[SCCC] NS Ladder VI -- First Session This Week Thursday

[Bill Haddon]

On joining NCCC in 2001, I was suprised that the club had no internal
competition ladder, as is common in road racing clubs and chess clubs bridge
clubs and so on.  Our efforts to create such a ladder have grown into a
national 14-week series. Now in it's 6th year, NSL begins this week,
Thursday night, 0230-0300Z (Friday, UTC) on 20, 40 and 80m CW.

We hope that some of you in the SCCC will take part in some or all of these
Thursday night sessions.  Immediately after on 3610, you may want  to join
the nccc contest net, usually chaired by N6RO.  Randy,W6SJ, is a former
winner of one of our bottles of wine for participation in the NCCC Sprint
Ladder three years ago.

We recognized that the ladder competition, which is based on sprint-type
rules, might be rather challenging to those not familiar with sprint rules,
or who are still working on CW speed.  So we created  the Slow NCCC Sprint,
or SNS, which occurs thirty minutes before the NS Ladder  at 0200-0215Z and
is run by W9RE from the SMC.  CW speed is 20 wpm max in the SNS.

Here's a Summary of what the NS Ladder is about: .. .

   -- NS Ladder is an invigorating LP (100 watt or less) 14-week ladder
competition based on sprint rules. Stations compete for in three main
divisions plus a category for NCCC members:

                 -- Description of NCCC Thursday Night Contesting:
http://www.ncccsprint.com/
                 -- Description of Ladder Competition:
http://www.ncccsprint.com/ladder.htm
                 -- Schedule: http://www.ncccsprint.com/next_ns.htm
                 -- Score information (this year and 3 previous ladders) at
http://www.ncccsprint.com/results.htm
                 -- Logging s/w for NS:
http://www.ncccsprint.com/software.htm

  -- RULES for NS Ladder, see:
               http://www.ncccsprint.com/rules.htm

   -- Each NS Ladder session is a fast 30-min CW competition; this year 14
sessions on 20, 40 and 80 meters (40kHz from band edge) with 100w. power
limit.  But you need only participate in 9 events to fully qualify for
awards, so plenty of time for those vacations, graduations, weddings etc.
                  -- Ladder occurs most Thursday nights, 0230-0300Z
(Friday UTC). Last session is August 7.
                 --  Bands are 20, 40, 80 meter CW around 14040, 7040 and
3540
(Please s p r e a d out!)
                  -- EXCHANGE:  Serial #,  Your Name, (State, VE Province,,
NA DX Country)
                             ---   (Mults are combined NAQP/Sprint, i.e. NA
States (include AK/HI), Canadian Prov,  NA DXCC Countries/entities) and
count once per band.

                 -- SCHEDULE, see:  http://www.ncccsprint.com/next_ns.htm
                 -- SCORE SUBMISSION via the WA7BNM score report form at
http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
                 -- Logs need to be saved but are not submitted in unless
requested.

   -- NS Ladder Rules:  see http://www.ncccsprint.com/rules.htm    Changes
from last year:

              --  Awards based scores in 9 of 14 events for East,  West
Divisions and NCCC; fewer (TBA) for Newcomers Division.
              --  Divsions:
                         E. of Mississippi River  (Canada, East of
Manitoba-Ontario
border)
                         W. of Mississippi River
                         Newcomers -- for those who have not participated
in NS Ladder previously, or have done so just once or twice.
                         NCCC Members.
                           -- Change for this year:  You will declare
yourself to be in "Newcomers" division.
             --  No use of packet or skimmers

  -- Why would you want to participate in this "summer fun" event"??  Here
are some of the purposes/goals of the NS Ladder:

               A) Experience a few minutes of contesting fun on Thursday
nights. . relax and enjoy  (as per K7NV).
               B) Stay in practice over the summer when there are fewer
contests.  The ladder's unusual dupe rule keeps rates extraordinarily high
even under poor propagation conditions.
               C) NS Ladder is a summer "laboratory" for new antenna/
station designs: get into NS Ladder, establish a baseline, then put up your
6-el 80m Yagi and see the effect on your score.
               D) Only ladder competition in ham radio -- Provides a metric
for station and operator improvements.
               E) Interesting rules e.g.  the dupe rule and band-mults
under sprint conditions.
               F) Locust X Prize, an NCJ Subscription to first NS Ladder
participant to make 3000 points in a single 30-min session.
               G) Snappy 30 minute format.  The 30 min limit, with the dupe
rule,  makes NS Ladder a true Sprint in the athletic definition of the
word.  The 100-watt limit increases the fun for smaller stations.
               H) CA wine prizes to the Division winners.

New to sprints or shy of the fast code speeds required??  Participate in our
Slow NS (SNS), run by Mike W9RE.  The SNS is 30-mins prior to NS Ladder at
0200-0215Z on the same bands, but with a suggested code speed  20 wpm.  Try
this one for a while, and when you are ready,  add the regular NS Ladder.

Questions??
Please  contact Bill N6ZFO,  n6zfo at arrl.net,  or another member of our NS
Ladder BOD:  Mike, W9RE; Howie, N4AF; Jim, N3BB; John, K4BAI; Ted, W4NZ;
Chris, VA3NR.

We hope to see many of you on this and subsequent Thursday nights.

73 Bill, n6zfo
NCCC Sprint Ladder, Contest Director

[We thank Ed, W0YK for his extensive work on the NCCC Sprint web pages, and
Bruce, WA7BNM and Dink, N7WA for weekly score reporting assistance.
N6RO,K6VVA, K7NV and others within NCCC have been major contributors in
formulating the concepts and details of the NS Ladder over the past 6 years,
as have the members of the NS Ladder BOD.]