July 31, 2024

Editor: Paul Bourque, N1SFE

In this Issue:

• Upcoming Contests – Things to Do
• Bulletins
• Contest Summary
• Sights and Sounds
• Contests
• Log Due Dates

Upcoming Contests — Things to Do

ARRL 222 and Up Distance Contest

The ARRL 222 and Up Distance Contest is this weekend, starting at 1800 UTC on Saturday, August 3, and concluding at 1759 UTC on Sunday, August 4. Stations may be contacted on any authorized mode on the 222 MHz through 241 GHz amateur bands. Full rules and contest details are available at www.arrl.org/222-mhz-and-up-distance-contest.

Ten Ten International Summer QSO Party – SSB

The Ten Ten (10-10) International QSO Party – SSB is this weekend, beginning at 0000 UTC on Saturday, August 3, and concluding at 2359 UTC on Sunday, August 4. The 10-10 QSO parties are a great way for anyone interested in operating on 10 meters to get on the air. All amateurs with operating privileges on the 10-meter band may participate. For rules and other information about Ten Ten International, visit www.ten-ten.org.

North American QSO Party – CW

The North American QSO Party (NAQP) – CW begins at 1800 UTC on Saturday, August 3 and concludes at 0559 UTC on Sunday, August 4. The NAQP’s 12-hour format allows participants to do some great contesting, while still having time for other weekend activities. Power output is limited to 100 W, so this is a great contest for beginners with low-power stations to get their feet wet! The exchange is your name and state, Canadian province, or DXCC entity. Rules, results, and records are available on the National Contest Journal website at ncjweb.com/naqp.

Maryland-DC QSO Party

The Maryland-DC QSO Party, sponsored by the Anne Arundel Radio Club (AARC), begins at 1400 UTC on Saturday, August 10 and concludes at 0400 on Sunday, August 11. Completing at least one contact with the AARC host station, W3VPR, is worth 50 bonus points. Participants can also earn 500 bonus points for contacting all 25 MDC jurisdictions during the event; 250 bonus points can be earned by contacting 13 of the 25 jurisdictions. For rules, visit www.w3vpr.org/sites/default/files/MDCQSOPartyRules-New%20Revised%203-27-24%20ras_v4.pdf.

50 Mhz Fall Sprint

The VHF contest season is in full swing! The 50 MHz Fall Sprint will be held on Saturday, August 10 from 1800 – 2200 UTC. This is a change from the previous year’s start time to take advantage of the current solar cycle’s improved propagation possibilities. Participants can enter in the Single Operator High Power, Single Operator Low Power, or Rover categories. Full rules are available at https://packratvhf.com/sprints/2024_Fall_Sprint_Rules_Final.pdf

Bulletins

Rule Changes Announced for ARRL International EME Contest

The ARRL Programs and Services Committee has approved rule changes to the ARRL International EME Contest, which will start on August 25. The contest exchange will now be a station’s four-digit Maidenhead grid square locator. The grid square now also serves as the score multiplier (similar to other VHF/UHF-based contests). Previously, the contest exchange was signal report in any mutually understood format.

This change facilitates having the scoring multipliers as part of the exchange, which will make scoring the contest less complicated. Previously, the multipliers were US states, Canadian provinces, and DXCC entities, which made scoring difficult as participants who operated from different locations could not easily notate that in their submitted logs.

Full contest rules, along with log submission examples are available at www.arrl.org/eme-contest. If you have any additional questions, email contests@arrl.org.

Contest Summary

See the “Contests” section below for complete contest information.

August 1

• Walk for the Bacon QRP Contest
• CWops Test (CWT)
• NRAU 10m Activity Contest
• SKCC Sprint Europe

August 2

• QRP Fox Hunt
• NCCC FT4 Sprint
• Weekly RTTY Test
• NCCC Sprint
• K1USN Slow Speed Test

August 3

• Batavia FT8 Contest
• 10-10 International Summer QSO Party, SSB
• European HF Championship
• WAB 144 MHz Low Power Phone
• North American QSO Party, CW
• ARRL 222 MHz and Up Distance Contest

August 4

• Hemus VHF Contest 144 MHz
• SARL HF Phone Contest

August 5

• K1USN Slow Speed Test
• ICWC Medium Speed Test
• OK1WC Memorial (MWC)

August 6

• ARS Spartan Sprint
• Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest
• ICWC Medium Speed Test

August 7

• Phone Weekly Test
• A1Club AWT
• CWops Test (CWT)
• VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest
• Mini-Test 40
• Mini-Test 80

August 8

• CWops Test (CWT)

August 9

• QRP Fox Hunt
• NCCC FT4 Sprint
• Weekly RTTY Test
• NCCC Sprint
• K1USN Slow Speed Test

August 10

• WAE DX Contest, CW
• FISTS Saturday Sprint
• SKCC Weekend Sprintathon
• SARL Youth QSO Party
• YB Bekasi Merdeka Contest
• Maryland-DC QSO Party
• Kentucky State Parks on the Air
• 50 MHz Fall Sprint
• MMMonVHF/DUBUS 144 MHz Meteorscatter Sprint Contest

