Contester's Rate Sheet for December 13, 2006
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CONTESTER'S RATE SHEET
13 December 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 Get Into the Holiday Spirit - PSK Death Match
o New Contest Videos and Slide Shows
o What's That Sound?
o Contest Records On-line
o Give It Your Best Pitch - Copying Weak Stations
o Buckle Up - Turnbuckle Tip
o EME - Do You Hear What I Hear?
o Just In Time
BULLETINS
o The correct address for ARRL 160 Meter contest logs is
160meter@arrl.org, not 160meters@arrl.org. Both addresses were
published. If you get an "unknown recipient" error on your log
email, that is probably the reason. (Thanks, Stan K4UK)
BUSTED QSOS
o Not exactly a perfect issue last time, but shinier than the
preceding issue.
CONTEST SUMMARY (Rules follow Commentary section)
December 16-26
- North American Meteor Scatter Contest
- Holiday Spirits Homebrew CW Sprint
- OK DX RTTY Contest
- PSK31 Death Match
- Russian 160-Meter Contest--CW/SSB
- Croatian CW Contest
- Lighthouse Christmas Lights QSO Party
- DARC Christmas Contest--CW/SSB
--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-
QDG - What's Your Darn Grid? Bernd DF2ZC notes that Laurent F6FVY has
programmed a tool (http://f6fvy.free.fr/qthLocator/fullScreen.html)
based on Google Earth so that clicking on any spot on a world map
automatically displays the corresponding full grid locator. Adjust
the map to the desired resolution and click on the spot you want. A
small window pops up with longitude, latitude, and grid. (If you have
pop-ups blocked, you'll have to press the Control key while
clicking.)
More contest videos! Stefan DL7AOS has uploaded the DP9I WPX 2006
contest video to YouTube.com at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qixA4vVDf-s. Since DP9I is a portable
M/M setup, setting-up takes 3.5 days, taking down half a day. Lots
of antenna shots and operating.
Dick W7ZR has just updated http://www.w7zr.com/ with new slide shows
including CQWW SSB from CN2ZR. These might take off some of the
winter chill!
The Northern California Contest Club (NCCC) runs Thursday night
sprint practices that have become quite popular. The schedule of
events (some Fridays are included) through February is now posted on
the NEXT NS page at http://www.ncccsprint.com/next_ns.htm and the
general rules and further info at: http://www.ncccsprint.com/
(Thanks, Ken N6RO)
For contests that run on an "ordinal weekend" (first, second, last)
of a month, the future dates are predictable. Bruce WA7BNM has
published a perpetual contest calendar showing the future dates of
such contests through 2016 at
http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/perpetualcal.php
When you consider making year-end charitable donations, don't forget
to ask if your employer has a matching donation program. You may be
able to double your contribution - even to radio-related
organizations like the ARRL, AMSAT, and so on.
URL of the Week - Snowed in? Here's just the Web site to pass the
time. The November "Monitoring Times" Digital Digest column is titled
"What's That Sound?" and includes just what you need. Leif Dehio
seems to have recorded and posted (http://www.signals.taunus.de/)
samples of just about every digital mode active today. Now you can
identify just exactly what those blurbles and bleebles are doing! My
favorite is The Chinese 32-tone MFSK 37.5 + 75 Bd. (Thanks, Cortland
KA5S)
oo-o oo -o -oo -o-- --- oo- o-o
RESULTS AND RECORDS
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ARRL Contest Results
Contest staff hammered! The gavel order for 2005 June and September
VHF QSO Parties, the 2005 10 and 160 Meter Contests, the 2006 RTTY
Roundup, the 2006 January VHF Sweepstakes, the 2006 International DX
Contest, and the 2006 June VHF QSO Party were all received. Order in
the court! (Thanks, Tom KC1J)
- - - - -
The ARRL 160 Web-to-Cabrillo form, along with the forms for the ARRL
10 and Stew Perry contests have been updated for 2006. All of the
Web-to-Cabrillo forms can be found at http://www.b4h.net/cabforms/
(Thanks, Bruce WA7BNM)
Results of the RAC Canada Winter Contest 2005 have been posted at:
http://ritcb.sasktelwebsite.net/ Rules for the 2006 running of the
RAC Canada Winter Contest (Dec 30 -) are also posted on the same site
and at the official RAC web site at:
yttp://www.rac.ca/downloads/canwin2006.pdf (Thanks, Sam VE5SF)
Records for the CQ and ARRL 160 contests are available at
http://members.aol.com/k3bu/ARRL160Records.htm and
http://members.aol.com/k3bu/W160Records.htm and Ford N0FP has
published his ARRL 160 Contest records at
http://www.arrl.org/members-only/contests/results/2005/160-meters/sb4.html
(Thanks, Jeff K8ND)
George K5TR continues to build his awesome contest scores and records
database at http://www.kkn.net/~k5tr/scoredb/
Soapbox comments from the 3830 reflector (http://www.contesting.com/)
have been extracted and published by Dink N7WA at
http://www.eskimo.com/~mwdink/3830 along with comments for the ARRL
160 Meter and CQ WW CW contests. Don't forget to add your own
Soapbox comments and photos to the ARRL Contest Soapbox page at
http://www.arrl.org/contests/soapbox
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
The days of those simple "choose your Q-point" Class-A audio output
amplifier stages are history. In case you hadn't noticed, a lot of
audio gadgets now use a switch-mode Class-D output stage. If you are
the electronically inquisitive type, there is a good design article
on these circuits at http://www.electronicdesign.com/ if you enter
'13874' into the Drill Down ID window.
Another interesting article ("Thermocouples Join Forces") about how
thermocouples work in the 6 November issue of Design News at
http://rbi.ims.ca/4939-527 Thermocouples are used in some high-power
radio gear to manage thermal issues, so a little know-how can come in
handy.
Discussing whether it's better to use high/low pitch and wide/narrow
filters when copying weak stations, Jim N2EA offers the
slightly-edited following. "Depending on the statistical nature of
the prevailing noise, you may hear better with a lower frequency OR
with a higher frequency. It isn't always the same. Moreover, despite
our tendency to use tight filters, they may not be the best for small
signal detection. First, the brain needs a fair statistical sample of
the noise, to be able to compare signals to it. A narrower filter may
not provide enough noise input. Second, narrower filters may have
ringing and phase distortion, which confuse the brain...such that the
SNR is NOT improved with the narrower filter. Widening the filter and
shifting to a higher pitch often brought the desired signal out of
the noise, even though I prefer listening to a lower pitch. Try both
approaches before you give up."
Continuing the consideration of pitch sensitivity, Eric K3NA relays
that "The ear can resolve nearby tones more easily at low frequencies
than high. Two tones separate by 10 Hz at 1000 Hz are only 1% apart,
but at 200 Hz they are separated by 5%. There are many conflicting
factors at play here. A just-noticeable-difference in pitch depends
on frequency, volume, duration, and the speed at which frequency
changes (for a changing tone). As a result, there is a band of
frequencies for which we have maximum pitch discrimination. If you
want to measure this for yourself, take the test at
http://www.ucihs.uci.edu/hesp (You must use Internet Explorer for the
test.) Click on "Hearing Test" at the left and pick "frequency
discrimination". The other tests are fun, too."
Pete N4ZR contributes this tip to help others avoid an irritating
"oops" when installing chassis-mount SO-239 connectors. "I wanted to
use single-hole SO-239s in one box, and found that the ones I could
get had the thread on the outside - so you would stick them through
the box from the inside, and then put the nuts on to hold them in
place. The trouble was that with the thick walls of the box, the
amount of thread remaining was insufficient to pull standard PL-259s
down tight against the jacks causing intermittent contacts. You can
get SO-239s that have the thread behind the fixed flange, but ask
specifically before buying." Short UHF bulkhead connectors with nuts
on both sides are also available if the interior connection is to a
PL-259. (Thanks, Mike W0MU)
To keep a turnbuckle from loosening up, put a loop of cable through
both eye bolts (or the guy cable thimbles) and the body, then clamp
the ends together with a cable clamp. (Thanks, Jim K0XU and others)
Sometimes components need to be installed directly on the ac line,
especially capacitors for filtering. How do you choose an adequately
rated part? The folks at http://www.justradios.com/safetytips.html
have assembled an excellent collection of safety information on
line-rated capacitors. (Thanks, Roger N1RJ)
TECHNICAL URL OF THE WEEK -- Want to give EME a try, but can't put
the necessary station together. Tree N6TR contributes couple of
samples of EME signals at http://web.jzap.com/k7rat/rateme.html that
might be interesting to listen to. If you are "trained" at hearing
weak signals, you should hear them FB. Untrained ears take awhile to
finally get it.
