Iowa QSO Party 2024 | Story County Amateur Radio Club

Handy Resources:

- Here is a Cabrillo template and sample log file
- Here is the Iowa counties and abbreviations list
- Here is the US states and Canadian provinces list
- Here is a map of Iowa counties
- Check here for spotting info during the contest: http://qsopartyhub.com/iaqp-spots.php

Submit your logs online at our Log Upload website: https://iaqp.contesting.com/iaqpsubmitlog.php

Planned County Activations:

Are you planning to activate one or more Iowa counties? Email us at iowaqsoparty@hotmail.com and we will include your activation plans here.

-- Several Counties (see list below) -- I am planning a rover operation in the IAQP. Here is my planned route. 73, Dragan K0AP
Starting in Mills County then east to Wapello County
Mills (MIL), Montgomery (MTG), Adams (ADM), Union (UNI), Clarke (CLR), Lucas (LUC), Monroe (MOE), and Wapello (WAP)
then Davis County and west to Fremont County
Davis (DAV), Appanoose (APP), Wayne (WAY), Decatur (DEC), Ringgold (RIN), Taylor (TAY), Page (PAG), and Fremont (FRE)

-- Several Counties (see table below) -- Here is my planned route for IAQP. All CW. 73, Pat K0PC

  CNTY    TIME         UTC
  EMM      9:00 AM     1400
  DIC      9:30 AM     1430
  OSC      9:58 AM     1458
  LYO     10:27 AM     1527
  SIO     10:50 AM     1550
  OBR     11:04 AM     1604
  CLA     11:33 AM     1633
  PLA     12:06 PM     1706
  KOS     12:37 PM     1737
  HUM      1:04 PM     1804
  POC      1:32 PM     1832
  BNV      2:02 PM     1902
  CHE      2:31 PM     1931
  PLY      3:01 PM     2001
  WOO      3:30 PM     2030
  MNA      4:08 PM     2108
  CRF      4:24 PM     2124
  IDA      4:42 PM     2142
  SAC      5:00 PM     2200
  CAL      5:32 PM     2232
  CAR      5:48 PM     2248
  GRE      6:04 PM     2304
  BOO      6:33 PM     2333
  WEB      6:51 PM     2351
  HAM      7:31 PM     0031
  WRI      7:56 PM     0056
  FRA      8:10 PM     0110
  CEG      8:31 PM     0131
  WOR      8:53 PM     0153

-- Several Counties (see table below, slide left/right to see all columns) -- Here is my plan for the 2024 Iowa QSO Party. I will try to be near the listed frequency. I hope I'll be spotted so everyone can find the mults! Rich, N0HJZ

  UTC           TIME                CNTY    FREQ
  1400-1420Z     9:00 –  9:20AM     OSC     14.252 (+/-)
  1420-1440Z     9:20 –  9:40AM     LYN     14.252
  1440-1500Z     9:40 – 10:00AM     SIO     14.252
  1500-1520Z    10:00 – 10:20AM     OBR     14.252
  1520-1540Z    10:20 – 10:40AM     CHE     14.252
  1540-1600Z    10:40 – 11:00AM     PLY     14.252
  1600-1620Z    11:00 – 11:20AM     WOO     14.252
  1620-1640Z    11:20 – 11:40AM     IDA     14.252
  1640-1700Z    11:40 – 12:00PM     CRF     14.252
  1700-1720Z    12:00 – 12:20PM     MNA     14.252
  1720-1750Z    12:20 – 12:50PM     HRS     14.252
  1750-1815Z    12:50 –  1:15PM     SHE     14.252
  1815-1840Z     1:15 –  1:40PM     POT     14.252
  1840-1900Z     1:40 –  2:00PM     CAS     14.252
  1900-1920Z     2:00 –  2:20PM     MTG     14.252
  1920-1945Z     2:20 –  2:45PM     MIL     14.252
  1945-2005Z     2:45 –  3:05PM     FRE     14.252
  2005-2030Z     3:05 –  3:30PM     PAG     14.252
  2030-2100Z     3:30 –  4:00PM     TAY     14.252
  2100-2120Z     4:00 –  4:20PM     RIN     14.252
  2120-2140Z     4:20 –  4:40PM     UNI     14.252
  2140-2200Z     4:40 –  5:00PM     ADM     14.252
  2200-2230Z     5:00 –  5:30PM     ADR     14.252
  2230-2255Z     5:30 –  5:55PM     MAD     14.252
  2255-2320Z     5:55 –  6:20PM     DAL     14.252
  2320-2345Z     6:20 –  6:45PM     BOO      7.198 (+/-)
  2345-0005Z     6:45 –  7:05PM     GRE      7.198
  0005-0035Z     7:05 –  7:35PM     WEB      7.198
  0035-0100Z     7:35 –  8:00PM     HUM      7.198
  0100-0120Z     8:00 –  8:20PM     KOS      7.198
  0120-0140Z     8:20 –  8:40PM     PLA      7.198
  0140-0200Z     8:40 –  9:00PM     EMM      7.198

-- Several Counties (see list below) -- Will be mobile on 40, 20, and 15 CW, 20 and 15 PH, and 80 CW late from the following counties:
Mitchell (MIT), Floyd (FLO), Chickasaw (CHI), Howard (HOW), Worth (WOR), Winnebago (WNB), Cerro Gordo (CEG), and Hancock (HAN).
73, Jon W0ZQ/m

-- Several Counties (see table below) -- Hello IOWA QSO Party. I am planning to be QRV in:

  COUNTY               TIME (aprx)
  Allamakee (ALL)      1700-1800
  Winneshiek (WNS)     1830-1930
  Howard (HOW)         2000-2200

20m and 40m CW. C U on the air! 73, Dan Alwin KE0TT

-- Hamilton County (HAM) -- For the IAQP, I plan to operate as Iowa Single-Op Portable in Hamilton County (HAM). Operation will be SSB on mostly 20m and 15m from about 10 am to 4 pm. This will also be a POTA activation at US-9873, Boone Forks WMA. 73, Ron KN0R

-- Several Counties -- I am planning to be active from Grundy (GRU), Marshall (MSL), Hardin (HDN), and Tama (TAM) Counties.
73, Dan K0WOI

-- Several Counties -- I expect to transmit from the following Iowa counties, weather permitting:
Mahaska (MAH), Monroe (MOE), Wapello (WAP), Keokuk (KEO), Washington (WAS), Jefferson (JEF), Van Buren (VAN), Davis (DAV), Appanoose (APP), Wayne (WAY), Lucas (LUC), Marion (MRN), Warren (WAR), and Polk (POL).
I will be mainly on 20 meters and 40 meters, mainly CW but hopefully some SSB. I may also activate a POTA or two.
Bill / NU0Q

-- Several Counties -- AC0W will be active in the IAQP as a mobile for a bit in the morning and then starting again about mid-afternoon. I will be set up for 20m CW, 20m PH, and 40m CW. Depending on conditions I can change whips and be on 15m, 80m CW or 40m PH. Typically target 7.039 & 14.039 CW and 14.270.
-- Morning coverage starting roughly around 9 AM will be:
Black Hawk (BKH)
Buchanan (BUC)
Benton (BEN)
Linn (LIN)
Johnson (JOH)
-- Afternoon/Evening:
Johnson (JOH)
Linn (LIN)
Benton (BEN)
Tama (TAM
Marshall (MSL)
Story (STR)
Hamilton (HAM)
Wright (WRI)
Hancock (HAN)
Winnebago (WNB)
Worth (WOR)
Mitchell (MIT)
If we are running late we will drop Hancock and Winnebago and replace those with Franklin (FRA) and Cerro Gordo (CEG).
Bill AC0W

-- Several Counties (see list below, slide left/right to see all columns) -- I will be activating the following counties in this order on CW and SSB. Mike KE0QKF

  COUNTY             POTA ID           POTA DESCRIPTION
  Cedar (CED)        POTA US-0832      Herbert Hoover National Historic Site
  Jasper (JAS)       POTA US-11378     Rock Creek Island State Preserve
  Muscatine (MUS)    POTA US-9350      Wiese Slough Wildlife Management Area
  Louisa (LOU)       POTA US-9353      Cone Marsh Wildlife Management Area
  Johnson (JOH)      POTA US-9295      Redbird Farms Wildlife Management Area

-- Buena Vista County (BNV) -- N5KB will be on from Buena Vista County, mostly CW.

-- Several Counties (see list below) -- Here are the counties I intend to activate with times:

  County     UTC in    UTC out
  DUB/CLT    1400      1530
  DEL/BUC    1615      1745
  LIN/BEN    1815      1945
  IOW/JOH    2045      2115
  CED/JON    2200      2330
  CLN/JAC    0030      0200

KK6MC
James Duffey
Dubuque IA, temp QTH

-- Several Counties (see list below) -- Here is my Iowa QSO Party Route. I will target using 14.046. Pat, N0HR

  Stop 1:  JAS, MSL, TAM, POW
  Stop 2:  HDN, GRU, BTL, FRA
  Stop 3:  WRI, HUM, KOS, HAN
  Stop 4:  POC, PLO, CLA, BNV

Iowa QSO Party -- 2024 Rules

Important changes and new items for 2024 have been highlighted below.

Date and Time:

Saturday, September 21, 2024 from 9AM - 9PM US Central Time (1400Z, September 21 - 0200Z, September 22)

Purpose:

The purpose of the Iowa QSO Party is to encourage contact with Iowa amateur radio stations by other Iowa hams and hams worldwide.

Objective:

Iowa stations work everybody, including other Iowa stations. Stations outside Iowa work as many Iowa stations as possible. See the rules below for further details. Send comments or questions to iowaqsoparty@hotmail.com

Entry Classes:

- Iowa Single-Op Fixed (between 5 Watts and 150 Watts)
- Iowa Multi-Op Fixed (between 5 Watts and 150 Watts)
- Iowa Single-Op Mobile/Rover (between 5 Watts and 150 Watts)
- Iowa Multi-Op Mobile/Rover (between 5 Watts and 150 Watts)
- Iowa Single-Op Portable (between 5 Watts and 150 Watts)
- Iowa Multi-Op Portable (between 5 Watts and 150 Watts)
- Out-of-State (within US and Canada) (between 5 Watts and 150 Watts)
- Iowa QRP (5 Watts or less)
- Out-of-State QRP (5 Watts or less)
- Iowa High Power (more than 150 Watts, any single fixed location)
- Out-of-State High Power (more than 150 Watts, any single fixed location)
- DX (outside US and Canada) (any LEGAL power)
Mobile/Rover is a station that can operate from one or more physical locations.
Portable is a station set up at a single temporary location away from any permanent station.
This table might help clarify the classes:

Power	Class
QRP (5 W or less)	Iowa QRP
QRP (5 W or less)	Out-of-State QRP
Low (more than 5 W up to 150 W)	Iowa Single-Op Fixed
	Iowa Multi-Op Fixed
	Iowa Single-Op Mobile/Rover
	Iowa Multi-Op Mobile/Rover
	Iowa Single-Op Portable
	Iowa Multi-Op Portable
	Out-of-State
High (more than 150 W)	Iowa High Power
High (more than 150 W)	Out-of-State High Power
Any	DX

Modes:

- Phone (includes digital phone)
- CW
- Digital (excludes digital phone but includes other digital modes)
Satellite QSOs are allowed.
Repeater or network QSOs are NOT allowed.
FT modes are allowed as long as the FULL Iowa QSO Party exchange is completed by BOTH parties.
It appears JS8Call could work, as that allows for free-form text entry QSOs. It looks like WSJT-x (FT8 and FT4) will NOT work at this time, as the software does not allow free-form text QSO, which means passing the FULL EXCHANGE is not possible. Perhaps in the future this may be possible, but as of 2024 it appears not.
Note especially for digital modes: All valid QSOs must complete the full contest exchange.

Exchange:

- Iowa Stations: send RS/T and county (see the county abbreviation list)
- All Other US/Canada Stations: send RS/T and state/province (see the state/province abbreviation list)
- DX Stations (outside US and Canada): send RS/T and "DX"

Bands:

Contacts may be made on any amateur band EXCEPT the 60m, 30m, 17m, and 12m bands. This table lists some suggested frequencies (plus or minus). Digital stations look around the customary calling frequencies for each mode.

Band	CW	PH/SSB	PH/FM
160m	1.820	1.855
80m	3.540	3.840
40m	7.040	7.210
20m	14.040	14.285
15m	21.040	21.330
10m	28.040	28.415
6m	50.040	50.150	52.550
2m	144.060	144.250	146.550
1.25m		222.150	223.450
70cm	432.105	432.150	446.550

Scoring:

QSO Points:
- Each phone contact is worth one (1) point.
- Each CW contact is worth two (2) points.
- Each digital mode contact is worth two (2) points.
- Duplicate contacts are worth zero (0) points.
- Non-Iowa stations may be worked ONCE per MODE per BAND.
- Iowa stations may be worked ONCE per MODE per BAND per COUNTY.
- Iowa Mobile/Rover stations may work all stations AGAIN for each county that they operate from.

Multipliers:
- Stations Outside Iowa: One multiplier for each Iowa county worked (see the county list).
- Iowa Stations: One multiplier for each Iowa county worked, and one multiplier for each state (including Iowa) or Canadian province worked (see the state/province list).
- Iowa Stations: No multiplier for working DX stations. DX stations still count as QSOs, so definitely DO work them!
- Multipliers are applied one time only, NOT per Band, and NOT per Mode. This has always been our normal scoring method, we have just added this note for clarification.

Final Score:
- Multiply total QSO Points by the total number of Multipliers.

Note about Claimed Scores:
- For a variety of reasons, not all claimed scores produced by logging software are accurate. Your official score is the number we arrive at during the scoring process after all logs have been submitted and scored together.

Club Competition:

Scores attributed to any amateur radio club will be credited toward that club. All clubs with three or more credited scores will be included in an overall ranking of those scores with a certificate awarded to the club with the highest score.

