Two Battery Monitor Projects

A Communicator Reprise...

October 2015

John demonstrating his meter to the group

Last spring, SARC initiated a competition to see who could construct the most suitable and innovative 12 volt battery monitor for use at Field Day.  Here is what I came up with.

  

The following design criteria were used for my version of the monitor: a) it should provide an analog reading of voltage, accurate to 0.1 volt; b) it should have an alarm that would warn of critical low voltage at an adjustable level; c) the alarm should be prominent but not disruptive to other operators; and d) it should be cheap and easy to build.  Anderson power poles would be the connector of choice.
  
I prefer an analog display as it is easier to discern conditions at a glance without having to read a series of digits on a digital display which may be fluctuating rapidly.

The monitor was constructed around a low voltage FK915 alarm kit purchased on line for US$ 5.95 from www.Qkits.com.  

For the voltage indicator, I found an old analog meter in my junk box, but I needed to change it from a 1 mA full-scale ammeter to a 9-16 volts voltmeter.   

I purchased locally a large red LED to substitute for the buzzer and a cast aluminum box to put it in.  Anderson power poles plus mounting blocks were obtained from QuickSilver Radio Products.   As will be described later, a few other small components were also required.

In order to change the 1 mA meter scale to read 9-16 volts, I calculated that a 16k resistor was needed in series with the meter (R=E/I = 16 volts/.001 amp = 16,000 ohms).  The resistance of the meter itself is not significant in this case.  To provide this resistance and allow calibration of the meter, a 10k ohm potentiometer was put in series with an 10k ohm fixed resistor.  I also added a 9 volt Zener diode so the scale would read 9-16 volts rather than 0-16 volts.
  
The meter, series resistor, potentiometer and Zener diode (all in series) were connected across the input of TR5 transistor and PZ buzzer (or LED in my case).  A potentiometer on the circuit board allows setting of the desired trigger voltage for the alarm.

A free scale drawing program called “Meter Basic” by Jim Tonne W4ENE (figure right) is available on the Internet.  A more sophisticated program simply called “Meter” is also available at a modest cost.  I found the former was adequate for my needs, and allowed me to change the appearance of the meter scale as shown in the figure.

It’s simple but it works.

~ John Brodie VA7XB


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And another monitor...

Keenan VE7XEN also showed off his design for the voltage monitor at the September meeting and promptly walked away with first prize. It was a very impressive professionally produced board with surface mount components.

It reports both under and over voltage and provides both a visual and audible alarm when voltage deviates from the set parameters. Other features:

•   Multiple Alarm Methods
•   Voltage to better than ±0.1V; range 5-20V
•   Parts cost $30 per unit - single supplier
•   Safe, “field serviceable” input connection
•   Small size
•   Programmable Thresholds & Alarms
•   “Mute” button
•   Temperature Readout

See a video demo at URL: https://youtu.be/2tfH_2MmHvI and Keenan’s slides at https://goo.gl/is40MR

Nice work Keenan!

Radio station WWV to celebrate 100 years

Station north of Fort Collins broadcasts the national time standard and sets radio frequency standards 

Special Event Station activated

The world’s oldest licensed radio station, which operates from a location just north of Fort Collins, will turn 100 years old on Oct. 1.

That may sound like a long time for a radio station, but WWV specializes in time.

The radio station is best known for the broadcast of the national time standard — the atomic clock — which is closely synchronized with Coordinated Universal Time, the measure by which clocks are synchronized throughout the world.

The Northern Colorado Amateur Radio Club and the WWV Amateur Radio Club will sponsor a special event amateur radio station, call sign WW0WWV (W-W-zero-W-W-V).

The station will make as many amateur radio contacts as possible over a five-day, 120-hour operating period, starting at 6 p.m. Friday and going through 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2, operating from the WWV site.

More information: https://www.reporterherald.com/2019/09/22/radio-station-wwv-to-celebrate-100-years/

Gel Cel Battery Charger 12 Volt—7.3 Amp

A Communicator Reprise...