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CONVERSATION
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Just In Time
I was browsing through the usual collection of holiday catalogs and
email offers when it struck me...why don't we have a good collection
of radio board games? You know, the kind with the complicated
instructions in the lid (no offense intended), a game board, a bunch
of oddly-shaped pieces, and stacks of cards? Imagine a "Games" aisle
at the local radio emporium...just in time for the holiday season!
Log Checkers - each player gets three kinds of pieces called "U",
"B", and "N". The game starts with each player submitting a log of
QSOs that the other players try to bust by playing U's, B's, and N's.
For each busted QSO, you lose a turn in Penalty Land.
DX Operation - try to extract a contact from the electrified pileup
hole while the game shouts "UP!" and "LID!" then drop it "In the
Log." Other players are trying to make their own contacts at the
same time, so everyone has lots of fun!
Get A Clue - Players try to guess the actual call and frequency of DX
operators that aren't signing their calls. "I called 8X8AA on 14.195
with 100 watts and a dipole!" If the call is wrong, other players
heap on verbal abuse in multiple languages.
Trivial Pursuit - this is the name our spouses have given ham radio,
so you already play!
Handy Land - Flip the memory channel spinner and try for a contact on
a local repeater. You are looking for Your Buddy, but may meet a
Commuter, an Old Coot, or even a New Ham - special bonus points for a
First QSO. Lose turns for encounters with trolls and yakkers!
Searches and Pounces - Try to work your way up the band, collecting
multipliers as you go. Watch out - you may get bitten by a packet
pileup and slide back down the band!
PSKtionary - Teams take turns trying to identify digital modes by
sketching their waveforms and protocol state diagrams before the
retry time expires! Hilarious. Really.
SuperCheck Scrabble(R) - Draw one call sign letter at a time while
the game board displays possible calls. If you draw a valid call
sign, you log it! You get double call scores if you guess the
correct call before all the letters are drawn. Special advanced "Top
Band" version gives the letters in random order in the presence of
deafening noise crashes.
Frequency Monopoly(R) - my favorite - buy and trade run frequencies
all the way from Ragchew Lane to Bandedgewalk. Solidify your claim
to the frequency by putting up more and more antennas until you've
built a full Multi-Multi. Buy all of the ham radio stores, but don't
forget to pay your electric bill! Each time you tune the band, pick
up 200 more QSOs - unless you land on Frequency Fight!
73, Ward N0AX
-o-o --o- - o ooo - -o-o --o- - o ooo -
CONTESTS -- 13 DECEMBER TO 26 DECEMBER 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
Holiday Spirits Homebrew CW Sprint--sponsored by the QRP ARCI, from
2000Z - 2400Z Dec 17. Frequencies (MHz)--1.810, 3.560, 7.040, 14.060,
21.060, 28.060 kHz. Categories: SOAB, SOSB, SO20-10, SO160-40, MOAB,
DX stations are SOAB only. Exchange: RST, S/P/C, and Power or QRP
ARCI number. QSO Points: members--5 pts, non-members/different
continent--4 pts, non-members/same cont.--2 pts. Score: QSO points x
S/P/C (counted once per band) x Power multiplier (<250mW x 15,
250mW--1W x 10, 1--5W x7, >5W x 1) + Bonus Points (2000 for homebrew
(HB) xmtr, 3000 HB rcvr, 5000 HB xcvr). For more information:
http://www.qrparci.org/. Logs due 30 days after contest to
contest@qrparci.org or ARCI Fall QSO Party, c/o Jeff Hetherington
VA3JFF, 139 Elizabeth St W, Welland, Ontario, Canada L3C 4M3.
