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http://www.arrl.org/contests/update/?issue=2018-05-02
The ARRL Contest Update
May 2, 2018
Editor: Brian Moran, N9ADG
IN THIS ISSUE
* New HF Operators: Multi-state QSO Parties, Slow Speed Sprint
* Contest Summary
* News: Multi-QSO Party Weekend, Contest Super Suite, Mid-Atlantic States
VHF Conference, and more
* Word to the Wise: Galvanic Corrosion
* Sights and Sounds: Fair Lawn ARC YouTube Channel, Contest Like It's 1991
* Results
* Operating Tip: Cinco Nueve
* Technical Topics and Information: Machine Learning for Solar Event
Prediction, Using the Sun to Point Antennas, Combining Local and Public
Spot Information, and more
* Conversation: Keeping Score
* Contests
* Log Due Dates
____________________________________________________________________________
NEW HF OPERATORS -- THINGS TO DO
Multiple QSO parties are on tap for the weekend of May 5-6. See the News
section for more information on how to participate in more than one at a time.
Slower code speeds will be expected and welcome for the FISTS Sprint Slow Speed
Sprint. Thirteen words per minute and under is the guideline for this 4-hour
event. The only catch is that at least one of the stations in any contact must
be a FISTS member to count for points.
____________________________________________________________________________
BUSTED QSOS
I busted the call for K0MD in the last issue. Sorry, Scott.
____________________________________________________________________________
CONTEST SUMMARY
Complete information for all contests follows the Conversation section
03 May - 16 May 2018
May 3
* CWops Mini-CWT Test
* NRAU 10-meter Activity Contest
* SKCC Sprint Europe
* MIE 33 Contest
May 4
* NCCC RTTY Sprint
* NCCC Sprint
May 5
* Araucaria World Wide VHF Contest
* 10-10 Int. Spring Contest, CW
* SBMS 2.3 GHz and Up Contest and Club Challenge
* Microwave Spring Sprint
* ARI International DX Contest
* 7th Call Area QSO Party
* Indiana QSO Party
* FISTS Spring Slow Speed Sprint
* Delaware QSO Party
* New England QSO Party
May 6
* New England QSO Party
May 7
* RSGB 80-meter Club Championship, SSB
May 8
* ARS Spartan Sprint
May 9
* Phone Fray
* CWops Mini-CWT Test
May 10
* CWops Mini-CWT Test
May 11
* NCCC RTTY Sprint
* NCCC Sprint
May 12
* SKCC Weekend Sprintathon
* VOLTA WW RTTY Contest
* CQ-M International DX Contest
* Arkansas QSO Party
* FISTS Spring Unlimited Sprint
* 50 MHz Spring Sprint
May 13
* WAB 7 MHz Phone
May 14
* 4 States QRP Group Second Sunday Sprint
May 16
* Phone Fray
* CWops Mini-CWT Test
* RSGB 80-meter Club Championship, Data
____________________________________________________________________________
NEWS, PRESS RELEASES, AND GENERAL INTEREST
On the May 5-6 weekend you have the opportunity to participate in four QSO
parties simultaneously. The 7QP, representing all states in the seventh call
area (if you're operating portable in the 7QP, let the contest sponsors know,
so they can update the list of active counties), as well as the Indiana,
Delaware, and New England QSO parties all use a similar exchange. Some logging
programs will handle multiple contest participation with just one log. For
example, N1MM Logger+ has special support for out-of-state stations to use the
IN7QPNE contest to log stations from any of the participating states.
Tim, K3LR, reminds us that the Contest Super Suite website has a guide to many
of the contest-related activities occurring around Hamvention, including
activities in Dayton and Xenia. The Contest Super Suite is a nightly gathering
of contesters at the Dayton Crowne Plaza Hotel, hosted by the Mad River Radio
Club (MRRC), Frankford Radio Club (FRC) and the North Coast Contesters (NCC).
Pizza and wings are the customary party fare, sponsored variously by Dayton
Contest University, the Society of Midwest Contesters (SMC), Potomac Valley
Radio Club (PVRC), and the Yankee Clipper Contest Club (YCCC). This year,
Friday is the night for music at the Crowne Plaza.
The 2018 Mid-Atlantic States VHF Conference will be held September 28 through
30, 2018 at the Holiday Inn Bensalem-Philadelphia. Sponsored by the Mt. Airy
VHF Radio Club Packrats, this event will feature tabletop selling, papers and
presentations, technical testing room, banquet, door prizes, outdoor
mini-tailgate flea market, and hospitality suites. Papers and presentations on
any topic related to VHF and above are encouraged. Past conferences have
included contesting-related presentations on roving, station automation, and
contest strategies. Contact Rick, K1DS, to submit your topic or title. Online
and mail registration will start in the latter part of May. If you are making
hotel reservations, be sure to mention "VHF Conference" to get the special
rate.
DX Engineering is now the exclusive North American retailer for OptiBeam
antennas. With a number of models in stock, DX Engineering is taking orders for
the entire range of HF antennas, including monoband and multiband models
covering 80 through 10 meters.
In April 2018, Tom, N1MM, presented to the Yankee Clipper Contest Club on the
topic of "A $200 Panadapter." He's made his presentation available to everyone
on the N1MM website. Tom uses an Airspy HF+ SDR receiver with SDR Console
software to show how band information can be displayed inside an N1MM Logger+
window, with or without call sign information.
Sometimes it's not enough to go to Dayton just one time a year. Find out what
autumn in Dayton is like while attending the Microwave Update 2018 conference
there on October 11 - 14, 2018. It's typical for microwave rover stations to
attend this event, and for the conference to contain material related to
contesting on the microwave bands. If you'd like to be a presenter, abstracts
and draft presentations are due by August 25, 2018, with final materials due on
September 1.
If you'd like to learn Morse Code and you have an Amazon Echo device, you can
install the Continuous Wave Alexa skill by Joe, N3HEE, to help you along.
According to KB6NU, who described the skill on his blog, the current version is
limited to 20 words per minute but is still entertaining. (KB6NU)
The Dayton VHF Dinner is being organized by Kim, WG8S, on Friday, May 18, at
the DoubleTree Suites in Miamisburg, OH. Kim encourages anyone interested in
activities at 50 MHz and above, including microwave, EME, and CW/SSB, to
attend. See the announcement on the VHF Contesting reflector for more
information.
"Warranty void if sticker removed!" - Don't believe it. Those stickers appear
more and more frequently on new electronic devices. The FTC recently reminded a
number of companies that the use of third-party repair services or parts does
NOT affect warranty rights, and that such warnings may be in violation of the
law.
Peter, HS0ZKX, writes: "I regret to inform the ham community of the passing of
Bob Kupps, HS0ZIA/N6BK, an avid contester, who was in the process of building a
world-class contest station in Chiang Mai, Thailand." (Peter, HS0ZKX)
"Pepe, XE2MX, who contested from Ensenada Baja, California for many years is
now SK." Dennis, N6KI, can accept and forward condolences at his QRZ.com
address to pass on to his family. (Dennis, N6KI)
____________________________________________________________________________
WORD TO THE WISE
Galvanic Corrosion
When two dissimilar metals are in contact, corrosion may occur due to differing
electrode potentials of the metals. Metals are ranked according to their
electrode potentials, the more "negative" of two metals will usually be the one
to be corroded, if smaller in area than the more "positive." Radio towers and
antennas are usually constructed of metal, and care must be taken when using
fasteners, clamps, and hardware to ensure compatibility between metals that are
in direct contact. The environment also has a large influence on corrosion --
for example moist versus wet, and fresh versus salt water. ARRL's website has
an article on galvanic corrosion that may inform your choices.
____________________________________________________________________________
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
You can sit in on some presentations of the Fair Lawn Amateur Radio Club by
viewing the Fair Lawn ARC YouTube Channel. According to Rob, KA2PBT, their
videographer Thom, W2NZ, is building up a "sizeable library of the club's
programs and speakers." Programs covering a wide range of topics are available
for your on-demand viewing. (Rob, KA2PBT, ARRL NNJ Section Manager)
Back in the 1990s, before video, internet, and video on the internet were
prevalent, there was PJ1B, which went head to head with other stations from P4
and PJ9. Stu, VE7ZZ, was kind enough to upload video of CQ WW DX Phone contests
from that era to YouTube, where you can see the station hardware, and watch how
stations are moved between bands. (Ward, N0AX)
____________________________________________________________________________
RESULTS AND RECORDS
Results for the Ohio QSO Party (PDF) have been posted. Just shy of 36,000
contacts were submitted for scoring, almost evenly split between CW and SSB.
