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CQWW WPX SSB ‘test is this weekend Mar 30-31!

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The CQWW WPX Contests have grown in recent years to become some of the most popular worldwide contests.  The  48 hour SSB version takes place this weekend and the bands will be full of domestic and international stations.  Unlike ARRL DX and CQWW DX the WPX contests also provide points for domestic contacts so other U.S. stations can be worked for points (and their many prefixes counted) by us.

See the rules at the CQWW WPX website for the *many* operating categories (by power, assisted or unassisted, single band or all-band, single op or multi-op… and the ‘tribander/wires’ as well as ‘Rookie’ {licensed 3 yrs or less} overlay categories!) , scoring details (more points for low band contacts on 40, 80 and 160m) etc.  Note: Off-times must be a full 60 mins, logs are due NLT 5 days after the contest, and LP output pwr is 100 watts amongst other contest-specific rules… go to:   www.cqwpx.com

Callsign prefixes are the sole multiplier — so many rare and unusual calls will be heard, provide an abundance of contest multipliers throughout the weekend and help contribute to an exponentially growing final scoring total which makes for a lot of fun.  The many available prefixes also count towards the various WPX awards available through CQ magazine and which are now  tracked as part of ARRL’s Logbook of the World  electronic QSL tracking system.

The solar flux is expected to slowly increase thru this weekend and lowband conditions should improve as the geomagnetic indices decrease each night.

A record 5300 + logs were submitted for the 2012 CQWW WPX event and well over 1700 unique prefixes were available so the HF bands WILL be busy this weekend.  So check that microphone out, verify your logging software is up-to-date and then make some QSOs this Saturday and Sunday.

Good luck in the contest…73,  Bill  W1WBB

 

Latest results – 2012 IARU HF Championship and ARRL SS CW are out

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Latest results for these two major HF contests have just been published and can be found here:   www.arrl.org/contest-results-articles    Just click on the contest of interest.

Ken K3IU and I helped keep RI just out of the Top Ten Most Rare sections on CW in Sweepstakes this past year.  Activity was strong locally in SS SSB and those results are pending.  GL to those playing in the ARRL VHF contest and NAQP SSB this weekend.

73,  Bill  W1WBB

 

 

ARRL LoTW …significant program update

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Members at November’s club meeting will recall how we discussed the problems that ARRL’s Logbook of The World was having related to lost electronic log uploads and extended processing delays as well as a lack of ‘customer feedback’ and transparency.  It appears that the problems have gotten the attention of HQ ‘higher ups’ resulting in a recent LoTW update letter on the ARRL website directly from CEO Dave Sumner K1ZZ.

His initial letter around the beginning of December acknowledged some of the difficulties LoTW was having and provided some info as to when initial repairs would be complete, allowing logs to again be processed.  Logs *are* again being processed as of December 3 but the delay to get your log processed has grown to 9+ days presently!  Plans are in for hardware upgrades to be implemented within 8 weeks.

ARRL has now provided a new web link with *daily* updated LoTW info.  Details on that AND the newly created LoTW *hourly* log processing Queue update page can be found here:  http://www.arrl.org/news/logbook-of-the-world-web-page-now-features-daily-and-hourly-status-updates

The specific newly-created Logbook Queue Status page link is here:  http://www.arrl.org/logbook-queue-status

The November LoTW shutdowns has caused the many major Fall contest log files to accumulate or be re-sent by users unsure if LoTW ever rcvd/processed their file(s) thereby causing additional back-up/delays.

For those using LoTW… 1) First ensure you know/have documented the exact date/time (UTC) that you uploaded your log or logs to LoTW.  2) You can then check the Queue Status Page as to how long it will be until your log is actually processed (presently over 9 days).  Caution: DO NOT re-send logs until you KNOW the log processing time has been exceeded AND that you have double checked your upload times (Zulu not local) AND (*important*) verified whether or not your own LoTW account status page shows the log as processed.  Questions can be e-mailed to the LoTW ‘help-desk’ as well.

My Sweepstakes logs and my general DX log file (Nov. QSOs) were uploaded late Dec 3 to LoTW and were all processed mid-day today so the system is slowly chugging along.  (Nice to see multiple QSOs from NH8S & PT0S show up).   Many many big contest logs  still to go (CQWW DX CW, ARRL 160m, & ARRL 10m) but the lack of major events now through Jan 1 should help the processing rate significantly…although many folks will be forwarding end-of-year DX logs as well.

Those wanting to wade deeper into the weeds on this can try checking out the LoTW Yahoo discussion group!  Weblink here:   http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ARRL-LOTW/

Bill  W1WBB

2012 ARRL 160m Contest *Post scores here*

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Topband contesters can post their claimed scores for this year’s event here.  Conditions domestically were quite good (very quiet conditions here each night – low background noise and lack of storm QRN – but particularly Friday eve).  DX certainly seemed harder to come by and less numerous than in past number of years due to poor long range signal strengths and few non-US/VE participants (ie. not really a DX ‘test)…this event appears to remain the ‘Sweepstakes of Topband! 

