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The ARRL Contest Update

February 8, 2017
Editor: Brian Moran, N9ADG


IN THIS ISSUE
* New HF Operators: Good HF Antennas are Essential
* Bulletins
* Contest Summary
* News: ARRL School Club Roundup, Updates to Loggers, Flex Radio Client
for OS X, Morse Code Learning by Touch, and more
* Word to the Wise: Constellation
* Sights and Sounds: Teleprinting, Waller Flags, RFI Spectrum Display
* Results: IARU, Sweepstakes
* Operating Tip: Use the Right Filtering for the Job
* Technical Topics and Information: RFI, Signal ID, Electronics Design
Resources
* Quote of the Week: Hotel Best Practice
* Conversation: Passion and Perseverance
* Contests
* Log Due Dates


NEW HF OPERATORS - THINGS TO DO

Especially in these times of sunspot minima, the best way to make contacts on HF and increase your fun is to use the best performing antennas that you can. Effective antennas don't have to be too expensive -- check out the ARRL website
for some HF antenna ideas. Conversely, if you do choose to use 5 Watts and a non-resonant antenna at a low height, make sure your QSO expectations are tempered by your system's capability.



BULLETINS

None this time.



BUSTED QSOS

Dick, W7WKR, preferred W8JI's pages on grounding and bonding, and others suggested using K9YC's materials, rather than the ground system link included last time.



CONTEST SUMMARY

Complete information for all contests follows the Conversation section

February 9

* CWops Mini-CWT Test

February 10

* NCCC RTTY Sprint
* QRP Fox Hunt
* NCCC Sprint Ladder

February 11

* CQ WW RTTY WPX Contest
* SARL Field Day Contest
* Asia-Pacific Spring Sprint, CW
* Dutch PACC Contest
* KCJ Topband Contest
* SKCC Weekend Sprintathon
* OMISS QSO Party
* New Hampshire QSO Party
* FISTS Winter Unlimited Sprint
* AWA Amplitude Modulation QSO Party

February 12

* Balkan HF Contest

February 13

* CQC Winter QSO Party
* ARRL School Club Roundup

February 14

* PODXS 070 Club Valentine Sprint

February 15

* QRP Fox Hunt
* Phone Fray
* CWops Mini-CWT Test
* AGCW Semi-Automatic Key Evening
* RSGB 80m Club Championship, Data

February 16

* CWops Mini-CWT Test

February 17

* NCCC RTTY Sprint
* QRP Fox Hunt
* NCCC Sprint Ladder

February 18

* ARRL International DX Contest, CW
* Novice Rig Roundup
* SARL Youth Day Sprint
* Russian PSK WW Contest
* Feld Hell Sprint

February 20

* Run for the Bacon QRP Contest

February 22

* SKCC Sprint
* NAQCC CW Sprint
* QRP Fox Hunt
* Phone Fray
* CWops Mini-CWT Test
* UKEICC 80m Contest


NEWS, PRESS RELEASES, AND GENERAL INTEREST

The ARRL School Club Roundup is taking place February 13 through February 17. You can encourage future contesters by making contacts with schools during the Roundup next week. If you have additional interest and resources to help develop operators, join the effort to revitalize university and college radio clubs by coordinating through the ARRLCARI Facebook page, or your college/university's radio club.

Scott, N3FJP, has announced the availability of Vermont QSO Party Contest Log 1.0. Its debut was just ahead of last weekend's Vermont QSO Party, and includes
versions for both in-state and out-of-state QSO Party participants. Scott has also updated his software supporting the North American CW and RTTY Sprints to reflect multiplier changes.

DogparkSDR is a client for the Flex Radio Systems Signature series SDR Radios running as a native Macintosh OS X application. It provides audio, panadapter and waterfall displays, and provides control and tuning of your Flex Radio 6000
series radio. DogparkSDR has been releasing OS X and IOS-specific software for a number of years, including including MacLoggerDX, MacDoppler, MacLoggerDX for
iPad, and iSpectrum Audio Analyzer.

According to an article in Scientific American, learning to send Morse code is made easier when audio is combined with touch. One group of participants in a Georgia Institute of Technology study were equipped with hardware that provided
audio tones as well as skin taps as words were spelled out, while another received just the tones. The group that received both types of stimuli was twice as accurate when given a sending test after four one-hour training sessions. (via W7VMI email list)

If you want to keep up with the Dayton Hamvention's news, it appears the Hamvention Twitter feed is the place for it. This week's announcement is that there will be free parking!

Jeff, KE9V, publishes Calling CQ, "1000 words of Amateur Radio news and commentary," every Monday. In last Monday's commentary, he considers the growth
of Amateur numbers over the past few years and how it may relate to the elimination of the CW requirement. Current email issues appear in the web archives after a couple of weeks.

