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********************************************
The ARRL Contest Update
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
December 20, 2023
Editor: Paul Bourque, N1SFE <contest-update@arrl.org>
==> IN THIS ISSUE:
Your Editor, Paul Bourque, N1SFE, is on leave. While he's out, Brian
Moran, N9ADG, is filling in as ARRL Contest Update Editor.
- Upcoming Contests -- Things to Do
- Contest Summary
- News
- Word to the Wise
- Sights and Sounds
- Results
- Operating Tip
- Technical Topics and Information
- Conversation
- Contests
- Log Due Dates
==> UPCOMING CONTESTS - THINGS TO DO
The next few weeks might be a time to try something new, like one of
the contests that occur during the week, or you can drop in to one of
the Christmas or New Year's contests.
There's one contest during the weekend of December 23, the RAEM CW
Contest <https://raem.srr.ru/rules/>, which lasts 12 hours.
Although there are some weekly contests still scheduled to take place
on the evening of December 24 or on December 25, you might want to
check the contest sponsor's website to make sure they're in fact still
going on.
Things get going again during the weekend of December 30, with the RAC
Winter Contest <https://contest.rac.ca/>, the Stew Perry Topband
Distance Challenge <https://www.kkn.net/stew/>, and the third round of
the YOTA contest <https://www.ham-yota.com/contest/>.
For the RAC Winter Contest <https://www.rac.ca/contesting-results/>,
you'll find the rules
<https://www.rac.ca/mivahih/2023/11/CanadaWinterContest2023_Rules_eng.pdf>
on RAC's contesting results page
<https://www.rac.ca/contesting-results/>. Think of it as the HF contest
bands plus 6 and 2 meters, mixed mode. Because the C in RAC refers to
Canada, contacts with stations in Canada count for 10 points, others
only count for two. There are some special RAC-suffixed stations, which
are worth 20 points. Multipliers are the 10 provinces and three
territories. See the rules for additional information on multiplier
abbreviations, entry classes, and so forth.
The Stew Perry Topband Distance Challenge <https://www.kkn.net/stew/>
is 160 meters, CW only. The exchange consists of four-character grid
square designators, which we're all finally familiar with because of
the popularity of FT modes. Scoring is by power level and distance;
because power level isn't exchanged, the suspense of final scores for
this contest isn't wholly diminished by 3830scores.com
<https://3830scores.com/>. In this contest, plaque-worthy performance
criteria <https://www.kkn.net/stew/stew_plaques.html> change yearly at
the whim of the plaque sponsors.
The YOTA contest <https://contest.ham-yota.com/>, which is a
collaboration between the IARU Region 1 Youth Working Group and the
Hungarian Amateur Radio Society, is for "Increasing youngsters activity
on the air. <https://www.ham-yota.com/contest/>" Participation in this
CW and SSB contest is open to all, with specific categories for those
aged 25 and under, and for those that are over the age of 25. The
exchange is the operator's age. From examination of the results of
previous sessions
<https://contest.ham-yota.com/results/64b2c74966769e28fb6bcced/final>,
participation is dominated by Region 1 amateurs; there's nothing to
keep amateurs in other regions from playing, except awareness of the
contest.
Contest Summary
See the "Contests" section below for complete contest information.
