Daniel Gritzer

As an avid radio operator, you know the thrill of participating in a contest and coming out on top. The ARRL Sweepstakes Contest is one of the most prestigious and challenging events in the amateur radio world. To help you prepare for this exciting competition, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide that covers everything from the rules and regulations to tips and tricks for maximizing your score. Get ready to win big and take your amateur radio skills to the next level with our guide to the ARRL Sweepstakes Contest.

1. What is the ARRL Sweepstakes Contest?
The ARRL Sweepstakes Contest is an annual event organized by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) for amateur radio operators to compete against each other. It is one of the most popular and prestigious contests in the amateur radio community.

2. When is the ARRL Sweepstakes Contest held?
The contest is held on the first two weekends of November, starting at 2100 UTC on Saturday and ending at 0259 UTC on Monday. The contest is divided into two parts CW (Morse code) on the first weekend and SSB (voice) on the second weekend.

3. Who can participate in the ARRL Sweepstakes Contest?
Anyone with a valid amateur radio license issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) can participate in the ARRL Sweepstakes Contest. There are no restrictions on age or location.

4. What are the rules of the ARRL Sweepstakes Contest?
The rules of the ARRL Sweepstakes Contest are published on the ARRL website. In summary, participants must make as many contacts as possible within a 24-hour period, with points awarded for each valid contact. The winner is the participant with the highest score.

5. How can I prepare for the ARRL Sweepstakes Contest?
To prepare for the ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, you should practice your operating skills, review the rules and regulations, and make sure your equipment is working properly. You should also plan your operating strategy and schedule your operating time to maximize your contacts and score.

1. Participating in the ARRL Sweepstakes Contest can improve your skills and knowledge in amateur radio communication.
2. You’ll have the opportunity to connect with other like-minded individuals who share your passion for amateur radio.
3. The contest provides a sense of excitement and challenge, pushing you to do your best and potentially win big.
4. By taking part in the ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, you can gain recognition for your skills and accomplishments in the amateur radio community.
5. Overall, the experience of participating in the ARRL Sweepstakes Contest can be incredibly rewarding and fulfilling for amateur radio enthusiasts.

When contest season begins at the end of September, there are many great events that contest veterans look forward to, but nothing compares to ARRL Sweepstakes. The Exchange There is no other event that has an exchange of required data like SS. Every contact must exchange, in this order. Some find it incomprehensively tedious. Why should that much data be passed back and forth during a contest? The answer goes back to the roots of the event. It simulates the passing of actual traffic from the earliest days of the hobby. Indeed, the first iterations of Sweepstakes awarded one point for each piece of traffic sent and one point for each piece of traffic received, which is why contacts in SS today are worth two points each. While the nod to history may be cumbersome to some, the long exchange actually plays a significant role in showing your skill as a radio amateur. This report compares your submitted log to all other submitted logs and grades you on your performance. The LCR will show you what data points you got wrong as well as your error rate. In fact, one of the most potent antennas for SS, even among the tower-and-beam crowd, is a resonant 40 meter half-wave dipole about 30 feet off the ground. With the lower height comes higher angles of radiation, and that makes for a blanketing signal about miles out in every direction. This practice also works well on 80 meters, where there is plenty of SS activity. Many a station has logged over a thousand contacts in SS using watts and simple wire antennas. There are other benefits for the smaller station. Major radiosport events are often thought of as Iron Man competitions. Sweepstakes is a bit different. It only lasts 30 hours compared to the hour weekend-long DX contests. When to take that off time has been the subject of many a presentation on Sweepstakes strategy. Another interesting twist SS rules permit you to work a station only once during the contest, not once per band like many other events. A byproduct of this for big stations is running out of stations to work. This is known as the Sunday Doldrums to many serious SS participants. Contests within the Contest Fewer events have the opportunity for smaller competitions within the main event. Whether these are competitions with friends or club members or just something to motivate yourself, these opportunities can make Sweepstakes even more fun than it already is. This has been the driving force behind SS for decades. Few radiosport events offer the possibility of working every multiplier available in an event. In SS, with a couple of notable exceptions, this happens routinely. Some even make the Clean Sweep the focal point of their participation and try to work the minimum number of contacts to achieve the Sweep one contact per section. Can you work all 84 in a weekend? Can you work all 84 in just 84 contacts? Try and find out! That means all 50 U. You can get many club members together in one spot and enter SS as a multioperator group, but the opportunities go far beyond that. Club Competition in ARRL events means several members of your club could operate from their own stations, and you combine your individual efforts for a club total. You then get to see how your club compares to other clubs across the country. Who can take bragging rights for the club? Work the contest, then celebrate at the local pizza parlor with delicious slices and a frosty malt or two. Some, like the Yukon or Puerto Rico, will definitely be on the more extreme edge of your travels in terms of cost. Also, the Yukon in November is a risky proposition weather-wise. Rent a cabin in a state park or a house via AirBnB for a long weekend, throw a dipole in a tree, and be a rare station for the contest! There are literally dozens of radiosport events to participate in every weekend of the year. With its combination of radiosport skill, a nod to tradition, and opportunities for individual and club skill advancement, Sweepstakes is the best radio contest of them all. Phone SS runs from z November 20 through z November Logs are due one week after the contest ends. Visit here for the rules and other important info. You must be logged in to post a comment. Delivered by FeedBurner. DX Engineering. Leave a Reply Cancel You must be logged in to post a comment.
Forgot Password? Contest Objective To support amateur self-training in radiocommunications, including improving amateur operating skills, conducting technical investigations, and intercommunicating with other amateurs. Stations in the United States and Canada including territories and possessions exchange information with as many other US and Canadian stations as possible on the , 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meter bands. Click here for information on the Affiliated Club Competion program. For contest information contact contests arrl. Your Call Sign The call sign must be included as part of the exchange. Check The last two digits of the year the operator or the station was first licensed.