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Activities Calendar
Please choose a year for the activities:
2022
2021
Older
To see reports and tables of results, visit the
Activity Results
page.
The free
FISTS Log Converter
program for Windows can be used to create entries for all the FISTS activities below.
Activities Calendar 2022
To see a list of dates and times for these and some other on-air activities, please visit the Upcoming Events web page.| New!!! Royal Platinum Jubilee Weekend Celebration |
| New!!! 35th Anniversary Challenge 2022 |
| Ladder 2022 |
| 2m Chronophage 2022 |
| ROYAL PLATINUM JUBILEE WEEKEND CELEBRATION | |
| INTRODUCTION |
FISTS CW Club is celebrating the Platinum Jubilee of HM Queen Elizabeth over the holiday weekend at the beginning on June 2022. The celebration will take the form of an international on-air activity and culminates in the award of commemorative plaques to two participants. |
| OVERVIEW |
An on-air activity on the days Friday, 3. June; Saturday, 4. June; Sunday, 5. June 2022. UK stations may use the RSL 'Q' per Ofcom regulation. NoV applications can be made on the RSGB NoV web page. |
| ACTIVITY |
The activity is open to all licensed radio amateurs. Work as many stations as you can over the three days – starting at 0001UTC on Friday, 3. June 2022 and ending at 2359UTC on Sunday, 5. June 2022. All HF bands from 160m to 10m, excluding WARC bands and 60m: That is, CW contacts on 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m. Each contact must include the exchange of callsigns and, as a minimum, must also include signal reports, operators’ names, location of stations and – as applicable – each operator’s FISTS number. |
| SCORING |
Only CW contacts may be counted for scoring purposes. 1 point for each QSO per station contacted per band per day (One callsign only once per band on each of the three days). One QSO point plus bonus points added.
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| AWARDS | Two awards will be presented: one for the highest scoring UK station using 'Q' RSL; one for a station – UK-based or elsewhere – being the station, not using 'Q' RSL, with most points. These awards will be commemorative plaques, engraved with the recipient’s callsign and name. |
| LOGS |
Logs must be submitted before the end of Monday, 13. June 2022 using FISTS Log Converter or by email
in one of the following formats (paper logs cannot be accepted).
The email address for questions and entries is . |
| 35TH ANNIVERSARY CHALLENGE 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION |
A cunning way to celebrate 35 glorious years of FISTS with a fantastic prize at the end worth at least a few bob! Stations do not have to be members to join in or count for points. Whilst manual Morse is to be preferred, any form of coding / decoding is permitted. The challenge is to accrue points throughout the year. Points are accrued by a simple summation of the callsign numbers. All the digits in the callsign are added (so S53 for example is NOT worth fifty three but eight). Callsigns that are exclusively zeros, e.g 2E0ABC, will score the number of points equivalent to the date: 2E0ABC is worth 1pt on the 1st, 7pts on the 7th and 31pts on the 31st. So if you work G4, DL7 and IK6 you accrue 17 points. If you work G3, F6 and W0AB you get 3+6+the date’s number! Extra secondary locators or other digits separated by slashes will not count. G4YVM is four points. F4/G4YVM is still four points. However, you can count a maximum of 35 points each day (if you get more than 35 points in any one day, the excess do not count). If you get 65 points today and no points for the rest of the month, you score 35. These points will add up to quite a lot over time!
Max aggregate = 8575. |
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DATES and TIMES |
7 days a week, continuous running. Starting 0000Z May 1st 2022 and running till 2359Z December 31st 2022. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FREQUENCIES | 160m, 80m, 40m, 20m, 10m & 2m. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SCORING |
No station may be counted more than once per day.
