W1AW/7 Team Idaho Operating Manual "Now that I am part of Team Idaho what am I supposed to do?" By: K7ZO (Scott Tuthill), February 15, 2014 In creating the Centennial QSO Party, the ARRL has given us an amazing opportunity to operate using their famous W1AW callsign as well as be in a situation that will generate incredible numbers of QSOs. As part of Team Idaho you will representing us on one or more band/mode combinations for the UTC week of March 5 through March 11. This document should provide you with the background you need to successfully operate as W1AW/7 Idaho. In creating this I have referenced literally dozens of e-mails from ARRL HQ and other state coordinators who have shared what they have learned. These are recommendations built on the experience of others. It is laid out in a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) format grouped around several major topics and with several pages of Appendices following with more detailed information should you want to reference it. General Operating Questions Who is "W1AW/7 Team Idaho" and what are our Band/Mode assignments? Remember the way I have approached creating "Team Idaho" is to ask folks to operate as W1AW/7 on specific bands and modes for the whole week. This approach works well for us since we live in a big state with a relatively low population. See Appendix A for a complete list of everyone's names, phone numbers, and e-mails and a map of their locations. Feel free to contact any of the other operators. The abbreviated list is: CW Phone Digital 160 KA7T WB7RBH KA7ERV, N7BVX & K1BOB 80 K7CF K7CF N7UVH 40 K0TO N7VJ K7TQ 30 KA7T KM7R 20 WJ9B K0IP K7TQ 17 AI7H & KM7R K7ZO W7CQW 15 W7ZRC K0IP N7ESU 12 K7TM K7HK & W7DZX KD7HGS 10 W7ZRC Weekdays: K7LNA & K7ZOX Weekend: KG7E Backup: KF7SVI N7ESU 6 KI7I KI7I W7OUU 2 KI7I KI7I W7MEM 1.25 W7MEM W7MEM W7MEM 70cm KI7I KI7I W7MEM Satellites KF7CQ
When do I get to operate as W1AW/7? From 0000 UTC Wednesday March 5 through 2359 UTC Tuesday March 11. In local time this is a bit messy because of the two time zones in the state as well Daylight Savings Time kicks in that weekend. Factoring these in it works out to: Those in the Mountain Time Zone: 5:00PM Tuesday March 4 through 5:59PM Tuesday March 11 Those in the Pacific Time Zone: 4:00PM Tuesday March 4 through 4:59PM Tuesday March 11 Remind me again what this whole ARRL Centennial QSO Party is about. See http://www.arrl.org/centennial-qso-party. Also the North Carolina team produced a nice video summarizing their operation as well as the whole W1AW program. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfdi9r0hnos How much am I supposed to operate? ARRL's guideline, which matches mine, is "Operate as much as you want and make as many QSOs as you can while still having fun!" Remember that everyone worldwide will eventually evaluate how well we did as a state on whether or not they made QSOs with us. This is no different than how a DXpedition gets evaluated. If you work them they are sharp ops with a great station, etc. If you don't work them they must all be lids. So, let's be thought of as great operators with great stations and make sure we give everyone a chance to make the QSOs with us that they want to. What times of the day should I operate? This is actually a very important consideration. If you can only get on the air for short times each day, try to operate during different times each day during the week. Obviously you need to operate when your band is open to make QSOs outside out of your local area and outside the state. However, it also important to know that the Centennial QSO Party has generated global interest and hams all over the world are going to want to make QSOs with us. So, you need to plan your operating times so that "anyone anywhere" has a chance to work you sometime during the week. For those of you on the high bands this means getting on in the morning as the bands open to work Europe and Africa, making sure to beam to the Caribbean and South America at mid-day, and hanging around in the afternoon until the band closes to work Asia and Oceana. For the low band folks this means catching openings to Europe around our sunset, again at their sunrise, as well as being on just before our sunrise to work Asia. In particular make sure to set aside some time to work Japan. Messages received from Japanese amateurs is that many are working for a W1AW/# WAS award, have reconfigured their stations to increase their signal toward the US, etc. How many QSOs should I make? As Idaho team coordinator I would like to challenge Team Idaho to make a total of 20,000 QSOs. This would beat our friends to the south in Utah and is a very reasonable total compared to other states. See Appendix B which summarizes several states QSO totals as well as proposes our plan to achieve 20,000 QSOs. Look up your band and mode and see what you can do to make at least that many QSOs. For example on 20M CW WJ9B I am looking for >2,000 QSOs from you and on 20M Phone K0IP I am looking for >2,750 QSOs from you. But, again, overall make as many QSOs as you are having fun making. And, also expect to work a lot of DX. Many states are working 75 to 100 countries on each band. Yes, for once, you get to be the DX! Enjoy it. How are other states approaching their W1AW assignment? ARRL HQ identified coordinators in each state to do what is best for them. I chose our band/mode assignment model as I felt it would work best for us in a relatively large state with a low population. Other states are approaching it very differently. Some states are holding the entire W1AW operation at one QTH -- though at a station that can have 5, 6, 7, or 8 signals on the air at once! I do not believe we have such a station anywhere in Idaho. Other states are taking an approach to make sure 2 to 3 stations are on the air at all times and they move
around to the bands and modes appropriate for that time. Other states with high populations are requesting operators to sign up to be W1AW in one hour chunks of time. I am aware of at least one high population state that is going to have an online tracking system where any operator can go to a web site, see if someone is operating as W1AW on a given band and mode, and if not can log themselves in and go operate on that band and mode. When done, they log themselves out so someone else can operate. On Air Guidelines and Suggestions What should I do when I get on the air? Call CQ Call CQ Call CQ! There is no sense in dialing around calling people, they will be looking for us. Also, it won't hurt to occasionally call CQ DX Only if the band is open and stateside is loud covering up potentially weak DX stations, or to ask for Mobiles and QRP only for the same reason, just don't do that for more than a couple minutes. Initial experience has shown that the USA will be patient for those special requests. Relative to geographic specific CQ's: You can and should also throw in specific continent calls "CQ Europe Only", "CQ Asia Only", "CQ DX Only", etc as you see fit. If you have a band that has only a 30 minute window each day to some continent whereas several hours to the US, you better concentrate your operations during that 30 minutes to that continent and ask the US to standby. It is fine and helpful to explain that to the pileup: "US please standby while I work XXXXXXX. I only have a 30 minute propagation window for them and want to work them when I can. I will be back to the US soon". This is also why it is important to move your daily operating times around during the week to make sure you hit the band openings to all parts of the world. How should I identify myself when calling CQ or QRZ? Always identify yourself as W1AW/7 on CW and Digital and as W1AW Portable 7 on Phone. W1AW/4 in Kentucky will also be on the air the same week we are so make sure to give our full call to differentiate ourselves from them. What exchange should I give? Always give your exchange as 59 Idaho or 599 ID. In other words always include Idaho in the exchange. You don't need to give anything more than that. However, during the Idaho QSO Party over the weekend participants also need to give the county you are in. See the separate FAQ section on Operating in the Idaho QSO Party later. What else should I say in the QSO and anything else I should keep in mind? For the most part these are going to be contest style QSOs -- meaning get their call, give them your exchange, confirm the QSO and move on to the next one. They are not intended to be ragchews nor for sending long RTTY brag tapes. However use your best judgment and especially if rates are slow feel free to chat for a while. Other things previous W1AW operations have learned are: "Feel free to thank guys for their service if they mention being a VE or Card Checker or something. The audience is really liking this and I have heard many of the W1AW ops engaging the callers -- it has really been excellent." "Remain calm and courteous (no frequency fights, stay away from nets, ignore intentional qrm, etc)" "If you get complaints of bad audio, splatter, etc, check amp tuning and compressor settings, etc" Make sure you always have a clean signal. Remember you are operating with the ARRL HQ callsign. What Frequencies should I operate at?
Stay in General portion of bands (or Tech on 10M Phone) as much as possible. For a reminder on where all these portions are see: http://www.arrl.org/graphical-frequency-allocations Stay in the sub-band where your mode is authorized and/or expected Stay clear of nets and dxpeditions. For CW ops you can get a good view of the band via the Reverse Beacon Network. For other modes, packetcluster can give you a partial view of the band but also listen to the band for a few minutes before you begin operating. Watch out for band edges. For instance in LSB don't get closer than 3 khz from the Phone subband bottom or in USB don't get closer than 3 khz from the band top. Watch out for the SSTV areas notably 14230 +/- and established DX segments like 3790-3800. Digital operators when operating RTTY should look out for PSK31 which is usually around.070 and JT around.075 and.076 See Appendix C for Band specific suggestions. How will people know what frequency I am operating on so they can find me? On CW this won't be a problem as the skimmer network will find and spot you instantly as soon as you call CQ. If you are a Phone or Digital operator I recommend you spot yourself on one of the internet packcluster nodes when you begin operating, when you QSY, if you switch to operating Split, etc. If need be, repeat the spot every 10-15 minutes or so. Remember to spot yourself as W1AW/7 not your home call. :) What if someone asks me to QSY to a different band or mode? Tell them that you are only authorized to operate W1AW/7 on this band and mode and so can't QSY. Let them know we have Idaho operators assigned to all bands and modes and they will be on the air during the week. If you want, give them the callsign and e-mail for the operator who will be on that band and mode and suggest they send an e-mail to them to arrange a schedule. For those of you that have multiple band/mode assignments, and someone wants to QSY to a band and mode for which you are also assigned, just do what makes sense. How do I avoid interfering with nets? ARRL HQ has gotten some complaints about W1AW operations interfering with nets. This is somewhat expected given the size of the pileups on some bands where nets are prevalent like 20 SSB. I know I am not on the bands enough to know where the nets are and likely most of you are not either. Net's expectation that everyone should know that of course they are on 14.XXX every day at 1430 UTC is not fair. But, it is what it is and everyone will be happier if we avoid nets. The general advice is: Listen before you transmit and check out your listening frequency range if you are going split. If you just take the approach of being a considerate operator things should be ok 99% of the time. There are a couple of lists of nets that people have suggested. You can take a look at these. http://ac6v.com/nets.htm http://www.n1yz.com/hfnet_list.htm Some of the major nets people have said to be on the lookout for include, but is obviously not limited to: Pacific Seafarers Net (14300), Century Club (3905, 7188/7178), Geratol (3668), Triple H (7190 @ 0700 UTC), County Hunters (14336 and many more often X36 on SSB and 56.5 on CW.), OMISS (14290), etc. Similarly, we should also watch out for the SSTV areas notably 14230 +/- and established DX segments like 3790-3800. Digital operators when operating RTTY should look out for PSK31 which is usually around.070 and JT around.075 and.076. Any special suggestions for CW operators?
