Guidance for Proceedings Authors

Updated 18 February 2020

SOLICITATION AND TOPICS

The 2020 Central States VHF Society Conference is soliciting papers for publishing in its Proceedings of the 2019 Central States VHF Conference on all weak-signal VHF and above amateur radio topics, including:

  • Antennas: including Modeling, Design, Arrays, and Control
  • Test Equipment: including Homebrew, Commercial, and Measurement Techniques & Tips
  • Construction of equipment such as Transmitters, Receivers, and Transverters
  • Operating: including Contesting, Roving, and DXpeditions
  • RF power amps: including Single and Multi-band Vacuum Tube, Solid-state, and TWTAs
  • Propagation: including Ducting, Sporadic E, Tropospheric, Meteor Scatter, etc.
  • Pre-amplifiers (low noise)
  • Digital Modes such as WSJT, JT65, FT8, JT6M, ISCAT, etc
  • Regulatory topics
  • Moon Bounce (EME)
  • Software-defined Radio (SDR)
  • Digital Signal Processing (DSP)

Topics such as FM, repeaters, packet radio, etc., are generally considered outside of the scope of papers being sought. However, there are always exceptions. Please contact the coodinator below if you have any questions about the suitability of a particular topic.

You do not need to attend the conference nor present your paper to have it published in the Proceedings. Posters will be displayed during the Conference.

KEY SUBMISSION DEADLINES

  • For inclusion in the Proceedings: Papers MUST be received NO LATER than 25 June 2020 by either of the coordinators below.

SUBMISSION INFORMATION

  • Submissions accepted via email, Dropbox, CD/DVD, USB stick/thumb drive, etc.
  • Contact the Proceedings coordinator prior to submitting formats other than those listed above.
  • Submissions using any form of previously published or copyrighted material MUST include the copyright statement and written permission for reproduction.
  • Authors retain copyright to the work. By submission, authors consent to publication in the Proceedings, both printed as well as electronic (if offered).

COORDINATORS

  • Kent Britian, WA5VJB
  • email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • Snail mail: 1626 Vineyard Rd, Grand Prarie, TX 75052

OR

  •  Donn Baker, WA2VOI
  • email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • Snail mail: 3128 Silver Lake Road, Minneapolis, MN 55418-2426

STYLE GUIDE

  • We discourage the submission of PowerPoint slides.  Slides are intended for
    visual presentations and seldom are formatted for, nor contain enough
    material to adequately explain or discuss a topic.  Microsoft Excel
    spreadsheets may be included as a part of a paper but not as a “standalone”
    submission.
  • The Proceedings will be printed in black and white/grayscale; no color.  If color pictures, or graphs and charts utilizing colored lines to identify different variables are submitted, they will be converted to black & white.  For best results, you should convert your color pictures to black and white YOURSELF.  Graphs, charts, and drawings illustrating multiple variables, results, or conditions should feature different line styles (instead of colors)    Include a 'Legend' with the chart/graph.
  • All papers should be in electronic format. Microsoft Word is the preferred format.  PDF is acceptable, provided that all fonts are embedded. Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint formats are also acceptable, if necessary.  (But see above regarding Power Point Slides.)
  • Paper: 8½ x 11-inches.
  • Margins: Top and side margins should be 0.75-inches; bottom margin must be 1-inch.
  • Font: 12-pt Ariel or Times New Roman fonts are preferred. Font and text size may be modified by the publisher during final editing if necessary to enhance readability, or to better fit  available space.
  • Layout: One-column layout is preferred, however two-column format is acceptable.
  • Page numbers: Page numbers should not be included, as they will be added by the publisher during final editing.
  • Headers/Footers: Do not include any page header or footer content, as it will likely be removed by the publisher during final editing.
  • Drawings: Drawings should be embedded in the files, or sent separately for placement during final editing. Authors should either place drawings where they should appear and their placement should be indicated within the text. If placement is not indicated, drawings will be placed after the text.  Drawings and illustrations should be made with heavy lines, and clearly drawn. Schematics, etc., should be formatted to fill a major portion of a page, and be divided so that they are not overly complex.  Graphs, charts, and drawings illustrating multiple variables, results, or conditions should feature different line styles (instead of colors), as the Proceedings will be printed in black and white/grayscale. 
  • Photos:  Authors should place photos where they are to appear and their placement should be indicated within the text. If placement is not indicated, all photos will be placed after the text.
  • Label all drawings, illustrations, and photos clearly.
  • Printing: We print what we receive. We do not copy edit (but will correct something if we notice it – or if you notice it and let us know). We do try to make all papers somewhat uniform, but we do not redo each article. Page numbers are added as we prepare the files for our printer.