BBC World Service 75th anniversary

The Big Link Up
Wednesday 19 December
Throughout the day BBC WORLD SERVICE
BBC World Service celebrates its 75th birthday today with live outside
broadcasts throughout the day, linking audiences around the world in a
global debate on freedom of the media. The debate echoes the themes of
programming in the World Service's Free To Speak season that has
marked the anniversary over recent days.

Linked outside broadcasts spread across the world – in East Asia, from
Mongolia to Australia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa and the
Americas from North through Central America to the South – mark the
actual date of the World Service's launch 75 years ago. Regional
link-ups featuring panels of experts and audiences interact with
internet cafés, local radio stations, newsrooms and other meeting
places around the globe.

"We want to reach right around the world and use the new ways people
are communicating with each other to do this," says season
commissioner Sara Beck. "Connecting with people in places we don't
always report from will give us the chance to dissect the world
afresh, to look at how the globe is being reshaped by technology.
We'll also explore new frameworks for freedom of expression, the
effects of competition and the challenges of these new responsibilities."
Presenter/Various, Producers/Various
BBC World Service Publicity

The link about the Big Link up program is here

The great lady of SWL has been a major force in SW broadcast history

One shining example is the BBC broadcasting during the genocide in Rwanda

Broadcasting during the attack on the WTC 9/11/2001

Even Gorbachev has admitted to listening to the BBC during an August 1991 coup on his government

and one of things I think about when I listen to the BBC is the fact that the Beriut hostages in the 80's listened to the BBC

Happy Birthday to you BBC World Service!

73, Jack K4SAC

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has come and gone and Christmas is fast approaching. It is hard to believe that another year is coming to a close.

Along with Thanksgiving, the CQ WW CW contest has also come and gone. Did you operate? Did you meet your goal? Was your goal to have fun or did you have a specific goal in mind?

Some people operate contests to get better each year, some people operate contests to get new states, or new countries for DXCC, and some operate to beat their own personal records. Whatever the reason, I hope that you achieved your goal in the CQ WW CW.

People said that CW activity would decline rapidly upon the no-code licenses. We will have to watch the activity carefully the next few years, but I feel from listening to the bands during the contests that CW activity is still flourishing.

Ham radio has so much to offer us, whether it is CW, SSB, RTTY, or one of the myriad of digital modes, there is room for everyone.

You will see posts on the list-servs every major contest, with the non-contesters complaining about the contesters, but the bottom line is that whether or not you are an active contester, contest operation helps keeps the bands active and help to keep our frequencies in our hands instead of going to the highest bidder (remember 220??)


That being said, we as contesters need to respect the non-contesters during contests. In the heat of the battle it is sometimes difficult to be courteous or respectful, and when the band is crowded with wall to wall signals and no open frequencies to QSY to, the non-contesters have to suffer along with us.

I know some contesters say that the non-contesters can QSY to the WARC bands during the contests, but with sunspots at zero, what band would be open for them to QSY to?

There are still a lot of older rigs out there that do not have the WARC bands on them, but are perfectly good radios.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying don't contest....for I like to get in there with the best of them, but try to be cognizant of our non-contest friends, for one day, we may need their voices to help keep our bands.

Good news for Top Band enthusiasts, the 160 contest season is in full swing:
ARRL 160-Meter Contest: 2200Z, Nov 30 to 1600Z, Dec 2

If one of your interests is RTTY, the next RTTY contest is:
TARA RTTY Melee: 0000Z-2400Z, Dec 1


73,

Jack K4SAC

SS is over!

The ARRL SSB SS is now history. I hope that you got to get on and make a bunch of Q's.

Here is a Finnish online magazine that has some analysis of DX Contests )Adobe acrobrat reader required


Don't forget the CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW: 0000Z, Nov 24 to 2400Z, Nov 25

and for those TopBand Buffs:

ARCI Topband Sprint	0000Z-0600Z, Nov 29
ARRL 160-Meter Contest	2200Z, Nov 30 to 1600Z, Dec 2

I hope all of you have a happy Thanksgiving and a great week!

73,

Jack K4SAC

SS AWARDS

Participation Pins

The ARRL is again pleased to continue its PINS (Participation In November Sweepstakes) program for 2007. Anyone who completes 100 contacts on CW or Phone during Sweepstakes is eligible to purchase one of these attractive Participation Pins. Pins are based on claimed scores. Each pin includes the year and mode and has become a popular tradition in the November Sweepstakes event. Pins cost $6, including postage and handling and will be shipped after all entries have been processed and logs verified.
To order your pins, attach a note to the front of your summary sheet indicating the number of pins ordered along with your check. If you enter electronically, send a copy of your summary sheet with a note and your check attached to Sweepstakes PINS, ARRL Contest Branch, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111.

Clean Sweep Mugs
Commemorate working your “clean sweep” by purchasing your 2007 November Sweepstakes mug. To earn your mug, work all 80 ARRL/RAC sections during the CW or Phone November Sweepstakes. Mug awards are based on claimed scores. The price for the keepsake mug is $12 each, (including postage and handling.) If you submit electronically, send a paper copy of the first page of your Cabrillo file and indicate how many mugs you are ordering along with your check. If you log by paper, attach a note to the top of your summary sheet indicating how many mugs you are ordering and your check. All orders should be sent to Clean Sweep Mugs, ARRL Contest Branch, 225 Main Street. Newington, CT 06111. Your mug will be shipped after all entries and mug orders have been processed and verified. Supplies are limited. We only guarantee filling orders received by the Phone Submission deadline of December 19, 2007.

CREDIT:ARRL WEB SITE

Contesting--why??????

A non-contester may question what the point in contesting is?

Personal achievement is one. You may be a little pistol or pop-gun contester, that has no hope of placing in the top ten in the contest, however you can measure your worth against your peers, or your score from the previous year.

Contests are a good way to learn propagation on a band. Your QTH may have openings to areas that you don't normally see because of low activity, but during a contest, you may see new openings....for example you may have a 15 meter opening into JA land around 1am to 3 am local time...you wouldn't know that normally, but if you find that during a contest, that gives you some knowledge to check post contest and allow you to work DX easily when others are slugging it out on a lower band.

Contests allow you to get more familiar with your equipment. The HF radios nowdays have lots of functions and whistles and bells that you may not use in day to day ham radio use. Those buttons have a use, and during a contest is a good time to learn....learn how to use the PBT or the EQ, experiment and learn your radio!!!

Maybe you could care less about racking up a big score, contests are a good way to add countries to your DXCC total, counties to your county hunters total, states to your WAS, or just about any award that is out there, a contest can probably help you raise those totals.

So if you don't care about big scores, get on anyway and operate casually, add to your totals and help out the contesters! Even if you make a few QSO's please make sure and submit a log. That way a station doesn't get penalized if you only make a few QSOs.....

A lot of non-contesters will gripe about the amount of contests held.....there is some validity to this, as if you look there is usually several contests held each weekend of the year.....however, the thing non-contesters need to understand is that the contesters play a part in keeping our bands active and safer from being reallocated. With spectrum space so valuable and we lost 220 and part of 440 now with the Pave Paw Radar issue, we need to keep a healthy presence on our bands so that our frequencies are not looked at for re-allocation.