Use reasonable cw speeds, don't do 50 wpm just because you can. At regular intervals dial your speed back to 15-20 wpm for a few minutes for the casual CW operator. Also, as the week progresses gradually slow your speed down. It is tempting to operate right on the.025 frequencies but you will be better off moving up a bit towards.030. Any special suggestions for Phone operators? Use only standard phonetics Any special suggestions for Digital operators? Operate RTTY and at least some PSK31. Experience from other states is that 80-90% of their Digital QSOs are RTTY and the majority of the rest are PSK31. If you are capable of other digital modes give them a try as long as you are making QSOs. Obviously for W7MEM and W7OUU operating Meteor Scatter and EME -- use whatever mode you need to. If you happen to use WSJT software, it turns out that WSJT (JT65A and JT9) doesn't work correctly with a slash after the call. It works fine if the slash is in the front of the call (W7/W1AW) Though there are reports that WSJT-X Version 1.3 has improved handling of compound callsigns. So, if you are running WSJT-X you can check that out. A good guide for RTTY sub-bands can be found at: http://www.aa5au.com/gettingstarted/rtty_subbands.htm Some hints on handling a RTTY pileup can be found at the following, and from my personal experience at YN5Z handling a RTTY pileup is tricky if you have never done it. o http://www.ewarg.org/g0azt.htm (See "Eddies Commandments for the DX Station) o http://lists.contesting.com/archives//html/rtty/2012-02/msg00112.html What do I do when the pileup starts to build? Now won't that be fun! If you like pileups you are going to have a great time operating as W1AW/7. If you have never experienced pileups you are about to. (And for the pileup novices there is some additional material in Appendix D to look at). General experience from other state operations is: Avoid going by call areas if at all possible! This has been the operating technique that has generated the most complaints to ARRL HQ and the other W1AW/# operations. The general reason is that you will asking the vast majority of the pileup to standby for long periods of time when they can hear you quite well. If you absolutely feel you have to thin out the pileup by going by call areas the advice I can offer you is: o Work no more than 7-8 stations in each call area before moving to the next one. This should let you get through all ten call areas in a half hour or less. o You can also throw in specific continent calls "Europe Only", "Asia Only", "DX Only" as well as asking for QRP and/or Mobiles. If you have a band that has only a 30 minute window each day to some continent whereas several hours to the US, you better concentrate your operations in the 30 minutes to that continent and ask the US to standby. It is fine and helpful to explain that to the pileup: "US please standby while I work XXXXXXX. I only have a 30 minute propagation window for them and want to work them when I can. I will be back to the US soon". o Be aware of where you have propagation now, where you don't, and how it will be changing as you move through the call areas. Nothing gets the pileup madder than to hear you fade away while you are working some other call area that they know will still have propagation hours from now.
You are best off going split using standard split amounts -- UP 5-10 on Phone, UP 1-2 on CW and UP 1-3 on Digital. If you have never transmitted split with your radio before make sure to try it out before getting on the air. Remember you will still be mobbed if you keep listening on the same split frequency. You really need to move the receive frequency around thru the pileup else you lose most of the advantage of split. For those of you that have not operated split before here is some advice from KM7R: Realize if you operate split you will be doing it backwards from what almost all of us are used to when we work a DX station who themselves is operating split. In the later case, which we are familiar with, we keep our listening frequency fixed and change our transmitting frequency to find where the DX station is listening. Since when operating split as W1AW/7 you are now the DX station you will be keeping your transmitting frequency fixed and will be changing your listening frequency to pick out a call in the pileup. I highly recommend you practice this setup on your radio before you start operating as the buttons you push, the knobs you turn, and the way you use your VFO's will be different enough to really confuse you. I've been there, done that, so I speak from experience. If someone asks "Who is the Operator?" or "What is your QTH?" what do I do? Just tell them who you are. You can give out your home call. For QTH you can say Idaho or maybe they want the county or grid. You can figure it out. What is someone calls me who I already have in the log but still wants to work me again? The easiest thing is to just work them again and log them again. They may be calling you because they want an insurance contact or they were not sure about their prior QSO. So, the advice is "Work and Log all Dupes". It will be faster than trying to convince them you already worked them and have them in the log. What if someone asks "How do I get your QSL card?" QSL cards from W1ØØAW and W1AW operating portable will be sent automatically via the QSL Bureau system to each U.S.A. station who signs-up online with the ARRL to receive such cards [this form is not ready yet -- please watch for an announcement from the ARRL]. This is a one-time only use of the QSL Bureau for this purpose. Stations will need to have envelopes on file at their buro. QSLs will automatically be sent to stations outside the U.S.A. via the QSL Bureau as normal. QSLs may be requested directly from the ARRL also, with an SASE required for return. Logging Questions What do I need to log for my QSOs? For each QSO please make sure to log date, time in UTC, band, mode, and the callsign of the other station. You do not need to log name, actual signal report, or any other personal information. So spend time making sure you get the call right but don't worry about any other information. However, when participating in the Idaho QSO Party make sure you do ask for and log their QTH. See the FAQ section on Operating in the Idaho QSO Party for more details. Does it matter what logging software I use? No, but it will be easier on you if your software generates ADIF files and supports the Idaho QSO Party. Many people use N1MM. Appendix E has specific setup steps on how to use N1MM while operating as W1AW/7. What if we have multiple operators during the week on a given band and mode? I don't actually need that information nor does ARRL HQ. You are free to record that information for your own use.
