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The ARRL Contest Update

April 18, 2018
Editor: Brian Moran, N9ADG

IN THIS ISSUE
 *  New HF Operators: QSO Parties, CQMM, BARTG Sprint 75
 *  Contest Summary
 *  News: Phone Contesting Tips, IDXC Contest Activities, and more
 *  Word to the Wise: Jitter
 *  Sights and Sounds: IARU R1 FD @ DP6T and more
 *  Results: ARRL Phone Sweepstakes, ARRL 160, Florida QSO Party, and more
 *  Operating Tip: Room to Run
 *  Technical Topics and Information: Win-Test Scripts for Icom Radios, GHz
    capable Synthesizer, Adding SDR Capability to Existing Radios, and more
 *  Conversation: Video Generation
 *  Contests
 *  Log Due Dates

____________________________________________________________________________


NEW HF OPERATORS - THINGS TO DO

A number of QSO Parties are on tap for the next couple of weeks. Nebraska's QSO
 Party is the second I've noted to allow the use of the new FT8 mode. If you
enjoy that mode but are new to contesting, why not give the Nebraska QSO Party
a try?


On April 21, the CQMM DX Contest (CW only) counts South American stations as
per-band multipliers, while other countries are per-contest. It will pay to
turn a beam toward SA for those multipliers!


The BARTG Sprint 75 RTTY contest is only four hours, but at nearly double the
speed of 'normal' 45.5 baud RTTY with an exchange that omits the RST you'll
have to keep your wits about you. Some comments from Dick, K7BTW, a past
participant in this contest: "I note is that it is more difficult when doing
Search and Pounce to get stations tuned in when they are using the same CQ
message that they use at 45.45 baud. The transmissions are so short that it
takes several cycles to get on their frequency. If you are running, entering
your call sign twice with perhaps a CQ at the end of the string actually
promotes a faster rate."

____________________________________________________________________________


CONTEST SUMMARY

Complete information for all contests follows the Conversation section

19 Apr - 2 May 2018

April 19

 *  CWops Mini-CWT Test

April 20

 *  NCCC RTTY Sprint
 *  NCCC Sprint
 *  Holyland DX Contest

April 21

 *  ES Open HF Championship
 *  Worked All Provinces of China DX Contest
 *  QRP to the Field
 *  YU DX Contest
 *  CQMM DX Contest
 *  Nebraska QSO Party
 *  Michigan QSO Party
 *  EA-QRP CW Contest
 *  Ontario QSO Party
 *  Feld Hell Sprint

April 22

 *  Nebraska QSO Party
 *  EA-QRP CW Contest
 *  Ontario QSO Party

April 25

 *  SKCC Sprint
 *  Phone Fray
 *  CWops Mini-CWT Test
 *  UKEICC 80m Contest
 *  432 MHz Spring Sprint

April 26

 *  CWops Mini-CWT Test
 *  RSGB 80m Club Championship, Data

April 27

 *  NCCC RTTY Sprint
 *  NCCC Sprint

April 28

 *  10-10 Int. Spring Contest, Digital
 *  SP DX RTTY Contest
 *  Helvetia Contest
 *  Florida QSO Party

April 29

 *  Florida QSO Party
 *  BARTG Sprint 75

May 1

 *  AGCW QRP/QRP Party

May 2

 *  Phone Fray
 *  CWops Mini-CWT Test

____________________________________________________________________________


NEWS, PRESS RELEASES, AND GENERAL INTEREST

Andy, AE6Y, is an experienced phone contester, achieving the top-10 box in
contests many times from his Aruba station. His article on phone contesting in
the March 2018 issue of the Northern California Contest Club's Jug newsletter
entitled "Phone Contesting Tips For DX Contests" was reprinted in the April
2018 Western Washington DX Club's Totem Tabloid newsletter. You can find it at
either link, available for your reading pleasure. One of his many
recommendations includes using context-specific phonetics for increased
copyability.


The International DX Convention (IDXC) in Visalia, California is coming up
April 20-22, 2018. On the schedule this year are a number of events that should
 be of particular interest to contesters, starting with the Contest Dinner on
Friday evening. Saturday's "Contest Forum" chaired by Scott, W0MD, editor of
NCJ, includes panelists Ward Silver, N0AX; Bill Lippert, AC0W; Dick Norton,
N6AA; Tim Duffy, K3LR, and Sandy Raeker, DL1QQ. WRTC 2018 and updates from the
ARRL are on the agenda, along with 45 minutes of moderated audience questions
and answers.


