Contester's Rate Sheet for January 24, 2007
******************************************** CONTESTER'S RATE SHEET 24 January 2007 Edited by Ward Silver N0AX Published by the American Radio Relay League Free to ARRL members - tell your friends! (Subscription info at the end of newsletter) ******************************************** SUMMARY o Load It Up and Try! - CQ WW 160-Meter CW Contest o Wintertime QSO Parties - MN, VT, and DE o 2007 Dayton Contest Dinner Tickets Available o The Dog Didn't Do It - Sound Files of Mysterious Noises o FAA Tower Review Process o Rohn Thrust Bearing and HAMII Rotator Repair Notes o W3NQN Band Pass Filter References o All Aboard! BULLETINS o The Rate Sheet broke the 15k subscriber barrier at 15035. If that was you signing up - I appreciate it! BUSTED QSOS o The source for small hobby tools should have been "Micro-Mark" < http://micromark.com/> - thanks to the sharp-eyed readers that pointed it out. Nice to see *someone* is paying attention out there. o The URL to the Radio Inspectors article mentioned a couple of issues ago was finally retrieved by your editor - http://earlyradiohistory.us/shakeRI.htm. CONTEST SUMMARY (Rules follow Commentary section) January 27-28 - CQ WW 160 - CW - BARTG RTTY Sprint - REF French Contest - CW - UBA Contest - Phone - Classic Exchange - AM/SSB February 3-4 - North American Sprint - SSB - MN QSO Party - Ten-Ten International Winter Phone QSO Party - XE International RTTY Contest - DE QSO Party - VT QSO Party - YL-OM Contest - CW - QRP ARCI Winter Fireside SSB Sprint - FYBO (Freeze Your Butt Off) Winter QRP Field Day - CW/SSB - Spartan Sprint - CW --o- ooo - --o- ooo - --o- ooo - -oo o NEWS, PRESS RELEASES, AND GENERAL INTEREST - oooo o o-o o- - o ooo oooo o o - -o- Tickets for the 2007 15th Annual Dayton Contest Dinner are on sale now at http://www.contestdinner.com/. Ticket sales will be made exclusively via the Web this year! MC for the dinner will be John Dorr K1AR and the 2007 Contest Hall of Fame inductions will be announced by CQ WW Contest Director, Bob Cox K3EST. The banquet speaker will be Dr. Barry Merrill W5GN. This dinner usually sells out, so don't procrastinate! (Thanks, Tim K3LR) Jim AD1C reports that the widely-used Country (CTY) Files were updated on 9 January 2007. Download them from http://www.country-files.com/cty/ While installing a new Western Digital 500 GB external USB hard drive, Mark KJ7BS noticed that the ventilation openings on the drive enclosure looked like Morse code. Sure enough it was and here is the text of the Morse code. A repeating pattern of "PERSONAL DESIGN RELIABLE INNOVATIVE SIMPLE" You never know where Morse will turn up next! Care to watch the world turn? Here's another attractive daytime/nightime display program for keeping an eye on the Gray Line or just to look at - http://www.die.net/earth/hemisphere.html Those are live clouds, too! (Thanks, Matt WV1K) URL of the Week - Dennis N6KI reports that http://isbn.nu/ is a great Web site for finding the best price and shipping cost for interesting new books. The site works with either the ISBN number or author and title. The site computes shipping charges to your zip code, helping to avoid exce$$ive shipping costs so common with super-low-price Web sites. oooo o -o-- -o-- o- o-oo o-oo SIGHTS AND SOUNDS o-- o- - -o-o oooo - oooo oo ooo The photos from PJ2T CQWW SSB 2006 are now posted at: http://asgard.kent.edu/ccc/cqwwssb2006/cqwwssbContestAlbum/cqwwssb2006.html . (Thanks, Geoff W0CG) Hark! Who goes there? If noises that go crackle in the night are vexing you, Dave N0RQ recommends a listen to the sound files available at http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/rfi-noise/. Compare known noises to what you are hearing and maybe get a clue to track down the culprit! oo-o oo -o -oo -o-- --- oo- o-o RESULTS AND RECORDS -o-o o- o-oo o-oo oooo o o-o o ARRL CONTEST RESULTS Shipment of the 2006 DX Plaques has been completed. Results of the 2006 IARU and September VHF QSO Party have also been published on the ARRL's Web site at http://www.arrl.org/contests/results/ - - - - - A January VHF SS Score Rumors webform is on-line at http://www.newsvhf.com/janscores.html and is also linked from http://www.newsvhf.com/contests.html. Feel free to enter your breakdowns or check out those of others. (Thanks Ron WZ1V) The digest of ARRL RTTY Roundup Soapbox comments is now available at http://www.eskimo.com/~mwdink/3830/ (Thanks, Dink N7WA) The final results for the FISTS 2006 Coast to Coast contest are now posted on the club Web site at http://www.tomochka.com/k7fff/fnw_c2c06.html Click on the "2006 Results" link. (Thanks, Paul NG7Z) oooo o -o-- -o-- --- oo- OPERATING TIP o-- o- -o- o oo- o--o If you are an ARRL member and have submitted logs for ARRL contests there is a gold mine of information for you available in your "Log Checking Reports" (also known as "LCRs"). For a list of your LCRs go to http://www.arrl.org/members-only/contests/lcr.html Basically you want to look at your log checking reports and detect patterns where you make the most mistakes. You can then practice in these areas or at least be aware of them in your next contest. It might be things like: - Mixing up similar numbers like "55" and "65" (in CW or SSB) - Mixing up similar sounding sections like "VA" and "VT" (CW) - Perhaps you have problems with certain letters or numbers - Etc... (Thanks, Marc W6ZZZ) oo oo-o oo - ooo -o --- - -ooo o-o --- -o- o TECHNICAL TIPS AND INFORMATION -o-- --- oo- o-o o -o --- - - o-o -o-- oo -o --o To move towers and other long, skinny things like antenna elements and booms, Steve WB2WIK/6 recommends renting a large boat trailer; they're available up to and beyond 24 feet long, are very strong, are pre-wired with lights & signals and have a license plate. Hector XE2K points out that rental agencies such as U-Haul and Ryder also have trailers that can do the job. A large tribander boom makes an excellent rotatable 40 meter dipole. Sound interesting? Here's how Kirk K4RO does it: http://www.k4ro.net/tcg/pix/40boom.html If you are erecting a tower near an airport, here's a simple process to get through the FAA review: 1) download form 7460-1 from the FAA web site 2) fill it out accurately and completely. 3) send it to the FAA regional office that covers your area. (You might need to enclose a "topo quad" map) The office will review the application and report: 1) how high you can go IF there is a FAA limitation 2) Type of Marking and lighting IF required. Many other questions about FAA rules for towers are answered in the FAA advisory circular on "Objects that May Affect the Navigable Airspace" at https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaaEXT/content/advisoryCirculars.jsp (Thanks, Dave K1TTT and Fred K1VR) A nifty article on using an extension ladder as a temporary ("It's just temporary, dear!") tower has been written by Fred W8FR. The Weak Sister Amateur Radio Group has posted it under "Pipeline" at http://min.midco.net/wsn This could be handy in all sorts of ways. Dan N3OX reports discovering a problem with the W7IUV low-band preamp in "Low-Band DXing". The schematic in the book lists the unbypassed portion of the emitter resistor as 47 ohms instead of 4.7 ohms. The correct information is also available on W7IUV's Web site, http://w7iuv.com/ contained in the "Rotatable Flag" article. (Thanks also, Larry W7IUV) "I went up the tower yesterday to take down the Christmas lights and noticed something disturbing. I happened to notice that the boom to mast plate (stock 1/4" aluminum plate) on my KLM 40M4 had stress cracks radiating out