Contest Update Issue

The ARRL Contest Update for June 5, 2024 undefined

June 5, 2024


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In this Issue:

This week’s contest update includes material contributed by Brian Moran, N9ADG.

Upcoming Contests – Things to Do
Contest Summary
News
Word to the Wise
Sights and Sounds
Operating Tip
Technical Topics and Information
Contests
Log Due Dates

Upcoming Contests — Things to Do

ARRL June VHF Contest

The summer VHF contest season kicks off this weekend with the ARRL June VHF Contest, beginning at 1800 UTC on Saturday, June 8, and concluding at 0259 UTC Monday, June 10. The contest exchange is your four-digit Maidenhead grid square. For more information on grid squares, visit www.arrl.org/grid-squares. Complete rules are available at www.arrl.org/june-vhf.

ARRL Kids Day

ARRL Kids Day is on Saturday, June 15, and will run from 1800 UTC through 2359 UTC. It's the perfect opportunity to introduce youngsters to the excitement of amateur radio. The exchange is the participant's name, age, location, and favorite color. Sponsored by the Boring, (Oregon) Amateur Radio Club, Kids Day is held every year on the first Saturday in January and the third Saturday in June. More information is available at www.arrl.org/kids-day.

West Virginia QSO Party

For state QSO party enthusiasts, the West Virginia QSO Party begins on June 15 at 1600 UTC, and concludes on June 16 at 0400 UTC. Contacts can be made on CW, phone, and digital modes.

Contest Summary

See the "Contests" section below for complete contest information.

June 6

June 7

June 8

June 10

June 11

June 12

June 13

CWops Test (CWT)

June 14

June 15

June 16

June 17

June 18

June 19

News, Press Releases, and Special Interest

The Mt. Airy VHF Radio Club announced the fall 2024 VHF and UHF sprints. There are some changes for 2024, including expanded award categories, and the moving of the 50 MHz Sprint to Saturday afternoon, with the potential for improved propagation. Here’s the schedule:

● 50 MHz: 1800 UTC to 2200 UTC on Saturday, August 10, 2024

● 144 MHz: 7 PM to 11 PM local time on Monday, September 9, 2024

● 222 MHz: 7 PM to 11 PM local time on Tuesday, September 17, 2024

● 432 MHz: 7 PM to 11 PM local time on Wednesday, September 25, 2024

● 902 MHz and up: 8 AM to 2 PM local time on Saturday, October 5, 2024

In the early days of electrification, there were many standards for voltages, AC vs. DC, and AC frequency. There was distributed generation with windmills or generators, and lack of connectivity. With the advent of the grid consumer power standards settled on 60-cycle AC, and power was generated by large scale generators on the grid. With distributed generation of renewable power and initiatives to strengthen the grid, utilities are implementing distributed storage and generation of power. And there are new companies that are providing equipment and services at scale, using storage and inverters. Let’s hope they’re not noisy inverters.

Scott, N3FJP, and his team have been busy! Maryland QSO Party 4.6.6, available on his website, accommodates the latest rule changes for that contest.

During Hamvention, members of the upcoming Jarvis Island DXpedition were talking about using a new variation of FT8, initially called “Superfox Mode.” The new mode has the DX station, or the fox, transmitting an approximately 1.5 kHz wide waveform in the same 15-second interval as today. This new waveform conveys a message that can flexibly acknowledge up to nine different hounds at a time, and has provisions for additional future functionality. The new constant-envelope waveform with multiple streams has approximately the same receivability as today’s single-slot waveform. More “hounds” will be able to hear the fox when multiple streams are being used.

Also at Hamvention, the new Airspy HF+ Ranger SDR receiver was being shown, in advance of its release. An RTL-SDR website article lists the frequency range to be 0.5 kHz to 1750 MHz.

Ward Silver, N0AX, is the recipient of the 2024 Dayton Hamvention Technical Achievement Award. Ward was also editor of the Contest Rate Sheet, which evolved into the Contest Update. Congratulations, Ward!

Coinciding with Hamvention was the announcement of the CQ Contest Hall of Fame inductees, as part of the Dayton Contest Dinner. This year’s honorees include Sergio Lima de Almeida, PP5JR, Steven London, N2IC, and Richard Ross, K2MGA (SK).

The CQ DX Hall of fame inducted Cezar Trifu, VE3LYC, Bernie McClenny, W3UR, and Richard Ross, K2MGA (SK) during the Southwest Ohio DX Association dinner in Dayton, Ohio.

Word to the Wise

A Rover is a station that operates while in motion, or from multiple locations during the contest period. Rover categories are available in many VHF and higher contests, including the upcoming ARRL June VHF Contest from June 8 - 10.

Sights and Sounds

Mike Willis, G0MJW, provided a video introduction to using the open source KiCAD application for schematic capture and printed circuit board design. This is an RSGB Tonight@8 webinar.

Contest University 2024 was live-streamed via YouTube. If you missed it, you can still watch the eight hours of video. If you’re looking for a particular session, links to the beginning of some of the presentations are below:

“What happened last weekend, although it didn’t affect a major contest… could affect us like that again over the next 2 or 3 years or so of this solar cycle peak.” – Frank Donovan, W3LPL, discussing the result of the sun’s coronal mass ejection and associated radio blackout during his talk (see link above).

Operating Tip

Randy Thompson, K5ZD, suggests that on your journey to SO2R skills, you “don’t attempt to use two radios at once until you’ve mastered using one very well.” Mastery includes knowing how to make contacts under various conditions using your radio without thinking about how to use radio functions like filtering, attenuation, and so forth. The process of using the radio should be muscle memory.

Technical Topics and Information

The MorseRunner community edition project had a new release in March. There is now support for the IARU HF World Championship, and ARRL Field Day and CQ WPX contests have been improved. MorseRunner is a fun tool that can help improve your CW contesting skills by simulating real contests with your contest logging software such as N1MM Logger+ and DxLog.

A lot of PC enthusiasts and gamers build their own mechanical keyboards by combining a printed circuit board with keyswitches and keycaps of their choice. Some people prefer silent keys, while some want the definitive clack of vintage CHERRY keyswitches. There’s a wide variety of choices, and if you’re designing your own gear you’ll find KiCAD libraries for easy printed circuit board layout.

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

73, Paul, N1SFE and Brian, N9ADG

*FREE* Shipping on $30 or more for 2024 Field Day Gear!

Use code FD2024 at www.arrl.org/shop/fieldday

*Bonus - 2024 Field Day pin is automatically included

Offer ends Monday, June 10, 2024

Contests

June 6, 2024 – June 19, 2024

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

HF CONTESTS

Walk for the Bacon QRP Contest, Jun 6, 0000z to Jun 7, 0300z; CW; Bands: 40; Maximum 13 wpm, RST + (state/province/country) + Name + (Member No./power); Logs due: Jun 13.

CWops Test (CWT), Jun 6, 0300z to Jun 6, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Jun 8.

CWops Test (CWT), Jun 6, 0700z to Jun 6, 0800z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province country); Logs due: Jun 8.

NRAU 10m Activity Contest, Jun 6, 1800z to Jun 6, 2200z; CW, SSB, FM, Digital; Bands: 10; RS(T) + 6-character grid square; Logs due: Jun 20.

SKCC Sprint Europe, Jun 6, 2000z to Jun 6, 2200z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6; RST + (state/province/country) + Name + (SKCC No./"NONE"); Logs due: Jun 13.

NCCC FT4 Sprint, Jun 7, 0100z to Jun 7, 0130z; FT4; Bands: (see rules); 4-character grid square; Logs due: Jun 9.

Weekly RTTY Test, Jun 7, 0145z to Jun 7, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Jun 9.

NCCC Sprint, Jun 7, 0230z to Jun 7, 0300z; CW; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: Jun 9.

HA3NS Sprint Memorial Contest, Jun 7, 1900z to Jun 7, 1959z; CW; Bands: 80, 40; HACWG Members: RST + Membership No., non-Members: RST + NM; Logs due: Jun 14.

K1USN Slow Speed Test, Jun 7, 2000z to Jun 7, 2100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm, Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Jun 9.

Batavia DX Contest, Jun 8, 0000z to Jun 9, 1700z; SSB; Bands: 80, 40, 10; RS + 2 character province code; Logs due: Jun 16.

VK Shires Contest, Jun 8, 0000z to Jun 8, 2359z; CW, SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; VK: RS(T) + Shire, non-VK: RS(T) + CQ Zone; Logs due: Jul 1.

Asia-Pacific Sprint, SSB, Jun 8, 1100z to Jun 8, 1300z; SSB; Bands: 20, 15; RS + Serial No.; Logs due: Jun 15.

SKCC Weekend Sprintathon, Jun 8, 1200z to Jun 9, 2359z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6; RST + (state/province/country) + Name + (SKCC No./"NONE"); Logs due: Jun 16.

Portugal Day Contest, Jun 8, 1200z to Jun 9, 1200z; CW, SSB; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; CT: RS(T) + District, non-CT: RS(T) + Serial No.; Logs due: Jun 30.

AGCW VHF/UHF Contest, Jun 8, 1400z to Jun 8, 1800z; CW; Bands: 144 MHz, 432 MHz; RST + "/" + Serial No. + "/" Power class + "/" + 6-character grid locator; Logs due: Jun 16.

GACW WWSA CW DX Contest, Jun 8, 1500z to Jun 9, 1500z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST + CQ Zone No.; Logs due: Jun 30.

4 States QRP Group Second Sunday Sprint, Jun 10, 0000z to Jun 10, 0200z; CW, SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: RS(T) + (State/Province/Country) + Member No., Non-member: RS(T) + (State/Province/Country) + Power; Logs due: Jun 12.

K1USN Slow Speed Test, Jun 10, 0000z to Jun 10, 0100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm, Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Jun 12.

ICWC Medium Speed Test, Jun 10, 1300z to Jun 10, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due: Jun 13.

OK1WC Memorial (MWC), Jun 10, 1630z to Jun 10, 1729z; CW; Bands: 80, 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Jun 14.

RSGB 80m Club Championship, Data, Jun 10, 1900z to Jun 10, 2030z; RTTY, PSK; Bands: 80; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Jun 11.

ICWC Medium Speed Test, Jun 10, 1900z to Jun 10, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due: Jun 13.

Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest, Jun 11, 0100z to Jun 11, 0159z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6; RS + age group (OM, YL, Youth YL or Youth); Logs due: Jun 12.

ICWC Medium Speed Test, Jun 11, 0300z to Jun 11, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due: Jun 13.

NAQCC CW Sprint, Jun 12, 0030z to Jun 12, 0230z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20; RST + (state/province/country) + (NAQCC No./power); Logs due: Jun 15.

Phone Weekly Test, Jun 12, 0230z to Jun 12, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15; NA: Name + (state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: Jun 14.

A1Club AWT, Jun 12, 1200z to Jun 12, 1300z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: RST + Name; Logs due: Jun 17.

CWops Test (CWT), Jun 12, 1300z to Jun 12, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Jun 15.

Mini-Test 40, Jun 12, 1700z to Jun 12, 1759z; CW; Bands: 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Jun 14.

Mini-Test 80, Jun 12, 1800z to Jun 12, 1859z; CW; Bands: 80; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Jun 14.

CWops Test (CWT), Jun 12, 1900z to Jun 12, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Jun 15.

CWops Test (CWT), Jun 13, 0300z to Jun 13, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Jun 15.

CWops Test (CWT), Jun 13, 0700z to Jun 13, 0800z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Jun 15.

NCCC FT4 Sprint, Jun 14, 0100z to Jun 14, 0130z; FT4; Bands: (see rules); 4-character grid square; Logs due: Jun 16.

Weekly RTTY Test, Jun 14, 0145z to Jun 14, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Jun 16.

NCCC Sprint, Jun 14, 0230z to Jun 14, 0300z; CW; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: Jun 16.

K1USN Slow Speed Test, Jun 14, 2000z to Jun 14, 2100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm, Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Jun 16.

SMIRK Contest, Jun 15, 0000z to Jun 16, 2359z; CW, Phone; Bands: 6; 4-character grid square + SMIRK No. (optional); Logs due: Jul 15.

All Asian DX Contest, CW, Jun 15, 0000z to Jun 16, 2359z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST + 2-digit age; Logs due: Jun 30.

Pajajaran Bogor DX Contest, Jun 15, 0000z to Jun 15, 2359z; SSB; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RS + Serial No.; Logs due: Jun 22.

Stew Perry Topband Challenge, Jun 15, 1500z to Jun 16, 1500z; CW; Bands: 160; 4-Character grid square; Logs due: Jul 1.

West Virginia QSO Party, Jun 15, 1600z to Jun 16, 0400z; CW, SSB, Digital; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; WV: RS(T) + county, non-WV: RS(T) + (state/province/country); Logs due: Jul 5.

ARRL Kids Day, Jun 15, 1800z to Jun 15, 2359z; SSB; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 17, 15, 12, 10, 2m repeaters; name + age + QTH + favorite color; Logs due: Jul 15.

Feld Hell Sprint, Jun 16, 0000z to Jun 16, 2359z; Feld Hell; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6; (see rules); Logs due: Jun 20.

SARL Youth QSO Party, Jun 16, 1200z to Jun 16, 1300z; SSB; Bands: 40; RS + age; Logs due: Jun 21.

Run for the Bacon QRP Contest, Jun 16, 2300z to Jun 17, 0100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST + (state/province/country) + (Member No./power); Logs due: Jun 22.

K1USN Slow Speed Test, Jun 17, 0000z to Jun 17, 0100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm, Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Jun 19.

ICWC Medium Speed Test, Jun 17, 1300z to Jun 17, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due: Jun 20.

OK1WC Memorial (MWC), Jun 17, 1630z to Jun 17, 1729z; CW; Bands: 80, 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Jun 21.

RSGB FT4 Contest, Jun 17, 1900z to Jun 17, 2030z; FT4; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Signal report; Logs due: Jun 18.

ICWC Medium Speed Test, Jun 17, 1900z to Jun 17, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due: Jun 20.

Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest, Jun 18, 0100z to Jun 18, 0159z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6; RS + age group (OM, YL, Youth YL or Youth); Logs due: Jun 19.

ICWC Medium Speed Test, Jun 18, 0300z to Jun 18, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due: Jun 20.

NAQCC CW Sprint, Jun 19, 0030z to Jun 19, 0230z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20; RST + (state/province/country) + (NAQCC No./power); Logs due: Jun 22.

Phone Weekly Test, Jun 19, 0230z to Jun 19, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15; NA: Name + (state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: Jun 21.

VHF+ CONTESTS

REF DDFM 6m Contest, Jun 8, 1600z to Jun 9, 1600z; CW, SSB, FM; Bands: 6; RS(T) + Serial No. + 4-character grid square; Logs due: Jun 17.

ARRL June VHF Contest, Jun 8, 1800z to Jun 10, 0259z; All; Bands: 50 MHz and up; 4-character grid square; Logs due: Jun 20.

VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest, Jun 12, 1700z to Jun 12, 2100z; FT8; Bands: 432 MHz; 4-character grid square; Logs due: Jun 17.

IARU Region 1 50 MHz Contest, Jun 15, 1400z to Jun 16, 1400z; CW, SSB; Bands: 50 MHz; RS(T) + QSO No. + 6-character grid square; Logs due: Jun 24.

LZ International 6-Meter Contest, Jun 15, 1400z to Jun 16, 1400z; CW, SSB; Bands: 6; RS(T) + QSO No. + 6-character grid square; Logs due: Jun 26.

WAB 50 MHz Phone, Jun 16, 0800z to Jun 16, 1400z; SSB; Bands: 6; British Isles: RS + serial no. + WAB square, Other: RS + serial no. + country; Logs due: Jun 26.

Log Due Dates

June 6, 2024 – June 19, 2024

June 6

June 7

June 8

June 9

June 10

June 11

RSGB 80m Club Championship, Data

June 12

June 13

June 14

June 15

June 16

June 17

June 18

RSGB FT4 Contest

June 19

ARRL Information

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Acknowledgements

ARRL Contest Update wishes to acknowledge information from WA7BNM's Contest Calendar.

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