Rules – Ohio QSO Party

Objective:
For Amateurs inside the state of Ohio to make contact with as many Amateurs as possible both inside and outside of Ohio. For Amateurs outside the state of Ohio to make contact with as many Ohio stations as possible. Non-Ohio stations may work only Ohio stations, while Ohio stations may contact anyone.

Period:
The Ohio QSO Party occurs on the fourth Saturday of August. The contest period extends from 1200 EDT [noon] to 2400 EDT [midnight] (1600Z Saturday until 0400Z Sunday). All stations may operate the full twelve hours.

Bands & Modes:
CW and SSB on 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meters. Stations may be worked once per mode on each band; i.e. K8MAD may be worked on both 40 CW and 40 SSB for point credit. Each station may be contacted 12 times (once per each of the 6 bands and once per mode on each band). Suggested activity frequencies.

Try 10 meters on the even GMT/EDT hours (16,18,20,22,00,02); 15 meters on odd GMT/EDT hours (17,19,21,23,01,03). Also, if you are within/close to Ohio, check 80m during the day light hours for activity.

Entry Categories:
SINGLE OPERATOR: One person performs all operating and logging functions. Use of spotting nets (i.e. PacketCluster,Reverse Beacon Network, Skimmer) is permitted for the purposes of encouraging contest participation. Only one transmitted signal is permitted on the air at any time. Single operator entries are categorized by output power:

• QRP (5 W or less transmitter output)
• Low power (more than QRP but less than or equal to 100 W transmitter output)
• High power (greater than 100 W transmitter output).

All single operator entries are classified as mixed mode.

MULTI OPERATOR: Entries where more than one operator performs the operating and logging functions. Multi-operator entries may employ multiple transmitters simultaneously and are not categorized by power. All multi operator entries are classified as mixed mode.

EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER (EOC): Ohio entries located at an established EOC site, activated by an individual or group. An EOC category entry may utilize permanently installed equipment and antennas, or equipment/antennas temporarily installed at the EOC for the event. EOC entries are not categorized by the number of transmitters, the power used, or the number of operators. All EOC entries are classified as mixed mode.

MOBILE: Entries which are self-contained (radio, antenna, and power source) and capable of motion while in operation. Motion is optional. Mobile entries may have multiple operators and are limited to 100 W output or less and only one transmitted signal at a time. Mobile stations that change geographic area (counties for Ohio stations, state or province for others) may be contacted again for QSO points and multiplier credit. The geographic area (county) must be clearly marked in the log for each qso. Mobile stations may use APRS to announce callsign and QTH (announcing band/freq/mode is not permitted).

ROVER: A station that operates from non-permanent locations in two or more counties. Use of any power source, including AC mains, is permitted. Operation while in motion between fixed sites is permitted. Rover entries may have multiple operators and are limited to 100 W output or less and only one transmitted signal at a time. Rover stations that change geographic area (counties for Ohio stations, state or province for others) may be contacted again for QSO points and multiplier credit. The geographic area (county) must be clearly marked in the log for each qso. Rover stations may use APRS to announce callsign and QTH (announcing band/freq/mode is not permitted).

Exchange:

• Ohio stations send RST and their Ohio county. (see official list of county abbreviations below)
• Non Ohio W/VE stations (including KH6/KL7) send RST and their state or province. (see official list of state/province abbreviations below)
• DX stations outside of W/VE send RST and “DX”.

Scoring:
QSO POINTS – Each complete non-duplicate SSB contact is worth one point. Each complete non-duplicate CW contact is worth two points.

MULTIPLIERS – Multipliers are counted once per mode, i.e. working the same multiplier on both CW and SSB counts as two multipliers.

For OHIO STATIONS – multipliers are the 49 American States (excluding Ohio, also District of Columbia is combined with Maryland), 11 Canadian Provinces (NL, PE, NS, NB,VE2-7, NT), 88 Ohio Counties and 1 DX. Total of 149 multipliers for Ohio Stations. See the official list of multipliers listed at the bottom of this page.

FOR ALL OTHER STATIONS – multipliers are the 88 Ohio counties. See the official list of multipliers listed at the bottom of this page.

FINAL SCORE – For non-mobile stations, multiply QSO points by the total number of multipliers. For mobile/rover stations, multiply the total QSO points by the total number of unique multipliers worked from all counties activated.