from the points where the four clamps attach the plate to the mast. There were no signs of problems from the ground level and it was easy to overlook even standing 2 feet underneath the beam on the tower. Next time you're up the tower, take a careful and close look at your boom to mast plates to make sure stress cracks aren't developing." (Thanks, Bob K6ZZ) How many turns would a core winder count if a core winder could count turns? On a binocular core this can get confusing, but one turn is one pass through each side, returning to the beginning point. (Thanks, Bill W4ZV) Got a "stuck" Rohn TB-3 thrust bearing? Here's an article by K1IR on repairing such a beast. It was first posted on the TowerTalk reflector (http://lists.contesting.com/_towertalk/1998-December/021126.html) and then printed in NCJ. (Thanks, Fred K1VR) After Jim K5LAD repaired his HAMII rotator the other night, he wrote up the details, partly to jog his own memory later and partly to share with others. It's available on his Web site at http://tinyurl.com/yx4xkr. If you're wondering about retuning your 80/75 meter antennas for the new phone allocations, George K5TR's final solution was to use the W6NL coax trick described at http://www.cebik.com/trans/wb.html. George uses one wavelength of RG8X from sloping dipoles cut to 3.700 MHz back to an RCS-8V switch. The ¼-wavelength of 75-ohm coax is inserted there. Windirstat (http://windirstat.info/)is a freeware app that does a really nice job at showing what files/directories are taking up the most space on a drive. (Thanks, Matt Penning) If you're looking for good band-pass filter designs, W3NQN's are classic. Both of these articles are available through the ARRL TIS Web site and you do not have to be an ARRL Member to access them. Wetherhold, "Clean up your signal with band-pass filters--Part I," QST May 1997. Wetherhold, "Clean up your signal with band-pass filters--Part II," QST June 1997. (Thanks, Mike, W5UC) TECHNICAL URL OF THE WEEK -- The MetEd Web site (http://meted.ucar.edu/topics_spacewx.php) is packed full of useful on-line training courses, some with quizzes and some without. On the home page it says registration will become mandatory in late Jan 2007, but the registration is painless and free. (Thanks, Steve N2IC) o- -o-o -o-o oo- o-o o- -o-o -o-- oo ooo o--- --- -ooo CONVERSATION --- -o o oo -o -o-o --- -o - o ooo - oo -o --o All Aboard! So the FCC has dropped CW testing and we're all going to die, or at the least be turned into slobbering idjits, and civilization as we know it will come to An Ignominious End. Oooooh-kay. As I sifted through the embers, I re-discovered a common thread that weaves much of the warp and woof of hams and ham radio. Regardless of whether you're a seasoned veteran of many sunspot cycles, just coming off your first solar minimum (hang in there, it won't be long now, keep the faith), or are still wondering what all the fuss is about, hams like to think their license Means Something. And it does! How many other folks on the block have a federal license requiring a competency exam on technical knowledge and know-how? Not too many, I'll bet! Passing the entry-level Technician license exam alone puts you in pretty rarified company, if you care to consider the numbers involved. Never mind all that - within the Tribe of Hamster there must be a pecking order, just as with about all other human organizations. And what drives the pecking order? Recognition! Yes, just the simple recognition of your peers that you have Done Something Of Merit. That's why we wear Honor Roll pins and put 473-Band/Mode WAS on our QSLs and strive to put our calls in the Top Ten boxes year after year. That is what underlies a great deal of the angst surrounding the post-CW age. Because the achievement of learning the code is no longer certified by the FCC, a big chunk of recognition has crumbled like dry and brittle leaves. Well, boo-hoo. Yes, I will miss it. Yes, I passed the 20 wpm test under the dreaded glare of a real, live, short-sleeve-white-shirted-crew-cut-bow-tied FCC Inspector of Doom. OK, I'm over it. Now what? I have a modest proposal here. Recognition is a Good Thing, absolutely it is. We need more of it! I have promoted wider recognition in contest reporting; regional analysis, sortable scores, club challenges and rankings, contests-within-a-contest. These are all examples of how to give personal recognition that counts. It comes from your peers and keeps you going year in and year out even when propagation isn't going your way and you feel like roadkill on the Band Map Of Life. So let's extend and collect and publish that recognition! Who says contesters are the only hamsters with incentives? They're not! DXers are certainly visible examples and with a big overlap into the contest community. Award chasers and county hunters and island loggers like to see those totals going up, up, up. QRPers like to see big miles-per-watt numbers. Traffic handlers number each message for more reasons than traceability! My proposal is derived from scouting's rank and merit badge system. To progress from Tenderfoot to Eagle or from Junior to Gold, boy and girl scouts must log a wide swath of achievements from personal growth to technical abilities. As rank increases, the breadth and depth of the achievements also keeps increasing. Merit badges recognize specialized effort and achievement. Adding patches of rank to one's uniform and wearing a sash festooned with round merit badges is a great source of personal pride and public recognition. Why shouldn't ham radio have a similar system of recognition, especially of the so highly prized CW abilities signifying the well-rounded amateur? No, we don't need uniforms and patches. Besides, many of us are too well rounded to get into a sash anyway. But we DO need a common way of acknowledging the accomplishments of others - both as a personal incentive AND as an incentive to others to broaden their radio skills. Not only does this lead to personal achievement and recognition, it also promotes awareness and understanding of other parts of the Amateur Service. There is nothing preventing someone, some group, some organization from linking the public database of ham call signs to a page on which individual hams can check off their accomplishments. There is nothing preventing the creation of a list of recognized achievements; license class and years held, major awards, contest certificates, official positions, even, dare I say it, Code Copying Proficiency. If the achievements are publicly verifiable, no additional verification or certification needs to be done because we can all go to the appropriate Web site or handbook and corroborate it ourselves. If I want to see how N0AX stacks up, then I enter the call sign and out pops the record. There could even be cute icons for each accomplishment, just like merit badges! And Mom wouldn't even have to sew them on for you! Let's not make this too hard. What categories should be used? How about those mighty five of the Amateur Service's Basis and Purpose, Rule 97.1? Emergency Communications, Technical Skill, Operating Skill, Training, and Goodwill - if it doesn't fall into one of those categories, amateurs shouldn't be doing it anyway. Come up with a list of accomplishments in each of those areas, starting with license class. Achieving one in each area gets you started as, hmmm, how about First Level Amateur? And knock it off with the hazing rituals, let's help people get on board and moving! Brush the rust off of your own long-disused skills! Built anything lately? Held a club or Field Service appointment? Written anything for the club newsletter? Gotten your VE certification? No? Well, now is a good time to start! Speaking of starting, don't wait for "somebody else" to get this rolling. Your own club could run a trial program - pick your categories and some reasonable accomplishments. Let the members go through their files and find out how many they can claim. Recognize your rookies and your heavy-hitters. Tell us how it worked out! Share, build, and improve. All aboard! The train to Ham Radio Future is about to depart. 