Iowa QSO Party 2020

Handy Resources:
- Here is the Iowa counties and abbreviations list
- Here is the US states and Canadian provinces list
- Here is a map of Iowa counties
- Here is a Cabrillo template and sample log file

Iowa QSO Party -- 2020 Rules

Important changes and new items for 2020 have been highlighted below.

Date and Time:

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Saturday, September 19, 2020 from 9AM - 9PM US Central Time (1400Z, September 19 - 0200Z, September 20)

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: [email protected]

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) (any LEGAL power)
- QRP (5 Watts or less, any location)
- High Power (more than 150 Watts, 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.
FT8 is allowed as long as the FULL Iowa QSO Party exchange is completed by BOTH parties.

Bands:

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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

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.
- Each CW contact is worth two (2) points.
- Each digital mode contact is worth two (2) points.
- Duplicate contacts are worth zero points.
- A station may be worked ONCE per MODE 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).
- Iowa Stations: No multipliers for working DX stations. DX stations still count as QSOs, so definitely DO work them! We are just removing the one multiplier, not removing the QSO points.
- 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 item for clarification.

Bonus Points:
- No bonus points this year (2020).

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.

Bonus Stations:

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- No Bonus Stations this year (2020).

Club Competition:

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Scores attributed to any amateur radio club will be credited toward that club. All clubs with two 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.
- Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we highly encourage groups to take advantage of the Club Competition by including your Club/Group name in your log submission.

General:

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- 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.
- Mobile/portable 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.
- Multi-Operator vs. Single-Operator 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:

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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:

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- Submit logs via website: http://kc0ede.net/iaqplogs.html
- Logs must be received by 11:45PM Central Time on October 19, 2020 (0445Z OCT 20 2020).
- Contest logs should be in Cabrillo format! Here is a Cabrillo template. Most contest software will produce this output for you automatically.
- See 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 October 10, 2020, 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 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 (more than 150 Watts) High Score
- Club High Score
- Top number of counties worked
- Top number of counties activated

Prizes:

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- The top 3 scoring stations (overall point total only, NOT each class) will receive a bag of Iowa-grown popcorn.

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.