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.
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.
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.
40 meters 0000-0200UTC
January 4, 2003 (again, Friday night in most of US)
20 meters 1500-1700 UTC January 4, 2003
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.
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!
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
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 .