Southern California Contest Club
CQ WW DX RTTY: September 28-29 California QSO Party: October 5-6 CQ WW DX SSB: October 26-27
CQ WW DX RTTY: September 28-29 California QSO Party: October 5-6 CQ WW DX SSB: October 26-27
Officers
President: Dick Norton, N6AA n6aa[at]arrl[dot]net
Secretary, Treasurer, Membership: Bruce Horn, WA7BNM bhorn[at]hornucopia[dot]com
Webmaster: Dennis Younker, NE6I ne6i[at]cox[dot]net
Secretary, Treasurer, Membership: Bruce Horn, WA7BNM bhorn[at]hornucopia[dot]com
Webmaster: Dennis Younker, NE6I ne6i[at]cox[dot]net
Members E-Mail Reflector
Information on how to subscribe to the reflector is available at http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/sccc/
To post a message to the reflector, send an e-mail to: sccc@contesting.com
An archive of reflector messages is available at: Reflector Archive
Reflector Administrator: Doug Brandon, N6RT n6rt[at]arrl[dot]net
To post a message to the reflector, send an e-mail to: sccc@contesting.com
An archive of reflector messages is available at: Reflector Archive
Reflector Administrator: Doug Brandon, N6RT n6rt[at]arrl[dot]net
Membership Badges
Purchase Membership Badge: The Sign Man See sample here.
Monthly News (SCCCORE)
September 2019
The ARRL has announced that automated contacts are prohibited in ARRL contests, DXCC, WAS and for some (or all?) other ARRL awards. In this day and age of computerized ham software, it isn't all that difficult to automate contacts with the operator just watching over (or, ahem, not present at all). Altered versions of these kinds of contest or digi programs or use of scripts or outboard software to eliminate the need for human intervention will cause QSOs made with them to be prohibited. How can the ARRL detect such contacts? There is much discussion on the usual forums about this but just as detection of illegal output power, use of spotting nets by single operators, etc. can be detected, there are undoubtedly ways of detecting automated contacts. Regardless, all contesters should always play fair adn abide by the rules. The ARRL announcement can be found here.
The annual Summer Bash was hosted by Randy, KQ6RS. Spotted there were N6AA, N6HC, K6NA, N6CW, K6RB, N5ZO, N6JOJ, W6YA, N6XT, AI6O and NA6MB. AI6O reports that it was a great gathering.
Jim, N6TJ has announced that he will be at 9K2HN for the CQWW CW contest in late November. Eric, NC6K and Jim, K6ZH are going to KL7RA for that one as well. Levi, K6JO will be at ZF1A for CQWW SSB. Is anyone else going on a Contest-pedition?
The World Wide Radio Operators Foundation (WWROF) has published a webinar explaining the popular FT4 / FT8 modes and the WW Digi Contest. You can find the video here.
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The annual Summer Bash was hosted by Randy, KQ6RS. Spotted there were N6AA, N6HC, K6NA, N6CW, K6RB, N5ZO, N6JOJ, W6YA, N6XT, AI6O and NA6MB. AI6O reports that it was a great gathering.
Jim, N6TJ has announced that he will be at 9K2HN for the CQWW CW contest in late November. Eric, NC6K and Jim, K6ZH are going to KL7RA for that one as well. Levi, K6JO will be at ZF1A for CQWW SSB. Is anyone else going on a Contest-pedition?
The World Wide Radio Operators Foundation (WWROF) has published a webinar explaining the popular FT4 / FT8 modes and the WW Digi Contest. You can find the video here.
more
Preliminary results of the July NAQP RTTY have been published on the NCJ web site. As noted, many stations were celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing by using names like Buzz, Neil, and Moon. Fun! Final scores will be published in a future edition of the National Contest Journal (NCJ).
Condx were very rough for both the CW and SSB NAQPs in August. Scores were low and comments reflected how slow things were. All we can do is wait for more sunspots.