All 88 Ohio counties were represented in the submitted logs. The 2018 Ohio QSO
Party will be held on August 25.
The results article (PDF) for the 2018 CQ WW DX SSB contest is available
online.
____________________________________________________________________________
OPERATING TIP
Cinco Nueve
Learn how to say your call sign in other languages to get more contacts in
phone contests. If the exchange is just a signal report, you can likely get by
just knowing your call sign and the letters and numbers of the target language.
Try calling CQ while pointing in a suitable direction.
____________________________________________________________________________
TECHNICAL TOPICS AND INFORMATION
Machine Learning may help predict solar storms in the future. Researchers are
applying machine learning to chaotic systems using a technique they've named
"reservoir computing." Rather than constructing a precise model of a system's
behavior, data is collected on the actual behavior of systems and used to train
the "reservoir" to be able to predict future states with greater accuracy.
Solar storm prediction as a problem is similar in nature to using the heart's
electrical signals to predict cardiac events, and the use of weather readings
to predict future weather events.
You don't need a compass to set your antenna rotator direction. By using the
sun, you can avoid dealing with the details of magnetic declination. By
pointing your antenna at the sun, and looking up the local time on a table
generated using the US Naval Observatory website, you can read out the azimuth.
(Original suggestion from CT1BOH via Twitter)
It's a situation you don't face every day -- you need to combine spot
information from multiple sources, for example a packet cluster, and a skimmer
operating locally. Rich, VE3KI, suggested that in such cases, you could "run a
spot aggregator program like WinTelnetX on the computer that is running CW
Skimmer" to combine the local and remote sources of spots, and act as a local
spot server.
Lithium battery capacity may be able to increase 50 percent by incorporating a
new cathode design, according to researchers. With a combination of structural
and chemistry changes, fluorine doping is used to replace cobalt and nickel in
traditional cathodes with manganese. (Dennis, N6KI)
____________________________________________________________________________
CONVERSATION
Keeping Score
With the advent of multiple online scoreboards like contestonlinescore.com and
cqcontest.net, it's now possible to have an almost current view of the
performance of competitors in a particular entry class. It's possible, because
that assumes that other participants have configured their logging programs to
report their scores, that they've entered the correct category, they've
configured the correct URL for score reporting. That's a lot of configuration,
and the complexity limits the number of people using it.
Viewing current standings requires a web browser window to be open to the
online scoreboard's URL, which refreshes every few minutes. "Real-time" scores
can sometimes be "a few minutes ago" in this application.
Online scoreboards so far have only been able to capture a very small
percentage of all those participating in most contests, with the CWops Mini-CWT
Test being a notable exception. Why not have logging programs report scores by
default for all contests, with configuration provided the logging program?
After all, the logging program already knows the entry categories and scoring
details of contests. At contest start time, a click-through dialog would inform
that scores are being reported. Click OK to continue. All contesters, including
casual ones, could opt-out if they like by clicking a checkbox somewhere.
Participation could skyrocket with a new release of software with the opt-out
feature.
Since one of the reasons to have score reporting is to make the competition
more exciting, showing competitor score information right in the logging
program would go a long way to accomplishing that and spurring adoption. No
extra work to configure. It might be useful to know that the station just ahead
of you is ahead on raw contacts but has fewer multipliers. Seeing that your
cross-town rival just added a multiplier might spur you to work the second VFO
extra hard. A good place to show the call sign, score, and multiplier count of
the station just ahead might be next to my score, in the entry window.
My proposed recipe for success in driving adoption of real-time scores is
simple as 1-2-3: 1:Turn reporting of scores on by default. 2:Make the scores
really real time. 3:Display competitor scores right in the logging program.
That's all for this time. Remember to send contesting related stories, book
reviews, tips, techniques, press releases, errata, schematics, club
information, pictures, stories, blog links, and predictions to
contest-update@arrl.org
73, Brian N9ADG
____________________________________________________________________________
CONTESTS
03 May - 16 May 2018
An expanded, downloadable version of QST's Contest Corral is available as a
PDF. Check the sponsor's website for information on operating time restrictions
and other instructions.
HF CONTESTS
CWops Mini-CWT Test, May 2, 1300z to May 2, 1400z, May 2, 1900z to May 2,
2000z, May 3, 0300z to May 3, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10 meters;
Member: Name + Member No., non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs
due: May 5.
NRAU 10m Activity Contest, May 3, 1700z to May 3, 1800z (CW), May 3, 1800z to
May 3, 1900z (SSB), May 3, 1900z to May 3, 2000z (FM), May 3, 2000z to May 3,
2100z (Dig); CW, SSB, FM, Digital; Bands: 10 meters only; RS(T) + six-character
grid square; Logs due: May 17.
SKCC Sprint Europe, May 3, 1900z to May 3, 2100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20,
15, 10 meters; RST + (state/province/country) + Name + (SKCC No./power); Logs
due: May 10.
MIE 33 Contest, May 3, 2300z to May 4, 0300z; CW, Phone; Bands: All, except
WARC; Mie: RS(T) + age + "ME", non-Mie JA: RS(T) + age + "MEJ", non-Mie non-JA:
RS(T) + age; Logs due: May 31.
NCCC RTTY Sprint, May 4, 0145z to May 4, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: (see rules);
Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: April 29.
NCCC Sprint, May 4, 0230z to May 4, 0300z; CW; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. +
Name + QTH; Logs due: April 29.
10-10 Int. Spring Contest, CW, May 5, 0001z to May 6, 2359z; CW; Bands: 10
meters only; 10-10 Member: Name + 10-10 number + (state/province/country),
Non-Member: Name + 0 + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 14.
ARI International DX Contest, May 5, 1200z to May 6, 1159z; Phone, CW, RTTY;
Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10 meters; I: RS(T) + two-letter province, non-I: RS(T)
+ Serial No.; Logs due: May 11.
7th Call Area QSO Party, May 5, 1300z to May 6, 0700z; CW, Phone, Digital;
Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6, 2 meters; 7th Area: RS(T) + five-letter
state/county code, non-7th Area: RS(T) + (state/province/DX); Logs due: May 16.
Indiana QSO Party, May 5, 1500z to May 6, 0300z; Phone, CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40,
20, 15, 10 meters; IN: RS(T) + county, non-IN: W/VE: RS(T) + (state/province),
DX: RS(T) + "DX"; Logs due: June 1.
FISTS Spring Slow Speed Sprint, May 5, 1700z to May 5, 2100z; CW; Bands: 80,
40, 20, 15, 10 meters; FISTS: RST + (state/province/country) + first name +
FISTS No., non-FISTS: RST + (state/province/country) + first name + power; Logs
due: June 4.
Delaware QSO Party, May 5, 1700z to May 6, 2359z; CW, Phone, Digital/RTTY;
Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, VHF; DE: RS(T) + County, non-DE: RS(T) +
(state/province/country); Logs due: June 5.
New England QSO Party, May 5, 2000z to May 6, 0500z, May 6, 1300z to May 7,
0000z; Phone, CW/Digital; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10 meters; CT, ME, MA, NH, RI,
VT: RS(T) + county + state, non-NE: RS(T) + (state/province/"DX"); Logs due:
June 5.
RSGB 80-meter Club Championship, SSB, May 7, 1900z to May 7, 2030z; SSB; Bands:
80 meters only; RS + Serial No.; Logs due: May 8.
ARS Spartan Sprint, May 8, 0100z to May 8, 0300z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10
meters; RST + (state/province/country) + Power; Logs due: May 10.
Phone Fray, May 9, 0230z to May 9, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15
meters; NA: Name + (state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: May 11.
CWops Mini-CWT Test, May 9, 1300z to May 9, 1400z, May 9, 1900z to May 9,
2000z, May 10, 0300z to May 10, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10
meters; Member: Name + Member No., non-Member: Name + (state/province/country);
Logs due: May 12.
NCCC RTTY Sprint, May 11, 0145z to May 11, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: (see rules);
Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: April 29.
NCCC Sprint, May 11, 0230z to May 11, 0300z; CW; Bands: (see rules); Serial No.
+ Name + QTH; Logs due: April 29.
SKCC Weekend Sprintathon, May 12, 1200z to May 14, 0000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80,
40, 20, 15, 10, 6 meters; RST + (state/province/country) + Name + (SKCC
No./"NONE"); Logs due: May 20.
