Contester's Rate Sheet for October 4, 2006
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CONTESTER'S RATE SHEET
4 October 2006
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 Beam West - Oceania DX Contest
o State QSO Parties - Big Ones From CA and PA
o Sprints Galore - EU, 10-10, Straight Key, NA RTTY, FISTS, AP
o School Club Roundup Adds A Fall Event
o NAOMI by EI8IC
o iCal Contest Calendar by VA7IRL
o Radial System Notes by N6LF
o New TIA-222-G Tower Standard
o I Confess
BULLETINS
o WRTC-2010 Announced! See the News section!
BUSTED QSOS
o Low editorial caffeine levels last time, perhaps? George K6GT
points out that the connector waterproofing compound is silicone, not
silicon, grease. I knew that! Apologies to the SAC participants for
publishing incorrect weekends for CW (really Sep 16-17) and Phone
(really Sep 23-24), but I trust everyone figured it out. Craig K1QX
observed that the "high-quality F-connectors" are really
compression-type connectors and are available from several sources,
including RadioWare (http://www.radiobooks.com/).
CONTEST SUMMARY (Rules follow Commentary section)
October 7-10
- EU Autumn Sprint
- CA QSO Party
- Oceania DX, Phone
- YLRL Anniversary Party, CW
- PSK Rumble
- 10-10 Day Sprint
October 11-15
- ARRL EME Contest
- Straight Key Sprint
- PA QSO Party
- NA RTTY Sprint
- YLRL Anniversary Party, SSB
- EU Autumn Sprint, CW
- Oceania DX, CW
- FISTS Fall Sprint, CW
- AP Sprint, CW
- RSGB 21/28 MHz, CW
- Bill Windle QSO Party, CW
- ALE On the Air Week
- School Club Roundup
--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 Contest News
By popular demand, the School Club Roundup is adding a fall session
in the third week of October 2006. It will run from October 16,
1200Z through October 20, 2400Z. The rules are the same as for the
February event, which will continue. There is also an updated
versions of the popular SCR-LOG program by AD8B at
http://home.earthlink.net/~scr-log/ The new session was announced
in the September issue of QST (Thanks, Lew N2RQ)
- - - - -
WRTC-2010 is a reality! The World Radiosport Team Championship
Sanctioning Committee (WRTC-SC) is pleased to announce that in 2010
WRTC will be held in Russia for the first time! The Soyuz
Radiolyubitelei Rossii (SRR) is the primary sponsoring organization.
SRR President, Roman Thomas RZ3AA, is the host committee chairman.
The event will be held near Moscow and coincident with the IARU HF
Championship in July. The committee plans to publish qualification
rules and procedures as quickly as possible and a special WRTC-2010
Web site will soon be available. The WRTC-SC would like to thank all
of the Russian team for the hard work preparing their proposal and
for the planning that has already taken place. Congratulations and
good luck!
Elecraft (http://www.elecraft.com/) has announced some new "Module
Kits", such as a switchable 1:1 or 4:1 250-watt balun, usuable
through 6 meters and a directional coupler module. Click on "Our
Products" and then "Module Kits."
The CW Touch paddle mentioned in the last issue is available from
Kanga US (http://www.kangaus.com/) as well as a portable 2-element
Yagi antenna designed by W6MMA. One of the SuperAntenna line, the
complete package is only 36" long with adjustable elements and
operates from 20 through 6 meters. Not bad for a 7-pound antenna!
(Thanks, Bill N8ET)
Marc W6ZZZ reminds us to use the new, easier-to-use official
California county abbreviations starting in the CQP this weekend.
They're listed at http://www.cqp.org/cqp_multipliers.html along with
the status of popular contest logging software, with respect to these
new multipliers at http://www.cqp.org/Software.html
CW training "auf Deutsch" is available from Heinrich DL2OBF in his
new book "Morsen, Minimaler Aufwand Maximale Möglichkeiten" (loosely
translated - Morse, Minimal Effort and Maximum Enjoyment) I speak
only a little German, so I can not give you a complete review, but
the book is crammed with pictures and Web resources. It's available
through the DARC Bookstore at http://www.darc.de/ - click on the
British flag for English language.
