Tag: contests

http://www.eham.net/articles/6857
Some of you have expressed an interest in CW and Contesting, and upcoming is a great weekend (for 2003 it’s Nov1 – Nov2 local) for US and Canadian hams to practice it. The annual ARRL CW Sweepstakes runs 1PM Saturday to 7PM Sunday PST (or 4PM Sat to 10PM Sun EST) on 80 through 10 meters (not on 30, 17, or 12-meters). While you might recoil in horror at the high code speeds, tune wayyyyyyy up in the bands and there will be some folks going nice and slow. The Novice bands on 80, 40, 15, and 10 meters often have a number of slow-speed stations hanging out up there. Don’t be afraid to jump in there and give ’em a call. I *guarantee* your code speed will double with just a few hours at the key.

Here’s how it works…

1) You hear somebody calling “CQ SS CQ SS de N0AX”
2) Send your call ONCE – “W7VMI” – don’t send their call and don’t send yours twice or three times. If they don’t copy your call on the first try, they’ll send “AGN” or “?” or just CQ again. So call ’em again. If they’re going too fast, send “QRS W7VMI” and they’ll slow down.
3) If they hear you, they’ll send something like this – “W7VMI 107 A N0AX 53 CO” What the heck does that mean?
– W7VMI is your call to let you know they’re talking to you
– 107 is the number of the contact in the contest for them (their next contact will be 108, etc.)
– A is their entry class (low power) – there are A, B, M, Q, S, and U classes
– Then they send their call
– 53 is the last two digits of the first year they were licensed – it’s called a “check”
– CO means Colorado, their ARRL/RAC Section (there are 80 – some are states, others aren’t, all are two or three letters)
4) If you don’t get it all, it’s perfectly OK to send “QRS PSE, AGN” – which means “Slow down, send it again, please”
5) If you do get it – way to go! Here’s what you send…
– Their call
– The number this contact is in the contest for you – if it’s your first send “1” and pat yourself on the back
– Your class (QRP is Q, <150W is A, >150W is B, M is multioperator, S is a school club, and U is unlimited…don’t ask)
– Your call
– The last two digits of the first year you were licensed – if you got your license in 2001, it’s “01”, for example
– Your section, “WWA” for Western Washington, maybe, or “IL” for Illinois, or “PQ” for Province Quebec – ah, but oui!
6) If they don’t get it, they may say…with a question mark, maybe…
– “AGN” – send everything all over again
– “NR” – repeat just the number a couple of times
– “PREC” or just “PR” – repeat your class (power) letter, it’s called “precedence” for a number of reasons you don’t care about
– “CALL” – repeat your call (this is rare)
– “CK” – repeat the two digits of the year, your check
– “SEC” or “QTH” – repeat your section
7) They may ask YOU to QRS, you speed demon, so do it with a smile!
8) If they copy everything, they’ll say a short “TU” (for thanks) or “R” (for Roger) or “QSL” (for received OK) and then just send their CQ or maybe just their call and away you both may go.
9) Sometimes, it just doesn’t work out – QRM (interference) or QRN (static) or QSB (fading) or the cat could cough up a hairball on the rug requiring immediate action. Don’t take it personally; just go find somebody else to call. It’s a no-fault deal.
10) If you get tired of “Searching and Pouncing”, then tighten your belt, mop your brow, cock your hat at a jaunty angle and call CQ! It’s easy – don’t have a cow, man, just call “CQ SS CQ SS de W7VMI W7VMI” and listen, repeat if necessary. Soon you’ll get an answer. Just play back the above steps with you as the call-ee.

What’s the object? Make as many contacts as you can. Try to contact as many different sections (there’s usually some kind of trophy for making a “Clean Sweep”!) as you can. Try to spell your name from the last letters of the calls you work. Work your home state. Work your brother’s state. Nobody can stop at just one QSO…

It’s a lot of fun – the hours will fly by. Keep a simple paper log the first time out to make it easy – you can worry about entering it on a computer later. There are complete rules and instructions for operating and scoring and sending in the log on the ARRL Web site http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2003/novss.html. Come next spring, you can click on over to the contest results on the ARRL website (Click here for last year’s write-up)

and wonder-of-wonders, there your call will be with the mighty titans in the very same font size just a few lines away. Woo-hoo!!

Go for it!

Phone SweepstakesAdded by N2MG

There are a few obvious and not-so-obvious differences between the CW Sweepstakes and the Phone Sweepstakes.

First, quite obviously, is the Phone SS uses voice (say what?) and second, it is held on a different weekend…historically two weeks after the CW weekend. Like the CW weekend, it runs 1PM Saturday to 7PM Sunday PST (or 4PM Sat to 10PM Sun EST).

Many of us might say, “Gee, Phone SS must be easier to operate than CW.” Well, yes and no. Certainly it’s more natural to use one’s voice than the paddle, and the rules are the same, so Phone should be a snap, right, all other things being equal… but they are not. Phone operation has a distinct set of characteristics.

The phone bands are considerably more crowded than CW – first there’s the bandwidth issue – a phone QSO takes up more band than a CW QSO does. Also, there tends to be more casual (non-contest) phone operating (nets, rag chews, etc.) of which you need to be aware and coexist. Please be courteous to other band occupants – whether contesters or not.

Unlike CW, some folks seem to be enamoured with using “the last two” to call. Please use your entire callsign. Nine times out of ten, the other station will copy it right the first time. And use phonetics – NORMAL phonetics. (Willie Billie Five Willie Billie Willie might seem funny to your friends, but not here!)

Signal quality is much more of an issue on phone. Before the contest, have a friend check your signal at full power – is the audio clear and splatter-free? If not, take steps to make it so – you will make more contacts and have fewer problems on adjacent frequencies.

And a tip – having a noise blanker or preamp turned on will likely lead to severe intermodulation and overload problems in your receiver. Turn them off whenever possible – doing so may also work for a non-contester. In fact, cranking in some attenuation or turning down the RF Gain control will improve receiver performance dramatically under the strong-signal tractor-pull known as Phone Sweepstakes.

All that said, Phone SS can be a blast. Let’s rumble!

ARRL EME Contest — from 0000Z Nov 11-2400Z Nov 12. Frequencies: 50-1296 MHz (see Aug QST, p 95, or www.arrl.org/contests).

Japan International DX Contest — Phone, from 0700Z Nov 11-1300Z Nov 12 (see Apr QST, p 100, or jidx.org/jidxrule-e.html).

Kentucky QSO Party — CW/Phone, sponsored by the Western KY DX Association from 1400Z Nov 11-0600Z Nov 12. Frequencies (MHz): CW — 1.815 and 60 kHz above band edge; SSB — 1.840, 3.985, 7.285, 14.285, 21.385, 28.585. Exchange: RS(T) and KY county or S/P/C. QSO points: 160 meters — 2 pts, CW — 2 pts, SSB — 1 pt. Score: QSO points × KY counties (KY stations add states and provinces) counted only once. KY mobiles add 1000 points for each activated county, min 10 QSOs (not incl home county). 100 bonus points for QSO with KY4DXA. For more information: k4txj@arrl.net. Logs due Dec 31 to Western Kentucky DX Association, PO Box 73, Alvaton, KY 42122.

Worked All Europe DX Contest (WAEDC) — RTTY, from 0000Z Nov 11-2359Z Nov 12. Same rules as WAEDC Phone and CW, except everyone works everyone. QTC can only be exchanged between continents (see Aug QST, p 88, or www.waedc.de).

OK/OM DX Contest — CW, sponsored by the Czech Radio Club (CRC) from 1200Z Nov 11-1200Z Nov 12. Frequencies: 160-10 meters. Categories: SOAB-HP (>100 W), SOSB-HP, SOAB-LP, SOSB-LP, SOAB-QRP (<5 W), MS, SWL; packet spotting allowed for all categories. Exchange: RST plus serial number or OK/OM district. QSO points: EU to OK/OM -- 1 pt, non-EU to OK/OM -- 3 pts. Score: QSO points × OK/OM districts (OK/OM stations use WPX prefixes) counted once per band. For more information: okomdx.radioamater.cz. Logs due Dec 1 to okomdx@crk.cz or OK-OM DX Contest, CRK, PO Box 69, 113 27 Praha 1, Czech Republic. CQ WE (Western Electric) -- CW/Phone/ Digital, from 1900Z Nov 11-0500Z Nov 13. Frequencies: 160 meters-70 centimeters (no repeater contacts). Contact as many hams as possible who currently work for, did work for, or are retired from any part of the pre-divestiture "Bell System" or any company created from it. Categories: SOAB (Bell and non-Bell). Exchange: Call, name, Bell location, years of Bell service (non-Bell send ZZ and 1). QSO points: equal to years of service. Score: sum of QSO points × location codes for each mode (locations counted once only). For more information: cqwe.cboh.org. Send logs to carl_yaffey@yahoo.com or Carl L. Yaffey K8NU, 435 Walhalla Rd, Columbus, OH 43202.

1. Object: For stations in the United States and Canada (including territories and possessions) to exchange QSO information with as many other US and Canadian stations as possible on 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meter bands.

2. Date and Contest Period:
2.1. CW: First full weekend in November (November 4-6, 2006).
2.2. Phone: Third full weekend in November (November 18-20, 2006).
2.3. Contest Period: Begins 2100 UTC Saturday, ends 0300 UTC Monday.
2.4. Operate no more than 24 of the 30 hours.
2.4.1. Off periods may not be less than 30 minutes in length.
2.4.2. Times off and on must be clearly noted in paper logs. Do not indicate off times in electronic log files. The log checking software calculates it.
2.4.3. Listening time counts as operating time.

3. Entry Categories:
3.1. Single Operator:
3.1.1. QRP.
3.1.2. Low Power.
3.1.3. High Power.
3.1.4. Unlimited—Packet assisted (no differentiated power levels)
3.2. Multioperator
3.2.1. Multi-Single only
3.2.1.1. Only 1 transmitted signal is permitted at any time.
3.2.1.2. No limitation on the number of band changes.
3.2.1.3. Spotting assistance is permissible.
3.3. School Club
3.3.1. There are three divisions to this category.
3.3.1.1. College and University
3.3.1.2. Technical School
3.3.1.3. Secondary and other School
3.3.2. School clubs compete as their own category.
3.3.3. Only currently enrolled regular students and faculty/staff of the institution are eligible to operate a school club entry. Alumni may “Elmer” but may not operate the station during the competition.
3.3.4. There is no distinction between Single and Multi operator stations or power levels in this category.
3.3.5. School clubs must operate from established stations located on the campus. No portable operation from a near-by contest station is allowed. A club may operate from a member’s station only if no on-campus station exists.
3.3.6. Certificates will be awarded to the top scoring entry in each division of this category in each ARRL/RAC section and division.

4. Exchange: The required exchange consists of:
4.1. A consecutive serial number;
4.2. Precedence;
4.2.1. “Q” for Single Op QRP (5 Watts output or less);
4.2.2. “A” for Single Op Low Power (up to 150 W output);
4.2.3. “B” for Single Op High Power (greater than 150 W output);
4.2.4. “U” for Single Op Unlimited;
4.2.5. “M” for Multi-Op;
4.2.6. “S” for School Club;
4.3. Your Callsign;
4.4. Check (the last two digits of the year you were first licensed);
4.5. ARRL/RAC Section
(Example: NU1AW would respond to W1AW’s call by sending: W1AW 123 B NU1AW 71 CT, which indicates QSO number 123, B for Single Op High Power, NU1AW, first licensed in 1971, and in the Connecticut section.)

5. Scoring:
5.1. QSO points: Count two points for each complete two-way QSO.
5.2. Multiplier: Each ARRL Section and RAC Section plus the Canadian NT (Northern Territories – encompassing VE8 / VY1 / VY0) with a maximum number of 80.
5.2.1. KP3 and KP4 are in the Puerto Rico Section.
5.2.2. KV4/KP2 and KG4 stations are in the Virgin Islands Section.
5.2.3. KH6 and other US possessions in the Pacific count as the Pacific Section.
5.3. Final score: Multiply QSO points (two per QSO) by the number of ARRL/RAC sections (plus NT VE8/VY1/VY0).

