Contests

Contests are important to the Amateur community. They keep interest up, allow us to test out our equipment, and provide a competitive event that some people need. I enjoy contests for the reason that it brings out radio operators from all over and almost guarantees that you will work a location that you might not have before.

Future Contests

2010

• March 14 - North American RTTY Sprint
• March 20-22 - Virginia QSO Party
• March 27-28 - CQ WW WPX - SSB
• April 10-11 - Japan International DX Contest
• April 12 - VHF Spring Sprint (144)
• April 28 - VHF Spring Sprint (432)
• June 12-14 - ARRL June VHF QSO Party
• August 7-8 - ARRL UHF Contest
• September 11-13 - ARRL September VHF QSO Party
• November 20-22 - ARRL November Sweepstakes - Phone
• December 11-12 - ARRL 10 Meter Contest

Past Contests

2010

• March 6-7 - International DX Contest - Phone
  • Single-Operator, Low Power, 15-Meters
  • Claimed Score: 4212
  • Contact Summary:
  • Band conditions were hopping! Fifteen-meters was wide open to Europe, South America, Caribbean, and Pacific. Heard Japan coming in late on twenty-meters. Wish I had had more time to spend on the contest.
  • The log has been uploaded to LoTW and DX cards will be sent to the bureau.
• 2010 North American QSO Party - Digital February 27-28
  • Single-Operator, Low Power
  • Claimed Score: 13944
  • Contact Summary: 166 contacts, 84 multipliers.
  • Band conditions weren't the best. Still no openings on ten meters. Very few European and other DX heard. The nearest stations heard on the higher bands were in Oklahoma while the farthest was in Alaska.
  • The log has been uploaded to LoTW and DX cards have been sent to the bureau.
• 2010 CQ WW WPX RTTY Contest February 13-14
  • Single-Operator, Low Power
  • Claimed Score: 105462
  • Contact Summary: 435 contacts, 47 DXCC entities, 47 US states, 17 CQ Zones
  • Band conditions were quite good during the contest period. 15 Meters came alive mid-morning with contacts to Senegal and later to New Zealand. Europe was also easy pickings on all bands including 80 Meters.
  • The log has been uploaded to LoTW and DX cards have been sent to the bureaus.

2009

• 2009 ARRL UHF Contest
  • Single-Operator, Low Power
  • Score: 36
  • QSOs: 3
  • Grids: 3
• 2009 ARRL International DX Contest (Phone) Mar 07 - Mar 08
  • Single-Operator, Low Power
  • Score: 21,105
  • QSOs: 108
  • Multipliers: 67

2008

• 2008 Fall 144 MHz Sprint 19:00 Sep 22 - 23:00 Sep 22 (local time)
  • Single-Operator, Low Power
  • Claimed Score: 20 points
  • Contact Summary: 5 contacts in NC and VA
  • Poor conditions from my location. Worked everyone I could hear. Still need to make improvements to my station.
  • The log has not been uploaded to LoTW, yet.
• ARRL VHF QSO Party 1800z Sep 13 - 0300z Sep 15
  • Single-Operator, Low Power
  • Score: 120 points
  • Contact Summary: 11 contacts in 5 states
  • Comments: I didn't think I would make two contacts. Luckily for me I made eleven! There are some improvements in my system that I need to make and this contest has shown me the improvements I need to make.
  • The log has not been uploaded to LoTW, yet.

2007

• ARRL November Sweepstakes (Phone) 2100z Nov 17 - 0300z Nov 19
  • Operated at Radio Station KN4KL as Multi-Single.
  • Results: 69,120 points
  • Comments: Had a lot of fun operating at the superstation that is Ed KN4KL. He has really designed a nice operating station (even though it is full of Icom gear) and has a complement of very effective antennas! His hospitality couldn't have been topped anywhere! Amanda and I really had a good time operating and hanging out chatting.
  • The log has been electronically submitted.
• JARTS WW RTTY 0001z Oct 20 - 2359z Oct 22
  • Single-Operator, Low Power
  • Results: 774 points
  • Comments: I didn't really mean to participate in the contest but when I hear that many RTTY signals on every band from 80m to 10m I just can't help myself. I didn't really compete but I did get in a few contacts.
  • The log has been electronically submitted and has been uploaded to the LoTW.
• 2007 CQ World Wide RTTY DX Contest 0001z 29 Sep - 2359z 30 Sep, 2007
  • Single-Operator, Low Power
  • Claimed Score: 54064 points
  • Contact Summary: 240 contacts on 5 continents: 52 DXCC Entities, 32 US States, 8 Canadian Providences
  • The log has been electronically submitted and has been uploaded to the LoTW.
• 2007 North Carolina QSO Party 1700z Feb 24 - 0300z Feb 25, 2007
  • Rover Operation with Amanda KI4IWS and John KE4TZN
  • Counties of Operation: Pitt -> Beaufort -> Hyde -> Dare -> Tyrrell -> Washington -> Martin -> Pitt
  • Results: 3200 points.
  • Contact Summary: 15 States and 3 DXCC entities.
  • The log has been electronically submitted and has been uploaded to the LoTW.
• 2007 ARRL RTTY Round-Up - Jan 6-7, 2007
  • Single-Operator, Low Power
  • Results: 277 contacts with a score of 19,113.
  • Contact Summary: 29 DXCC entities and 40 US states.
  • Ratings: 206th out of 709. Third in the state (NC) for my class.
  • The log has been electronically submitted to the ARRL and has been uploaded to the LoTW.