EE Times readers got a pleasant surprise in the September 25 issue's
"Planet Analog" section. A photo of the Icom IC-718 was shown
repeatedly as an example of a product full of mixed-signal design
challenges and innovations. The articles discuss the technical and
manufacturing issues from a general perspective and do not analyze
the transceiver specifically.
Here's a great product announcement - NAOMI, the North American
Overlay Mapper has been re-issued as a fully Windows-compatible
program. There's more good news: starting with the latest version
v1.2, NAOMI is now available for download completely free of charge.
Get a FULLY WORKING copy of NAOMI on your computer for as long as you
wish to keep it. Among numerous other features, the program contains
47 full-screen (1020 x 650 pixel) maps at 1:2,000,000 scale. 2 full
screen overview maps and a comprehensive multi-page Help System and
Information Guide. It's available online at
http://www.mapability.com/ei8ic - wow, thanks Tim EI8IC!
For the last few years the PA QSO Party has had a special "bonus" or
"special event" station operating during the conteSt This year's
bonus station will be N3SH, one of the club calls of the Wireless
Association of South Hills, Inc. This year, WASH is planning to
operate multiple stations from different counties in order to give
out as many QSO's as possible. (Thanks, Ron W3WN)
The videos made at WRTC-1996 and WRTC-2000 are now available for
downloading, hosted by Google Video for all the world to see! There
are three different ways to get to the videos:
Go to http://video.google.com/ and search for "WRTC"
Go directly to WRTC 1996: http://tinyurl.com/k8las (177 MB)
Go directly to WRTC 2000: http://tinyurl.com/jp7nd (207 MB)
Thanks to Bob N6TV for his effort in digitizing and uploading the
programs! Those of you familiar with Bob's "manualism" videos
(http://rawilson.googlepages.com/Manualism.htm) may be disappointed
that there is no truth to the rumor that he is working on a CW pileup
version. I suppose you could store some samples of his existing works
in your voice keyer. I wonder what kind of RST report that would
bring?
Just in time for the Fall contesting season, Anthony VA7IRL has
updated his graphic iCal contest calendar through April 2007. The
format is really useful, especially when dealing with contests that
have segments and so forth. You can subscribe to iCal at
webcal://ical.mac.com/arodgers/Contests.ics or view it as a Web page
at http://ical.mac.com/arodgers/Contests (Steve VE4LR wrote in with a
similar format about the same time!)
Just a note - have you checked out Mark K9GX's new Contesting column
in WorldRadio? Mark solicits input on various topics every month, so
don't hesitate to lend a hand. WorldRadio is a popular magazine
among new hams that may not be aware of contest activities so this
new column may bring us some new friends on the weekends!
In between manualism practice, Bob N6TV also found
http://local.live.com/ for photographic views of earth-bound stuff
from space. Just enter an address at the top of the page, then click
on "Birds eye", next to "Aerial". (It might not have a bird's-eye
view available.) Click N E S W for different views. Zoom in with a
scroll wheel, if you have one. Warning, it's addictive!
Solar cycle 24 could be small. Or it could be huge. This week's news
pins the meter on the WEAK peg. Even if it is not, solar cycle 25
(peak 2022) is predicted
(http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/10may_longrange.htm) by NASA
solar physicist David Hathaway "to be one of the weakest in
centuries." (Thanks (I think), Jon N0JK)
At the Pacific NW VHF Conference this past weekend, the subject of
logging while mobile was discussed. As you might imagine, paper
logging while mobile got super-low marks in the safety category. The
consensus was that most of us had attempted it...once...and decided
that it was Not A Good Idea. There are workarounds for logging on
the move, but the two best I heard were using a hands-free digital
recorder with time stamping set to UTC (Olympus makes one and I'm
sure there are others) and for short bursts of operating just noting
your stop and start time with QSO times filled in later. Don't
jeopardize your own safety and those of other drivers by trying to
drive and operate and write at the same time! I don't care how good
you think you are, you're seriously distracted and a hazard to other
drivers. Pull over or share the operating duties with someone else.