December 21 - January 3
December 21
- Walk for the Bacon QRP Contest <https://qrpcontest.com/pigwalk20/>
- CWops Test (CWT) <https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/>
- NTC QSO Party <https://pi4ntc.nl/ntcqp/>
December 22
- NCCC FT4 Sprint <https://www.ncccsprint.com/ft4ns.html>
- NCCC RTTY Sprint <https://ncccsprint.com/rttyns.html>
- QRP Fox Hunt <http://www.qrpfoxhunt.org/winter_rules.htm>
- NCCC Sprint <https://ncccsprint.com/rules.html>
- K1USN Slow Speed Test <http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html>
December 23
- RAEM Contest <https://raem.srr.ru/rules/>
December 24
- CW QRS Xmas Activity <https://cwqrs.it/en/xmas-activity-2023-rules/>
December 25
- K1USN Slow Speed Test <http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html>
- QCX Challenge <http://www.qrp-labs.com/party.html>
- ICWC Medium Speed Test
<https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/>
- OK1WC Memorial (MWC)
<https://memorial-ok1wc.cz/index.php?page=rules2l>
- QCX Challenge <http://www.qrp-labs.com/party.html>
- ICWC Medium Speed Test
<https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/>
December 26
- Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest <https://wwsac.com/rules.html>
- QCX Challenge <http://www.qrp-labs.com/party.html>
- ICWC Medium Speed Test
<https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/>
- DARC Christmas Contest
<https://www.darc.de/der-club/referate/conteste/weihnachtswettbewerb/en/>
December 27
- SKCC Sprint
<https://www.skccgroup.com/operating_activities/weekday_sprint/>
- Phone Weekly Test
<http://www.perluma.com/Phone_Fray_Contest_Rules.pdf>
- A1Club AWT <https://a1club.org/contest/awt/>
- Mini-Test 40 <http://minitest.narod.ru/>
- Mini-Test 80 <http://minitest.narod.ru/>
- CWops Test (CWT) <https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/>
December 28
- CWops Test (CWT) <https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/>
December 29
- NCCC FT4 Sprint <https://www.ncccsprint.com/ft4ns.html>
- 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>
December 30
- RAC Winter Contest <https://www.rac.ca/contesting-results/>
- YOTA Contest <https://www.ham-yota.com/contest/>
- Stew Perry Topband Challenge <http://www.kkn.net/stew/>
- Original QRP Contest <http://www.qrpcc.de/contestrules/oqrpr.html>
December 31
- Bogor Old and New Contest <https://contest.orari-bogor.org/rule/>
January 1
- AGB New Year Snowball Contest <http://www.qsl.net/eu1eu/agb_nysb.htm>
- K1USN Slow Speed Test <http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html>
- SARTG New Year RTTY Contest
<http://www.sartg.com/contest/nyrules.htm>
- AGCW Happy New Year Contest
<https://www.agcw.de/contest/hnyc/hnyc-engl/>
- ICWC Medium Speed Test
<https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/>
- AGCW VHF/UHF Contest <https://www.agcw.de/contest/vhf-uhf/>
- OK1WC Memorial (MWC)
<https://memorial-ok1wc.cz/index.php?page=rules2l>
- ICWC Medium Speed Test
<https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/>
January 2
- Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest <https://wwsac.com/rules.html>
- ARS Spartan Sprint
<http://arsqrp.blogspot.com/2009/02/so-whats-spartan-sprint-and-how-do-i.html>
- ICWC Medium Speed Test
<https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/>
January 3
- 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/>
- VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest
<http://www.ft8activity.eu/index.php/en/>
- Mini-Test 40 <http://minitest.narod.ru/>
- Mini-Test 80 <http://minitest.narod.ru/>
- CWops Test (CWT) <https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/>
- UKEICC 80m Contest <https://www.ukeicc.com/80m-rules.php>
News, Press Releases, and Special Interest
The DailyDX <https://www.dailydx.com/> notes that the UK licensing
authority, Ofcom <https://www.ofcom.org.uk/>, has put forth changes to
amateur radio licensing procedures
<https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0037/272998/Statement-Updating-the-amateur-radio-licensing-framework.pdf>.
These changes will take effect over time, and were done to allow
"greater operating freedom for people using amateur radio, while making
the process of getting and using a license simpler and clearer"
according to the Ofcom document. Among the many changes, there will be
some new call sign formats, increases in permissible power levels for
all license classes, the ability for full license class amateurs to use
up to 1000 W of output power, and an expansion of the license classes
eligible to use remote operation. These changes will be phased in
starting in 2024.
The biggest solar flare in years
<https://phys.org/news/2023-12-biggest-solar-flare-years-temporarily.html>
made it more difficult to communicate via radio on December 14.
According to the Space Weather Prediction Center
<https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/alerts-watches-and-warnings>, an
X-ray event exceeding X1 caused "wide-area blackouts of HF radio
communication for about an hour" on the sunlit side of Earth. This
event was big enough to get notice by the national press, with coverage
including pictures from NASA
<https://thenationaldesk.com/news/from-the-desk/nasa-captures-footage-of-biggest-solar-flare-in-years-that-temporarily-knocked-out-radio-communication-on-earth-massive-radio-burst-nasa-solar-system-space-exploration-plasma-coronal-ejection-geomagnetic-sto
rm>.
