Tennessee QSO Party 2024 Rules
CONTEST PERIOD
1700z Sunday, September 1 until 0300z Monday, September 2, 2024
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 are valid, with the exception of 60, 30, 17 and 12 meters.
MODES
§ Phone-SSB, FM (no repeater QSOs)
§ CW
§ Digital (Any digital mode that supports the required exchange)
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
§ Stations outside of Tennessee work only Tennessee stations
§ Fixed Stations may be worked once per band/mode
§ Mobiles and Rovers may be worked again if they change counties
CATEGORIES (High: >100 watts, Low: 5-100 watts, QRP: <= 5 watts)
1. Fixed
A. Single Op
i. High, Low & QRP
ii. CW, SSB, Digital & Mixed
B. Multi-Op
i. High, Low & QRP
ii. CW, SSB, Digital & Mixed
2. Mobile & Rover
A. Single Op
i. High, Low & QRP
ii. CW, SSB, Digital & Mixed
B. Multi-Op
i. High, Low & QRP
ii. CW, SSB, Digital & Mixed
All Out-of-State entries compete in the Fixed categories.
All Tennessee portable operations operating from a single location compete in the Fixed categories.
Mobile stations – must be self-contained and capable of legal motion while operating. Motion is optional. Single-Op Mobiles may use a driver, but that person may not assist in the operation of the radio equipment.
Rover stations – may use vehicle mounted antennas and/or temporary antennas. Rover stations must remain stationary while operating in each county. If they do operate while in motion, then their category changes to Mobile.
County line operation – Mobile and Rover stations are permitted to operate on county lines, as long as they follow the official County Hunter definitions and rules. Refer to the “Definition – County Line” section of the MARAC awards packet at https://countyhunter.com/awardmain.htm . It is important to note that:
1) Three and four county lines may not be run simultaneously.
2) A part of the vehicle must be in each of the 2 counties simultaneously.
3) A county line that is “wet” (like a bridge over a river county line) is allowed only if can be done safely and legally.
4) The logging software, such as N1MM, must generate 2 rows in the log file, one for each county.
Spotting: The spotting of stations, especially mobile and rover stations, is encouraged. All categories of entrants are permitted to self-spot.
SCORING
QSO Points:
3 points per QSO regardless of mode.
Repeater QSOs DO NOT count (this includes packet digipeaters). However, direct station-to-station packet contacts do count.
On all acceptable bands, CW and 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 voice modes are considered Phone and therefore equivalent. For example, if you work W9WI on 2M SSB, you cannot work him again on 2M FM simplex for point credit. All digital modes besides CW are equivalent. If you work W9WI on 14085 kHz Baudot RTTY you cannot work him again on 14070 kHz FT8 for point credit.
Multipliers:
Outside of Tennessee 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 & Rover Stations – Tennessee mobiles and rovers 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 (one per band/mode) with TCG headquarters station K4TCG.
Tennessee mobile & rover 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.
WHERE TO LOOK
§ CW: 1815, 3540, 7040, 14040, 21040, 28040
§ Digital: 3585, 7085, 14085, 21085, 28085
§ SSB: 1855, 3820, 7240, 14280, 21390, 28390
§ VHF/UHF: 50.195, 144.195, 146.55, 223.50, 446.0
Where to listen for TN Counties by band & time:
§ Check 15 meters on the half-hour.
§ Check 10 meters on the hour.
§ Check 6 meters and other VHF+ frequencies 15 minutes after the hour.
§ Check RTTY at 10 minutes after each hour.
AWARDS
§ Certificates will be awarded to the three 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.
§ A certificate will be awarded to the highest-scoring in-state mobile & in-state rover operated entirely by amateurs who don’t reside in Tennessee.
§ Plaques will
be awarded to the highest-scoring station making at least 100 QSOs in each of
the following categories:
§ TN – Single
Op High Power
§ TN – Single
Op Low Power
§ TN – Single
Op QRP
§ TN – Multi
Op
§ TN – Single
Op Mobile
§ TN – Multi
Op Mobile
§ TN – Rover
§ Outside
TN – Single Op High Power
§ Outside
TN – Single Op Low Power
§ Outside
TN – Single Op QRP
§ DX
(Outside of NA)
- All award certificates will be emailed as PDF files. Be sure your current, accurate email is included in your Cabrillo file entry.
§ Bonus station K4TCG and the TCG itself are not eligible for awards.
LOGS
Prior to submitting a log file, entrants should review the information contained in the header field of their Cabrillo file to make sure it is complete and accurate. In particular, make sure entry class, personal information, call sign, station location (state, province or DXCC entity, NOT ARRL section), and email address are correctly shown. The header information is used by the processing software and must be complete and accurate.
Logs must be submitted online in Cabrillo format at https://tnqp.contesting.com/ . The site will validate your log and email you a confirmation.
Logs must be received by 10 September 2024. Thanks!
Don’t forget your mailing address – you might win something!
List of Tennessee Counties and Abbreviations:
|
Anderson ANDE |
Hamilton HAMI |
Morgan MORG |
|
Bedford BEDF |
Hancock HANC |
Obion OBIO |
|
Benton BENT |
Hardeman HARD |
Overton OVER |
|
Bledsoe BLED |
Hardin HARN |
Perry PERR |
|
Blount BLOU |
Hawkins HAWK |
Pickett PICK |
|
Bradley BRAD |
Haywood HAYW |
Polk POLK |
|
Campbell CAMP |
Henderson HEND |
Putnam PUTN |
|
Cannon CANN |
Henry HENR |
Rhea RHEA |
|
Carroll CARR |
Hickman HICK |
Roane ROAN |
|
Carter CART |
Houston HOUS |
Robertson ROBE |
|
Cheatham CHEA |
Humphreys HUMP |
Rutherford RUTH |
|
Chester CHES |
Jackson JACK |
Scott SCOT |
|
Claiborne CLAI |
Jefferson JEFF |
Sequatchie SEQU |
|
Clay CLAY |
Johnson JOHN |
Sevier SEVI |
|
Cocke COCK |
Knox KNOX |
Shelby SHEL |
|
Coffee COFF |
Lake LAKE |
Smith SMIT |
|
Crockett CROC |
Lauderdale LAUD |
Stewart STEW |
|
Cumberland CUMB |
Lawrence LAWR |
Sullivan SULL |
|
Davidson DAVI |
Lewis LEWI |
Sumner SUMN |
|
Decatur DECA |
Lincoln LINC |
Tipton TIPT |
|
Dekalb DEKA |
Loudon LOUD |
Trousdale TROU |
|
Dickson DICK |
Macon MACO |
Unicoi UNIC |
|
Dyer DYER |
Madison MADI |
Union UNIO |
|
Fayette FAYE |
Marion MARI |
Van Buren VANB |
|
Fentress FENT |
Marshall MARS |
Warren WARR |
|
Franklin FRAN |
Maury MAUR |
Washington WASH |
|
Gibson GIBS |
McMinn MCMI |
Wayne WAYN |
|
Giles GILE |
McNairy MCNA |
Weakley WEAK |
|
Grainger GRAI |
Meigs MEIG |
White WHIT |
|
Greene GREE |
Monroe MONR |
Williamson WILL |
|
Grundy GRUN |
Montgomery MONT |
Wilson WILS |
|
Hamblen HAMB |
Moore MOOR |
Tennessee QSO Party 