Iowa QSO Party 2017

- Updated for 2017! Iowa counties and abbreviations list
- Here is a map of Iowa counties
- Updated for 2017! US states and Canadian provinces list

Iowa QSO Party -- 2017 Rules

Download a PDF version of the rules. (updated 03 JULY 2017, added power clarification to Entry Classes section)

Date and Time:

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Saturday, September 16, 2017 from 9AM - 9PM US Central Time (1400Z, September 16 - 0200Z, September 17, 2017)

Purpose:

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

Objective:

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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:

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- Iowa Single-Op Fixed (between 5 Watts and 150 Watts)
- Iowa Multi-Op Fixed (between 5 Watts and 150 Watts)
- Iowa Single-Op Mobile/Portable (between 5 Watts and 150 Watts)
- Iowa Multi-Op Mobile/Portable (between 5 Watts and 150 Watts)
- Out-of-State (within US and Canada) (between 5 Watts and 150 Watts)
- DX (outside US and Canada) (between 5 Watts and 150 Watts)
- QRP (5 Watts or less, any location)
- High Power (150 Watts or more, any location)

Modes:

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- 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.

Bands:

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Contacts may be made on any amateur band EXCEPT the 60m, 30m, 17m, and 12m bands.

Exchange:

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- 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"

Scoring:

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QSO Points:
- Each phone contact is worth one (1) point per band.
- Each CW contact is worth two (2) points per band.
- Each digital mode contact is worth two (2) points per band.
- Duplicate contacts are worth zero points.
- A station may be worked ONCE per MODE (1 Phone and 1 CW and 1 Digital), per BAND.
- Mobile/Portable stations may be worked once per mode, per band, per county.

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).

Bonus Points:
- No bonus points this year (2017).

Final Score:
- Multiply total QSO points by the total number of multipliers worked.

Club Competition:

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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:

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- Spotting on the packet clusters or via internet is permissible, including self-spotting.
- Output power is limited to 150 Watts. 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.
- Stations are not allowed to change their entry class once established.
- Mobile/portable Iowa stations who change counties are considered to be a new station in each new county.
- Mobile/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 should 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 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).
- Please keep safety in mind and do not cause a traffic hazard where you park your vehicle.
- Single/Multi Operator - an operator is a person running a transmitter. Someone logging for you is not considered another operator.
- Download the list of Iowa counties and 3 letter abbreviations. 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.
- Download the state and province list. All operators must use these abbreviations in their exchanges and in their logs.
- Known available Iowa QSO Party software (there may be others, but these are the ones we are aware of at this time).
-- N1MM logging software ( https://n1mm.hamdocs.com/ )
-- NO5W ( http://www.no5w.com/ )
-- Writelog ( https://writelog.com/ )
-- N3FJP ( http://www.n3fjp.com/stateqsoparty.html )

Submission of Logs:

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- Logs must be received by 11:45PM Central Time on October 16, 2017 (0445Z OCT 17 2017).
- Submit logs via email to: iowaqsoparty@hotmail.com
- Contest logs should be in Cabrillo format! Most contest software will produce this for you automatically. Other electronic formats are OK but we strongly prefer Cabrillo format.
- See http://www.arrl.org/cabrillo-format-tutorial for some basic Cabrillo info.
- Paper logs will only be accepted for 10 contacts or less. Paper logs should be postmarked October 11, 2017, 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 these gems, and it will generate a Cabrillo file for you.
- Verification of receipt of logs will be made on the Iowa QSO Party website.

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

Awards:

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

ENTRANT AGREEMENT:

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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.