This is something all hams can play a part in, not just contesters. We need to keep active on our bands.

For myself, a contest is like an orchestra playing a song. Each person has its part in the song and each part is needed. Beautifully sent exchanges are like the conductor pulling sections in at the right time and at the end of the "concert" (contest) you have a good feeling and enjoyment.

So even if you are not a contester, dip your toes in the water and check it out. Go at your own speed, whatever makes you most comfortable. HAVE FUN

New to Contesting????

With the new no-code hams on the air now, there is a untapped source of new contesters. As the average age of contesters continues to climb, it is imperative that we welcome new contesters into the fold.

Many news hams fear contests. They hear CW blur by them at 30wpm or hear the guys like K5ZD working 180+ per hour and feel that they are not worthy to enter a contest. That could be farther from the truth.

Every contest needs new blood, because some people tire of contesting and drop out, or just to give people a new QSO!

If you are a new ham and want to dip your toes in the water of contesting, here are some tips from the Mad River Radio Club, a group of contesters from Ohio, Mich, and Indiana. This was taken from the Sweepstakes Handbook on their website

Getting Started In SS

The best advice for anyone seeking to learn how to operate the Sweepstakes, or any other contest
for that matter, is simply to follow the Nike slogan: JUST DO IT.

A beginner to contesting will naturally start by tuning around and finding people to call and work.

This is the basic search and pounce technique. It gives the opportunity to listen to a guy, get his
information and the rhythm of his operation before possibly embarrassing yourself. If the op is really good, you might do well to listen and observe, just soaking in how a real pro does it. But eventually you will have to speak up, or hit the key, and JUST DO IT.

When you have the confidence to make the QSO the first time, without waiting around to observe, you are ready to consider trying to take charge and call CQ. This is how good scores are made.

First, it is faster since it eliminates the tuning around time. Second, if you’re diligent with your S&P work, you will probably run out of people to call.

Conversely, there are many people, perhaps a majority of those on the bands during a contest, who don’t CQ. They are just passing out a few QSOs, checking out an antenna, or don’t have the signal or desire to slug it out for a CQing frequency. If you don’t CQ you won’t work these people.

You will need to find a clear, or relatively clear, frequency. Higher up in the band is often a good
place to look. Sometimes (especially on phone) there simply are no clear frequencies. An
experienced contester might be able to find a possibility and make one, but if you’re reading this
to learn something new, don’t bother. Keep tuning.

But if you find a possibility, JUST DO IT. Call CQ. Keep it short: a 1x2, i.e., “CQ CONTEST FROM KAY EIGHT MIKE RADIO, KILO EIGHT MIKE RADIO CONTEST”. If someone calls you, work him. If someone comes back and says “THIS FREQUENCY IS IN USE”, grab the tuning knob and move on. If nothing happens, JUST DO IT again.

Contest tip of the week: Never make a transmission longer than what
you can say in one breath. If you have to come up for air, you’re talking too long between listens.

The one exception: if you’re sweet-talking a non-contester into a QSO.

There are probably hundred of little tricks and tips, but they are best passed along over a cold one
at a club meeting or hospitality suite. But until you have done enough contesting to say that
you’ve been there, and done that, there is just one tip to remember: JUST DO IT. 􀀀

Propagation graphics

Rick, LU9DA has set up an interesting utility on his web page. He has graphics showing the current propagation for the 160,80,40,20,15 and 10 meter bands.

The link is http://lu9da.dyndns.org/www/prop.html

Check it out!

73, Jack K4SAC

This past week.....

Well this past week, we saw the Ukrainian DX Contest:, ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, CW, High Speed Club CW Contest, DARC 10-Meter Digital Contest, OK/OM contest, KY QSO Party, and the WAE RTTY Contest, all take place as well as the NCCC Sprints.

Lots of contest activity this past week and the coming week is busy with contest activity as well.

The SKCC sprint is Nov 14th, YO International PSK31 Contest on 16 Nov, South African Field Day on Nov 17th to 18th, LZ DX Contest the 17th and 18th, Feld Hell Sprint on the 17th, All Austrian 160 meter contest on the 17th-18th, RSGB 1.8mhz CW contest 17th-18th, and of course the biggie this coming week, the ARRL Sweepstakes SSB Nov17th-19th.

All these contests, the bands should be plenty abuzz with activity. Good luck to all of the participants!

73, Jack K4SAC

Shuttle Audio

For those that want to hear the shuttle audio, but don't have access to a local feed, you can go to http://kscops.com/

and hear the shuttle audio.

