From: "ARRL Web site" <memberlist@arrl.org>

********************************************
The ARRL Contest Update

Published by the American Radio Relay League ********************************************

March 16, 2022

Editor: Paul Bourque, N1SFE <contest-update@arrl.org>

In this Issue:

IN THIS ISSUE

- Upcoming Contests - Things to Do
- Contest Summary
- News, Press Releases and Special Interest
- Sights and Sounds
- Results and Records
- Operating Tip
- Technical Topics and Discussion
- Contests
- Log Due Dates

UPCOMING CONTESTS - THINGS TO DO

Virginia QSO Party

For those of you who like to participate in state QSO parties, the
Virginia QSO Party begins this Saturday, March 19 at 1400 UTC. The
event concludes on Sunday, March 20 at 2359 UTC. See www.qsl.net/s/sterling//VA_QSO_Party/2022_VQP/2022_VQP_Main.html <https://www.qsl.net/s/sterling//VA_QSO_Party/2022_VQP/2022_VQP_Main.html>
for more information.

CQ WW WPX Contest, SSB

The CQ World Wide WPX Contest, SSB, runs from 0000 UTC Saturday, March
26 through 2359 UTC Sunday, March 27. Participants may operate on the
1.8, 3.5, 7, 14, 21, and 28 MHz bands. The exchange is signal report
and a sequential contact serial number starting with 1. Single Operator stations may operate 36 of the 48 hours - off times must be a minimum
of 60 minutes, during which no QSO is logged. Multioperator stations
may operate the full 48-hour contest period. For full rules and scoring details, see www.cqwpx.com/ <https://www.cqwpx.com/>.

CONTEST SUMMARY

March 17

- Walk for the Bacon QRP Contest <https://qrpcontest.com/pigwalk20/>
- NAQCC CW Sprint <http://naqcc.info/scoreboard.php?sprint_name 2203>
- CWops Test (CWT) <https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/>
- RTTYOPS Weeksprint <http://rttyops.com/>
- BCC QSO Party <http://www.bavarian-contest-club.de/contest/qso-party-2022/Rules-BCC-QSO-Parties-2022;art635,2495>
- EACW Meeting <https://www.eacwspain.es/eacwmeeting/>
- NTC QSO Party <https://qsl.net/ntc/party.html>

March 18

- QRP Fox Hunt <http://www.qrpfoxhunt.org/winter_rules.htm>
- NCCC RTTY Sprint <https://ncccsprint.com/rttyns.html>
- NCCC Sprint <https://ncccsprint.com/rules.html>
- K1USN Slow Speed Test <http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html>

March 19

- BARTG HF RTTY Contest <http://www.bartg.org.uk/>
- SARL VHF/UHF Analogue Contest <http://www.sarl.org.za/public/contests/contestrules.asp>
- Russian DX Contest <http://www.rdxc.org/asp/pages/rulesg.asp>
- F9AA Cup, SSB <http://www.site.urc.asso.fr/index.php/urchaut-6/om-6/131-trophee-f9aa>
- AGCW VHF/UHF Contest <https://www.agcw.de/contest/vhf-uhf/>
- Virginia QSO Party <https://www.qsl.net/sterling/VA_QSO_Party/2022_VQP/2022_VQP_Main.html>
- Feld Hell Sprint <https://sites.google.com/site/feldhellclub/Home/contests/sprints/leprechaun-sprint>

March 20

- UBA Spring Contest, SSB
<http://www.uba.be/hf/contest-rules/spring-contest>
- Run for the Bacon QRP Contest <http://qrpcontest.com/pigrun/>

March 21

- K1USN Slow Speed Test <http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html>
- OK1WC Memorial (MWC)
<https://memorial-ok1wc.cz/index.php?page=rules2l>
- Bucharest Digital Contest <https://yo3test201x.blogspot.com/>

March 22

- Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest <https://wwsac.com/rules.html>
- RTTYOPS Weeksprint <http://rttyops.com/>

