Zombie_RULES

TIDBITS:
CQ BOO is the time tested CQ for the Zombie Shuffle.
REBIRTH RULE: You may work the same station on a band every two hours so you don't get bored.

CODE SPEED: This is not a 35wpm event. It's a fun event regardless of your code speed nor how rusty you may be. We want to work you as bad as you want to work us.

SCORING: Basically, your score is going to be the sum of all Zombie numbers and Area Codes worked per band (add them all up for a big number), plus bonus points per band, times the number of QSOs worked per band. Add up the bands. This can be a fairly large score.

BONUS STATIONS – BONUS POINTS
You receive 666 bonus points for working the following stations:
   MAYA KING – For each Maya King worked, add 666 points
  CRUMMY BAND CONDITIONS is worth 666 points (every station qualifies for this)
    Thus, you get 666 points even if you worked no Zombies.

Click here for the 2012 Summary Sheet

The 2011 winner was Ken WA8REI with 565,938 points and 28 QSOs.

The 2010 winner was Hank N8XX with 635,175 points and 39 QSOs.

Click here to see last year's (2011) Results

SCORE SUBMISSIONS:

Download the Summary Sheet from this website (in .doc or .txt format, or type it in an email) and submit to: na5n@zianet.com with Zombie in the subject by January 21, 2013.

If you prefer mail, send to Paul Harden, P.O. Box 757, Socorro, NM 87801

LOGS: You do not need to submit your log – just the summary sheet. We trust you (though you may be asked for your log in event of dispute or nit-picking top scorers).

WHY ZOMBIE SHUFFLE?: Because Zombies don't sprint.

THE ZOMBIE SHUFFLE is an annual event for QRPers to get on the air, have some fun, and rack

up a really big score in spite of what your CW or operating skills may be. It is normally held on a

Friday evening near Halloween (avoiding WW and ARRL SS contests).

For 2012 only, it is being held on Dec. 21.

WHY December 21?: That's the end of the Maya Calendar and the purported "end of the world." After all, the end of the world only occurs every so often. This could be your last chance to pound out some CW before it's "lights out" for the human race. But, hey! ... we're already Zombies. When the world vaporizes on Dec. 21, Zombies should experience no more than a mild headache and blurred vision for a day or two.

WHEN: FRIDAY Nite, DECEMBER 21, 2012

The last day on your ARRL Maya Calendar

TIME: From local sundown (5pm in December) to local midnight. Participate an hour or two, or whatever you can spare, or all 7-hours if you have the stomach for it.

CHANGES THIS YEAR:

1) Moved to Friday nite, Dec. 21 for this year only.

2) In December, sundown is 5pm, for an additional hour this year

3) No Elvis stations this year, but plenty of MAYA KINGS to work for 666 bonus points each

4) Few participating Grand Zombies has caused this bonus point to be eliminated

WHERE: 20, 40, and 80 meters -- Somewhere in the vicinity of the QRP gathering/calling frequencies
                  14.060, 7.040, 7.030, 7.106, 3.560, 3.710, or anything else that works

MODE: CW only, QRP (5W or less)

EXCHANGE: RST, SPC, Zombie Number , Name
   RST – Signal report (like 599, even if you can't hear him!)
   SPC – State/Province/Country (ex. CA, TX, BC, Belize or other Maya country, etc.)
   ZOMBIE NUMBER - Your assigned Zombie number or telephone 3-digit Area Code
      If you don't have a Zombie number, email Jan n0qt@arrl.net to request one

If you've been issued a Zombie Number, it is good for life, or death, whichever comes first
NAME – Your name (as shown on your birth, death or other certificate)

Some select stations will be sending MAYA KING for their name

for 666 extra points for each MAYA KING station worked.

Examples:
599 KS 827 TOM (Some Zombie named Tom in KS, Zombie number is 827)
599 MI 911 MAYA (A ham in MI, Zombie #911, and a Maya King worth 666 extra points)

CONTEST PHILOSOPHY: There is no point to the Zombie Shuffle whatsoever except to get on the air and have fun with fellow Zombies and QRPers. Even with only 2-3 QSOs, you can earn a fairly large score to brag to your co-workers and QRO buddies. If you haven't been on the air for awhile, or you are a new CW ham, your fist is “rusty,” or your code speed is slow, this is the “contest” to put a few contacts in the log. Note that the scoring is based on SERENDIPITY rather than operating skill. Band conditions and propagation are not the best at night, so most operators are not cracking out 35wpm. Around 13-18 wpm is typical. Don't be afraid to ask a station to QRS (slow down) or to repeat their exchange if you miss it. He wants to work you as much as you want to work him. And remember, he's a Zombie too! We want you to stay on the air and have fun in spite of crummy bands – so you can work the same station on a band after a two hour wait (every 2 hours if you wish). So get out your straight key, keyer, bug, or spark gap and do your CW thing.

The first Zombie Shuffle was held on October 30, 1998. This is our 13th annual Zombie Shuffle!!!

72, Paul NA5N and Jan N0QT
GRAND ZOMBIE GRAND WITCHESS & CONTEST CORONER

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MAYA

Note: MAYA refers to the people and the civilization; MAYAN refers to their language and culture.

The Maya empire consisted of today's Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Belize, and central Mexico. To the north, most of Mexico were the Aztecs; along the west coast of South America were the Incas.

The Maya civilization began about
2500 BC and peaked around 900 AD when a sudden and unexplained collapse occurred due to drought, disease, political turmoil or other event. Many of the prominent Maya cities, such as Copán, were abandoned during this time.
The Aztecs and Maya were the only people in the Americas to have a written language and known for their architecture, advanced mathematics and astronomy. Their calendar is legendary.

When the Spaniards arrived in the 1500s, they found the Maya to be a formidable empire, regaining much of their prominence and strength in the region.
The Maya were divided into districts, with each district, and each city, having their own king. There was no king for the entire empire - making conquering the Mayas by the Spaniards very difficult - they had to conquer the empire city by city, taking 150 years to accomplish.
The Spaniards began to conquer the empire in the mid-1500s. The last hold out was the district of Itza and the city of Taj Petén. It was located on an island in a lake deep inside the Guatamalan jungles, almost impossible to reach. It took an invasion by hundreds of conquistadors and thousands of local Indians to finally conquer the city. Canék, the last of the Maya kings, surrendered to Spanish control in 1697.

The Mayan people are not extinct. Several million still live in their native homeland and still speak the Mayan language preserving their culture and traditions.

MAYAN CALENDAR is a rather complicated thing, consisting of four calendars with different cycles, ranging from about a month in duration to thousands of years, running concurrently. On Dec. 21, 2012, all four cyclic calendars line up and start all over again. Much like an auto odometer turning over to all zeroes. The Mayas left no written record indicating any significance to this date or predicting an "end of the world" -- though plenty of others have based on the Maya's ability to predict things far in the future, such as planetary movements, comets, and solar elcipses.