What do I do with my log when the week is up? Using your logging software or other tool generate a ADIF file of your QSOs. Please name the file W1AW7-yourcall.adi. So for instance W1AW7-K7ZO.adi. E- mail me the ADIF file by noon on Thursday, March 13th at k7zo@cableone.net. For those of you participating in the Idaho QSO Party I need a second separate ADIF file from you for that. See the FAQ section on Operating in the Idaho QSO Party for more details. Anything else I should be recording for the week? You bet. Make sure to take some photos of you, you operating, your station, etc. If you want to record video or audio of you operating -- Even better. The ARRL is going to put together a W1AW yearbook and will be looking for content from every state operation. I will collect them from you after I get all the logs processed. Operating During the Idaho QSO Party By design, I chose the week of March 5-11 for us as it includes the Idaho QSO Party. We have a unique opportunity with the excitement surrounding W1AW/7 as well as our own state QSO Party. I am asking that everyone with a W1AW/7 assignment operate during the Idaho QSO party period and anyone with a band assignment on 160M, 80M, 40M, 20M, 15M, and 10M please participate in the Idaho QSO Party. This adds a few complexities to our W1AW/7 week so let's go through them one at a time. The FAQ Topics are: Remind me again about the Idaho QSO Party: See http://www.idahoarrl.info/qsoparty for full information. What times, bands and modes are in the Idaho QSO Party? The Idaho QSO Party runs for 24 hours from 1900 UTC Saturday March 8th to 1900 UTC Sunday March 9 th and is on 160M, 80M, 40M, 20M, 15M, 10M utilizing CW, Phone, and Digital. So essentially all of our W1AW/7 HF band/mode slots except for WARC and it is during weekend hours when casual operators will be on the air. These times should general peak QSO rates. This does not mean those of you with a W1AW/7 assignment outside of the Idaho QSO party can't operate during this period it just means you won't participate in the Idaho QSO party itself. I do still want those with WARC band and UHF/VHF assignments to operate as W1AW/7 while the Idaho QSO Party is underway. Who should operate and when during the Idaho QSO Party? I really want to encourage everyone to make a special effort to operate with your W1AW/7 allocation during the period of the Idaho QSO party. It will be a great testament to all of us if we had 15 or more stations on the air at the same time all signing W1AW/7 Idaho. The rest of the world will be impressed. Just think what the packetcluster will look like. Idaho everywhere! Realizing that not everyone can sit in front of the radio the whole 24 hours and not all bands are open for the full 24 hours, let's make a special effort to be on the air during these two Idaho Shout-out! operating periods with your W1AW/7 allocation: 20M, 17M, 15M 12M, 10M 1900-2200 UTC March 8 (The first three hours of the QSO Party) 160M, 80M, 40M, 30M 0200-0500 UTC March 9 (The three hours after sunset) Please try to operate as much as you can during the period of the Idaho QSO Party, but if you have to limit your operating times, please try to be on the air with your W1AW/7 call during these Idaho Shout-out! periods. What exchange should I give during the Idaho QSO Party? If you are on 160M, 80M, 40M, 20M, 15M or 10M and thus participating in the Idaho QSO party, remember your exchange needs to include the
county you are in. So, for example, if you are in Bonner County extend your exchange from 599 ID or 59 Idaho to 599 ID BNR or 59 Idaho Bravo November Radio (Obviously replace Bonner county with your own.) You can find the list of county abbreviations to use at: http://www.idahoarrl.info/qsoparty/mapcountylist.htm. If you are on a WARC band or VHF/UHF you can continue to give your exchange as "599 ID" or "59 Idaho". Also, realize that many operators calling you will not realize that the Idaho QSO party is occurring and will be calling you just for the W1AW/7 contact. Feel free to send any extra information needed to explain your exchange. For example on Phone you might say "You are 59 Idaho and I am in Bonner Country, Bravo November Radio, for the Idaho QSO Party". What if I want to operate on bands and modes during the Idaho QSO Party other than where I have a W1AW/7 slot? First I want to encourage everyone to operate with your W1AW/7 allocation on your assigned band and mode until there just are not any more QSOs to make. Either the band closes or you work everyone. When that happens or if you really want to go operate on other bands and modes just use your home call there. See guidelines following on logging and scoring. How do I log QSOs during the Idaho QSO Party and what do I do with the log?? If you are on 160M, 80M, 40M, 20M, 15M or 10M and thus participating in the Idaho QSO party the requested approach is as follows: 1. In your favorite logging or contest software create a new log just for the ID QSO Party and use that log while participating in the ID QSO Party. N1MM Setup instructions can be found in Appendix E 2. Operate however you like, using W1AW/7 on your assigned band and mode and your home call on the other bands and modes. Please do not operate with W1AW/7 and your home call on the same band and mode. So, for instance if you have the 15M CW allocation only use W1AW/7 on 15M CW, don't use both W1AW/7 and your home call on 15M CW. 3. Log all your Idaho QSO party contacts into this one log file. Meaning both those you make using W1AW/7 on your assigned band and mode and those using your home call on other bands and modes. We will know which QSOs were made with you as W1AW/7 and which ones were under your home call based on the band and mode of the QSO. Your Idaho QSO party score will be based on the sum of your W1AW/7 QSOs and your home call QSOs. 4. During the Idaho QSO Party you will also need to log the QTH of the station calling you. If they don't offer it in the exchange you can ask once for it. If you don't get a QTH from the station just log the QSO as being with the county you are in and we will fix the log later. So, for example, if you are in Bonner county and W4XYZ calls you and you can't get a QTH just log the QSO with a QTH of BNR. 5. When done with the Idaho QSO party save your log and resume your W1AW/7 operating using the log with QSOs made prior to Idaho QSO party. 6. When the week is over create two separate ADIF files - one from your general operating and one from the Idaho QSO party and e-mail them to me by noon, Thursday March 13. I will forward your log from the Idaho QSO Party to the contest team. Make sure each log file has a unique name. The requested naming scheme is: a. General Operating: W1AW7-yourcall.adi b. Idaho QSO Party: W1AW7IDQSO-yourcall.adi What if a juicy DX station calls in while I am operating as W1AW/7 -- can I work them on my home call as well? Absolutely (Thanks KM7R for bringing this up.)
Appendix A W1AW/7 Team Idaho Callsign Name Phone Number E-mail City County Grid CW 160 KA7T Don Clower 208-888-7020 ka7t@clear.net Meridian Ada DN13 80 K7CF Michael Saville 801-641-6553 k7cf@msn.com McCammon Bannock DN32 40 K0TO Tod Olson 952-807-2859 tod@k0to.us Idaho Falls Bonneville DN33 30 KA7T Don Clower 208-888-7020 ka7t@clear.net Meridian Ada DN13 20 WJ9B Willie Baber 352-359-6179 wlbaber@bellsouth.net Middleton Canyon DN13 17 AI7H & W7CQW Ed Stuckey & Quint Webb 208 457-0354 & 208-277-6992 idahosm@hotmail.com & w7cqw@yahoo.com Post Falls Kootenai DN17 15 W7ZRC Rod Greene 208-850-6216 greene5758@hotmail.com Meridian Ada DN13 12 K7TM Bob Hallock 208-667-3372 byhallock@gmail.com Kottenai DN17 10 W7ZRC Rod Greene 208-850-6216 greene5758@hotmail.com Meridian Ada DN13 6 KI7I Richard VanLandingham 972-825-6339 rvanlandingham@att.net Spirit Lake Bonner DN17 2 KI7I Richard VanLandingham 972-825-6339 rvanlandingham@att.net Spirit Lake Bonner DN17 1.25 W7MEM Mark McMillan 509-994-1590 w7mem@juno.com Rathdrum Kootenai DN17 70cm KI7I Richard VanLandingham 972-825-6339 rvanlandingham@att.net Spirit Lake Bonner DN17 Phone 160 WB7RBH Mike Meier 208-255-9870 wb7rbh@arrl.net Bonners Ferry Boundary DN18 80 K7CF Michael Saville 801-641-6553 k7cf@msn.com McCammon Bannock DN32 208-745-7730 or 208-313-0803 diatom@hostidaho.com Rigby Jefferson DN43 40 N7VJ Thomas Wilson 20 N7PI/K0IP John Wilson 208-251-6441 jcwilson@ida.net Pocatello Bannock DN32 17 KM7R Richard Berg 208-354-5238 km7r@daytondoggys.net Driggs Teton DN43 15 N7PI/K0IP John Wilson 208-251-6441 jcwilson@ida.net Pocatello Bannock DN32 12 K7HK & W7DZX Harry & Darlene Kokinakis 208-920-0680 k7hk@msn.com, w7dzx@live.com Naples Boundary DN18 10 Weekday K7LNA & K7ZOX Ray Miles & Wayne Nowacki 208-946-9515 k7lna@arrrl.net Spirit Lake Kootenai DN17 10 Weekend KG7E Jim Kornacki 208-588-2366 ks4du@yahoo.com Mackay Custer DN33 208-720-8326 or 208-764-2757 Camas DN23 10 Secondary KF7SVI Bob Rodman 6 KI7I Richard VanLandingham 972-825-6339 rvanlandingham@att.net Spirit Lake Bonner DN17 2 KI7I Richard VanLandingham 972-825-6339 rvanlandingham@att.net Spirit Lake Bonner DN17 1.25 W7MEM Mark McMillan 509-994-1590 w7mem@juno.com Rathdrum Kootenai DN17 70cm KI7I Richard VanLandingham 972-825-6339 rvanlandingham@att.net Spirit Lake Bonner DN17 KA7ERV, N7BVX, Digital 160 K1BOB Rob Blout, Bob Glenn, Bob Lundie 208-392-4779, 208-392-9799, 208-342-7028 rblout34@gmail.com, bob@golddustrodeo.com, boblundie@gmail.com Centerville Boise DN23 80 N7UVH Pat Murphy 208-661-5232 n7uvh@yahoo.com Post Falls Kootenai DN17 40 K7TQ Randy Foltz 208-874-3333 rbfoltz1@frontier.com Moscow Latah DN16 30 KM7R Richard Berg 208-354-5238 km7r@daytondoggys.net Driggs Teton DN43 20 K7TQ Randy Foltz 208-874-3333 rbfoltz1@frontier.com Moscow Latah DN16 17 K7ZO Scott Tuthill 208-761-1218 k7zo@cableone.net Boise Ada DN13 15 N7ESU James Monroe 208-755-2100 n7esu@arrl.net Rathdrum Kootenai DN17 home 208-888- 6929 cell 208-841- 6136 (No cell coverage at QTH) jknapp@cableone.net Owyhee DN22 12 KD7HGS John Knapp 10 N7ESU James Monroe 208-755-2100 n7esu@arrl.net Rathdrum Kootenai DN17 6 W7OUU Jim Kennedy 208-731-6599 kennedyjp@cableone.net Twin Falls DN22 2 W7MEM Mark McMillan 509-994-1590 w7mem@juno.com Rathdrum Kootenai DN17 1.25 W7MEM Mark McMillan 509-994-1590 w7mem@juno.com Rathdrum Kootenai DN17 70cm W7MEM Mark McMillan 509-994-1590 w7mem@juno.com Rathdrum Kootenai DN17 Satellites KF7CQ Leroy Phelan 208-541-9712 kf7cq@msn.com Meridian Ada DN13
Map Courtesy of KM7R
Appendix B Some W1AW QSO Counts and our 20,000 Goal Jan29 - Feb Jan 1-7 Jan 8-14 Jan 15-21 Jan 22-28 4 Feb 5-11 W1AW/4 W1AW/7 W1AW/0 W1AW/2 W1AW/5 W1AW/KH6 Team Idaho North 20K Plan Carolina Utah Nebraska New York Texas Hawaii Total 20,575 25,815 16,713 23,720 22,685 34,533 33,286 160M CW 500 242 198 761 573 286 Phone 250 264 54 152 438 1 Digital 75 - - 144 66 Band Total 825 506 252 1,057 856 1,077 287 80M CW 750 1,101 821 1,419 795 1,024 Phone 500 766 426 990 1,705 276 Digital 250 259 14 256 250 187 Band Total 1,500 2,126 1,261 2,665 2,553 2,750 1,487 40M CW 1,500 3,736 1,339 1,689 1,756 2,135 Phone 1,250 3,014 1,324 1,999 3,994 973 Digital 500 714 196 392 306 733 Band Total 3,250 7,464 2,859 4,080 5,411 6,056 3,841 30M CW 750 969 633 737 619 1,766 Phone Digital 250 94-247 249 Band Total 1,000 1,063 633 984 808 868 1,766 20M CW 2,000 2,460 1,270 2,270 1,180 2,102 Phone 2,750 3,199 2,404 2,778 5,242 2,538 Digital 500 806 139 492 516 1,471 Band Total 5,250 6,465 3,813 5,540 5,386 6,938 6,111 17M CW 1,000 1,102 1,125 946 2,367 963 Phone 1,000 101 1,515 1,200 2,515 1,132 Digital 250 210-395 In Phone 303 Band Total 2,250 1,413 2,640 2,541 2,175 4,882 2,398 15M CW 1,500 1,899 1,281 2,048 1,826 2,713 Phone 1,500 1,658 987 1,491 3,656 3,197 Digital 500 672 380 460 255 1,501 Band Total 3,500 4,229 2,648 3,999 3,613 5,737 7,411 12M CW 500 463 506 642 976 1,446 Phone 500 48 584 701 956 1,762 Digital 150 194 52 126 389 57 Band Total 1,150 705 1,142 1,469 953 2,321 3,265 10M CW 750 1,268 546 423 1,099 2,954 Phone 750 311 915 407 2,401 2,488 Digital 250 265-71 238 1,277 Band Total 1,750 1,844 1,461 901 848 3,738 6,719 6M CW - - Phone - 8 15 Digital 75-12 Band Total 75 - - 20 2M CW - - Phone - 1 130 Digital 25-5 FM 1 6 Band Total 25-1 12
Appendix C Band Specific Operating Suggestions from the experience of other W1AW Teams Please don t put your operations on the even 10 s on 160 or 80 meters. There are 160M birdies in many places both US and the world, where being on the even 10 s will keep the ops at the other end from hearing you. I suggest CW 1821.5 or 1826.5, Digital 1807.5 and Phone 1855 or 1865. 1850 up this way (New England) has a lot of ragchewers on it also and they are very possessive of the frequency. Please don t put your operations on the even 10 s on 160 or 80 meters. There are 80M birdies in many places both US and the world, where being on the even 10 s will keep the ops at the other end from hearing you. For 80 M similarly 3526.5 for CW, 3587 for Digital and above 3800 for Phone as in keeping with the ARRL request that we stay in the General portions of the band... (OF COURSE) we need to have some Phone below 3800 for DX in Region 1 and 3 Commercial QRM etc is located in different portions of the bands around the world so dropping to the lower portions of 80 and 40M in particular can be a good thing. However, it has been noted that dropping lower on all bands from time to time will produce some nice pileups for at least a short while. Warning: The bottom 10 KHz of 80M and bottom 4-5 KHz of 40M is full of junk in some parts of the world. Japan RTTY Sub-band is 3520-3530 and 3599-3612 though most stick to the lower portion Think about 80m where General Phone ends at 3800khz but Europeans can't go above 3800khz. Maybe listen down? Finding a operating frequency in the General Phone portion can be hard because of the many frequencies used by the same groups every evening. The best bets seem to be around 3800-3808. This is a case where spending a high portion of time operating below the General segment is the right thing to do. Commercial QRM etc is located in different portions of the bands around the world so 40M dropping to the lower portions of 80 and 40M in particular can be a good thing. However, it has been noted that dropping lower on all bands from time to time will produce some nice pileups for at least a short while. Warning: The bottom 10 KHz of 80M and bottom 4-5 KHz of 40M is full of junk in some parts of the world. As you mentioned, 40m is a mess out here (Guam). In all honesty, the best place on 40m for JA is probably between 7012-7018. There is sometimes a sliver of space just above 7025 but the JA RTTY/Phone window starts just above the General band edge and QRM is really bad in the local evenings (NA East Coast sunrise). Over the past few weeks, here is a breakdown of activity on 40CW from Asia: 7000-7010: OTH Radar, 7008-7012: Japanese JCC chasers, 7012-7018: relatively clear, 7023-7024: BY CW rag chewers, 7027 on up: JA RTTY and Phone ("pig farmer nets", not unlike 80m above 3800 stateside). Japan RTTY Sub-band is 7025-7045 and 7100-7200 though most stick to the lower portion. You will not work any JAs in the 7088 +/- area Also consider 40m where Generals go down to 7175khz on Phone but Europe can't go above 7200khz. Maybe listen down?
20M Watch out for the many nets operating in the Phone portion of the band. Make sure to listen before transmitting and if you go split check planned listening frequencies. 15M I strongly urge stations to try 15m just after JA sunrise (starting 22z or so). W1AW/8 WV had a nice pile of JAs calling yesterday during the brief time I listened. Spend an hour or two on 15 until the band closes and this will probably be your best window into Asia as long as you're not in Maine when the K is 5 like it is now. You have more opportunities to work JAs on 15 and 40 because 20m is reserved for higher class licensees in Japan 10M Yeah, and cw on the 5 s on 10M is bad because of South American (and Russian?) cb.. so 28005, 28015, etc up through 28305 are often full of cb, they sometimes also show up at 28535. Don't forget US Techs only go up to 28500khz on Phone.
Appendix D Handling a Pileup This Appendix is for those of you that have never been on the receiving end of a pileup. A pileup occurs when several stations are calling you at the same time and their callsigns overlap, intermix, and otherwise are hard to make out. Experience has shown that W1AW operations are, at times, creating pileups. So, first be ready for it to happen. Working pileups is a skill that is learned and developed. I, K7ZO, have some experience in this on Phone and RTTY during my Nicaragua operations. Imagine 50 JAs calling you all at the same time with the same signal strength on 10 Meters Phone. I survived that and you will to. Here is general advice: First and foremost stay calm and don't panic. You will figure it out, make qsos, and keep going. Don't just spin the dial to get away from it. Remember, this is the fun part! If you listen to the jumble of noise, at least on CW and Phone, you will hear bits and pieces of a callsign. It might be two letters, a letter and a number, just a number, or maybe even just a single letter. But even though you can't make out the whole callsign at once, you will hear parts of one. And that really becomes your first task -- to just get part of a call. The idea then is to work back and forth with the other station to fill in the rest of the callsign. So, if in the pileup you hear a "Whiskey 3" respond back to the pileup with "Who is the Whisky 3" or on CW & Digital send "W3?" Listen for the station to come back and try to get some more of the call. Perhaps now you hear "Whiskey 3 Alpha". Then say "Who is the Whiskey 3 Alpha" or "W3A?" on CW & Digital. Keep up this back and forth process until you get the whole call. [In CW and Digital it is handy to program a memory or function key to send the partial callsign in the log and then the question mark. So in this case you would just enter W3 into the callsign field and then press that function key to send "W3?"] Do not give your exchange "59 Idaho" or "599 ID" until you have the other stations callsign. The other stations expect this. So, if they hear you give the exchange they will assume you have their call and are then likely to QSY before you actually get their call in the log. Remember - exchange comes after getting the callsign. Unfortunately while you are trying to get the other station's callsign everyone else is not going to standby. Some to most will, but not all. So even though you might say "Who is the Whiskey 3" many stations will keep calling. Whatever you can do, ignore the other callers and keep working to get the station's callsign that has "Whiskey 3". This is known as Controlling the Pileup. If you start trying to work the "Whiskey 3' but then change to the "4 November" because you hear that the pileup will soon realize it is in their best interest to just keep calling when you ask for a specific station that does not contain part of their call. This is called "Losing control of the pileup". You don't want to do that. However, things being the way they are, at times you will find there really isn't a "Whiskey 3" out there. In that case, of course, you have to move on. Often I will say, on Phone, "OK I guess there isn't a Whisky 3 QRZ" to let the pileup know I am still in control. Those are the basics. And these apply whether you are working simplex or split. You move to split frequency operation when the pileup is so large and unruly that no one can hear you trying to work the other station because of all the QRM they are causing. You will know when it is time and often the pileup will tell you "Go Split, Go Split". Usually Digital operators on RTTY and PSK will need to go split before Phone and CW because the computer decoders can't separate out two calls from pileup. I know
when I have worked RTTY pileups all I can do is just wait to see who the last guy is calling and then the decoder will give me some print I can use. Going split helps solve that problem. Working a pileup is a skill. It is something you learn and get better at with practice. Some of the other W1AW operations have posted videos and audios of their operators so you can get a feel for what it will be like for you. Check out: http://k0ha.com/w1aw/eu17m.mp3 -- this is a good Phone one from Nebraska. See how many different calls you can hear! http://youtu.be/udiifrvc57u -- another good Phone one from Utah -- you can hear both sides of many QSOs http://vimeo.com/83811661 -- a good CW one from the Utah team -- you can hear both sides and the op working down the pileup http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfdi9r0hnos -- a nice video from the North Carolina team on their week, including many QSOs including Digital/PSK31 I would also suggest you listen to some pileups to get a feel for how they sound. Pretend you are the rare station all these folks are calling. You can find bunches of them by Googling "radio pileup recordings" and then just surfing around. Try to find ones that let you hear both sides of the QSO -- transmit and receive. A couple sources of them are: http://www.dxuniversity.com/audio/ http://www.n6gq.com/ -- Look in his Recordings section and "A few select recordings from my YN2AA operation"
