The W1AW FMT will run on November 20, 2003 at 0245Z (November 19, 2003, 9:45
PM ET). It will replace the W1AW Phone Bulletin normally scheduled at that
time. It is recommended that participants listen to W1AW's transmissions
prior to the event to get an idea on conditions to see which band (or bands)
will be best for measurement purposes.
Format
The FMT will begin with a general W1AW (QST) call beginning exactly at 0245Z
sent simultaneously on four amateur frequencies. The test will consist of
three 60-second key-down transmissions, followed by a series of dits,
followed by station identification.
The test will last for a period of approximately 15 minutes total. The test
will end with a series of V's, followed by station identification. W1AW will
identify before, during and after the transmissions.
The approximate frequencies are as follows:
80 meters 3584 kHz
40 meters 7049 kHz
20 meters 14051 kHz
15 meters 21054 kHz

Reporting and Results
The submitted report should include the time of reception, frequency
measured and signal report, in addition to name, call and QTH. If possible,
participants should submit reports on more than one band (but not
necessarily on all four).
A Certificate of Participation will be available to all entrants. Those
entrants that come closest to the measured frequency as measured by the ARRL
laboratory will be listed in the test report and will also receive special
recognition on their certificate.
Entries should be postmarked by December 19, 2003 to be eligible. Send
entries to:

W1AW/FMT
225 Main Street
Newington CT 06111

Wow, they're still doing these? I though this test went extinct with the
popularity of digital readout radios.

jw
wb9uai

J999w ) writes:
Wow, they're still doing these? I though this test went extinct with the
popularity of digital readout radios.

jw
wb9uai
I thought the same thing when I saw a notice sometime within the past few
years. I'm pretty sure, then, that they did stop it, and it's now
been resurrected.

Now, it seems more of a challenge, and obviously more people have
pretty fancy equipment than in the old days. Even thirty years ago,
this wasn't just a contest, but a means of testing oneself when there
wasn't common equipment to be really accurate in frequency.

Michael

The ARRL resurrected the FMT last year and had well over a hundred test
reports submitted.

From a technical point of view it remains an interesting challenge in the
actual measurement, the accounting for propagation effects, etc. If you
read the comments from last year's FMT participants you'll find a wide range
of measurement methodologies which led me in several new directions. The
discussion among folks before and after the test was also enjoyable and
informative.

Although propagation here wasn't very good for this year's test it was still
fun and technically challenging -- guess that's the whole idea.

You can see lots more detail at:

http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/fmt/

Dino KLØS/4

(Michael Black) wrote:

J999w ) writes:
Wow, they're still doing these? I though this test went extinct with the
popularity of digital readout radios.

jw
wb9uai
I thought the same thing when I saw a notice sometime within the past few
years. I'm pretty sure, then, that they did stop it, and it's now
been resurrected.

Now, it seems more of a challenge, and obviously more people have
pretty fancy equipment than in the old days.

You are correct -- it was resurrected.

I participated, and actually found it to be harder than it sounds.
It's not all that easy to zero-beat a signal in a crowded band when
the signal is just above the ambient noise level. It required far
more wetware-usage than I expected.

I'm sending in my results today.

--
Eric F. Richards

"The weird part is that I can feel productive even when I'm doomed."
- Dilbert