Contester's Rate Sheet for July 31, 2002
*********************** Contester's Rate Sheet 31 July 2002 *********************** Edited by Ward Silver, N0AX Following the ARRL Board of Director's decision to approve moving contest line scores to the Web (http://www.arrl.org/announce/board-0207/ - see minute item 35), correspondence received at ARRL HQ indicates a lot of confusion over what the ARRL intends for contest coverage in QST. Reading a message QST Publisher K1RO posted to CQ-Contest earlier this year (http://lists.contesting.com/_cq-contest/2002-January/045518.html) may help explain the intention of the changes. In response to the proposed changes a group in which I participated prepared a document discussing how contest coverage might be approached in print and electronic form (http://www.designet.com/k1ir/Downloads/ContestProposal_071702.pdf). By no means is contest coverage to be eliminated from QST, just the line scores. My personal opinion is that moving line scores to the Web will allow the quality of the contest coverage in QST to improve greatly in depth and breadth. In addition, a heavier emphasis on electronic distribution makes forums such as this newsletter possible. The availability of electronic publishing media is an opportunity which contesters should make the most of. SUMMARY o Fall contest season kicks off with Worked All Europe CW on Aug 10-11 o Software available for SEANET and MD-DC QSO Party o Early Bird WRTC log program a big success o On-line Soapbox for ARRL contests a hit o A big "Kiitos" to Finland from K1TO, WRTC co-champ with N5TJ BULLETINS o No bulletins this issue. BUSTED QSOS o Don Field, G3XTT reports that the email address for IOTA contest logs was incorrect in Contest Corral for July. The correct address is iota.logs@rsgbhfcc.org. o Pierre VE2PIJ reports an error in the Web site for the New Jersey QSO Party rules. The correct URL is http://pages.infinit.net/ve2pij/njqso.html (i.e. - no "www" preceding the rest of the address) ANNOUNCEMENT & NOTICES FOR 31 JULY TO 13 AUGUST 2002 Logs are due for the following contests: o July 31, 2002 VOLTA RTTY DX Contest - email to: i2dmi@contesting.com, paper logs to: Francesco Di Michele, I2DMI, PO Box 55, 22063 Cantu, Italy o July 31, 2002 WW South America CW Contest - email to: labre@labre.org, paper logs to: LABRE - WWSA Contest Committee, P.O. Box 00004, 70359-970 Brasilia, DF, Brazil o July 31, 2002 All Asian DX Contest, CW - email to: aacw@jarl.or.jp, paper logs to: JARL, All Asian DX Contest, CW, 170-8073, Japan o July 31, 2002 RAC Canada Day Contest - email to: ve9qed@rac.ca, paper logs to: Radio Amateurs of Canada, 720 Belfast Road, Suite 217, Ottawa, Ontario K1G 0Z5, Canada o August 1, 2002 SMIRK Contest - email to: contest@smirk.org, paper logs to: Pat Rose, W5OZI, PO Box 393, Junction, TX 76849, USA o August 4, 2002 MI QRP Club July 4th CW Sprint - email to: n8cqa@att.net, paper logs to: L.T. Switzer, N8CQA, 427 Jeffrey Avenue, Royal Oak, MI 48073-2521, USA o August 4, 2002 DARC 10-Meter Digital Contest - email to: df5bx@darc.de, paper logs to: Werner Ludwig, DF5BX, P.O. Box 1270, 49110 Georgsmarienhuette, Germany o August 13, 2002 IARU HF World Championship - email to: IARUHF@iaru.org, paper logs to: IARU HF Championship, IARU International Secretariat, Box 310905, Newington, CT 06111, USA o August 13, 2002 FISTS Summer Sprint - email to: W8PIG@yahoo.com, paper logs to: Dan Shepherd, N8IE, 1900 Pittsfield St., Kettering, OH 45420, USA o August 13, 2002 QRP ARCI Summer Homebrew Sprint - email to: rfoltz@turbonet.com, paper logs to: Randy Foltz, K7TQ, Attn: Summer Homebrew Sprint, 809 Leith St., Moscow, ID 83843, USA The following contests are scheduled: ARRL UHF Contest, 1800Z Aug 3 - 1800Z Aug 4. Frequencies: all amateur bands above 222 MHz. Categories: SO-LP, SO-HP, Rover, MO. Exchange: Grid Square (signal report is optional). QSO Points: 222 and 432 MHz - 3 pts, 902 and 1296 MHz - 6 pts, 12 pts on all higher bands. Score: QSO Points x Grid Squares (total from all bands). Rovers add one additional multiplier for each grid square activated. For more information - http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2002/UHFContest.pdf. Logs due Sep 3 by email to arrluhf@arrl.org or by mail to ARRL UHFContest, ARRL, 225 Main St., Newington, CT 06111, USA. North American QSO Party - CW - sponsored by the National Contest Journal, 1800Z Aug 3 - 0600Z Aug 4. Frequencies: 160 -- 10-meter bands. SOAB-LP and M2 categories with max power 100 W, operating a maximum of 10 hours (off times must be at least 30 min and M2 entries may operate the entire contest). Exchange name and SPC. Score is QSOs x States + Province + NA DXCC countries (count each once per band). For information - http://www.ncjweb.com/naqprules.html. Logs must be emailed or postmarked by Sep 12 to Bob Selbrede K6ZZ; 6200 Natoma Ave.; Mojave CA 93501 or cwnaqp@ncjweb.com Ten-Ten International Summer Phone QSO Party -- sponsored by Ten-Ten, International, 0000Z Aug 3 - 2400Z Aug 4, 10 meters