A group of Italian Amateurs is presenting Italy as a candidate to host WRTC 2022, and has started an online petition to begin the process. (Dave, K3ZJ, via
CQ-Contest)

The VHF/UHF DX Book, 2017 Replica Edition is now a free download courtesy of TRPublishing. According to the publisher, "The VHF/UHF DX Book was written in the early to mid-1990s by a team of experienced VHF/UHF DXers and equipment developers, in an effort to pass on our knowledge and stimulate further developments." A cautionary statement is also provided: "Please do not try to duplicate the construction projects in this book. These designs are over 20 years old and many of the components are no longer available. More modern designs are available today, so seek them out and use those instead." (Ian, GM3SEK via UKSMG via PNWVHFS)



WORD TO THE WISE

Constellation: As applied to spacecraft like satellites, a constellation is an intentional pattern of satellites in coordinated orbits which provide a desired
result, such as continuous ground coverage. Examples of constellations include GPS, GLONASS, and Iridium networks of satellites. A non-space example of a drone constellation includes the pre-recorded sky display during the half-time show of the 2017 Super Bowl.



SIGHTS AND SOUNDS

Dramatic music, real film credits, and color! "How a Teleprinter Works" from 1940 features mechanical models and an explanation of the five level code. (Ward, N0AX)

Teletype nomenclature lives on today in many computer systems, especially those
based on a variation of Unix or Linux - here's the story of how TTYs and computers became linked, and how they evolved into terminals, and how operating
systems still support terminal functionality.

The World Wide Radio Operator Foundation (WWROF) will present the webinar "Waller Flag RX Antenna 101 - How to Construct a Waller Flag" by JC, N4IS, on February 16. You can also check out past WWROF webinars, including 2016's "High
Performance RX Antennas for a Small Lot," also by JC, on the WWROF website. In addition to design and construction, techniques for testing and evaluation of flag performance will be discussed.

Tom, W0IVJ, has created a video of RFI detection while driving through his neighborhood using an SDR receiver and active mobile antenna. His narration of the video of the captured spectrum includes identifying VDSL2 interference, RFI
from switching power supplies, and even a periodic ionosphere sounder. See related item below.


Quote of the Week

"TIP: Don't leave your antennas assembled in the hotel room. It scares housekeeping." (Ken, K2WB/7/R, from February 2017 Mt. Airy VHF Radio Club's Cheese Bits newsletter)



RESULTS AND RECORDS

Preliminary results for the 2016 ARRL CW Sweepstakes and the 2016 ARRL Phone Sweepstakes are available on the ARRL website. In the CW Contest, there were a number of ties in the second to seventh positions across a few of the categories. Despite another year's plunge towards the sunspot minimum, winning scores in the Single Op QRP and Multi Op Low Power categories were significantly higher in 2016 than in 2015. Notable in the Phone contest, there were a grand total of sixteen QSOs reported on ten meters.

The 2016 IARU HF Championship Full Results article was recently updated on the ARRL website. The IARU 2018 standings website has also been updated to reflect inclusion of the 2016 IARU scores.



OPERATING TIP

Use appropriate receive filtering to suit your circumstances. If you're calling
CQ and not getting any replies, try increasing your receive filtering bandwidth
to better hear any off-frequency callers. If the band is crowded, you may need to take advantage of other functionality your rig may offer such as RIT and pass band shifting to be able to copy your callers while avoiding QRM from adjacent stations.



TECHNICAL TOPICS AND INFORMATION

Managing your local RF environment is essential to be able to continue to hear weak signals. Tracking down and eliminating local neighborhood RFI sources is one aspect of this. On his website, Larry, W0QE, describes a method of using a spectrum display for tracking and identifying RFI sources. Larry developed a broadband high impedance amplifier to be used in conjunction with small whip antennas appropriate for mounting on vehicles. Tom, W0IVJ, used freely available software to make this video of using Larry's hardware for RFI 'war driving' to identify RFI sources, in this case VDSL2 modems. Larry's RF amplifier design is one that is applicable for nearly any SDR using small vertical monopoles while the screen video recording techniques could also be used, for example, in contest logging training. (Tom, W0IVJ, via RFI Reflector)


Identifying man-made signals you might hear or see on your waterfall display might be made easier with the Signal Identification Guide Wiki. Signals of all types, including Over The Horizon (OTH) RADARs, digital data transmissions, and
encrypted communication formats, are listed. Descriptions include sample audio as well as waterfall displays. (Dennis, N6KI)


In your contest station-building activities, you might find this "... curated list of awesome resources for electronic engineers and hobbyists" (their description) of use. It's hosted using Github, so contributors can suggest changes through pull requests.