March 23

- SKCC Sprint
<http://www.skccgroup.com/operating_activities/weekday_sprint/>
- QRP Fox Hunt <http://www.qrpfoxhunt.org/winter_rules.htm>
- Phone Weekly Test
<http://www.perluma.com/Phone_Fray_Contest_Rules.pdf>
- A1Club AWT <https://a1club.org/contest/awt/>
- CWops Test (CWT) <https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/>
- Mini-Test 40 <http://minitest.narod.ru/>
- Mini-Test 80 <http://minitest.narod.ru/>

March 24

- CWops Test (CWT) <https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/>
- RTTYOPS Weeksprint <http://rttyops.com/>
- EACW Meeting <https://www.eacwspain.es/eacwmeeting/>
- RSGB 80m Club Championship, SSB <https://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2022/r80mcc.shtml>

March 25

- QRP Fox Hunt <http://www.qrpfoxhunt.org/winter_rules.htm>
- NCCC RTTY Sprint <https://ncccsprint.com/rttyns.html>
- NCCC Sprint <https://ncccsprint.com/rules.html>
- K1USN Slow Speed Test <http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html>

March 26

- CQ WW WPX Contest, SSB <http://www.cqwpx.com/rules.htm>
- FOC QSO Party <http://g4foc.org/qsoparty/>

March 27

- UBA Spring Contest, 6m
<http://www.uba.be/hf/contest-rules/spring-contest>

March 28

- K1USN Slow Speed Test <http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html>
- QCX Challenge <http://www.qrp-labs.com/party.html>
- OK1WC Memorial (MWC)
<https://memorial-ok1wc.cz/index.php?page=rules2l>
- QCX Challenge <http://www.qrp-labs.com/party.html>
- RSGB FT4 Contest
<https://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2022/r80m_ft4.shtml>

March 29

- Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest <https://wwsac.com/rules.html>
- QCX Challenge <http://www.qrp-labs.com/party.html>
- RTTYOPS Weeksprint <http://rttyops.com/>

March 30

- QRP Fox Hunt <http://www.qrpfoxhunt.org/winter_rules.htm>
- Phone Weekly Test
<http://www.perluma.com/Phone_Fray_Contest_Rules.pdf>
- A1Club AWT <https://a1club.org/contest/awt/>
- CWops Test (CWT) <https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/>
- Mini-Test 40 <http://minitest.narod.ru/>
- Mini-Test 80 <http://minitest.narod.ru/>
- UKEICC 80m Contest <https://www.ukeicc.com/80m-rules.php>

Complete information for all contests follows the Technical Topics and Discussion section.

NEWS, PRESS RELEASES AND SPECIAL INTEREST

SWODXA DX Dinner

The SouthWest Ohio DX Association (SWODXA) has announced that

Dr. Scott Wright, K0MD, will be the keynote speaker at the 37th annual
DX Dinner«. The dinner, held in conjunction with the 2022 Dayton
Hamvention«, will be on Friday, May 20, at the Marriott Hotel in
Dayton, Ohio.

Scott will present the "High C's of DXing - Operating in the Caribbean,
Chile, and China". For more information and to order dinner tickets,
visit www.swodxaevents.org <https://swodxaevents.org>.

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS

Will advances in artificial intelligence (AI) benefit ham radio? With
AI applied to challenges such as noise reduction and decoding CW, this
might very well be in our near future. The BBC News channel program,
Click, featured a segment about nVida's work with artificial
intelligence being applied to noise reduction. The segment begins at
6:07 in the video linked below.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0_O8l-jKEc <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0_O8l-jKEc>

-Thanks to Brian Moran, N9ADG, and Robert Grinnell, KD7WNV.

RESULTS AND RECORDS

The January North American QSO Party SSB preliminary results are posted
the National Contest Journal website -
ncjweb.com/current-naqp-ssb-results/ <http://ncjweb.com/current-naqp-ssb-results/>.

-Thanks to Bill Lippert, AC0W

Keith, NM5G, the Texas QSO Party Coordinator, informs us that the final
scores for the 2021 event have been posted on their web site at
www.txqp.net/ <https://www.txqp.net/>.

"Thanks to Chuck, NO5W, for log processing; and webmaster Scott, N5DD.
If you were a participant last year, please review your score, and
report any discrepancies to logs@txqp.net. My goal is to have
certificates for the top three participants in each category out by
April 15. 73! Keith, NM5G"

The February 2022 North American QSO Party RTTY preliminary results are
now available at the National Contest Journal website -www.ncjweb.com/current-naqp-rtty-results/ <http://www.ncjweb.com/current-naqp-rtty-results/>. Please report any
problems to Mark, K6UFO, NAQP RTTY Contest Manager, via email at rttynaqpmgr@ncjweb.com.