Registration for Contest University <http://contestuniversity.com/> (to
be held May 16, 2024, at the Hope Hotel <https://www.hopehotel.com/> in
Dayton, Ohio) is now open. Now in its 15th year, this event is held the
day before the opening of the annual Hamvention
<https://hamvention.org/> and is popular enough to suggest early
registration to be able to receive the day's printed handouts.
Materials from previous years are available on the Contest University
website.
Potential summer employers of college-age amateurs: Kids these days are
using Handshake <https://joinhandshake.com/>, Indeed
<https://indeed.com/>, and LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/> to find
their summer jobs and post-school opportunities. At least one radio
gear manufacturer includes the "Amateur Radio" key phrase in their job
postings on Indeed.
The Thursday (US) evening NS RTTY Sprint sessions, sponsored by the
Northern California Contest Club, have come to an end. According to Ed
Radlo, AJ6V, posting to the CQ-Contest email reflector:
"A few months ago, the team that manages this contest, which has been
sponsored by the NCCC (Northern California Contest Club) for many
years, conducted an in-depth study at whether this half hour Thursday
night contest is still viable, given the low and declining
participation experienced over the past couple of years.
Unfortunately, since this study of a few months ago, the participation
in the RTTY NS has declined even further. Therefore, the contest
management team has come to the painful conclusion that it is time to
say farewell to the Thursday night RTTY NS, effective immediately."
Word to the Wise
You are a contender if you participate in a contest and send in a log
to be scored. Make sure you get those logs in before the log deadlines!
==> SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
Steve Babcock, VE6WZ, has added a video to his BOG tutorial, "BOG
Combining and switching in the shack <https://youtu.be/ZWTDaQIRRxY>,"
where he talks about the switching system he uses to choose between
directions and combine signals. He puts special emphasis on a
"low-impedance ground plane to minimize noise ingress."
Mel Ming, N7GCO, suggested that Contest Update readers would be
interested Bob Wilson's, N6TV, presentation to the Spokane DX
Association: "Basic Station Automation Techniques & Recommendations
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTpu0RNcsvM&ab_channel=SpokaneDXAssociation>."
==> RESULTS AND RECORDS
Andy Goss, AA5JF, is responsible for the results article on the
recently completed ARRL 10-Meter Contest. The article should appear in
mid-2024, but he needs your pictures and comments now, before the
experience fades. He's especially interested in hearing from stations
outside of "North America and North-Central Europe" and those stations
that are contending for the top spots in their respective category. If
you've already submitted comments via the log SOAPBOX line, via 3830,
or as part of the website log submission process, you are good to go.
Otherwise, send Andy an email
<amgoss05@yahoo.com?subject=ARRL%2010%20Meter%20Comments>.
Operating Tip
We've traced the RFI! It's coming from inside the house!
<https://youtu.be/v-8u7gSFqsU?t=356> Have you checked your noise floor
lately? RF interference can be horrific and negatively affect your
contest scores. Performing a periodic noise audit can help you stay on
top of things. Power a receiver from a noiseless source such as a
battery and turn everything else off in your location at your
circuit-breaker panel. Note the noise levels on each band, then turn
everything on again. If you detect a difference, it could be time to do
a thorough search for the offending radiator. Start by turning off each
breaker again until the noise abates -- that's the circuit that has the
device-making noise. Usually it's a switching power supply, but unusual
sources have included arcing filaments inside incandescent or halogen
bulbs, marginal or defective fluorescent bulbs or ballasts, arcing
thermostats, space heaters, LED lights, wall dimmers,
variable-frequency drives on furnace or A/C motors, damaged underground
feeders to outbuildings, and marginal connections where arcing is
occurring.
==> TECHNICAL TOPICS AND DISCUSSION
OM Power's new OM2002W <https://www.om-power.com/products/om2002w> is a
water-cooled LDMOS amplifier for 2 meters. OM Power's website says it's
rated at "1800 W CW, SSB, and 1600 W AM, FM, and digital modes, 50%
duty cycle," though I doubt that means one day on, one day off. It's
nice to see the application of water-cooling trickling down from
computer applications. The OM Power website does not yet list details
on US availability.
José Nunes, CT1BOH, tweeted an analysis of propagation paths from
Bouvet Island to various continents
<https://twitter.com/ct1boh/status/1734291615898886376>, based on the
island's terrain-blocking just eight degrees above the horizon. The
results are... not good for some directions, especially on higher
bands. You can also model your own location here
<https://www.voacap.com/dx/3y0k/>.
==> CONVERSATION
Out-of-Band Communications
Email spam. Text-message spam. Phone-call spam. We all get it to
varying degrees, but how we handle it determines whether it gets the
better of us. One member of a group chat was recently considering
removing their email address from a popular call sign lookup database
after they started to get spam emails for a non-ham-related business.
They suspected that their email was gleaned from that online listing. I
was encouraging them not to remove their email address. Being reachable
via email is worth the inconvenience of deleting some unwanted messages
because:
- If you're active and do any type of DXing or contesting, operators
can email you if there are any issues with QSLs, signal quality, or in
response to a DX cluster spot.
- Members of DXing or contesting email groups may have to handle the
communications for you, when everyone in the group gets a message like,
"Anyone know how to contact N9ADG? He has no email listed on
www.qrz.com..." Unfortunately, hundreds of people may have to read that
message.
Furthermore, it was unlikely that the email address was actually
gleaned from the ham-related database. It was more likely to have been
released as part of a data breach (check to see if your email address
has been part of a known breach at https://haveibeenpwned.com/).
Many email providers do a reasonable job at spam filtering (but yes,
some do not). An example of such a provider is Google's Gmail, but
there are others. I use a Gmail address for public group interactions
and some ham contact databases, and then use some techniques
<https://gmail.googleblog.com/2008/03/2-hidden-ways-to-get-more-from-your.html>
to automatically direct email into different folders and track email
address usage.
With this one simple trick, I keep the utility of email, and spam stays
manageable.
That's all for this time. Remember to send contesting-related video
links, stories, book reviews, tips, techniques, press releases, errata,
schematics, club information, pictures, stories, blog links, and
predictions to contest-update@arrl.org.
73 and Happy Holidays! Brian, N9ADG (filling in temporarily for Paul,
N1SFE)
==> CONTESTS
December 21 - January 3
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/>,
Dec 21, 0000z to Dec 22, 0300z; CW; Bands: 20; Maximum 13 wpm, RST +
(state/province/country) + Name + (Member No./power); Logs due: Dec 28.
CWops Test (CWT) <https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/>, Dec 21, 0300z to
Dec 21, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name +
Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs
due: Dec 23.
CWops Test (CWT) <https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/>, Dec 21, 0700z to
Dec 21, 0800z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name +
Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs
due: Dec 23.
NTC QSO Party <https://pi4ntc.nl/ntcqp/>, Dec 21, 1900z to Dec 21,
2000z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20; NTC Member: RST + Member No., non-Member:
RST + "NM", Less than 25 wpm; Logs due: Dec 24.
NCCC FT4 Sprint <https://www.ncccsprint.com/ft4ns.html>, Dec 22, 0100z
to Dec 22, 0130z; FT4; Bands: (see rules); 4-character grid square;
Logs due: Dec 24.
NCCC RTTY Sprint <https://ncccsprint.com/rttyns.html>, Dec 22, 0145z
to Dec 22, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH;
Logs due: Dec 24.
QRP Fox Hunt <http://www.qrpfoxhunt.org/winter_rules.htm>, Dec 22,
0200z to Dec 22, 0330z; CW; Bands: 20; RST + (state/province/country) +
name + power output; Logs due: Dec 23.
NCCC Sprint <https://ncccsprint.com/rules.html>, Dec 22, 0230z to Dec
22, 0300z; CW; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due:
Dec 24.
K1USN Slow Speed Test <http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html>, Dec 22, 2000z
to Dec 22, 2100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm,
Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Dec 24.
RAEM Contest <https://raem.srr.ru/rules/>, Dec 23, 0000z to Dec 23,
1159z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Serial No. + latitude (degs only)
+ hemisphere + longitude (degs only) + hemisphere (see rules), N=North,
S=South, W=West, O=East (e.g. 57N 85O); Logs due: Jan 6.
CW QRS Xmas Activity <https://cwqrs.it/en/xmas-activity-2023-rules/>,
Dec 24, 0000z to Dec 31, 2359z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST
+ Name + QTH; Logs due: Jan 7.
K1USN Slow Speed Test <http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html>, Dec 25, 0000z
to Dec 25, 0100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm,
Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Dec 27.
QCX Challenge <http://www.qrp-labs.com/party.html>, Dec 25, 1300z to
Dec 25, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST + Name +
(state/province/country) + Rig; Logs due: Dec 31.
ICWC Medium Speed Test
<https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/>, Dec 25, 1300z to Dec
25, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs
due: Dec 28.
OK1WC Memorial (MWC)
<https://memorial-ok1wc.cz/index.php?page=rules2l>, Dec 25, 1630z to
Dec 25, 1729z; CW; Bands: 80, 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Dec 29.
QCX Challenge <http://www.qrp-labs.com/party.html>, Dec 25, 1900z to
Dec 25, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST + Name +
(state/province/country) + Rig; Logs due: Dec 31.
ICWC Medium Speed Test
<https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/>, Dec 25, 1900z to Dec
25, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs
due: Dec 28.
Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest <https://wwsac.com/rules.html>,
Dec 26, 0100z to Dec 26, 0159z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6;
RS + age group (OM, YL, Youth YL or Youth); Logs due: Dec 27.
QCX Challenge <http://www.qrp-labs.com/party.html>, Dec 26, 0300z to
Dec 26, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST + Name +
(state/province/country) + Rig; Logs due: Dec 31.
ICWC Medium Speed Test
<https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/>, Dec 26, 0300z to Dec
26, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs
due: Dec 28.
DARC Christmas Contest
<https://www.darc.de/der-club/referate/conteste/weihnachtswettbewerb/en/>,
Dec 26, 0830z to Dec 26, 1059z; CW, SSB; Bands: 80, 40; DL: RS(T) + DOK
(or "NM" if not a DARC member), non-DL: RS(T) + QSO No.; Logs due: Jan
2.
SKCC Sprint
<https://www.skccgroup.com/operating_activities/weekday_sprint/>, Dec
27, 0000z to Dec 27, 0200z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6; RST
+ (state/province/country) + Name + (SKCC No./"NONE"); Logs due: Dec
31.
Phone Weekly Test
<http://www.perluma.com/Phone_Fray_Contest_Rules.pdf>, Dec 27, 0230z to
Dec 27, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15; NA: Name +
(state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: Dec 29.
A1Club AWT <https://a1club.org/contest/awt/>, Dec 27, 1200z to Dec 27,
1300z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: RST + Name; Logs
due: Jan 1.
CWops Test (CWT) <https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/>, Dec 27, 1300z to
Dec 27, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name +
Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs
due: Dec 30.
Mini-Test 40 <http://minitest.narod.ru/>, Dec 27, 1700z to Dec 27,
1759z; CW; Bands: 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Dec 29.
Mini-Test 80 <http://minitest.narod.ru/>, Dec 27, 1800z to Dec 27,
1859z; CW; Bands: 80; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Dec 29.
CWops Test (CWT) <https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/>, Dec 27, 1900z to
Dec 27, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name +
Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs
due: Dec 30.
CWops Test (CWT) <https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/>, Dec 28, 0300z to
Dec 28, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name +
Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs
due: Dec 30.
CWops Test (CWT) <https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/>, Dec 28, 0700z to
Dec 28, 0800z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name +
Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs
due: Dec 30.
NCCC FT4 Sprint <https://www.ncccsprint.com/ft4ns.html>, Dec 29, 0100z
to Dec 29, 0130z; FT4; Bands: (see rules); 4-character grid square;
Logs due: Dec 31.
NCCC RTTY Sprint <https://ncccsprint.com/rttyns.html>, Dec 29, 0145z
to Dec 29, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH;
Logs due: Dec 31.
NCCC Sprint <https://ncccsprint.com/rules.html>, Dec 29, 0230z to Dec
29, 0300z; CW; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due:
Dec 31.
K1USN Slow Speed Test <http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html>, Dec 29, 2000z
to Dec 29, 2100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm,
Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Dec 31.
RAC Winter Contest <https://www.rac.ca/contesting-results/>, Dec 30,
0000z to Dec 30, 2359z; CW, Phone; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6,
2; VE: RS(T) + (province/territory), non-VE and VE0: RS(T) + Serial
No.; Logs due: Jan 13.
YOTA Contest <https://www.ham-yota.com/contest/>, Dec 30, 1200z to Dec
30, 2359z; CW, SSB; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Single Op: RS(T) + age
(on Jan 1 of year of contest), Multi-Op: RS(T) + average age of ops (on
Jan 1 of year of contest); Logs due: Jan 6.
