Tag Archives: Contest

Activities, Digital, DX, Featured, General, Newsletter, On The Air

ARRL RTTY Roundup Coming Soon

You have learned about contesting through the great articles that Scott, NE1RD has written.  You have learned about FT8 through articles from Hamilton, K1HMS and Fred, AB1OC.  Now its time to put it all together and operate in the ARRL RTTY Roundup coming up this coming weekend – January 5th – 6th.

This is the first year that the FT8 mode will be part of the ARRL RTTY Roundup.  The newest version of the WSJT-X software, version 2.0,  has been enhanced to support the contest exchange.  See Joe Taylor’s QST article for details on how it will work.

AB1QB operating in a RTTY Contest
AB1QB operating in a RTTY Contest

Fred, AB1OC and Anita, AB1QB will be hosting a multi-op entry using the N1FD callsign from their QTH. The contest starts at 18:00 UTC (1:00 pm EST) on Saturday and ends at 23:59 UTC (7 pm EST) on Sunday.  The first few hours of the contest overlap with ARRL Kids Day so the kids will have priority on our main station.  We may be able to operate in the RTTY Roundup using FT8 and our SteppIR Vertical.

If you are interested in signing up for a time slot, please contact Anita, AB1QB at [email protected]. Let her know what time you can be available to operate and how many hours you would like to operate.   Please respond no later than Thursday.  She will put together an operating schedule and send it out on Friday.

We hope to see you this weekend in the contest or hear you on the air!

Featured, General, Newsletter, On The Air

January 2019 Contesting Notes

Jumpstarting the New Year

The big contests of the Fall are now behind us and the more sedate contests like QSO parties and youth-oriented on-air events begin. This month has five contests worth noting. (For a complete list of contests please see the contest calendar here.)

ARRL RTTY Roundup ~ 1800Z, Jan 5 to 2400Z, Jan 6

If you’re new to digital contesting this is a good place to begin. There are a number of members in the club that could serve as mentors to help you get going. And, Fred AB1OC and Anita AB1QB often host an effort from their station. See also the ARRL Kids Day event below.

Exchange: RST + State/Province

Contest information: http://www.arrl.org/rtty-roundup

ARRL Kids Day ~ 1800Z-2359Z, Jan 5

Here’s your chance to work a lot of young people on the air. And, if you are a young person just getting started, this is a great event to gain confidence.

Exchange: name + age + QTH + favorite color

Contest information: http://www.arrl.org/kids-day

North American QSO Party

CW ~ 1800Z, Jan 12 to 0559Z, Jan 13,

SSB ~ 1800Z, Jan 19 to 0559Z, Jan 20

This is one of my favorite contests. The pace is relaxed, people are friendly, and it is a great way to fill in the blanks on your Worked All States award.

Exchange: NA: Name + (state/DC/province/country)

Contest information: http://www.ncjweb.com/NAQP-Rules.pdf

Winter Field Day ~ 1900Z, Jan 26 to 1900Z, Jan 27

See the N1FD article here. The NARS club has a big effort planned for this event including multiple transmitters and a collection of antennas for everything from 160m to 10m. Operating will be done from a heated shelter so you can rack up points in comfort! Contact the team leaders for more information.

Exchange: Category (indoor/outdoor/home) and ARRL section.

Contest information: https://www.winterfieldday.com

Bottom of the solar cycle

Even though we are in the solar doldrums don’t get discouraged. The bands are surprisingly good when everybody gets on and enough call CQ. In fact, with the bands a little weak this is a great time to learn how to call CQ and handle callers. You won’t get a big pile-up (because conditions are not great), but you will get people coming back to your call. Be patient and hone your skills during this down part of the cycle. Then you’ll be ready when conditions improve!

Featured, General, Newsletter, On The Air

December 2018 Contesting Notes

CW WW
CQ Zone map used for CQ World Wide contests

End of the Year Contests

The big contests of the season: CQ WW and ARRL Sweepstakes are now behind us and we’re left with a set of smaller affairs that are still fun to do. The first to mention is the ARRL 10-Meter Contest to be held December 8 and 9 (UTC). At this point in the cycle 10 meters can be a tough band to work. But, openings happen and if you’re listening it can be an exciting time to work as many as you can before the band returns to its slumber.

The ARRL Rookie Roundup CW is held for a six hour stint on December 16th (1800Z – 2359Z). Check with Fred (AB1OC) and Anita (AB1QB) for opportunities to work that contest from their superstation. Don’t worry if you’re not that good at CW. You’ll have lots of help from others around you to copy. It’s a great way to learn.

As always, please check the www.contesting.com calendar for information on lots of smaller contests such as SKCC Weekend Sprintathon (December 8 and 9), or the QRP ARCI Holiday Spirits Homebrew Sprint (December 9 2000Z-2300Z).

Contester of the Month (October & November)

Without a doubt Layne (AE1N) gets the crown for last month. He put in good scores for CQ WW CW and phone, and ARRL Sweepstakes CW. From the looks of things it seems Layne might have also won the award for “had most fun on the air!”

If you participate in a contest and want to vie for a few club accolades then drop a note to [email protected] with your 3830 submission information and what category you competed in. I’ll highlight some of the best efforts each month in this column.

Good luck and CU on the air!

 

Radio Amateurs Developing Skills Worldwide