Time: 1500 to 2400 UTC (pick any 6 hours)
Bands: 40-20-15-10 meters,
in the vicinity of the QRP calling
frequencies, please be courteous to others
Mode: CW only
Power out (QRP only): 5 watts or less
As usual, this event is geared toward having fun while operating
in the field, away from commercial power.
Railroad crossing, look out for the cars ... can you spell that
without any R's?
The theme for this year is Railroads!
No other mode of trasportation can lay claim to the industrial
impact that the coming of the railroads had on this nation. From
passengers to building supplies, payrolls to livestock, mining
and the U.S. mail, the railroads were responsible for many of the
"boom times" across this land. Along with the railroads came
various counter cultures, such as train robbers, the hobo with
his
bundle stick thrown over his shoulder, and the "Lightning Slingers,"
a slang term for the railroad telegraphers.
Even though many of the lines are no longer in use, there
are remnants of their existence standing as silent sentries to
days gone by. Things such as water tanks, coal and wood bins,
railroad sidings and railroad stations whose mail hooks now stand
empty. Once proud locomotives now occupy museums and city parks.
Please bear in mind that some locations may now be under the control
of various agencies, like the Bureau of Land Management or the
National
Parks Service, or other private companies. So if you need special
permission, by all means get it. Otherwise, get as close as you
can to
a railroad site. Remember, this is F-U-N!
Select any 6-hour operating period that works for you. If you need
to split
it up into two or three hour intervals or more to accommodate other
plans,
then feel free to do so. Jump in there when you can, but only work
a total
of 6 hours. Work all stations once per band.
Categories: Single Op Rail station
Multi Op Rail station
Single Op Field Station
Multi Op Field Station
Home Station
Exchange: RST + SPC
Example: 559 NM
Scoring: QSO pts - 1 pt for
each QSO per band
SPCs pts - count once per band
Bonus points: Use SPCs received to fill in the blanks with
the state
abbreviation whose first letter matches the individual
letters in the words "Arlo Guthrie" without duplicating
states. Arlo sings one of the more memorable railroad
songs, "Ridin' on the City of New Orleans." Each letter
filled in is worth 100 points (up to 1,000 pts. max)
Example: A=AZ, G=GA, I=ID, U=UT, L=LA, etc.
Note: Alabama= A or L, Arkansas = A or R,
TH counts as one letter, any state ending with TH fills
this, i.e. North Dakota, South Carolina, etc.
Lightning Slinger Bonus: Be just like the old-time railroad
telegraphers, use
a straight key for the entire contest and you can
multiply your SUBTOTAL score by 2!
Location Multiplier: Railroad station = x5
Field station = x3
Home Station = x1
Final Score: Total pts x Total SPCs x Location
+ Bonus Points = Subtotal Score
Lightning Slinger Bonus Final Score: Subtotal Score x 2 =
Final Score
A summary sheet is also available at the web
site:
http://www.zianet.com/QRP
Deadline: Send complete logs and summary sheets by June
1, 2005.
Summary sheets must include a description of location and equipment
used. Please also include photographs and a brief write-up, it will
be much appreciated! Your log should include a minimum of time
(in UTC), callsign of station worked, complete exchange received,
RST sent (if not a static exchange). Incomplete submissions will be
used as check logs. Take your time and use a calculator if needed.
Email submission: send complete logs and summary sheets
in ASCII text format
only to: n0qt@arrl.net
Please send text format only (.txt), all other forms will be
rejected so no html, dta, bin, word processor documents or
attachments please. Attached files in the ZIP format are okay
as they do not get deleted. Hopefully every one knows what a
zip file is.
Snail mail: send complete logs and summary sheets to:
Jan Harden N0QT
QRPTTF 2005
P.O. Box 1768
Socorro NM 87801