September 2015

Two of my hobbies are hiking and camping.  Usually I take my QRP gear with me, including a low capacity 12V gel cell battery, which must be properly maintained or its life is short.  Some time ago, I bought two gel cell batteries at the same time. I used one of them frequently, and put the other one aside as a backup. When the time came that I wanted to use the backup battery, I found it was no longer useful as the battery voltage had dropped to a few volts and couldn't be charged.   A brand new battery went dead simply from disuse.

There is a simple and effective way to maintain the gel cell battery properly, and that is by charging the battery under a constant voltage. If a fresh battery is not being charged from time to time, it will eventually die due to the internal leakage. I use the constant voltage charger that is shown in Fig.1 to maintain my gel cell batteries.

The operating principle of this charger is quite simple. The heart of the charger is a 3-terminal LM317 adjustable regulator. The output voltage is set at 13.5V for a gel cell, but other batteries may require a slightly different voltage.

Diodes D1, D2, D3 and D4 form a full-wave bridge rectifier. The rectified current is smoothed by capacitor C1 and applied to the input of LM317. The output voltage of the LM317 is set by the resistor R1 and potentiometer Pot1. There is an internal voltage 1.25V between the output and adjust terminals of the regulator. As shown in the circuit, R1 is placed in between these terminals. Therefore, the current flow through R1 is 1.25 volts/270 ohms = 0.00463 amp or 4.63 mA. This current also flows through Pot1 and establishes a voltage drop across it. What voltage drop is needed?  As mentioned above, the output voltage of the charger is set at 13.5 V, and we get this output voltage after diode D5.   Since D5 has a voltage drop of 0.6 V in the forward direction, the output voltage of the regulator must be 13.5V + 0.6V = 14.1V. Hence the voltage drop across Pot1 should be 14.1V – 1.25V = 12.85V. Because there is 4.63mA on Pot1, the resistance of the pot should be 12.85V/4.63mA = 2775 ohms. Since there is no standard value resistor of 2775 ohms, instead a 5K potentiometer is used.

Transistor Q1, resistors R2 and R3 form a current limiter. To complete the circuit, the charging current must go through  R2 and R3. When this happen, a voltage is developed between the emitter and base of Q1. If this voltage is higher than 0.6V, Q1 turns on and it's collector draws down the voltage across Pot1.  Hence the output voltage of the charger is reduced and so is the charging current. What should the charging current be to charge a low capacity 12V gel battery? As the rule of thumb, the charging current is one twentieth of the capacity of  that battery. For example, if you have a 12V, 7.3A gel cell battery, 1/20 of 7.3A is 365mA. When 365mA goes through R2 and R3, it establishes 0.73V to the base of Q1. This voltage turns on Q1, therefore the charging current is always limited to 365mA.

Measurement of the voltage between the test points T1 and T2 will tell you the charging current. If the reading is 0.27 V, the charging current is 270 mA; if 76 mV, the current is 76 mA, and so on; 1mV corresponds 1mA.

In the circuit, D5 serves two purposes: first, it prevents damage to the charger and the battery if the output polarity is incorrect; second, it prevents the battery discharging itself through the charger while there is low or no power to the charger.

Under normal operation, there is a 3V voltage drop between the input and output terminals of the LM317, as we have calculated, the output voltage of the LM317 is 14.1V, therefore, the input voltage to the LM317 should be  14.1V + 3V =  17.1V or higher.

If you use DC only to power the charger, you can omit D1, D2, D3, D4 and C1 to simplify the circuit. You can simplify the circuit even more by removing Q1, R2, and R3 if you don't need the current limiter.  Fig.2 shows the much simplified circuit.

When a solar panel is used to power the charger, apply the output of the panel directly to the input of the LM317 rather than through the bridge rectifier, because the bridge rectifier will cause a 1.2V drop.  Even a loss of 1.2V represents a significant power loss under a cloudy sky.

Since the bridge rectifier takes away 1.2V from the power source, then why use it? Well, the reason is that with it, either an AC or DC power source can be used. When only DC power is used, it helps to prevent incorrect polarity hook up. With the rectifier being used, the input voltage of the charger should be 17.1V + 1.2V = 18.3V or higher. 18V is acceptable.

After the charger is built, a simple adjustment is needed. Adjust Pot1 to the mid-range before power is applied to the charger, then use a voltmeter to monitor the output voltage. Adjust Pot1 until the voltmeter reads 13.5V. This is it, all done. Since this charger provides a low charging current, a heat-sink is not needed for the regulator LM317, but no harm in using one.  Fig.3 and Fig.4 show the construction and physical size of this charger.

Because this is a constant voltage charger, there is no over-voltage to the battery to harm it. Also, because the charging current is limited to 365 mA, not much heat will be generated inside the battery. The charger can be connected to the battery for a long period of time and will keep the battery fully charged all the time even there is internal leakage of the battery itself. This charger may be suitable if you want to have emergency power handy to operate your QRP rigs. All the parts used to build this charger are from my junk box. Happy home brewing!

~ Hiu VE7YXG

A Primer On Radio Contesting

Explore A Radio Sport

I was recently asked by one of our Basic Ham class graduates about contesting. For those new to the hobby, or looking for a new challenge, this article may assist. I maintain that contesting is the closest simulation of what things may be like during a real emergency. If you can handle the traffic and pressure during a pile-up in a contest, I’m convinced you would do well handling emergency traffic. SARC has many opportunities for its members to try contesting. Just contact one of our Directors and we’ll get you started on one of our stations.—Ed.

Contesting (also known as Radiosport) is a competitive activity pursued by amateur radio operators. In a contest, an amateur radio station, which may be operated by an individual or a team, seeks to contact as many other amateur radio stations as possible in a given period of time and exchange information. Rules for each competition define the amateur radio bands, the mode of communication that may be used, and the kind of information that must be exchanged. The contacts made during the contest contribute to a score by which stations are ranked. Contest sponsors publish the results in magazines and on web sites.

Contesting grew out of other amateur radio activities in the 1920s and 1930s. As intercontinental communications with amateur radio became more common, competitions were formed to challenge stations to make as many contacts as possible with amateur radio stations in other countries. Contests were also formed to provide opportunities for amateur radio operators to practice their message handling skills, used for routine or emergency communications across long distances. Over time, the number and variety of radio contests has increased, and many amateur radio operators today pursue the sport as their primary amateur radio activity.

There is no international authority or governance organization for this sport. Each competition is sponsored separately and has its own set of rules. Contest rules do not necessarily require entrants to comply with voluntary international band plans. Participants must, however, adhere to the amateur radio regulations of the country in which they are located. Because radio contests take place using amateur radio, competitors are generally forbidden by their national amateur radio regulations from being compensated financially for their activity. 

Contesting Basics

Radio contests are principally sponsored by amateur radio societies, radio clubs, or radio enthusiast magazines. These organizations publish the rules for the event, collect the operational logs from all stations that operate in the event, cross-check the logs to generate a score for each station, and then publish the results in a magazine, in a society journal, or on a web site. Because the competitions are between stations licensed in the Amateur Radio Service (with the exception of certain contests which sponsor awards for shortwave listeners), which prohibits the use of radio frequencies for pecuniary interests, there are no professional radio contests or professional contesters, and any awards granted by the contest sponsors are typically limited to paper certificates, plaques, or trophies.

During a radio contest, each station attempts to establish two-way contact with other licensed amateur radio stations and exchange information specific to that contest. The information exchanged could include a signal report, a name, the U.S. state or Canadian province in which the station is located, the geographic zone in which the station is located, the Maidenhead grid locator in which the station is located, the age of the operator, or an incremental serial number. For each contact, the radio operator must correctly receive the call sign of the other station, as well as the information in the "exchange", and record this data, along with the time of the contact and the band or frequency that was used to make the contact, in a log. A contest score is computed based on a formula defined for that contest. A typical formula assigns some number of points for each contact, and a "multiplier" based on some aspect of the exchange such as multiple contacts with the same station on different bands.

The rules for most contests held on the VHF amateur radio bands in North America assign a new multiplier for each new Maidenhead grid locator in the log, rewarding the competitors that make contacts with other stations in the most locations. Many HF contests reward stations with a new multiplier for contacts with stations in each country - often based on the "entities" listed on the DXCC country list maintained by the American Radio Relay League ("ARRL"). Depending on the rules for a particular contest, each multiplier may count once on each radio band or only once during the contest, regardless of the radio band on which the multiplier was first earned. The points earned for each contact can be a fixed amount per contact, or can vary based on a geographical relationship such as whether or not the communications crossed a continental or political boundary. Some contests, such as the Stew Perry Top Band Distance Challenge, award points that are scaled to the distance separating the two stations. Most contests held in Europe on the VHF and microwave bands award 1 point per kilometer of distance between the stations making each contact.

After they are received by the contest sponsor, logs are checked for accuracy. Points can be deducted or credit and multipliers lost if there are errors in the log data for a given contact. Depending on the scoring formula used, the resulting scores of any particular contest can be either a small number of points or in the millions of points. Most contests offer multiple entry categories, and declare winners in each category. Some contests also declare regional winners for specific geographic subdivisions, such as continents, countries, U.S. states or Canadian provinces.

The most common entry category is the single operator category and variations thereof, in which only one individual operates a radio station for the entire duration of the contest. Subdivisions of the single operator category are often made based on the highest power output levels used during the contest, such as a QRP category for single operator stations using no more than five watts of output power, or a High Power category that allows stations to transmit with as much output power as their license permits. Multi-operator categories allow for teams of individuals to operate from a single station, and may either allow for a single radio transmitter or several to be in use simultaneously on different amateur radio bands. Many contests also offer team or club competitions in which the scores of multiple radio stations are combined and ranked.

History of Contesting 

The origin of contesting can be traced to the Trans-Atlantic Tests of the early 1920s, when amateur radio operators first attempted to establish long distance radiocommunications across the Atlantic Ocean on the short wave amateur radio frequencies. Even after the first two-way communications between North America and Europe were established in 1923, these tests continued to be annual events at which more and more stations were successful in establishing two-way contacts over greater and greater distances. In 1927, the American Radio Relay League, which had been principal in organizing and publicizing these tests, proposed a new format for the annual event, encouraging stations to make as many two-way contacts with stations in other countries as possible. The 1928 International Relay Party, as the event was renamed, was the first organized amateur radio contest. The International Relay Party was an immediate success, and was sponsored annually by the ARRL from 1927 through 1935. In 1936, the contest name changed to the ARRL International DX Contest, the name under which it is known today.

To complement the burst of activity and interest being generated in DX communications by the popularity of the International Relay Parties, the ARRL adopted a competitive operating format for events designed for non- international contacts. The first ARRL All-Sections Sweepstakes Contest was started in 1930. The Sweepstakes required a more complicated exchange of information for each two-way contact that was adapted from the message header structure used by the National Traffic System. The competition was immediately popular, both with those operators active in the NTS who participated as an opportunity to gauge the merits of their station and operating skills, and among those for whom the competitive excitement of the event was the primary attraction. The contest, sponsored annually by the ARRL, became known as the ARRL November Sweepstakes in 1962.

Another important innovation in early contesting was the development of Field Day operating events. The earliest known organized field day activity was held in Great Britain in 1930, and was soon emulated by small events through Europe and North America. The first ARRL International Field Day was held in July, 1933, and publicized through the ARRL's membership journal QST. Field day events were promoted as an opportunity for radio amateurs to the ARRL's membership journal QST. Field day events were promoted as an opportunity for radio amateurs to operate from portable locations, in environments that simulate what might be encountered during emergency or disaster relief situations. Field day events have traditionally carried the same general operating and scoring structures as other contests, but the emphasis on emergency readiness and capability has historically outweighed the competitive nature of these events.

Modern contests draw upon the heritage of DX communications, traffic handling, and communications readiness. Since 1928, the number and variety of competitive amateur radio operating events have increased. In 1934, contests were sponsored by radio societies in Australia, Canada, Poland, and Spain, and the ARRL sponsored a new contest specifically for the ten meter amateur radio band. By the end of 1937, contests were also being sponsored in Brazil, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Ireland, and New Zealand. The first VHF contest was the ARRL VHF Sweepstakes held in 1948, and the first RTTY contest was sponsored by the RTTY Society of Southern California in 1957. The first publication dedicated exclusively to the sport, the National Contest Journal, began circulation in the United States in 1973. The IARU HF World Championship, a worldwide contest sponsored by the International Amateur Radio Union, was known as the IARU Radiosport Championship from its inception in 1977 until the name of the contest changed in 1986. Recognizing the vitality and maturity of the sport, CQ Amateur Radio magazine established the Contest Hall of Fame in 1986.  By the turn of the century, contesting had become an established world wide sport, with tens of thousands of active competitors, connected not just through their on air activities, but with specialist web sites, journals, and conventions.

Without a single world wide organizing body or authority for the sport, there has never been a world ranking system by which contesters could compare themselves. The vast differences contesters face in the locations from which they operate contests, and the effect that location has on both radio propagation and the proximity to major populations of amateur radio operators also conspired to make comparisons of the top performers in the sport difficult. The first "face to face" World Radiosport Team Championship event was held in July, 1990 in Seattle, Washington, United States, and was an effort to overcome some of these issues by inviting the top contesters from around the world to operate a single contest from similar stations in one compact geographic area. Twenty-two teams of two operators each represented fifteen countries, and included some top competitors from the Soviet Union and nations of the former Eastern Bloc for whom the trip was their first to a western nation. Subsequent WRTC events have been held in 1996 (San Francisco, California, United States), 2000 (Bled, Slovenia), 2002 (Helsinki, Finland), and 2006 (Florianópolis, Brazil). The closest thing to a world championship in the sport of contesting, WRTC 2010 took place in Moscow, Russia.  The 2014 event will by hosted in New England.

There have been controversies among amateur operators over the impact of dense contest traffic on the popular HF bands, the use of packet cluster systems, log editing, rare station QSYs and other techniques.

Types of Contests 

A wide variety of amateur radio contests are sponsored every year. Contest sponsors have crafted competitive events that serve to promote a variety of interests and appeal to diverse audiences. Radio contests typically take place on weekends or local weeknight evenings, and can last from a few hours to forty-eight hours in duration. The rules of each contest will specify which stations are eligible for participation, the radio frequency bands on which they may operate, the communications modes they may employ, which other amateur radio stations they may contact, and the specific time period during which they may make contacts for the contest.

Some contests restrict participation to stations in a particular geographic area, such as a continent or country. Contests like the European HF Championship aim to foster competition between stations located in one particular part of the world, specifically Europe. There are contests in which any amateur radio station worldwide may participate and make contact with any other stations for contest credit. The CQ World Wide DX Contest permits stations to contact other stations anywhere else on the planet, and attracts tens of thousands of participating stations each year. In large contests the number of people taking part is a significant percentage of radio amateurs active on the HF bands, although they in themselves are a small percentage of the total amateurs in the world.

There are regional contests that invite all stations around the world to participate, but restrict which stations each competitor may contact. For example, Japanese stations in the Japan International DX Contest (sponsored by Five Nine magazine) may only contact other stations located outside Japan and vice versa. There are also contests that limit participation to just the stations located in a particular continent or country, even though those stations may work any other station for points.

All contests use one or more amateur radio bands on which competing stations may make two-way contacts. HF contests use one or more of the 160 meter, 80 Meter, 40 Meter, 20 Meter, 15 Meter, and 10 Meter bands. VHF contests use all the amateur radio bands above 50 MHz. Some contests permit activity on all HF or all VHF bands, and may offer points for contacts and multipliers on each band. Other contests may permit activity on all bands but restrict stations to making only one contact with each other station, regardless of band, or may limit multipliers to once per contest instead of once per band. Most VHF contests in North America are similar to the ARRL June VHF QSO Party, and allow contacts on all the amateur radio bands 50 MHz or higher in frequency. Most VHF contests in the United Kingdom, however, are restricted to one amateur radio band at a time. An HF contest with world wide participation that restricts all contest activity to just one band is the ARRL 10 Meter Contest. In Canada, two HF contests are sponsored by Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC), the Canada Day and Winter Contests. There are many other provincial contests including the BC QSO Party sponsored by ORCA.

Contests exist for enthusiasts of all modes. Some contests are restricted to just CW emissions using the Morse code for communications, some are restricted to telephony modes and spoken communications, and some employ digital emissions modes such as RTTY or PSK31. Many popular contests are offered on two separate weekends, one for CW and one for telephony, with all the same rules. The CQ World Wide WPX Contest, for example, is held as a phone-only competition one weekend in March, and a CW-only competition one weekend in May.  Some contests, especially those restricted to a single radio frequency band, allow the competing stations to use several different emissions modes. VHF contests typically permit any mode of emission, including some specialty digital modes designed specifically for use on those bands. As with the other variations in contest rules and participation structure, some contest stations and operators choose to specialize in contests on certain modes and may not participate seriously in contests on other modes. Large, worldwide contests on the HF bands can be scheduled for up to forty-eight hours in duration. Typically, these large worldwide contests run from 0000 UTC on Saturday morning until 2359 UTC Sunday evening. Regional and smaller contests often are scheduled for a shorter duration, with twenty-four, twelve, and four hours being common variations.

Many contests employ a concept of "off time" in which a station may operate only a portion of the available time. For example, the ARRL November Sweepstakes is thirty hours long, but each station may be on the air for no more than twenty-four hours. The off-time requirement forces competitive stations to decide when to be on the air making contacts and when to be off the air, and adds a significant element of strategy to the competition. Although common in the 1930s, only a small number of contests today take place over multiple weekends. These competitions are called "cumulative" contests, and are generally limited to the microwave frequency bands. Short "sprint" contests lasting only a few hours have been popular among contesters that prefer a fast-paced environment, or who cannot devote an entire weekend to a radio contest. A unique feature of the North American Sprint contest is that the operator is required to change frequency after every other contact, introducing another operational skills challenge. Whatever the length of the contest, the top operators are frequently those that can best maintain focus on the tasks of contest operating throughout the event.

Some contests, such as the Maine 2 Meter FM Simplex Challenge, sponsored by the Wireless Society of Southern Maine , offer newly licensed hams the ability to take part in contesting for the first time, by restricting contacts to a single VHF band, and providing entry categories for anything from a handheld radio to a fully equipped contest station.
The wide variety of contests attracts a large variety of contesters and contest stations. The rules and structure of a particular contest can determine the strategies used by competitors to maximize the number of contacts made and multipliers earned. Some stations and operators specialize in certain contests, and either rarely operate in others, or compete in them with less seriousness. As with other sports, contest rules evolve over time, and rule changes are one of the primary sources of controversy in the sport.

Contesting Activity 

The scale of activity varies from contest to contest. The largest contests are the annual DX contests that allow world wide participation. Many of these DX contests have been held annually for fifty years or more, and have devoted followings. Newer contests, those that intentionally restrict participation based on geography, and those that are shorter in duration tend to have fewer participating stations and attract more specialized operators and teams. Over time, contests that fail to attract enough entrants will be abandoned by their sponsor, and new contests will be proposed and sponsored to meet the evolving interests of amateur radio operators.

In a specialized contest in the microwave frequency bands, where only a handful of radio amateurs have the technical skills to construct the necessary equipment, a few contacts just a few kilometers away may be enough to win. In the most popular VHF contests, a well-equipped station in a densely populated region like Central Europe can make over 1,000 contacts on two meters in twenty-four hours. In the CQ World Wide DX Contest, the world's largest HF contest, leading multi-operator stations on phone and CW can make up to 25,000 contacts in a forty-eight-hour period, while even single operators with world-class stations in rare locations have been known to exceed 10,000 contacts, an average of over three per minute, every minute. Over 30,000 amateur radio operators participated in the phone weekend of the 2000 CQ World Wide DX Contest, and the top-scoring single operator station that year, located in the Galápagos Islands, made over 9,000 contacts. Other HF contests are not as large, and some specialty events, such as those for QRP enthusiasts, can attract no more than a few dozen competitors.

Station Locations 

The geographic location of a station can impact its potential performance in radio contests. In almost all contests it helps to be in a rare location close to a major population center. Because the scoring formula in most contests uses the number of different locations contacted (such as countries, states or grid locators) as a multiplier, contacts with stations in rare locations are in high demand. In contests on the VHF and higher frequency bands, having a location at a high altitude with unobstructed line of sight in all directions is also a major advantage. With range limited to around 1000 kilometers in normal radio propagation conditions, a location on high ground close to a major metropolitan area is an often unbeatable advantage in VHF contests. In the large international HF DX contests, stations in the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, close to Europe and eastern North America with their high densities of active contest stations, are frequently the winners. Aruba, Curaçao, the Canary Islands, the Cape Verde Islands, Madeira Island, coastal Morocco and the islands of Trinidad and Tobago have been the sites of some of the most famous radio contesting victories in the large world wide contests. Competition between stations in large countries, such as Canada, Russia, or the United States can be greatly affected by the geographic locations of each station. Because of these variations, some stations may specialize in only those contests where they are not at a disadvantage, or may measure their own success against only nearby rivals.

Many radio amateurs are happy to contest from home, often with relatively low output power and simple antennas. Some of these operators at modest home stations operate competitively and others are simply on the air to give away some points to serious stations or to chase some unusual propagation. More serious radio contesters will spend significant sums of money and invest a lot of time building a potentially winning station, whether at home, a local mountain top, or in a distant country. Operators without the financial resources to build their own station establish relationships with those that do and "guest operate" at other stations during contests. Contesting is often combined with a DX-pedition, where amateur radio operators travel to a location where amateur radio activity is infrequent or uncommon.

Several contests are designed to encourage outdoor operations, and are known as field days. The motivating purpose of these events is to prepare operators for emergency readiness, but many enjoy the fun of operating in the most basic of circumstances. The rules for most field day events require or strongly incent participating stations to use generator or battery power, and temporary antennas. This can create a more level playing field, as all stations are constructed in a similar manner.

A Typical Contest Exchange 

Contacts between stations in a contest are often brief. A typical exchange between two stations on voice — in this case between a station in England and one in New Zealand in the CQ World Wide DX Contest — might proceed as follows:

Station 1: CQ contest Mike Two Whiskey, Mike Two Whiskey, contest. (Station M2W is soliciting a contact in the contest)

Station 2: Zulu Lima Six Quebec Hotel
(The station calling, ZL6QH, gives only his callsign. No more information is needed.)

Station 1: ZL6QH 59 14 (said as "five nine one four").
(M2W confirms the ZL6QH call sign, sends a signal report of 59, and is in Zone 14 - Western Europe.)

Station 2: Thanks 59 32 (said as "five nine three two").
(ZL6QH confirms reception of M2W's exchange, sends a signal report of 59, and is in Zone 32 - South Pacific.)

Station 1: 73. Mike Two Whiskey QRZ?
(M2W confirms ZL6QH's exchange, is now listening for new stations.)

On Morse code, suitable well-known abbreviations are used to keep the contact as brief as possible. Skilled contesters can maintain a "rate" over four contacts per minute on Morse code, or up to ten contacts per minute on voice during peak propagation periods, using this short format. The peak rate of contacts that can be made during contests that employ longer exchanges with more information that must be sent, received, and acknowledged, will be necessarily lower.

Logs and Log Checking 

Most serious competitive stations log their contest contacts using contest logging software, although some continue to use paper and pencil. There are many different software logging programs written specifically for radio contesting. Computer logging programs can handle many additional duties besides simply recording the log data; they can keep a running score based upon the formula of the contest, track which available multipliers have been "worked" and which have not, and provide the operator with visual clues about how many contacts are being made on which bands. Some contest software even provide a means to control the station equipment via computer, retrieve data from the radio and send pre-recorded Morse code, voice or digital messages. After the conclusion of a contest, each station must submit its operational log to the contest sponsor. Many sponsors accept logs by e-mail by upload on web sites, or even by postal mail.

Once a contest sponsor receives all the logs from the competitors, the logs undergo a process known as "cross- checking." In cross-checking, the contest sponsor will match up the contacts recorded in the logs and look for errors or omissions. Most contests enforce stiff points penalties for inaccuracies in the log, which means that the need for speed in operation must be balanced against the requirement for accuracy. It is not uncommon for a station to lead in points at the end of the contest, but slip behind a more accurate competitor after the cross-checking process has assessed penalties. Some contest sponsors provide custom log checking reports to participating stations that offer details about the errors in their log and how they were penalized.

Results and Awards 

Most contests are sponsored by organizations that either publish a membership journal, or sell a radio enthusiast magazine as their business. 

The results of radio contest events are printed in these publications, and often include an article describing the event and highlighting the victors. Contest results articles might also include photographs of radio stations and operators in the contest, and a detailed listing of the scores of every participating station. In addition to publication in magazines and journals, many contest sponsors also publish results on web sites, often in a format similar to that found in print. Some contest sponsors offer the raw score results data in a format that enables searching or other data analysis. The American Radio Relay League, for example, offers this raw line score data to any of its members, and offers the summary report of the winners and the line score data in a non-searchable format to anyone through their web site.

Because radio contests take place using amateur radio, competitors are forbidden by regulation from being compensated financially for their activity. This international regulatory restriction of the Amateur Radio Service precludes the development of a professional sport. In addition to the recognition of their peers, winners in radio contests do, however, often receive paper certificates, wooden plaques, trophies, engraved gavels, or medals in recognition of their achievements. Some contests provide trophies of nominal economic value that highlight their local agricultural or cultural heritage, such as smoked salmon (for the Washington State Salmon Run contest) or a bottle of wine (for the California QSO Party).




There is a book written about the international Radiosport Community titled: “Contact Sport” by J.K. George. It gives an interesting insight.

Brasspounders

A History Of Telegraphy Presentation

On Wednesday, September 11 at 7pm, at our first monthly meeting of the 2019-2020 season, Surrey Amateur Radio Communications will host Lavina Shaw as guest presenter. She will speak on the history of telegraphy. Visitors welcome.

See the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFRjn6q39Ig&t=30s

We meet at the Surrey Fire Service  Training  Centre, 14923 - 64  Avenue, Surrey, BC 
Map link: https://what3words.com/markers.addiction.ozone

Follow-up:

Lavina completed her excellent and interesting presentation and shared a video about her experiences and the nature of telegraphy as a means of communication. 

You can watch it HERE.

The September/October Communicator

Projects, News, Views and Reviews... 

Here is the September/October SARC Communicator newsletter: http://bit.ly/SARC19-09.  This month 52 pages of projects, news, views, and reviews from the SW corner of Canada. 

http://bit.ly/SARC19-09

We always welcome contributions of news, stories and your Amateur Radio experiences. The deadline for the November/December issue is October 20th.

73,

John VE7TI
Communicator Editor