 March 3, 2021 Editor: Paul Bourque, N1SFE | |
IN THIS ISSUE
In the upcoming weekend of March 6, the SSB side of the ARRL International DX Contest will be the main event. If SSB is not your thing, there's the Open Ukraine RTTY Championship. March 13 - What's NOT happening on the March 13 weekend? There are at least 20 events, spanning 160 meters to UHF, with CW, RTTY, SSB, PSK... but no FTx mode contest. Stations participating in the RSGB Commonwealth (BERU) contest don't get any points for working a US station, so they may not answer your call. The QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo on March 12-14 includes a number of contesting related presentations. See the Sights and Sounds section for more information. BUSTED QSOS Dale, WC7S, notes:" The QRP FOX HUNTS are held on 40 and 80 meters during the winter, through April 1. The Summer season is on 20 meters only. For more information and rules, see QRPFOXHUNTL.ORG." In the last issue, who was that smiling guy operating from W8UM, the University of Michigan Amateur Radio Club, during the North American Collegiate Championship? Michael, KE8AQW, that's who! Michael is the W8UM President / W8AXZ Trustee. Complete information for all contests follows the Conversation section 3 Mar - 17 Mar 2021 March 4 March 5 March 6
March 7
March 8 March 9 March 10
March 11 March 12 March 13
March 14
March 15
March 16 March 17 The ARRL International DX Contest, SSB, is the weekend of March 6. Like the CW event previously, due to COVID-19 there's a temporary accommodation for multi-operator stations. Tree, N6TR, has posted the 2021 dates for the four Stew Perry 160 meter contests. This year's "Main Stew" in December will occur one week earlier than normal, on 12/18, to avoid a conflict with 12/25. The dates are as follows: March 13, June 19, October 23, and December 18. In the last issue, the Operating Tip stated that it's generally unnecessary to include the call area with your call sign when operating outside the traditional call area boundaries. Bob, N7WY, writes that for some contests, the contest rules require you to include call area with your call sign. "The rules for BARTG RTTY contests require appending the true call area." Bob is N7WY/0 for BARTG contests in January, but N7WY when he's operating from Wyoming. The CQ WPX SSB Contest is coming up on the March 27 weekend. You can find some excellent pointers on strategy and how to maximize your score by reading the CQ WPX RTTY Contest (completed) pointers in the Northern California Contest Club's February JUG. David, WD6T, starts off with location, location, location, then heads into antennas, pointing out that contacts on 160 through 40 meters are worth double those on the higher bands. Then, strategy. Prefixes are the multipliers, so if you have a unique one, or access to a unique one, use it! He also points out that part-time contesters could maximize their contribution by throwing in with a distributed multi-multi effort. David points out that knowing the rules, and the changes in the rules, is important, and should influence where you point your antennas and what bands you are on to maximize QSO values. N1MM Logger+ added a new feature that will be of interest to Sprint contest participants: "Silent" macros that can be included in messages to automatically change the operating frequency after a QSO. Here's the description of the feature added in version 1.0.8990 and later by N2IC: "Added {FREQUP} and {FREQDN} macros. These are used after an {END} macro to shift the active radio frequency by the frequency increment in the Configurer->Other tab. Useful in Sprint-like contests to automatically change the frequency after a QSO, as required by the rules." The North American Sprint, RTTY on March 13 would be a fine time to try this out! Neil, WB9VPG, writes that the Youth on the Air Camp is still on for Summer 2021: "We know that changes in the COVID-19 pandemic status between now and July will have an impact on our decision to host the camp. At this time, we are still hopeful that hosting the camp safely July 11-16, 2021 will be possible. Should we not be able to host the camp, we will let everyone know with as much notice as possible, and postpone it to 2022. Our plan is to make the final decision in the month of April." For more information, see the YouthOnTheAir website. KB6NU's blog notes that Amazon is going to require sellers to provide FCC certification information to "create new listings or update existing listings of radio frequency devices" starting in April 2021. BIC, B-I-C. "Butt In Chair" radio contests have a defined start time and end time. If an operator is not at the radio and making contacts, they're losing points. "I didn't do as well in the contest as last year - too many weekend distractions, not enough B-I-C." Randy, K5ZD, presented "Tips on How to Be a Better Contester" as part of HAM-CON, the Vermont Ham Radio Convention. More HAM-CON videos can be found here. Mike, VA3MW, of FlexRadio, presented a video on how to set up N1MM Logger+ with FlexRadio transceivers for RTTY contests using MMTTY. Though his video was targeted to the CQ WPX, the radio setup information is applicable to any RTTY contest. The QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo on March 12 - 14 includes a number of contest-relevant presentations, including: "D4C - You Call, We Answer" - Marco, IK2LFF "Underdog Contesting" - Fred, K4IU "K9CT Tour and a Peek at 2021 Enhancements" - Craig, K9CT "Low Band Receive Antennas for All Yards" - Gary, W9XT "FlexRadio with IBM's Node-RED in the Ham Shack" - Dave, WO2X "The State QSO Party Challenge" - Anthony, K8ZT "Another Look At Verticals" - Tom, N6BT "VHF Contesting" - Jim, K5ND Check out the website for more information and the schedule of this event that starts at 1800 PST on March 12. This short video from IEEE is not contest related, but does involve radio and how technology can impact society. A member of the New Jersey Antique Radio Club demonstrates an early Westinghouse receiver, and discusses how radio was launched to compete with print media for the home audience. The 2020 FT Roundup Results have been published. The 2020 contest had a 17% increase in participation vs. 2019, with 1,058 logs submitted. The cumulative number of contacts submitted increased by 23%, while the overall error rate decreased from 5.5% to 4.5%. The contest results article notes that this error rate is approximately twice that of an SSB or CW contest. FTx modes can make for easy remoting, since it's possible to use one of the many desktop sharing software products for a contest. The top three multi-operator scores were all achieved with remote operation. The 2021 contest will be December 4-5. Raw scores for the 2021 CQ WPX RTTY contest have been posted. "Raw Scores are calculated by the log check software, before any reductions for errors, not the Claimed score, if any, submitted in the Cabrillo log file header by the submitter's logging software. The OOF (Order Of Finish) may change after log check errors are determined." (Ed, W0YK) Raw scores for the 2021 CQ 160 Meter CW Contest have been posted. These are the scores before any log checking. Grounding and Bonding According to Ward, N0AX, the "best time to do grounding and bonding work is before any equipment is installed." Starting with a clean slate, it's easier to define your protective zones and ensure all of your gear is within them. Gary, NA6O, tackled some RFI issues he had with Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPSs) at his remote location. He found that both normal-mode noise and common-mode noise were being generated, which required different strategies to solve. You can read about it in the February 2021 Northern California Contesting Club (NCCC) JUG. Using surface mount components is a necessity for most modern electronic projects. Commercial board houses use automation to pick and place parts onto printed circuit boards prepared with solder paste, which are then precisely heated to melt the solder and affix the parts. At the hobby level it can be challenging to find and use tools to effectively deal with the small components and small build quantities. Rather than using masks, solder paste can be applied by hand, parts added, then the boards reflowed (baked) in modified toaster ovens. Some small designs can be carefully heated using hot air, with care taken not to blow the small components off the board. Applying the solder paste can be messy and frustrating, but here's a more controllable syringe-style dispenser that has been developed with hand assembly in mind. VK4GHZ provides information on how to find interface boards for use with a popular surplus server power supply, the Eltek Flatpack 2 HE. The Eltek power supply is capable of 2000 watts at between 48 and 60 volts, perfect for many of the modern solid-state PAs. Ward, N0AX, noticed a workbench vise built by Frank, K4FMH: "A very flexible design that looks like it can hold all sorts of stuff like connectors and cables and PC boards alike." Using a device like this can help get hot solder where it belongs, and not on the floor, in your lap, or between your toes when you happen to be soldering in sandals. So a friend tells me. Demographics and Dormancy Frank's, K4FMH blog post "Lemmings Over A Demographic Cliff?" is a follow-up to his two-part series in the July/August and September/October 2020 National Contest Journal (NCJ) entitled "The Demographics of Contesting." Frank's observations include that the data show radio contesters are older than the average ARRL member. Taking into account information from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics on Leisure Time Use, he opines that this should be expected: "Leisure pursuits are highest during youth and young adulthood but dramatically taper off about ages 25-34 until age 55 and over. This hollowing out of leisure and sport time is a predictable outcome of competing and more important activities." We should just expect during the course of someone's life they will not have a consistent level of involvement with the amateur radio hobby. Such an expectation makes it even more important that the early impression of the hobby one may get through a school activity, social organization, radio club, and so on be relevant, memorable, favorable, and pave the way for a return after a period of dormancy. Frank argues that the format of the major radio contests may serve the leisure interests of established contesters -- those on the other end of the demographic spectrum from the beginners. They may not provide the best experience for radio contesting beginners. He might have something there: To be able to compete at a high level in a major contest as a single operator requires time, equipment, and skill that are probably beyond many in the "caterpillar" stage. Most school-age operators don't have the time for the all-important B-I-C on weekends. Those fortunate to be able to join seasoned teams of multi-operators at well-equipped stations have a different contesting experience than those plugging away solo. With the opportunity for mentorship, camaraderie of a group effort, and a chance to be part of something bigger, they'll be more likely to emerge from their expected dormancy period as a contest butterfly. 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 3 Mar - 17 Mar 2021 An expanded, downloadable version of QST's Contest Corral is available as a PDF. Check the sponsors' website for information on operating time restrictions and other instructions. HF CONTESTS CWops Mini-CWT Test, Mar 4, 0300z to Mar 4, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: March 6. VHF+ CONTESTS SARL VHF/UHF Analogue Contest, Mar 13, 0500z to Mar 13, 0700z (6m) and, Mar 13, 0700z to Mar 13, 0900z (2m) and, Mar 13, 0900z to Mar 13, 1100z (70cm) and, Mar 14, 0500z to Mar 14, 0700z (6m) and, Mar 14, 0700z to Mar 14, 0900z (2m) and, Mar 14, 0900z to Mar 14, 1100z (70cm); Analog (CW/SSB/AM/FM); Bands: 50 MHz, 70 MHz, 144 MHz, 432 MHz, 1296 MHz; RS(T) + 6-character grid locator; Logs due: March 21. UBA Spring Contest, 2m, Mar 14, 0700z to Mar 14, 1100z; CW, Phone; Bands: 2m Only; ON: RS(T) + Serial No. + UBA Section, non-ON: RS(T) + Serial No.; Logs due: March 28. Also, see SKCC Sprint Europe, Novice Rig Roundup, Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest, SKCC Weekend Sprintathon, F9AA Cup, SSB, Oklahoma QSO Party, QCWA QSO Party, Classic Exchange, Phone, above. 3 Mar - 17 Mar 2021 March 4, 2021 March 5, 2021 March 6, 2021 March 7, 2021
March 8, 2021 March 9, 2021 March 10, 2021 March 11, 2021 March 12, 2021 March 13, 2021 March 14, 2021
March 15, 2021 March 16, 2021 March 17, 2021 ARRL Information Click here to advertise in this newsletter, space subject to availability. Your One-Stop Resource for Amateur Radio News and Information ARRL membership includes a choice of one print magazine: QST, the monthly membership journal, or On the Air, ARRL's new bimonthly publication for beginner and intermediate hams. All ARRL members can access all four ARRL magazines -- QST, On the Air, NCJ, and QEX - digitally. Subscribe to NCJ - the National Contest Journal. Published bimonthly, features articles by top contesters, letters, hints, statistics, scores, NA Sprint and QSO Parties. Subscribe to QEX - A Forum for Communications Experimenters. Published bimonthly, features technical articles, construction projects, columns and other items of interest to radio amateurs and communications professionals. Free of charge to ARRL members: Subscribe to The ARRL Letter (weekly digest of news and information), the ARES E-Letter (monthly public service and emergency communications news), Division and Section news -- and much more! ARRL offers a wide array of products to enhance your enjoyment of Amateur Radio. Visit the site often for new publications, specials and sales. Donate to the fund of your choice -- support programs not funded by member dues! Reprint permission can be obtained by sending email to permission@arrl.org with a description of the material and the reprint publication. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ARRL Contest Update wishes to acknowledge information from WA7BNM's Contest Calendar. | |
 | |
