Rock Around the Clock 2003:

Rock-Mite Flea Fight

 

A QRP Operating event!

Sponsored by the

Greater Piedmont QRP Club

 

 

Purpose: The point of Rock Around the Clock is to encourage all qrp operators to dust off their ‘rock-bound’ rigs and get them on the air and see if they can work each other.  This is a celebration of the simplicity of qrp classics such as the Pixie,  the 49er, and Tuna Tin,  and for this year’s event, the “instant classic” Rock-Mite from Small Wonder Labs.

 

     The idea was first suggested on qrp-l by Dr. James Duffey (aka Dr. Megacycle), KK6MC/5,  and the Greater Piedmont QRP Club is indebted to Doc for his encouragement and willingness to let us run with this event.

 

Here are a few simple rules for the event. If you have a question, please contact us at hoglund@wfu.edu and we will try to clarify any issues promptly.

 

  1. Date & Time

The Rock Mite Flea Fight will take place Saturday, January 4th, 2003 (UTC). Since the Rock-Mites come in two ‘flavors,’ we’ve broken the event into two bursts.  For 40 meters, the Flea Fight takes place from 0000-0200 UTC (in most of US, that’s Friday evening, January 3rd). For 20 meters, the Flea Feast will take place 1500-1700 UTC (that’s Saturday morning in most of the US).

 

For the Rock Mite Flea Fight   (RMFF) you may use either  2 hour burst to operate or if you have both 40m and 20m models, you may work both bursts.  

 

  1. Gear

 

Thought the Rock-Mite is our featured rig, it is not necessary for operating in the event.  The “rock” part relates to a crystal-controlled frequency oscillator.  You may switch crystals, bend, twist, jump or otherwise mutilate the ‘rock’ to gain bandwidth, but at base the transmission must be crystal-controlled (“rock-bound”).  VXO on the transmitter is still ‘crystal-controlled,’ but mixing crystal frequencies (heterodyning) is discouraged since the enhanced bandspread would be a large advantage over fixed frequency rig.  Crystal control relates only to transmission: receivers with VFO are permitted. QRP outputs only, 5 watts or less.

 

  1. Bands and Frequencies

 

40 meters  0000-0200UTC January 4, 2003 (again, Friday night in most of US)

20 meters 1500-1700 UTC  January 4, 2003

 

  1. Scoring

 

 Scoring is by distance and length of time of qso. Distance is calculated in miles and may be derived from postal code to postal code as calculated on any one of a number of websites (http://www.zipmath.com is an example). Time is measured in minutes. If KG4FGC (27106) has a 10 minute qso with W1AW (06111), that is a distance of 559 miles times 10 minutes, or a point value of 5,590. Momentary qso’s may be rounded up to the nearest whole minute.

 

The following multipliers are available to enhance one’s points:

 

---a qso with another crystal-controlled rig multiplies the value by 5

 

---a qso with one of the event special stations (all Rock-Mites), since

these will be short to maximize the number of ops who can work them, 

multiplies the value by 1000

 

Logs should be submitted either in writing or email to Ken Hoglund KG4FGC no later than February 8, 2003. Please include a description of your gear and any unusual characteristics that may have assisted your operation (awards will be available for unusual set-ups).  Photos will be welcomed.

 

  1. Exchange

 

Since it’s a ‘rag-chew,’ any topic under the sun is fair for exchange. We would suggest that at some point you determine (1) the other station’s postal code and (2) if they are crystal controlled.  Otherwise, relax have fun!

 

  1. Awards

 

We are also planning on a very nice award for the highest score (including a bottle of Moxie), as well as smaller awards for most unusual rig, farthest qso, longest (timewise) qso, and most unusual modification to a crystal-controlled rig. If funds permit, we may have other awards to send out! All decisions will be made by the members of the Greater Piedmont QRP Club, and are final. All major category winners will be announced on qrp-l as soon as they are determined.  And no member of the Greater Piedmont QRP Club may enter—we’re doing this for others.

 

Special Stations:

 

For 40m Burst:

        Doc K0EVZ  Bismark, ND

Chuck W5USJ Point, TX 

Rod N0RC      Ft. Collins, CO

        Dan AD6JY  Lafayette, CA

        Trev KG6CYN  Burbank, CA

 

For 20m Burst:

        Bill N4QA  Radford, VA

        Doc K0EVZ  Bismark, ND

        Chuck W5USJ Point, TX

 

History

 

                For 2002, the Rock Around the Clock Grand Prize winner was Jim KC1FB.  Jim entered the high score of 4,652, and also had the longest qso having a marathon 22 minute plus rag-chew with another station using a Tuna Tin II.  Jim achieved such heights of crystal oscillation on 40m. No submitted entries noted working any of our special stations, though we had an all-star cast scattered across the nation.  Our best achievement for a Special Station was Ed WE6W .