“Station” means main callsign…G4YVM and G4YVM/P may NOT be worked on the same day. Stations can be members or non-members. QSO must be held both ways in Morse code. |
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| LOGS |
Entries must be received no later than the 7th of
the following month and must include your callsign, name,
and email address (if you have one). Log formats:
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| PRIZES | As well as a very nice anniversary mug for the winner. There is one mug for the FISTS member winner and one for the winning NON-MEMBER. Chris G5VZ has donated a plaque for the winner and the runner up and these will be awarded to members only. Entrants do not need to state which section they enter, there is ONE section. The winning member will be the member with most points and the winning non-member will be the non-member with most points at the close of the activity 2359Z December 31st 2022. In the event that no non-members their prizes will not be issued. In the event of a tie normal joint-prizes will be issued. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LADDER 2022 | |||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION |
The Ladder is a monthly activity with two, two-hour sessions on the 2nd and 4th
Sunday in a month. As with all FISTS Europe activities, it is a relaxed and sociable activity. The results at the end of the year will list the leading three entries in two categories:
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DATES and TIMES |
Session times are 14:00-16:00 UTC and 18:00-20:00 UTC on the following Sundays: 09/23 January, 13/27 February, 13/27 March, 10/24 April, 08/22 May, 12/26 June, 10/24 July, 14/28 August, 11/25 September, 09/23 October, 13/27 November, 11/25 December. |
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| FREQUENCIES |
The following rules apply only if you are sending in an entry:
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| EXCHANGE |
The minimum exchange is: RST, Name, QTH, and FISTS member number (if applicable). |
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| SCORING |
There are four 2-hour sessions in each month of which at most two can be claimed.
Within each claimed session, a station can be worked once;
it follows that a station can earn points at most twice (once per claimed session).
Scoring:
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| LOGS |
Send in your entry after the last session in a month.
Entries must be received no later than the 7th of
the following month and must include your callsign, name,
and email address (if you have one). Log formats:
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| 2M CHRONOPHAGE 2022 | |
| DESCRIPTION |
Named after the
eponymous clock in Cambridge,
the chronophage is a fun event on 2m CW.
Most folks these days have only vertical antennas, so try both polarisations if you have the choice!
No points, no contest mode. Licence power limits. |
|
DATES and TIMES |
February 27th to March 6th Sunday. Tuesday. Thursday. Saturday. Sunday. NB the Tuesday is planned to coincide with the UKAC contest 1st March 2000 – 2230Z. This is intentional to introduce people to it and to maximise chances of a QSO. All day each day. |
| FREQUENCIES | 2m, 144.050 or 144.058. During UKAC it will be all over the band. |
| LOGS and COMMENTS | Logs and comments welcome to ...let's have some VHF fun. |
Activities Calendar 2021
To see a list of dates and times for these and some other on-air activities, please visit the Upcoming Events web page.| Straight Key Week 2021 |
| What 3 Words 2021 |
| Mechanical Key Days 2021 |
| Spring Word Search 2021 |
| Ladder 2021 |
| STRAIGHT KEY WEEK 2021 (SKW) | |||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Straight Key Week runs for 7 days in September/October. You must send CQs and have QSOs using a straight ("up & down") key or a sideswiper (aka "cootie") key; no semi-automatic (aka "bug") keys or electronic keyers. If in doubt about the eligibility of your key, please ask. It does not matter what type of key your QSO partner uses. | ||||||||||
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DATES and TIMES |
ONE hour periods commencing at the cardinal times of the clock (think radio room clock silence periods), 12, 3, 6, 9.
Twice per 24hrs, so EIGHT x ONE hour operating periods per 24hrs. 00:01 UTC Monday 27 September to 23:59 UTC Sunday 03 October. |
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| FREQUENCIES |
The following rules apply only if you are sending in an entry:
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| EXCHANGE |
The minimum exchange is: RST, Name, QTH, and FISTS member number (if applicable). |
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| SCORING |
You may claim only ONE QSO with any given operator per day,
i.e. all QSOs claimed each day must be unique callsigns.
Scoring:
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| LOGS |
Send in your entry after the last day. Entries must be received by 07 November
2021 and must include your callsign, name,
and email address (if you have one). Log formats:
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| WHAT 3 WORDS 2021 (W3W) | |||||
| DESCRIPTION | An activity designed to encourage further familiarity with the What 3 Words locating app. Qualifying QSO will be QSO wherein a W3W location is exchanged. This can be the station location OR a stated location sent by the sender, e.g. Salisbury Cathedral, STOPS.YAPPY.MASS | ||||
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DATES and TIMES |
ONE hour periods commencing at the cardinal times of the clock
(think radio room clock silence periods), 12, 3, 6, 9. Twice per 24hrs, so EIGHT x ONE hour operating periods per 24hrs. 00:01- 2359UTC first Friday, Saturday and Sunday in July, August and September 2021 July 2,3,4, August 6,7,8 and September 3,4,5. |
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| FREQUENCIES |
The following rules apply only if you are sending in an entry:
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| EXCHANGE |
The minimum exchange is: RST, Name,
W3W locator
OR
W3W locator
AND the stated place (see text),
and FISTS member number (if applicable). |
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| SCORING |
A station can be claimed once on each day. Scoring:
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| LOGS |
Send in the your entries by the following dates: July entry no later than 07 August.
