It is that time of the year again, yet another School Club Roundup contest is peaking it's head just around the corner. I hope that many of you here at CollegeARC are gearing up for another fun contest, it was great to see so many colleges on the air during the October 2009 contest! SCR is a unique contest that runs during the normal school week instead of the usual weekend times that many are familiar with. With the increase in activity on the air along with the much sought after increase in solar cycle 24's propagation, this should be an exciting event!

Operating School Club Roundup

The upcoming School Club Roundup (SCR) contest runs between February 8-12. A station can operate between 1300 UTC and 2359 UTC during the event and up to 6 hours of operating per 24 hour period. There is also a 24 hour total time limit for a station during the entire contest. There is much more information that can be found on the ARRL's School Club Roundup webpage.

Station Class

• (I) Individual
  • Any non Club or School station
• (C) Club
  • Any non-school club or multi-operator station
  • Worth 2x Multiplier
• (S) School
  • All school clubs (K-12, College/University)
  • Worth 5x Multiplier

Exchange

• Callsign
• RST
• State/Province/DXCC Country

Scoring

Each station may only be contacted once on CW/Digital and Phone/SSB. Satellite contacts are encouraged and are the only "Repeater" contacts allowed.

Logging

Software for logging contacts or QSO's during the school club roundup is an easy solution to hand writing contacts. One version that has been used extensively is SCR-LOG the school club roundup log. There are versions for Microsoft OS Windows, DOS, Mac OS 8 & 9, Mac OS X, and the Linux operating system. There are even SCR paper log sheets for download which you can print out and send in a large envelope. A good note for Linux users is that you must have the stdc++5 libraries. Most newer distributions use libstdc++6.x.x and the program has not been updated for it. Logit! which is another logging program for the school club roundup contest can also be used. It is based on Java and is also cross platform A.K.A Windows, Mac, Linux compatible.

Having Fun

School Club Roundup is meant to be a fun experience for participants and to allow a more relaxed environment to experience contesting. Every station, not just college amateur radio clubs should use this great opportunity to get together as a club and learn more about operating, equipment, contesting, and other amateur radio activities. Here at CollegeARC we encourage everyone to try their best but to take the time to enjoy the hobby to the fullest.

Have someone that is interested in your club? Personally invite them to the event and spend a little one-on-one time, it goes a long way! If you have more experience in certain areas of amateur radio (ham radio) make sure to ask if anyone has any questions. Lastly, think about ways to add to the contest experience such as food/refreshments during the last day(s) of operating SCR (My personal favorite would have to be coffee!).

I hope to see all of you here on CollegeARC.com operating the School Club Roundup contest and more! Make sure you send your clubs daily reports and score updates to Bryce and I using the "Contact Us" link located in the top menu bar.

*For more general information please visit CollegeARC's School Club Roundup general information page.

73's and have fun!