CLUB COMPETITION – Members’ scores from Ohio stations will be credited towards their Ohio club. As the sponsoring club, the Mad River Radio Club is excluded from this competition, although its members may contribute their scores for other Ohio clubs to which they belong.

A listing of out of state club scores will be posted with the results. Only non-Ohio scores may be credited to those club totals. A club with members both inside and outside Ohio will have listings in each group.

Misc:

• Callsigns and exchanged information must be received and confirmed by both stations for a complete QSO.
• No cross-mode contacts. CW contacts must be made in the CW portions of the band, typical bottom of each band. While CW may be legal everywhere, CW QSO’S are not permitted in the PH portions of the band.
• Stations and equipment may be used with multiple callsigns during the contest. The intent is to provide more potential QSOs for all. It is not to allow multiple QSOs to inflate the scores of friends. If determined that such is happening, those QSOs may be disallowed in the log checking process.
• No station may claim simultaneous operation in more than one county, state, or province. A mobile or rover station must move a minimum of 500 feet before claiming to be in a new county, state, or province. The complete station (operator, transceiver, antenna, etc) must exist in a single county/state/province.
• Self spotting on the “spotting nets” is not permitted. Some examples of what is not acceptable: an entrant, a member of a multi-op, a station owner who has a guest-op are not permitted to use “spotting nets” to solicit QSOs. It is not good etiquette to request someone to spot your station.
• Decisions of the Ohio QSO Party Committee are final.

Reporting:

• Logs must clearly indicate band, mode, date and time, received callsign and both sent and received exchanges for all QSOs. A scoring summary sheet must be included with all paper logs showing entrant’s callsign, operating location, mailing address, and claimed score. All entries are encouraged to use the official OhQP county abbreviations for logging and the received exchange from Ohio stations.
• All entrants are strongly encouraged to submit their entry in a computer readable format. Logging programs that support the OhQP are available in the links section of this site. Computer generated logs must be submitted in Cabrillo format (see cabrillo information below). No binary files or ADIF files will be accepted. If you need help converting please ask on the OhQP mailing list. Entries may be submitted electronically (encouraged) to our online web submittal page or on paper. Paper log entries must be sent to the address listed below and must be postmarked no later than 30 days after the end of the contest.
• Paper entry forms and operating aids (rules, summary sheets, log sheet and county abbreviations) are available for downloading in PDF format from the links section of this site.
• All Ohio entrants that are members of an Ohio club should indicate such on their summary sheets or in their electronic logs so that their scores may be credited to their respective clubs.
• Logs that have been received are listed on the OhQP web site.
• Final results are posted on this site.

Awards:

• Plaques are available and will be awarded based upon sponsorship. Any individual or group wishing to sponsor a plaque should contact Jim Stahl, K8MR, at k8mr@arrl.net or via surface mail.

Plaques and Sponsors (Present):

– Ohio Single Operator High Power – sponsored by Mike Zilavy WA3C
– Ohio Single Operator Low Power – sponsored by Canton Radio Club
– Ohio Single Operator QRP – sponsored by Northern Ohio QRP Club
– Out of State Single Operator High Power- sponsored by Central Ohio Operators Klub Extra-Novice (COOKEN ARC)
– Out of State Single Operator Low Power – sponsored by Sean Fleming K8KHZ
– Out of State Single Operator QRP – sponsored by Lake Co Amateur Radio Association
– New England Single Operator – Sponsored by Tom Miller, W1PD
– Single Operator DX – sponsored by Northern Ohio DX Association
– Ohio Multi Operator – sponsored by Delaware Amateur Radio Association
– Ohio Mobile – sponsored by No sponsor at this time
– Ohio Rover – sponsored by No sponsor at this time
– Ohio Single Operator SSB – sponsored by Chuck Patellis, W8PT
– Ohio Single Operator CW – sponsored by No sponsor at this time
– Ohio EOC – No sponsor at this time

Snail Mail address for paper logs:
Ohio QSO Party
c/o Jim Stahl, K8MR
30499 Jackson Road
Chagrin Falls, OH 44022-1730

Official List of Multipliers and Abbreviations for Ohio Stations

Official List of Multipliers and Abbreviations for Non-Ohio Stations

OhQP Cabrillo Information