ARRL SSB SS CONTEST NOV 17-19

1. Object: For stations in the United States and Canada (including territories and possessions) to exchange QSO information with as many other US and Canadian stations as possible on 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meter bands.
2. Date and Contest Period:
   1. 2.1. CW: First full weekend in November (November 3-5, 2007).
   2. 2.2. Phone: Third full weekend in November (November 17-19, 2007).
   3. 2.3. Contest Period: Begins 2100 UTC Saturday, ends 0300 UTC Monday.
   4. 2.4. Operate no more than 24 of the 30 hours.
      1. 2.4.1. Off periods may not be less than 30 minutes in length.
      2. 2.4.2. Times off and on must be clearly noted in paper logs. Do not indicate off times in electronic log files. The log checking software calculates it.
      3. 2.4.3. Listening time counts as operating time.
3. Entry Categories:
   1. 3.1. Single Operator:
      1. 3.1.1. QRP.
      2. 3.1.2. Low Power.
      3. 3.1.3. High Power.
      4. 3.1.4. Unlimited—Packet assisted (no differentiated power levels)
   2. 3.2. Multioperator
      1. 3.2.1. Multi-Single only
         1. 3.2.1.1. Only 1 transmitted signal is permitted at any time.
         2. 3.2.1.2. No limitation on the number of band changes.
         3. 3.2.1.3. Spotting assistance is permissible.
   3. 3.3. School Club
      1. 3.3.1. There are three divisions to this category.
         1. 3.3.1.1. College and University
         2. 3.3.1.2. Technical School
         3. 3.3.1.3. Secondary and other School
      2. 3.3.2. School clubs compete as their own category.
      3. 3.3.3. Only currently enrolled regular students and faculty/staff of the institution are eligible to operate a school club entry. Alumni may “Elmer” but may not operate the station during the competition.
      4. 3.3.4. There is no distinction between Single and Multi operator stations or power levels in this category.
      5. 3.3.5. School clubs must operate from established stations located on the campus. No portable operation from a near-by contest station is allowed. A club may operate from a member’s station only if no on-campus station exists.
      6. 3.3.6. Certificates will be awarded to the top scoring entry in each division of this category in each ARRL/RAC section and division.
4. Exchange: The required exchange consists of:
   1. 4.1. A consecutive serial number;
   2. 4.2. Precedence;
      1. 4.2.1. “Q” for Single Op QRP (5 Watts output or less);
      2. 4.2.2. “A” for Single Op Low Power (up to 150 W output);
      3. 4.2.3. “B” for Single Op High Power (greater than 150 W output);
      4. 4.2.4. “U” for Single Op Unlimited;
      5. 4.2.5. “M” for Multi-Op;
      6. 4.2.6. “S” for School Club;
   3. 4.3 Your Callsign;
   4. 4.4. Check (the last two digits of the year you were first licensed);
   5. 4.5. ARRL/RAC Section
      (Example: NU1AW would respond to W1AW’s call by sending: W1AW 123 B NU1AW 71 CT, which indicates QSO number 123, B for Single Op High Power, NU1AW, first licensed in 1971, and in the Connecticut section.)
5. Scoring:
   1. 5.1 QSO points: Count two points for each complete two-way QSO.
   2. 5.2. Multiplier: Each ARRL Section and RAC Section plus the Canadian NT (Northern Territories - encompassing VE8 / VY1 / VY0) with a maximum number of 80.
      1. 5.2.1. KP3 and KP4 are in the Puerto Rico Section.
      2. 5.2.2. KV4/KP2 and KG4 stations are in the Virgin Islands Section.
      3. 5.2.3. KH6 and other US possessions in the Pacific count as the Pacific Section.
   3. 5.3. Final score: Multiply QSO points (two per QSO) by the number of ARRL/RAC sections (plus NT VE8/VY1/VY0).
6. Miscellaneous:
   1. 6.1. Work each station only once, regardless of the frequency band.
   2. 6.2. Only one transmitted signal at any time is permitted.
7. Awards:
   1. 7.1. Certificates will be awarded to the top operator CW and Phone scores in each category (“A”, “B”, “Q”, “U”, “S” and “M”) in each ARRL/RAC section and division.
   2. 7.2. All Overall and Divisional winners will be awarded a plaque recognizing their efforts. Plaques are either sponsored by groups of clubs or by the principal awards sponsor, Icom.
8. Submission:
   1. 8.1 Deadline for submission of CW entries is Wednesday December 5, 2007 Deadline for submission of Phone entries is Wednesday December 19, 2007. Entries emailed or postmarked after the deadline may be designated checklogs.
      1. 8.1.1. The CW and Phone mode are considered separate contests and must be submitted in separate envelopes or emails sent to the appropriate address.
      2. 8.1.2. Entries must be made on current ARRL entry forms or on a reasonable facsimile. Current forms may be downloaded in .PDF or ASCII format from www.arrl.org/contests/forms
   2. 8.2. Email entries for CW must be sent to SSCW@arrl.org and Phone to SSPhone@arrl.org
   3. 8.3. Cabrillo formatted logs can be submitted by logging onto the web application at www.b4h.net/cabforms and completing the required information.
   4. 8.4. Any entry that has been created using a computer for logging must be submitted in the Cabrillo log file format.
      1. 8.4.1. Files from word processing, spreadsheet programs or “bin” type logging program files are not valid or usable.
      2. 8.4.2. Any electronic file that is not submitted in required format will not be eligible for competition and awards.
      3. 8.4.3. A paper printout for a log that has been generated by a computer in lieu of the actual data file in the required format is not an acceptable substitute.
      4. 8.4.4. Paper logs that are entered into a logging program or computer after the contest are considered electronic logs and must include the required electronic file in the submission.
   5. 8.5. Hand written paper logs are acceptable entries. Any hand written paper log of 500 or more QSOs must include the required dupe sheet.
   6. 8.6. Logs sent via the regular mail service should be addressed to: November SS CW or November SS Phone, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111.
9. Other information.
   1. 9.1. See “General Rules for All ARRL Contests” and “General Rules for ARRL Contests on Bands Below 30 MHz (HF)” available at www.arrl.org/contests or from the ARRL Contest Branch.
   2. 9.2. All contest queries should be directed to contests@arrl.org or by telephone to 860-594-0232. All contest rules and entry forms may be downloaded from the Contest Branch Web Page at: www.arrl.org/contests.

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Participation Pins
The ARRL is again pleased to continue its PINS (Participation In November Sweepstakes) program for 2007. Anyone who completes 100 contacts on CW or Phone during Sweepstakes is eligible to purchase one of these attractive Participation Pins. Pins are based on claimed scores. Each pin includes the year and mode and has become a popular tradition in the November Sweepstakes event. Pins cost $6, including postage and handling and will be shipped after all entries have been processed and logs verified.
To order your pins, attach a note to the front of your summary sheet indicating the number of pins ordered along with your check. If you enter electronically, send a copy of your summary sheet with a note and your check attached to Sweepstakes PINS, ARRL Contest Branch, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111.

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Clean Sweep Mugs
Commemorate working your “clean sweep” by purchasing your 2007 November Sweepstakes mug. To earn your mug, work all 80 ARRL/RAC sections during the CW or Phone November Sweepstakes. Mug awards are based on claimed scores. The price for the keepsake mug is $12 each, (including postage and handling.) If you submit electronically, send a paper copy of the first page of your Cabrillo file and indicate how many mugs you are ordering along with your check. If you log by paper, attach a note to the top of your summary sheet indicating how many mugs you are ordering and your check. All orders should be sent to Clean Sweep Mugs, ARRL Contest Branch, 225 Main Street. Newington, CT 06111. Your mug will be shipped after all entries and mug orders have been processed and verified. Supplies are limited. We only guarantee filling orders received by the Phone Submission deadline of December 19, 2007.

CREDIT:ARRL WEB SITE

KY QSO PARTY CONTEST

INTRODUCING THE

2007

KENTUCKY QSO PARTY

1400Z Sat. Nov. 10 to 0600Z Sun. Nov. 11

The annual Kentucky QSO Party will be sponsored by the Western Kentucky DX Association. During the party the same station may be worked only once per band and mode, unless they are mobile or portable. Stations may be worked again when they activate another Kentucky county. All mobile and/or portable stations must identify themselves as such so that fixed stations looking for new multipliers may

more easily work them.

EXCHANGE: RS(T) and QTH (county name if you are in Kentucky).

SCORING: KY contesters will work and total the following as multipliers: States, KY counties (120), and Canadian Provinces (9). All DXCC entities count as one point and not as multipliers. Stations working KY will collect counties and KY QSOs. They will then multiply the number of counties by the number of QSO points (2 for CW, 1 for SSB). Each person will add any bonus points earned to his final score. à One hundred bonus points will be earned for working our Club Station, KY4DXA, which will be moving from county to county. The 100 bonus points will be added only once to a person’s score, regardless how may times KY4DXA is worked. All additional times will earn another QSO point and another county as a multiplier. All stations are to combine CW and SSB QSO points before multiplying. Each 160 meter contact will count 2 points reguardless of mode. à Kentucky mobile and portable stations may add 1000 points to their final score for each Kentucky county activated, provided a minimum of 10 contacts are made from a county before moving on to the next county. KY stations may count KY as a state and their own county as a multiplier (provided they work a station within their state and county).