73, Ward N0AX -o-o --o- - o ooo - -o-o --o- - o ooo - CONTESTS -- 24 JANUARY TO 6 FEBRUARY 2007 -o-o --o- - o ooo - -o-o --o- - o ooo - Note that the following abbreviations are used to condense the contest rules summaries: SO - Single-Op; M2 - Multi-Op - 2 Transmitters; MO - Multi-Op; MS - Multi-Op, Single Transmitter; MM - Multi-Op, Multiple Transmitters; AB - All Band; SB - Single Band; S/P/C - State/Province/DXCC Entity; HP - High Power (>100 W); LP - Low Power; QRP (5W or less) HF CONTESTS CQ WW 160-Meter Contest--CW, sponsored by CQ Magazine from 0000Z Jan 27 - 2359Z Jan 28 (Phone is Feb 24-25). Exchange: RST and S/P/C. Categories: SO-QRP (<5 W) -LP(<150 W) -HP, MO categories. Enter as MO if packet or spotting nets are used. QSO Points: own entity--2 pts, same continent--5 pts, diff. cont.--10 pts, /MM stations count 5 points, but no multiplier. Score: QSO points X states + VE call areas + DXCC entities (KH6 and KL7 count as DXCC only). For more information: http://www.cq-amateur-radio.com/index.html. Logs due by Feb 28 to 160cw@kkn.net (Cabrillo format only) or CQ 160 Contest, 25 Newbridge Rd, Hicksville, NY 11801. BARTG RTTY Sprint--sponsored by the British Amateur Radio Teletype Group from 1200Z Jan 27 - 1200Z Jan 28. Frequencies: 80 - 10-meters. Categories: SO-Expert, SOAB, MO, and SWL. Operators with a Top Ten log in the past three years must enter as an Expert. Exchange: serial number only. QSO Points: 1 pt/QSO. Score: QSO points x DXCC entities + W/VE/JA/VK call areas x continents counted only once. For more information: http://www.bartg.demon.co.uk/. Logs in Cabrillo format due 1 Mar to ska@bartg.demon.co.uk. See Web site for emailing instructions. REF French Contest--CW, sponsored by the Reseau des Emetteurs Francais from 0600Z Jan 27 - 1800Z Jan 28 (Phone is Feb 24-25). Contact French stations including Corsica, Overseas Territories, and EU Council station TP2CE. Frequencies: 80 - 10-meters. Categories: SOAB, MS, and SWL. Exchange: non-French stations send RST and serial number, French send RST and department number or prefix. QSO Points: different continent--3 pts, 1 pt otherwise. Score: QSO points X departments and prefixes counted once per band. For more information: http://www.ref-union.org/concours. Logs are due Mar 15 (CW) or April 15 (SSB) to cdfcw@ref-union.org (SSB - cdfssb@ref-union.org) or Reseau des Emetteurs Francais, REF Contest, BP 7429, 37074 Tours Cedex, France. UBA Contest--Phone, sponsored by the Royal Union of Belgian Amateur Radio from 1300Z Jan 27 - 1300Z Jan 28 (CW is Feb 24 - 25). Frequencies: 80 - 10-meters, according to the IARU band plan. Categories: SOAB and SOSB (QRP, LP, HP), MS, SWL, packet is allowed for all classes. Exchange: RST and serial number, ON stations add their province abbr. QSO Points: QSOs with ON stations--10 pts, with other European Union--3 pts, outside European Union--1 pt. Score: QSO points X ON provinces + ON prefixes + European Union DXCC entities counted once per band. For more information and a list of EU entities: http://www.uba.be/. Logs due 30 days after the contest to ubassb@uba.be (ubacw@uba.be for CW) in Cabrillo format or UBA Contest, Marc Domen, ON7SS, Ferdinand Coosemansstraat 32, B-2600 Antwerpen, Belgium. Classic Exchange--AM/SSB, from 1400Z