OK DX RTTY Contest--sponsored by the Czech Radio Club, 0000Z - 2400Z
Dec 16. Categories: SOAB (LP, HP >100W), SOSB, MOAB, SWL.
Frequencies: 80 - 10 meters according to IARU band plan. Exchange:
RST and CQ Zone. QSO Points: 80 & 40--3 pts on same continent, 6 pts
different cont., 20-10--1 pt same cont., 2 pts different cont. Score:
QSO points x DXCC entities and OK stations (multipliers counted once
per band). For information: http://www.crk.cz/ENG/DXCONTE.HTM. Logs
due 15 Jan 2007 to okrtty@crk.cz or Czech Radio Club, OK DX RTTY
Contest, PO Box 69, 113 27 Praha 1, Czech Republic.
PSK31 Death Match--PSK31 and PSK63, sponsored by the Michigan DX
Association, 0000Z Dec 16 - 2400Z Dec 17. Frequencies: 80 - 6 meters,
PSK31 and PSK63 count as separate "bands". Categories: SO, Class 1
(<100W), Class 2 (<25W), Class 3 (<10W). Exchange: Name + S/P/C. QSO
Points: 20 meters--1 pt/QSO, 6 meters--3 pts/QSO, other bands--2
pts/QSO. Bonus points: W8DXI 500 pts (once) and 100 pts for uploading
logs to LoTW within 30 days of contest. Score: QSO Points x total
S/P/C + bonus points. For more information:
http://www.mdxa1.org/deathmatch.html. Logs due 30 days after the
contest to k8khz@yahoo.com or Brian R. Pawloski W8BRI, PO Box 140012,
Grand Rapids MI 49514-0012.
Russian 160-Meter Contest--CW/SSB. sponsored by Radio Magazine, from
0000Z -- 0200Z Dec 16. Categories: SO, MO, SO and MO 18 years and
younger, Mixed Mode only. Exchange: RST, serial number, and square ID
(see www.radio.ru/cq/contest/rule/map-2.gif for a map showing the
squares) QSO Points: own square--1 pt, adjacent sq--2 pts, 1 add'l pt
each add'l square distant. Score: total QSO points. For more
information:
http://www.radio.ru/cq/contest/rule-results/index11.shtml. Logs due
16 Jan 2007 to contest@radio.ru, or Radio Magazine, Seliverstov per.
10, Moscow 107045, Russia.
Croatian CW Contest--sponsored by Hrvatski Radioameterski Savez
(HRS), from 1400Z Dec 16 - 1400Z Dec 17. Frequencies: 160 - 10
meters. Categories: SOAB (HP >100W, LP, QRP <5 W), SOSB (HP, LP), MO,
SWL. Exchange: RST + serial number. QSO Points: 9A stations--10 pts
on 160-40, 6 pts 20-10; different cont--6 pts 160-40, 3 pts 20-10;
own cont and country--2 pts 160-40, 1 pt 20-10. Score: QSO points x
WAE countries on all bands. For more information:
http://www.hamradio.hr/. Logs due 30 days after the contest to
9acw@hamradio.hr (preferred) or Hrvatski Radioameterski Savez (HRS),
Croatian CW Contest, PO Box 149, 10003 Zagreb, Croatia.
Lighthouse Christmas Lights QSO Party--all modes, sponsored by the
Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society, 0001Z Dec 16 - 2359Z Jan 1, 2007.
Frequencies (MHz): CW--1.830, 3.530, 7.030, 14.030, 21.030, 28.030,
SSB--1.970, 3.970, 7.270, 14.270, 21.370, 28.370, plus VHF and
repeaters. Exchange: sequential serial number or ARLHS member number
or ARLHS Lighthouse number + name + S/P/C. QSO Points: 1 pt/QSO, add
2 pts for ARLHS member, add 3 pts for lighthouse. Score is total QSO
Points. Stations activating light beacons multiply total points by 2.
