Category Archives: ARRL 10M Contest

Information concering the ARRL 10M Contest

T minus 22.5 hours and counting…

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Until what you say? Why this weekend’s 10 meter contest – that’s what!

Will you represent HCRA in this contest, score 100K points and win a $10 DD gift card for your efforts? Or will you do something boring like go shopping? The choice is in your hands but only YOU can make the choice.

There’s been a lot of chatter about the contest to date and I don’t want to repeat what’s already been posted. Not sure what I’m talking about, then click here and here to learn more. Besides getting on the air, operating and having fun there’s a few important things to remember. In order of importance they could be:

1. Your shack must be able to be QRV (on the air) on 10 meters? (don’t worry, if you don’t have an HF setup we’ve got you covered – just keep reading)
2. Have a Novice (remember those), Technician class license or above. (that’s everyone!)
3. Be familiar with the ‘rules of the game’. They can be found here.
4. Send in your log (read the rules) and don’t forget to put “Hampden County Radio Association” in the club field of your entry. (you must also be a member of HCRA).
5. Contact either Matt/W1MSW or myself if you have any questions – we’re here to help.

That’s all there is to it. The contest starts at 7:00 PM Friday evening (0000Z December 8th) and ends at 7:00 PM Sunday evening (0000Z December 10th). A possible 48 hours of fun but because it is 10 meters you’ll have time to sleep in between – it is unusual for the band to be open past midnight.

But wait, I don’t have an HF station, or I’m not sure how to operate, or….

That’s OK. There’s at least one shack open to our members for guest operation this weekend. Come on over to the KK1W station and we will get you on the air. Phone or CW, we can do both. A decent radio, good antenna, KW amplifier and comfortable shack will make it fun. We’ll be operating under our club call, WB1Z and will be QRV for the entire contest. Ed/KB1NWH and Frandy/N1FJ have signed on but we need more. More ops, more company, more BS – it all means more fun!

Please call or email me ahead of time so I can be prepared for the rush. I guarantee you’ll have a good time and hopefully learn something about contest and/or HF operation at the same time. See you this weekend!

’73…
Jim/KK1W

ARRL 10 Meter Contest Tutorial

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Adapted from Jim – KK1W’s tutorial from the original HCRA website

The ARRL Ten Meter Contest starts Friday, December 7th at 7:00PM local time. If you have a chance to get on I hope you make a few contacts.

The fun part of this contest is you can play and send in your own personal score as well as participate as a club. All you need to do is put ‘Hampden County Radio Association’ in the club line on your entry form. You get your score and the club score is the combination of everyone that sends in a log with HCRA identified.

Are you new to contesting and want to give it a try? This is the perfect contest for starting out. The band is not crowded, the pace is relatively slow and it’s unlikely the band will be open for more than 10 to 12 hours out of the possible 48 hours. So now we know it won’t be stressful, let’s see how easy it is.

First off, it is worth a glance at the rules.  Click here for the latest rules and take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with them.  It’s not complicated, but can be a bit daunting when you first look at them.

Now that you’ve read them, lets see how easy it actually is. The whole idea is to work (talk to) as many different stations as possible on the 10 meter band. You get points for each station, each state (or country) and each mode (CW or phone). When all is said and done you add up all your QSO points (1 for phone contacts, 2 for CW), add up your states & countries and multiply them. That’s your score. There are additional QSO points for different power levels and station types. I’m guessing most of us will be operating low power (up to 100 watts), and as a single operator. The contest runs for 48 hours, starting at 7:00 PM Friday evening and ending at 7:00 PM Sunday evening.

Where to operate? Most of the activity will be on phone, between 28.300 and 28.500 MHz. If the band gets really busy and crowded activity will creep higher than 28.500. If you want to take a stab at CW then look between 28.000 and 28.060.

Who do you talk to and what to you say? The best way to start is to tune your rig to 28.300 and start tuning slowly upward. You will probably come across some loud stations calling CQ. These are the dedicated contesters and the best ones to make your first contacts as they have good stations and are competent operators. Here’s an example of what your first QSO might sound like:

Sending station: CQ CQ CQ, this is K1KI calling CQ contest, CQ CQ CQ contest, QRZ

You transmit your call: KK1W

Sending station: KK1W you are 59, CT (charlie tango)

You transmit: K1KI you are 59, MA (mike alpha).

Sending station: Thanks!, QRZ contest…

And then the next station calls K1KI

That is the exchange. Signal strength (always 59!) and your state (DX stations will send a serial number). If you’re not sure of the state be sure you ask the station to repeat so you don’t make a mistake. That’s all there is to it, write it down in your log and start tuning for the next station. Remember as you go up in the band if you are a Technician you can only go as high as 28.500!

As you log more contacts, especially if the band is busy, it gets more difficult to remember if you have worked a station before.  You can manually keep a ‘dupe sheet’ or resort to using a logging program on your computer.  There are many out there, but a really good one (and free too) is N1MM logger.  Take a look at: www.n1mm.com. Using a logging program makes the contest fun and easy, and really takes the sting out of submitting your log when the contest is over.  you can export your log to a ‘Cabrillo’ file and simply email it to ARRL when you’re done.  For some people using a contest logger can be addictive, kind of like a video game.

So that’s it – not hard, lots of fun and a good way to spend time this weekend. You really didn’t want to go out and shovel snow or go to the mall, did you?

So have fun, send in your log when you’re done and don’t forget to put ‘Hampden County Radio Association’ in the club field when you’re done.  Oh, and please send Matt – W1MSW a copy of your score so we can post it on the HCRA website too.  If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to drop an email to Matt – w1msw (at) arrl (dot) net.

Don’t forget, its all about the fun!

OPERATING TIP

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OPERATING TIP

CQ WW RTTY Director, Ed WØYK, shares the log submission issues experienced by all contest sponsors. “It is apparent that many people do not read the robot email reply they receive. At the bottom of that email, the robot lists the format errors in the log. If you don’t understand what the robot is telling you, then simply compare that specific QSO line with the format specified on the Logs web page. The problem should be obvious.

“Major logging programs like Win-Test, N1MM Logger and WriteLog all create compliant Cabrillo files … IF you enter your data correctly. For example, if you enter your sent exchange as ‘CA 03′ in N1MM Logger (which is backwards from the required order for CQ WW RTTY), it will come out in that (incorrect) order in the Cabrillo file.

“You can easily edit your Cabrillo file with a text editor. Since is it common to add, change or move the same parameter field in every QSO line, a column editor is invaluable. I recommend the freeware Crimson Editor.”

So read that robot message! If it tells you there is something wrong with your log – do something about it and resubmit it. Double- and triple-check your operating category and all of the information for your station. Once you have a happy robot and you are a happy log submitter – save the confirming message in an easy-to-find location. My email software has a folder named “Contest Log Submissions” for all of my log submission confirmation messages. It’s easy and helps avoid the dreaded “forgot to send in my log” disease.