As the men’s college basketball tournament is set to tip off in a couple of weeks, OnAllBands thought it would be appropriate to draw a few parallels between RadioSport and the sport of basketball—pursuits that both feature scoring runs, towering giants, and plenty of passes (both of the “no-look” and “band filter” varieties).
So, whether you’ll be filling out your tournament bracket or marching into the backyard to install a coaxial grounding bracket, here’s to a month packed with thundering dunks and lightning-quick QSOs:
- In basketball, you have nets…In ham radio, you have nets.
- In basketball, you have double dribbles…In ham radio, you have double paddles.
- In basketball, you can feed the center…In ham radio, you have
off-center fed dipoles. - In basketball, you have power forwards…In ham radio, you have forward power (measured by a good SWR/power meter).
- In basketball, you have guards…In ham radio, you have receiver guards.
- In basketball, you have the Spurs…In ham radio, you have spurious emissions.
- In basketball, you have outlet passes…In ham radio, you have outlet panels.
- In basketball, you have out-of-bounds…In ham radio, you have out-of-bands.
- In basketball, you have the sky hook…In ham radio, you have the Skylark.
- In basketball, you have defensive switches…In ham radio, you have foot switches.
Next Time You’re Shooting Hoops, Play M-O-R-S-E, not H-O-R-S-E
As hams, what college basketball team should you root for in the tournament? Beyond your alma mater (University of Cincinnati Bearcats for this blogger—a longshot to even make it in), we have a suggestion. While participating teams won’t officially be invited to the Big Dance until selections are announced on March 16, OnAllBands is hoping Yale University, which won its first-round game in last year’s tournament, makes another run this year. Here’s why: Morse College, a residential college at Yale established in 1961, is named after none other than Samuel F.B. Morse, a Yale graduate (1810) and co-developer of Morse code and the single-wire telegraph system along with Alfred Vail.
Yale’s basketball squad is favored to get an automatic bid by winning the Ivy League Tournament, but when it comes to March insanity, nothing is guaranteed. Incidentally, Morse College’s mascot is a walrus, not, unfortunately, a straight key. The word “Morse” is French for walrus, as in “Goo-Goo Ga-Joob.”
Even if the Yale hoopers falter, you can always root for another group of students making waves off the court. Read about the Amateur Radio Club at Yale (W1YU) here.
Let the Competition Begin
It’s as easy as making an uncontested fast-break layup to find a ham radio contest to suit your interests in March. Here are a few to choose from:
- Novice Rig Roundup (NRR), March 8, 0000Z to March 16, 2359Z. The annual roundup is a super-cool blast of nostalgia for hams who want to go on the air with the old-school rigs they used when they were Novices, or with the wish-list radios of their youth that they now own.
It’s the perfect opportunity to hop in the way-back machine, set the dial to your early ham shack, and enjoy leisurely, stress-free CW operating like you did as a teen, with all the “whoops,” “chirps,” and “drift” of days gone by.
Find complete rules, suggested frequencies, loads of vintage rig photos, and how to receive your lifetime NRR membership number.
- South America 10 Meter Contest, March 8, 1200Z to March 9, 1200Z. The contest’s objective is for amateurs worldwide to exchange QSO information with as many stations as possible on the 10M band. Contacting South American stations from outside the continent will earn you double the points per QSO. From the contest’s website: “(This) competition encourages the amateur radio world to beam their antennas toward South America.” Find everything you need for effective 10M operation at DX Engineering, including antennas, amplifier modification kits, band pass filters, choke kits, tuners, and more. And read this OnAllBands article for tips on how to take advantage of the 10-meter openings courtesy of Solar Cycle 25.
- TESLA Memorial HF CW Contest, March 8, 1800Z to March 9, 0559Z. Hosted by the Amateur Radio Union of Serbia, this annual event honors the legacy of Serbian-American electrical engineer and inventor, Nikola Tesla.
- Stew Perry Topband Challenge, March 8, 1500Z to March 9, 1500Z. Hams can enter this annual 160 meter, CW-only contest as “single operator or multi-operator; high, low or QRP power. Low power is 100 watts or less output. QRP is 5 watts or less. High power is 1,500 watts output or whatever you can legally run in your country, whichever is less,” per the Stew Perry website. The challenge uniquely awards QSO point values based on distance between stations. Click here for complete rules.
- EA PSK63 Contest, March 8, 1200Z to March 9, 1200Z. Open to all licensed amateur radio operators, this contest—organized by the Unión de Radioaficionados Españoles (URE, or Spanish Amateur Radio Union)—is all about using BPSK63 to make QSOs on the 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10M bands. The maximum power allowed is 50 watts. Both single- and multi-operator contesting categories are offered. Founded in 1949, the URE represents the interests of hams and shortwave listeners in Spain.
- AWA John Rollins Memorial DX Contest, March 15, 2300Z to March 17, 0300Z and March 22, 2300Z to March 24, 0300Z. Sponsored by the Antique Wireless Association (AWA), this event was officially renamed in 2009 to honor John, W1FPZ (SK) for his contributions to the AWA over the years. It’s open to both AWA members and non-members. The objective: Contact the greatest number of participating stations using pre-1970 tube gear on 80, 40, and 20M. Modern gear is allowed, but extra points are awarded for using pre-1970s transmitters/receivers and for homebrew rigs using tubes that were available before 1970. Output power is limited to 100W for CW and 100W carrier level for AM.
Speaking of tubes, DX Engineering carries a nice lineup of RF vacuum tubes from Penta Laboratories–perfect for fixing a current amplifier, reviving a legacy model, or building one of your own.
- AGCW VHF/UHF Contest: March 15, 1400Z to 1700Z (144) and March 15, 1700Z to 1800Z (432). This annual event is hosted by the German Telegraphy Activity Group.
- Africa All Mode International DX Contest: March 22, 1200Z to March 23, 1200Z. Per the contest website, the goal of this single- and multi-operator event is to encourage contesting from Africa. Stations worldwide may work any African DXCC entity during the 24-hour contest period on SSB, CW, or RTTY. Find complete rules here.
- FOC QSO Party, March 22, 0000Z to 2359Z. This event is held twice a year by the First Class CW Operator’s Club. Open to amateur operators worldwide, it is held in memory of Bill Windle, G8VG (SK), past chairman of the FOC. Participating stations should call “CQ BW” from 015 to 040kHz on all bands, excluding the WARC bands. Read more contest details and information about the FOC here.
- Sasquatch Stomp, March 28, 1900Z to March 29, 0300Z. Sponsored by the Pacific North West QRP Group, this CW-only event, modeled after the Zombie Shuffle, is designed to inspire operators to get on the air and have fun. From the Sasquatch Stomp website, “The event is scored, but unlike other contests the final score for each participant will be a negative number with the object being to get the lowest number below zero.”
- CQ WW WPX Contest, SSB, March 29, 0000Z to March 30, 2359Z. The objective of this 48-hour contest is for contestants to contact as many amateurs and different prefixes as possible.
Also check out these State QSO Parties for March 2025:
- Idaho: March 8, 1900Z to March 9, 1900Z
- Oklahoma: March 8, 1500Z to March 9, 0200Z and March 9, 1500Z to 2100Z
- Wisconsin: March 9, 1800Z to March 10, 0100Z
- Virginia: March 15, 1400Z to March 16, 0400Z and March 16, 1200Z to 2400Z
