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One continuing discussion in the VHF community is how to promote more activity, especially during the major VHF contests. One central theme that always emerges is how to modify the VHF contest rules to make them better, to make them fairer and to encourage new contesters. (Let me say up front that there is room for improvement in the contest rules but I don’t think rule changes alone will change contest participation significantly.)

In 2013, the ARRL contests added the Three-Band Single Operator and Single Operator FM Only entry categories. In January 2015, the ARRL added three more categories: Single Operator Unlimited High Power, Single Operator Unlimited Low Power, and Single Operator Unlimited Portable. These “unlimited” categories allow “passive use of spotting assistance” which roughly means these operators can monitor the various DX spotting networks but not spot themselves. The CQ Worldwide VHF Contest already allows passive assistance for all participants and self-spotting for digital EME and meteor scatter contacts. See the CQ WW VHF rules.

In January, the ARRL announced additional changes:

The Board … adopted amendments to the General Rules for ARRL Contests Above 50 MHz to encourage greater participation and band utilization. The changes become effective with the 2015 June ARRL VHF Contest. The revisions stemmed from recommendations offered by the Board’s Programs and Services Committee’s ad-hoc VHF and Above Revitalization subcommittee, composed of active VHF/UHF contesters, and they received strong support from the VHF/UHF community.

The subcommittee was charged with developing recommendations to increase the level and breadth of ARRL VHF and above contest participation and encourage operation on lesser-used bands. As a start to the process, the Board approved three changes that will permit assistance for all operator categories, with no effect on entry category; permit self-spotting for all operator categories, and allow single operators to transmit on more than one band at a time.

The changes will permit assistance in arranging contacts, but not in conducting contacts. They will, for example, allow a station to announce its location in a chat room, on a repeater, or even via e-mail.

The self-spotting/assistance issue is a hotly debated issue among VHFers, with two main schools of thought:

1) Contacts should be made completely independent of non-amateur assistance. Sometimes passive spotting assistance is allowed, but some folks want to eliminate that practice as well.

2) Contacts can be made with non-amateur assistance (spotting networks, chat rooms, etc.) as long as a complete radio contact occurs over the ham bands. This follows the common practice of internet spotting for EME and meteor scatter. Also, some rover stations have requested the ability to spot themselves when they enter a new grid.

There are a number of shades of gray positions between these two points of view (see the CQ WW VHF rules, for example), but I won’t try to explain them here. In general, I support the move to loosening up the restrictions on assistance (#2). Without good 6m propagation, VHF contests tend to be “QSO poor” and expanded use of spotting will allow for additional contacts. The potential risk is that we’ll get sloppy with what constitutes a legitimate contact. Once I know the exact frequency and call sign of the other station, it will be easier to “hear” the other station even when the path is not there. Of course, we already have this situation when we complete a QSO on one band and QSY to another band to work the same station. We know the frequency and call sign (and the grid)…did we really hear the other guy or just think we did? In the end, it all comes down to the integrity of the radio hams involved in the contact.

Those are my thoughts. What do you think?

73, Bob K0NR

The post Dorking With VHF Contest Rules appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

Bob Witte, KØNR, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Colorado, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

Michael Brown, KG9DW, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Illinois, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

Series Eight Episode Two of the ICQ Amateur / Ham Radio Podcast has been released. In this episode, Ed Durrant DD5LP, Martin Rothwell M0SGL and Matthew Nassau 2E0MTT to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin M6BOY rounds up the news in brief, and this episodes feature Amateur Radio Grid Locators.

• New Wireless Charging Organisation
• Ofcom Error on English Callsigns
• New D-STAR Support Section
• The ARRL Library goes live!
• More 5 MHz Channels for Czech amateurs
• FCC Enforcement Against Marriott International
• CQ DX Hall of Famer Bob Schenck, N2OO, named CQ DX Editor
• New World Record Claimed on 10 GHz
• Antarctic Activity Week
• Michigan Passes, Governor Signs Antenna Accommodation Legislation

 

Colin Butler, M6BOY, is the host of the ICQ Podcast, a weekly radio show about Amateur Radio. Contact him at [email protected].

Series Eight Episode Two of the ICQ Amateur / Ham Radio Podcast has been released. In this episode, Ed Durrant DD5LP, Martin Rothwell M0SGL and Matthew Nassau 2E0MTT to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin M6BOY rounds up the news in brief, and this episodes feature Amateur Radio Grid Locators.

• New Wireless Charging Organisation
• Ofcom Error on English Callsigns
• New D-STAR Support Section
• The ARRL Library goes live!
• More 5 MHz Channels for Czech amateurs
• FCC Enforcement Against Marriott International
• CQ DX Hall of Famer Bob Schenck, N2OO, named CQ DX Editor
• New World Record Claimed on 10 GHz
• Antarctic Activity Week
• Michigan Passes, Governor Signs Antenna Accommodation Legislation

 

Colin Butler, M6BOY, is the host of the ICQ Podcast, a weekly radio show about Amateur Radio. Contact him at [email protected].

Well designed DSB transceivers are much simpler than SSB rigs as no SSB filters and mixing to final frequency is needed. They must not be over-driven to avoid a spreading signal. The PA needs to be linear too. These issues being carefully considered, you end up with a rig that has the same bandwidth as an AM rig but with a suppressed carrier. DSB transmitters are usually received as an SSB signal. The downside is that if a simple direct-conversion receiver is used then there is no rejection of stations sitting on the other sideband. So, they are best on quieter bands, rather than busy HF bands. Bands like 10m, 6m and 4m are probably good candidates.

Although not impossible, it is quite difficult to demodulate a DSB signal on a simple direct-conversion receiver. DSB rigs are ideal as simple transceivers to communicate with SSB rigs.

See http://home.alphalink.com.au/~parkerp/projects/projmicro40.htm

Also: https://aa7ee.wordpress.com/2013/10/19/the-vk3ye-micro-40-dsb-transceiver/

Roger Lapthorn, G3XBM, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cambridge, England.

As you may recall, I am quite a fan of super-regen receivers. Nothing as simple is able to match their AM sensitivity, but they tend to have poor selectivity.

With the availability of very low cost 433MHz modules (TX and super-regen RX) designed for AM data, these modules could be ripe for conversion to ultra-simple 70cm AM voice transceivers. One local friend, Andrew G6ALB, is currently carrying out experiments to see if this is feasible. I hope to work him on 70cm AM using such a rig in the months ahead. Sadly, I am still too clumsy to do any building work – very frustrating.

I am wondering if anyone else has tried these modules in such a circuit? With a simple MMIC PA (50 ohms in and out) the power output could be lifted to around 25mW carrier or more. With V2000 verticals this should be good for local ranges. Even at the low milliwatt level from these QRPp modules several km range should be possible with co-linear antennas.

UPDATE 2310z:   I wonder what sort of power the TX modules typically produce with linear (speech) modulation rather than 5V square wave data modulation? Presumably much less than their rated power, so an add-on PA may be essential?

Roger Lapthorn, G3XBM, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cambridge, England.

Early morning (Jan 22) saw BCB conditions vastly improved over what they have been for most of the season. Because I am on the wrong (none-Pacific) side of Vancouver Island, as well as on the eastern shores of Mayne Island, I usually don't listen for Asian signals on my Perseus recordings but a quick check of Thursday's recordings revealed some very solid signals from many Japanese stations, as well as Korea. Most signals were strongest at around 1500Z (7 a.m. local) but were first audible from about 1200Z.

Three of the good performers are shown in the video below:

• JOBB  828KHz NHK2 Osaka
• JOAK  594KHz NHK1 Tokyo
• HLAZ 1566KHz Jeju, South Korea / Far Eastern Broadcasting Company

Numerous other signals, reaching similar strengths were audible throughout the broadcast band on their 9KHz-spaced channels. Interestingly, I had configured my LF inverted-L into a temporary version of a low noise vertical (LNV) by removing all of the loading coil and feeding with an isolating impedance matching transformer. I rather suspect that in this mode it is acting as a normal quarter-wave inverted-L however as its self-resonant frequency, without any loading, is around 1200KHz. Today's conditions were much poorer but several Asian signals were heard once again.

Should conditions improve, the next time I will use my large loop oriented to favor Japan and also take advantage of its ability to null many of the local blowtorch signals from Vancouver, off to the side.
Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].