Here are some LibreOffice spreadsheets for different contests:
These spreadsheets do not work with Excel. See below for more information on how to use them.
Contest | Date | File | Lasted Updated on |
---|---|---|---|
Winter Field Day | 1900Z, Jan 27 to 1900Z, Jan 28, 2023 | winter_fieldday_v20240106.ods | Jan 6, 2024 |
ARRL Field Day | 1800Z, Jun 24 to 2100Z, Jun 25, 2023 | fieldday_v20230128.ods | Jan 28, 2023 |
RAC Canada Day | 0000Z to 2359Z, July 1st, 2023 | rac_contests_v20230128.ods | Jan 28, 2023 |
RAC Winter Contest | 0000Z to 2359Z, Dec 30, 2023 | rac_contests_v20230128.ods | Jan 28, 2023 |
Everything you need to know about the RAC Canada Day or Winter Day contest is located on the RAC website. It can be a bit overwhelming to digest for first-time contesters, so here's an overview.
During the contest, the following information must be logged for each station:
At the end of the contest, logs must be submitted to RAC. They will accept paper logs for submissions with less than 100 entries, but they really prefer electronic logs, which must be submitted in the Cabrillo format.
A Cabrillo file is really just plain text file formatted in a very specific way. For example, here's a copy of my Cabrillo file from last summer (with only a few entries as example):
Regular contesters use logging programs which can generate these files while providing features that facilitate the logging process during the contest. Many people have recommended N1MM as being the best one. RAC also has its own Microsoft Windows contest program for its own contests. This is what the spreadsheet looks like:
The steps are to:
Preamble
sheet.
Log
sheet.
Preamble
sheet.
Here are a few introductory videos I made to explain how to use the spreadsheet, which should also work with the RAC Winter Contest in December.
Tools
→ Options...
→ LibreOffice
→ Security
→ Macro Security
→ Medium
Here's a copy of the code that generates the Cabrillo file:
Everything you need to know about the Winter Field Day contest is here: https://www.winterfieldday.com
During the contest, the following information must be logged for each station:
1H
: 1 operator at home, 2O
: 2 operators outside, 3I
: 3 operators inside, 4M
: 4 operators mobile)
BC
, AB
, SF
, ...)
CW
, DG
, or PH
)
At the end of the contest, the Cabrillo file must be submitted online at www.winterfieldday.com
The other thing I learned during the contest is how to record a short message on my IC-7300 and play it back on the air so I could save my voice a bit. The details are on Section 7 of the IC-7300 full manual:
I ended up recording three messages:
To call CQ, I used the first message on a 7 second repeat loop. If someone answered, I could either press the button again to stop the loop, or use the PTT to jump in and acknowledge the station.
I used the second message to answer CQ calls during pile ups. All I'd have to do is press the button and hope I'd get an answer. This was great in the early morning when Justine was still in sleeping. With my headphones on, the whole thing was virtually silent.
I used the third message to give my exchange once I received the other station's exchange.
I still had to use the mic a bit depending on the situation, but these pre-recorded messages took care of a lot of the grunt work.
Both spreadsheets are licensed under Creative Commons By-Sa so you are free to:
Provided that you: