The Straight Key Sprint
The two-hour Straight Key Sprint (SKS) occurs monthly on the fourth
Wednesday starting at 0000 UTC. You need to adjust for standard or daylight
savings time and your time zone offset to determine your local time for this
event. Please send SKS comments/suggestions to sks-manager at skccgroup dot
com.
The April Straight Key Sprint is in the books and results are final.
Thanks all for another fine sprint turnout and a special thanks to
Dean, NW2K, for operating as our bonus station.
The May SKS falls on the 23rd and we will have Mark, K3MSB, in the bonus seat.
Hope to see you on the next Straight Key Sprint!
Operators interested in working the SKS as a bonus station at some point
during the year, please drop me a note at the above comments/suggestions
email address. There is no obligation involved in indicating your interest. I'll
contact one or more operators a week or so before a sprint to firm up
arrangements.
Bonus stations may operate under their own callsign or may use the club call
(US stations only), K9SKC, for the sprint. Please let me know if you have a
preference of when during the year you might be available and if you would put
the club call on the air or prefer to use your own.
Thanks!
The goal of SKS is to work as many stations as possible during the
sprint period using a mechanical key approved by the rules of the Straight Key
Century Club. These include straight keys, sideswipers (Cooties) and bugs.
Exceptions are granted to those with physical disabilities that prevent the use
of such keys. Please be reminded that although it is a contest, the SKS is
rather informal, and has as its main objective to bring together operators with
different skill levels. Operating speed should be adjusted accordingly.
Bonus Station
Entries
Contacts
April
Dean NW2K
99
1519
March
--
99
1570
February
--
89
1388
January
K3Y
67
904
2011
December
John NØTA
115
1580
November
Danny K9KHJ
82
1092
October
Jerry KD5JHE
92
1397
September
Paul NG7Z
101
1617
August
--
98
1594
July
Jerry K9PMV
108
1628
June
Ken N8KR
61
730
May
Dave KI6BHB
99
1335
Eligibility:
You do not have
to be an SKCC member to participate. All participants must use a manual key
(straight key, sideswiper or bug) unless granted an exception by
SKCC.
Suggested Frequencies:
The frequencies listed below
are those most frequented by SKCC members and are where you are likely to make
contact. Look around. Just make sure you are operating on a frequency allowed by
your license class.
160 m, 1820 kHz
80 m, 3550 kHz
40 m, 7055 and 7114 kHz
20 m, 14050 kHz
15 m, 21050 kHz
10 m, 28050 kHz
6 m, 50090 kHz
Restrictions:
The use of spotting
networks (including sked pages) is NOT permitted. Bands other than those
specified above are NOT permitted.
Exchange:
The minimum
exchange of data must include RST, QTH, NAME, and SKCC#. Non-member participants
send your transmit power with a W suffix in place of SKCC#. Please be
realistic with RST, don't just give 599 because you have to. If you do not get a
signal report you are obliged to ask for one. USA stations send your two
character state code for QTH. Canadian stations send your two character province
code. All other countries send your 3-alpha country code found here:
http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/codes/country.htm
Here
is an example: NT9K DE K2RFP HR 589 NY - DICK 2099T - BK
The use of cut
numbers for RST and SKCC# is not recommended for the first pass of the data but
may be used in a repeat.
Scoring:
Score = (Total QSO points
x Total multiplier Points) + Total Bonus Points
Total QSO points:
You earn
one point for each unique station worked per band. Working the same station on
the same band does not earn another point but, working the same station on a
different band does earn a second point.
Total Multiplier Points:
You
earn one point for each unique USA state, or Canadian province, or other
non-USA, non-Canada country worked during the sprint. Note that this is per
sprint, not per band. So, for example, once you work a station in NY, working a
second in NY does not increase your multiplier count.
Centurion Bonus
Points:
The number of bonus points for working Centurions is 5 for each
Centurion worked during the sprint. Note that this per sprint, not per band. So,
for example, working the same Centurion on a second band does not give you an
extra 5 points since it is the same centurion.
Tribune Bonus
Points:
Tribune bonus points work the same way as the Centurion bonus points
except the numerical value is 10 points per Tribune.
Designated Special
SKCC Member Bonus Points:
You get 25 points for each band on which you make
contact with the Designated Special SKCC Member.
Extra Bonus
Points:
Unless otherwise specified, the standard Extra bonus is zero.
Logs are not required unless
requested by the sprint manager. Scores are submitted via the web submission
page linked at the top of this page. Scores must be submitted no later than the
Sunday following the event. If you discover a mistake in your entry after it has
been submitted you can correct it by resubmitting the data, provided the time
window for submitting is still open. When resubmitting, you must re-enter ALL of
the data, not just the correction.
SKS was
initiated and managed by Kevin (K4VD) starting in 2006. Its purpose is to
provide an opportunity for operators with differing levels of experience and
skill to participate in a casual contest. It may help inexperienced operators to
gain the confidence to try their hand in many competitive contests available to
hams. It also provides an opportunity for operators to collect numbers toward
SKCC awards.
Due to job obligations Kevin had to give up managing the
sprints after a few months. Webmaster Bill (NT9K) took over the job and after a
few months was helped out by John (AI4RE) until John could no longer afford the
time needed. Again Bill took up the slack. As 2008 drew to a close, management
of SKS was taken up by Dick (K2RFP). Randy (KB4QQJ) helped out in the early
stages of the changeover.