Contester's Rate Sheet for August 10, 2005

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Contester's Rate Sheet
10 August 2005
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Edited by Ward Silver N0AX

SUMMARY
o WAE CW Kicks Off Fall Contest Season, MD-DC and NJ QSO Parties
o New Line Scores for ARRL Contests and VHF/UHF Advisory Committee
o Mid-Atlantic and Pacific NW VHF Conferences
o California QSO Party Records, MI & NE QSO Party Results
o Propagation Planning by K9LA
o N1LO's Tower and Antenna Compendium
o KR1ST's 70cm Stack of Halos
o Does This Make Ham Radio "Better"?

BULLETINS
o Experimental 6-meter licenses have been issued for Hungarian
stations for the first "magic band" operations from HA - see the
story below.

BUSTED QSOS
o I stirred up some trouble last week by confusing Sable and St. Paul
Islands (K1LZ took his tumble on St. Paul) and suggesting that the
ARRL log received listing was closed (it's not).  Suitably chastened,
I proceed with the present issue.

ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICES FOR 10 AUGUST TO 23 AUGUST 2005

Logs are due for the following contests:

August 10 - DL-DX RTTY Contest, email logs to: logs@drcg.de, paper
logs and diskettes to: (none), find rules at:
http://www.drcg.de/dl-dx/rules_eng.html

August 10 - Great Lakes Sweepstakes, email logs to: k8khz@yahoo.com,
paper logs and diskettes to: Sean Fleming K8KHZ, 27120 Barrington St,
Madison Heights, MI 48071, USA, find rules at:
http://mdxa1.org/GLSWEEPSRULES.html

August 16 - CQC Great Colorado Gold Rush, email logs to:
ki0rb@arrl.net, paper logs and diskettes to: Colorado QRP Club, PO
Box 17174, Golden, CO 80402-6019, USA, find rules at:
http://www.cqc.org/contests/gold2005.htm

August 18 - DIE Contest, email logs to: ea5aen@ea5ol.net, paper logs
and diskettes to: EA5AEN, PO Box 11055, Valencia, Spain, find rules
at: http://www.ea5ol.net/die/Die_contest_04.htm

August 18 - Quebec QSO Party, email logs to: qso-log@raqi.ca, paper
logs and diskettes to: Radio Amateur du Quebec (QQP), 4545, Av.
Pierre-de-Coubertin, C.P. 1000, Succursale M Montreal, QC H1V 3R2,
Canada, find rules at: http://www.raqi.ca/qqp/qqp-e.pdf

August 19 - VK/Trans-Tasman 160m Contest, CW, email logs to:
vktasman@hotmail.com, paper logs and diskettes to: VK/trans-Tasman
Contest 28 Crampton Crescent, Rosanna, VIC 3084, Australia, find
rules at: http://home.iprimus.com.au/vktasman/RULES.HTM

August 20 - North America QSO Party, CW (Aug), email logs to: (see
rules, web upload preferred), upload log at:
http://www.ncjweb.com/naqplogsubmit.php, paper logs and diskettes to:
Bruce Horn WA7BNM, 4225 Farmdale Avenue, Studio City, CA 91604, USA,
find rules at: http://www.ncjweb.com/naqprules.php

August 21 - SARL HF Phone Contest, email logs to:
zs4bs@netactive.co.za, paper logs and diskettes to: Dennis Green
ZS4BS, Box 12104, Brandhof, 9324 South Africa, find rules at:
http://www.sarl.org.za/public/contests/contestrules.asp

August 22 - 10-10 Int. Summer Contest, SSB, email logs to:
tentencontest@alltel.net, paper logs and diskettes to: Steve
Rasmussen N0WY, #68684, 312 N. 6th Street, Plattsmouth, NE 68048,
USA, find rules at: http://www.ten-ten.org/rules.html

August 23 - RSGB RoPoCo 2, email logs to: ropoco2.logs@rsgbhfcc.org,
paper logs and diskettes to: RSGB G3UFY, 77 Bensham Manor Road,
Thornton Heath, Surrey CR7 7AF, England, find rules at:
http://www.contesting.co.uk/hfcc/rules/rropoco.shtml

