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Activities Calendar
Please choose a year for the activities:
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
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2010
2009
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 2018
To see a list of dates and times for these and some other on-air activities, please visit the Upcoming Events web page.| New!!! Chirp 'n' Drift Day 2018 (CNDD) |
| Day-hopper 2018 |
| Straight Key Week 2018 (SKW) |
| Word Search 2018 |
| Listen for Learners 2018 |
| Ladder 2018 |
| CHIRP 'N' DRIFT DAY 2018 (CNDD) | |
| DESCRIPTION | A one-day event for all those radios that are a tad embarrassing or quirky for everyday use ... they drift, they chirp, they do what they feel like ... yet they are fun or iconic. Parasets, T1154s, anything you fancy! |
|
DATES and TIMES |
1800Z Friday 2nd November to 0100Z Saturday 3rd November. |
| FREQUENCIES |
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| EXCHANGE |
The minimum exchange is: RST, Name, QTH, transmitter/receiver type, and FISTS member number (if applicable). |
| CONTACT | The email address for questions and soap box comments is . |
| STRAIGHT KEY WEEK 2018 (SKW) | |||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION |
Straight Key Week runs for 7 days in December. 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. Certificates will be awarded for the first, second and third highest scores. |
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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 Sunday 02 December to 22:00 UTC Saturday 08 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 |
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 31 December
2018 and must include your callsign, name,
and email address (if you have one). Log formats:
|
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| DAY-HOPPER 2018 | |
| DESCRIPTION | The idea is absolutely NOT a contest but a means of enabling us to meet each other on air. |
| BANDS | Operation only on 160,80,40,20,15,10m bands. |
| DATES and TIMES |
Monday October 1st, Tuesday 9th, Wednesday 17th, Thursday 25th, Friday 26th, Wednesday 31st. Thursday November 8th, Friday 16th, Monday 19th, Tuesday 27th. Monday December 3rd, Tuesday 11th, Wednesday 19th, Thursday 27th, Friday 28th. Three periods per day 08-0900, 13-1400, 18-1900 Zulu. |
| FREQUENCIES |
FISTS CoA. Perhaps call "CQ FISTS". |
| GENERAL |
Members can submit reports of numbers worked, soap-box comments etc. etc. as a "Round-up news" at the end of the session
(by end Jan 2018 please) to
Please email David G4YVM with any questions: |
| WORD SEARCH 2018 | |
| DESCRIPTION | The idea is for members to work sufficient FISTS members to be able to use one letter of each callsign to spell ALFRED VAIL SPEEDWELL. |
|
DATES and TIMES |
Every day, 0001 hours June 1st 2018 - 2359 hours September 30th 2018. All times Zulu. |
| BANDS | Operation only on 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m, & 2m bands. |
| RECOMMENDED FREQUENCIES |
FISTS Centre of Activity frequencies. |
| EXCHANGE |
The minimum exchange is: FISTS member number.
Why not say you're chasing the letters and which letter of theirs you're using? |
| GENERAL |
ONLY FISTS members count.
The aim is to use any letter of a callsign suffix to spell ALFRED VAIL SPEEDWELL For example, in M2AVS/P one of the three letters A, V, or S can be used. 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, G3ZXL counts as an L for SpeedwelL 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 G3ZXL AGAIN on a different day to get the L for the new section. Please email the Activities Manager, David G4YVM, with any questions: |
| POINTS |
Points for FISTS:FISTS only. The winning three places will be based on the the number of letters achieved and the start date and time of the final qualifying QSO. The winning three places can have a certificate. |
| LOGS |
You can send in your log at any time but no later than 7th October 2018 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:
|
| LISTEN FOR LEARNERS 2018 | |
| DESCRIPTION | The idea is for older hands to work newcomers. We encourage listening specifically for newcomers during the periods stated. This is not an award; it's a simple activity. |
|
DATES and TIMES |
Every day, March 2018. All times Zulu. |
| BANDS | Operation only on 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m, & 2m bands. |
| FREQUENCIES | FISTS Centres of Activity. |
| EXCHANGE |
The minimum exchange is: FISTS member number (if applicable). |
| GENERAL |
New members who joined FISTS on or after 01 March 2017 to call CQ LFL at the recommended times: 0000, 0300, 0600, 0900, 1200, 1500, 1800, 2100 Zulu.
Established members, who joined FISTS before 01 March 2017, to avoid calling CQ for 5 minutes on the cardinal times (00, 15, 30, 45).
Established QSOs are not expected to cease and if you forget the activity and call CQ, never mind.
