The Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club of Philadelphia is
pleased to announce the
Delaware Valley FM Sprint
to be held on Saturday, February 28th, 2009.
Purpose:
- To promote FM Simplex operation.
- To provide a local, fun, fast contest with equipment most hams already have.
When:
Saturday, February 28th, 2009 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM EST
The contest is open to all radio amateurs.
According to HARC President Mike Wurgley, N3LXN, the contest is designed for
hams to have fun over a short period during that quite time of the year. You don't need to devote an entire weekend, just an enjoyable Saturday night. So get a cup of coffee, a comfortable chair, and sit down for a few hours to see who is on the air. There will be some rovers running around during the full contest period to keep activity going the entire time.
(Please consider that yourself. Did you ever hear a pile-up on 2M FM, just announce that you have changed zip codes, and you will have one.)
This is a low key contest, do not feel rushed, there is plenty of time for a short chat. You can move a participant to another band. Rovers can arrange meets. Ask questions, meet someone new. We have designed this as a fun event, enjoy using the radio, learn where your station's signal goes.
The contest gives clubs as well as individuals a chance to participate.
Bonus points are awarded for contacting club stations/callsigns. "We
realize that everyone will not be able to contact WM3PEN so we're giving any
club a chance to put their club callsign on the air." This could be from a
club station or an individual's home. Clubs are not required to register in advance. This
will allow many clubs to make a last minute decision to make their voice
heard in the area.
The rules are simple, equipment requirements minimal. It is really a pleasant way to spend an evening on the radio.
Rules
Frequencies:
Limited to the FM simplex frequencies on the following bands.
2 Meter, 220 band, 440 band
No contacts are permitted on the calling frequencies.
Classes;
- Base
- Rover
- Portable - Limited to 10W, with transceiver mounted antenna
Exchange:
Call sign, your sequential contact number, ZIP code
Note: You should not use a separate set of sequential numbers for each band. Start at the beginning of the contest and keep going in order.
Sample contact exchanges
K3FI this is WM3PEN - Please copy Number 3, zip 19136
K3FI this is WM3PEN Rover - Please copy Number 3, zip now 19136
K3FI this is WM3PEN Portable - Please copy Number 3, zip now 19136
Scoring:
- 1 point per contact
- 1 point bonus for each club station contact
- Multiplier is the number of unique ZIP's contacted
For Rovers/Portables, multiplier is the number of unique ZIP's contacted plus the number of ZIP's activated.
Final score = multiplier times contact points.
Awards will be issued to individual top scores in all classes.
Club station awards will also be issued in the base class.
Log:
- Heading: Your name, address, call sign, & contest class
Listing of contacts to include;
- Your contact number; their call sign, zip, contact number; band, an indication if you contacted a club station
For rovers and portables, your zip at time of contact.
Logs may be submitted in any format that you choose. Spreadsheets are nice, hand written lists are just as acceptable.
Entry Deadline
All logs, either paper or electronic should be received by April 1, 2009.
Logs may be sent to the Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club, 3341 Sheffield Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19136,
emailed to WM3PEN@arrl.net or brought to the March meeting.
Special Rules:
- Stations can only be worked once per band. Rovers and portables can be worked again when they have moved to a different ZIP.
- Rovers and portables cannot straddle ZIP code lines, only one ZIP may be given during each contact. Rover and portable stations must remain in a ZIP a minimum of 15 minutes.
- Teams are permitted, but only one transmitter is allowed to operate at any one time.
- No contacts on calling frequencies.
146.52, 223.5, 446.00
- Only mode allowed is FM phone simplex.
- No repeater contacts, satellite, or EME, please stay on FM simplex frequencies.
- No crossband, no split frequencies contacts.
Pre-arranging contacts by use of repeaters, telephones, or otherwise is not allowed, nor in the spirit of the contest. Requesting a move to another band during a contact is allowed.
Some additional considerations
Safety Issues
- Rover and portable operations need some discretion. Sitting in a parked car talking on the radio invites suspicion. Walking around with a HT even more so. We suggest these participants be team efforts. Carrying your license would not be a bad idea.
- Rovers, unless you have a partner in the vehicle, please don't work the contest unless you are parked. Trying to log stations while you are driving is a bad idea.
While it is not required, if club stations let us know in advance so we could publish their calls and make scoring easier.
For questions or additional information contact AB3EO@ARRL.NET