August 23 - Six Club Contest, email logs to: contests@6mt.com, paper
logs and diskettes to: Jerry Gault N4AVM, Six Club Contest Director,
4804 Gaithers Pointe Dr, Durham, NC 27713, find rules at:
http://www.6mt.com/contest.htm 

The following contests are scheduled:

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; LP - Low Power; Entity - DXCC Entity

HF CONTESTS

Worked All Europe DX Contest--CW, sponsored by the Deutscher ARC from
0000Z Aug 13 - 2359Z Aug 14, (Phone is Sep 10 - 11; RTTY is Nov 12 -
13). Frequencies: 80-10 meters according to Region I band plan.
Categories: SOHP, SOLP, MS, SWL. Spotting assistance 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 everyone. 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 inside EU, DXCC outside EU, plus call
districts.) Mults on 80m count x4, on 40m x3, otherwise x2. A QTC is
a report sent from a non-EU station back to an EU station of QSOs
that took place earlier in the contest (RTTY QTC may only be
exchanged between continents). 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@dxhf.darc.de or to WAEDC Contest Manager, Bernhard
Buettner DL6RAI, Schmidweg 17, 85609 Dornach, Germany.

Maryland-DC QSO Party--CW/Phone, sponsored by the Antietam Radio
Association, 1600Z Aug 13 - 0400Z Aug 14 and 1600Z-2359Z Aug 14.
Frequencies (MHz): CW -- 3.643, 7.060, 14.060, 21.060, 28.035, PHONE
- 1.895, 3.920, 7.230, 14.270, 21.370, 28.370, VHF/UHF - 50.150,
52.525, 144.15, 146.55, 146.580, 432.15, 446.000. 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 value applies. Score: QSO points x MD
counties + Baltimore City + DC. (MD-DC stations also count S/P/C) 
For more information: http://www.w3cwc.org/rules.html. Logs due Sept
15 to wa3eop@arrl.net (ASCII format) or Antietam Radio Association,
PO Box 52, Hagerstown, MD 21741-0052

North American QSO Party--SSB, sponsored by the National Contest
Journal, 1800Z Aug 20 - 0600Z Aug 21. Frequencies: 160 - 10-meters.
Categories: SOAB and M2, 100 W power limit, operate a maximum of 10
hours (off times must be at least 30 min and M2 entries may operate
the entire contest). Exchange: Name and S/P/C. Score: QSOs X States +
Province + NA DXCC countries (count each once per band). For
information: http://www.ncjweb.com/naqprules.php. Logs due 14 days
after the contest via the Web form at
http://www.ncjweb.com/naqplogsubmit.php, via email to
ssbnaqp@ncjweb.com (there is a Web-to-Cabrillo converter link on the
rules page) or Bruce Horn, WA7BNM, 4225 Farmdale Avenue, Studio City,
CA 91604.

SARTG WW RTTY Contest, sponsored by the Scandinavian Amateur Radio
Teleprinter Group, 0000Z-0800Z and 1600Z-2400Z Aug 20 and 0800Z-1600Z
Aug 21. Frequencies: 80-10 meters. Categories: SOAB (HP, LP <100W),
SOSB, MS, SWL. Exchange: RST and serial number. QSO Points: own
country--5 pts, different country on same continent--10 pts, diff.
cont.--15 pts. Score: QSO points x DXCC entities + W/VE/VK/JA call
districts. For more information: http://www.sartg.com/. Logs due Oct
10 to contest@sartg.com or to SARTG Contest Manager, Ewe Håkansson,
SM7BHM, Pilspetsvägen 4, SE-291 66 Kristianstad, Sweden.

Keymen's Club of Japan Contest--CW, sponsored by the Keymen's Club of
Japan, 1200Z Aug 21-1200Z Aug 22. Frequencies: 160-6 meters (JA
allocations on 160 are 1.810- 1.825, 1.908-1.912 MHz). Categories:
SOAB, SOSB (JA only), SWL. Exchange: RST and JA prefecture/district
or continent. QSO Points: 1 pt/QSO (JA count JA/JA--1 pt and JA/DX--5
pts). Score: QSO points x JA pref/dist from each band (JA also count
continents). For more information: http://www.jarl.com/kcj.  Logs due
30 Sep to kcjlog@freeml.com or Masayoshi Namba, JA1FCY, 1420-55
Kibara, Sambu-town, Sambu, Chiba 289-1212 Japan. 

New Jersey QSO Party--CW/Phone, sponsored by Englewood ARA, 2000Z Aug
20 - 0700Z Aug 21 and 1300Z Aug 21 - 0200Z Aug 22. Frequencies (MHz):
1.810, 3.535, 7.035, 14.035, 21.100, 28.100, SSB -- 3.950, 7.235,
14.285, 21.355, 28.400, VHF/UHF 50-50.5 and 144-146 MHz. Exchange:
QSO number and S/P/C or NJ county. QSO points: 3 pts/QSO. Score: QSO
points x NJ counties. NJ stations use NJ counties + states (except
NJ) + provinces, max. 83. For more information:
http://www.qsl.net/w2rj. Logs due Sep 17 to Englewood Amateur Radio
Association, Inc., PO Box 528, Englewood, New Jersey 07631-0528.

International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend--CW/SSB/Digital,
sponsored by ILLW from 0001Z Aug 20 - 2359Z Aug 21. Frequencies: CW -
21 kHz above band edge; SSB - 51 kHz above band edge. Exchange:
Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society (ARLHS) number, if at a lighthouse
or lightship. (see ARLHS contest, Aug 6 - 7). For more information:
http://illw.net/index.html.

Russian District Award Contest--CW/SSB, sponsored by the Tambov Award
Group and Russian Contest Club from 1000Z - 2200Z 20 Aug.
Frequencies: 160 - 10 meters. Categories: SOAB (HP, LP, QRP),
SOAB-CW, SOAB-SSB, MS (with 10-min rule), SWL, Portable SO and MS -
Russian only. Exchange: RS(T) + serial number or Russian District
code. QSO Points: 10 pts/QSO.  Total Score: QSO Points x DXCC
entities + Russian districts, counted only once. For more
information: http://rdaward.org/rda_contest1.htm. Logs due 30 days
after the contest to rx3rz@tmb.ru or Popov Sergey, P.O.Box 29,
Tambov, 392000, Russia.

VHF+ CONTESTS

ARRL 10 GHz and Up Contest, 0600 local Aug 20 - 2000 local Aug 21.
Categories:10 GHz only and 10 GHz and up. Exchange: Six-digit
Maidenhead Locator. Distance Points equals distance in km between
stations. QSO Points: 100 pts for each unique call worked. Score:
Distance points + QSO points. For more information:
http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2005/10-ghz.html. Logs due Oct 18
to 10GHz@arrl.org or ARRL Contest Branch, 225 Main St., Newington,
CT, 06111, USA.

NEWS AND PRESS RELEASES

Stop the presses - we have arrived! On page 41 of the August issue of
Wired magazine:
   Wired:  Morse code
   Tired: texting
   Expired:  shorthand
(Thanks, Steve, KI0KY)

There is a new Web-based version of ARRL contest Line Scores
available to both ARRL members and non-Members.  This listing is
generated on-demand directly from the score data base, so any
corrections are always included.  (Previously, printed and downloaded
line scores were only available in fixed form as part of the QST
article PDF and were not updated.)  The new line score format is
presented as HTML, so a PDF reader program is not required.  The font
size is a tad larger than the QRPp 6-point used in the magazine, too.
 Get your copy of the line scores by clicking "Printable Line Scores"
on the ARRL Contest Results Web page at
http://www.arrl.org/contests/results/.  This format is available for
ARRL contests with an on-line database, beginning with the 2001 ARRL
November CW Sweepstakes. (Thanks, Dan N1ND)

At the recent ARRL board meeting, a resolution was passed to create a
new VHF/UHF Advisory Committee.  This follows the two-year effort by
a VHF/UHF ad hoc committee to address increasing participation in
VHF+ contests. The board recognizes "VHF/UHF contesting issues are
markedly different than HF contesting issues due to the unique
aspects of VHF and UHF propagation and the impact of geography and
population-density differences." This should lead to more recognition
and publicity for VHF+ contests.  Note that a new committee has not
yet been formed, but that should come to pass relatively soon.  If
you have thoughts on the issue, contact your ARRL Director.  The full
story and resolution are available at
http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/05/0722.

Speaking of VHF, experimental radio licenses have been issued as of 1
August for restricted amateur radio usage of the 50 MHz band for the
first time in Hungary for 65 stations. The licenses are valid until
30 Aug. The aim of the experiment is to study whether amateur radio
usage of the 50 MHz band on a secondary basis causes interference in
the reception of broadcast stations. The frequency range permitted
for the experiment is 50.0500 - 50.5000 MHz for all operating modes,
including FM and digital modes. Maximum effective radiated power
(ERP) however is limited to 5 Watts. For more information join the
mailing list at http://www.hasix.org/mailman/listinfo/6m or send
email to info@hasix.org. (Thanks, Team HA5HRK)

Tabor Software (http://www.taborsoft.com/) has a deal for new users of
the WinCAP Wizard 3 package, which includes GeoAlert and Beacon Time
Wizard. Register the program during August or September and receive
the approaching major upgrade free. Further, if you state that you
saw this offer in the "Contester's Rate Sheet" there's a $15
discount.  My goodness, the Rate Sheet hits the big time! (Thanks,
Jim KU5S)

Doc W3GAD reminds me to mention the Mid-Atlantic VHF Conference on 24
September. The organizers have a lot of interesting presentations
scheduled, including Nobel laureate K1JT speaking on EME and HS
Meteor using the JT software packages. The conference also coincides
with the annual Hamarama hamfest, so it sounds like a fun-filled
weekend, no matter what your tastes.  You can get all of the
information and registration forms at
http://members.ij.net/packrats/Hamarama/Hama_05.html#Anchor-Mid-Atlantic-49575.

On the West Coast, VHF+ operators will enjoy the Pacific Northwest
VHF Conference in Seaside, OR from Sep 30 - Oct 2.  Sponsored by the
Pacific NW VHF Society, this annual event features a full slate of
presentations, a swap meet, and the great Seaside ocean air at one of
the nicest resorts on the Oregon coast.  You can find out more at
http://www.pnwvhfs.org/.

A couple months ago K1TTT was trying to figure out what to do with a
couple of BIG insulators. He has apparently figured it out because
BIG things are under way - so BIG that they now have their own Web
site: http://www.berkshireinsulatorgallery.org/ (Thanks, Dave K1TTT)

At the time the program "Tuning In To the World" about ham radio made
the rounds on NPR, I didn't hear much about it.  Thanks to astute
reader Lynn N7CFO, you can now listen to the program in its entirety
at http://www.theconnection.org/shows/2005/07/20050729_b_main.asp. 
The show features some fairly balanced and interesting conversation,
some well-known calls appear in the form of CW audio at the
beginning, and the call-in participants are knowledgeable and
articulate.  This makes for a pleasant listen!

I was reading the Wikipedia (http://www.wikipedia.org/) one day and
discovered that the Eniac was first powered up at the Aberdeen
Proving Grounds on July 29, 1947. A modern keyer chip has more
processing power! Read all about it at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ENIAC.

Dave KM3T spotted on http://www.wifiworldrecord.com/ a new Wi-Fi
distance record of 124.9 miles set by a team of amateurs; KG4NVK,
N8MX, KC8RKO, and KC8OIO.  A follow-op discussion ensued on Slashdot
(http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/08/01/1013218).
Pretty interesting stuff as microwave data links become consumer
electronics!

Roger K7NTW asked for recommendations of math-related books that
don't require advanced degrees to enjoy.  Some of my personal
favorites include books about some of the "magic numbers" of math. 
Here's a few:
- "The Golden Ratio : The Story of PHI, the World's Most Astonishing
Number" by Mario Livio
- "e: The Story of a Number" by Eli Maor
- "Imagining Numbers: (particularly the square root of minus
fifteen)" by Barry Mazur
- "Pi: A Biography of the World's Most Mysterious Number" by Alfred S
Posamentier
- "The Nothing That Is: A Natural History of Zero" by Robert Kaplan
Warning - this is a slippery slope and can lead to many pleasant
hours of reading and neglecting those antenna chores.

IOTA Contest Manager Don G3XTT (g3xtt@lineone.net) requests feedback
on the log submission process. He reminds us that using a word
processor rather than a text editor to manually edit logs may not
result in a standard Cabrillo file.  Use a plain text editor such as
the Windows accessory Notepad to check your log.   In addition, you
may also submit JPEG files via Web entry of up to 500 kbytes for the
IOTA contest Web page.  Complete information is available at
http://www.contesting.co.uk/hfcc/iota.shtml.

Scott Adams, the creator of the cartoon strip "Dilbert," is
interviewed in the print edition of EE Times for July 25. You can
read the interview in the online version of the newsletter, but you
have to register - http://www.eetimes.com/print. (Thanks, Wayne
KH6WZ)

Some Portuguese from a different source this time, the Radio Amateur
Conversation Guide written by OH2BR and OH2BAD and offered free to
the ham radio community. You can download your copy in PDF format at
http://www.k8zt.com/racg/racg.html.
Calling CQ
- CQ twenty metres, this is N0AX calling CQ and standing by.
- CQ vinte metros, esta e N0AX que chamou geral e passa a escuta.
Some QSO elements
- Thanks for the call.
- Obrigado pela chamada.
- My QTH [location] is Seattle.
- Meu QTH [minha localizaqao] e Brasilia.
- The input [output] power of the transmitter is 1 kilowatt.
- A potencia de entrada [saida] do transmissor e 1 kilowatt.

RESULTS AND RECORDS

The California QSO Party is still weeks away, but in the mean time
you can whet your  appetite for all-time CQP records at
http://www.cqp.org/results/Records/records_04.pdf Sunspots may be
down but CA stations on-the-air for CQP are up. (Thanks, Marc W6ZZZ)

Congratulations to the MI QSO Party committee for getting the final
results out in only three months! (http://www.miqp.org/) New for 2005
in the on-line results is that a printable version of the results is
available in PDF format. The Excel spreadsheet that was used to
categorize and rank the scores can also be downloaded. (Thanks, Dave
K8CC)

The half-hour NCCC Sprint Thursday night practices are really
attracting some interest.  Check out the results of a recent contest
at http://lists.contesting.com/_3830/2005-07/msg00813.html. (Thanks,
Marc W6ZZZ)

Results for the Nebraska QSO Party are now available at
http://www.qsl.net/hdxa. (Thanks, Steve N0WY)

TECHNICAL

About a year ago Carl K9LA wrote a short article titled Propagation
Planning for DXpeditions. It discussed six areas to help with
propagation issues on your DXpedition. This document is available at
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/pdf/propplan.pdf.  Now he has written a
short article titled Propagation Planning for Contests. It goes one
step farther, and outlines a short process using VOACAP to come up
with a band plan for those contest categories requiring a decision as
to what band to be on at any given time. It takes advantage of the
inherent statistical nature of propagation predictions, and it is
available at http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/pdf/propcontest.pdf.

Gene AD3F suggests that this would be "an opportune time to remind
all about Mark N1LO's great tome on antenna and tower references -
http://www.qsl.net/n1lo/towers.txt .  It's probably as close to
anything as you'll come to a real textbook on the subjects of tower
design, installation and maintenance. It's a large text file so it
will take a while to download on all but the fastest of connections."

If you'd like to be able to just send CW from your keyboard without
firing up a whole logging program, CW Type is just such a program. It
can key the radio via either a serial or parallel interface and can
send from the keyboard or a paddle plugged into the parallel port.
Hank K8DD has checked it out on Windows XP and the price is right -
free!  CW Type is available from DXsoft at
http://www.dxsoft.com/en/products/cwtype/.

Bob W9YA has a novel method of storing components in the workshop. He
uses business envelopes cut in half, which isn't so novel, but the
method of acquisition is. "Find a political committee that is going
out of business. They are formed all the time and seem to go out of
business right after an election of some sort. Ask for their unused
printed envelopes. This will generally net you several thousand."

With EME in reach of more hams than ever, interest is waxing in
things lunar. Tree N6TR recently found out some interesting things
about the visibility of the moon from near the earth's poles. "At the
poles, it is possible to go through almost a whole year and never see
a full moon -- if the half of the month you can see it in doesn't
overlap with the full moon."  Also, lunar retrograde motion adds a
complicating factor to the whole lunar tracking problem. Why? 
Because the moon's orbit is hardly circular as illustrated by the
QuickTime movie at http://www.mesquiteisd.org/planet/moon.html.  More
information about lunar motion is available at
http://www.synapses.co.uk/astro/moon1.html.

Left your soldering iron on all night and now the tip is solidly
oxidized? If wiping the tip on a wet, synthetic sponge following by
flooding the tip with solder doesn't clean it up, a chemical cleaner
may be required. Kester Tip Tinner is recommended by Mike K8LH.
Stuart K5KVH has used "Sal Ammoniac" blocks which are available from
craft stores with supplies for stained glass windowmakers.  He notes
that the fumes are "dreadful", so use in a well-ventilated area.

Alex KR1ST has published a construction article for an inexpensive
4-stack of 70cm halo antennas. It's posted on his Web site at
http://www.kr1st.com/70cmstack.htm.  The article contains detailed
instructions on how to build the antenna with diagrams and pictures.

CONVERSATION

Does This Make Ham Radio "Better"?

In preparing a presentation for the Pacific NW DX Convention on new
ways of visualizing radio information, I felt that it was important
to evaluate the ideas for their possible effect on ham radio.  After
all, if new technology, techniques, or activities don't make ham
radio "better", then why implement them?

The implied part of that question is that we actually know what
"better" is.  The quick reply is usually, "Well, of course I know!" 
But when pressed, it can be difficult to say exactly where the Good
Arrow points.  A legalistic definition would be to point to the FCC's
Part 97.1 - the Basis and Purpose for the Amateur Service,
paraphrased here as:
- Voluntary communications, particularly emergency communications
- Advancement of the radio art
- Advancing skills in the communications and technical phases of the
(radio) art
- Expansion of trained operators, technicians, and electronics
experts
- Enhance international goodwill

Those are a little dry, so translating those principles into more
personable statements in no particular order:
- Increase understanding of the physical environment of radio
- Improve an operator's efficiency, accuracy, and breadth of
expertise
- Encourage technical learning about communications systems
- Develop new radio services and techniques
- Create new opportunities for building and innovation

These are pretty much where my particular Good Arrow points.  I don't
expect every possible change to ham radio to score a plus on every
one of those five points, but if a change can't muster a little
enthusiasm in any of those areas, then maybe it's not going in the
direction of the Good Arrow.  Conversely, the more goals a change
promotes, the better the change may be.

Some changes have uniformly good effects, but most will be of the
"some steps forward, some steps backwards" variety.  This leaves us
to count the steps, weigh them, and decide whether there is a net
benefit.  Things get even more complicated when combinations of
changes are occurring. Two rights might make a wrong!  Then there is
the fact of having thousands of humans all acting and reacting at
once - that makes life genuinely interesting, doesn't it?

When presented with such a rich and frothy brew of possibilities,
it's usually easiest to just pull the covers over one's head and
reject them all.  Better the devil you know than the devil you don't.
If it's not broke, don't fix it. Of course, this conveniently ignores
the fact that radio and radio operators are continually changing,
whether we embrace change or not.

Undoubtedly, amateur radio is in a watershed period, just as it was
in the years following World War II, a period of dramatic technical
change and a rapid change in the population of amateurs.  While there
was a lot of complaining, that upheaval seems to have turned out OK. 
Today, the rapidly hybridizing Internet-Radio combination, changing
license requirements, and accelerating technical evolution of radio
will probably transform ham radio to the same degree as before and
after WWII.  Radio in 1960 looked an awful lot different to an
amateur that got started in the 1930's - a situation in which many of
us find ourselves today.

As you browse the Web, read the magazines, and kick things around
with your friends, you'll encounter divisive and difficult topics
such as CW testing, spotting networks, digital radios, bandwidth and
band plans, and on and on. Even in such an environment, where it's
difficult to know the long-term benefits and costs of changes, one
can still apply Good Arrow measuring sticks and support the aspects
of change that line up closest. Then it becomes a question of whether
you choose to dwell on features that measure up or the ones that
don't. Ham radio is molting - all we have to do now is decide which
parts will make up the new lobster and which parts the old shell.

73, Ward N0AX

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