Jan 28 - 0800Z Jan 29. Frequencies (Mc): CW 1.810, 3.545, 7.045, 14.045, 21.135, 28.050, 50.100, 144.100. Exchange: RST, QTH, RX, TX. QSO Points: 1 pt/QSO. Total Score: QSO's times (number of TX and RX worked + S/P/C counted once per band) times CX multiplier (Age of all RX TX and XCVR used for at least 3 QSOs.). For more information: http://qsl.asti.com/CX. Logs to wq8u@arrl.net or J.D. "Mac" Mac Aulay WQ8U, 104 W Queen St, Hillsborough, NC 27278. North American Sprint--SSB, sponsored by the National Contest Journal from 0000Z - 0400Z Feb 4. (CW is Feb 11) Frequencies (MHz): 3.850, 7.225, 14.275, work stations once per band. North American stations work everyone, others work NA stations only. Exchange: other station's call, your call, serial number, name, S/P/C. QSY rule: Stations calling CQ, QRZ, etc, may only work one station in response to that call, they must then move at least 1 kHz before working another station or 5 kHz before soliciting another call. Once you are required to QSY, you may not make a new QSO on the previous frequency until you have made a contact at least 1 or 5 kHz (as required) away. (see http://www.contesting.com/articles/198 for beginner's guide) Score: QSOs X S/P/C (count each only once). For more information: http://www.ncjweb.com/. Logs due 7 days after the contest via the Web site via http://www.ncjweb.com/sprintlogsubmit.php or ssbsprint@ncjweb.com or Jim Stevens, K4MA, 6609 Vardon Ct., Fuquay-Varina, NC 27526. Minnesota QSO Party--CW/Phone, sponsored by the Minnesota Wireless Association from 1400 - 2359Z Feb 3. Frequencies (MHz): CW 1.810, 3.550, 7.050, 14.050, 21.050, 28.050, SSB 1.870, 3.890, 7.230, 14.290, 21.390, 28.420. Categories: QRP, SOLP, SOHP, VHF, MS, MN Mobile-Single Xmtr, and MN Mobile-Unlimited. Exchange: Name and MN county or S/P/C. QSO Points: SSB--1 pt, CW--2 pts. Score: QSO points x MN counties (MN stns use States + Provinces), each counted only once. For more information and MN QSO Party software: http://www.w0aa.org/. Logs due Mar 15 to mnqp@isd.net or MNQP, 4745-170th Lane NE, Ham Lake, MN 55304-5233. Ten-Ten International Winter Phone QSO Party--sponsored by Ten-Ten International from 0001Z Feb 3 - 2359Z Feb 4, 10-meters only. Exchange: Callsign, name, QTH, and 10-10 number (if a member). QSO Points: nonmembers--1 pt, members--2 pts. Score: total points. For complete rules: http://www.ten-ten.org/. Logs due Feb 19 to tentencontest@alltel.net or Steve Rasmussen N0WY, #68684, 312 N 6th St, Plattsmouth, NE 68048. XE International RTTY Contest, sponsored by FMRE from 1800Z Feb 3 to 1759Z Feb 4. Frequencies: 80 -- 10 meters. Categories: SO-1 Radio, SO-2 Radio. Exchange: RST and serial number or XE state/district. QSO Points: own country--2 pts, DX--3 pts, XE stations--4 pts. Score: QSO points x XE states + DXCC entities from each band. For more information: http://www.fmre.org.mx/. Logs due 30 days after the contest to xe1j@ucol.mx or Jose Levy XE1J, Dirección de Concursos FMRE, Clavel 333, Colima, Col 28030, Mexico. Delaware QSO Party--CW/Phone/RTTY/Digital, sponsored by the First State ARC (FSARC) from 1700Z Feb 3 - 0500Z Feb 4 and 1300Z Feb 4 - 0100Z Feb 5. Categories: SO (150 watts max), SO-QRP, MO, Club, Rover. Frequencies (MHz): CW 1.825, 3.550, 7.050, 14.050, 21.050, 28.050; Phone 1.860, 3.960, 7.260, 14.260, 21.360, 28.360; PSK31 14.071, Hellschreiber 14.081, RTTY 14.090, Novice & Technician 25 kHz above the sub-band edge. CW/RTTY/Digital count as separate modes. Exchange: RST and DE county or S/P/C. QSO Points: Phone--1 pt, CW/RTTY/Digital--2 points, satellite--5 pts, DE Club--10 pts. Score: QSO Points x S/P/C counted once only. For more information: http://www.fsarc.org/. Logs due Mar 10 to QSOparty@fsarc.org or Contest Chairman--FSARC, PO Box 1050, Newark, DE 19715. Vermont QSO