Microwaves & RF's recent article on coaxial cable provides a good overview of cable types and dielectric construction, mostly geared toward higher frequencies and commercial uses. Only 12 more years until the coax centennial! (Tim, K3HX)


A recent re-order of some 15 pin Y cables for bandpass filters yielded an unpleasant surprise. The supplier's source must have changed, as the most recent cables don't include a pin essential for the band data function. Older cable end on the left, newer one on the right. This would have been a fun one to find when the first band change occurred during the contest.



CONVERSATION

Passion and Perseverance

Last weekend's NFL contest spurred a discussion between Ward, N0AX, and his NAQP Phone teammates: "The Patriots come-from-behind win was inspirational, actually, in that if you just 'keep your butt in the chair' you can make things
happen. I had a similar situation during the CW Sprint on Saturday - things were kind of slow and I didn't think I would do well. Kept going and the last two hours were a lot better than I expected, especially 80 meters. Looks like a
Top Five performance, even though my first hour was 'not world class,' as they say. We just kept going..."

It's easy to lose your motivation due to poor propagation, slow rates, equipment problems, that lunchtime microwave burrito that didn't sit well, or hundreds of other reasons. But that drive that keeps you on the radio and making QSOs despite adversity is a necessary component to improve performance and ultimately win contests. In the mainstream, "grit" is the term that has been used to describe this trait. It's a skill that you can cultivate through practice. If you need some tongue-in-cheek comfort to help get through the next
bad time: the worse your experience, the more you are improving.

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

9 Feb - 22 Feb 2017

An expanded, downloadable version of QST's Contest Corral in PDF format is available. Check the sponsor's Web site for information on operating time restrictions and other instructions.


HF CONTESTS

CWops Mini-CWT Test, Feb 8, 1300z to Feb 8, 1400z, Feb 8, 1900z to Feb 8, 2000z, Feb 9, 0300z to Feb 9, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; Member: Name + Member No., non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: February 11.

NCCC RTTY Sprint, Feb 10, 0145z to Feb 10, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: February 12.

QRP Fox Hunt, Feb 10, 0200z to Feb 10, 0330z; CW; Bands: 80m Only; RST + (state/province/country) + name + power output; Logs due: February 11.

NCCC Sprint Ladder, Feb 10, 0230z to Feb 10, 0300z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20,
15, 10, 6m; Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: February 12.

CQ WW RTTY WPX Contest, Feb 11, 0000z to Feb 12, 2359z; RTTY; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: February 17.

SARL Field Day Contest, Feb 11, 1000z to Feb 12, 1000z; CW, SSB, Digital; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; RS(T) + Number of transmitters + Category (see
rules) + Province (or "DX"); Logs due: February 19.

Asia-Pacific Spring Sprint, CW, Feb 11, 1100z to Feb 11, 1300z; CW; Bands: 40, 20m; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: February 18.

Dutch PACC Contest, Feb 11, 1200z to Feb 12, 1200z; CW, SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; PA: RS(T) + province, non-PA: RS(T) + Serial No.; Logs due: March 15.

KCJ Topband Contest, Feb 11, 1200z to Feb 12, 1200z; CW; Bands: 160m Only; JA: RST + Prefecture/District Code, non-JA: RST + Continent Code (AF,AS,EU,NA,OC,SA); Logs due: March 13.

SKCC Weekend Sprintathon, Feb 11, 1200z to Feb 13, 0000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6m; RST + (state/province/country) + Name + (SKCC No./"NONE"); Logs due: February 19.

OMISS QSO Party, Feb 11, 1500z to Feb 12, 1500z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; RS + (state/province/DX) + (OMISS No. if member); Logs due: March 1.

New Hampshire QSO Party, Feb 11, 1600z to Feb 12, 2200z; CW/Digital, Phone; Bands: All, except WARC; NH: RS(T) + county, non-NH W/VE: RS(T) + (state/province), DX: RS(T) + "DX"; Logs due: see rules.

FISTS Winter Unlimited Sprint, Feb 11, 1700z to Feb 11, 2100z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; FISTS: RST + (state/province/country) + first name + FISTS No., non-FISTS: RST + (state/province/country) + first name + power; Logs due: March 13.

AWA Amplitude Modulation QSO Party, Feb 11, 2300z to Feb 12, 2300z; AM, 160; Bands: 80, 40, 20m; Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: March 1.

Balkan HF Contest, Feb 12, 1200z to Feb 12, 1800z; CW, SSB; Bands: 80, 40m; RS(T) + QSO No.; Logs due: February 19.

CQC Winter QSO Party, Feb 13, 0100z to Feb 13, 0259z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20m; Member: RST + (state/province/country) + Serial No.; Logs due: March 15.

