Our Primary Weather Net meets on the following repeaters for Anderson, Blount, Knox, Loudon and Union Counties. We always know whats on the way thanks to the great efforts of the spotters and the weather bureau, that reports on these repeaters.
- Primary 146.940 - No PL Tone
- Back up 145.47- No PL Tone
- Back up 146730- No PL Tone
Our Secondary Weather Net meets on the following repeaters for Northern Anderson, Campbell, Union and Claiborne Counties.
- Primary 147.360 + No PL Tone
- Back up 145.470 - No PL Tone
- Back up 146.730- No PL Tone
Currently all our weather net are held on the WB4GBI repeater system courtesy of Tim Berry WB4GBI.
Hi all,
In September several of us are planning to ascend Whitetop Mountain VA for the ARRL VHF QSO Party. This is one of the biggest VHF radio contests of the year.
In support of our efforts we have created a new website. It may be found here:
http://whitetop.embarqspace.com/
Please take a moment and check out the website. It has information about our team, our equipment, Whitetop Mountain, and the contest itself. I ask that you share this website with all those with an interest in amateur radio. Please check back often as our webmaster will be updating it as new information on our expedition arises.
Most of all we are asking for your contacts during the contest. Even the best station in the world can't make contacts if it has no one to work. Please work us on as many bands as possible, we really need your help because we're in it to win it.
Hope to hear you in September.
Adam WK4P
The N6ZAV J-Pole makes a great (but not so hidden) transmitter antenna.
Using the above table, cut the tubing to the size shown for the desired band. The only section where size is not critical is the mast section. Use any size you desire for mounting purposes.
Use steel wool to clean the copper and solder the antenna together as you would with normal copper tubing. Pay close attention to keep the joints straight and snug while doing this. Soldering this together takes quite a bit of heat and a propane torch is the tool of choice.
After the antenna has had a chance to cool, you can attach the coax. Strip the end of the coax that you are going to connect to the antenna and make sure that there is just enough to span the distance between the elements. The cable should be centered between the elements. Strip the center conductor and tin it with solder if it is multi-stranded. Do the same for the braided shield. Using the stainless steel hose clamps, attach the center conductor to the "B" side of the antenna and the shield to the "A" side. Start with the connections about 3" to 5" above the bottom of the "J" and tune with an SWR meter. That's about it! See you on-the-air!
73 de Marty, N6ZAV
Parts List: 1 10' length of 1/2" copper tubing schedule "L" or "M" 1 1/2" copper tubing "T" fitting 1 1/2" copper tubing elbow fitting 2 1/2" copper end caps 2 small stainless steel hose clamps 1 50 ohm coax cable with connector for radio.
Element Size Table: 2 Meters 220 MHz Total length Cut Tubing Total length Cut Tubing A 60 5/8" 60 1/4" 39 3/4" 39 3/8" B 20 1/4" 19 7/8" 13 1/4" 12 7/8" C 3" 2 1/4" 2" 1 1/4"
Below is a Javascript for calculating the lengths of tubing to be used for the construction of a Super J-Pole. The antenna I constructed was made of 1/2" tubing.
| Bottom Section | inches |
| Top Section | inches |
| Matching section | inches |
PO BOX 18495
Indianapolis IN 46218-0495
USA
QSL: IMPORTANT! *READ* THE QSL INFO BELOW!
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| Pictured above: Standing in front of the Control Tower / Pagoda at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the front straightaway near the start/finish line & pits, 5/24/08, are (L-R) visiting operators Emily Bishop (WE4MB) and dad Mike Bishop (WM4RB) from Cleveland, TN; Amanda Feriante (AF6YL) and mom Kortnee (KF6Y) from Fremont, California. ** W9IMS HISTORY ** In April 2004, the owner of The Saturday Evening Post and club member Beurt SerVaas met with Indianapolis Motor Speedway CEO Tony George, and on May 25, 2004, W9IMS became the Official Amateur Radio Club of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway -- the first time in history that a ham radio club has received this designation. W9IMS conducts special event operations for all three races that make up the Triple Crown on Indy's legendary 2½-mile oval - the Indianapolis Motor Speedway http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com . These events are the Indianapolis 500 http://www.indy500.com , the Brickyard 400 http://www.brickyard400.com , and the Indianapolis MotoGP http://www.redbullindianapolisgp.com Unfortunately, the United States Grand Prix, http://www.usgpindy.com which was run from 2000-2007, will not be returning to the IMS in 2008. ** 2004 INFO ** W9IMS talked with 7,766 people from 81 different countries during the three races. ** 2005 INFO ** W9IMS talked with 5,283 people from 70 different countries during the three races. We had a special guest in the shack. Mike King, the chief announcer for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network and the voice of all IndyCar Series events, stopped by and talked with hams around the world. Those lucky hams also got their QSL cards signed by Mike. http://home.earthlink.net/~w9ims/2005/Mike_King_at_W9IMS.jpg In addition, Mike King mentioned W9IMS on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network during the live worldwide broadcast of the Indy 500! http://home.earthlink.net/~w9ims/2005/W9IMS_on_Indy_500_broadcast.mp3 One of our members, David Spoelstra, N9KT, did an interview with 2005 Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon! http://home.earthlink.net/~w9ims/2005/Dan_Wheldon.mp3 ** 2006 INFO ** W9IMS talked with 7,537 people from 96 different countries during the three races. We had a guest op for the 90th running of the Indy 500. Nine year old YL Extra Amanda Feriante and her family of hams from California visited us and worked stations from W9IMS! http://www.qrz.com/af6yl ** 2007 INFO ** W9IMS talked with 8,994 people from 91 different countries during the three races. During the Indy 500 Special Event our guest op, Amanda Feriante, had interviews with the local radio and TV stations. Hear her on WIBC at http://home.earthlink.net/~w9ims/2007/Amanda_Fariante_WIBC.mp3 and see her (and some of our shack) on WXIN Fox 59 at http://home.earthlink.net/~w9ims/2007/Amanda_Fariante_WXIN.wmv One of our members, Brian D. Smith, W9IND, wrote an article that was published in the November 2007 QST about our Indy 500 Special Event titled "Girl Meets Brickyard - A Ham Radio Adventure." It was announced that the 2007 USGP would be the last one run at the Brickyard. That makes those USGP QSL cards you have quite collectable! On the plus side, we are all looking forward to the inaugural running of the Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP race! The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has now come full circle because the first land-based vehicle race held there *was* a motorcycle race on August 14, 1909! ** 2008 SCHEDULE ** Indy 500 - May 9-11, 16-18, 23-25. Our intention is to operate from 1500Z through 0300Z on the Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. We will also be on a lot during the weekdays during the month of May. Allstate 400 at the Brickyard - July 25-27; Red Bull Indianapolis GP - September 12-14. Our intention is to operate from 1500Z through 0300Z on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the race weekends. There may be ad hoc operations starting the weekend before and during the week leading up to the race weekend. But other than the weekend of