Party-- CW/Phone/Digital, sponsored by the Central Vermont Amateur Radio Club from 0000Z Feb 3 to 2400Z Feb 5. Frequencies (MHz): 160-10 meters and VHF/UHF; CW 40 kHz from band edge; Phone--lowest 25 kHz of General segment and entire Novice/Tech 10m band; VHF SSB-50.200, 144.200, FM-146.49, 146.55. Categories: SOAB, MO, Club, Rover. Exchange RST and VT county or S/P/C. QSO points: Phone--1 pt, CW or digital--2 pts. Work stations once per mode up to four QSOs per band. Score: QSO points times VT/NH/ME counties plus Vermont Club Stations (VT stations use S/P/C) counted only once. For more information and list of club stations: http://www.qsl.net/w1bd. Logs due 1 Mar 1 to trlong1@adelphia.net or Central Vermont Amateur Radio Club, PO Box 74, South Barre, VT 05670-0074. YL-OM Contest--CW, sponsored by the Young Ladies Radio League (YLRL) from 1400Z Feb 3 - 0200Z Feb 5 (Phone is 1400Z Feb 10 to 0200Z Feb 12). Frequencies: 160-10 meters. Exchange: Call sign, RST, serial number and S/P/C. For more information and scoring info: http://www.ylrl.org/ylcontests.html. Logs due 30 days after the contest to kc4iyd@yahoo.com or Nancy Rabel Hall, KC4IYD, PO Box 775, North Olmsted, OH 44070 QRP ARCI Winter Fireside SSB Sprint, sponsored by the QRP ARCI from 2000Z - 2359Z Feb 4. Frequencies (MHz): 3.865, 7.285, 14.285, 21.385, 28.385. For more information: http://www.qrparci.org/. Logs due Mar 4 to contest@qrparci.org or ARCI Fireside Sprint, c/o Jeff Hetherington VA3JFF, 139 Elizabeth St W, Welland, Ontario, Canada L3C 4M3 (See Dec QST, p XXX for QRP ARCI Sprint rules) FYBO (Freeze Your Butt Off) Winter QRP Field Day--CW/SSB, sponsored by the AZ ScQRPions from 1600Z - 2400Z Feb 3. Use QRP calling frequencies on HF bands, work stations once per band. Categories are SO, MS, MM, and Novice/Tech--indicate home or field. Exchange: RST, S/P/C, name, power, and temperature in degrees F at operating position. Score: total QSOs x S/P/C (counted only once) x Temperature multiplier x 4 (if field location) x 2 (if alternative pwr) x 2 (if QRP). Temp mult--65+ x1, 50-64 x2, 40-49 x3, 30-39 x4, 20-29 x5, <20 x6. Add 10,000 points for a QSO with NQ7RP. For more information: http://www.azscqrpions.org/. Logs due 30 days after the contest to azscqrpions@covad.net or John Stevens K5JS, 21547 North 91st Dr, Peoria AZ 85382. Spartan Sprint--CW, sponsored by the Adventure Radio Society from 0200Z - 0400Z Feb 6 (Monday local time in the USA). The contest is held on the first Monday of every month. Frequencies (MHz): 3.560, 7.040, 14.060, 21.060, 28.060. Categories: SOAB. Exchange: RST, S/P/C, and power output. For more information: www.arsqrp.com. Logs due by noon the following Wednesday via the automated scoring system at http://www.ARSqrp.com/ars/ss_log.html. VHF+ CONTESTS No VHF+ contests are scheduled. -oo --- -o - -- oo ooo ooo -o-- --- oo- o-o LOG DUE DATES - 24 JANUARY TO 6 FEBRUARY 2007 o-oo --- --o -oo o o- -oo o-oo oo -o o ooo January 24 - NAQCC Straight Key/Bug Sprint, email logs to: yoel@arm-tek.net, paper logs and diskettes to: Tom Mitchell, KB3LFC, RD6 Box 122A, Kittanning, PA 16201, USA. Find rules at: http://www.arm-tek.net/~yoel/sprint200701.html January 27 - North American QSO Party, CW, email logs to: (see rules, web upload preferred), upload log at: http://www.ncjweb.com/naqplogsubmit.php, paper logs and diskettes to: Bruce Horn, WA7BNM, 4225 Farmdale Avenue, Studio City, CA 91604, USA. Find rules at: http://www.ncjweb.com/naqprules.php January 29 - DARC 10-Meter Contest, email logs to: 10m-contest@dxhf.darc.de, paper logs and diskettes to: Frank Steinke, DL8WAA, PO Box 1188, D-56238 Selters, Germany. Find rules at: http://www.darc.de/referate/dx/xedczr.htm January 29 - Run for the Bacon QRP Contest, email logs to: W2LJ@arrl.net, upload log at: http://gentzow.com/fpqrp/autolog.asp, paper