FREQUENCIES: Operation must be limited to 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meters. Any portion of these bands allocated for CW or SSB may be used.

AWARDS: Certificates will go to all who submit a log with an S.A.S.E. Plaques will be awarded to the highest-scoring station in each of the following categories: KY Fixed Phone, KY Fixed CW, KY Fixed Mixed, KY Rover Phone, and KY Rover CW. One plaque will go the highest-scoring U. S. station outside KY and one plaque to the highest scoring DX station.

SUBMITTING YOUR LOG: Include with your log a summary sheet and a dupe check sheet for logs with over 50 contacts per band or mode. Also, include a large S.A.S.E. for results and certificate. Mail your log to WKDXA, P.O. Box 73, Alvaton, KY 42122 with a postmark no later than December 31, 2007. (By contest time we may be able to accept logs by email.) Please check web site www.WKDXA.com for more information.

Changes and/or updates will be posted by October 31, 2007.

Have fun and good luck to all!

CREDIT: www.wkdxa.com

Good Luck in the Contest!!!

Good luck to all of you in ARRL SS CW contest!

73, Jack K4SAC

Narrow Band ALE announced

Credit QRZ.com


Patrick F6CTE has announced that a narrow band version of the popular Automatic Link Establishment (ALE) software is now available.

On the HFLink Yahoo group he writes:

For those interested in doing ALE and ARQ FAE using a narrow bandwidth (400 Hz), I have derived from the standard ALE a new ALE with a bandwidth of 400 Hz (instead of 2000 Hz) and which is called 'ALE400'.

This ALE system has exactly the same functions as the standard ALE (in Multipsk) except that the:
• bandwidth is 400 Hz (so ALE400 can be used where 500 Hz modes are permitted)
• the speed (and consequently the text throughput) is 2.5 slower,
• no fix frequency (it is as MFSK16, Olivia or DominoEX modes)
• the S/N is 5 dB better:
- 9 dB for AMD messages and Unproto
- 11.5 dB (- 13.5 dB with many repetitions) for ARQ FAE

For ARQ FAE, it has been added a compression system using a modified IZ8BLY (Nino) MFSK Varicode. So the text throughput (in ALE400) is typically 60 wpm (up to 107 mpm in bilateral and 63 characters frames).

This test version in a ZIP test package is available in my site
http://f6cte.free.fr/MULTIPSK_TEST_28_10_2007.ZIP
(copy and paste this address in Internet Explorer (or equivalent) Net address field). It contains the Multipsk test version, the help files (in English and French) and the specifications (in English) of the ARQ FAE mode (version 1.4).

Create a temporary folder (C:\TEST, for example), unzip the files in it and start C:\TEST\TEST\Multipsk.exe (the auxiliary files will be created automatically).

For the contextual help, click on the right button of the mouse, with the focus over the mode button "ALE400". Use also the button hints (wait a fraction of second over a button).

Hints:
• if you are the "Master" (initiator of the CQ): confirm the RS ID transmission in "Options" (to permit an automatic tuning for other Hams), check "Master" on the Mode panel and, afterwards, push the button "CQ"
• if you are the "Slave" (the Ham who answers): push the button "RS ID detection" (to permit your automatic tuning on CQ), check "Slave" on the Mode panel and, afterwards, push the button "Answer".
Both will push on the "AFC" button.

Note: it rings on successful connexion (on both sides).

73
Patrick

Related URL’s

HFLink Yahoo Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HFLink

HFLink
http://www.hflink.org/

MultiPSK Website
http://f6cte.free.fr/

ALE400 Software - A Test version has been available at
http://f6cte.free.fr/MULTIPSK_TEST_28_10_2007.ZIP
but like all test software it could be frequently updated.

Voice of Russia marks 78 years of SW broadcasts externally

The voice of Russia is marking its 78th anniversary on its website, The Voice of Russia

The Voice of Russia started its external broadcasts on 29 Oct 1929 in German.

LOTW

If you used a special prefix for the CQ WW or worked at a guest op, don't forget to get a LOTW certificate for that prefix and upload your logs to LOTW.

73, K4SAC



Oct 7, 2007: Use a special prefix? You must have a certificate for that prefix -- Some users have noted that some stations are making QSOs with a special prefix, but not obtaining an additional certificate to cover that callsign. If XE0XXX signs 6H0XXX he needs to obtain a certificate for 6H0XXX and use that certificate to sign the 6H0XXX log.

Additional certificates are easily obtained. When making the new certifcate request, answer Yes when TQSLCert asks you if you want to sign the request. Then, choose the primary call (highlight that call with your mouse) from the certificate list, and finish up. LoTW will recognize the user and issue an additional certificate automatically. For more information read about Callsign Issues in the LoTW FAQ: https://p1k.arrl.org/lotw/faq#changedcall

[credit LOTW site]

Riley rescinds retirement comment

Hollingsworth to Stay Put at FCC (Oct 30, 2007) -- Riley Hollingsworth, Special Counsel for the FCC's Enforcement Bureau, has decided not to retire; he had announced last week that he would leave the FCC in January 2008. "After spending the entire weekend thinking about the decision [to retire], it became more and more clear to me that it just isn't the right decision for me right now. There are several issues on the table that I want to continue to work through with the amateur community." The Enforcement Bureau is the primary organizational unit within the Federal Communications Commission that is responsible for enforcement of provisions of the Communications Act, the Commission's rules, Commission orders and terms and conditions of station authorizations, as well as enforcement of Amateur Radio rules (Part 97).

[Credit ARRL]

Operating in CQ WW SSB contest????

If you are operating in the CQ WW SSB contest,
don't forget to check out the live contest scoring at
http://www.getscores.org/default.aspx

See how the big guns and little pistols are doing compared to you!

Tara Rumble Scores 2007

Tara Rumble Scores are due by Oct 29th.

You can check out the Tara Rumble Home Page here

CQ WW DX SSB info

Make sure you participate in the CQ WW SSB this weekend! CQ Worldwide DX Contest, SSB: 0000ZOct 27 to 2400Z, Oct 28
	Mode:	SSB
	Bands:	160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m
	Classes:	Single Op All Band (QRP/Low/High) Single Op Single Band (QRP/Low/High) Single Op Assisted All Band Single Op Assisted Single Band Single Op Assisted Single Band Multi-Single Multi-Two Multi-Multi
	Max power:	HP: 1500 watts LP: 100 watts QRP: 5 watts
	Exchange:	RS + CQ Zone No.
	Work stations:	Once per band
	QSO Points:	0 points per QSO with same country (counts as mult) 1 point per QSO with different country same continent 2 points per QSO with different country same continent (NA) 3 points per QSO with different continent
	Multipliers:	Each CQ zone once per band Each country once per band
	Score Calculation:	Total score = total QSO points x total mults
	Submit logs by:	December 1, 2007
	E-mail logs to:	ssb[at]cqww[dot]com
	Mail logs to:	CQWW SSB CQ Magazine 25 Newbridge Road Hicksville, NY 11801 USA
	Find rules at:	http://www.cq-amateur-radio.com/CQWWDXContestRules8407.pdf

Credit: http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/weeklycont.php

CN2R Contest Audio

Taken from the CQ-Contest reflector, what an
awesome job by Jim W7EJ


I recently finished my project to put all of
the CN2R contest QSO audio on my website.