August 11

• SARL HF Digital Contest

August 12

• 4 States QRP Group Second Sunday Sprint
• K1USN Slow Speed Test
• ICWC Medium Speed Test
• OK1WC Memorial (MWC)

August 13

• Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest
• ICWC Medium Speed Test
• DARC FT4 Contest

August 14

• NAQCC CW Sprint
• Phone Weekly Test
• A1Club AWT
• CWops Test (CWT)
• VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest
• Mini-Test 40
• Mini-Test 80

Sights and Sounds

An excerpt from Ham Radio’s Technical Culture by Kristen Haring has been posted to the MIT Press Reader. Drawing on a wealth of personal accounts found in magazines, newsletters, and trade journals, “The Rich History of Ham Radio Culture” provides an inside look at ham radio culture and it’s impact on hobbyists’ lives. You can read the full article here.

– Thanks to Dana Shtun, VE3DS

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

Contests

August 1 – August 14, 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, Aug 1, 0000z to Aug 2, 0300z; CW; Bands: 40; Maximum 13 wpm, RST + (state/province/country) + Name + (Member No./power); Logs due: Aug 8.

CWops Test (CWT), Aug 1, 0300z to Aug 1, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./”CWA”, non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Aug 3.

CWops Test (CWT), Aug 1, 0700z to Aug 1, 0800z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./”CWA”, non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Aug 3.

NRAU 10m Activity Contest, Aug 1, 1800z to Aug 1, 2200z; CW, SSB, FM, Digital; Bands: 10; RS(T) + 6-character grid square; Logs due: Aug 15.

SKCC Sprint Europe, Aug 1, 2000z to Aug 1, 2200z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6; RST + (state/province/country) + Name + (SKCC No./”NONE”); Logs due: Aug 8.

QRP Fox Hunt, Aug 2, 0100z to Aug 2, 0230z; CW; Bands: 20; RST + (state/province/country) + name + power output; Logs due: Aug 3.

NCCC FT4 Sprint, Aug 2, 0100z to Aug 2, 0130z; FT4; Bands: (see rules); 4-character grid square; Logs due: Aug 4.

Weekly RTTY Test, Aug 2, 0145z to Aug 2, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Aug 4.

NCCC Sprint, Aug 2, 0230z to Aug 2, 0300z; CW; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: Aug 4.

K1USN Slow Speed Test, Aug 2, 2000z to Aug 2, 2100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm, Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Aug 4.

Batavia FT8 Contest, Aug 3, 0000z to Aug 4, 2359z; FT8; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; 4-character grid square; Logs due: Aug 18.

10-10 International Summer QSO Party, SSB, Aug 3, 0001z to Aug 4, 2359z; SSB; Bands: 10; 10-10 Member: Name + 10-10 number + (state/province/country), Non-Member: Name + 0 + (state/province/country); Logs due: Aug 12.

European HF Championship, Aug 3, 1200z to Aug 3, 2359z; CW, SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RS(T) + 2-digit year first licensed; Logs due: Aug 5.

North American QSO Party, CW, Aug 3, 1800z to Aug 4, 0559z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; NA: Name + (state/DC/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: Aug 11.

SARL HF Phone Contest, Aug 4, 1400z to Aug 4, 1700z; SSB; Bands: 80, 40, 20; RS + Serial No.; Logs due: Aug 9.

K1USN Slow Speed Test, Aug 5, 0000z to Aug 5, 0100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm, Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Aug 7.

ICWC Medium Speed Test, Aug 5, 1300z to Aug 5, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due: Aug 8.

OK1WC Memorial (MWC), Aug 5, 1630z to Aug 5, 1729z; CW; Bands: 80, 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Aug 9.

ICWC Medium Speed Test, Aug 5, 1900z to Aug 5, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due: Aug 8.

ARS Spartan Sprint, Aug 6, 0000z to Aug 6, 0200z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST + (state/province/country) + Power; Logs due: Aug 8.

Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest, Aug 6, 0100z to Aug 6, 0159z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6; RS + age group (OM, YL, Youth YL or Youth); Logs due: Aug 7.

ICWC Medium Speed Test, Aug 6, 0300z to Aug 6, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due: Aug 8.

Phone Weekly Test, Aug 7, 0230z to Aug 7, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15; NA: Name + (state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: Aug 9.

A1Club AWT, Aug 7, 1200z to Aug 7, 1300z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: RST + Name; Logs due: Aug 12.

CWops Test (CWT), Aug 7, 1300z to Aug 7, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./”CWA”, non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Aug 10.

Mini-Test 40, Aug 7, 1700z to Aug 7, 1759z; CW; Bands: 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Aug 9.

Mini-Test 80, Aug 7, 1800z to Aug 7, 1859z; CW; Bands: 80; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Aug 9.

CWops Test (CWT), Aug 7, 1900z to Aug 7, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./”CWA”, non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Aug 10.

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

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