General:

- The Iowa QSO Party is included in the State QSO Party Challenge http://stateqsoparty.com/.
- Spotting on the packet clusters or via Internet is permissible, including self-spotting.
- Stations entering the QRP Class are limited to no more than 5 Watts.
- Stations transmitting with more than 150 Watts must enter the High Power Class (except DX stations).
- Stations are not allowed to change their entry class once established.
- The Out-of-State, DX, QRP, and High Power classes include both single-operator and multi-operator stations combined in the same class.
- Iowa Mobile/Rover stations and Portable stations who change counties are considered to be a new station in each new county.
- Iowa Mobile/Rover stations and Portable stations may park/setup on a county line/junction and represent all counties at the intersection simultaneously.
- Some portion of the vehicle or station must physically be in each county being run. For example, if your antenna is in one county, the feedline passes thru a second county, and the transmitter is in a third county, then you may claim all three counties at the same time. All parts of the station must be physically connected.
- All intersecting counties may be worked in a single exchange (JA6DX this is W0YL, you are 59 in Story STR, Marshall MSL, and Hardin HDN counties).
- County-line operations should be prepared to provide proof that their station was physically located in each county claimed.
- Mobile/Rover is a station that can operate from one or more physical locations.
- Portable is a station set up at a single temporary location away from any permanent station.
- Please keep safety in mind and do not cause a traffic hazard where you park your vehicle.
- Single Op is one person performing all operating and logging functions.
- Multi-Op vs. Single-Op is determined by the number of operators, not the number of radios used.
- Download the list of Iowa counties and 3 letter abbreviations. All operators must use these abbreviations in their exchanges and in their logs.
- Download the state and province list. All operators must use these abbreviations in their exchanges and in their logs.
- Here is a map of Iowa counties for those interested in station locations.
- Here is a Cabrillo template and sample log file.

Software:

There may be additional ones, but these are the logging programs we are aware of at this time. Please use the newest available version of your chosen logging program.
- N1MM logging software ( https://n1mm.hamdocs.com/ )
- N3FJP ( http://www.n3fjp.com/stateqsoparty.html )
- GenLog ( http://www.qsl.net/w3km/ )
- WriteLog ( https://writelog.com/ )
- NO5W ( http://www.no5w.com/ )

Submission of Logs:

- Submit logs via website: https://iaqp.contesting.com/iaqpsubmitlog.php
- Logs must be received by 11:45PM US Central Time on October 21, 2024 (0445Z OCT 22 2024).
- Contest logs should be in Cabrillo format! Here is a Cabrillo template. Most contest software will produce this output for you automatically.
- See https://wwrof.org/cabrillo/ or http://www.arrl.org/cabrillo-format-tutorial for some basic Cabrillo info.
- Other electronic formats might work but we STRONGLY PREFER Cabrillo format.
- Paper logs will only be accepted for 10 contacts or less. Paper logs should be postmarked by October 11, 2024, so they will arrive in time to be included in the scoring process. The mailing address is below.
- Another option instead of paper logs would be to use one of the various online Cabrillo generators. Manually enter your contacts into one of those, and it will generate a Cabrillo file for you.
- Verification of receipt of logs will be made on the log submission website and on the Iowa QSO Party website.
- Did we mention your log file should be in Cabrillo format?

Mailing Address:
STORY COUNTY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB
1124 Roosevelt Ave
Ames, IA 50010
USA

Awards:

- Iowa Single-Op Fixed High Score
- Iowa Multi-Op Fixed High Score
- Iowa Single-Op Mobile/Rover High Score
- Iowa Multi-Op Mobile/Rover High Score
- Iowa Single-Op Portable High Score
- Iowa Multi-Op Portable High Score
- Out-of-State (within US and Canada) High Score
- Iowa QRP (5 Watts or less) High Score
- Out-of-State QRP (5 Watts or less) High Score
- Iowa High Power (more than 150 Watts) High Score
- Out-of-State High Power (more than 150 Watts) High Score
- DX (outside US and Canada) High Score
- Club High Score
- Top number of counties worked
- Top number of counties activated

Prizes:

- The top 3 scoring stations (overall point total only, NOT each class) will receive a bag of Iowa-grown popcorn.
- We would like to offer plaques to category winners, but to do this we will need sponsors for each plaque. Please contact the contest committee at iowaqsoparty@hotmail.com if you would like to be a sponsor.

ENTRANT AGREEMENT:

By submitting a log to the Iowa QSO Party, entrant agrees that all decisions made by the Story County Amateur Radio Club Iowa QSO Party High Council are final. That said, every effort will be made to maintain fairness to all participants.

Iowa QSO Party High Council (contest committee):

- Clint Miller, K0GR, High Council Grand Master (committee chair)
- Paul Cowley, W0YR
- Jason Skretta, KC0EDE
- Ron Nelson, KN0R
- Claus Niesen, AE0S
- Pat Rundall, N0HR