As we approach the big CW contests of the season, I thought that
Assisted/Unlimited contesters might appreciate a few tips on how to make
the best use of the Reverse Beacon Network's Telnet feed
(http://telnet.reversebeacon.net, port 7000). If that's not you, go
ahead and hit the Delete key now!
As I've said before, the RBN is uniquely fitted to use by contesters,
because its 40 or more stations scattered worldwide spot every running
station, wherever the station is being heard. Stations are re-spotted
every 10-11 minutes if they stay on the same frequency, or immediately
if they change frequency more than a few hundred Hz. The result is an
all-band snapshot of activity on every band, delivered in real time.
Picture that on Sunday afternoon in Sweepstakes, or anytime during the
CQWW DX contest. Is 10 meters open? As soon as one station calls CQ,
and is heard by CW Skimmer at one or more of the Reverse Beacon Network
stations, it will be spotted. You should never have to miss that rare
opening again.
Now obviously, the volume of RBN spots will be tremendous, and could
easily overwhelm you (or your logging program). The first thing to do,
to manage this, is to filter spots at the Telnet node. K4TD, who
generously hosts the node, uses DX Spider cluster software. This
software lets you set filters with great precision, so that, for
example, you can tell the node only to send you spots from a given
continent, or country, call area, or even state. I find it most useful
to limit the RBN spots I receive to those generated by stations in
Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia, because I can pretty much count on
being able to hear everything they spot.
DX Spider's filter commands are quite different from those used by
AR-Cluster. You can either learn the syntax or, as I did, download
VE7CC's excellent CC User (http://www.ve7cc.net/). This software
translates your wishes to commands and "tells" DX Spider what to do.
You do *not* have to use CC User as an intermediate step between the
telnet node and your logging program. Instead, once you've set the
filters, you can shut it down, start your logging program, and you're
ready to go.
Two more hints for operators using the RBN. Most contest loggers have a
setting for "packet spot timeout", or something similar, that removes
spots from the bandmap when they get too old. Because of RBN's unique
re-spotting capability, there is no reason to have the timeout set to
more than 15 minutes - if the station is still there, it will be spotted
again, and your bandmap won't be clogged with obsolete spots.
And finally, if you want to make sure that you're spotted by the RBN,
then once in a while, even if you're running fast, send "CQ" or "TEST"
as a part of your end-of-QSO transmission. CW Skimmer isn't perfect at
determining which stations are running and which are S&P - it has
trouble with runners who only sign their calls at the end of each
contact - but this way, you can help it "notice" you.
See you on the air.
73, Pete N4ZR
The World Contest Station Database, updated daily at www.conteststations.com
The Reverse Beacon Network at http://reversebeacon.net, blog at
reversebeacon.blogspot.com,
spots at telnet.reversebeacon.net, port 7000
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