URL of the Week - http://tinyurl.com/jm2pb. Apparently, there's a
glove manufacturer named "QRP" that makes rubber gloves. Label this
as "weird find of the day". (Thanks, Shawn KB1CKT)
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
The complete list of logs received for the ARRL 2006 Field Day has
been posted to the ARRLWeb at: http://www.arrl.org/contests/claimed/
It includes all electronic, paper and web applet submissions. If you
find an error in your listing or you are not listed, please contact
Tom Hogerty, KC1J, at kc1j@arrl.org. The final shipment of 2005
Sweepstakes Plaques and all remaining 2006 10-Meter contest
certificates are in the mail. (Thanks, Tom KC1J)
- - - - -
The September 2006 CW Sprint scores can be found at
http://www.kkn.net/~tree/cwsprint-200609.txt (Thanks, Tree N6TR)
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
As the Northern Hemisphere moves into fall and the Southern into
spring, many of us are spending more time with the bandswitch on 1.8,
looking for DX between the diminishing static crashes. While their
signals are intruders and often illegal, the fishing buoys floating
in the Pacific are a good source of propagation information.
Identifying continuously in slow Morse as a letter-number group,
hearing these indicates an opening to Oceania. Rather than wait for
the spotting network, call CQ yourself and see if some DX is tuning
around looking for you!
Rudy N6LF has published some test data on a new ground system. "Over
the summer I laid down a new radial system for 160 meters. During
the process I made very careful measurements of feedpoint impedance
and relative field intensity using network and spectrum analyzers as
the radials were placed. A detailed description of the work can be
found at http://www.antennasbyn6lf.com/
A group of US amateurs has begun experimental operation on 600 m
(505-510) kHz. Rudy N6LF is on the air at 506 kHz operating in the
beacon mode. The message is VVV VVV VVV VVV VVV DE WD2XSH/20
WD2XSH/20 K. After each transmission there is a 40 second pause and
then the message repeats. Rudy plans on operating from 0100Z to 0430Z
every day for the next 3-4 weeks with a 130' vertical and 300' top
loading wire. He expects to be audible in much of the western US.
He would appreciate signal reports, so this is a chance to try out
your new receiving antennas installed over the summer. Send reports
to rudys@ordata.com.
At the other end of the radio spectrum, microwave homebrewers may
find a use for the information in the article "Directional Couplers
Aid Antenna Power Monitoring" in the Sep 2006 issue of Microwaves &
RF (http://www.mwrf.com/) by Andrzej Sawicki. It's a novel design that
can be fabricated using amateur-level techniques.
Bob K0RC contributed a link to an overview of the new TIA-222-G tower
structural standard:
http://beradio.com/mag/radio_changes_tower_standards/index.html It
contains good background material and how and why the criteria has
changed in the updated standard. There is also a link to a PDF file
of the new TIA-222-G specification
http://www.mei1inc.com/NAB-2003presentation.pdf that was prepared
prior to formal release of the standard.
Lest we be thought of as giving out baseless information, Bob W5AJ
sent a link to photos (http://www.qsl.net/w5aj/tower.htm) of his new
self-supporting tower base. The hole was dug by a drilling rig as
mentioned earlier in this publication. That's a pretty smooth hole,
Bob!
An oldie-but-goodie was recalled recently in a Towertalk reflector
post by Man-Above-Town Steve K7LXC. When mounting multiple antennas
on a single mast, to lessen the amount of torque on the mast due to
wind mount the antennas in equal numbers on opposite sides of the
maSt The resulting twisting forces will cancel each other, reducing
the load on your rotator.
TECHNICAL URL OF THE WEEK -- What's going on outside the ham bands on
that extended-receive rig you bought? You're in scanner-land now,
lads and lassies! An excellent Web site full of information,
technical details, and data by the Imperial ton is the Radio
Reference page at http://www.radioreference.com/ Create an account
for yourself and have at it!
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
I Confess
This is difficult, but I must make a confession. This summer we
moved and 18 years worth of Stuff made its way through various
outbuildings, storage garages, trailers, station wagons, hand carts,
grocery bags, and shoe boxes. During this period that we call "The
Great Insanity," it was not always easy to make the right choice.