only. Exchange call/name/state and 10-10 number (if available). QSO Points: nonmembers -- 1 pt, members -- 2 pts. Score is total points. For more information - http://www.ten-ten.org. Logs due Aug 19 to Steve Rasmussen N0WY, 312 N 6th Street, Plattsmouth, NE 68048-1302. European HF Championship - CW/SSB - sponsored by the Slovenian Contest Club, 1000Z - 2159Z, Aug 3. EU to EU contacts only. Frequencies: 160 - 10 meters. Categories: SOAB only - CW, SSB, and Mixed Modes, HP and LP, and SWL. Exchange: RS(T) and last two digits of first year licensed. Score: QSOs x number of different years received, counted once per band. For more information - http://lea.hamradio.si/~scc. Logs due Aug 31 by email (Cabrillo format preferred) to euhfc@hamradio.si or to Slovenia Contest Club, Saveljska 50, 1113 Ljublana, Slovenia. PanAmerican Lighthouse-Lightship Weekend - all modes - sponsored by the Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society, 0001Z Aug 3 - 2359Z Aug 4. Frequencies: CW - 1830, 3530, 7030, 14030, 21030, 28030 kHz; SSB - 1970, 3970, 7270, 14270, 21370, 28370 kHz. Exchange: ARLHS member or lighthouse number or year first licensed, name, and SPC. For more information - http://www.waterw.com/%7eweidner/arlhs/page3c.html or send SASE to ARLHS, Box 2178, Riverton, NJ 08077. Worked All Europe DX Contest - CW - sponsored by the Deutscher ARC, 0000Z Aug 10 - 2400Z Aug 11, (phone is Sep 14-15; RTTY is Nov 9-10). Frequencies: 80 - 10 meters according to Region I band plan. Categories: SOHP, SOLP, MS, SWL. Packet or spotting nets allowed (SO stations not using spotting assistance will be noted). SO operate 36 hrs max., up to three off periods of 1 hour min. Non-EU work EU only except RTTY, where everyone works and everyone except own country. Exchange: RS(T) and serial number. Score 1 pt/QSO and 1 pt/QTC. Final score is QSOs + QTCs x weighted multipliers. Multipliers: non-EU use WAE countries, EU use DXCC entities plus call districts in W, VE, VK, ZL, ZS, JA, PY and RA8/9/0. (RTTY use WAE + DXCC.) Mults on 80-m count x4, on 40-m x3, otherwise x2. A QTC is a report sent from a non-EU station back to an EU station of confirmed QSOs that took place earlier in the contest. A QTC contains the time, call sign, and QSO number of the station being reported (e.g. 1307/DL1AA/346). A QSO may only be reported once and not back to the originating station. A maximum of 10 QTCs can be sent to a single station. The same station can be worked several times to complete this quota, but only the original QSO has QSO point value. Keep a list of QTCs sent. For example, QTC 3/7 would indicate that this is the third series of QTCs sent, and seven QSOs are reported. For more information - http://www.waedc.de. Logs due by Sep 15 (CW), Oct 15 (Phone) or Dec 15 (RTTY) to waedc@darc.de or to WAEDC Contest Manager, Bernhard Buettner DL6RAI, Schmidweg 17, 85609 Dornach, Germany. Maryland-DC QSO Party - CW/Phone - sponsored by Antietam Radio Association, 1600Z Aug 10 - 0400Z Aug 11 and 1600Z - 2359Z Aug 11. Frequencies: CW -- 3.643, 3.701, 7.035, 7.126, 14.040, 21.115, 28.040 MHz, Phone -- 3.920, 7.230, 14.268, 21.370, 28.380, 50.150, 145.55, 146.58 MHz. Categories: Club, Mobile, Novice/Tech, QRP, and Standard. Work stations once per band/mode, portable/mobiles can be worked again in each county. Exchange: QTH and category. QSO Points: Club - 10 pts, Mobile - 5 pts, QRP or Novice/Tech - 4 pts, CW or RTTY or ATV - 3 pts, all others - 1 pt. Highest single point applies. Score: QSO points x MD counties + Baltimore City + DC. (MD-DC stations also count SPC) For more information - http://www.w3cwc.org/rules.html. Logs due Sept 20 to wa3eop@arrl.net (ASCII format) or Antietam Radio Association, PO Box 52, Hagerstown, MD 21741-0052 NEWS & PRESS RELEASES The Online Soapbox feature (http://www.arrl.org/contests/soapbox) continues to be a popular addition to the ARRL Contest Branch program. Within the first 72 hours after last weekend's IARU HF World Championships, over a dozen online comments (most with pictures) had been posted. Sixty-three entries, with numerous photos have been posted since Field Day. This feature was not available when the rules announcements for these events were published, so there is considerable interest and participation based on "word of mouth". With normal publicity in the future, this segment of the contest program should continue to flourish. (Thanks, Dan Henderson N1ND) The results of the 2001 Oceania DX Contest and the rules for the 2002 Oceania Contest are attached. The information is also available on-line at http://www.nzart.org.nz/NZART/Update/Contests/Oceania. Activity was well up on the previous year with a 57% increase in the number of logs submitted. (Thanks, Brian Miller ZL1AZE, Chair Oceania DX Contest Committee) From OH3UU at WRTC HQ, " First of all, my apologies that we were not able to individually confirm Early Bird logs received for WRTC2002 due to the tremendous email traffic and pile up with incoming team logs. We received 943 Early Bird logs. Thanks to all for co-operation. 