6. Miscellaneous:
6.1. Work each station only once, regardless of the frequency band.
6.2. Only one transmitted signal at any time is permitted.

7. Awards:
7.1. Certificates will be awarded to the top operator CW and Phone scores in each category (“A”, “B”, “Q”, “U”, “S” and “M”) in each ARRL/RAC section and division.
7.2. All Overall and Divisional winners will be awarded a plaque recognizing their efforts. Plaques are either sponsored by groups of clubs or by the principal awards sponsor, Icom.

8. Submission:
8.1. Deadline for submission of CW entries is Wednesday December 6, 2006 Deadline for submission of Phone entries is Wednesday December 20, 2006. Entries emailed or postmarked after the deadline may be designated checklogs.
8.1.1. The CW and Phone mode are considered separate contests and must be submitted in separate envelopes or emails sent to the appropriate address.
8.1.2. Entries must be made on current ARRL entry forms or on a reasonable facsimile. Current forms may be downloaded in .pdf or ASCII format from www.arrl.org/contests/forms
8.2. Email entries for CW must be sent to SSCW@arrl.org and Phone to SSPhone@arrl.org
8.3. Cabrillo formatted logs can be submitted by logging onto the web application at www.b4h.net/cabforms and completing the required information.
8.4. Any entry that has been created using a computer for logging must be submitted in the Cabrillo log file format.
8.4.1. Files from word processing, spreadsheet programs or “bin” type logging program files are not valid or usable.
8.4.2. Any electronic file that is not submitted in required format will not be eligible for competition and awards.
8.4.3. A paper printout for a log that has been generated by a computer in lieu of the actual data file in the required format is not an acceptable substitute.
8.4.4. Paper logs that are entered into a logging program or computer after the contest are considered electronic logs and must include the required electronic file in the submission.
8.5. Hand written paper logs are acceptable entries. Any hand written paper log of 500 or more QSOs must include the required dupe sheet.
8.6. Logs sent via the regular mail service should be addressed to: November SS CW or November SS Phone, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111.

9. Other information.
9.1. See “General Rules for All ARRL Contests” and “General Rules for ARRL Contests on Bands Below 30 MHz (HF)” available at www.arrl.org/contests or from the ARRL Contest Branch.
9.2. All contest queries should be directed to contests@arrl.org or by telephone to 860-594-0232. All contest rules and entry forms may be downloaded from the Contest Branch Web Page at: www.arrl.org/contests.

Participation Pins
The ARRL is again pleased to continue its PINS (Participation In November Sweepstakes) program for 2006. Anyone who completes 100 contacts on CW or Phone during Sweepstakes is eligible to purchase one of these attractive Participation Pins. Pins are based on claimed scores. Each pin includes the year and mode and have become a popular tradition in the November Sweepstakes event. Pins cost $6, including postage and handling and will be shipped after all entries have been processed and logs verified.
To order your pins, attach a note to the front of your summary sheet indicating the number of pins ordered along with your check. If you enter electronically, send a copy of your summary sheet with a note and your check attached to Sweepstakes PINS, ARRL Contest Branch, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111.

Clean Sweep Mugs
Commemorate working your “clean sweep” by purchasing your 2006 November Sweepstakes mug. To earn your mug, work all 80 ARRL/RAC sections during the CW or Phone November Sweepstakes. Mug awards are based on claimed scores. The price for the keepsake mug is $12 each, (including postage and handling.) If you submit electronically, send a paper copy of the first page of your Cabrillo file and indicate how many mugs you are ordering along with your check. If you log by paper, attach a note to the top of your summary sheet indicating how many mugs you are ordering and your check. All orders should be sent to Clean Sweep Mugs, ARRL Contest Branch, 225 Main Street. Newington, CT 06111. Your mug will be shipped after all entries and mug orders have been processed and verified. Supplies are limited. We only guarantee filling orders received by the Phone Submission deadline of December 20, 2006.

My goal is to make 100 CW contacts and earn the Particpation Pin. Maybe I’ll go for the mug during the Phone event later this month.