There were times at which incarceration seemed attractive. An
8-by-12 cell with three meals a day and no Stuff can look good at
stressful moments. Occasionally the wisest course seemed to be the
casting of Stuff down into the ravines full of sticker bushes. It
would be centuries before anyone noticed. But these false choices
were resisted successfully and I labored on.
Moving this much Stuff does have its benefits. Muscles are toned up
and you find out all of the ways in which it is possible for you to
stress your back. Small injuries, such as cuts from which the blood
does not actually gush and stubbed toes that remain at least
partially attached to a foot, can be ignored if one also happens to
be carrying two boxes of books and some kitchen implements in a
finely tuned and balanced stack. The zen of exhaustion is, well,
zen.
One discovers that radio parts, carefully packed, approach the
density of collapsed nucleii. So this is what pulsars are made of -
transformers! A batch of aluminum tubing or antenna parts, tightly
secured only moments ago will suddenly shift and come completely and
spontaneously apart on being picked up one-handed. Larger tubes will
tilt forward in such a way that one end will dig solidly into the
dirt and the other into the most tender regions of the body.
But all this is simply the normal lot of one who decides to abandon
one cave in favor of another. Cave dwellers no doubt told the same
stories around the campfires of the Stone Age, although probably not
on the Web. Probably just by text email read by PINE, but I digress.
Who knows what they used in place of Advil?
No, my transgressions exceeded these simple conundra and vexations.
They strike to the very core of what it means to be a ham. Even the
most grizzled and hard-bitten veteran of many moving days will
shudder in revulsion as my story is told.
There I was, surrounded by a pile of Stuff stretching back into
yesteryear, not unlike the Dayton dumpsters on Sunday afternoon. In
a moment of weakness I...it's hard to say, even now...I...yes, I
broke down and I...
I THREW AWAY AN ORIGINAL SHIPPING CARTON!!!!
Yes, with the original plastic bags and even wire ties that kept the
cables all coiled up! The formed styrofoam packing! The warranty
expired since the first Reagan administration! The odd little
cardboard boxes that held parts and pieces! All gone! I even broke
the box down flat for the recycling bin. The crunching haunts me.
And not just once, oh no, three or four or even a dozen times!
Little boxes, big boxes - once I started there was no stopping.
Icom, Ten-Tec, Yaesu, Radio Shack, even a venerable and sacred, if
waterstained and rodent-chewed, Heathkit box! I was mad, simply mad,
with the feverish desire to Be Done With It!
We all will have our days of sorrowful behavior...you now see mine.
My pile of Stuff is the smaller for it, but I will never be able to
claim the original shipping boxes in a For Sale ad. I hope it won't
damage our special relationship or cause you to pass up my CQ in
disguSt My shame is complete. Let this be a lesson to you as my pile
of Stuff is seven times as big as yours, Jacob...no, wait, that's a
different story, one about the time of year when boxes appear out of
the night. Halloween, perhaps?
73, Ward N0AX
-o-o --o- - o ooo - -o-o --o- - o ooo -
CONTESTS -- 4 OCTOBER TO 17 OCTOBER 2006
-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
EU Autumn Sprint--SSB, sponsored by the EU Sprint Gang, 1600Z - 1959Z
Oct 7 (CW is 1600Z - 1959Z Oct 14). Frequencies: 80-20 meters,
stations outside EU work EU stations only. SOAB category only.
Exchange: your call, serial number, name, other station's call.
Special QSY rule--see Web site. Score is number of QSOs. For more
information: http://www.eusprint.com/ Logs due 15 days after the
contest to eusprint@kkn.net or Paolo Cortese, I2UIY, PO Box 14,
I-27043 Broni (PV), Italy (CW logs to Karel Karmasin, OK2FD, Gen
Svobody 636, CZ-674 01 Trebic, Czech Republic).
California QSO Party--CW/SSB, sponsored by the Northern California
Contest Club, 1600Z Oct 7 - 2159Z Oct 8. Frequencies: 160-2 meters.
