TENNESSEE QSO Party Rules

CONTEST PERIOD

1800z Sunday, September 5 until 0300z Monday, September 6, 2010
 

OBJECT

Stations outside of Tennessee work as many Tennessee stations in as many Tennessee counties as possible. Stations in Tennessee work everyone.

BANDS

All amateur bands except 60, 30, 17 and 12 meters are valid.

MODES

• Phone (no repeater QSOs)
• CW
• Digital (RTTY, PSK31, FSK441, JT6M, etc)

EXCHANGE

RS(T) and Tennessee County, U.S. state, Canadian province/territory, or DXCC entity. (All radio equipment, including antennas, must be located within the county, state, province/territory or entity given in the exchange).

Tennessee stations may work anyone; those outside Tennessee work only Tennessee stations. Stations may be worked once per band/mode. Mobiles may be worked again if they change counties.

CATEGORIES

A. Fixed

1. Single-Op (High, Low & QRP)
2. Multi-Op (High, Low & QRP)

B. Mobile

1. Single-Op (High, Low & QRP)
2. Multi-Op (High, Low & QRP)

High power is more than 150W transmitter output, Low power is 150W transmitter output or less, and QRP is 5W transmitter output or less.

All Out-of-State entries compete in the Fixed categories. All Tennessee portable operations compete in the Fixed categories.

Mobile stations must be self-contained and capable of legal motion while operating. Motion is optional. Single-Op Mobile may use a driver, but that person may not assist in the operation of the radio equipment.

SCORING

Points: 2 points per Phone QSO
             3 points per CW QSO
             3 points per Digital QSO

Repeater QSOs DO NOT count (this includes packet digipeaters). However, direct station-to-station packet contacts do count.

On all acceptable bands, CW and other digital modes count separately. For example, you can work W9WI on 3540 kHz CW; 3585 kHz Baudot RTTY; and 3820 kHz SSB, for three contacts on 80 meters. All digital modes besides CW are equivalent. If you work W9WI on 14085 kHz Baudot RTTY you cannot work him again on 14070 kHz PSK31.

Multipliers:

Out-of-State Stations - Multipliers accumulate on a per band basis. Multipliers are Tennessee counties (95 max/band). For example, if you work all 95 Tennessee counties on 40M and again on 20M you earn 190 multipliers.

Tennessee Stations - Multipliers accumulate on a per band basis. Multipliers are:

• Tennessee counties (95 max/band)
• U.S. states (49 max/band - do not count Tennessee as a state, District of Columbia counts as Maryland)
• Canadian provinces/territories (13 max/band: British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland & Labrador, Yukon, NWT and Nunavut).
• DXCC entities (see ARRL DXCC list - less USA, Canada, Alaska & Hawaii -- Do not count USA nor Canada as countries; Alaska & Hawaii count as states only).

Tennessee Mobile Stations - Tennessee mobiles may claim one multiplier for any Tennessee county from which they complete at least 10 QSOs if they do not earn a multiplier for that county otherwise.

Bonus Points:

All entrants may claim 100 bonus points for each QSO with TCG headquarters station K4TCG. Tennessee mobile operators may claim 500 bonus points for each Tennessee county from which they complete at least 10 QSOs. All bonus points are added after the geographic multiplier.

TEAMS

A team consists of between two and five stations, with any number of operators. Teams do not need to be registered in advance, and team members do not need to be members of any radio club. Team members must indicate the name of their team on their entry. There is separate competition for teams whose members are in Tennessee and for teams whose members are outside the state. Multi-operator stations may also participate in team competition. If more than five stations in a club would like to participate in team competition, they may form more than one team.

WHERE TO LOOK

• CW             1815, 3540, 7040, 14040, 21040, 28040
• Digital         3585, 7085, 14085, 21085, 28085
                       (check RTTY at 10 minutes after each hour and PSK31 at 20 after)
• SSB           1855, 3820, 7240, 14280, 21390, 28390
• VHF/UHF   50.195, 144.195, 146.55, 223.50, 446.0

AWARDS

• Certificates will be awarded to the five highest scoring Tennessee entrants in each category.
• Certificates will be awarded to the highest scoring entrant from each category in each U.S. state, Canadian province or territory and DXCC entity.
• Certificates will be awarded to the first-place Tennessee team, and the first-place outside-Tennessee team.
• Certificates will be awarded to all first-time entrants, and to every entry making more than 100 QSOs.
• Certificates will be awarded to the top CW-only, top phone-only, and top digital-only entrant in each category.
• A certificate will be awarded to the highest-scoring in-state mobile operated entirely by amateurs who don't reside in Tennessee.
• Plaques and other prizes may be awarded at the discretion of TCG.

TCG Headquarters station K4TCG and the TCG itself are not eligible for awards. Other awards may be given. Entrants are encouraged to include their birth year with their entries, as special recognition may be given to younger operators.

LOGS

Indicate band/mode, time, call worked, and QTH. Please include your call sign, category, team (if any), and county (if you're in Tennessee). Don't forget your mailing address; you might win something! Mobiles must indicate county changes.

Computer logs are encouraged. Cabrillo format is especially appreciated, but any ASCII text format is acceptable. Email logs are best (logs@tnqp.org), but Windows-formatted floppy disks, CDs, or thumb drives are also fine. Be sure to include all required information ? including your mailing address, and for Tennessee stations, your county.

Template files for the TRLog and NA contest programs are posted on the TNQP Home Page at www.tnqp.org If you don't have Internet access, write W9WI at the address below for a copy. Some other contest programs, such as the N1MM Logger (www.n1mm.com), have support for the Tennessee QSO Party built-in.

Logs must be received by 8 October 2010. Thanks!

Mail logs to:

Address                                                                 Email Address

Tennessee QSO Party                                           logs <at> tnqp.org
c/o Doug Smith,  W9WI
1389 Old Clarksville Pike
Pleasant View, TN 37146-8098

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