OPERATING TIP

Alan, WA3EKL, and Susan, N3DPB, have devised a way to remind operators
not to transmit out of band when a DX station is spotted on the cluster
and operating below the US phone band. With the CQ WW WPX phone contest
coming up, this might be something you want to incorporate into your
N1MM Logger+ setup.

During the major phone contests (ARRL DX, CQ WW and WPX), DX stations
will often operate just below the US phone band. There are times in the
heat of the battle that tired operators do not pay attention and end up transmitting outside the of the US phone band. During the last contest,
all the operators held Amateur Extra-class licenses, and every one of
them, including myself, made this mistake. As the station owners, we
have implored our ops, new and old, to "watch the band edges," but this
error still occurs every now and then. During the last CQWW I found a
solution, and after implementation, no operators have made the error.

N1MM allows you to set the CW band limit in the Band Map window.
However, the color of the frequencies is the same in both the CW and
phone portions of the band map. N1MM also allows you to change the
color of the frequencies of both CW and phone. I allowed the phone
frequencies to remain their normal "black." I changed the color of the
CW frequencies to an annoying phosphorescent bright "purple." Whenever
a station appeared in the "purple," it was an immediate visual cue,
telling the op "DON'T TRANSMIT," as they would be in the CW portion of
the band.

A similar thing could be done by moving the CW portion up 2 kHz into
the bottom of the 40-meter phone band, alerting you so that your lower sidebands would not go into the CW portion of the band.

Here is the process:

In N1MM Config Menu, left click "Manage Skins, Colors, and Fonts."
Under the "Colors" tab of the next window, Section 4, left click
"<Change>" next to "Color of the CW portion of Bandmap Window".

Pick the color you want, then left click "OK," then left click "Save"
at the next window.

TECHNICAL TOPICS AND DISCUSSION

This simple HF Propagation app for Android by APKmonk provides current
solar data to your Android phone. It's available from their website and
the Google Play Store <https://play.google.com/store>. Read more about
it at the link below

www.apkmonk.com/posts/hf-propagation-android-app/ <https://www.apkmonk.com/posts/hf-propagation-android-app/>

-Thanks to Bob Wilson, N6TV

With the warmer spring weather approaching, many operators have begun
to get started on antenna and tower projects. Ward, N0AX, shared some
tower climbing safety tips that he and other fellow tower climbers were discussing. Specifically, what to do if your muscles start to cramp
while on the tower.

An unpleasant surprise when climbing or working on a tower is the onset
of cramps in legs, arms, or hands. Even the most experienced climbers
can be rattled by cramps, which come on suddenly and release slowly.
When muscles, in particular those of your fingers, hands, or arms,
refuse to respond normally, it's time to immediately stop whatever you
were doing and recover.

Dealing with cramps begins before you ever start up the tower. Eat a
meal with the right minerals and drink plenty of Gatorade or another
fortified sports drink of your choosing, particularly if you will be
working in high temperatures. During extended periods on the tower,
continue to drink a quart of fluids every hour or so. One sports drink
per three or four bottles of water works well. Everyone, young and old,
must make the time to do this!

Climbing and working aloft works our hands and arms much harder than
usual, with a very tight grip that restricts the blood from getting
oxygen to your muscles. Your arms are working at or above chest level,
making blood flow even more difficult. Remember to stop every so often
and drop and shake out your arms to restore full blood flow and flush
out and re-oxygenate your muscles. Climb and work slowly and
deliberately with frequent rests while the climbing gear supports your
weight.

If you find yourself cramping, don't panic. Your climbing gear will
keep you secure. Cramps are just one reason to be attached to the tower
100% of the time, whether climbing or working. Your body is telling you
that it has run out of something important and needs attention. Have
your ground crew send up some fluids immediately. Start with sports
drinks and let your body absorb them. Allow adequate time for your body
to relax. Do some flexing. If the cramp is in your arms, alternate
between letting your arm hang loosely at your side and then placing
your hand palm-up on top of your head to gently stretch the muscles.