The audio is from my 27  CN2R contest operations (2001 -2007)..
97,000 QSOs are archived on the website.

Go to the Web Logbook:
http://cn2r.net/cn2r/cn2log_interface/QSOs/Logbook.asp
Just enter your callsign in the 'Call/Prefix' field and
hit your enter key or click on the 'Search Log' button

If you have had any CN2R QSOs you will see
them all displayed as a row/column logbook snapshot.

Nearly all of the contest QSOs have a yellow highlighted
background in the first column.

If you click on your highlighted callsign, for one
of our QSOs, that QSO audio will play in a pop-up window.

You can select several of our QSOs to be active
at the same time for year to year signal comparison....

The audio is broken into 5 minute WAV file snippets.
Generally a few QSOs are played, prior to your QSO,
to hear how strong or weak you were.

You can navigate, with most players, to any point in the 5 minute audio
snippet.

On this same Logbook web page, you can use the
dialog options to look-up the times
it might be possible to work CN2R in the next contest.

Example: You are in VE3 land and you want to work CN2R
on 160M in the next CQWW
  Select the 'Prefix / Partial call' circle button
  Enter VE3 in the  'Call/Prefix' field
  Select 160 Meters in the 'Band' field
  Click on the 'Search Log' button

A logbook snapshot will appear that shows all of
the times I have worked VE3 on 160M

You can also use the 'Sort by' field to sort any displayed log by date,
time, contest ....

Give it a try. See you on 160M in CQWW 2007
The website home page is at  http://cn2r.net ,
with video,  photos, contest logs....           
73 Jim W7EJ, CN2R

K4SAC-1 DX Spider Cluster

Due to the tornado that hit Owensboro, KY Thursday night, Oct 18th 2007, the K4SAC-1 cluster was down until Monday morning about 10am. I finallygot it back up and working, although the RF link is non-functional due to the antenna being ripped away along with the rest of the roof :)

The internet link is up and working ok. You can telnet to 216.135.38.203 port 7300 to access it.

SWL CORNER

For SWL's there is a forum that is hosted by NW7US. The forum is located at http://hfradio.org/forums/

There are a lot of different topics discussed there.

Check it out......

GUINEA EQUATORIAL DXPEDITION 2007

The logs are now online for the 3C7Y dxpedition. The logs can be found here

The 3C7Y home page can be found here

The QSL information is:

Elmo Bernabé Coll
P.O.Box 3097
03080 Alicante
Spain

QSLs received direct with SAE and USD/IRC -- send via direct
QSLs received direct with SAE and without USD/IRC - send via Bureau.
QSLs via bureau send via bureau.

Please do not send old IRC´s

And as always, dxpeditions are not cheap to put on. Donations are usually always welcome.

ALE

As you tune the ham bands you may be hearing some strange sounding signals. Chances are some of those signals are ALE or Automatic Link Establishment.

According to the website hflink.com, Automatic Link Establishment is the de-facto worldwide standard for initiating and sustaining communications using High Frequency radio. HF radio conveys signals via ionospheric propagation, which is a constantly changing medium.

To find ALE you can look on http://hflink.com/channels/ and look at the ALE frequency list.

If you are interested in trying out ALE you can download one of 2 software packages here

PC-ALE is ALE Software for PC by Charles Brain G4GUO
Full Mil-Standard Automatic Link Establishment operation using HF SSB or ham radio transceivers. Advanced features include Scanning, Sounding, Channel Groups, Calling, Netcalls, Allcalls, AMD, DBM, DTM, LQA, and many many other fuctions. Use with a PC sound device and CAT control interface. High speed PSK ARQ HF modem included. User supported by HFLINK Group. Free for ham radio use.

MULTIPSK by Patrick F6CTE
Multimode Ham Radio Software (with ALE) for PC
Includes basic ALE functions for calling and operating using ham radio ALE methods, for individual calls and Netcalls. AMD, FAE-ARQ, Unproto modes for texting. Many different modes and features. Use with a PC sound device and CAT control interface. Free to try and use. More features such as scanning and alerting with user license.

Once you download the software, you can read the configuration instructions here

Liberian Dxpedition

Radio Netherlands http://www.radionetherlands.nl
has written an article about four dutchmen in Liberia on a dxpedition. The call that the
dxpedition is using 5L2MS.

You can read the article here at http://www.radionetherlands.nl/features/media/lib071010

RTTY CONTEST SURVEY

Taken from the CQ-contest listserv:



Please participate in a new rttycontesting.com survey at:

http://www.rttycontesting.com/2007survey/survey_oct07.html

This survey will last 2 weeks and will be closed on November 2, 2007.  Results
will be available some time in November.  Thanks for
your participation!

73, Don AA5AU
http://www.aa5au.com
http://www.rttycontesting.com

Stew Perry Topband Challenge-OCT 20-21st

RULES from http://jzap.com/k7rat/stew.rules.txt


             12th STEW PERRY TOPBAND DISTANCE CHALLENGE

1. Contest period:  1500Z December 29th to 1500Z December 30th, 2007.
Operate for a maximum of 14 hours.  Off times are 30 minutes minimum
and a maximum of four off periods are permitted.

A separate warm-up even will be held on October 20th/21st with the
same time period and entry categories.

2. Bands and mode: 160 meters CW only.

3. Categories: Single operator or multi-operator.  Remote or Cluster
spotting shall not be used.  All transmitting and receiving antennas
used must be within 100 km of each other.

4. Exchange: Four character grid square (i.e. CN85).

5. QSO Points: The number of QSO points for each contact depends on the
distance between the two stations.  This is computed by taking the
distance between the centers of the two grid squares.  Count a minimum
of one point per QSO and an additional point for every 500 kilometers
distance.  For example, a QSO with a station 1750 kilometers away will
count for 4 QSO points.  No additional distance for long path is allowed.

QSO Points are multiplied by 2X if you work a low power station and 4X
for working a QRP station.  This is done based upon received logs and
is computed automatically during the log checking process.

Do not worry if your logging software does not compute the QSO points.
Our automated log checking software does this.

6. Score: Final score equals the total number of QSO points.  There is
no multiplier for different grids worked.  Stations running 5 to 100
watts output multiply their score by 2.  Stations running less
than 5 watts multiply their score by 4.  Scores will be grouped by
category.

7. Reporting: Your log can be sent via the internet to TBDC@CONTESTING.COM
using the Cabrillo format before January 31st, 2007.  Paper entries can
be mailed to BARC 15125 SE Bartell Rd; Boring, OR  97009.  If possible,
please provide an electronic copy of your log.  You can use the tool
INSTEW.EXE to generate a Cabrillo log from your paper log.  It can be
found at http://web.jzap.com/k7rat/stew.html.

Logs for the warm-up event are due by November 20th.