Special logging requirements apply. For more information:
http://arlhs.com/ or send SASE to ARLHS, 114 Woodbine Ave,
Merchantville, NJ 08109. Logs due 31 Jan to Dave Ruch NF0J, PO Box
20696, Bloomington, MN 55420-0696.
DARC Christmas Contest--CW/SSB, sponsored by the Deutscher Amateur
Radio Club, 0830Z - 1100Z Dec 26. Frequencies (MHz): CW--3.510 -
3.560, 7.010 - 7.040, SSB--3.610 - 3.650 and 3.700 - 3.775, 7.040.
Categories: SO-Mixed, SO-CW. Exchange: RS(T) + DOK or Special Station
code. QSO Points: 1 pt/QSO. The station calling CQ must QSY after
making a QSO. Score: QSO Points x DOK codes + WPX prefixes. For more
information: http://www.darc.de/referate/dx/fedcx.htm. Logs due 3
weeks after the contest to xmas@darc.de or Markus van Bergerem,
Brandenberg 5, D-47533 Kleve, Germany.
VHF+ CONTESTS
North American Meteor Scatter Contest--any mode, sponsored by the
WSJTGROUP from 0000Z Dec 10 to 0700Z Dec 18 during the Geminids
meteor shower. Frequencies (MHz): 50, 144, 222, 432, via meteor
scatter. Categories: Unassisted, Assisted or Rover. No QSOs with your
own or adjacent grid squares. Exchange: full call signs, grid square
and QSOs must be acknowledged. QSO Points: Assisted--50 MHz 1 pt, 144
MHz 2 pts, 222 MHz 4 pts, 432 MHz 10 pts; Unassisted: 50 MHz 2 pts,
144 MHz 4 pts, 222 MHz 12 pts, 432 MHz 30 pts;. Score: QSO points
times unique grid squares from all bands. For more information:
http://www.ykc.com/wa5ufh/Rally/NAHSMS.htm. Logs due Jan 19, 2007 to
wa5ufh@ykc.com.
-oo --- -o - -- oo ooo ooo -o-- --- oo- o-o
LOG DUE DATES - 13 DECEMBER TO 26 DECEMBER 2006
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December 15 - WAE DX Contest, RTTY, email logs to:
waedc@dxhf.darc.de, paper logs and diskettes to: WAEDC Contest
Manager, Bernhard Buettner, DL6RAI, Schmidweg 17, D-85609 Dornach,
Germany. Find rules at: http://www.darc.de/referate/dx/xedcwr.htm
December 17 - High Speed Club CW Contest, email logs to:
hsc-contest@dl3bzz.de, paper logs and diskettes to: Lutz Schroer,
DL3BZZ, HSC Contest Manager, Am Niederfeld 6, 35066 Frankenberg,
Germany. Find rules at: http://www.qsl.net/dl0hsc/en/contests.html
December 19 - LZ DX Contest, email logs to: lzdxc@yahoo.com, paper
logs and diskettes to: BFRA, PO Box 830, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria. Find
rules at: http://www.qsl.net/lz1fw/contest/
December 19 - eXtreme CW World-Wide Challenge, email logs to:
xcw@alg.demon.co.uk, paper logs and diskettes to: XCW WW Challenge,
14 The Paddock, Chepstow, NP16 5BW, UK. Find rules at:
http://www.alg.demon.co.uk/xcw/2006rules.htm
December 19 - EU PSK63 QSO Party, email logs to: eudx@scotham.net,
paper logs and diskettes to: (none). Find rules at:
http://eu.srars.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=66&Itemid=141
December 20 - ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, SSB, email logs to:
SSPhone@arrl.org, paper logs and diskettes to: November SS Phone,
ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111, USA. Find rules at:
http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2006/novss.html
December 20 - NA Collegiate ARC Championship, SSB, email logs to:
SSPhone@arrl.org, email log summary to: wm5r@arrl.net, paper logs and
diskettes to: November SS Phone, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT
06111, USA. Find rules at:
http://www.collegiatechampionship.org/ccrules.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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