Appendix E N1MM Setup Steps N1MM Setup -- General Logging In N1MM go to: File New Log in Database. Use DXpedition as the Log Type. This will allow you to log Callsigns which is all you need. Then go to: Config Change Your Station Data. Enter the following: Call: W1AW/7 Grid Square: your grid square CQ Zone: 3 ITU Zone: 6 This will put all the correct information in the log and thus in the ADIF file when it is created. When operating as W1AW/7 outside the Idaho QSO Party all you need to do is log the callsign of the other station. If your rig is not computer controlled please make sure N1MM is configured to the band and mode you are operating. Set each mode you will be using by typing CW, SSB, RTTY or PSK into the call field. Set your band by typing the frequency into the call field. At the end of the week do the following: Go to: File Export Export ADIF to file Export ADIF to file At the next window, save the file somewhere you will remember and use a name like W1AW7-yourcall.adi. Email the ADIF file to me by noon Thursday, March 13th: k7zo@cableone.net. You will also send me a second separate ADIF file if you are participating in the Idaho QSO Party. N1MM macros: In the entry window, right click over the F keys to see the macros N1MM will be using. They are different for each mode. Select each mode you will be using by typing CW, SSB, RTTY or PSK into the call field. You can change bands by typing the frequency into the call field. Before your first time slot, make sure your macros are set the way you need them and are not left over from some previous contest. N1MM Setup -- Idaho QSO Party Logging In N1MM go to: File New Log in Database. Use QSOPARTY as the Log Type. Then in the Contest Tab on this same screen select ID in the State for Log Type QSOPARTY drop down list. Click OK and N1MM will display a window asking you to confirm that you are entering the QSO Party as an IN-STATE participant. If you see this click OK. If not then go to Config Change Your Station Data and make sure ID is in the ARRL Section field. This will allow you to log Callsigns and QTH which is what you need for the ID QSO Party. Then go to: Config Change Your Station Data. Enter the following:
Call: W1AW/7 Grid Square: your grid square CQ Zone: 3 ITU Zone: 6 This will put all the correct information in the ADIF file when it is created. When operating as W1AW/7 in the Idaho QSO Party all you need to do is log the callsign and QTH of the other station. If your rig is not computer controlled please make sure N1MM is configured to the band and mode you are operating. Set each mode you will be using by typing CW, SSB, RTTY or PSK into the call field. Set your band by typing the frequency into the call field. If you do not get a QTH from the station calling you, log the QSO as being from the Idaho county you are in. However, note that the N1MM Module for the ID QSO party does not score contacts with other Idaho stations correctly. It will allow you to enter a three letter county abbreviation in the Exch field as will be sent by Idaho stations. But it will not recognize the Idaho state multiplier and thus will not keep score correctly. Your multiplier count will be off by one for each mode in which you work Idaho. Don't worry the log checking team will score things correctly. See: http://www.idahoarrl.info/qsoparty/mapcountylist.htm for the list of approved abbreviations. N1MM will also not let you enter "ID" as a state abbreviation in the Exch field. So, you need to enter the three letter county abbreviation, which is what the other station is sending anyway. It will let you log the same Idaho station in different counties for example with Mobile/Rovers or if you happen to work W1AW/7 stations in several different counties. Make sure to enter the correct county abbreviation each time. At the end of the Idaho QSO Party save this log and close it. Resume your W1AW/7 operations using the log you were using before the Idaho QSO Party began. At the end of the week do the following: Go to: File Export Export ADIF to file Export ADIF to file At the next window, save the file somewhere you will remember and use a name like W1AW7IDQSO-yourcall.adi. Email the ADIF file to me by noon Thursday March 13th: k7zo@cableone.net I will forward it to the Idaho QSO Party log check team. Remember you will also be sending me a second separate ADIF file for the W1AW/7 QSOs you make outside of the Idaho QSO Party. N1MM macros: In the entry window, right click over the F keys to see the macros N1MM will be using. They are different for each mode. Select each mode you will be using by typing CW, SSB, RTTY or PSK into the call field. You can change bands by typing the frequency into the call field. Before your first time slot, make sure your macros are set the way you need them and are not left over from some previous contest. Note for those stations that operate as both W1AW/7 on your assigned Band and Mode and under your Home Call on other Bands and Modes you will need to make sure to adjust your macros accordingly as you switch back and forth between the two calls -- in particular as you
operate on CW and Digital. Please make sure to operate as W1AW/7 only on your assigned Band and Mode