Categories: SOAB (HP >200W, LP, QRP), MS, MM, CA County Expedition,
Mobile, Club, School. SO work 24 hours only. CW QSOs in CW subbands,
except 160/6/2 meters. Stations on a county line count as a single
contact for QSO points, but both counties may be claimed as
mulitpliers. Exchange: serial number and state/province (DX send
"DX") or CA county. QSO Points: CW--3 pts, Phone--2 pts. Score: QSO
points × CA counties (max 58) or CA stations multiply by states and
VE call areas (max 58). For more information: http://www.cqp.org/
Logs due by Nov 15 via form on contest Web site (preferred), to
logs@cqp.org, or to NCCC, c/o Kevin Rowett, WB6S, 21906 Monte Ct,
Cupertino, CA 95014.
Oceania DX Contest--Phone, sponsored by the Wireless Institute of
Australia (WIA) and New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters
(NZART), 0800Z Oct 7 - 0800Z Oct 8. Frequencies: 160-10 meters, work
VK/ZL/Oceania stations only. Categories: SOAB, SOSB, MS, MM, SWL.
Exchange: RS(T) and serial number. QSO Points: 160--20 pts, 80--10
pts, 40--5 pts, 20--1 pt, 15--2 pts, 10--3 pts. Score: QSO points ×
WPX prefixes counted once per band. For more information:
http://www.oceaniadxcontestcom/ Logs due Nov 12 in Cabrillo format
(required for logs with more than 50 QSOs) to ph@oceaniadxconteStcom
(CW to cw@oceaniadxconteStcom) or paper logs (if less than 50 QSOs)
to Oceania DX Contest, c/o Wellington Amateur Radio Club Inc., PO Box
6464, Wellington 6030, New Zealand.
YLRL Anniversary Party--CW, sponsored by the YLRL, 1400Z Oct 3 -
0200Z Oct 5. (phone Oct 10 - Oct 12) Frequencies: 160 - 10 meters.
Exchange: serial number, RS(T), and ARRL section/VE province/country.
QSO Points: US or VE YL's--1 pt, DX YLs--2 pts. Score: QSO points x
S/P/C. For more information: http://www.ylrl.org/ Logs due 30 days
after the contest to kc4iyd@yahoo.com or to Nancy Rabel Hall, KC4IYD,
PO Box 775, North Olmsted, OH 44070.
PSK Rumble (The Fall Classic)--sponsored by Troy ARA, 0000z - 2400z
Oct 7. Frequencies: 160-6 meters. Exchange: name and S/P/C.
Categories: Normal (>100 W), Great (<20 W), Super (<5 W), Novice,
SWL. Score: QSO's x (W/VE/JA/VK call areas + DXCC entities counted
once per band). For more information:
http://www.n2ty.org/seasons/tara_rumble_rules.html Logs due 30 Oct
via online score submission form at
http://www.n2ty.org/seasons/tara_rumble_score.html
10-10 Day Sprint--Phone/CW/Digital, 0001Z - 2359Z, Oct 10. 10 meters
only. One QSO per station, regardless of mode. Exchange: call, name,
state and 10-10 number (if available). QSO Points: nonmembers--1 pt,
members--2 pts. Total score: sum of QSO points. For more information:
http://www.ten-ten.org/ Logs due 25 Oct to tentencontest@alltel.net
or Steve Rasmussen N0WY, 312 N 6th Street, Plattsmouth, NE
68048-1302.
Straight Key Sprint--sponsored by the Straight Key Century Club from
0000Z - 0200Z Oct 11. Frequencies (MHz): 3.530, 3.720, 7.055, 7.120
and 14.048. Categories: SKCC Member, Non-Member. Exchange SPC + SKCC
number or power. QSO Points: 1 pt/per QSO. Score: QSO points x SPC
plus 100 bonus points for Centurion QSO. All mechanical keys welcome.
For more information: http://skccgroup.com/activities.htm Summary
sheets due 13 Oct to kevin@kj4qf.net.
