 February 11, 2016 Editor: Paul Bourque, N1SFE | ||||
IN THIS ISSUE
NEW HF OPERATORS -- THINGS TO DO A reminder from last time: The ARRL School Club Roundup started February 8, and runs through February 12. The weekend of February 13, the CQ WPX RTTY contest will be dominant. This contest is fun because call sign prefixes are the multipliers. A nice way to verify that everything is ready to go in your station is to participate in the NCCC RTTY Sprint on Thursday evening (US time zones). The weekend of February 20, the ARRL International DX Contest, CW figures prominently. If you are a contester and a DX chaser, this will be the place to be that weekend. The International DX Convention in Visalia, CA will NOT feature a Contest University this year. There will be a one-hour Contest Forum, chaired by Ward, N0AX, on Saturday, April 16. The CQ WW Contest is looking for a new Director. Randy, K5ZD, who has been exemplary in this role since 2012, is actively seeking a replacement, as his career demands have increased. The contesting community has benefited from Randy's leadership as the contest's log scoring capabilities and integrity of the results have improved. Thank you, Randy! Randy has posted a description of the role, and qualifications of potential new Directors, on the CQWW Blog. BUSTED QSOs Last month, I mentioned the "Carolina Weekend" and a BBQ prize drawing. Marty Young, W4MY, writes: "Please note that to be eligible for the drawing contestants must submit a log to BOTH NC and SC QSO parties occurring on consecutive days, SCQP on Feb 27 and NCQP on Feb 28." Complete information for all contests follows the Conversation section February 11 February 12 February 13
February 14
February 16 February 17 February 18 February 19 February 20
February 22 February 24 RFI from hydroponic growing lights has markedly increased over the past few years. Now police are using that RFI to detect and bust illegal marijuana growing operations. (K4KYV via RFI reflector) DX Engineering is now sourcing 572B power tubes: "572B tubes are found in several new Ameritron Amplifiers, including the celebrated AL-572 and the AL-811HD. They are also common in a wide range of vintage RF amplifiers. Used in pairs, DX Engineering 572B tubes are capable of generating up to 600 watts of RF transmit power; quads will produce 1,200 watts" Tom, N4TL, has assembled a checklist of NPOTA codes (PDF) to assist in the National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) operating event that is running all year. In sprints, one has to keep things moving. This could be a good desk solution. (Ward, N0AX) High-tech headsets and coordinated clocks sound like something we'd use in a multiop, but they are just part of the overall technology the NFL uses for football games. One unfamiliar name mentioned in the article, Vokkero (the article references a slightly different spelling), makes headsets which may have a contesting application. There's some sort of glitch that's causing many find-my-phone applications to point to one geographical location. Unfortunately, the address belongs to someone's home, and the people living there have become accustomed to visits at all hours of people, including law enforcement personnel, seeking the missing cell phones. One company thinks that reaching this generation's engineers may require different communication techniques than those used in the past. While the article is not revelatory, keeping some of these tips in mind may improve your club's communication with younger members. Royal Bank of Scotland is "crowdsourcing" the choice of the historic figure to be printed on Scotland's £10 note. Voting closed on February 7, however one of the candidates was James Maxwell (Facebook link). (James, AJ3K via N0AX) Tektronix turned 70 years old last week, and also did some remodeling on its logo. The 2014 WRTC event required 65 portable generators (including backups) to power the stations. The contest sponsors chose the Honda EU2000is, which were found to be RFI free on 40 meters -10 meters, and only a small amount of noise on 80 meters. (Dennis, N6KI)
If you get up early this month, you may be able to simultaneously see Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Mars and Jupiter in the pre-dawn sky. Website of the Week - http://danariely.com Dan Ariely is a behavioral economist, and the author of Predictably Irrational, and The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty. His research interests include the motivations and psychology behind cheating, including how it can be discouraged. In 2012, he wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal entitled Why We Lie . The article discussed his research findings of why people cheat, and how cheating can be discouraged. One simple deterrent: providing a moral reminder to not cheat before an opportunity to cheat is presented. This can be as simple as asking participants to provide a signed statement along the lines of, "I promise that the information I am providing is true" before the information is elicited, rather than after. Perhaps we'll see logging programs providing the option to display a dismissable dialog box with a similar message before generating and submitting contest log files. WORD TO THE WISE-- Flooded Cable When running conductors under ground, they can be subjected to damage from water intrusion, rodents, gardening, or even just the weather. Flooded cable has a gel or liquid that discourages the intrusion of water by displacing it and the gnawing of rodents by being unpleasant tasting.
Ever wiser! Mike, VE3FGN shares some wisdom about tower work: "At 75, I've taken to ensuring I have a babysitter around when I climb. I've also expanded the climbing harness system I use, so that I'm always tied to the tower, even when climbing up or down (well, almost always!). It does slow down the climbing process, however!" David, WA1OUI, sends a link to a video detailing the human implications of living in the National Radio Quiet Zone. "It's about the thousands of square miles around the National Radio Telescope in West Virginia [Including parts of Virginia and Maryland -- Ed.] that must be radio emission free, and what that does to the inhabitants: no cell, microwave, Wi-Fi, ham radio or anything!"
Use Challenges and Teams to Develop Multi-op Skills Joel, W5ZN, used a challenge and reward to develop new operator skills in his local radio club: "The Rookie Roundup has proven to be an excellent modern day replacement for the Novice Roundup of years past. The format and activity is excellent, but the entries have been single op! This year in the Rookie Roundup -- CW in December I challenged my local club to learn CW and the reward would be the opportunity to operate from my station. Two "Rookies" took the challenge and chose to operate as a multiop, assisting each other with the effort finishing with an outstanding score and pride of accomplishment. So, here is my challenge to all of you multiops, or multiop-capable stations: Get some Rookies to your station for a multiop Rookie Roundup effort!" "After having issues with USB ports in radios and computers getting damaged by voltage surges, I bought some USB Optoisolators. Unfortunately, in their unshielded, plastic cases, they generate radiate excessive noise at RF frequencies in my environment." -- Steve, N2IC Here's an interesting party trick (well, it depends on the party): Generating electricity from cardboard, pencil, and teflon tape ! It generates enough energy to power an LCD display. Rusts on the surface of non-exotic iron materials can be removed with a little salt and electrolysis. (Ward, N0AX) Steel bluing and browning also provide some protection against conventional rusting. Here's a DIY smartphone mount. Scale it up or down for your device. (Ward, N0AX) Impedance Mismatch For a number of years, a group of non-ham friends and I have gone on an annual ski trip. Usually, we look for reasonable snow and inexpensive accommodations about one month before an agreed upon week, alternating between US locations and Europe locations since some members live in the UK. This year, we planned two months ahead, finding a place in the area of Val Gardena, Italy. For the first time ever for this group, I would bring along some ham gear, a portable antenna (SteppIR CrankIR) and radio (Elecraft KX3), renting skis instead bringing my decade-old pair of Salomons. I planned to use the radio in the early evenings, and on any day that we didn't ski. Checking out the ARRL web page for guidance on requirements for operation in CEPT countries, one thing I needed was an original copy of my amateur license. That's easier now that the "originals" can be printed at will from the FCC site. Check. Another item required was proof of citizenship. My passport satisfied this requirement. The last document required was a "DA 11-221," which is the FCC's public notice about the requirements of operating under CEPT. I loaded the PDF from the ARRL website onto my phone. Figuring out my callsign prefix during the trip required some work. I found IW5EDI's page on operating in Italy to be very helpful, and between Google maps and a call area map of Italy I was able to determine that I'd be IN3/N9ADG. As the trip grew closer, I thought about how to pack everything. I settled on putting the CrankIR, coax, ski clothing, and one ski boot in checked luggage (one free on British Airways), the other boot, ski helmet, and regular clothing in a roll-on, the KX3 and associated cables in my laptop's backpack, to be stowed under seat. Everything fit well, I even had room for a Tokyo High Power HL-50b 50 W amplifier and switching power supply in the checked luggage. My thermal underwear worked as packing material. The checked luggage weighed 49.9 lbs, just under the limit of 50. The trip from Seattle to the Italy was hassle free. The KX3 went through security screening inside my backpack. My checked luggage didn't have the usual friendly notice of inspection from TSA. Nobody asked to see any documents or asked about the extra gear. The people I ski with have worked in various roles in the technology industry, and are acquainted with the concept of ham radio, though only one of our group had actually seen what was involved. As I unpacked, I received some good-natured ribbing about nerdiness. Imagine "breaker breaker one nine good buddy" spoken with a British accent. I took everything out of the suitcases and backpack...and there it sat. For the first 3 days, in the early evening during the time I'd thought I'd be operating, our group would be reliving our day's adventure, planning the next, or catching up on life's happenings, discussing the issues of the day, and it just didn't seem appropriate to put on headphones and be on the radio, a solitary activity. On the fourth evening, I finally set up the CrankIR, enlisting the help of a college friend in the assembly, and lashed it to a wooden bench just outside our chalet. Running the coax in through the window, I realized that I forgot a coax jumper between the radio and the amp. 10-15 W would have to do (the higher power level was possible with beta KX3 firmware). Turning on the radio 90 minutes after sunset, I was faced with S8-S9 noise on 40 meters. Not very encouraging. The noise attracted onlookers as I tried to find signals on the band. Tuning up above 7.020, I heard "CQ TEST" being called by a handful of loud stations. Perfect! What contest was this? Doesn't matter! The exchange was RST and serial number. The onlookers were intrigued. "What's he saying?" Oops, missed the call. "You can understand that?" I worked an IU9 and a UA6, called a couple of other stations who didn't hear me... then turned it all off and rejoined the group. There's a time and place, and this was neither. Three nights later, I packed it all away without having turned it on again. Coming back to the US, security screening at Heathrow airport was much more interested in the gear, and they could tell they had an enthusiast on their hands. They only needed about 20 minutes of explanation. That's all for this time, don't forget to send your contest-update-worthy tips and techniques to contest-update@arrl.org 73, Brian N9ADG 11 Feb - 24 Feb 2016 An expanded, downloadable version of QST's Contest Corral in PDF format is available. Check the sponsor's website for information on operating time restrictions and other instructions. HF CONTESTS
NCCC RTTY Sprint , Feb 12, 0145z to Feb 12, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: February 14.
SKCC Weekend Sprintathon , Feb 13, 1200z to Feb 15, 0000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6m; RST + (state/province/country) + Name + (SKCC No./"NONE"); Logs due: February 21.
VHF+ CONTESTS Maine 2 Meter FM Simplex Challenge, Feb 14, 1700z to Feb 14, 2100z; FM; Bands: 2m; Name + City/Town + Power; Logs due: 0359 UTC, February 29. Also see SKCC Weekend Sprintathon, NCCC Sprint Ladder in HF section. 11 Feb - 24 Feb 2016 February 11, 2016 February 12, 2016 February 13, 2016 February 14, 2016 February 15, 2016 February 17, 2016 February 18, 2016 February 20, 2016 February 22, 2016 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 QST, Amateur Radio's most popular and informative journal, delivered to your mailbox each month. 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. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ARRL Contest Update wishes to acknowledge information from WA7BNM's Contest Calendar and SM3CER's Contest Calendar. | ||||
 | ||||
