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?