logs and diskettes to: Larry Makoski, W2LJ, 327 Clinton Place, South Plainfield, NJ 07080, USA. Find rules at: http://www.gentzow.com/fpqrp/fpqrprun.htm January 30 - Feld Hell QSO Party, email logs to: contest@feldhellclub.org, paper logs and diskettes to: (none). Find rules at: http://www.feldhellclub.org/Contests.htm January 31 - RAC Winter Contest, email logs to: canadawinter@rac.ca, paper logs and diskettes to: Radio Amateurs of Canada, 720 Belfast Road, Suite 217, Ottawa, Ontario K1G 0Z5, Canada. Find rules at: http://www.rac.ca/downloads/canwin2006.pdf January 31 - TOPS Activity Contest, email logs to: oe1tkw@chello.at, paper logs and diskettes to: Helmut Klein, OE1TKW, Nauseagasse 24/26, A-1160 Wien, Austria. Find rules at: http://members.chello.at/oe1tkw/tac/tac-2006.html January 31 - Stew Perry Topband Challenge, email logs to: tbdc@contesting.com, paper logs and diskettes to: BARC, 15125 SE Bartell Rd, Boring, OR 97009, USA. Find rules at: http://jzap.com/k7rat/stew.rules.txt January 31 - SARTG New Year RTTY Contest, email logs to: contest@sartg.com, paper logs and diskettes to: SARTG Contest Manager, Ewe Hakansson, SM7BHM, Pilspetsvagen 4, SE-291 66 Kritianstad, Sweden. Find rules at: http://www.sartg.com/contest/nyrules.htm January 31 - AGCW Happy New Year Contest, email logs to: hnyc@agcw.de, paper logs and diskettes to: Werner Hennig, DF5DD, Am Cappeler Freistuhl 33, D-59556 Lippstadt, Germany. Find rules at: http://www.agcw.de/english/contest/happynew_e.htm January 31 - NRAU-Baltic Contest, CW and SSB, email logs to: nrau2007@lral.lv, paper logs and diskettes to: NRAU-Baltic Contest, LRAL, PO Box 164, LV-1010 Riga, Latvia. Find rules at: http://www.sk3bg.se/contest/nrau.htm January 31 - Original QRP Contest, email logs to: oqrpc@qrpcc.de, paper logs and diskettes to: Dr.Hartmut Weber, DJ7ST, Schlesierweg 13, D-38228 Salzgitter, Germany. Find rules at: http://www.qrpcc.de/contestrules/oqrpr.html February 1 - International Naval Contest, email logs to: (none), paper logs and diskettes to: Martin Ouwehand, PF9A, 1131 ME, Volendam, Netherlands. Find rules at: http://www.marinefunker.de/eng/show.php3?pos=18 February 3 - North American QSO Party, SSB, email logs to: (see rules, web upload preferred), upload log at: http://www.ncjweb.com/naqplogsubmit.php, paper logs and diskettes to: Bruce Horn, WA7BNM, 4225 Farmdale Avenue, Studio City, CA 91604, USA. Find rules at: http://www.ncjweb.com/naqprules.php February 6 - ARRL RTTY Roundup, email logs to: RTTYRU@arrl.org, paper logs and diskettes to: RTTY Roundup, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111, USA. Find rules at: http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2007/rtty.html February 6 - EUCW 160m Contest, email logs to: f6cel@wanadoo.fr, paper logs and diskettes to: Ghislain Barbason, 5 rue de l'Ecluse, F-02190 Pignicourt, France. Find rules at: http://www.agcw.de/eucw/eu160.html February 6 - Kid's Day Contest, email logs to: (none), paper logs and diskettes to: (see rules). Find rules at: http://www.arrl.org/FandES/ead/kd-rules.html ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Material from The Contester's Rate Sheet may be republished or reproduced in whole or in part in any form without additional permission. Credit must be given to The ARRL Contester's Rate Sheet/American Radio Relay League. The Contester's Rate Sheet wishes to acknowledge information from the following sources: WA7BNM's Contest Calendar Web page - <http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal> SM3CER's Web site - <http://www.sk3bg.se/contest> ARRL members may subscribe at no cost by editing their Member Data Page as described at <http://www.arrl.org/contests/rate-sheet>. Excel and Windows are trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation