Contest Corner
Radiosport at The Mighty DK
Over its history, the Radio Club of Tacoma has seen periods of intense, highly competitive interest in contesting. Our present contest style is more about providing on-the-air experience for newer operators than it is about racking up the highest possible score. Still, our equipment is first-rate, and our antenna farm is pretty good for the space available on a city lot.
Weekly contests are a great way to get started in contesting, or to hone your radiosport skills! Club members can participate in the Weekly RTTY Test during Thursday HF nights at the club, or you can particpate as individuals from your home. If you operate from home please upload your scores to the 3830 Scores website. The Mghty DK Contest Team will also host some of the major contests at the club house throughout the year. The HF room will be reserved for the contest team for the duration of the contest.
Interested in joining the Mighty DK Contest Team and operating in an upcoming contest? Contact
WEEKLY CONTESTS
There are several weekly contests or sprints in which you can participate from your home, or on Thursday nights at the club house (Weekly RTTY Test). These are short contests of an hour or less, and a great entry into contesting or keeping your radiosport skills sharp. Post your scores to 3830 Scores to (Please READ the Mighty DK 3830 Scores Guide if you are new to using 3830.)
| WEEKLY CONTESTS | MODE | DATE / TIME | EXCHANGE | RULES |
| K1USN Slow Speed Test | CW | Monday 0000Z - 0100Z Friday 0200Z - 2100Z |
Name + (state/province/country) | http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html |
| ICWC Medium Speed Test | CW | Monday 1300 Z- 1400Z and 1900Z - 2000Z | Name + QSO No. | https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/ |
| Phone Weekly Test | SSB | Wednesday 0230Z - 0300Z | NA: Name + (state/province/country) | http://www.perluma.com/Phone_Fray_Contest_Rules.pdf |
| A1Club AWT (Japan) | CW | Wednesday 1145Z - 1300Z | RST + Name | https://a1club.org/contest/awt/ |
| CWops Test (CWT) | CW | Wednesday 1300Z - 1400Z Wednesday 1900Z - 2000Z Thursday 0300Z - 0400Z Thursday 0700Z - 0800Z |
Member: Name + Member No./"CWA" non-Member: Name + (state/province/country) |
https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/ |
| NCCC FT4 Sprint | FT-4 | Friday 0100Z - 0130Z | 4-character grid square | https://www.ncccsprint.com/ft4ns.html |
| Weekly RTTY Test | RTTY | Friday 0145Z - 0215Z | Name + (state/province/country) | https://radiosport.world/wrt.html |
MONTHLY MIGHTY DK CONTEST TEAM
The Might DK Contest Team will participate in some of the major contests throughout the year from the clubhouse using the W7DK callsign. The HF room will be reserved for members of the contest team for the duration of the contest. All contest logs will be submitted to the appropriate contest organization and to 3830 Scores (if applicable).
| CONTEST | MODES | DATES/TIME | EXCHANGE | RULES |
| CQ WW RTTY WPX Contest | RTTY | 0000Z, Feb 14 to 2359Z, Feb 15 | RST + Serial No. | https://www.cqwpxrtty.com/rules.htm |
| ARRL Inter. DX Contest, SSB | SSB | 0000Z, Mar 7 to 2400Z, Mar 8 | W/VE: RS + (state/province) non-W/VE: RS + power |
https://www.arrl.org/arrl-dx |
For a list of ALL contests and QSO parties please see the WA7BNM Contest Calendar!
RTTY CONTESTING
RTTY stands for Radio Teletype and is a super fun mode ,and perhaps the easiest way to learn the basics of contesting without a lot of stress commonly associated with the cacaphoney of calls during a pileup. And best of all, RTTY messages are sent via pre-programmed macros using keyboard function keys, and the messages are displayed as text messages in the software window on the computer.
The Mighty DK Contest Team has created a set of macros for anyone using N3FJP and Digital Engine for operating during RTTY contests. Please read the Might DK Macros Guide, and download the Mighty DK Digital Engine Macros file and upload to your Digital Engine software if you want to play in some RTTY contests from your home shack.
W7OS Antique Radio Museum
Classic radios are fun to operate in contests too, and some contests specifically favor the use of vintage radios. Look for W7OS Museum stations on the air during Straight Key Night, the Classic Exchange, the February SKCC "Boat anchor" Weekend Sprintathon, and other operating activities that encourage participation using older equipment.