Members can submit reports of numbers worked, soap-box comments etc. etc. New members who joined FISTS on or after 01 March 2017 have member numbers starting with:
|
| POINTS |
If you joined on or after 01 March 2017, you can claim:
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| LOGS |
Send in your entry no later than the 7th of April and include your callsign, name,
and email address (if you have one). Log formats:
|
| LADDER 2018 | |||||||||||
| 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. Certificates will be awarded at the end of the year for the first, second and third highest scores 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: 14/28 January, 11/25 February, 11/25 March, 08/22 April, 13/27 May, 10/24 June, 08/22 July, 12/26 August, 09/23 September, 14/28 October, 11/25 November, 09/23 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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Activities Calendar 2017
To see a list of dates and times for these and some other on-air activities, please visit the Upcoming Events web page.| DAY-HOPPER 2017 | |
| DESCRIPTION | The idea is absolutely NOT a contest but a means of enabling us to meet each other on air. |
| BANDS | Operation only on 160,80,40,20,15,10m bands. |
| DATES and TIMES |
Monday October 2nd, Tuesday 10th, Wednesday 18th, Thursday 26th, Friday 27th. Wednesday November 1st, Thursday 9th, Friday 17th, Monday 20th, Tuesday 28th. Monday December 4th, Tuesday 12th, Wednesday 20th, Thursday 28th, Friday 29th. Three periods per day 08-0900, 13-1400, 18-1900 Zulu. |
| FREQUENCIES |
FISTS CoA. Perhaps call "CQ FISTS". |
| GENERAL |
Members can submit reports of numbers worked, soap-box comments etc. etc. as a "Round-up news" at the end of the session
(by end Jan 2018 please) to
Please email David G4YVM with any questions: |
| STRAIGHT KEY WEEK 2017 (SKW) | |||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION |
Straight Key Week runs for 7 days in December. 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. Certificates will be awarded for the first, second and third highest scores. |
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|
DATES and TIMES |
Note changes in times for 2017! 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 Sunday 03 December to 22:00 UTC Saturday 09 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 |
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 31 December
2017 and must include your callsign, name,
and email address (if you have one). Log formats:
|
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| LADDER 2017 | |||||||||||
| 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. Certificates will be awarded at the end of the year for the first, second and third highest scores in two categories:
Changes for 2017: Higher scores for FISTS members/clubs and the last entry date is now the 7th of the following month. |
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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: 08/22 January, 12/26 February, 12/26 March, 09/23 April, 14/28 May, 11/25 June, 09/23 July, 13/27 August, 10/24 September, 08/22 October, 12/26 November, 10/24 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 in each two hour session. Up to two out of the
four sessions in a month can be claimed. 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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Activities Calendar 2016
New for this year by request is the 5-day Mechanical Key Days - a variation on Straight Key Week with the use of semi-automatic ("bug") keys included. Also new is the Accuracy Challenge, in which the accuracy of the exchanged information becomes key (!)This year the Fifth Sundays activity has changed to be a 24 hour QRS activity - QRS Fifth Sundays. The Two Metre activity is back for two months in the year. Other activities continuing from last year are the Ladder and Straight Key Week. Additionally, Exchange Your Age Week is back by request after a year's absence.
In previous years some activities permitted a QSO with a station per band per day; this year, in the interest of keeping participants together and so increasing the probability of having QSOs, all activities allow one QSO with a station per session (Ladder) or per day (all other activities).
Note that for Straight Key Week, Mechanical Key Days, and QRS Fifth Sundays, qualifying QSOs must have SKW, MKD, or QRS (respectively) included in the log book's 'Comment' (or similar) field. This will make it simpler where an entrant has a mixture of qualifying and non-qualifying QSOs during the activities' time periods.
To see a list of dates and times for these and some other on-air activities, please visit the Upcoming Events web page. There is a convenient 2016 Year Planner available, showing all the dates on a single A4 page. Many thanks to Robert DM4RW for creating it.
| Ladder 2016 |
| QRS Fifth Sundays 2016 |
| Exchange Your Age Week 2016 (EYAW) |
| Mechanical Key Days 2016 (MKD) |
| Two Metre Months 2016 |
| Accuracy Challenge 2016 |
| Straight Key Week 2016 (SKW) |
| LADDER 2016 | |||||||||||
| 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. Certificates will be awarded at the end of the year for the first, second and third highest scores 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, 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, and 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 |
A station can be claimed once in each two hour session. Up to two out of the
four sessions in a month can be claimed. Scoring:
|
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| LOGS |
Send in your entry after the last session in a month.
Entries must be received by the 5th of
the following month and must include your callsign, name,
and email address (if you have one). Log formats:
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| QRS FIFTH SUNDAYS 2016 | |
| DESCRIPTION |
QRS Fifth Sundays is new for 2016. It runs for 24 hours on each fifth Sunday
in a month. You must send at no more than 14 words per minute (wpm) but it does not matter what speed your QSO partner sends at.
