Note: The following article is an extract from the RAC Winter Contest 2017 Results published on page 47 of the July-August 2018 issue of The Canadian Amateur magazine. Please see the complete PDF version provided below with the addition of the Contest Soapbox.
Participation in the 2017 running of the Canada Winter Contest was significantly up from previous contests with a total of 823 entries received. Participation may have well been influenced by the Canada 150 celebration and opportunity to contact RAC HQ stations from across the country. Again this year for the second year in a row no new records were established given the general poor propagation conditions.
Note: For the Canada Winter Contest Records please see the following PDF version.
PLAQUE WINNERS
Single Operator All Bands Low Power
Sponsored by Contest Club Ontario
Sam Ferris, VE5SF
946 QSOs, 75 Multipliers
403,200 Points
Single Operator All Bands High Power
Sponsored by Radioworld
John Sluymer, VE3EJ
2,042 QSOs, 108 Multipliers
1,089,288 Points
Single Operator All Bands – QRP
Sponsored by QRP Canada
Thomas J Warren, K3TW
253 QSOs, 50 Multipliers
100,800 Points
Single Operator Single Band Any Authorized Power
Sponsored by Radio Amateurs of Canada
Frank Vanderzande, VE7AV
655 QSOs, 23 Multipliers, 20 Metre Band
76,544 Points
Single Operator All Bands CW
Gary Bartlett, VE1RGB Memorial Sponsored by the Maritime Contest Club
Tom Haavisto, VE3CX
1553 QSOs, 49 Multipliers
312,620 Points
Single Operator All Bands Phone
Sponsored by the Saskatchewan Contest Club
Jeff Hillmann, N4WZ
623 QSOs, 35 Multipliers
143,920 Points
Multi-Operator Single-Transmitter High Power
Sponsored by Alfa Radio
King’s County ARC as VE1RAC
(Operators: VE1FA, VA1YL, VE1RSM, VE1BAB)
1,081 QSOs, 69 Multipliers
429,732 Points
Multi-Operator Single-Transmitter Low Power
Tony Allsop, VE3FTA Memorial
Sponsored by the Mississauga ARC
Marcel LeBlanc, VE9ML and Jean-Paul LeBlanc, VE9BK
at VE9ML as VE9RAC
1,203 QSOs, 76 Multipliers
492,480 Points
Multi-Operator Multi-Transmitter Any Authorized Power
Sponsored by Radioworld
Gordon Kosmenko, VE6SV as VE6RAC
(Operators: VE6SV, VE6RST, VE6MRT)
1,939 QSOs, 100 Multipliers
974,200 Points
Single Operator Foreign Entrant
Russ Coleston, VK4XA Memorial
Sponsored by Alan Goodacre, VE3HX
Victor Petcherkin, WQ5OO
1,675 QSOs, 93 Multipliers
767,064 Points
Contest Overview
SINGLE OP ALL BANDS LOW POWER
Sam Ferris, VE5SF, achieved first place this year with a score of 403,200. Doug Ferris, VA3DF, captured second place again this year by scoring 257,418. Greg Foster, VE3PJ, captured third place in the winter contest with a score of 160,284. Gabor Horvath, VE7JH, took fourth place this year scoring 98,724, while Jean Charron, VE2JCW, took 5th place with a score of 92,414.
SINGLE OP ALL BANDS HIGH POWER
John Sluymer, VE3EJ, captured the first place SOABHP with a score of 1,089,288. Second place went to Victor Percherkin, WQ5OO, with a score of 767,064. Gilles Renucci, VA2EW, using the VA2RAC call sign, placed third with a score of 754,820.
Yuri Onipko, VE3DZ, joined the top scorers in fourth place scoring 753,298. Don Whitty, VE9XX, captured fifth place in the category with a score of 515,848. Within the SOABHP category Victor Petcherkin, WQ5OO, captured the Russ Coleston, VK4XA Memorial for the highest scoring single op foreign entrant with a score of 767,064.
SINGLE OP – QRP
Again this year Thomas J. Warren, K3TW, achieved first place in the SOABQRP category with a score of 100,800. Bob Hawkins, VE3WG, took second place in the 2017 contest with a score of 74,360. Bill Unger, VE3XT, took third place with a score of 22,836. Bob Jacobson, K2YGM, won fourth place this year with a QRP score of 20.504 ahead of Anthony Luscre, K8ZT, in fifth scoring 19,550.
SINGLE OP SINGLE BAND
With a score of 76,544, Frank Vanderzande, VE7AV, won the overall SOSB crown this year using the 20 metre band. Again this year Adrian Stimpson, VE7NZ, took second overall SOSB place with a score of 66,750 with his 20m band entry. Third place in the overall SOSB was taken by Michael Smith, VE9AA, with 25,812 points on the 20m band. On a band-by-band breakdown, Ken Keeler, N6RO, took top band honours on 160m once again this year with a single band high power score of 5,238. Anthony DePratro, WA4JQS, won first place in 80m with a low power score of 5,952. Janusz Golemo, KA9O, took the 40m band honours using low power with a score of 18,088.
As noted above Frank Zanderzande, VE7AV, took first place on 20m with a high power entry scoring 76,544. Donata Gierczyzka, VA3HNK, took the honors for the 15m band with a high power score of 15,620. Pierre Jolin, VE2GT, won the 6m band with a high power score of 10 points. In the 2017 contest there were no entrants in the 10m or 2m Single Op, Single Band sub category.
SINGLE OP – All BAND – CW
Top honours for the Gary Bartlett, VE1RGB Memorial Plaque sponsored by the Maritime Contest Club for the CW only category go to Tom Haavisto, VE3CX, with a score of 312,620. Second place is awarded to Vladimir Milutinovic, VE3TM, with a score of 310,262. Third place was taken by Jerome Spring, VE6TL, with a score of 157,040. This year fourth place goes to Mark Murray, W2OR, with a score of 123,576. Fifth place goes to Istvan Nyul, VE3USP, with a score of 118,326.
SINGLE OP – ALL BANDs – PHONE
This year top honours in the Single-op All Bands Phone only category goes to Jeff Hillmann, N4WZ, with a score of 143,920. This year Ken Tucker, VO1KVT, took second place with a score of 87,522 and Ron Koenig, K4AKK, took third place with a score of 57,572. Darcy Wilson, VE4DDW, took fourth place with a score of 44,550.
Fifth place goes to Steve McEdwards, VA3TPS, with a score of 40,256.
MULTI-OPERATOR SINGLE-TRANSMITTER HIGH POWER
Members of the King’s County ARC (Fred Archibald, VE1FA, Helen Archibald, VA1YL, Robert Schofield, VE1RSM, and Wayne Blenkhorn, VE1BAB), using the VE1RAC call sign, won the multi-single high power category for the 2017 running of the Canada Winter Contest with a score of 429,732. Mike Tessmer, K9NW, took second place with a score of 331,470. Third place was taken by Guy Lemieux, VE2BWL and operators of the multi-op Pierre Loranger, VA2CZ, Mario Bouchard, VA2EK, Christian Lemay, VE2CEQ and Donald Girard, VE2IR, using the VE2BWL call sign with a score of 324,260.
MULTI-OPERATOR SINGLE-TRANSMITTER LOW POWER
Once again this year Marcel LeBlanc, VE9ML and Jean-Paul LeBlanc, VE9BK, at VE9ML took top honours and the Tony Allsop, VE3FTA Memorial in the Multi-Single Low Power category with a score of 492,480. Jesse Blanchette, VE4JBB, Cary Rubenfeld, VE4EA and Gerald Hull, VE1RM, took second place with a score of 284,992 using the VE4JBB call sign.
Third place goes to Rebecca Kimoto, VE7BEC and Koji Kimoto, VA7KO, using the VE7BEC call sign with a score of 192,888.
MULTI-OPERATOR MULTI-TRANSMITTER
Operators at VE6SV (Gord Kosmenko, VE6SV, Max Stagg, VE6RST and John Torneby, VE6MRT), using the VE6RAC call sign took top honours in the Multi-Multi category with a score of 974,200. Members of the Orca DX and Contest Club (VE7SCC, VE7KW, VA7DX, VA7NR and VA7ADI), using the VE7SCC call sign, achieved second place with a score of 554,368. Using the VE5RAC call sign members of the Sask Alta Contesters took third place with a score of 518,884.
WRAP UP
Your contest managers sincerely appreciate the increased use of Cabrillo-based log entries. Cabrillo files significantly reduce the workload associated with producing the contest results. Current versions of popular contest programs such as CT, NA, Super Duper and TR produce Cabrillo files that can be readily handled by new scoring software developed by VE5CPU. As in the past we will continue to accept paper logs and other electronic logging formats so it is easy for everyone to send in an entry.
If you are submitting a paper log, we would appreciate, if possible, receiving summary sheets prepared in accordance with the format set out in the official rules and which provide a breakdown of VE, RAC, DX contact and a multiplier total. This will make compiling and checking of logs an easier and quicker process.
Thanks and congratulations to all for participating in the 2017 running of the Canada Winter Contest and good luck in 2018.
A special thanks goes out to the operators of the RAC call signs. It would seem from the number of entries that the RAC Canada 150 Award resulted in greater contest activity. Hopefully, we will have some better propagation for the 2018 running of the Canada Winter Contest scheduled for December 29.
Operator comments are available in the above PDF file.
– 73, Sam, VE5SF and Bart, VE5CPU