Also on Saturday, April 21 is the session "Radiosport 2.0 - Lightning Ideas and
 Views" chaired by Ward, N0AX. Ward promises "something completely different
from the usual forums, with lightning talks on forward-looking topics." He
expects a spirited discourse from a panel to include Kevin Rowett, K6TD;
Kristen McIntyre, K6WX; Jeri Ellsworth, AI6TK; Tim Duffy, K3LR; Joel Harrison,
W5ZN, and yours truly.


Your smart phone or computer calendar application can automatically keep track
of all radio contests by subscribing to shared contest calendars. WA7BNM's
Contest Calendar website publishes a contest event calendar in iCal format, or
as a shared Google calendar. So does DL2NBY's website. Your club's website can
also embed one of these contest calendars with just a few lines of HTML, so the
 dates will always be handy. Similar calendars exist for scheduled DXpeditions
and other radio related events.


Let's say you need zone 36 in a contest. What are ALL of the prefixes should
you be listening for? Find out using this handy website that shows all
countries possible for a particular zone. (Mark, KB7HDX)


A bigger contest score is achievable by more contacts and higher rates. Touch
typing ability was once thought to be key to rapid data entry during contests,
however researchers have found that the style of typing doesn't limit overall
speed. This is not an endorsement of hunting and pecking. To achieve maximum
speed, non-touch-typing keyboarders must have the layout memorized, practice to
 achieve high speeds and low error rates, and should use a 'make before break'
style of typing where the next key is struck before the last key is released.
And never, ever, look at the keyboard! (Dennis, N6KI)


The Society of Midwest Contesters' "SMC Fest" will be held Saturday, August 25,
 2018 at the Hyatt Place in Normal, Illinois. The tentative agenda for the
event already includes topics including SO2R operating, Contesting from a DX
location, and how to configure antennas for contesting.


WSJT-X had its second public test of the new FT8 DXpedition mode, which was
described in the April 12 issue of the ARRL Letter. During this session, rates
of 225 contacts per hour were attained by one of the test "foxes." It was also
noted that as with any mode, operating skill and rates increase with practice.


The Hamvention website has been updated with new Event Schedule information and
 Forum schedules. You can even add single events to your own Google calendar,
or import the whole calendar to see everything. Your smart phone can keep track
 of all of the activities taking place and help remind you not to miss your
favorites.

____________________________________________________________________________


WORD TO THE WISE

Jitter

For periodic signals, or signals that are associated with a particular timing,
jitter is the difference from an expected period or clock rate. For example,
for RTTY communications at 45.5 bauds, each bit time is 22 milliseconds in
length. If a transmitted bit time is shortened or lengthened, a decoder
expecting a 22 millisecond bit may not sample the correct bit during decode,
and error rates can increase. Some software-generated RTTY signals may exhibit
jitter due to inexact timing worsened by high CPU demand or the nature of
timers in general purpose operating systems. JA7UDE, author of the EXTFSK
program to generate FSK, analyzed software timer generated RTTY versus hardware
 generated RTTY and illustrated the differences.

____________________________________________________________________________


SIGHTS AND SOUNDS

The IARU Region 1 Field Day event happens the first weekend in June. In 2017,
The Contest Group Wittgenborn Germany put DP6T on the air, with some very
serious equipment.

When the contest is over, the bands clear quickly. NG0Z's panadapter documents
just how quickly at the end of the CQ WPX SSB contest.

____________________________________________________________________________


RESULTS AND RECORDS

The final results for the 2017 ARRL Phone Sweepstakes are online. With 1674
logs submitted, participation was down slightly from 2016. K5TR's call sign
made the top-ten box twice in the Single Operator, High Power category, and
W6YI's hegemony in the MSHP (Multi-operator Single transmitter High Power)
category continued. Hesston College, K0HC, extended their reign over the School
 category with their fifth consecutive win. The Potomac Valley Radio Club
(PVRC) took home the gavel the ARRL Affiliated Club Unlimited category for the
tenth year in a row. In 2018, the ARRL Phone Sweepstakes will be held November
17-19.