Don't send faster than they do! Certificates will be awarded at the end of the year for the first, second and third highest scores. |
|
DATES and TIMES |
Session times are 00:01-23:59 UTC on the following Sundays: 31 January, 29 May, 31 July, and 30 October. |
| FREQUENCIES |
The following rules apply only if you are sending in an entry:
|
| EXCHANGE |
The minimum exchange is: RST, Name, and QTH. |
| SCORING | A station can be claimed once on each Sunday. There is 1 point per QSO. |
| LOGS |
Send in your entry after each day. Entries must be received by the 10th of
the following month and must include your callsign, name,
and email address (if you have one). Log formats:
|
| EXCHANGE YOUR AGE WEEK 2016 (EYAW) | |||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION |
Exchange Your Age Week runs for 7 days in March. You get bonus points by
exchanging your age with your QSO partner (if they are willing to give it; please
ask them at most once). Certificates will be awarded for the first, second and third highest scores. |
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DATES and TIMES |
00:01 UTC Sunday 06 March to 23:59 UTC Saturday 12 March. | ||||||||||
| 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, FISTS member number (if applicable), and Age (if available).
Age is sent as a whole number of years, e.g. 54 |
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| SCORING |
A station can be claimed once on each day. Add your QSO partner's age (if
available) to the
following to get the final score for a QSO:
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| LOGS |
Send in your entry after the last day. Entries must be received by 31 March
2016 and must include your callsign, name,
and email address (if you have one). Log formats:
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| MECHANICAL KEY DAYS 2016 (MKD) | |||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION |
Mechanical Key Days runs for 5 days in June. You must send CQs and have
QSOs using a straight ("up & down") key or a sideswiper (aka "cootie") key or
a semi-automatic (aka "bug") key - no 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. Certificates will be awarded for the first, second and third highest scores. |
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DATES and TIMES |
00:01 UTC Monday 06 June to 23:59 UTC Friday 10 June. | ||||||||||
| 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 |
Send in your entry after the last day. Entries must be received by 30 June
2016 and must include your callsign, name,
and email address (if you have one). Log formats:
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| TWO METRE MONTHS 2016 | |||||||
| DESCRIPTION |
Two Metre Months activity runs for 1 hour on every Saturday and Sunday morning during August and November. Note that for 2016, the recommended centre frequency has moved to 144.052 - see FREQUENCIES below. Certificates will be awarded at the end of the year in these categories:
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DATES and TIMES |
Session times are 08:00-09:00 UTC on the following days:
06/07 August, 13/14 August, 20/21 August, 27/28 August
and 09:00-10:00 UTC on the following days:
05/06 November, 12/13 November, 19/20 November, 26/27 November.
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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, 6-character locator, and FISTS member number (if applicable). |
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| SCORING |
A station can be claimed once per day.
For each QSO, the multiplier is the
rounded-down distance between you and your QSO partner in kilometres, divided by 10, and rounded down. Multiply the QSO points (1 or 2) by the multiplier.
There is an official distance and multiplier calculator available at http://fists.co.uk/distance.aspx. |
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| LOGS |
Send in an entry after the last session in a month.
Entries must be received by the 10th of
the following month and must include your callsign, name,
and email address (if you have one). Log formats:
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| ACCURACY CHALLENGE 2016 | |||||||
| DESCRIPTION |
The Accuracy Challenge consists of two, two hour sessions
that run concurrently with the afternoon Ladder sessions in September. In
addition to the normal FISTS activity QSO exchange, send and receive a 3-letter word
and 3-digit number, e.g. CAT 481. There are substantial bonus points for accurate receipt
of these. The words and numbers will be available from 01 August 2016 at http;//fists.co.uk/mac or by email to . Certificates will be awarded after the two sessions for the first, second and third highest scores. |
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DATES and TIMES |
There are two sessions: 14:00-16:00 UTC Sunday 11 September. 14:00-16:00 UTC Sunday 25 September. |
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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, FISTS member number (if applicable), 3-letter word & 3-digit number (if available). |
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| SCORING |
A station can be claimed once per session.
Scoring:
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| LOGS |
Send in your entry after the second session. Entries must be received by 05 October 2016 and must include your callsign, name,
and email address (if you have one). Log formats:
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| STRAIGHT KEY WEEK 2016 (SKW) | |||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION |
Straight Key Week runs for 7 days in December. 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. Certificates will be awarded for the first, second and third highest scores. |
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|
DATES and TIMES |
00:01 UTC Sunday 04 December to 23:59 UTC Saturday 10 December. | ||||||||||
| 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 |
Send in your entry after the last day. Entries must be received by 31 December
2016 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.