CQWW DX SSB Contest info

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I highly encourage folks planning on doing any operating in this weekend’s CQWW DX SSB to check out the newly and completely revamped CQWW DX Contest website.   With a number of rule changes and clarifications this year it is worth a look.

Included are links to a recorded webinar from this past weekend by new contest director K5ZD, a new blog link with a cool world map of last year’s worldwide activity, a database of last year’s scores, a detailed FAQ page, a link to the expected contest DXpedition stations (from NG3K website), and more…all can be found here:  http://www.cqww.com/

A brief look at the webinar showed that expected band conditions this weeekend should remain quite good.  The 48-hour event starts Friday eve at 0000Z (8 pm local) and ends Sunday at 2359Z.

Most important change is a 5-day log submission deadline (with new recommended log check/submission area direct at website)…log due NLT the following Friday by 2359Z.

73 and have fun with the mics…Bill  W1WBB

outstanding HF band condx now!

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Propagation on the HF bands has been *great* these past 24 hrs…best I’ve heard in some time.  JAs loud on 10m and 12m this eve and yesterday.  Europe very loud on 10/12/15m today.  China and XX9 DXped heard longpath on 10m this morn not long after our S/R; so was the T30 DXped heard LP (beaming east!) into W. Pac. this A.M.

3B9SP on Rodriguez Is. (DXped) in Indian Ocean has been *loud* here.   3B9, T30, 5W1, FK8, C5 among a few of the rarer ones in the log with 100w and the Hexbeam here…and I’ve been out much of today.

With the solar flux just above 150, sunspot # about 110 and geomagnetic condx quiet expect more very good worldwide condx tonight/tomorrow at least.  Good luck and good DX!

 

73,  Bill  W1WBB

2011-2012 CTRI CG Intra-Club Champions announcement

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Belated big congratulations to club members Rick KI1G and Jim KS1J for winning their respective operating categories (Rick – High Power; Jim – Low Power) *overwhelmingly* in this past contest season’s CTRI CG Intra-Club Championship (2011-2012).  Rick recorded an astounding 28.49 million points with Jim achieving just under 10M points (at 9.54M), by far the two highest totals for club members this past season.  Well done to these two gifted ops and their fine stations!

No club member got real serious about operating QRP in the contests of 2011-12 (min. of 5 designated QRP contest entries) so no winner for that award.  Competitive ‘flea power’ ops for 2012-13…now’s your chance.  The club’s Tenderfoot award for a deserving ‘rookie’  contester also remains available for a club member demonstrating a serious interest in contesting but one who is very new to the world of radiosport – no minimum # of contest entries required.

Special mention to John W1AN whose  excellent station (W1AN/W1DX) appeared in 18 designated contest events (by far the most entries), including numerous multi-ops hosted in fine fashion by he and his wife Nancy W1NAN.  FB and TNX John!  He and 9 other club members exceeded the individual 2M points mark during contest season 2011-12 with the total club aggregate exceeding 74M.  That’s alot of QSOs!

Special thanks to Ken K3IU who so ably maintains our club member contest scores on the ‘Leaderboard’.  Final totals for the 2011-12 season can be found at Ken’s recent post here:  http://ctri.club/2012/08/08/ctri-champions-leaderboard-final-2012/

So…the new season is NOW upon us!  The first qualifying event for 2012-13  is the ARRL September VHF QSO Party Saturday/Sunday Sept. 8-9.  Then, CQWW DX RTTY Contest is Sept. 29/30…the last (fifth!) weekend of September.

Good luck in the contests!

73,  Bill  W1WBB

 

 

Biggest HF contest of the summer: IARU HF World Championship

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Big multi-mode HF contest of the summer is this weekend 1200z 14 Jul – 1200z 15 Jul (just 24 hrs) as Pat NG1G mentioned in an earlier post.  Simple exch of RS(T) and ITU zone (W1 is in ITU Zone 8); work domestic and DX stns; use SSB, CW or both (mixed-mode)…have fun and make some QSOs!

Solar flux level remains quite high and sunspots have been up lately so give the bands a try.  Additional contest info can be found here:  http://www.arrl.org/iaru-hf-championship   including an ITU zone map.

73 & good contesting… Bill  W1WBB

 

Reminder! NEQP 2012 logs due Tuesday

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If you have not yet submitted your log for the 2012 NEQP please do so ASAP…the sponsor’s deadline is NLT Tuesday 5 June.  Submit logs to:  logs@nullneqp.org with your electronic log as an attachment.  Even logs with just a few QSOs are appreciated by the sponsor and our club.

If you used your assigned special event 1×1 callsign during NEQP, ensure that specific c/s appears in your log callsign header.  Use your regular c/s in the operator’s c/s header.  Double-check as well that the NEQP site receives your log with the proper callsign used during the event.

And… anyone using their CTRI CG 20th anniv 1×1 c/s *anytime between May 1-15 2012* should *also* send a copy of their log to Pat NG1G for future QSL and certificate purposes.

Any questions regarding final log submittal…just ask here. 

73,  Bill  W1WBB