The August 22 edition of ARRL's "So Now What?" podcast focused on contesting, with ARRL Contest Program Manager Paul Bourque, N1SFE. "So Now What?" is aimed at new amateur radio operators. If you have any friends or family members who are hams and have expressed an interest in contesting, this might be a good one to point them to. The podcast can be downloaded on Apple iTunes, Blubrry, and Stitcher. Episodes are also archived on the ARRL web site. A link to the story can be found here.
ARRL has published the final results fo the ARRL DX Phone Contest. Ken, K6LA piloted VY2TT to 3rd place USA/VE HP! Nice going, Ken! Bill, W8QZA put W6QU in 3rd USA/VE QRP! And Alex, W6AFA placed 8th USA/VE in Single Op 20 meters. The SCCC had 62 entries, placing it in the Unlimited Club category, where we, uh, brought up the rear. No shame in that. NCCC with 77 entries really didn't do that much better than we did. It flat out was tough slogging from the west coast at this point in the sunspot cycle.
NCJ has published the final results of the NA Sprint RTTY March, 2019 contest. Levi, K6JO finished 2nd in the Low Power category. The SCCC team finished 6th. Had Levi been on it, we would have moved up to third. :(
NCJ has also published the preliminary results of the NAQP CW August, 2019 contest. Those results can be found here.
CQ published the final WPX RTTY results. Dave, W6ZL piloted KF6RY to 2nd. Bill, W8QZA operated as W6QU and took 3rd overall USA in the QRP category. SCCC posted 2.3M points in the club category.
Here is a video detailing how to set up WSJT-X to interface with N1MM+, Great for contesting with the new FT8 and FT4 digital modes.
By the way, as I type this today (Aug 31), I have been fooling around in the first annual WWROF WW Digi Contest. I could not get N1MM+ and WSJT-X to play nicely together in the short time I had to config them. That said, those who think FT8 or FT4 are robotic modes? I call B.S.! I am interacting with WSJT-X well more than I do with N1MM+ on CW! Still, it's a lot of fun. And imagine this. Today the SFI is 66. The A index is 38 (GULP!) and the K index is 4. Now imagine working a CW or SSB contest with conditions like that! And yet, operating barefoot, I'm not doing badly S&Ping and even better running! To the many that are poo pooing WSJT-X modes, I caution you to try before you poo poo. Just another way to get the adrenaline going while contesting in amateur radio!
Strange but true...
Before horror author Stephen King became famous for novels such as "Carrie," "The Stand," and "The Shining," he wrote four novels and 60 short stories, all of which were rejected for publication.
73 for now,
--Dennis NE6I
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Condx were very rough for both the CW and SSB NAQPs in August. Scores were low and comments reflected how slow things were. All we can do is wait for more sunspots.
The August 22 edition of ARRL's "So Now What?" podcast focused on contesting, with ARRL Contest Program Manager Paul Bourque, N1SFE. "So Now What?" is aimed at new amateur radio operators. If you have any friends or family members who are hams and have expressed an interest in contesting, this might be a good one to point them to. The podcast can be downloaded on Apple iTunes, Blubrry, and Stitcher. Episodes are also archived on the ARRL web site. A link to the story can be found here.
ARRL has published the final results fo the ARRL DX Phone Contest. Ken, K6LA piloted VY2TT to 3rd place USA/VE HP! Nice going, Ken! Bill, W8QZA put W6QU in 3rd USA/VE QRP! And Alex, W6AFA placed 8th USA/VE in Single Op 20 meters. The SCCC had 62 entries, placing it in the Unlimited Club category, where we, uh, brought up the rear. No shame in that. NCCC with 77 entries really didn't do that much better than we did. It flat out was tough slogging from the west coast at this point in the sunspot cycle.
NCJ has published the final results of the NA Sprint RTTY March, 2019 contest. Levi, K6JO finished 2nd in the Low Power category. The SCCC team finished 6th. Had Levi been on it, we would have moved up to third. :(
NCJ has also published the preliminary results of the NAQP CW August, 2019 contest. Those results can be found here.
CQ published the final WPX RTTY results. Dave, W6ZL piloted KF6RY to 2nd. Bill, W8QZA operated as W6QU and took 3rd overall USA in the QRP category. SCCC posted 2.3M points in the club category.
Here is a video detailing how to set up WSJT-X to interface with N1MM+, Great for contesting with the new FT8 and FT4 digital modes.
By the way, as I type this today (Aug 31), I have been fooling around in the first annual WWROF WW Digi Contest. I could not get N1MM+ and WSJT-X to play nicely together in the short time I had to config them. That said, those who think FT8 or FT4 are robotic modes? I call B.S.! I am interacting with WSJT-X well more than I do with N1MM+ on CW! Still, it's a lot of fun. And imagine this. Today the SFI is 66. The A index is 38 (GULP!) and the K index is 4. Now imagine working a CW or SSB contest with conditions like that! And yet, operating barefoot, I'm not doing badly S&Ping and even better running! To the many that are poo pooing WSJT-X modes, I caution you to try before you poo poo. Just another way to get the adrenaline going while contesting in amateur radio!
Strange but true...
Before horror author Stephen King became famous for novels such as "Carrie," "The Stand," and "The Shining," he wrote four novels and 60 short stories, all of which were rejected for publication.
73 for now,
--Dennis NE6I
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SCCC Monthly Poll
September 2019
Click here for results of past polls
Our August, 2019 poll was a two parter. "Do you miss (or wish we had) SCCC pizza meetings?" 20% said Yes, I really miss them. Another 20% said Yes, I hear they were a good time. 10% said I could take them or leave them. Another 10% said No, I'm not that interested in attending meetings at this time. 60% said I probably wouldn't be able to attend many of them due to distance or other reason. The second question was "If we had SCCC meetings, I would..." 10% said Attend as many as possible. 20% said Attend them if they were less than an hour's drive. 40% said Attend now and then. 20% said Might attend some of them, and 10% said Probably wouldn't attend any of them. Our July, 2019 poll was "When was your first contest?" 16% said 2010 or later. 5% said 2000-2009 and another 5% said 1990-1999. 32% said 1970-1979. 26% said 160-1969 and 16% said 1950-1959. Our June, 2019 poll was "Have you ever operated a Dxpedition in a contest?" 25% said yes, as part of a multi-op DXpedition. 25% said no. 20% said yes, as a single op. Another 20% said no, but I would like to! And 10% said yes, both as a multi-op and as a single-op. Our May, 2019 poll was "Have you ever operated mobile or portable in a contest (not a DXpedition)? 35% said both, 35% said no, 20% said portable and 10% said mobile. Our April, 2019 poll was "For manual CW sending, what do you use?" 65% of our respondents said a keyer. 35% said contest software. 12% said a straight key
and 5% said a bug. 8% said other. Our March, 2019 poll was "What logging software do you use in contests?" 75% of our respondents said N1MM+. 10% said Writelog and another 10% said N3FJP. 5% each said
TRLog/TR4W, Win-test or other. Our February, 2019 poll was "Do you use high, low or QRP power in contests?" 56% of our respondents said high power. 21% said low power and 13% said QRP. Our January, 2019 poll was "What brand of radio to you use primarily in contests?" 25% of our respondents said Yaesu. 18.75% said Kenwood. 12.5% said Icom. 6.25% said Flex, & 43.75% said Other. We should have included Elecraft! Our December, 2018 poll was "Have you ever hosted a guest operator at your station?" 11% of our respondents said yes. 89% said no. Our November, 2018 poll was "Have you ever operated multi-op in a contest (home or away)?" 80% of our respondents said yes. 20% said no. Our October, 2018 poll was "What is your favorite contest mode?" 76% of our respondents favored CW. 12% favored SSB and 6% favored RTTY. 6% had no favorite mode. Our September, 2018 poll was "What is your favorite contest?" CQP took the top spot. CQWW DX, WPX, NA Sprint and Sweepstakes all tied for second.
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For Sale or Wanted
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WANTED
Looking for a good 6 meter amplifier. Prefer 1000 watts output or more continuous but will consider as low as 600 watts. Solid state or tube okay. Send details, pictures and asking price to NE6I via QRZ email address. Posted 9 June 2019 
West Mountain Radio RIGblaster Advantage
Purchased a couple of years ago but never used. West Mountain list price is $209.95. $100 + $10 shipping Seller: Jim, K6ZH jnprice [at] pacbell [dot] net Posted 3 March 2019 
Complete Kenwood TS-50 radio station. Radio and tuner have some scratches on the covers and the radio tuning knob has a small crack. The TS-50 front display panel lights are not working. Other than the panel lights I do not know of anything else wrong with the setup. It is being sold AS-IS. You can plug it into the wall or hook up to a battery. All interconnecting cables are included. Just open the case -- hook it up to your antenna--power it up and you are good to go! Included in the ZERO Centurion Elite water repellent case is-- Kenwood TS-50 with Kenwood Microphone and CAT interface (TTL converter NOT included) with mounting bracket. Kenwood AT-50 antenna tuner with connecting cable to TS-50 with mounting bracket. Tokyo Hy-Power 200A 200 watt antenna tuner. I used this for tuning antennas that the AT-50 is not designed for. Yaesu Switching Power Supply FP-757GX. I just used the entire setup for a contest and it worked great on everything from USB to FT8. I used the setup with a 30' end fed wire antenna that is not included. The weight of the loaded ZERO case is 43#. Case outer dimensions are 26" x 9" x 18". $595.00 Seller: Alan, AA6DW alan.corlin [at] gmail[dot]com Posted 9 Oct 2018 
I have a two year-old SteppIR DB36 with 80 M dipole option for sale. The stepper motors, controller, etc all work perfectly, and the boom and trombones/straight fiberglass poles are in good shape. You will likely need to replace some of the small parts (some bolts and Nylock nuts), but can have a working DB-36 for less than half of what it cost new. I'm selling the antenna because the trees near the antenna became so large that tilting it over was becoming impossible, and I purchased a DB-18E to replace it. I have some extra fiberglass poles that I will include, and I guarantee that the antenna will work (motors, etc.). Due to the weight and size, I'm thinking it's going to have to be a pickup in the San Diego area. I might be willing to remove the heat shrink couplings and try to box it if the buyer covers the shipping charges (FedEx ground). Asking $3500 for everything. Seller: Eric, NC6K egruff [at] cox[dot]net Posted 9 Oct 2018, renewed 3 Mar 2019 |
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State QSO Parties
2019
Video: Yaesu FTDX-101D Review and Demo by Ham Radio Concepts
September 2019
Contest University and Visalia Contest Academy Presentations - N6TV
June 2019
Bob, N6TV from the Northern California Contest Club has made available his 2019 Contest University and Visalia Contest Academy PowerPoint Presentations. These are some really good reads. Thanks, Bob!
Video: A Visit to K5TR
August 2019
ARRL VHF Claimed Scores
September 2019
N6NB/R ROVER 162,000 W6ZL SOLP 84
N6QQ SO6M 4,560 NE6I SO3BLP 50
NC6K SO3BHP 782
North American Sprint CW
September 2019
N6AA SOHP 10,374 AI6O SOHP 2,460
NT6Q (N5ZO) SOHP 10,184 WA6URY SOHP 1,650
K6AW SOHP 8,151 W4EF SOHP 1,323
AC6T SOHP 7,326 N6AN SOQRP 216
SCCC #1 (N6AA, K6AW, AC6T, NT6Q, K6NA) 36,035
WW Digi
August 2019
KR1DX (K6JO) SOABLP 148,224 NE6I SOABLP 3,640
WA7BNM SOSB20LP 5,832 NC6K SOSB20LP 140
NAQP SSB Claimed Scores
August 2019
NT6Q (K6JO@N5ZO)SOLP 112,003 K6NR SOLP 3.906
K5KT SOLP 43,360 WA6URY SOLP 1,372
WN6K SOLP 42,226 W6JBR SOLP 1,125
KI6VC SOLP 33,283 NC6K SOLP 513
K6RO SOLP 24,024 N6AN SOQRP 1
AI6V SOLP 4,212
SCCC #1 (WN6K, K6RO, KI6VC, W6AFA, NT6Q) 201,536
SCCC #2 (K5KT, K6NR, K6MUG, NC6K, AI6O) 49,577
NAQP CW Claimed Scores
August 2019
W6AYC SOLP 117,198 K6NA SOLP 25,546
NC6K SOLP 110,304 WA6URY SOLP 8,712
KI6RRN SOLP 100,650 W6JBR SOLP 6,160
N6AA SOLP 98,936 KA6WKE SOLP 4,171
WN6K SOLP 62,602 KB9FKO SOLP 1,056
KM6Z SOLP 59,901 KX6A SOLP 336
W6ZL SOLP 15,504
N5ZO (K6RB, W6NV, N5ZO) M2 288,351
AC6T (K6AW, AC6T) M2 112,883
SCCC #1 (WN6K, NC6K, KI6RRN, W6AYC, K7RAT) 592,930
SCCC #2 (KA6WKE, N6AA, N6MJ, WQ6X, W6ZL) 153,051
SCCC #3 (N6GP, KI6VC, AI6O, WA6I, WB6NBU) 19,330
SCCC #4 (KB9FKO, NE6I) 1,056
IOTA Claimed Scores
July 2019
VY2TT (K6LA) SO24MHP 4,524,315 AI6) SO12CWLP 5,168
K6NA SO(A)24MHP 81,807 W6ZL SO12CWLP 540
W6TK SO(A)12MLP 64,232
CQWW VHF Claimed Scores
July 2019
N6QQ SOSB6HP 8,892 W6ZAR SOABLP 1,550
N6GP/R RLP 5,390 W6ZL SOSB6LP 180
NC6K SOSB6HP 1,740
NAQP RTTY Claimed Scores
July 2019
KI6RRN SOLP 51,410 KF6RY (W6ZL) SOLP 4,680
NC6K SOLP 34,144 N6HE SOLP 4,536
WN6K SOLP 29,140 W6JBR SOLP 4,095
KI6VC SOLP 26,879 NK6A SOLP 3,003
K6JO SOLP 22,344 K6MUG SOLP 2,556
WA6I SOLP 14,664 WA6URY SOLP 925
AI6O SOLP 8,946
SCCC #1 (KI6RRN, K6JO, KI6VC, WQ6X WN6K) 129,773
SCCC #2 (NC6K, AI6O, KF6RY, K6MUG, WA6I) 64,990
SCCC #3 (N6HE, K6RO, N0XNN) 4,536
IARU HF World Championship Claimed Scores
July 2019
NO6T (KI6RRN) SOABMHP 1,829,310 KM6Z SOABCWLP 56,669
NT6Q (N5ZO) SOABACWHP 1,020,816 AI6V SOABMLP 46,208
N6AA SOABCWHP 651,651 NK6A SOABMLP 36,537
NC6K SOABAMHP 376,216 W6JBR SOABMHP 34,980
W4EF SOABCWHP 339,416 W6ZL SOABCWLP 28,072
W6TK SOABMHP 303,582 K6RO SOABMHP 27,081
K6JO SOABSSBHP 239,232 WA6URY SOABMHP 21,634
W6AX (K6AW) SOABACWHP 161,324 AI6O SOABCWLP 17,680
WN6K SOABCWLP 118,008 K6MUG SOABSSBLP 6,592
W6AYC SOABCWHP 113,475 WA7BNM SOABMLP 6,164
N6CW SOABCWAHP 80,234 N6HE SOABCWLP 2,337
K6NA SOABCWHP 62,335
AF1A (NA6MB, K6GO) MSABHP 164,670
