Hi all,
In response to questions I've received, here are some details and
suggestions for operating in the new ARRL-sponsored digital contest.
Contest Period: 1800 UTC June 4 through 2359 UTC June 5.
Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, and 6m
Modes: any digital mode, except no traditional RTTY. In practice most
contest participants will likely use FT4 and FT8.
Exchange: Four-character grid locator
Scoring: one point per QSO, plus an additional point for every 500 km of
distance or portion thereof, with distances measured between grid centers.
Power categories: Low Power (100 W or less) and QRP (5 W or less). No
High Power category.
Full details and contest rules are available here:
https://contests.arrl.org/ContestRules/Digital-Rules.pdf
In particular, take note of the recommended sub-bands and advice about
operating frequencies. Here are the essentials taken from the Contest
Rules document:
##############################################################################
FT4 Recommended Sub-bands:
1.836-1.840
3.580-3.590
7.080-7.090
14.080-14.090
21.080-21.090
28.080-28.090
50.330 to 50.340
FT8 Recommended Sub-bands:
1.840-1.844
3.590-3.600 (No Digital above 3600)
7.090-7.100
14.090-14.100
21.090-21.100
28.090-28.100
50.340 to 50.350
When choosing your operating frequency, set the radio dial at the bottom
of the sub-band and QSO with stations on audio frequencies within the
radio passband typically 2.5-4 kHz wide. If a sub-band becomes crowded,
move the radio dial frequency up in 2 kHz increments, as needed. (For
example: 7,090, 7.092, 7.094, 7.096 and 7.098).
##############################################################################
Finally, a few suggestions for configuring WSJT-X 2.5.4 for the contest:
1. Go to "File | Settings | Advanced", check "Special operating
activity" and "NA VHF Contest". (Of course this is not a VHF contest,
but the exchange and recommended message sequence is the same.)
2. Go to "File | Settings | Colors", check "My Call in message" and "New
Call on Band", and uncheck everything else. Check the box "Highlight
also messages with 73 or RR73." Click OK to dismiss the Settings dialog.
3. Select "File | Reset Cabrillo log".
4. Before the contest starts, select "File | Open log directory", and
rename the file wsjtx_log.adi to something else, say wsjtx_log.adi.bak.
This ensures that you will start the contest with an empty log. (After
the contest, you will probably want to append your contest QSOs to your
backup log and then rename it back to the original "wsjtx_log.adi".)
-- 73, Joe, K1JT
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