ARRL School Club Roundup, Feb 13, 1300z to Feb 17, 2359z; CW, Phone, RTTY/Digital; Bands: All, except 60, 30, 17, 12m; RS(T) + Class (I/C/S) + (state/province/country); Logs due: March 4.

PODXS 070 Club Valentine Sprint, Feb 14, 0000z to Feb 14, 2359z; PSK31; Bands: 160, 80, 40m; Name + (OM/YL) + (state/province/country); Logs due: February 28.

QRP Fox Hunt, Feb 15, 0200z to Feb 15, 0330z; CW; Bands: 80m Only; RST + (state/province/country) + name + power output; Logs due: February 18.

Phone Fray, Feb 15, 0230z to Feb 15, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15m; NA: Name + (state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: February 17.

CWops Mini-CWT Test, Feb 15, 1300z to Feb 15, 1400z, Feb 15, 1900z to Feb 15, 2000z, Feb 16, 0300z to Feb 16, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; Member: Name + Member No., non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: February 18.

AGCW Semi-Automatic Key Evening, Feb 15, 1900z to Feb 15, 2030z; CW; Bands: 80m
Only; RST + Serial No. + "/" + 2-digit year first used a bug; Logs due: March 15.

RSGB 80m Club Championship, Data, Feb 15, 2000z to Feb 15, 2130z; RTTY, PSK; Bands: 80m Only; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: February 22.

NCCC RTTY Sprint, Feb 17, 0145z to Feb 17, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: February 19.

QRP Fox Hunt, Feb 17, 0200z to Feb 17, 0330z; CW; Bands: 80m Only; RST + (state/province/country) + name + power output; Logs due: February 18.

NCCC Sprint Ladder, Feb 17, 0230z to Feb 17, 0300z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20,
15, 10, 6m; Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: February 19.

ARRL International DX Contest, CW, Feb 18, 0000z to Feb 20, 0000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; W/VE: RST + (state/province), non-W/VE: RST + power; Logs due: March 21.

Novice Rig Roundup, Feb 18, 0000z to Feb 27, 0000z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 15, 10, 2m; RST + Name + QTH + Rig + (Xtal/VFO) + Power; Logs due: March 31.

SARL Youth Day Sprint, Feb 18, 0800z to Feb 18, 1000z; SSB; Bands: 40m Only; RS
+ age; Logs due: February 25.

Russian PSK WW Contest, Feb 18, 1200z to Feb 19, 1159z; BPSK31, BPSK63, BPSK125; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; RU: RST + 2-letter oblast, non-RU: RST + Serial No.; Logs due: February 24.

Feld Hell Sprint, Feb 18, 1900z to Feb 18, 2059z; Feld Hell; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6m; (see rules); Logs due: February 22.

Run for the Bacon QRP Contest, Feb 20, 0200z to Feb 20, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; RST + (state/province/country) + (Member No./power); Logs due: February 26.

SKCC Sprint, Feb 22, 0000z to Feb 22, 0200z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; RST + (state/province/country) + Name + (SKCC No./power); Logs due: February 24.

NAQCC CW Sprint, Feb 22, 0130z to Feb 22, 0330z; CW; Bands: 160m Only; RST + (state/province/country) + (NAQCC No./power); Logs due: February 26.

QRP Fox Hunt, Feb 22, 0200z to Feb 22, 0330z; CW; Bands: 80m Only; RST + (state/province/country) + name + power output; Logs due: February 25.

Phone Fray, Feb 22, 0230z to Feb 22, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15m; NA: Name + (state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: February 24.

CWops Mini-CWT Test, Feb 22, 1300z to Feb 22, 1400z, Feb 22, 1900z to Feb 22, 2000z, Feb 23, 0300z to Feb 23, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; Member: Name + Member No., non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: February 25.

UKEICC 80m Contest, Feb 22, 2000z to Feb 22, 2100z; CW; Bands: 80m Only; 4-Character grid square; Logs due: February 22.


VHF+ CONTESTS

LOG DUE DATES

February 9, 2017

* ARS Spartan Sprint
* QRP Fox Hunt

February 10, 2017

* Phone Fray

February 11, 2017

* WAB 1.8 MHz Phone
* CWops Mini-CWT Test

February 12, 2017

* AWA Linc Cundall Memorial CW Contest
* North American Sprint, CW
* UBA DX Contest, SSB

February 13, 2017

* REF Contest, CW
* RSGB 80m Club Championship, SSB

February 15, 2017

* Black Sea Cup International

February 16, 2017

* NRAU 10m Activity Contest

February 20, 2017

* 10-10 Int. Winter Contest, SSB

February 22, 2017

* ARRL January VHF Contest


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ARRL Contest Update wishes to acknowledge information from WA7BNM's Contest Calendar and SM3CER's Contest Calendar.

____________________________________________________________________________


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