[CQ-Contest] CW Sprint Invitation

[Ward Silver]

CW Sprint starts at 0000 UTC again - Sun, Feb 5th (Sat afternoon or evening
in NA)
Log deadline is 7 days after the contest.
Logs Received web page at ncjweb.com/cwsprintlogs
Complete rules: ncjweb.com/Sprint-Rules.pdf

The extra flux of late (it was originally estimated to go to the 200 level
but is stuck in the 130s the past few days) certainly bodes well for 20
meters at the outset of the CW Sprint which is why the start time returns
to 0000 UTC for February and March. The band will likely stay open
throughout the contest so you may be able to pick up KH6 and KL7 at any
time. If last weekend was any guide, 40 meters will be a terrific band from
start to finish, too, including regional QSOs.

The only drawback will probably be higher absorption on 80 meters, limiting
coast-to-coast QSOs on that band.   On the bright side, QRN is much lower
in February than in other months so listen hard! A reminder for those with
limited operating time, that last 90 minutes can really be fun on 80 meters
with a little 40 meters thrown in for good measure.

What about Bouvet?  The DXpedition is due to begin getting the gear off the
boat shortly.  Then a couple of days of setup before they begin operating.
This means, assuming weather and seas cooperate, there may be HUGE pileups
on all of the bands during the CW Sprint contest.  The 3Y0J band plan (
3y0j.no/bandplan) suggests that the upper limit of the pileups will be 40
kHz above the band edges.  If so, that gives sprinters a window above "040"
to operate if DXers call them lower in the band.  Maybe this will work but
Plan B may be to operate BELOW the expedtion's transmit frequencies.  Keep
informed as to where the activity is before the contest. Regardless, we may
just get squashed so be flexible and use the Big Knob.
Don't forget about the five-person teams which are fun for new Sprinters -
it's a great way to get started. Just register the team at
ncjweb.com/cwsprintteamreg before the contest starts.

After the deadline, the NCJ team takes pride in getting the results out
quickly. About two weeks after the contest, we'll publish a table of
Preliminary Results with the category winners and everyone's final score.
Within 30 days, we'll publish the full results, including the Top Ten and
other tables, some graphical analysis, photos, and comments from the
participants. The full results will be published on the NCJ Sprint website
at ncjweb.com/north-american-sprint. In the following edition of NCJ
magazine, an excerpt of those results will be published so you get three
for the price of one.

Hope to hear you on the bands – CQ NA!
The NCJ Sprint Team and the Boring Amateur Radio Club


PS - There is no reason not to call a station CQing in another contest. The
British Columbia and Vermont QSO Parties will be active, for example. It is
perfectly OK to make a QSO with a non-Sprint station as long as you get the
necessary information from them. It does not matter if they don't QSY after
the contact. (i.e. - don't start CQing on their frequency if they aren't in
the Sprint) If they do submit a Sprint log, all that is necessary is for
your call to be in their log at the date and time you claim the QSO took
place. So keep your ears open!