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The ARRL Contest Update

July 27, 2016
Editor: Brian Moran, N9ADG


IN THIS ISSUE

 *  New HF Operators
 *  Bulletins
 *  Contest Summary
 *  News
 *  Website of the week
 *  Word to the Wise
 *  Sights and Sounds
 *  Results
 *  Operating Tip
 *  Technical Topics and Information
 *  Tech Website of the week
 *  Conversation
 *  Contests
 *  Log Due Dates



NEW HF OPERATORS -- THINGS TO DO

During this somewhat quiet contesting period, the RSGB IOTA (Islands on the
Air) event is an opportunity to go into the field and work a number of
stations. If you do go, make sure you are aware of the rules, including
frequency restrictions, and that you post your planned operation on the IOTA
Activation page so others will look for you. If you've not activated an island
before, it might be best to pick one with scheduled ferry service,
electricity, and other amenities.

The North American QSO Party, CW, is on August 6th. With a maximum power level
of 100 Watts, and 63 possible per-band multipliers, everyone can be on more
equal footing. You can also join up with others to field a team of up to five
stations.



BULLETINS

Etienne, K7ATN, submits:

The 39th Annual August UHF Contest lives on with independent sponsorship from
V/UHF clubs and individuals around the country. See http://www.augustuhf.org
or http://uhfcontest.org

For those interested in the bands 222MHz and up, for nearly four decades the
August UHF Contest has defined what it takes to challenge "The Ultra Highs."

When the ARRL VHF Contest Revitalization Committee cancelled the UHF Contest
in March, several groups stepped in immediately to maintain the event for
2016. The contest rules are the same as 2015 with the addition of allowing
Mobile entries as Rovers in a single grid square.

Cabrillo or paper logs will be accepted and the Northern Lights Radio Society
will continue to offer its "Rovermania" awards for Rovers operating in this
contest on three bands.

The contest sponsors are encouraging everyone to give these bands a try during
the first weekend in August, with potential QSOs on 223.5-FM and 446.0-FM --
capabilities that you may already have in an HT or mobile rig. Weak-signal
frequencies will likely be the busiest during the contest. Log entries of any
size, on paper or electronically submitted, are encouraged. For some logging
programs, use "ARRL UHF August" as the contest for correct rules and scoring.
See the links above for rules, log submission information, and log forms.



BUSTED QSOS

QRU



CONTEST SUMMARY

Complete information for all contests follows the Conversation section

July 28

 *  CWops Mini-CWT Test

July 29

 *  QRP Fox Hunt
 *  NCCC RTTY Sprint
 *  NCCC Sprint

July 30

 *  Feld Hell Sprint
 *  RSGB IOTA Contest

August 1

 *  ARS Flight of the Bumblebees

August 3

 *  Phone Fray
 *  CWops Mini-CWT Test

August 4

 *  CWops Mini-CWT Test
 *  NRAU 10 Meter Activity Contest

August 5

 *  QRP Fox Hunt
 *  NCCC RTTY Sprint
 *  NCCC Sprint

August 6

 *  TARA Grid Dip Shindig
 *  10-10 Int. Summer Contest, SSB
 *  European HF Championship
 *  WAB 144 MHz Low Power Phone
 *  North American QSO Party, CW
 *  August UHF Contest

August 7

 *  SARL HF Phone Contest

August 10

 *  NAQCC CW Sprint
 *  Phone Fray
 *  CWops Mini-CWT Test
 *  RSGB 80 Meter Club Sprint, CW



NEWS, PRESS RELEASES, AND GENERAL INTEREST

YOTA (Youth on the Air) 2016 just finished up in Austria. From the enthusiasm
of the tweets of some of the attendees, it appears to have been a success.
With workshops ranging from antenna building to contesting to WSPR, the
gathering afforded 90 youth attendees the opportunity to learn among their
peers. Two US amateurs, Sterling, N0SSC, and Sam, KC2LRC, attended, sponsored
in part by the Northern California DX Foundation.

Doug, KR2Q, the recently appointed CQWW Contest Director, has suspended the
single position of Director, in lieu of a triumvirate of co-Directors, to
include Scott, W4PA, and Bob, W5OV. Doug states that as all co-Directors are
equal, and that the contest leadership will benefit from additional resources
and resilience.

Carnegie Mellon University recently obtained a grant from the National Science
Foundation to develop automated means of creating accurate 3D models and
collecting high-resolution images using UAVs, with the intent of eliminating
the need for humans to climb on or rappel from bridges, towers, and other
infrastructure. Imagine being able to have changes in radio tower condition
called out for attention automatically.

Two FlexRadio FLEX-6700 radios were launched into space for rendezvous with
the International Space Station on July 18. They are going to be used as part
of an experiment receiving AIS (Automatic Identification System) signals from
orbit.

Proper ergonomics can go a long way toward mitigating some of the ill effects
of sitting in front of a radio during an entire contest weekend. If sitting
isn't your thing, the Altwork Station may provide standing or reclining
options. Car seats are also apparently getting smarter at detecting when
drivers are too fatigued to continue. Perhaps we'll see desk chairs that can
help determine when an operator change is due.

Be careful working outside in high summer temperatures, and know the
difference between heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

Summer is the time to work on antennas outside, but with 48 states currently
experiencing very hot weather, are you prepared to tell the difference between
heat exhaustion and heat stroke? One is treatable, one is life threatening.
The National Weather Service has a tweet to help.



WORD TO THE WISE

Trap: A parallel tuned circuit used to electrically isolate one section of an
antenna from another.



SIGHTS AND SOUNDS

HamRadio360.com recently interviewed Wayne, K6KR, regarding the recently
released Elecraft KX2, including some of the design decisions. There's even
some poetry. Wayne's interview starts at about 32:50.

Here's a YouTube video of totally remote multi-multi contesting at W4AAW. A
number of remoting technologies are used or available at this station, with a
discussion of the trade-offs.

The North American QRP CW Club has posted a video about their organization,
which is free to join. The club sponsors novelty challenges during the year,
involving working stations, and then combining the letters of the worked calls
to complete various phrases. (Paul, N8XMS)



RESULTS AND RECORDS

The results of the 2016 ARRL International DX Contest have been posted to the
ARRL website. Notably, W3LPL wrested the top spot in multi-multi from the K3LR
team after a 3-year reign, and K9YC achieved more than nine times the score of
his closest competitor.

The 2016 ARRL RTTY Roundup results were recently updated to reflect a minor
change to a plaque category.



OPERATING TIP

Use a second VFO for more contacts. If you're not set up for SO2R (single
operator, two radio) operation, or if you're assigned to a band in a multi-op,
you can still use a second VFO (SO2V) to line up and work additional contacts
or better yet, multipliers, between contacts made using the main VFO. Getting
comfortable working the other VFO can also help if you do try SO2R in the
future. Some logging programs will assist you in hunting multipliers on the
second VFO by providing a bandmap with stations to click.



TECHNICAL TOPICS AND INFORMATION

Presentations from the 2016 Dayton Antenna Forum are now available on the K3LR
website. Included are presentations on (intentionally) bent-element Yagi
antennas, the future of the ARRL Antenna Book, low band antennas at W3LPL, and
wideband techniques used in OWA antennas.

IEEE Spectrum recently published what amounts to a history of RFI, but which
also includes an overview of some new technologies and services such as 5G and
Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS).

Panadapters are considered one of the new must haves when contesting nowadays,
as they increase overall situational awareness. Mark, K6UFO, found a very
simple way to add a panadapter to his Elecraft K3: "The Win4K3Suite software
now supports the SDRPlay SDR receiver as a panadapter. I ordered an SDRPlay
from Ham Radio Outlet. When received, I installed the drivers as described by
"Start Here" at SDRPlay, then downloaded and installed Win4K3Suite with a
30-day free trial. I connected my K3 and made a few initial settings and the
panadapter was working! I wanted to use my Writelog logging software to
control the K3, so I used Win4K3's 'AUX/CAT' feature to provide a virtual
serial port connection to Writelog while Win4K3 was physically connected to
the K3. All of this is documented in the Win4K3 manual. I created a pair of
virtual serial ports using Microham software, but Eltima or Com0com would have
also worked. Now my K3 connects to Win4K3, and one of Win4K3's 'CAT/AUX ports'
connects to my logging software. Both Win4K3 and Writelog can control the
radio, and I have a panadapter! I purchased Win4K3 for $50, to bring my total
panadapter cost to $200. Other SDR software can be used with the SDRPlay, but
Win4K3 is already setup for a K3 and the SDRPlay as a panadapter, so it was
very straightforward."



CONVERSATION

Doldrums?

Typical this time of year is to hear about how to beat the summer doldrums,
what to read at the beach, and how its difficult to get anything done because
people are out of town. This is a time of opportunity. First, there's still
the glow of the well-contested IARU from the July 9 weekend. It's a good time
to get the station ready for the upcoming contest season at a more leisurely
pace, planning instead of reacting. Don't discount the upcoming non-US-centric
contests -- the announcements of operations planned for the WAE DX coming up
on August 15 in The Daily DX indicate that there will be plenty of activity.
I'm personally using the next few weeks to get some auto-switching stub
filters working for a multi-op station, re-packaging my CW keyer, working on a
remote station, getting my home station in better order, visiting New England
and W1AW, finishing a 50 MHz amplifier project, setting up for WSJT, and
planning the weekend calendar for the fall. Doldrums? I'll be lucky to finish
it all!

That's all for this time. Remember to send contesting related stories, flea
market pictures, book reviews, tips, techniques, press releases, errata,
schematics, club information, pictures, stories, blog links, predictions, and
field day recipes to contest-update@arrl.org

73, Brian N9ADG




CONTESTS

28 Jul - 10 Aug 2016

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, Jul 27, 1300z to Jul 27, 1400z, Jul 27, 1900z to Jul
27, 2000z, Jul 28, 0300z to Jul 28, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15,
10m; Member: Name + Member No., non-Member: Name + (state/province/country);
Logs due: July 30.

QRP Fox Hunt, Jul 29, 0100z to Jul 29, 0230z; CW; Bands: 20m Only; RST +
(state/province/country) + name + power output; Logs due: July 30.

NCCC RTTY Sprint, Jul 29, 0145z to Jul 29, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: (see rules);
Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: July 31.

NCCC Sprint, Jul 29, 0230z to Jul 29, 0300z; CW; Bands: (see rules); Serial
No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: July 31.

Feld Hell Sprint, Jul 30, 0000z to Jul 30, 2359z; Feld Hell; Bands: 160, 80,
40, 20, 15, 10, 6m; (see rules); Logs due: August 3.

RSGB IOTA Contest, Jul 30, 1200z to Jul 31, 1200z; CW, SSB; Bands: 80, 40,
20, 15, 10m; RS(T) + Serial No. + IOTA No.(if applicable); Logs due: August
7.

ARS Flight of the Bumblebees, Aug 1, 1700z to Aug 1, 2100z; CW; Bands: 40, 20,
15, 10m; Home: RST + (state/province/country) + Power, Bumblebee: RST +
(state/province/country) + Bumblebee no.; Logs due: August 15.

Phone Fray, Aug 3, 0230z to Aug 3, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15m;
NA: Name + (state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: August 5.

CWops Mini-CWT Test, Aug 3, 1300z to Aug 3, 1400z, Aug 3, 1900z to Aug 3,
2000z, Aug 4, 0300z to Aug 4, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m;
Member: Name + Member No., non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs
due: August 6.

