[SD-User] ARRL 10 Metre Contest

[Paul O'Kane]

The ARRL 10m contest takes place next weekend 15/16th December.
There are CW Only, SSB Only, and mixed-mode sections.

Here's how to configure SD - for both W/VE and DX.

Select Type 10 - General, County and Area Multipliers.

1.  Single Mode Entry - CW Only or SSB Only

.MLT File           : ARRL10
.CTY File           : DXCC
Multipliers Count   : B (by band - Yes, I know
                         it's 10m only)
Points per QSO      : 4 (if CW only)
                      2 (if SSB only)
Pts/Bonus           : 0 (multipliers)
Single/Multi-Op     : S or M
Next Page           : Y
Receive Serial from
 Area QSOs (W/VE)   : N
Mode                : CW or SSB
Mixed-mode          : N
______________________________________

2.  Mixed Mode Entry - both CW and SSB

.MLT File           : ARRL10
.CTY File           : DXCC
Multipliers Count   : B (by band - Yes, I know
                         it's 10m only)
Points per QSO      : 0 (variable)
Pts/Bonus           : 0 (multipliers)
Single/Multi-Op     : S or M
Next Page           : Y
Points / Area QSO   : 0 (same as other QSOs)
Points vary by mode : Y
            by band : N
        by location : N
Points CW           : 4
Points SSB          : 2
Receive Serial from
   Area QSOs (W/VE) : N
Mode                : CW or SSB (your current mode)
Mixed Mode          : Y
Mults count on both
              modes : Y
Work same station
     on both modes  : Y
___________________________________________

Work everyone.
W/VE send RS(T) and State.
DX   send RS(T) and Serial.

After the contest, use SDCHECK to create your .LOG file
in ARRL's Standard File Format (Cabrillo).  You're free
to edit the Summary information if necessary (for example,
add soapbox comments) - but do not edit the QSO records.

A reminder that, in Cabrillo logs, dupes are not marked,
multipliers are not indicated, and QSOs are not scored.
ARRL will do all this independently with your log.

Rename your .LOG file to YOURCALL.LOG (the call used in
the contest) and email it, as an attached file, to
10meter@arrl.org.  
_______________________________________________________

My suggested strategy (Mixed-Mode entries only).

CW QSOs score double points (4 compared to 2 on SSB).
Therefore, you should operate CW as much as possible, as
it's usually easier to run continuously at, for example, 
120/hour on CW than 240/hour on SSB.

However, multipliers score on both modes - so use SSB as
necessary to ensure that your SSB mult total stays close
to your CW mult total.  SD shows SSB and CW mult totals
separately.

I'd recommend that at least three quarters of your QSOs
should be CW - that way your average Points/QSO will be
3.5 or greater.  If your average falls to 3.0, it means
you have equal numbers of CW and SSB QSOs - you may be
having fun, but you're probably not scoring as well as
you might.

73,
Paul EI5DI