the event itself, operation will be at the sole discretion of individual ops. ** FREQUENCIES ** W9IMS will operate on or near: 1.840, 3.840, 7.240, 10.140, 14.070 PSK31, 14.240, 18.140, 21.340, 28.340, 50.140, 144.240 SSB and 146.52 simplex FM. Watch for spots at sites such as DX Summit http://oh2aq.kolumbus.com ** EQUIPMENT ** W9IMS uses Icom 756 Pro 2s and 3s with a variety of commercial and homemade amps. We have towers ranging from 110 feet to 180 feet. We have monobanders on 40m, 20m, and 10m. We have dipoles at 150 feet for 80m and 200 feet for 160m. We have a WARC dual bander at 110 feet. We use the excellent freeware programs N1MM (www.n1mm.com) and XMLog (www.xmlog.com) to log all our contacts. ** QSL INFO ** NOTE: There will be a *NEW* QSL card for all three races this year. It will be at least 90 days after the race before we have them to mail out. A full-color custom four-sided QSL card will be available for EACH race. A certificate on heavy photo paper will be available for working ALL three races. The cost for printing these comes out of our own pockets, so we must insist on an SASE for QSL cards and an SASE and $1 for certificates! Any additional donations are GREATLY appreciated and will go directly into the fund for printing new cards. NON-USA STATIONS - QSL direct or via the bureau. If you want a certificate, then you must follow the directions below for USA STATIONS FOR CERTIFICATE. USA STATIONS (FOR QSL CARDS) - send your QSL card with an SASE (#9 or #10 Business Envelope -- our QSL cards are 3.5" x 5.5"). You may put multiple W9IMS contacts on one card and we will send you the corresponding QSL cards -- i.e., if you list contacts for all three races, we will send all three cards back - MAKE SURE YOU INCLUDE ENOUGH POSTAGE! USA STATIONS (FOR CERTIFICATE) - send a listing of your contacts for the three different races along with $1 and an 8.5" x 11" SASE. The certificate is on heavy photo paper. SWL STATIONS - Follow the directions above for USA or NON-USA stations (direct or via bureau) and substitute an SWL report. For a certificate, please enclose sufficient postage and an 8.5" x 11" self-addressed envelope. Please email W9IMS if you have any questions. -David Spoelstra, N9KT Ladies don't forget the 470 Ladies Round Table Each Monday & Thursday At 8:00 pm on the 145,470 repeater
W5YI VE team will be testing this August 9 at the Sevier County Rescue Squad Building on Dolly Parton Parkway at 10:00am,Doors are to open at 9:00am, Coffee and Donuts will be served,bring a copy of your licenese if upgrading.. We will do all Class Testing ! For more information call Kim..KG4RAQ 2560070 or Rick Sr at 4292422 Hope to see you there....Please remember if you need any handicap testing please advise us before you come so that we can have enough VE present, also to VE please contact me prior the test..... FIRST ANNUAL LARC Humor by Rev Leon Hill At an Athiest's funeral a freind looked down at him and shook his head and said-"all dressed up and no place to go" Insomnia is contagious,if your baby has it chances are you won't be able to sleep either!! The worst part of doing nothing is you never take a day off ! Many people sow wild oats on saturday Night,then they come to churh on Sunday praying for a crop failure......
2008 Olympics Worth a Try !!! You Never Know ..............Good Luck.......http://www.bj2008ses.com.cn/ Don't forget the 220 net this Thursday !! 224.800 at 9:30pm
HamfestThe 9th annual TEN-TEC Factory Hamfest Welcome hams from around the country to the 9th annual Ten-Tec factory hamfest! Featuring a discount sale on Friday and Saturday on new and used Ten-Tec ham radio equipment! Door prizes! Tour of the Ten-Tec factory! Meet the Ten-Tec factory representatives! 4 HF stations will be simultaneously on the air to try out the latest equipment. License testing at 1:00 Saturday afternoon. Bencher/Ten-Tec Friday night CW copying contest, 6:00 p.m., hosted by Willard Sitton, W4HZD. Winner takes home a new Bencher iambic paddle. When: Where: PLEASE NOTE NEW PARKING INFORMATION FOR 2008: In past years, we have used the vacant lots across Industrial Park Blvd from Ten-Tec for parking (the former location of the Electro-Voice building). These lots are now being developed and may be unavailable for parking for the 2008 hamfest. We have an arrangement with Sevier County High School to use their lots for parking across the street from Ten-Tec starting at 7:00 a.m. Saturday morning. We also ask that if you are not tailgating Saturday, do not park behind the Ten-Tec building so we can maximize the number of tailgaters who need space. Please also keep tailgating space to 20 feet maximum per vendor. Friday we will park cars as usual in the lots behind our building. Please clear these at the end of the day Friday; no overnight parking on Ten-Tec property. Thank you! Admission: Tailgating: Events: Where To Stay: No overnight camping or overnight parking at Ten-Tec. We will have 24 hour security and will ask you to move your vehicle. Also on Saturday, September 27th – after the Ten-Tec Hamfest, the fun continues into the evening with the 4th annual SEDCO DX and Contest Conference, to be held at Mainstay Suites in Pigeon Forge, TN. This event is separate from the Ten-Tec hamfest and is sponsored and organized by SEDCO (Southeastern DXers and Contesters) and is being run as a NON-PROFIT event by W4NL, KA4S, and W4UWC. Ten-Tec and DX Publishing – publishers of DX Magazine – are providing support and endorsing the event. Tickets will be available starting in July. What: When: Where: Cost: Tickets: Tickets are available now. SEDCO requests you put your Amateur Radio callsign (if you have one) on your ticket order as they will be making name call badges for attendees – you can add call with your first or last name or in the comments field on our order form. You will be provided with a receipt via mail, check-in for event and/or dinner badges at MainStay Suites with your receipt on the day of the event. A $0.75 P&H charge will be added to your order (not shown in shopping cart checkout). TN. sales tax applies for TN. residents. No refunds on advance ticket sales. For More Info Go To The TenTec Website...Thanks fellows for your support in our W5YI Test Sessions next door at the Sevier County Rescue Squad............Helping The Hams and Those Who Will Be Hams....
Contesting ............................. Contesting (also known as radiosport) is a competitive activity pursued by amateur radio operators. In a contest, an amateur radio station, which may be operated by an individual or a team, seeks to contact as many other amateur radio stations as possible in a given period of time and exchange information. Rules for each competition define the amateur radio bands, the mode of communication that may be used, and the kind of information that must be exchanged. The contacts made during the contest contribute to a score by which stations are ranked. Contest sponsors publish the results in magazines and on web sites. Contesting grew out of other amateur radio activities in the 1920s and 1930s. As transoceanic communications with amateur radio became more common, competitions were formed to challenge stations to make as many contacts as possible with amateur radio stations in other countries. Contests were also formed to provide opportunities for amateur radio operators to practice their message handling skills, used for routine or emergency communications across long distances. Over time, the number and variety of radio contests has increased, and many amateur radio operators today pursue the sport as their primary amateur radio activity. There is no international authority or governance organization for this sport. Each competition is sponsored separately and has its own set of rules. Contest rules do not necessarily require entrants to comply with voluntary international band plans. Participants must, however, adhere to the amateur radio regulations of the country in which they are located. Because radio contests take place using amateur radio, competitors are generally forbidden by their national amateur radio regulations from being compensated financially for their activity. High levels of amateur radio contest activity, and contesters failing to comply with international band plans, can result in friction between contest participants and other amateur radio users of the same radio spectrum.
Radio contests are principally sponsored by amateur radio societies, radio clubs, or radio enthusiast magazines. These organizations publish the rules for the event, collect the operational logs from all stations that operate in the event, cross-check the logs to generate a score for each station, and then publish the results in a magazine, in a society journal, or on a web site. Because the competitions are between stations licensed in the Amateur Radio Service (with the exception of certain contests which sponsor awards for shortwave listeners), which prohibits the use of radio frequencies for pecuniary interests, there are no professional radio contests or professional contesters, and any awards granted by the contest sponsors are typically limited to paper certificates, plaques, or trophies.[1] During a radio contest, each station attempts to establish two-way contact with other licensed amateur radio stations and exchange information specific to that contest. The information exchanged could include a signal report, a name, the U.S. state or Canadian province in which the station is located, the geographic zone[2] in which the station is located, the Maidenhead grid locator in which the station is located, the age of the operator, or an incrementing serial number. For each contact, the radio operator must correctly receive the call sign of the other station, as well as the information in the "exchange", and record this data, along with the time of the contact and the band or frequency that was used to make the contact, in a log. A contest score is computed based on a formula defined for that contest. A typical formula assigns some number of points for each contact, and a "multiplier" based on some aspect of the exchanged information. The rules for most contests held on the VHF amateur radio bands in North America assign a new multiplier for each new Maidenhead grid locator in the log, rewarding the competitors that make contacts with other stations in the most locations. Many HF contests reward stations with a new multiplier for contacts with stations in each country - often based on the "entities" listed on the DXCC country list maintained by the American Radio Relay League ("ARRL"). Depending on the rules for a particular contest, each multiplier may count once on each radio band or only once during the contest, regardless of the radio band on which the multiplier was first earned. The points earned for each contact can be a fixed amount per contact, or can vary based on a geographical relationship such as whether or not the communications crossed a continental or political boundary. Some contests, such as the Stew Perry Top Band Distance Challenge, award points that are scaled to the distance separating the two stations.[3] Most contests held in Europe on the VHF and microwave bands award 1 point per kilometre of distance between the stations making each contact.[4] After they are received by the contest sponsor, logs are checked for accuracy. Points can be deducted or credit or multipliers lost if there are errors in the log data for a given contact. Depending on the scoring formula used, the resulting scores of any particular contest can be either a small number of points or in the millions of points. Most contests offer multiple entry categories, and declare winners in each category. Some contests also declare regional winners for specific geographic subdivisions, such as continents, countries, U.S. states, or Canadian provinces.[5] The most common entry category is the single operator category and variations thereof, in which only one individual operates a radio station for the entire duration of the contest. Subdivisions of the single operator category are often made based on the highest power output levels used during the contest, such as a QRP category for single operator stations using no more than five watts output power, or a High Power category that allows stations to transmit with as much output power as their license permits. Multi-operator categories allow for teams of individuals to operate from a single station, and may either allow for a single radio transmitter or several to be in use simultaneously on different amateur radio bands. Many contests also offer team or club competitions in which the scores of multiple radio stations are combined and ranked.[6]
A wide variety of amateur radio contests are sponsored every year. Contest sponsors have crafted competitive events that serve to promote a variety of interests and appeal to diverse audiences. Radio contests typically take place on weekends or local weeknight evenings, and can last from a few hours to forty-eight hours in duration. The rules of each contest will specify which stations are eligible for participation, the radio frequency bands on which they may operate, the communications modes they may employ, and the specific time period during which they may make contacts for the contest. The rules of a contest will indicate which stations are eligible to participate in the competition, and which other amateur radio stations they may contact. Some contests restrict participation to stations in a particular geographic area, such as a continent or country. Contests like the European HF Championship[7] aim to foster competition between stations located in one particular part of the world, specifically Europe. There are contests in which any amateur radio station worldwide may participate and make contact with any other stations for contest credit. The CQ World Wide DX Contest permits stations to contact other stations anywhere else on the planet, and attracts tens of thousands of participating stations each year.[8] In large contests the number of people taking part is a significant percentage of radio amateurs active on the HF bands, although they in themselves are a small percentage of the total amateurs in the world. There are regional contests that invite all stations around the world to participate, but restrict which stations each competitor may contact. For example, Japanese stations in the Japan International DX Contest (sponsored by Five Nine magazine) may only contact other stations located outside of Japan and vice versa.[9] There are also contests that limit participation to just the stations located in a particular continent or country, even though those stations may work any other station for points. All contests use one or more amateur radio bands on which competing stations may make two-way contacts. HF contests use one or more of the 160 meter, 80 Meter, 40 Meter, 20 Meter, 15 Meter, and 10 Meter bands. VHF contests use all the amateur radio bands above 50 MHz. Some contests permit activity on all HF or all VHF bands, and may offer points for contacts and multipliers on each band. Other contests may permit activity on all bands but restrict stations to making only one contact with each other station, regardless of band, or may limit multipliers to once per contest instead of once per band. Most VHF contests in North America are similar to the ARRL June VHF QSO Party,[10] and allow contacts on all the amateur radio bands 50 MHz or higher in frequency. Most VHF contests in the United Kingdom, however, are restricted to one amateur radio band at a time.[11] An HF contest with world wide participation that restricts all contest activity to just one band is the ARRL 10 Meter Contest.[12] Contests exist for enthusiasts of all modes. Some contests are restricted to just CW emissions using the Morse code for communications, some are restricted to telephony modes and spoken communications, and some employ digital emissions modes such as RTTY or PSK31. Many popular contests are offered on two separate weekends, one for CW and one for telephony, with all the same rules. The CQ World Wide WPX Contest, for example, is held as a phone-only competition one weekend in March, and a CW-only competition one weekend in May.[13] Some contests, especially those restricted to a single radio frequency band, allow the competing stations to use several different emissions modes. VHF contests typically permit any mode of emission, including some specialty digital modes designed specifically for use on those bands. As with the other variations in contest rules and participation structure, some contest stations and operators choose to specialize in contests on certain modes and may not participate seriously in contests on other modes. Large, worldwide contests on the HF bands can be scheduled for up to forty-eight hours in duration. Typically, these large worldwide contests run from 0000 UTC on Saturday morning until the end of 2359 UTC Sunday evening. Regional and smaller contests often are scheduled for a shorter duration, with twenty-four hours, twelve hours, and four hours being common variations. Many contests employ a concept of "off time" in which a station may operate only a portion of the available time. For example, the ARRL November Sweepstakes is thirty hours long, but each station may be on the air for no more than twenty-four out of the thirty hours.[14] The off-time requirement forces competitive stations to decide when to be on the air making contacts and when to be off the air, and adds a significant element of strategy to the competition. Although common in the 1930s, only a small number of contests today take place over multiple weekends. These competitions are called "cumulative" contests, and are generally limited to the microwave frequency bands. Short "sprint" contests lasting only a few hours have been popular among contesters that prefer a fast-paced environment, or who cannot devote an entire weekend to a radio contest. A unique feature of the North American Sprint contest is that the operator is required to change frequency after every other contact, introducing another operational skills challenge.[15] Whatever the length of the contest, the top operators are frequently those that can best maintain focus on the tasks of contest operating throughout the event. The wide variety of contests attracts a large variety of contesters and contest stations. The rules and structure of a particular contest can determine the strategies used by competitors to maximize the number of contacts made and multipliers earned. Some stations and operators specialize in certain contests, and either rarely operate in others, or compete in them with less seriousness. As with other sports, contest rules evolve over time, and rule changes are one of the primary sources of controversy in the sport. The origin of contesting can be traced to the Trans-Atlantic Tests of the early 1920s, when amateur radio operators first attempted to establish long distance radiocommunications across the Atlantic Ocean on the short wave amateur radio frequencies. Even after the first two-way communications between North America and Europe were established in 1923,[16] these tests continued to be annual events at which more and more stations were successful in establishing two-way contacts over greater and greater distances. In 1927, the American Radio Relay League, which had been principal in organizing and publicizing these tests, proposed a new format for the annual event, encouraging stations to make as many two-way contacts with stations in other countries as possible. The 1928 International Relay Party, as the event was renamed, was the first organized amateur radio contest.[17] The International Relay Party was an immediate success, and was sponsored annually by the ARRL from 1927 through 1935.[18] In 1936, the contest name changed to the ARRL International DX Contest, the name under which it is known today. To complement the burst of activity and interest being generated in DX communications by the popularity of the International Relay Parties, the ARRL adopted a competitive operating format for events designed for non-international contacts. The first ARRL All-Sections Sweepstakes Contest was started in 1930.[19] The Sweepstakes required a more complicated exchange of information for each two-way contact that was adapted from the message header structure used by the National Traffic System. The competition was immediately popular, both with those operators active in the NTS who participated as an opportunity to gauge the merits of their station and operating skills, and among those for whom the competitive excitement of the event was the primary attraction. The contest, sponsored annually by the ARRL, became known as the ARRL November Sweepstakes in 1962.[20] Another important innovation in early contesting was the development of Field Day operating events. The earliest known organized field day activity was held in Great Britain in 1930, and was soon emulated by small events through Europe and North America.[21] The first ARRL International Field Day was held in July, 1933, and publicized through the ARRL's membership journal QST.[22] Field day events were promoted as an opportunity for radio amateurs to operate from portable locations, in environments that simulate what might be encountered during emergency or disaster relief situations. Field day events have traditionally carried the same general operating and scoring structures as other contests, but the emphasis on emergency readiness and capability has historically outweighed the competitive nature of these events. Modern contests draw upon the heritage of DX communications, traffic handling, and communications readiness. Since 1928, the number and variety of competitive amateur radio operating events have increased. In 1934, contests were sponsored by radio societies in Australia, Canada, Poland, and Spain, and the ARRL sponsored a new contest specifically for the ten meter amateur radio band. By the end of 1937, contests were also being sponsored in Brazil, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Ireland, and New Zealand. The first VHF contest was the ARRL VHF Sweepstakes held in 1948,[23] and the first RTTY contest was sponsored by the RTTY Society of Southern California in 1957.[24] The first publication dedicated exclusively to the sport, the National Contest Journal, began circulation in the United States in 1973.[25] Recognizing the vitality and maturity of the sport, CQ Amateur Radio magazine established the Contest Hall of Fame in 1986.[26] By the turn of the century, contesting had become an established world wide sport, with tens of thousands of active competitors, connected not just through their on air activities, but with specialist web sites, journals, and conventions. Without a single world wide organizing body or authority for the sport, there has never been a world ranking system by which contesters could compare themselves. The vast differences contesters face in the locations from which they operate contests, and the effect that location has on both radio propagation and the proximity to major populations of amateur radio operators also conspired to make comparisons of the top performers in the sport difficult. The first World Radiosport Team Championship event was held in July, 1990 in Seattle, Washington, USA, and was an effort to overcome some of these issues by inviting the top contesters from around the world to operate a single contest from similar stations in one compact geographic area. Twenty-two teams of two operators each represented fifteen countries, and included some top competitors from the Soviet Union and nations of the former Eastern Bloc for whom the trip was their first to a western nation. Subsequent WRTC events have been held in 1996 (San Francisco, California, USA), 2000 (Bled, Slovenia), 2002 (Helsinki, Finland), and 2006 (Florianópolis, Brazil). The closest thing to a world championship in the sport of contesting, WRTC 2010 will take place in Moscow, Russia.[27] The scale of activity varies from contest to contest. The largest contests are the annual DX contests that allow world wide participation. Many of these DX contests have been held annually for fifty years or more, and have devoted followings. Newer contests, those that intentionally restrict participation based on geography, and those that are shorter in duration tend to have fewer participating stations and attract more specialized operators and teams. Over time, contests that fail to attract enough entrants will be abandoned by their sponsor, and new contests will be proposed and sponsored to meet the evolving interests of amateur radio operators. In a specialised contest in the microwave frequency bands, where only a handful of radio amateurs have the technical skills to construct the necessary equipment, a few contacts just a few kilometers away may be enough to win. In the most popular VHF contests, a well-equipped station in a densely populated region like Central Europe can make over 1,000 contacts on two meters in twenty-four hours. In the CQ World Wide DX Contest, the world's largest HF contest, leading multi-operator stations on phone and CW can make up to 25,000 contacts in a forty-eight hour period, while even single operators with world-class stations in rare locations have been known to exceed 10,000 contacts, an average of over three per minute, every minute. Over 30,000 amateur radio operators participated in the phone weekend of the 2000 CQ World Wide DX Contest, and the top-scoring single operator station that year, located in the Galápagos Islands, made over 9,000 contacts.[28] Other HF contests are not as large, and some specialty events, such as those for QRP enthusiasts, can attract no more than a few dozen competitors. Contacts between stations in a contest are often brief. A typical exchange between two stations on voice — in this case between a station in England and one in New Zealand in the CQ World Wide DX Contest — might proceed as follows:
(Station M2W is soliciting a contact in the contest)
(The station calling, ZL6QH, gives only his callsign. No more information is needed.)
(M2W confirms the ZL6QH call sign, sends a signal report of 59, and is in Zone 14 (Western Europe).)
(ZL6QH confirms reception of M2W's exchange, sends a signal report of 59, and is in Zone 32 (South Pacific).)
(M2W confirms ZL6QH's exchange, is now listening for new stations.) On Morse code, suitable well-known abbreviations are used to keep the contact as brief as possible. Skilled contesters can maintain a "rate" over four contacts per minute on Morse code, or up to eight contacts per minute on voice during peak propagation periods, using this short format.[30] The peak rate of contacts that can be made during contests that employ longer exchanges with more information that must be sent, received, and acknowledged, will be necessarily lower. Most serious competitive stations log their contest contacts using contest logging software, although some continue to use paper and pencil. There are many different software logging programs written specifically for radio contesting. Computer logging programs can handle many additional duties besides simply recording the log data; they can keep a running score based upon the formula of the contest, track which available multipliers have been "worked" and which have not, and provide the operator with visual clues about how many contacts are being made on which bands. Some contest software even provide a means to control the station equipment via computer, retrieve data from the radio and send pre-recorded morse code, voice or digital messages. After the conclusion of a contest, each station must submit its operational log to the contest sponsor. Many sponsors accept logs by e-mail, by upload on web sites, or even by postal mail. Once a contest sponsor receives all the logs from the competitors, the logs undergo a process known as "cross-checking." In cross-checking, the contest sponsor will match up the contacts recorded in the logs and look for errors or omissions. Most contests enforce stiff points penalties for inaccuracies in the log, which means that the need for speed in operation must be balanced against the requirement for accuracy. It is not uncommon for a station to lead in points at the end of the contest, but slip behind a more accurate competitor after the cross-checking process has assessed penalties. Some contest sponsors provide custom log checking reports to participating stations that offer details about the errors in their log and how they were penalized.[31]
Most contests are sponsored by organizations that either publish a membership journal, or sell a radio enthusiast magazine as their business. The results of radio contest events are printed in these publications, and often include an article describing the event and highlighting the victors. Contest results articles might also include photographs of radio stations and operators in the contest, and a detailed listing of the scores of every participating station. In addition to publication in magazines and journals, many contest sponsors also publish results on web sites, often in a format similar to that found in print. Some contest sponsors offer the raw score results data in a format that enables searching or other data analysis. The American Radio Relay League, for example, offers this raw line score data to any of its members, and offers the summary report of the winners and the line score data in a non-searchable format to anyone through their web site.[32] Because radio contests take place using amateur radio, competitors are forbidden by regulation from being compensated financially for their activity. This international regulatory restriction of the Amateur Radio Service precludes the development of a professional sport. In addition to the recognition of their peers, winners in radio contests do, however, often receive paper certificates, wooden plaques, trophies, engraved gavels, or medals in recognition of their achievements. Some contests provide trophies of nominal economic value that highlight their local agricultural or cultural heritage, such as smoked salmon (for the Washington State Salmon Run contest) or a bottle of wine (for the California QSO Party). |
Well hope that everyone enjoyed the news letter this week and hope to talk to you on the net this week.. Check out Tim's website and join his e news letter for the most current information on the WB4GBI repeater system!!
73 All & God Bless
Rick Sr & Cathy
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Rick Sawaya Sr N4JTQ &
Cathy Sawaya KI4YPO
2005 Spence Mountain Loop
Sevierville,TN 37876
865.429.2422
Monitor 145.470 & 444.300
Member Of SCARS,ECARS,SSCC
OMISS,MWCC
Donations to the 145.470 send to:
Tim Berry
214 Echodale Rd
Knoxville TN 37920