NRAU 10 Meter Activity Contest, Aug 4, 1700z to Aug 4, 1800z (CW), Aug 4,
1800z to Aug 4, 1900z (SSB), Aug 4, 1900z to Aug 4, 2000z (FM), Aug 4, 2000z
to Aug 4, 2100z (Dig); CW, SSB, FM, Digital; Bands: 10m Only; RS(T) +
6-character grid square; Logs due: August 18.

QRP Fox Hunt, Aug 5, 0100z to Aug 5, 0230z; CW; Bands: 20m Only; RST +
(state/province/country) + name + power output; Logs due: August 6.

NCCC RTTY Sprint, Aug 5, 0145z to Aug 5, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: (see rules);
Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: August 7.

NCCC Sprint, Aug 5, 0230z to Aug 5, 0300z; CW; Bands: (see rules); Serial No.
+ Name + QTH; Logs due: August 7.

TARA Grid Dip Shindig, Aug 6, 0000z to Aug 7, 0000z; PSK, RTTY; Bands: 160,
80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6m; Name + 4-character grid square; Logs due: September 3.

10-10 Int. Summer Contest, SSB, Aug 6, 0001z to Aug 7, 2359z; SSB; Bands: 10m
Only; 10-10 Member: Name + 10-10 number + (state/province/country),
Non-Member: Name + 0 + (state/province/country); Logs due: August 22.

European HF Championship, Aug 6, 1200z to Aug 6, 2359z; CW, SSB; Bands: 160,
80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; RS(T) + 2-digit year first licensed; Logs due: August 15.

North American QSO Party, CW, Aug 6, 1800z to Aug 7, 0559z; CW; Bands: 160,
80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; NA: Name + (state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs
due: August 14.

SARL HF Phone Contest, Aug 7, 1300z to Aug 7, 1630z; SSB; Bands: 80, 40, 20m;
RS + Serial No.; Logs due: August 14.

NAQCC CW Sprint, Aug 10, 0030z to Aug 10, 0230z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20m; RST +
(state/province/country) + (NAQCC No./power); Logs due: August 14.

Phone Fray, Aug 10, 0230z to Aug 10, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15m;
NA: Name + (state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: August 12.

CWops Mini-CWT Test, Aug 10, 1300z to Aug 10, 1400z, Aug 10, 1900z to Aug 10,
2000z, Aug 11, 0300z to Aug 11, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m;
Member: Name + Member No., non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs
due: August 13.

RSGB 80 Meter Club Sprint, CW, Aug 10, 1900z to Aug 10, 2000z; CW; Bands: 80m
Only; [other station's call] + [your call] + [serial no.] + [your name]; Logs
due: August 17.


VHF+ CONTESTS

WAB 144 MHz Low Power Phone, Aug 6, 1400z to Aug 6, 1800z; Phone; Bands: 2m
Only; British Isles: RS + serial no. + WAB square, Other: RS + serial no. +
country; Logs due: August 27.

August UHF Contest, Aug 6, 1800z to Aug 7, 1800z; All; Bands: 222 MHz and up;
4-character grid square; Logs due: September 6.


LOG DUE DATES

July 28, 2016

 *  RSGB 80 Meter Club Championship, Data

July 29, 2016

 *  SA Sprint Contest
 *  Phone Fray
 *  SKCC Sprint

July 30, 2016

 *  GACW WWSA CW DX Contest
 *  QRP Fox Hunt
 *  CWops Mini-CWT Test

July 31, 2016

 *  NCCC Sprint
 *  NCCC RTTY Sprint
 *  Original QRP Contest
 *  RAC Canada Day Contest
 *  Venezuelan Ind. Day Contest
 *  Battle of Carabobo International Contest

August 1, 2016

 *  CQ Worldwide VHF Contest
 *  FISTS Summer Slow Speed Sprint

August 8, 2016

 *  FISTS Summer Sprint

August 9, 2016

 *  CQC Great Colorado Gold Rush
 *  IARU HF World Championship



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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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