Gary, K9AY, notes that the full results of the December 2017 ARRL 160 Meter
Contest are now available online. Gary also announces that after his tenth year
 of writing the contest's results articles, it's time for someone else to give
it a go. Contact Bart, W9JJ, Contest Director, if you're interested. Thank you
for your years of dedication to this contest Gary!


The 2017 Florida QSO Party results are now online, and the all-time records for
 this event have also been updated. This year's event takes place April 28 and
29, 2018.


Rate statistics are now available for CQ WPX Contests held since 2008. For each
 log submitted, the highest 60 minute rate was calculated over the raw log.
Sorts may be performed by continent or country, with the top 20 of each entry
category displayed in the results. Single call sign searches are also possible.


The 2017 CQ WW SSB results and on-line certificates are now online. It was a
record setting year for the number of logs submitted with a year-over-year
increase of 13%. Of the 8606 logs received, 63 logs -- 1.2% reflected 40 or
more operating hours. This year's event takes place October 27-28, 2018.


The 2017 results of the New England QSO Party were posted recently. As one of
the larger QSO Parties, the event received 633 logs in 2017. The 2018 NEQP will
 be held May 5-6, 2018.

____________________________________________________________________________


OPERATING TIP

Room to Run

Be aware that if a frequency sounds unoccupied to you, it may not be elsewhere
in the world. While you're running, occasionally ask stations that are calling
you how they are copying you, and if there's any interference on their end.
Another indicator that your run frequency may be busy is stations giving their
call signs, but not responding when you call them back. A precipitous drop in
your rate could indicate interference, or changing band conditions. If you are
allowed to use spots in your entry category, seeing DX spotted near your run
frequency can also indicate that your rate is in peril.

____________________________________________________________________________


TECHNICAL TOPICS AND INFORMATION

Bob, N6TV, has updated his Win-Test LUA scripts to provide better support of
Icom radios, including support for the new IC-7610. Certain Icom models can now
 utilize the built-in voice keyer functions from the Win-Test keyboard.
Win-Test is unique among contest loggers with its built-in LUA language
interpreter, providing for very advanced functionality to be added without a
program update.


Paul, WA3GFZ, found that inexpensive Analog Devices ADF5355-based boards
available on eBay can be used as the basis for a 54 MHz to 13.6 GHz synthesizer
 with the addition of a few parts. He eventually wants to use his work as the
basis of a transverter to cover additional bands in VHF and Up contests. His
describes his work in the April 2018 Mt. Airy VHF Radio Club's Cheese Bits
newsletter.


The Twin City DX Association's March 2018 The Gray Line Report describes how a
number of their members are adding SDR hardware to their existing HF rigs for
more flexibility and increased capabilities. The comprehensive article by Kirk,
 N0KK, details the modifications performed to their transceivers, along with
the software that they are using to add panadapter and other advanced
functionality.


Subvocalization is the silent, internal speech sometimes made when reading or
practicing speaking without making sound. Even though no sound is emitted and
the mouth may not move, small movements in neck and head muscles still occur.
Researchers at MIT have built a headset to detect these muscle movements and
use them to command a computer. Combined with a digital voice keyer, could this
 be a way to do a "silent" phone contest in the future? (Dennis, N6KI)

____________________________________________________________________________


CONVERSATION

Video Generation

Is your radio club taking advantage of video for its club meetings? Not for the
 presentation, but of the club meeting proceedings. Some very active contesting
 clubs are already doing this. Video used to be difficult and expensive, but
that hasn't been true for the past few years. Today, your cellular phone
probably has high definition quality video recording capability, and service
plans likely contain enough data to even allow live streaming. YouTube,
Facebook, and many other services will be glad to handle your stream for free.
Don't want to live stream? Store the video on your
phone and upload it to your club's website or YouTube channel later. You could
even do a live 'webinar' style meeting where the remote audience can
participate. If your club has business or committee meetings that are 'open to
all,' video is a good way to get more club members involved.

For club members that have travel, geographic, or physical limitations, this is
 a way that they can still be involved. Younger generations, the ones we talk
about needing to keep our hobby vital, may be unfamiliar with the entire
concept of 'attending a club meeting', but will be more willing to participate
using their screens.

Adding this new 'mode' to club meetings has some implications for the mechanics
 of club meetings. In addition to the requirements of club members to set up,
record, and monitor the video stream, thought will have to be given to the
meeting content. Meetings may have to be optimized over time to keep the format
 lively, interesting, and on schedule. Coincidentally, such changes would also
be appreciated by those attending in-person.

