The ARRL November Sweepstakes is an exciting event that many amateur radio operators look forward to each year. This contest challenges participants to make as many contacts as possible across North America, with the goal of racking up the highest score possible. For those who participated in the 2020 contest, the results are in, and they are nothing short of thrilling. In this recap, we’ll take a closer look at some of the most exciting results from this year’s ARRL November Sweepstakes.
What is the ARRL November Sweepstakes?
The ARRL November Sweepstakes is an annual contest organized by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) for amateur radio operators.
Who can participate in the ARRL November Sweepstakes?
Any licensed amateur radio operator with a valid call sign can participate in the ARRL November Sweepstakes.
What are the exciting results of the ARRL November Sweepstakes?
The exciting results of the ARRL November Sweepstakes vary from year to year, but they usually include new records being set, new operators joining the contest, and new equipment being tested.
How can I participate in the ARRL November Sweepstakes?
To participate in the ARRL November Sweepstakes, you need to be a licensed amateur radio operator with a valid call sign.
What are the benefits of participating in the ARRL November Sweepstakes?
Participating in the ARRL November Sweepstakes is a great way to test your skills and equipment, connect with other operators from all over the world, and have fun.
After participating in the ARRL November Sweepstakes, users have reported a range of benefits including an increased understanding of amateur radio, a sense of community among fellow radio enthusiasts, and the thrill of competition. Many have also noted the satisfaction of achieving personal goals and the pride of representing their club or region. Overall, the ARRL November Sweepstakes has proven to be an exciting and rewarding event for amateur radio operators of all levels.
Introduction and Background. After our clubs contest coordinator responsibilities fell to me, I wasnt sure what that entailed, so I wrote my friends at ARRL and asked if they ever published an article on the topic. They said they hadnt, but saw the need for one. They encouraged me to do some digging on my own and write something up. The result is on page 61 of the August QST! You can click here to read the article as published in QST posted here with permission , or continue on this page for a full, unedited version with clickable reference links. You are welcome to, but you will also need ARRLs permission e-mail permission arrl. Please be sure to forward me a copy! Our club also put together this video here that helps explain how we contest together virtually in real time from our individual stations. When we first introduced the idea of team radiosport to our local club, the Northeast Maryland Amateur Radio Contest Society, some were skeptical, some enthused, and others confused but teaming up has thoroughly reinvigorated our group. Members are building new antennas again, enhancing thier stations and circling contest dates on their calendars months in advance. Club Contesting The Basics. Radiosport offers a great opportunity to speedily connect with lots of fellow hams, enhance your operating skills, learn about propagation, demonstrate the ability of Amateur Radio, accumulate lots of DX entities, states or sections in a hurry and discover the strengths and weaknesses of your station! Thats more than enough incentive to enjoy the many fun radiosport events we can look forward to annually, but club contesting adds another great element the team! The total score comprises points from all the individual home stations and maybe a club station too, if yours has one in your club. Even if a station only makes one contact, those points still help the club! Reinvigorating Our Group. If your group is like ours, when you first start club contesting, youll likely have a few people who already enjoy radiosport, a few who are willing to give it a try and some who are intimidated by it. Some people worry how the comparatively few QSOs they think theyll make will be received, compared to others who make 1, contacts per contest. The key to our success has been to create a no-pressure environment where every QSO is valued. The ham whos never contested before and makes a handful of contacts is appreciated every bit as much as the regular contester who makes more than 1, We praise all successes and enthusiastically mean it. If a ham made 30 contacts last time, his goal is to exceed 30 this time and he does, many of us chime in with congratulations! After all, virtually all of us started that way ourselves. New folks continue to be swept in by the fun and positive vibe! Heres the thing. Even for those of us with lots of contests under our belt, as much as we enjoy earning a good score, its equally fun to share in the joy that our attic dipole team member experiences in making DX contacts in CQ World Wide DX for the first time! The thrill of seeing new team members and first time contesters, who thought they were just going to dabble for a bit in November Sweepstakes, wind up with their very first clean sweep is fantastic! Its exciting, joyful and the heartfelt congratulations from both new folks and seasoned operators are genuine and sincere. That fun and thrill is infectious for all of us. On our club e-mail group, post contest enthusiastic recounts ensue, which in turn gives others the incentive to give contesting a try. With each successive contest, operators who started by tentatively putting a toe in the water are diving in, and new operators are often joining in for the first time. Our cumulative scores are progressively improving too. Our members are realizing better antennas mean even more fun, leading to lots of individual station enhancements. Since they are having fun, they are spending more time on the air making more contacts. Their skills are improving and their higher QSO rates always add to the total as well! Sharing the Contest in Real Time. Sharing our contest adventures after the event is great fun, but teaming up in real time together as the contest unfolds has taken the excitement to a whole new level! Seeing how we are doing in total as a team and how our partners are doing instantly has a magic effect on the fun, nurturing and competitive juices! We accomplish this in two ways. With the upload feature enabled Image 1 , we can see everyones current score and QSO count, which updates automatically every three minutes. If you know Bill has a station comparable to yours and you see him pulling ahead, or catching up, that competitive switch cant help but kick in for most of us and it definitely keeps the juices flowing! Image 1 – Example of a portion of the data included in the web contest upload, accessible to all team members as a web page that constantly updates automatically throughout the contest.