Service. That is why the
ARRL and other organizations encourage and sponsor contests - they
make for better amateurs, technically and operationally.
But enjoyment can not be the primary purpose of *any* amateur radio
activity - it must go hand in hand with advancement of personal
skills and capability. That's what justifies us as a licensed
service with protected access to valuable spectrum.
So - why have penalties? Why not just remove the QSO? Because no
penalty means there are no consequences for sloppy operating - I'm
not saying dishonest operating, I'm saying sloppy operating.
Guessing, assuming, being distracted, not making that extra effort to
get things...RIGHT. That's what the penalty is all about. (A small
fraction of penalties are in the "blown call" or "brain freeze"
category, but let's not get hung up on that miniscule fraction.
Stuff happens.)
The penalty and the log checking which generate it are simply tools
to notify the operator that information was not transferred with 100%
accuracy. And yes, that includes the typing or printing. Would it be
OK to say, "I copied that Health and Welfare traffic perfectly in my
head, but I made a typo on the phone number - sorry it didn't get
delivered. Just forget about it, OK?" No, it would not! Messages
and the contest QSOs they emulate need to be transferred from origin
to destination with 100% accuracy. Anything less is a broken or
"busted" contact.
The attitude of, "But I was only one character off!" is baloney. A
QSO is a two-way exchange of information. Was it successful or was
it not? If not, something bad happened on either or both ends and
the operators need to know about it to fix the problem. Which is the
better 300-QSO log; one that had 375 QSOs as submitted with 75 busted
or a 300-QSO error-free or "golden" log? Why should they both result
in the same performance metric - i.e. score?
The current system of log checking and penalties is not extreme, it
is
applied equally to all, and points the Good Arrow firmly in the
direction it should be pointing. There is still debate about
penalties and the size of the penalty is certainly up for discussion.
Nevertheless, accuracy is now recognized as desirable and important
as an operating skill. Is this a problem? I don't think so.
73, Ward N0AX
-o-o --o- - o ooo - -o-o --o- - o ooo -
CONTESTS -- 21 FEBRUARY THROUGH 6 MARCH
-o-o --o- - o ooo - -o-o --o- - o ooo -
Note that the following abbreviations are used to condense the
contest rules summaries: SO - Single-Op; M2 - Multi-Op - 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 (>100 W); LP -
Low Power; QRP (5W or less)
HF CONTESTS
CQC Winter QSO Party--CW/Phone, sponsored by the Colorado QRP Club
from 2200Z Feb 24 - 0359Z Feb 25. Frequencies (MHz): CW 1.825, 3.560,
3.710, 7.040, 7.110, 14.060, 21.060, 21.110, 28.060, 28.110, SSB
1.910, 3.985, 7.285, 14.285, 21.385, 28.385. Categories are SOAB,
SOSB, SO-Homebrew. Exchange: RST, S/P/C, name, CQC member number or
power output (5W max). QSO Points: CW--CQC member 6 pts, non-member 4
pts, Phone--members 3 pts, non-members 2 pts. Score: QSO Points X
S/P/C (count once per band) X names (one name from each letter of the
alphabet) + 1000 pts for QSO with W0CQC. For more information:
http://www.cqc.org/. Logs due 30 days after the contest to
ki0rb@idcomm.com or CQC Contest, PO Box 17174, Golden, CO 80402-6019.
CQ WW 160-meter SSB Contest, sponsored by CQ Magazine from 0000Z Feb
24 - 2359Z Feb 25. Exchange: RS and S/P/C. Categories: SO-QRP (<5 W)
-LP (<150 W) -HP, MO categories. Enter as MO if packet or spotting
nets are used. QSO Points: own entity--2 pts, same continent--5 pts,
diff. cont.--10 pts, /MM stations count 5 points, but no multiplier.
Score: QSO points X states + VE call areas + DXCC entities (KH6 and
KL7 count as DXCC only). For more information:
http://www.cq-amateur-radio.com/index.html. Logs due Mar 31 to
160ssb@kkn.net (Cabrillo format only) or CQ 160 Contest, 25 Newbridge
Rd, Hicksville, NY 11801.
UBA Contest--CW, sponsored by the Royal Union of Belgian Amateur
Radio from 1300Z Feb 24 -- 1300Z Feb 25. Frequencies: 80 - 10 meters,
according to the IARU band plan. Categories: SOAB and SOSB (QRP, LP,
HP), MS, SWL, packet is allowed for all classes. Exchange: RST and
serial number, ON stations add their province abbr. QSO Points: QSOs
with ON stations--10 pts, with other European Union--3 pts, outside
European Union--1 pt. Score: QSO points X ON provinces + ON prefixes
+ European Union DXCC entities counted once per band. For more
information and a list of EU entities: http://www.uba.be/. Logs due 30
days after the contest to ubacw@uba.be in Cabrillo format or UBA
Contest, Marc Domen, ON7SS, Ferdinand Coosemansstraat 32, B-2600
Antwerpen, Belgium.
REF French Contest--Phone, sponsored by the Reseau des Emetteurs
Francais (REF) from 0600Z Feb 24 -- 1800Z Feb 25. Contact French
stations including Corsica, Overseas Territories, and EU Council
station TP2CE. Frequencies: 80 - 10-meters. Categories: SOAB, MS, and
SWL. Exchange: non-French stations send RST and serial number, French
send RST and department number or prefix. QSO Points: different
continent--3 pts, 1 pt otherwise. Score: QSO points X departments and
prefixes counted once per band. For more information:
http://www.ref-union.org/concours. Logs due April 15 to
cdfssb@ref-union.org or Reseau des Emetteurs Francais, REF Contest,
BP 7429, 37074 Tours Cedex, France.
Mississippi QSO Party--CW/Digital/Phone, sponsored by the Vicksburg
Amateur Radio Club from 1500Z Feb 24 - 0300Z Feb 25. Frequencies
(MHz): CW 3.545, 7.045, 14.045, 21.045, 28.045; Phone 3.862, 7.238,
14.275, 21.375, 28.375; VHF 50.130, 144.220, 146.55, 446.00. Work
stations once per band and mode. Categories: Fixed Station and
Mobile. Mobiles may be worked again as they change counties.
Exchange: RST and MS county or S/P/C. Score: QSOs x MS counties (MS
stations add S/P/C). For more information: w5xx@vicksburg.com. Logs
due March 31 to Vicksburg ARC, 64 Lake Circle Dr, Vicksburg, MS
39180.
North Carolina QSO Party--CW/Phone, sponsored by the Forsyth Amateur
Radio Club from 1700Z Feb 25 -- 0300Z Feb 26. Frequencies (MHz): CW
3.540, 3.740, 7.040, 7.140, 14.040, 21.040, 21.140, 28.040, 28.140,
Phone 3.860, 7.260, 14.260, 21.360, 28.360. Categories: SO, Mobile,
Club, all stations 100W max. output. Mobiles may be worked again as
they change counties. Exchange: RST and NC county, ARRL/RAC section,
or DX prefix. QSO Points: phone--2 pts, CW--3 pts, NC mobile--3 pts
(either mode). Score: NC stations--QSO points x NC counties +
ARRL/RAC sections + 1 DXCC entity, others--QSO points x NC counties
(max 100). 50 bonus points for working Cherokee or Dare counties (150
for working both) and 50 points for working W4NC or W4WS (150 points
for both). Mobiles add 100 bonus points for each NC county activated.
For more information: http://www.w4nc.com/. Logs due April 1 to
henry@summitschool.com or NC QSO PARTY c/o W2DZO, 8812 Merry Hill
Court, Clemmons, NC 27012.
High Speed CW Contest--sponsored by High-Speed CW Club from 0900Z -
1100Z and 1500Z - 1700Z Feb 25. Frequencies: 80 - 10 meters.
Categories: SO (150 W max, members and non-members), SO-QRP, SWL.
Exchange: RST and HSC member number or "NM". QSO Points: member--5
pts, non-member--1 pts. Score: QSO points. Logs due 6 weeks after the
contest to hsccontest@gmail.com or Lutz Schröer DL3BZZ, Am Niederfeld
6, 35066 Frankenberg / Eder, Germany.
North American QSO Party -- RTTY, sponsored by the National Contest
Journal from 1800Z Feb 24 - 0600Z Feb 25. Frequencies: 80 - 10
meters. Categories: SOAB and M2, 100 W power limit, SO operate a
maximum of 10 hours (off times must be at least 30 min). Exchange:
Name and S/P/C. Score: QSOs x States + Province + NA DXCC countries
(counted once per band). Preferred log submission method is via
upload form found at: http://www.ncjweb.com/naqplogsubmit.php. For
information: http://www.ncjweb.com/naqprules.php. Logs due 14 days
after the contest to rttynaqp@ncjweb.com or Shelby Summerville K4WW,
6506 Lantana Ct, Louisville, KY 40229-1544, USA
ARRL International DX Contest--Phone, 0000Z Mar 3 - 2400Z Mar 4.
Frequencies: 160 - 10 meters. Categories: SOSB, SOAB (HP >150W, LP,
QRP <5W), MS, M2, MM. Exchange: RS + State or Province or Power (KH6
and KL7 count as DX). QSO Points: 3 pts/QSO. Score: QSO points x DXCC
entities (DX counts states + provinces). For more information:
http://www.arrl.org/contests. Logs due Apr 3 to dxphone@arrl.org
(Cabrillo format only) or DX PHONE, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT
06111.
DARC 10 Meter Digital "Corona"--RTTY/AMTOR/PACTOR/PSK31/Clover,
sponsored by Deutscher Amateur Radio Club from 1100Z -- 1700Z Mar 4.
Frequencies (MHz): 28.050-28.150, work stations once per mode.
Categories: SO, SWL. Exchange: RST + serial number. QSO Points:
1pt/QSO. Score: QSO points x DXCC entities + WAE countries + JA/VE/W
call districts (all counted only once). For more information:
http://www.darc.de/referate/dx/cqdlcont/fgdcc.htm. Logs due 4 weeks
after the contest to dl9gs@darc.de or A.Schlendermann DL9GS, Postfach
102201, D-44807 Bochum, Germany.
Open Ukraine RTTY Championship--sponsored by the Ukrainian Amateur
Radio League (UARL) from 2200Z Mar 3 - 0159Z Mar 4 (Low Bands - 160
and 80 meters - two separate 2 hour periods) and 0800Z - 1159Z Mar 4
(High Bands 40 - 10 meters). Categories: SOAB, SOSB, and MO.
Exchange: Two letter regional abbreviation (see Web site) and serial
number. Start serial numbers over for High Band portion. QSO Points:
2 pts/QSO and 10 pts for each new region. For more information:
http://www.ucc.zp.ua/. Logs due Apr 4 to krs@model.poltava.ua or
George Ignatov UT1HT, PO Box 87, Kremenchug-21, Ukraine, 39621.
Spartan Sprint--CW, sponsored by the Adventure Radio Society from
0200Z -- 0400Z Mar 6 (Monday evening in the U.S. - times will change
during Daylight Savings Time, see Web site). Held on the first Monday
of every month. Frequencies (MHz): 3.560, 7.040, 14.060, 21.060,
28.060 (QRP calling frequencies). Categories: SO. Exchange: RST,
S/P/C, and power output. Score: "Skinny" division--total QSOs / total
station weight, "Tubby" division--total QSOs. For more information:
http://www.arsqrp.com/. Logs due on Wednesday after the contest at
noon via the ARS Web site.
VHF+ CONTESTS
EU EME Contest--Digital, sponsored by DUBUS and REF from 0000Z Feb 24
- 2400Z Feb 25. Frequencies (MHz): 50, 144, 432, 1296. (Mar 24-25 -
CW/SSB - 432 MHz, 5.7 GHz; Apr 21-22 - CW/SSB - 144 MHz, 2.3 & 3.4
GHz; May 19-20 - CW/SSB - 1296 MHz) Categories: Single and
Multi-band, QRP and QRO--based on EIRP, Pro, CW, Digital, Mixed.
Exchange: callsigns TMO/RST and "R". QSO Points: 144/432/1.3--100 pts
for random, 10 pts for scheduled QSO, 2.3 GHz and higher--100
pts/QSO. Multipliers are CQ WPX prefixes--see Web site for scoring
and more information: www.dubus.org. Logs due Mar 23 (Jun 19 for
CW/SSB) to info@dubus.de or DUBUS@web.de or Patrick Magnin, F6HYE,
Marcorens, F-74140 Ballaison, France.
-oo --- -o - -- oo ooo ooo -o-- --- oo- o-o
LOG DUE DATES - 21 FEBRUARY THROUGH 6 MARCH
o-oo --- --o -oo o o- -oo o-oo oo -o o ooo
February 21 - ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes, email logs to:
JanuaryVHF@arrl.org, paper logs and diskettes to: January VHF, ARRL,
225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111, USA. Find rules at:
http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2007/jan-vhf-ss.html
February 26 - RSGB 1st 1.8 MHz Contest, CW, email logs to:
1st160.logs@rsgbhfcc.org, paper logs and diskettes to: RSGB-G3UFY, 77
Bensham Manor Road, Thornton Heath, Surrey CR7 7AF, England. Find
rules at: http://www.contesting.co.uk/hfcc/rules/r18mhz.shtml
February 27 - REF Contest, CW, email logs to: cdfcw@ref-union.org,
paper logs and diskettes to: F6CTT, Joseph Cornee, 31, rue des
EcoButs, 44230 St Sebastien Sur Loire, France. Find rules at:
http://concours.ref-union.org/reglements/actuels/reg_cdfhf_fr_0610.pdf
February 27 - UBA DX Contest, SSB, email logs to: ubassb@uba.be,
paper logs and diskettes to: Marc Domen, ON7SS, Ferdinand
Coosemansstraat 32, B-2600 Berchem-Antwerpen, Belgium. Find rules at:
http://www.uba.be/hf_contests/rules/ubatestworld_en.html
February 28 - CQ 160-Meter Contest, CW, email logs to: 160cw@kkn.net,
paper logs and diskettes to: CQ 160-Meter Contest, 25 Newbridge Road,
Hicksville, NY 11801, USA. Find rules at:
http://cq-amateur-radio.com/160_Contest_Rules_2007101606.pdf
February 28 - AGCW Straight Key Party, email logs to: htp@agcw.de,
paper logs and diskettes to: Friedrich W. Fabri, DF1OY, Moselstrasse
17b, D-63322 Roedermark-Urberach, Germany. Find rules at:
http://www.agcw.org/agcw-con/2007/Englisch/htp_e.htm
March 1 - BARTG RTTY Sprint, email logs to: ska@bartg.demon.co.uk,
paper logs and diskettes to: (none). Find rules at:
http://www.bartg.demon.co.uk/Contests/07_sprint_rules.htm
March 1 - Vermont QSO Party, email logs to: tinker@madriver.com,
paper logs and diskettes to: Allen Tinker, W1AAT, Vermont QSO Party
Coordinator, PO Box 888, Waitsfield, VT 05673, USA. Find rules at:
http://www.qsl.net/w1bd/qso_party.htm
March 3 - Feld Hell FM-245BD Sprint, email logs to:
contest@feldhellclub.org, paper logs and diskettes to: (none). Find
rules at: http://http/://www.feldhellclub.org/FMHell%20sprint%2007.htm
March 4 - Mexico RTTY International Contest, email logs to:
xe1j@ucol.mx, paper logs and diskettes to: Jose Levy, XE1J, Dirección
de Concursos FMRE, Clavel 333, Colima, Col. 28030, Mexico. Find rules
at: http://www.fmre.org.mx/RULES_RTTY_2007.htm
March 4 - ARCI Fireside SSB Sprint, email logs to:
contest@qrparci.org, paper logs and diskettes to: Jeff Hetherington,
VA3JFF, 139 Elizabeth St W, Welland, Ontario L3C 4M3, Canada. Find
rules at:
http://www.qrparci.org/component/option,com_extcalendar/Itemid,/extmode,view/extid,46/lang,en/
March 5 - FYBO Winter QRP Sprint, email logs to:
azscqrpions@covad.net, paper logs and diskettes to: Mike Baker, K7DD,
Attn: FYBO, 8845 W Diana Ave, Peoria AZ 85345, USA. Find rules at:
http://www.azscqrpions.org/FYBO2007_01072007.htm
March 6 - YLRL YL-OM Contest, CW, email logs to: kc4iyd@yahoo.com,
paper logs and diskettes to: Nancy Rabel Hall, KC4IYD, PO Box 775,
North Olmsted, OH 44070, USA. Find rules at:
http://www.ylrl.org/ylcontests.html
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
The Contester's Rate Sheet wishes to acknowledge information from the
following sources:
WA7BNM's Contest Calendar Web page -
<http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal>
SM3CER's Web site - <http://www.sk3bg.se/contest>
ARRL members may subscribe at no cost by editing their Member Data
Page as described at <http://www.arrl.org/contests/rate-sheet>.
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