Pennsylvania QSO Party--CW, Phone, PSK31, RTTY. sponsored by the
Nittany ARC from 1600Z Oct 14 - 0500Z Oct 15 and 1300Z - 2200Z Oct
15. Frequencies (MHz): CW-1.810 and 40 kHz above band edge;
Phone-1.850, 3.980, 7.280, 14.280, 21.380, 28.480; mobiles 5 kHz
below the listed frequencies; PSK31 on 28.120, 24.920,21.070, 14.070,
7.080, 3.580. Categories: SO (HP >150W, LP, QRP), MS, MM, SO or MS
Portable, Novice/Tech/TechPlus, Mobile, Rover. Exchange: serial
number and ARRL/RAC section (PA stations send PA county). QSO Points:
CW-2 pts on 160 and 80, 1.5 pts on other bands; Phone-1 pt., PSK31
and RTTY-2 points. Score: QSO points x PA counties (PA stations use
PA counties + ARRL/RAC sections + 1 DX) x 2 if QRP or x 3 if
Novice/Tech. Add 200 points for each QSO with the bonus station (see
Web site). PA mobiles and rovers add 500 points for each county with
10 or more QSOs. For more information:
http://www.nittany-arc.net/paqso.html Logs due Nov 15 to
paqsolog@nittany-arc.net or PA QSO Party, c/o NARC, PO Box 614, State
College, PA 16804-0614.
North American RTTY Sprint--sponsored by the National Contest
Journal, 0000Z - 0400Z Oct 15. Frequencies: 80 -- 20 meters. North
American stations work everyone; others work NA stations only.
Exchange both callsigns, serial number, name, and S/P/C. The same
station can be worked multiple times provided 3 contacts separate the
contact in both logs, regardless of band. QSY rule: Stations calling
CQ, QRZ, etc, may only work one station in response to that call;
they must then move at least 1 kHz before working another station or
5 kHz before soliciting another call. Once you are required to QSY,
you may not make a new QSO on the previous frequency until you have
made a contact at least 1 or 5 kHz (as required) away. For more
information: http://www.ncjweb.com/. Logs due 7 days after the contest
via Web form at http://www.ncjweb.com/sprintlogsubmit.php to
rttysprint@ncjweb.com or Ed Muns, W0YK, PO Box 1877, Los Gatos, CA
95031-1877.
YLRL Anniversary Party--SSB, 1400Z Oct 10 - 0200Z Oct 12 (see Oct
7-8)
EU Autumn Sprint--CW, 1500Z - 1859Z Oct 14 (see Oct 7-8)
Oceania DX Contest--CW, 0800Z Oct 14 - 0800Z Oct 15 (see Oct 7-8)
FISTS Fall Sprint--CW, sponsored by FISTS CW Club from 1700Z - 2100Z
Oct 14. Frequencies: 80-10 meters. Categories: SOAB (QRP and QRO),
Club. Exchange: RST, QTH (S/P/C), Name, FISTS number if member,
nonmembers send power output. QSO points: member - 5 pts, nonmembers
- 2 pts. Score: QSO points x S/P/C (count S/P only once, count DXCC
each time). For more information: http://www.fists.org/ Logs due 30
days after the contest to w8pig@yahoo.com or Dan Shepherd N8IE, 1900
Pittsfield St, Kettering, OH 45420
Asia-Pacific Sprint--CW, sponsored by the Asia-Pacific Sprint Contest
Committee, 0000Z - 0200Z Oct 15. Frequencies (MHz): 14.030-14.050 and
21.030-21.050. Categories: SO <150W only. Work Asia-Pacific stations
only. Exchange: RST and serial number. Special QSY rule. Score: QSOs
x WPX prefixes counted once only. For more information and AP country
list: http://jsfc.org/apsprint Logs due 7 days after contest to
apsprint@jsfc.org (Cabrillo format encouraged, no paper logs
accepted).
RSGB 21/28 MHz Contest--CW, 0700Z - 1900Z Oct 16. Frequencies: 15 and
10 meters (see Web site for band plan), work UK stations only.
Categories: UK and DX SO or MS (Open, Restricted, QRP <10W) and SWL
(Open and Restricted). Exchange: serial number and UK district. QSO
Points: 3 pts/QSO. Score QSO points x UK districts (UK stations use
DXCC entities plus JA, W, VE, VK, ZL and ZS call areas) counted once
per band. For more information: http://www.rsgbhfcc.org/ Logs due Nov
17 to 2128.logs@rsgb.org.uk or to RSGB--G3UFY, 77 Bensham Manor Road,
Thornton Heath, Surrey CR7 7AF, England.
Bill Windle QSO Party--CW, sponsored by First Class Operator's Club
(FOC), from 0000Z -- 2359Z Oct 14. Frequencies: 160 -- 10 meters, 6 &
2 meters. Call "CQ BW" from 15 to 45 kHz above band edge, open to all
hams, not just FOC members. Exchange: RST and name or FOC number, if
member. Report total QSOs with FOC members, counted once per band,
FOC members report total QSOs and total FOC QSOs. For more
information: http://www.firstclasscw.org.uk/ QSO totals due Oct 23 to
KZ5D@aol.com.
ALE (Automatic Link Establishment) On The Air Week--sponsored by
HFLINK from 0001Z Oct 13 - 2359Z 23 Oct 2006. Exchange: ALE link
first, then send any message by voice or texting (ALE linking
automatically provides sig reports). For more information and ALE
software: http://hflink.com/ Logs due 31 Dec to aotaw2006@yahoo.com.
School Club Roundup--all modes, 1300z Oct 16 - 2400z Oct 20, operate
24 hours max. Frequencies: All amateur bands except WARC, contact
stations once on phone and once on any mode per band. Categories: SO,
Club, School Club. Exchange: RS(T), category, S/P/C. QSO Points:
Phone--1 pt, all other modes--2 pts. Score:
http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/scr.html for scoring and
multipliers. Logs due 30 days after the contest to School Club
Roundup, c/o Lew Malchick, N2RQ, Brooklyn Technical HS, 29 Fort
Greene Place, Brooklyn, NY 11217.
VHF+ CONTESTS
ARRL EME Contest, from 0000Z Oct 14 - 2400Z Oct 15. Frequencies: 50
-- 1296 MHz. Categories: SOAB, SOSB, MO, Commercial. Exchange: signal
report. QSO Points: 100 pts/QSO. Score: QSO points x W/VE
states/provinces + DXCC entities (counted once per band). For more
information: http://www.arrl.org/contests Logs due Dec 17 to
emecontest@arrl.org or EME Contest, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT
06111.
-oo --- -o - -- oo ooo ooo -o-- --- oo- o-o
LOG DUE DATES - 4 OCTOBER TO 17 OCTOBER 2006
o-oo --- --o -oo o o- -oo o-oo oo -o o ooo
October 4 - MI QRP Labor Day CW Sprint, email logs to:
n8cqa@arrl.net, diskettes and paper logs to: L.T. Switzer, N8CQA, 427
Jeffrey Avenue
Royal Oak, MI 48073-2521 USA. Find rules at:
http://www.qsl.net/miqrpclub/conteSthtml
October 4 - ARS Spartan Sprint, email logs to: hjohnc@adelphia.net,
post log summary at: http://www.arsqrp.com/ars/ss_log.html, diskettes
and paper logs to: (none). Find rules at:
http://www.arsqrp.com/ars/pages/spartan_sprints/ss_rules_new.html
October 9 - AGCW VHF/UHF Contest, email logs to: vhf-uhf@agcw.de,
diskettes and paper logs to: Manfred Busch, DK7ZH, Ebachstr. 13,
D-35716 Dietzhoelztal-Mandeln, Germany. Find rules at:
http://www.agcw.org/agcw-con/2006/Englisch/agcw-dl0_e.htm
October 9 - Swiss HTC QRP Sprint, email logs to: HB9BQB@uska.ch,
diskettes and paper logs to: Guido Giannini, HB9BQB,
Kleinzelglistrasse 6, CH-8952 Schlieren, Switzerland. Find rules at:
http://www.htc.ch/de/Swiss%20HTC%20QRP%20Sprint%20E%20Ver_2006.pdf
October 9 - SOC Marathon Sprint, email logs to: n4bp@arrl.net,
diskettes and paper logs to: Bob Patten, N4BP, 2841 N.W. 112 Terrace,
Plantation, FL 33323, USA. Find rules at:
http://www.qsl.net/soc/060909.htm
October 10 - SARTG WW RTTY Contest, email logs to: contest@sartg.com,
diskettes and paper logs to: SARTG Contest Manager, Ewe Hakansson,
SM7BHM, Pilspetsvagen 4, SE-29166 Kristianstad, Sweden. Find rules
at: http://www.sartg.com/contest/wwrules.htm
October 10 - ARCI End of Summer Digital Sprint, email logs to:
contest@qrparci.org, diskettes and paper logs to: End Of Summer
PSK-31 Sprint, c/o 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,40/
October 10 - International G3ZQS Memorial Straight Key Contest, email
logs to: hallin-L@lanecc.edu, diskettes and paper logs to: Lee Hallin
N7NU, 3413 Walton Ln, Eugene OR 97408, USA. Find rules at:
http://www.fists.org/straightkey.html
October 11 - ARRL September VHF QSO Party, email logs to:
SeptemberVHF@arrl.org, diskettes and paper logs to: September VHF,
ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111, USA. Find rules at:
http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2006/sepvhf.html
October 12 - Tennessee QSO Party, email logs to: w9wi@w9wi.com,
diskettes and paper logs to: Tennessee QSO Party, c/o Doug Smith,
W9WI, 1389 Old Clarksville Pike, Pleasant View, TN 37146-8098, USA.
