Amateur
Radio Station
W Q 6 X
Operations
in the November Sweepstakes
Sponsored by the American Radio Relay League (A.R.R.L.), the November Sweepstakes (SS) amateur radio contest is the second-oldest radio amateur competition (the oldest being Field Day), first run in November 1930. From its inception, the November Sweepstakes has been a 30 hour traffic-handling simulation exercise running during the 1st and 3rd weekends of November each year. Depending upon daylight saving time, SS begins at 13:00 (1pm) or 14:00 (2pm) in the afternoon (21:00 UTC) on Saturday and ends at 19:00 (7pm) Pacific Time on Sunday (03:00 UTC, Monday).
The 1st weekend is dedicated to morse code (C.W.) operations, while the 3rd weekend is devoted to Phone (voice) operation. This is a competition between U.S. (and posessions) and Canadian amateurs. The rest of the world puts up with our use of the radio spectrum on those weekends, even though we exclude them from the fun.
Unlike other radio contests which support a simplistic exchange, Sweepstakes requires an extensive exchange of information between stations making contact. The sample log-sheet details the information exchange. Sweepstakes is also unique in that a station may only be contacted once during the contest, regardless of how many radio bands are used. Luckily, most contest-logging software supports duplicate-contact notification alerting operators before a "DUP" Qso is logged.
Since 1970, Ron Fitch has participated in over 25 Sweepstakes operations under such callsigns as: WA6LKB, KX6H, WQ6X and W6K; from such locations as Livermore Calif., Manhattan Beach Calif., Cincinatti & N.E. Ohio and in recent years as W6K from an empty multi-millon dollar house in Ojai (east of Ventura), Santa Barbara Section - one of the top 5 sought after A.R.R.L. sections.
As material regarding Sweepstakes operations is put online, links will appear below in reverse-chronological order.
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Contest Dates |
Contest Activity |
Contest Results |
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WQ6X Guest Op. NX6T using Voice (2009) |
a GREAT Score! - not enough |
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WQ6X Operating W6K using Voice (2008) |
2nd Place |
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WQ6X Operating W6K using C.W. (2008) |
2nd Place |
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WQ6X Operating W6K using Voice (2007) |
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WQ6X Operating W6K using C.W. (2007) |
2nd Place |
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WQ6X Operating W6K using Voice (2006) |
2nd Place |
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WQ6X Operating W6K using C.W. (2006) |
2nd Place |
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WQ6X Operating W6K using Voice (2005) |
2nd Place |
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WQ6X Operating W6K using C.W. (2005) |
2nd Place |
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WQ6X Operating W6K using Voice (2004) |
2nd Place |
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WQ6X Operating W6K using C.W. (2004) |
2nd Place |
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WQ6X Operating W6K using Voice (2003) |
2nd Place |
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WQ6X Operating W6K using C.W. (2003) |
2nd Place |
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WQ6X is currently relocating to Southern California
For more information contact: Ron Fitch
Telephone Ron at: (818) 216-5376
E-mail Ron at: Ron@WQ6X.Info