MBARC Digital Group
Digital Activity Month (DAM) Contest


OUCH!  The contest was a bust.  Oh well-  Do try some of these digital modes out.  You might have some fun!

Current Tally Sheet           Submit Activity


WTF? (Where's The FAQ?)  Right here:

First off, this is about fun, experimentation, and learning.  The "rules" are flexible.  If you think of a good rule or want one removed; or if you have a suggestion, comment, or question- send me an email.

What:  The Digital Activity Month is a very informal, flexible, and hopefully FUN excuse for Amateur Radio operators ("Hams") to explore and use some of forms of radio communication that involve computers.  The goal is to make a two-way QSO using as many different modes as you can during the month of November.  Some modes can be counted for beacons (non two-way) like WSPR.  Make as many QSO's as you want, but we are only looking for unique modes so no need to submit numbers.

Who:  The DAM Contest is open to all licensed Amateur Radio operators.  The contest was conceived by KNØN for the Mount Baker Amateur Radio Club Digital Group but is open to anyone who wants to play.

When: The contest runs from midnight Halloween night (October 31) until midnight November 30.  Local time!  I said this was informal.  Don't expect to come across folks using many of these modes by chance.  MAKE A SKED!  Find a local to try several modes with and you can both score the contacts.

Where: Any band from DC to UV, but mind part 97 regs for bandwidth and emission subands. Tech license holders, get on FM simplex and sked with a local.  WARC bands are supposed to be off-limits to contests, but since we do not award points for multiple QSO's, does it matter?  Heck, we don't award ANY points!

Why:  To encourage hams to experiment with the MANY interesting "sound card modes" that are proliferating on the bands.  Bragging rights-  This is all you are going to "win".  We are here to have fun, there are no losers, etc. etc. etc.

How:   Make contacts on the ham bands using any of the modes listed below. You do NOT have to use a computer to participate.  If you are using a straight key and an old RTTY clickity-clacker, or the PSK mode built in to your iCOM 7800 or K3, feel free.  If you think a mode should be listed, SUBMIT it and we will add it. Be sure to check the Tally Sheet occasionally to see what new modes were added so you can try them!  All submissions are made by clicking the SUBMIT ACTIVITY link at the top of this page.  Allow a few days for the web flunky to post your additions to the tally sheet.  We are on the honor system here- no logs needed.

MORE INFORMATION:  The Google Group where this "contest" is hosted is also the home of the Mt Baker ARC Digital Group up in the NW corner of Washington State.  I probably should have set this up on a separate site but it is too late to make that change this year.  Please feel free to participate, regardless of your QTH.  You do NOT need to be a member of our club and you do NOT have to subscribe or join this Google Group to play.  It was recently pointed out that you had to join to post comments, but I have changed that setting as of 11/3/09.  Thank you for your interest!


"Official" Mode List for the DAM Contest
Subject to change with out notice!  Modes are in bold, some link to information.
So far there are 27 mode and 5 bonus categories.


ALE-400      -   "Auto Link Establishment" mode in Multi-PSK program.
APRS          -  Short message comms via PACKET, send one and receive one - 2-way QSO not required.
ASCII          -  Just another form of FSK with 7 or 8 bits
CCW           -  Coherent CW
CW             -  Morse code! Hand key, keyer, ears, computers, readers, the evil SKIMMER, whatever you got. CCW and QRSS get their own slots.
CONTESTIA -  Olivia Variant (which is an MFSK variant) 
DOMINO     -   MFSK Variant
DSTAR-V    -   DSTAR using Digital Voice mode
DSTAR-D    -   DSTAR using Data mode (slow or high-speed)
Feld-Hell    -   Funky FAX-like mode - try it for a change of pace.
HSMM-2     -   High Speed Multimedia 2 Ghz band, one mile or greater
HSMM-5     -   High Speed Multimedia 5 Ghz band, one mile or greater
MFSK         -   There are a number of baud rates and several similar modes that are considered unique for this contest.
MT63          -   High noise mode- sensetive to soundcard callibration
OLIVIA       -   MFSK Variant
PACKET12  -   VHF/UHF ONLY 1200 baud
PACKET96  -   9600 baud packet is tough so it rates it's own category ;)
PACTOR    -   Proprietary mode- I  II  or III
PSK           -   Phase Shift Keying . 31 is the most common bitrate, but there are many speeds.  QPSK gets a separate entry.
QPSK         -   Quadrature Phase Shift Keying.
QRSS         -   s  l  o  w    c  w   (receive a beacon transmission).
RTTY          -  The bane of  QRP ops around the world.  On this list against my better judgment.
SSTV(A)     -   Analog Slow Scan TV - many modes and clients available
SSTV(D)     -   Digital Slow scan TV - Recommend EASY-PAL (newest version)
THROB       -   Yet another MFSK variant
WINMOR    -    The cutting edge of HF Winlink
WSPR        -   "Whisper" Copy a beacon, no 2-way QSO required

BONUS Categories- count using any of the modes above:

FLARQ       -   Not a mode, but a method of sending ARQ error free files- use any mode.  Requires FLDIGI.
HF              -   Make any DAM QSO below 30 Mhz
VHF/UHF    -   Make any DAM QSO between 30 and 450 Mhz
uWave       -   Make any DAM QSO above 900 Mhz
WL2K         -   Send AND receive a "Winlink2000" email VIA RF



Some free Soft-wares and Info-links:

MULTIPSK  -  Powerful comm program with a bajillion modes and a complex UI.  Free version available.
WSJT -  Free comm program for weak signal modes like WSJT, JT65, WSPR, etc.
FLDIGI  - Multi mode comm software for LINUX and Windows - Also home of the FLARQ program.
DM780 - Adjuct to the Ham Radio Deluxe package (shareware). Many modes.


updated 11/03/09 19:17 PST