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, IDXC selfies, and predictions to
contest-update@arrl.org

73, Brian N9ADG

____________________________________________________________________________


CONTESTS

19 Apr - 2 May 2018

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


HF CONTESTS

CWops Mini-CWT Test, Apr 18, 1300z to Apr 18, 1400z, Apr 18, 1900z to Apr 18,
2000z, Apr 19, 0300z to Apr 19, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m;
Member: Name + Member No., non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs
due: April 21.

NCCC RTTY Sprint, Apr 20, 0145z to Apr 20, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: (see rules);
Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: April 22.

NCCC Sprint, Apr 20, 0230z to Apr 20, 0300z; CW; Bands: (see rules); Serial No.
 + Name + QTH; Logs due: April 22.

Holyland DX Contest, Apr 20, 2100z to Apr 21, 2100z; CW, SSB, Digital; Bands:
160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; 4X: RS(T) + area, non-4X: RS(T) + Serial No.; Logs
due: May 31.

ES Open HF Championship, Apr 21, 0500z to Apr 21, 0559z, Apr 21, 0600z to Apr
21, 0659z, Apr 21, 0700z to Apr 21, 0759z, Apr 21, 0800z to Apr 21, 0859z; CW,
SSB; Bands: 80, 40m; RS(T) + Serial No.; Logs due: May 1.

Worked All Provinces of China DX Contest, Apr 21, 0600z to Apr 22, 0559z; CW,
SSB; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; BY: RS(T) + 2-character province, non-BY:
RS(T) + Serial No.; Logs due: April 29.

QRP to the Field, Apr 21, 0800 (local) to Apr 21, 1800 (local); CW, SSB; Bands:
 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; RST + (state/province/country) + name; Logs due: June 1.

YU DX Contest, Apr 21, 1200z to Apr 22, 1159z; CW, SSB; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15,
10m; YU/YT: RS(T) + County, non-YU/YT: RS(T) + Serial No.; Logs due: May 2.

CQMM DX Contest, Apr 21, 1200z to Apr 22, 2359z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15,
10m; All: RST+continent abbreviation, CWJF members: RST + continent + "M", QRP:
 RST + continent + "Q", YL: RST + continent + "Y", Multi-Op, Clubs, Groups: RST
 + continent + "C"; Logs due: May 22.

Nebraska QSO Party, Apr 21, 1300z to Apr 22, 0200z, Apr 22, 1300z to Apr 22,
2200z; CW, Phone, Digital; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, VHF/UHF; NE
(non-FT8): RS(T) + county, non-NE (non-FT8): RS(T) + (state/province/country),
FT8: signal-to-noise + grid square; Logs due: May 7.

Michigan QSO Party, Apr 21, 1600z to Apr 22, 0400z; CW, SSB; Bands: 80, 40, 20,
 15, 10m; MI: Serial No. + county, non-MI: Serial No. + (state/province/"DX";
Logs due: May 21.

EA-QRP CW Contest, Apr 21, 1700z to Apr 21, 2000z (10-20m), Apr 21, 2000z to
Apr 21, 2300z (40-80m), Apr 22, 0700z to Apr 22, 0900z (40m), Apr 22, 0900z to
Apr 22, 1200z (20-10m); CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; RST + 1-letter category
 + "M" (if EA-QRP member); Logs due: May 22.

Ontario QSO Party, Apr 21, 1800z to Apr 22, 0500z, Apr 22, 1200z to Apr 22,
1800z; CW, Phone; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6, 2m; ON: RS(T) + county,
non-ON: RST + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 23.

Feld Hell Sprint, Apr 21, 1800z to Apr 21, 2159z; Feld Hell; Bands: 160, 80,
40, 20, 15, 10, 6m; (see rules); Logs due: April 25.

SKCC Sprint, Apr 25, 0000z to Apr 25, 0200z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15,
10m; RST + (state/province/country) + Name + (SKCC No./power); Logs due: April
27.

Phone Fray, Apr 25, 0230z to Apr 25, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15m;
NA: Name + (state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: April 27.

CWops Mini-CWT Test, Apr 25, 1300z to Apr 25, 1400z, Apr 25, 1900z to Apr 25,
2000z, Apr 26, 0300z to Apr 26, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m;
Member: Name + Member No., non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs
due: April 28.

UKEICC 80m Contest, Apr 25, 1900z to Apr 25, 2000z; CW; Bands: 80m Only;
4-Character grid square; Logs due: April 25.

RSGB 80m Club Championship, Data, Apr 26, 1900z to Apr 26, 2030z; RTTY, PSK;
Bands: 80m Only; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: April 27.

NCCC RTTY Sprint, Apr 27, 0145z to Apr 27, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: (see rules);
Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: April 29.

NCCC Sprint, Apr 27, 0230z to Apr 27, 0300z; CW; Bands: (see rules); Serial No.
 + Name + QTH; Logs due: April 29.

10-10 Int. Spring Contest, Digital, Apr 28, 0001z to Apr 29, 2359z; Digital;
Bands: 10m Only; 10-10 Member: Name + 10-10 number + (state/province/country),
Non-Member: Name + 0 + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 7.

SP DX RTTY Contest, Apr 28, 1200z to Apr 29, 1200z; RTTY; Bands: 80, 40, 20,
15, 10m; SP: RST + 1-letter province, Non-SP: RST + QSO No.; Logs due: May 13.

Helvetia Contest, Apr 28, 1300z to Apr 29, 1259z; CW, SSB, Digital; Bands: 160,
 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; HB: RS(T) + 2-letter canton, non-HB: RS(T) + Serial No.;
Logs due: May 7.

Florida QSO Party, Apr 28, 1600z to Apr 29, 0159z, Apr 29, 1200z to Apr 29,
2159z; CW, Phone; Bands: 40, 20, 15, 10m; FL: RS(T) + county, W/VE: RS(T) +
(state/province), DX: RS(T) + DXCC prefix; Logs due: May 13.

BARTG Sprint 75, Apr 29, 1700z to Apr 29, 2059z; 75 Baud RTTY; Bands: 80, 40,
20, 15, 10m; Serial No.; Logs due: May 6.

AGCW QRP/QRP Party, May 1, 1300z to May 1, 1900z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15,
10m; RST + QSO No. + "/" + Class ID (A/B); Logs due: May 20.

Phone Fray, May 2, 0230z to May 2, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15m; NA:
 Name + (state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: April 20.

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, 10m;
Member: Name + Member No., non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs
due: April 21.


VHF+ CONTESTS

432 MHz Spring Sprint, Apr 25, 1900z to Apr 25, 2300z; (not specified); Bands:
432 Only; 4-character grid square; Logs due: May 9.

Also, see Nebraska QSO Party, Ontario QSO Party, and Feld Hell Sprint, above.


LOG DUE DATES

19 Apr - 2 May 2018

April 19, 2018

 *  NRAU 10m Activity Contest

April 20, 2018

 *  Phone Fray

April 21, 2018

 *  CWops Mini-CWT Test

April 22, 2018

 *  NCCC Sprint
 *  OK/OM DX Contest, SSB
 *  NCCC RTTY Sprint
 *  IQRP Quarterly Marathon
 *  Run for the Bacon QRP Contest
 *  Florida State Parks on the Air

April 23, 2018

 *  144 MHz Spring Sprint
 *  EA RTTY Contest

April 25, 2018

 *  International Vintage Contest HF
 *  Feld Hell Sprint
 *  UKEICC 80m Contest

April 27, 2018

 *  RSGB 80m Club Championship, Data
 *  SKCC Sprint
 *  Phone Fray

April 28, 2018

 *  CWops Mini-CWT Test
 *  New Mexico QSO Party
 *  QRP ARCI Spring QSO Party

April 29, 2018

 *  Georgia QSO Party
 *  NCCC Sprint
 *  NCCC RTTY Sprint
 *  Worked All Provinces of China DX Contest

April 30, 2018

 *  Classic Exchange, CW
 *  Hungarian Straight Key Contest
 *  Mississippi QSO Party
 *  SP DX Contest
 *  SARL VHF/UHF Digital Contest
 *  Classic Exchange, Phone

May 1, 2018

 *  222 MHz Spring Sprint
 *  ES Open HF Championship

May 2, 2018

 *  YU DX 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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)\/(ark

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Do you manage your own servers? If you are not running an IDS/IPS yer doin' it
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---
 * Origin:  (1:3634/12.73)