Stew Perry Topband Challenge <http://www.kkn.net/stew/>, Dec 30, 1500z
to Dec 31, 1500z; CW; Bands: 160; 4-Character grid square; Logs due:
Jan 15.
Original QRP Contest <http://www.qrpcc.de/contestrules/oqrpr.html>,
Dec 30, 1500z to Dec 31, 1500z; CW, SSB; Bands: 80, 40, 20; RST +
Serial No. + "/" + Power category; Logs due: Jan 31.
Bogor Old and New Contest <https://contest.orari-bogor.org/rule/>, Dec
31, 0900z to Dec 31, 2359z; SSB; Bands: 80, 40, 10; RS + operator age;
Logs due: Jan 31.
AGB New Year Snowball Contest <http://www.qsl.net/eu1eu/agb_nysb.htm>,
Jan 1, 0000z to Jan 1, 0100z; CW, SSB, Digital; Bands: 80; AGB Member:
RST + QSO No. + Member No., non-Member: RST + QSO No.; Logs due: Jan
22.
K1USN Slow Speed Test <http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html>, Jan 1, 0000z to
Jan 1, 0100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm, Name
+ (state/province/country); Logs due: Jan 3.
SARTG New Year RTTY Contest
<http://www.sartg.com/contest/nyrules.htm>, Jan 1, 0800z to Jan 1,
1100z; RTTY; Bands: 80, 40; RST + QSO No. + name + happy new year
(native language); Logs due: Jan 31.
AGCW Happy New Year Contest
<https://www.agcw.de/contest/hnyc/hnyc-engl/>, Jan 1, 0900z to Jan 1,
1200z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20; AGCW: RST + Serial No. + "/" + Member
No., non-AGCW: RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Jan 14.
ICWC Medium Speed Test
<https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/>, Jan 1, 1300z to Jan
1, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due:
Jan 4.
OK1WC Memorial (MWC)
<https://memorial-ok1wc.cz/index.php?page=rules2l>, Jan 1, 1630z to Jan
1, 1729z; CW; Bands: 80, 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Jan 5.
ICWC Medium Speed Test
<https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/>, Jan 1, 1900z to Jan
1, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due:
Jan 4.
Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest <https://wwsac.com/rules.html>,
Jan 2, 0100z to Jan 2, 0159z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6;
RS + age group (OM, YL, Youth YL or Youth); Logs due: Jan 3.
ARS Spartan Sprint
<http://arsqrp.blogspot.com/2009/02/so-whats-spartan-sprint-and-how-do-i.html>,
Jan 2, 0200z to Jan 2, 0400z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST +
(state/province/country) + Power; Logs due: Jan 4.
ICWC Medium Speed Test
<https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/>, Jan 2, 0300z to Jan
2, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due:
Jan 4.
QRP Fox Hunt <http://www.qrpfoxhunt.org/winter_rules.htm>, Jan 3,
0200z to Jan 3, 0330z; CW; Bands: 20; RST + (state/province/country) +
name + power output; Logs due: Jan 4.
Phone Weekly Test
<http://www.perluma.com/Phone_Fray_Contest_Rules.pdf>, Jan 3, 0230z to
Jan 3, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15; NA: Name +
(state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: Jan 5.
A1Club AWT <https://a1club.org/contest/awt/>, Jan 3, 1200z to Jan 3,
1300z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: RST + Name; Logs
due: Jan 8.
CWops Test (CWT) <https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/>, Jan 3, 1300z to Jan
3, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member
No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Jan
6.
Mini-Test 40 <http://minitest.narod.ru/>, Jan 3, 1700z to Jan 3,
1759z; CW; Bands: 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Jan 5.
Mini-Test 80 <http://minitest.narod.ru/>, Jan 3, 1800z to Jan 3,
1859z; CW; Bands: 80; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Jan 5.
CWops Test (CWT) <https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/>, Jan 3, 1900z to Jan
3, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member
No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: Jan
6.
UKEICC 80m Contest <https://www.ukeicc.com/80m-rules.php>, Jan 3,
2000z to Jan 3, 2100z; SSB; Bands: 80; 6-Character grid square; Logs
due: Jan 3.
VHF+ CONTESTS
AGCW VHF/UHF Contest <https://www.agcw.de/contest/vhf-uhf/>, Jan 1,
1400z to Jan 1, 1800z; CW; Bands: 144 MHz, 432 MHz; RST + "/" + Serial
No. + "/" Power class + "/" + 6-character grid locator; Logs due: Jan
9.
VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest
<http://www.ft8activity.eu/index.php/en/>, Jan 3, 1700z to Jan 3,
2100z; FT8; Bands: 144 MHz; 4-character grid square; Logs due: Jan 8.
==> LOG DUE DATES
December 21 - January 3
December 21
- NRAU 10m Activity Contest
<https://nrau.net/nrau-contests-in-general/>
- QRP Fox Hunt <http://www.qrpfoxhunt.org/winter_rules.htm>
- ICWC Medium Speed Test
<https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/>
December 22
- Mini-Test 40 <http://minitest.narod.ru/>
- Mini-Test 80 <http://minitest.narod.ru/>
- Phone Weekly Test
<http://www.perluma.com/Phone_Fray_Contest_Rules.pdf>
- OK1WC Memorial (MWC)
<https://memorial-ok1wc.cz/index.php?page=rules2l>
December 23
- QRP ARCI Holiday Spirits Sprint
<http://qrparci.org/contest/holiday-spirit-sprint>
- OK DX RTTY Contest <http://okrtty.crk.cz/index.php?page=english>
- Run for the Bacon QRP Contest <http://qrpcontest.com/pigrun/>
- QRP Fox Hunt <http://www.qrpfoxhunt.org/winter_rules.htm>
- CWops Test (CWT) <https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/>
- NAQCC CW Sprint <http://naqcc.info/sprint_rules.html>
December 24
- NCCC Sprint <https://ncccsprint.com/rules.html>
- NCCC RTTY Sprint <https://ncccsprint.com/rttyns.html>
- NTC QSO Party <https://pi4ntc.nl/ntcqp/>
- NCCC FT4 Sprint <https://www.ncccsprint.com/ft4ns.html>
- K1USN Slow Speed Test <http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html>
December 25
- Croatian DX Contest <https://www.hamradio.hr/9a-dx-contest/>
- A1Club AWT <https://a1club.org/contest/awt/>
- VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest
<http://www.ft8activity.eu/index.php/en/>
December 26
- ARRL EME Contest <https://www.arrl.org/eme-contest>
December 27
- Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest <https://wwsac.com/rules.html>
- K1USN Slow Speed Test <http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html>
December 28
- Walk for the Bacon QRP Contest <https://qrpcontest.com/pigwalk20/>
- ICWC Medium Speed Test
<https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/>
December 29
- INORC Contest
<https://www.inorc.it/wp/2023/09/12/xlii-contest-i-n-o-r-c-memorial-sauro-tonelli-iz1cla/>
- Mini-Test 40 <http://minitest.narod.ru/>
- Mini-Test 80 <http://minitest.narod.ru/>
- Phone Weekly Test
<http://www.perluma.com/Phone_Fray_Contest_Rules.pdf>
- OK1WC Memorial (MWC)
<https://memorial-ok1wc.cz/index.php?page=rules2l>
December 30
- CWops Test (CWT) <https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/>
- Russian 160-Meter Contest <https://www.topband.ru/en>
December 31
- NCCC Sprint <https://ncccsprint.com/rules.html>
- International Naval Contest
<https://www.marinefreunde.com/eng/inc.html>
- NCCC RTTY Sprint <https://ncccsprint.com/rttyns.html>
- NCCC FT4 Sprint <https://www.ncccsprint.com/ft4ns.html>
- QCX Challenge <http://www.qrp-labs.com/party.html>
- K1USN Slow Speed Test <http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html>
- SKCC Sprint
<https://www.skccgroup.com/operating_activities/weekday_sprint/>
January 1
- A1Club AWT <https://a1club.org/contest/awt/>
January 2
- DARC Christmas Contest
<https://www.darc.de/der-club/referate/conteste/weihnachtswettbewerb/en/>
January 3
- Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest <https://wwsac.com/rules.html>
- UKEICC 80m Contest <https://www.ukeicc.com/80m-rules.php>
- K1USN Slow Speed Test <http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html>
==> ARRL INFORMATION
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==> ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ARRL Contest Update wishes to acknowledge information from WA7BNM's
Contest Calendar <http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal>.
The ARRL Contest Update is published every other Wednesday (26 times
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