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Contesting 101
Presentation toThe Great Lakes Division Symposium September 12, 2009By Dave Pruett, K8CC
Dave Pruett, K8CC
Amateur since 1969 Contesting since 1971 Great Lakes Division Representative to
the ARRL Contest Advisory Committee Volunteer ARRL Contest Log Checker
for the ARRL 160M and 10M Contests Former editor of the National Contest
Journal (NCJ) Chairman of the Michigan QSO Party
What Is A Contest?
An on-air operating event with pre-determined rules, where amateur stations achieve a score through completing contacts with each other, exchanging information dictated by the contest rules.
Examples: Field Day, SS, OhQP, etc.Examples: Field Day, SS, OhQP, etc.
Why participate in a contest?
It’s fun!
Make contacts for awards
Sense of achievement from seeing your callsign in the published results
Make a lot of contacts in a short period of time
To compete!
Why participate in a contest?
Improve personal operating skills
Become familiar with propagation
Reason to improve your station
Prove out your station and become familiar with it’s capabilities
Comraderie with fellow contesters
When do contests occur?
In general, contests occur the same weekend every year, which helps when planning your participation.
The WA7BNM Contest Calendar:
www.hornucopia.com/contestcal
Who may participate in a contest?
In most contests, all stations are welcome to join in. (In a few contests, only members of the sponsoring organization may participate).
No pre-registration required
No problem if you decide not to submit an entry to the contest sponsor
How does someone participate in a contest?
Get on the air and work other stations according to the contest rules
Submit an entry to the contest organizers (optional)
Enjoy the published results (optional)
Does my station need anything special to
participate in a contest?
Nothing special is needed – any station capable of making on-the-air
contacts is perfectly ready to participate in a contest
Your station can be simple
Or your station can be complex
How are contests scored?
Score = Contact Points x “Multiplier”
Each contact receives a point value based on contest rules
The “multiplier” is usually the number of geographic entities contacted, sometimes counted separately by band or mode as defined by contest rules
Scoring Example: OhQP
OhQP counts 2 points for each CW QSO and 1 point for each phone QSO
OhQP counts multipliers separately by mode
CW: 50 contacts, 25 multipliersPhone: 100 contacts, 40 multipliers
Score = (50 x 2 + 100 x 1) x (25 + 40)
13,000 points
How to get started in contesting
JUST DO IT! Don’t be afraid to jump in
Many hams get their first exposure to contest-style operating during ARRL Field Day
Domestic contests like the ARRL Sweepstakes or state QSO parties are also good opportunities for first-time contesters
How to enter a contest
In general, the entrant must provide the contest sponsors with:
A log of all contacts claimed
A summary of information about their entry
In some cases a list of claimed multipliers and a duplicate QSO check sheets may be required
How to enter a contest
In most cases, the entry can be either physical “paper” documents or an “electronic” log file. The requirements for submitting may be different for each type.
A paper log must be mailed to the contest sponsors, while the electronic file may be sent via e-mail.
Paper Entry Examples
Log Sheet Summary Sheet
Paper Entry Examples
Multiplier Check Sheet Duplicate Check Sheet
Computer Logging
Cabrillo Electronic Log File
START-OF-LOG:START-OF-LOG: 2.02.0CREATED-BY:CREATED-BY: NA Version 10.65NA Version 10.65CONTEST:CONTEST: ARRL-FIELD-DAYARRL-FIELD-DAYCALLSIGN:CALLSIGN: K8MADK8MADARRL-SECTION:ARRL-SECTION: MIMI OPERATORS:OPERATORS: K8CC, K8MR, K8RM, K9NW, KU8E, W8AJK8CC, K8MR, K8RM, K9NW, KU8E, W8AJCATEGORY:CATEGORY: MULTI-ONE ALL LOWMULTI-ONE ALL LOW CLAIMED-SCORE:CLAIMED-SCORE: 97829782CLUB:CLUB: Mad River Radio ClubMad River Radio ClubSOAPBOX:SOAPBOX: Severe rainstorm ripped open the tentSevere rainstorm ripped open the tentNAME:NAME: David A. Pruett, K8CCDavid A. Pruett, K8CCADDRESS:ADDRESS: 2727 Harris Road2727 Harris RoadADDRESS:ADDRESS: Ypsilanti, MI 48198 USAYpsilanti, MI 48198 USAQSO:QSO: 7044 CW 2001-06-23 1802 K8MAD 2A OH W9UUU 4A IN 7044 CW 2001-06-23 1802 K8MAD 2A OH W9UUU 4A IN QSO:QSO: 7044 CW 2001-06-23 1803 K8MAD 2A OH W8RS 1A MI 7044 CW 2001-06-23 1803 K8MAD 2A OH W8RS 1A MI QSO:QSO: 14016 CW 2001-06-23 1804 K8MAD 2A OH W6UW 1A SCV 14016 CW 2001-06-23 1804 K8MAD 2A OH W6UW 1A SCVQSO:QSO: 7044 CW 2001-06-23 1805 K8MAD 2A OH W3BTN 3A EPA 7044 CW 2001-06-23 1805 K8MAD 2A OH W3BTN 3A EPAQSO:QSO: 7044 CW 2001-06-23 1805 K8MAD 2A OH K8TKA 5A OH 7044 CW 2001-06-23 1805 K8MAD 2A OH K8TKA 5A OH QSO:QSO: 50 PH 2001-06-23 1805 K8MAD 2A OH W8DXA 2A OH 50 PH 2001-06-23 1805 K8MAD 2A OH W8DXA 2A OH QSO:QSO: 7044 CW 2001-06-23 1806 K8MAD 2A OH W8ZPF 2A OH 7044 CW 2001-06-23 1806 K8MAD 2A OH W8ZPF 2A OH QSO:QSO: 7044 CW 2001-06-23 1806 K8MAD 2A OH KN1DX 1D VA 7044 CW 2001-06-23 1806 K8MAD 2A OH KN1DX 1D VA END-OF-LOG:END-OF-LOG:
Contest Logging Programs
CT by K1EA www.k1ea.com NA by K8CC www.datomonline.com TR Log by N6TR www.trlog.com WriteLog www.writelog.com N1MM Logger
www.pages.cthome.net/n1mm WinTest www.win-test.com SD by EI5DI www.ei5di.com N3FJP Contest Log www.n3fjp.com
Multi-Operator Contesting
A multi-operator station is where several operators join together to operate in a contest as a single entry
All contacts are made under a single callsign
Depending on contest rules, the team may operate one radio (single-transmitter) or multiple radios (multi-transmitter)
The final score is calculated from all contacts made
Club Competition
Many contests have a “Club Competition”, where club member’s scores are added together as a total attributed to the club. The club with the most points wins.
The club competition score does not affect the members individual scores for competition, awards, etc.
Club Competition Example
Eight scores for the 2008 MI QSO Party had Blossomland ARA listed
as their club:
The Blossomland ARA Club Competition score
is 296,731
Blossomland ARA Logs
N8SS 240,684K9RON 25,317KX8D 14,775W8BYC 5,100KF8Z 3,698KD8GRG 3,626N8KBG 3,432KC8YEJ 99Total 296,731
Blossomland ARA Logs
N8SS 240,684K9RON 25,317KX8D 14,775W8BYC 5,100KF8Z 3,698KD8GRG 3,626N8KBG 3,432KC8YEJ 99Total 296,731
All entries were also scored individually in their respective categories
Contesting 101
Questions?