ARRL June VHF CONTEST: from 2:00 PM This Saturday until 10:59 PM This Sunday
csm...@cogeco.ca
*** The ARRL June VHF Contest Is This Coming Weekend! ***
TL;DR
This Contest Is For Everyone, especially beginners. There is an FM-only category, meaning anyone can participate, even if all you have is a handheld and a quarter wave whip! Half the fun is figuring out where your station can reach.
WHAT and WHY?
An Amateur Radio contest is a friendly competition to see who can contact as many stations as possible during the contest period. Every contest has rules. During the contest, hams accumulate points by making direct contact with as many stations, in as many different locations as possible.
Benefits of Contesting include:
- Beginners and expert operators depend on each other for success,
- Contesting increases activity on the bands
- Contesting can improve your operating skill running your station, logging contacts, time management etc.
- All contacts are direct - no repeaters allowed! - you find out quickly what your station can do.
WHEN?
Saturday, June 14, 2:00 PM, until Sunday June 15, 10:59 PM.
WHERE?
50 mHz and up.
Modes: FM, SSB, CW, FT8, and more... you can use it, as long as the contact is unassisted. Absolutely no repeaters, hot spots, or satellites are allowed. This is strictly simplex operation, from your station to another. You can contact each station once on each band, regardless of mode.
As of September 2023, participants in the FM Only category can now count contacts made on 902 MHz and 1.2 GHz toward their scores.
NOTE: If you use FT8 in this contest, please select "Special operating activity" and NA VHF mode in the advanced settings tab of WSJT-X.
Making a Contact:
Every contact counts! You do not need to be participating yourself or keeping a log to help others increase their score! Contact stations once per band per grid square. For the contact to count towards someone’s score, you only need to exchange call signs and locations. The higher the frequency, the more points the contact is worth. If things are slow at the time, why not have a brief chat too? If you are not formally participating, meaning you are not planning to submit a log of completed contacts, you can still join in the fun by contacting others, and seeing where your station is capable of reaching.
Score Calculation:
- 1 point per 50- or 144-MHz QSO
- 2 points per 222- or 432-MHz QSO
- 3 points per 906- or 1296-MHz QSO
- 4 points per 2.3 GHz (or higher) QSO
- Multipliers: Each grid square once per band.
- Total score = total QSO points x total multipliers.
Don't worry! Most of us use N3FJP's VHF Contest Software OR N1MM Logger+ to log and do all the math.
The Ontario VHF Association is celebrating it’s 75th anniversary, so please list them under “Club” in your log.
Again, you do not need to be participating yourself or keeping a log to help others increase their score!
What The Heck Is a Grid Square?
The Maidenhead Locator System, named for the town in England where it was conceived, is used by amateur radio operators to describe their location as concisely as possible, to survive difficult conditions. The world is divided into 324 (18×18) grid squares, identified by a short string of letters and numbers. Each of these squares represents 1° of latitude by 2° of longitude. More characters increase the accuracy. For example, my station is located in FN03AF. Find yourself on this map, Or use this Grid square finder.
And this tool calculates bearing and distance between two stations.
What Is a Rover?
A rover is a mobile station traveling to multiple locations during the contest to both give and receive more contacts from additional grid squares. They identify that they are rovers by adding the word "rover" when they give their call sign by voice, and "/R" on CW and digital modes. You can contact a rover station again on each band if they have moved to a new grid square. Rovers put a lot of time and effort into travelling to locations which may be harder to reach, to give the rest of us more points in the process.
The FM simplex folks will be found on or near the following frequencies:
- 6 M: 52.525 mHz
- 2 M: 146.520, 146.550, 146.580 mHz etc if things are busy.
- 1.25 M: 223.500 mHz
- 70 CM: 446.000 mHz
- 33 CM: 904.500 mHz
- 23 CM: 1294.500 mHz
Besides FM, lots of people will be looking for contacts on the so-called "weak signal modes": SSB, CW, and digital modes like FT8. Check the bottom of each band for people using those other modes if you have them and Consult the RAC Band Plan Pages for more information.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Can I let people know about the contest, on repeaters, when checking into nets, on social media, etc.
Absolutely. Please spread the word on the air and on social media. Although somewhat controversial, Yes, you are allowed to contact people on repeaters to let them know the contest is taking place, and where they can find you. Just be sure to change to a simplex frequency to make the actual contact!
Are people allowed to contest on 146.520 mHz, the "national calling frequency"?
Yes. This has been allowed since 2015. but if someone needs to use the frequency, please let them make their call, and move to an adjacent frequency to continue contesting.
Are people going to be on particular frequencies, from particular grid squares, at particular times?
Yes. Often, people publish when and where they will be operating, to email listserves, social media such as Facebook groups, Slack channels, and this database.
(When entering your information in the database, be sure to specify the contest date and time starting at 2025-01-18 19:00 UTC, and ending 2025-01-20 at 03:59 UTC.)
Get on the air and have fun! Thank you in advance for making contacts during the contest, keeping the bands busy, and promoting the lesser-used bands and modes.!
73,
Chris