Countdown to ARLHS Spring Lights
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Details

IMPORTANT NEWS

The ARLHS Spring Lights QSO Party is on for 2024!!


Sponsor

The ARLHS Spring Lights QSO Party is sponsored by ARLHS, LLC.

Objective

To promote public awareness of ham radio and lighthouses; to contribute to the recognition that lighthouses, lightships, and their keepers deserve; to foster camaraderie within the ham fraternity; and to provide fellowship among the members of the Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society.

Dates and Times

  • Begins: 0000Z 28 March, 2024
  • Concludes: 2400Z 4 April, 2024

Entry Categories

Station Categories:

  • Non-Expedition Station – Any station participating in the Spring Lights QSO Party, but not activating a lighthouse listed in the ARLHS WLOL.
  • Expedition Station – One or more operators of a station activating a lighthouse listed in the ARLHS WLOL.

Operator Categories:

  • Single Operator – One person performs all operating and only one transmitter may be on the air at a time.
  • Multi Operator / Single Transmitter – Two or more operators with one transmitter on the air at one time.
  • Multi Operator / Multi Transmitter – Two or more operators with two or more transmitters on the air at one time.

Power Categories:

  • There are no power categories.

Band Categories:

  • Multi-band or Single Band.

Mode Categories:

  • Phone, CW, Digital, and Mixed.

Frequencies/Modes

160 meters and up, except no WARC band QSO’s permitted.

  • Any and all modes : SSB, CW, RTTY, PSK, FM, SSTV, etc.
  • Suggested SSB freqs: 1950-1990 kHz, 3950-3990 kHz, 7250-7290 kHz, 14.250-14.290 MHz, 21.350-21.390 MHz, 28.350-28.390 MHz (Suggest calling CQ in the middle of the these ranges +/- QRM)
  • Suggested CW center freqs: 1830 kHz, 3530 kHz, 7030 kHz, 14.030 MHz, 21.030 MHz, 28.030 MHz
    Note that these are center calling frequencies. Work 20 kHz each side of center.
  • NO CREDIT will be given for contacts made on WARC bands.
  • To alleviate QRM, spread out and work SSB from 50 kHz to 90 kHz and on CW work from 10 kHz to 50 kHz (i.e., +/- 20 kHz of center.)

Exchange

Exchange QSO “Optional Serial Number” and QTH where QTH is:

  • Lighthouse# for stations activating a light;
  • or US State;
  • or Canadian Province;
  • or “DX” for others.

Lighthouse Expedition Stations log QSO’s with their QTH set to the WLOL Lighthouse# they are activating.

Identify all QSO’s with band/mode, sequential QSO number sent/received and date/time of contact in UTC.

Please follow standard contest practices by making and responding to “CQ Spring Lights QSO Party” calls.

Multiple Transmitter stations may maintain sequential QSO numbers independently for each transmitter.

Scoring

QSO point values:

  • One (1) point per Phone contact;
  • Two (2) points per CW contact;
  • Three (3) points per Digital contact.

QSO point bonus values:

  • Double the point value for contacts made with a station activating a light listed in the WLOL (exchanging ARLHS lighthouse #) (see note 1).

Multipliers:

The multipliers for the ARLHS Spring Lights QSO Party is simply the number of WLOL lights contacted. (see note 1)

Multipliers are only counted once, i.e., contacting the same Lighthouse using a different band or mode counts only as a new QSO, not as a new multiplier.

Lighthouse Expedition stations that contact ten (10) or more different stations while operating from a lighthouse may claim it as a multiplier, if not otherwise worked.

Bonus Points:

Lighthouse Expedition stations receive a bonus of 100 additional points for each Lighthouse from which they log a valid QSO.

Final Score:

Final score is the number of QSO Points multiplied by the number of Multipliers plus Bonus Points.

NOTES:

  1. Not every lighthouse qualifies for the bonuses or activation. Only lighthouses, lightships, etc. that are listed in the World List of Lights as of the beginning of this event may be considered.

Entries

For award purposes, Non-Expedition and Expedition operation will be considered separately. Please submit separate logs for Non-Expedition and Expedition operation.

Multiple operator stations should indicate all operators by call sign in the OPERATORS Cabrillo header field.

Electronic logs in the easy to edit ascii text Cabrillo format suggested. An easy to edit template will be available soon along with a spreadsheet that may be useful for actual logging.

We will accept hand written logs containing the requisite information.

Spreadsheet Log Files

Below are Excel spreadsheets and a printable log sheet with the QSO: lines formatted and ready for input during the event or after contest preparation. Simply type your callsign in the proper spot and fill out the log with your QSO data. Once done simply send the “saved” Excel file to the address below.

  • Spring Lights log file in Excel 1997 format springlights-log.xls
  • Spring Lights log file in recent Excel format springlights-log.xlsx
  • Spring Lights printable log file in PDF format ARLHS_Log_Template – three sheets covers the first 100 QSOs. Print again and write a “1” in front of “optional serial numbers” for the next 100, etc.

In the frequency field for HF enter either the actual frequency in kHz or one of the following:

  • “1800” for 160 meters,
  • “3500” for 80/75 meters,
  • “7000” for 40 meters,
  • “14000” for 20 meters,
  • “21000” for 15 meters,
  • “28000” for 10 meters.

If the band is VHF or above enter “50” for 6m, “70” for 4m, “144” for 2m, “222” for 1.25m or “432” for 70cm. It goes up from there, but I don’t suspect many lighthouse QSOs will exist much above this, but if so just following the directions on the Cabrillo format site.

Submission

Submit log entries via email to kx4o@hamradio.me by May 31, 2023.