VOLTA WW RTTY Contest, May 12, 1200z to May 13, 1200z; RTTY; Bands: 80, 40, 20,
15, 10 meters; RST + QSO No. + CQ Zone; Logs due: May 31.
CQ-M International DX Contest, May 12, 1200z to May 13, 1159z; CW, SSB; Bands:
160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10 meters; RS(T) + Serial No.; Logs due: June 13.
Arkansas QSO Party, May 12, 1400z to May 13, 0200z; CW, Phone, Digital; Bands:
80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 2 meters; AR: RS(T) + County, non-AR: RS(T) +
(state/province/"DX"); Logs due: May 26.
FISTS Spring Unlimited Sprint, May 12, 1700z to May 12, 2100z; CW; Bands: 80,
40, 20, 15, 10 meters; FISTS: RST + (state/province/country) + first name +
FISTS No., non-FISTS: RST + (state/province/country) + first name + power; Logs
due: June 11.
WAB 7 MHz Phone, May 13, 1000z to May 13, 1400z; SSB; Bands: 40 meters only;
British Isles: RS + serial no. + WAB square, Other: RS + serial no. + country;
Logs due: June 3.
4 States QRP Group Second Sunday Sprint, May 14, 0000z to May 14, 0200z; CW,
SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10 meters; Member: RS(T) +
(State/Province/Country) + Member No., Non-member: RS(T) +
(State/Province/Country) + Power; Logs due: May 16.
Phone Fray, May 16, 0230z to May 16, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15
meters; NA: Name + (state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: May 18.
CWops Mini-CWT Test, May 16, 1300z to May 16, 1400z, May 16, 1900z to May 16,
2000z, May 17, 0300z to May 17, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10
meters; Member: Name + Member No., non-Member: Name + (state/province/country);
Logs due: May 19.
RSGB 80m Club Championship, Data, May 16, 1900z to May 16, 2030z; RTTY, PSK;
Bands: 80 meters only; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: April 27.
VHF+ CONTESTS
Araucaria World Wide VHF Contest, May 5, 0000z to May 6, 1600z; CW, SSB, FM;
Bands: 6, 2 meters; RS(T) + six-character grid square; Logs due: May 11.
SBMS 2.3 GHz and Up Contest and Club Challenge, May 5, 0600 (local) to May 6,
2359 (local); Any; Bands: 2.3 GHz and up; six-character Maidenhead locator;
Logs due: June 5.
Microwave Spring Sprint, May 5, 0800 (local) to May 5, 1400 (local); not
specified; Bands: All above 902 MHz; six-character grid square; Logs due: May
19.
50 MHz Spring Sprint, May 12, 2300z to May 13, 0300z; not specified; Bands: 6
meters only; four-character grid square; Logs due: May 26.
LOG DUE DATES
03 May - 16 May 2018
May 4, 2018
* Phone Fray
May 5, 2018
* CWops Mini-CWT Test
May 6, 2018
* BARTG Sprint 75
* WAB 3.5/7/14 MHz Data Modes
May 7, 2018
* Helvetia Contest
* Nebraska QSO Party
* 10-10 Int. Spring Contest, Digital
May 8, 2018
* Missouri QSO Party
* RSGB 80-meter Club Championship, SSB
May 9, 2018
* JIDX CW Contest
* 432 MHz Spring Sprint
* Yuri Gagarin International DX Contest
May 10, 2018
* SKCC Sprint Europe
* ARS Spartan Sprint
May 11, 2018
* Phone Fray
* Araucaria World Wide VHF Contest
* ARI International DX Contest
May 12, 2018
* CWops Mini-CWT Test
May 13, 2018
* SP DX RTTY Contest
* Florida QSO Party
May 14, 2018
* 10-10 Int. Spring Contest, CW
May 15, 2018
* F9AA Cup, PSK
* North Dakota QSO Party
May 16, 2018
* 7th Call Area QSO Party
* 4 States QRP Group Second Sunday Sprint
____________________________________________________________________________
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ARRL Contest Update wishes to acknowledge information from WA7BNM's Contest
Calendar and SM3CER's Contest Calendar.
____________________________________________________________________________
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* Origin: (1:3634/12.73)
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