Friday, July 04, 2008

Radio Sport HF Contest one of the short ones that are way too fun

HF Contesting usually hits a dry spell during the summer months, but the
weekend of July 12-13 brings a summer bright spot for HF contesters --
the IARU HF World Championship.

According to ARRL Contest Branch Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X, the IARU
contest is a little different from most major HF contests. "For
starters, it's only 24 hours long (instead of the normal 48). This
leaves you plenty of time over the weekend to have fun in the contest
and participate in other activities. Another difference is that you can
combine modes. While most HF contests are either CW or SSB, IARU allows
you to operate CW, SSB or a mixture of both. Lastly, the IARU contest
exchange is a signal report and your ITU zone." ITU zones are different
than CQ zones, Kutzko said. For a map of ITU zones, you can visit the
IARU Web site <http://www.iaru.org/ituzonesc.gif>.

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