73, Risto oh3uu@welho.com"; Results are available at http://www.wrtc2002.org. If you're going to work the SEANET contest on August 17-18, new contest software is available. Paul O'Kane EI5DI, the creator of Super Duper Contest Software, is kindly making a special offer for the contest. The demo version of SD (which can be downloaded from the Web-site http://www.ei5di.com) is fully-working in many contests including RSGB, ARRL DX, ARI, Helvetia, SPDX, King of Spain - these are all contests with Areas, Zones, Counties, Provinces, Districts etc. as multipliers. The demo version doesn't support contests with country multipliers, including SEANET. However, he will send a key file, by email, to anyone who sends $5 USD and requests a key file for the SEANET Contest (to 36 Coolkill, Dublin 18, Ireland). This is one eighth of the normal registration fee. (Thanks, Ray Gerrard G3NOM/HS0) For those who want Windows based software for logging the MDC QSO party and others, there is free software available at http://www.qsl.net/w3km/gen_log.htm. It covers most contests including QSO parties. K3FT reports that he has installed it, and that it seems to work pretty well on his Windows 3.11 system. "The author of the program is responsive, responsible, and very easy to get help from. This is a nice piece of software to have in the arsenal, indeed!" MD-DC QSO Party data is available at http://www.w3cwc.org/funcontest.htm. (Thanks, Chuck K3FT) TECHNICAL & TECHNIQUE For those of you that have been wanting more technical "beef" in ham radio magazines, take a look at the July/August issue of QEX. It includes an interesting variation on receiver architecture ("The Dirodyne"), good articles on software-defined radios and digital transceiver design, analysis of the OWA yagis designed by WA3FET and responsible for some of the big K3LR signals, and a discussion of improved dynamic-range testing. For VHF/UHF contesters looking to get on another band, Zack Lau W1VT presents a simple 24 GHz WBFM transceiver design. One of the best issues! CONVERSATION Most of what I have to report about WRTC-2002 consists of, "Wow!" The Organizing Committee, led by the Contest Club of Finland, really did an excellent job and ran the whole show very smoothly and professionally. The attendees--competitors, judges, referees, and guests--all owe them a big round of applause. I hope all the Rate Sheet readers were able to participate by working a ton of OJ callsigns and to log onto the Real-Time Scoreboard Web page to watch the horses run. As you know, N5TJ and K1TO managed a "three-peat" as WRTC champions over an intensely competitive field--the closest finish ever. Dan Street K1TO graciously offers the following "Kiitos" (thanks) and makes an excellent suggestion to support SAC this September 21 and 22. "Many have already publicly expressed their thanks in recent days. I just want to echo their sentiments and add a few words. "The organizing group had a tough job to do in committing to pull this off in 2 years. They knew that with declining sunspots that time was of the essence and made an unprecedented decision to make it all happen in a 2-year timeframe. Many individuals gave countless hours to WRTC 2002 and that is deeply appreciated. Those who opened up their homes for us, including our own fine host Timo OH2HXP and his wife Nina, showed great courage in doing so with complete strangers. "The people of Finland as a whole were unwaveringly helpful and friendly, while maintaining a respectful demeanor. Driving back to the hotel after the competition, we got slightly lost and pulled off to the side of the road. Before I could pull the maps and phone numbers out of the car, a passer-by had stopped to see if we were alright, then phoned the hotel for directions and personally led us there! That would not happen in most parts of the world! "The real-time scoreboard was apparently a hit around the world. I'm still hearing stories from folks who followed the action hour-by-hour. It certainly appears to have no downside and plenty of upside. "Jeff and I knew that this was perhaps the strongest field of competitors yet. Certainly, the close finish proved that. But this was much more than a 24-hour event. By far, the most enjoyable part to me was renewing and strengthening existing friendships and beginning a whole bunch of new ones! "Thanks for throwing a wonderful party! I'm proud to have been a small part of it. As expected, we all crossed the Finnish Line as winners. "Kiitos and vy 73, Dan, K1TO "PS - I propose that we all support the Scandinavian Activity Contests in September as strongly as we can as a further token of our appreciation." ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Contester's Rate Sheet wishes to acknowledge information from the following sources: WA7BNM's Contest Calendar Web page - http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/ ARRL Contest page - http://www.arrl.org/contests/ SM3CER's Web site - http://www.sk3bg.se/contest/