Find rules at: http://www.k4ro.net/tcg/tqp/tqp06_rules.html
October 13 - YLRL Howdy Days, email logs to: wx4mm@tm-moore.com,
diskettes and paper logs to: Mary Moore, WX4MM, 1593 Lee Road 375,
Valley, AL 36854, USA. Find rules at:
http://www.ylrl.org/ylcontests.html
October 15 - WAE DX Contest, SSB, email logs to: waedc@dxhf.darc.de,
diskettes and paper logs to: WAEDC Contest Manager, Bernhard
Buettner, DL6RAI, Schmidweg 17, D-85609 Dornach, Germany. Find rules
at: http://www.darc.de/referate/dx/xedcwr.htm
October 15 - UBA ON Contest, CW, email logs to: ubaon@uba.be,
diskettes and paper logs to: Leon Welters, ON5WL, Borgstraat 80,
B-2580 Beerzel, Belgium. Find rules at:
http://www.uba.be/hf_contests/rules/ubateston_en.html
October 15 - QRP Afield, email logs to: k1cl@arrl.net, diskettes and
paper logs to: Chuck Ludinsky, K1CL, 6 Pracing Rd., Chelmsford, MA
01824-1922, USA. Find rules at: http://www.qsl.net/wq1rp/qrpaf06.htm
October 16 - 144 MHz Fall Sprint, email logs to:
svhfs-beacons@svhfs.org, diskettes and paper logs to: Ottmar Fiebel
W4WSR, PO Box 957, Hayesville, NC 28904, USA. Find rules at:
http://svhfs.org/fall_sprint_rules.htm
October 16 - RSGB 21/28 MHz Contest, email logs to:
2128.logs@rsgbhfcc.org, diskettes and paper logs to: RSGB-G3UFY, 77
Bensham Manor Road, Thornton Heath, Surrey CR7 7AF, England. Find
rules at: http://www.contesting.co.uk/hfcc/rules/r2128.shtml
October 17 - QCWA Fall QSO Party, email logs to: w2od@aol.com,
diskettes and paper logs to: W2OD, Robert Buus, 8 Donner Street,
HOLMDEL N.J. 07733-2004, USA. Find rules at:
http://www.qcwa.org/2006-qso-party-rules.htm
October 17 - ARRL 10 GHz and Up Contest (Aug), email logs to:
10GHZ@arrl.org, diskettes and paper logs to: 10 GHz Contest, ARRL
Contest Branch, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111, USA. Find rules at:
http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2006/10-GHz.html
October 17 - ARRL 10 GHz and Up Contest (Sep), email logs to:
10GHZ@arrl.org, diskettes and paper logs to: 10 GHz Contest, ARRL
Contest Branch, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111, USA. Find rules at:
http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2006/10-GHz.html
October 17 - FISTS Get Your Feet Wet Weekend, email logs to:
hallinl@lanecc.edu, diskettes and paper logs to: Lee Hallin N7NU,
3413 Walton Ln, Eugene OR 97408, USA. Find rules at:
http://www.fists.org/getfeetwet.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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