Consider your options carefully - should you continue working or
retreat to the ground to rest? After a cramp, you may not be at
full-strength for some time. Another cramp when you're doing heavy work
or not completely secured is an unnecessary risk. Whatever you were
doing can wait until you are fully recovered from the cramp. The safety
of you and your ground crew are of the utmost importance.

-Thanks to Ward Silver, N0AX and friends.

That's all for this time. Get out there and get on the air! 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

March 17, 2022 - March 30, 2022

An expanded, downloadable version of QST's Contest Corral <http://www.arrl.org/contest-calendar> 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 <https://qrpcontest.com/pigwalk20/>, Mar
17, 0000z to Mar 18, 0300z; CW; Bands: 20; Maximum 13 wpm, RST + (state/province/country) + Name + (Member No./power); Logs due: Mar 24.

NAQCC CW Sprint <http://naqcc.info/scoreboard.php?sprint_name 2203>,
Mar 17, 0030z to Mar 17, 0230z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20; RST + (state/province/country) + (NAQCC No./power); Logs due: Mar 20.

CWops Test (CWT) <https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/>, Mar 17, 0300z to Mar
17, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member
No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Mar
19.

CWops Test (CWT) <https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/>, Mar 17, 0700z to Mar
17, 0800z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member
No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Mar
19.

RTTYOPS Weeksprint <http://rttyops.com/>, Mar 17, 1700z to Mar 17,
1900z; RTTY; Bands: 80, 40, 20; [other station's call] + [your call] +
[serial no.] + [your name]; Logs due: Mar 24.

BCC QSO Party <http://www.bavarian-contest-club.de/contest/qso-party-2022/Rules-BCC-QSO-Parties-2022;art635,2495>,
Mar 17, 1900z to Mar 17, 2059z; CW, SSB, RTTY; Bands: 80; RS(T) +
T-shirt size (see rules); Logs due: Mar 17.

EACW Meeting <https://www.eacwspain.es/eacwmeeting/>, Mar 17, 1900z to
Mar 17, 2000z; CW; Bands: 80, 40; EACW Member: RST + Member No. +
Nickname, EA non-Member: RST + Nickname + EA province, non-EA: RST +
Nickname + DXCC prefix; Logs due: Mar 19.

NTC QSO Party <https://qsl.net/ntc/party.html>, Mar 17, 1900z to Mar
17, 2000z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20; NTC Member: RST + Member No.,
non-Member: RST + "NM", Less than 25 wpm; Logs due: Mar 20.

QRP Fox Hunt <http://www.qrpfoxhunt.org/winter_rules.htm>, Mar 18,
0100z to Mar 18, 0230z; CW; Bands: 20; RST + (state/province/country) +
name + power output; Logs due: Mar 19.

NCCC RTTY Sprint <https://ncccsprint.com/rttyns.html>, Mar 18, 0145z to
Mar 18, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs
due: Mar 20.

NCCC Sprint <https://ncccsprint.com/rules.html>, Mar 18, 0230z to Mar
18, 0300z; CW; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due:
Mar 20.

K1USN Slow Speed Test <http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html>, Mar 18, 2000z to
Mar 18, 2100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm, Name
+ (state/province/country); Logs due: Mar 20.

BARTG HF RTTY Contest <http://www.bartg.org.uk/>, Mar 19, 0200z to Mar
21, 0159z; RTTY; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST + Serial No. + 4-digit
time (UTC); Logs due: Mar 28.

Russian DX Contest <http://www.rdxc.org/asp/pages/rulesg.asp>, Mar 19,
1200z to Mar 20, 1200z; CW, SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Ru:
RS(T) + 2-character oblast, non-Ru: RS(T) + Serial No.; Logs due: Apr
3.

F9AA Cup, SSB <http://www.site.urc.asso.fr/index.php/urchaut-6/om-6/131-trophee-f9aa>,
Mar 19, 1200z to Mar 20, 1200z; SSB; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 2; RST
+ Serial No.; Logs due: Apr 19.

Virginia QSO Party <https://www.qsl.net/sterling/VA_QSO_Party/2022_VQP/2022_VQP_Main.html>,
--- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2
* Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4)