8. Plaques will be awarded for categories we have sponsors for.  To
volunteer to sponsor a plaque, contact Lew Sayre, W7EW at w7ew@arrl.net.
A list of the plaques sponsored can be found on the web at
http://jzap.com/k7rat/stew.html.

There are no plaques or other awards for the warm-up event.

9. Results are published on the web in September or October.  Look for an
announcement on the topband and contest reflectors.  Warm-up results willS
be published before the real event in December.

IARU Region 2 HF Band Plan

The IARU has voted to adopt a HF bandplan based on signal bandwidth. This looks like the previous ARRL proposal somewhat. Below is the text of the bandplan taken from http://www.iaru-regionii.org/Region_2_MF__HF_Bandplan_2008.pdf





IARU REGION 2 MF/HF BAND PLAN – Effective January 1st 2008
The IARU Region 2 has established this band plan as the way to better organize the use of
our bands efficiently. To the extent possible, this band plan is harmonized this with those
of the other regions. It is suggested that Member Societies, in coordination with the
authorities, incorporate it in their regulations and promote it widely with their radio
amateur communities.
FREQUENCY(kHz) MAX BW(Hz) PREFERRED MODE

160 Meters:
1800 - 1810 500 Digimode
1810 – 1830 200 CW,CW QRP centre of activity 1812 kHz
1830 - 1840 200 CW intercontinental operation (DX window)
1840 - 1850 2700 SSB intercontinental operation (DX window)
1850 - 1999 2700 All modes,SSB QRP centre of activity 1910
1999 – 2000 200 Beacon

80 Meters:
3500 - 3510 200 CW, intercontinental operation (DX window)
3510 - 3560 200 CW, CW contest preferred, QRS centre of activity 3555 kHz
3560 - 3580 200 CW, CW QRP centre of activity 3560 kHz
3580 - 3590 500 All narrow band modes, digimode
3590 - 3600 500 All narrow band modes, digimode, (unattended data stns)
3600 - 3625 2700 All modes, digimode, (unattended data stns)
3600 - 3650 2700 All modes, SSB contest preferred, digital voice (DV) centre of activity 3630 kHz
3650 - 3700 2700 All modes, SSB QRP centre of activity 3690 kHz
3700 - 3775 2700 All modes, SSB contest preferred, image centre of activity 3735 kHz, emergency centre of activity 3750 kHz

3775 - 3800 2700 All modes, SSB priority for intercontinental operation (DX window)
3800 – 3875 2700 All modes
3875 – 3900 2700 All modes, image centre of activity 3845 kHz, emergency centre of activity 3985 kHz
3900 - 4000 2700 All modes

40 meters:
7000 - 7025 200 CW, priority for intercontinental operation (DX window)
7025 - 7035 200 CW, CW QRP Centre of activity7030 kHz
7035 - 7038 500 All narrow band modes, digimode
7038 - 7040 500 All narrow band modes, digimode, (unattended data stns)
7040 - 7043 2700 All modes, digimode, (unattended data stns)
7043 -7100 2700 All modes, image centre of activity 1: 7043 kHz, Region 2 Emergency centre of activity 1: 7060 kHz, Digital voice (DV) centre of activity 7070 kHz, SSB QRP centre of activity 1: 7090 kHz.
7100 - 7300 2700 All modes, Region 2 Emergency centre of activity 2: 7240 kHz,
SSB QRP centre of activity 2: 7285 kHz, image centre of activity 2 7165 kHz, AM calling frequency 7275 kHz, Region 2 Emergency centre of activity 3 7290 kHz

30 meters:
10100 - 10130 200 CW, QRP centre of activity 10116 kHz
10130 - 10140 500 All narrowband digimode
10140 - 10150 2700 All modes, digimode, no phone (SSB, AM or DV)
14000 - 14025 200 CW, priority for intercontinental operation (DX window)
14025 - 14060 200 CW, CW contest preferred, QRS centre of activity 14055 kHz
14060 - 14070 200 CW, QRP centre of activity14060 kHz.
14070 - 14089 500 All narrow band modes, digimode
14089 - 14099 500 All narrow band modes, digimode, data stations (unattended)
14099 - 14101 200 IBP, exclusively for beacons
14101 - 14112 2700 All modes, digimode, data stations (unattended)
14112 - 14300 2700 All modes, SSB contest preferred, digital voice (DV) centre of activity 14130 kHz, Image centre of activity 14230 kHz,SSB priority for intercontinental operation (DX window)
14190 – 14200 kHz SSB QRP centre of activity 14285 kHz.
14300 - 14350 2700 All modes, Global emergency centre of activity 14300 kHz.

17 Meters:
18068 -18095 200 CW, CW QRP centre of activity 18086 kHz
18095 - 18105 500 All narrow band modes, digimode
18105 - 18109 500 All narrow band modes, digimode, data stations (unattended)
18109 - 18111 200 IBP, exclusively for beacons
18111 - 18120 2700 All modes, digimode, data stations (unattended)
18120 - 18168 2700 All modes, QRP centre of activity 18130 kHz, Global Emergency centre of activity 18160 kHz

15 Meters:
21000 - 21070 200 CW, QRS centre of activity 21055 kHz, CW QRP centre of activity 21060 kHz
21070 - 21090 500 All narrow band modes, digimode
21090 - 21110 500 All narrow band modes, digimode, data stations (unattended)
21110 - 21120 2700 All modes (excluding SSB), digimode, data stations (unattended)
21120 - 21149 500 All narrow band modes
21149 - 21151 200 IBP, exclusively for beacons
21151 - 21450 2700 All modes, Digital voice (DV) centre of activity 21180 kHz, SSB QRP centre of activity 21285 kHz, Image centre of activity 21340 kHz, Global emergency centre of activity 21360 kHz

12 Meters:
24890 - 24915 200 CW, CW QRP centre of activity 24906 kHz
24915 - 24925 500 All narrow band modes, digimode
24925 - 24929 500 All narrow band modes, digimode, data stations (unattended)
24929 - 24931 200 IBP, exclusively for beacons
24931 - 24940 2700 All modes, digimode, data stations (unattended)
24940 - 24990 2700 All modes, QRP SSB centre of activity 24950 kHz

28000 - 28070 200 CW, QRS centre of activity 28055 kHz, CW QRP centre of activity 28060 kHz
28070 - 28120 500 All narrow band modes, digimode
28120 - 28150 500 All narrow band modes, digimode, data stations (unattended)
28150 - 28190 500 All narrow band modes
28190 - 28199 200 Regional time shared beacons
28199 - 28201 200 IBP, worldwide time shared beacons
28201 - 28225 200 Continuous duty beacons
28225 - 28300 2700 All modes, beacons
28300 -28320 2700 All modes, digimode, data stations (unattended)
28320 - 29000 2700 All modes, Digital voice (DV) centre of activity 28330 kHz,
SSB QRP centre of activity 28360 kHz, image centre of activity 28680 kHz
29000 - 29200 6000 All modes, AM preferred
29200 - 29300 6000 All modes including FM simplex, (unattended data stns)
29300 - 29510 6000 Satellite-downlink
29510 – 29520 Guard band, no transmission allowed
29520 – 29700 6000 FM
10 kHz channels FM repeater input only – 10 kHz channels 29520 – 29590 kHz
FM calling frequency 29600 kHz
FM repeater outputs only – 10 kHz channels 29620 – 29690 kHz



Explanations
Bandwidths
The number in the bandwidth column always refers to maximum allowed bandwidth.
Preferred Modes
All modes Do not exceed the specified bandwidth.
Image The Image mode includes FAX and SSTV.
Narrow band modes All modes up to 500 Hz bandwidth including CW, RTTY, PSK
and others.
Digimodes Includes, but not limited to PSK31, PSK63, RTTY, MT63 (within
bandwidth limits).
Sideband usage: Below 10MHz use lower sideband (LSB), above 10MHz use upper
Sideband (USB).
Notes
CW QSOs are accepted across all bands, except within beacon segments.
Contest activity shall not take place on the 10, 18 and 24 MHz bands.
The term “automatically controlled data stations” includes Store and Forward stations.
Transmitting frequencies:
The announced frequencies in the bandplan are understood as “transmitted
frequencies” (not those of the suppressed carrier!)
Unattended transmitting stations:
IARU member societies are requested to limit this activity on the HF bands. It is
recommended that any unattended transmitting stations on HF shall be activated
only under operator control except for beacons agreed with the IARU beacon
coordinator, or specially licensed experimental stations.

WARC bands authorised in new Amateur Radio Act for Thailand

Taken from HSOZCW's post on DX News Listserv

[quote]
Thailand's Intermediate and Advanced class radio amateurs are now permitted to operate on the so-called WARC bands (10-, 18- and 24-MHz) as well as in windows in the CW portion of the 80-metre (3.5-MHz) and 160-metre (1.8-MHz) bands on a permanent basis.
The authorisation, granted in a new Act governing amateur radio in Thailand by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), follows years of lobbying by the Radio Amateur Society of Thailand (RAST). The details were published in the Royal Gazette on October 11, 2007, becoming effective the following day.
Up until this announcement, which is part of a complete revision and consolidation of amateur radio regulations by the NTC, Thai radio amateurs had only been able to operate on the 80- and 160-metre bands during international contests on weekends, while the WARC bands had been only authorised by the Thai authorities for use during certain special event stations on a few occasions.
Special permission to operate on the low bands during contests had been sought by RAST on an annual basis for more than five years to allow its members to compete internationally while also serving to demonstrate that there was no interference to other services.
Specifically, the increase in HF spectrum allocated to amateur radio in Thailand is from 1.800 to 1.825MHz, 3.500 to 3.540 MHz, 10.100 to 10.150 MHz, 18.068 to 18.168 and 24.890 to 24.990 MHz and operators should respect the International Amateur Radio Union Region 3 band plan.
No changes were made to the VHF bands, where 6-metres (50-54 MHz) and 1,240 MHz are still off-limits and 430-MHz (70-cm) is authorised for monitoring only, such as to listen to satellite downlinks. Two metres
(144-MHz) is channelised and minor amendments were made to repeater allocations.
The full 37-page announcement of the NTC's Amateur Radio Act of 2007 is published in the Thai-language on the web at http://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2550/E/152/10.PDF.
The Radio Amateur Society of Thailand, which is under the Royal Patronage of His Majesty the King, will make an unofficial translation available soon as well as explaining some of the points in more detail at its website: www.qsl.net/rast Under the new regulations, all club stations in the provinces were also given 180 days to register as a society which must have a minimum of 20 members, while there is a requirement that each club station must operate for at least three hours a day, which is a reduction from eight hours under the previous regulations.
The syllabus for the amateur radio examination has been revised and a new requirement for Intermediate class operators who are able to operate on HF frequencies is that they must be at least 15 years old.
Morse code is retained as a requirement for the Intermediate class licence with the proficiency in sending and receiving being set at eight words a minute.
As word of the new regulations and of activity by HS and E2 stations on the WARC bands spread after several of Thailand's amateur radio operators began making contacts, so the pile-ups began. Thailand and CQ Zone 26 are in high-demand by award-chasers, both on the WARC bands as well as 80- and 160-metres.

Prepared by Tony, HS0ZDX
RAST International Liaison
October 16, 2007



Relayed by

Charles Harpole, HS0ZCW
k4vud@hotmail.com

[end quote]

Innovative QSL service

As long as there has been Ham Radio, it has been said that the final courtesy of a QSO is a QSL. For years we have had the option to send QSL's direct via the postal service or we could send the QSL's to a outgoing QSL bureau, such as the ones that the ARRL runs.

Azar Hami,4X6MI and Paul Gross, 4X6UU joined forces to create a "high-tech" QSL service to Ham Radio operators.

Their company Global QSL offers a service which actually sounds wonderful. They promise "no more writing QSL cards or printing labels", " no more sorting QSL cards", and the ability to design your cards in color.

According their website, you can create QSLs for up to 10 different callsigns, with the ability to change the graphic design of the card on the fly.

This is a subscription service, their website advertises 1000 cards for $82, which is actually quite comparable to the QSLs that you have printed and sent to your QTH.

How the system works:

1) you subscribe to the service
2) You upload your logs to server
3) The service sorts the calls, prints the cards, and sorts them into stacks for shipment.
4) When a bureau or manager has a stack of 2000 cards, or every 2 months whichever occurs first, the cards are shipped.

This service saves you the hassle of printing the cards, sorting the cards, and mailing the cards. if you are not sending direct and using the bureau, this service is an excellent option for you.

U.S. Contest stations have been taking advantage of this service as well, since the QSL service is in Israel, Cards from US contest stations, to US hams can be sent through the incoming bureau (although there is some question as to whether all bureaus will accept these cards) saving money on postage for those contest stations.

Also according to Global QSLs website, multiple qsos can be printed onto 1 card(Up to 5), and you only get charged for 1 QSL card.

To check out this new service you can visit their website at http://www.globalqsl.com (Global QSL)

SWL pick of the week

There are many SWL pages out there on the internet, but Riding the Radio Waves' pick of the week is the SWL web page of NW7US Tomas.

Tomas has a web site called the shortwave radio listening resource center and it is located at
http://shortwave.hfradio.org/

It has a lot of resources that SWLs can use and appreciate.

Dx Clusters

To catch that rare DX, sometimes one needs some help. And that help can come in the form of a dx cluster.

AD1C has a website called DXcluster.info that lists all type of information about DX Clusters.

The link is http://www.dxcluster.info

WRT team Standings

W9RE, K7RL LEAD BATTLES FOR NINE US 2010 WRTC BIDS

By Jamie Dupree NS3T

With the results of ten qualifying contests now in for the 2010 World Radiosport Team Championship in Russia, some WRTC veterans and major players in the contest world are beginning to show their strength.

In qualifying region NA #2, WRTC vet Mike Wetzel has by far the most qualifying points of any United States operator, with 4,989. That was keyed by a pair of NA #2 victories in the 2006 CQ WW SSB and CW contests, giving him the full 950 points for each contest.

Wetzel also squeezed out some more points in the September NA Sprint CW contest, improving 46 points from his February performance. There are four NA Sprints each year - you are allowed to submit only one score from each mode in 2007 and 2008 under the WRTC rules.

As for leaders of the other US regions, they include Krassy Petkov K1LZ in NA #1, Charles Cullian K0RF in NA #3 and Mitch Mason K7RL in NA #4.

The 2010 rules give three team leader slots to NA #1 and two slots each in NA #2, #3 and #4.

Here are the top five operators from each US region (NA#1-NA#4) as found by radio-sport.net. A full spreadsheet link for each region is available.

NA #1 includes W1, W2, W3 and part of W4.

• K1LZ 3,683 - (6 scores)

• N2NT 3,316 - (5 scores)

• K5ZD 3,267 - (8 scores)

• K4BAI 3,106 - (8 scores)

• K1TO 3,089 - (7 scores)

Check out the full results spreadsheet for NA #1

NA #2 has some of W4 along with W8 and W9.

• W9RE 4,989 - (8 scores)

• K9NW 3,024 - (6 scores)

• K8MR 2,928 - (7 scores)

• N8TR 2,671 - (4 scores)

• W9IU 2,553 - (6 scores)

Check out the full results spreadsheet for NA #2

NA #3 is W5 and W0.

• K0RF 2,586 - (4 scores)

• N5DO 2,552 - (7 scores)

• N2IC 2,500 - (3 scores)

• N0NI 2,465 - (4 scores)

• W0FLS 2,465 - (4 scores)

Check out the full results spreadsheet for NA #3

NA #4 is W6, W7 and KL7.

• K7RL 3,930 - (6 scores)

• K6XX 3,811 - (6 scores)

• K6LA 3,458 - (6 scores)

• N6MJ 2,419 - (4 scores)

• KL9A 2,382 - (4 scores)

Check out the full results spreadsheet for NA #4

The unofficial results produced by radio-sport.net include the final published results of the 2006 IARU, the 2006 WAE CW and WAE SSB, two NA Sprint CW contests from 2007, the February SSB Sprint and the 2007 ARRL DX SSB & CW contests and the 2006 the CQ WW CW and SSB contests.

(Radio-sport.net has tried to be as accurate as possible. If you find a mistake, or that your score line is missing a contest result, please send us an email and we will be happy to check and correct the numbers. Please remember that it is your responsiblity to track your progress and submit your score to the WRTC sponsors.)

You will note that some scores in the spreadsheets have been colored in. All multi-ops are noted with a yellow background. Scores from a contest operation outside of your home WRTC region are colored in blue.

A score that was both outside your home region and from a multi-op has a purple color.

The qualifying rules stipulate that no more than four of your eight best scores can come from a multi-operator effort - AND no more than four of your scores can be from outside your "home" region.

On the far right of the spreadsheet, some stations have a list of how many multi-op scores and how many are DX. It is mainly noted for those who are over the limit or close to it.

(One other item that skews the WRTC data is that the Russian rules only allow two operators to claim points from a multi-op score. )

US and Canadian operators have a busy October and November, with four different WRTC qualifying contests. They include both the SSB and CW versions of CQ WW DX and both modes of the November Sweepstakes.

Credit: http://wrtc.radio-sport.net/US_ranks.htm

VK9WWI After Action Report

The DX News Is blog is reporting an after action report by the ops of VK9WWI, the recent Willis Island Dxpedition.

You can read the post here http://dx-is.com/news/?p=134

1st CQ WW from 1A

Greetings my friends,

Giorgio IZ4AKS sent me an e-mail asking me to check out the SMOM website of 1A4A. I did and thought I would share some of what I found.

The 1A4A team will be participating in CQ WW SSB content, using the callsign 1A3A. The use of the 3 callsign is new. They are zone 15 and in the M/2 class.

Their website is here.

Their 1A4A license was a special license grant.

From the 1A4A website: "The 1A4A license was issued as part of a fund raising campaign for the construction of a school for girls in South Sudan. We are pleased to announce that because of your generosity we were able to donate $10,000 for the project."

The 1A4A team is involved with a project called RUMBEK. For years the SMOM have been involved in Sudan in humanitarian missions. RUMBEK is a mission to build a girl's middle school in Rumbek, Sudan.
In Sudan, girls often do not get any type of education, dooming them to a life of poverty, illness, and possible prostituion.

The Runbek mission hopes to change that vicious cycle, by helping the Sudanese, to help themselves, by giving them a chance to obtain an education, one they might not otherwise obtain.














To help out on this worthy mission, you can click on the link below (it takes you outside of my weblog) and donate.





73,

K4SAC

Clipperton 2008-TX5C

For many hams the mention of Clipperton Island evokes images of paradise and sandy beach and warm waters.











(Image from www.clipperton2008.org)

Clipperton Island is a nine-square-kilometer coral atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, southwest of Mexico and west of Costa Rica, at 10°18′N, 109°13′W.

The history of Clipperton Island can be found here.



(Image from www.clipperton2008.org)


Dxpeditions have operated from Clipperton in 1954, 1956, 1958, 1978, 1985, 1986, 1992, and 2000.

The dxpedition for 2008 planning has already started and the website is http://www.clipperton2008.org


You can contribute to the dxpedition here

If you have an extra dollar please help support these guys, dxpeditions are not cheap to put together!

RADIO EXPEDITION LIBERIA 2007 SITE

If you need Liberia for a QSO, check out the dxpedition page for 5L2MS, web page here .


The dxpedition is slated to run from Oct 3rd to October 24th.

DX Wiki

If you are a dx'er there is a new wiki located at http://dxreference.com/index.php?title=Main_Page

Check it out!

3B7 breakdown

3B7, ST. BRANDON. The 3B7C team went QRT on September 25th around 0331z. The operation netted 135,500 QSOs. The QSO total makes this expedition 3rd only to D68C and 3B9C. From the latest press release, the breakdown by bands and modes are as follows:
10m - 7958 30m - 13460 Phone: 51754
12m - 8851 40m - 19906 CW: 79217
15m - 18887 80m - 13267 RTTY: 6549
17m - 21052 160m - 2922
20m - 31577

To read the complete press release with interesting comments about each band and other details, click on the news link listed below. Remember, the
3B7C Web page is available at: http://www.3b7c.com
Update-to-date news is at: http://www.3b7c.com/news.htm
Daily log updates are at: http://www.3b7c.com/logsearch/search.php
QSL via G3NUG, direct (Neville Cheadle, Lower Withers Barns, Middleton on the Hill, Leominster, HR6 0HY, England) or by the Bureau (Bureau cards can be requested via the 3B7C Web page). The QSL Manager for SWLs is Bob Treacher, 93 Elibank Road, Eltham, London SE9 1QJ, ENGLAND.





Info courtesy of The Ohio/Penn DX DX Bulletin No. 826