August entry no later than 07 September. September entry no later than 07 October. Entries must include your callsign, name, and email address (if you have one). Log formats:
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| MECHANICAL KEY DAYS 2021 (MKD) | |||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Mechanical Key Days runs from May to December 2021. You must send CQs and have QSOs using a straight ("up & down") key, a sideswiper (aka "cootie") key or a semi-automatic (aka "bug") key - no electronic keyers, keyboards, or other gizmos! If in doubt about the eligibility of your key, please ask. It does not matter what type of key your QSO partner uses. | ||||||||||
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DATES and TIMES |
FIRST day of each month - 0001hrs to 2359hrs UTC. 01 May, 01 June, 01 July, 01 August, 01 September, 01 October, 01 November, & 01 December. |
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| FREQUENCIES |
The following rules apply only if you are sending in an entry:
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| EXCHANGE |
The minimum exchange is: RST, Name, QTH, and FISTS member number (if applicable). |
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| SCORING |
A station can be claimed once on each day. Scoring:
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| LOGS |
Each month's entry must be received no later than 07 of that month and
must include your callsign, name,
and email address (if you have one). Log formats:
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| SPRING WORD SEARCH 2021 | |
| DESCRIPTION |
The idea is for members to work sufficient stations to be able to use one letter of each callsign to spell
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; |
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DATES and TIMES |
Every day, 0001 hours April 1st 2021 - 2359 hours June 30th 2021. All times Zulu. |
| BANDS | Operation only on 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m, & 2m bands. |
| RECOMMENDED FREQUENCIES |
FISTS Centre of Activity frequencies AND UP PLEASE. |
| EXCHANGE |
There is no required exchange. Why not say you're chasing the letters and which letter of theirs you're using? |
| GENERAL |
ANY STATION COUNTS.
FISTS OR NOT.
The aim is to use any letter of a callsign suffix to spell
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; For example, in M0CDL/P the suffix letters are "CDL" and any one of them can be used as they all occur in the phrase. There are two sections:
Entrants may use QRP (5 Watts or less) or Open (any power). Callsigns used in one section may be used in the other but they must be worked again. Whilst QSOs of greater than 5 Watts cannot be counted in the QRP section, QSOs made using QRP can be counted in the Open section if desired. For example, G4LHI counts as an H for HIGH but if I work him using 5 Watts I can count him in the QRP section OR the Open section BUT if I choose subsequently to enter the other section as well, I MUST work G4LHI AGAIN on a different day to get the H for the new section. Please email the Activities Manager, David G4YVM, with any questions: |
| POINTS |
Points for LETTERS IN PHRASE.
1 PER LETTER. The winning three places will be based on the number of letters achieved and the start date and time of the final qualifying QSO. IF THREE PEOPLE ALL GET ALL LETTERS, THE TIMES OF QSO WILL DECIDE THE WINNER. |
| LOGS |
You can send in your log at any time but no later than 7th July 2021 please.
If you send in more than one log, each log must contain the full list of QSOs and the most recent log supersedes earlier logs.
Include your callsign, name, and email address (if you have one). Log formats:
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| LADDER 2021 | |||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION |
The Ladder is a monthly activity with two, two-hour sessions on the 2nd and 4th
Sunday in a month. As with all FISTS Europe activities, it is a relaxed and sociable activity. The results at the end of the year will list the leading three entries in two categories:
|
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|
DATES and TIMES |
Session times are 14:00-16:00 UTC and 18:00-20:00 UTC on the following Sundays: 10/24 January, 14/28 February, 14/28 March, 11/25 April, 09/23 May, 13/27 June, 11/25 July, 08/22 August, 12/26 September, 10/24 October, 14/28 November, 12/26 December. |
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| FREQUENCIES |
The following rules apply only if you are sending in an entry:
|
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| EXCHANGE |
The minimum exchange is: RST, Name, QTH, and FISTS member number (if applicable). |
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| SCORING |
There are four 2-hour sessions in each month of which at most two can be claimed.
Within each claimed session, a station can be worked once;
it follows that a station can earn points at most twice (once per claimed session).
Scoring:
|
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| LOGS |
Send in your entry after the last session in a month.
Entries must be received no later than the 7th of
the following month and must include your callsign, name,
and email address (if you have one). Log formats:
|
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Details of earlier activities are available on the Activities Calendar Archive web page.