[VHFcontesting] ARRL EME Contest Changes for upcoming August, September, October and November 2024 weekends

[Bart Jahnke]

All,

With apologies for this being close to event kick-off, we have been
considering the substantial feedback over the past few years regarding how
best to determine the multiplier of participating stations (State, Province
or DXCC Entity). Also recognizing that participating stations are being
more mobile/portable, operating from different locations (especially in the
USA where different days or weekends resulted in activations of different
States), how to reflect such changes in logs has been greatly considered).

Further, activity by participation stations has remained relatively flat
over the past 7 years from a low of 148 logs submitted in 2017, to 243
submissions in 2020, and 218 in 2023, thus bringing some new ideas to
scoring was also a strong consideration.

*To that end we have announced that the multipliers in the 2024 ARRL
International EME Competition will be your 4-Digit-Maidenhead-Grid-Square. *

Stations capable of being portable may change grids as often as desired,
and are encouraged to do so if opportunity to activate rare grids exists..

Your Contest Cabrillo Log Uploads continue to be just one submission for
the entire contest - one single upload at the end of your total operating (
eg, if you operate on 50-1296 MHz on two weekends, and 2.3 GHz and up on
two weekends, means you submit one log at the end of the fourth weekend (or
at the end of the last weekend you operated). Again, you upload only one
log to ARRL at the conclusion of (eg, when you have completed) your
operations for the entire 4-month contest).

Your Cabrillo log entry QSO lines will report as follows:

QSO: BAND MODE DATE TIME YOUR-CALL YOUR-4-DIGIT-GRID STATION-WORKED
EXCHANGE/GRID-YOU-COPIED

For Analog stations where signal levels or propagation do not support a
Grid Square Exchange, a signal report in any mutually understood format,
plus an acknowledgment of the calls and report, are acceptable (eg, at
minimum we'd anticipate the T / M / O exchange). The QSO line above will
tell log checking and scoring what Grid Square you were operating from
(highlighted in yellow).

Stations capable of portable operations may (and are encouraged to) change
grids as often as desired (a station's 4-Digit-Grid-Square must be reported
as part of the Cabrillo file QSO on each line in the Cabrillo log
regardless of what type of exchange was received by the other station {see
yellow highlight in the below example QSO lines}). Portable stations who
paper log, must also indicate which QSOs were made from which grid square.

* Example QSOs line that would be used in various Cabrillo files (yellow is
always your grid square - this way we know what multiplier you activated):*

QSO: BAND MODE DATE TIME YOUR-CALL YOUR-4-DIGIT-GRID STATION-WORKED
EXCHANGE/GRID-YOU-COPIED

QSO: 432 DG 2024-10-19 0001 W9JJ FN31 NC1I FN32
QSO: 144 CW 2024-10-20 0255 W9JJ FN31 N1SFE RO
QSO: 2.3G SSB 2024-08-24 0452 W5LUA EM13 WD5AGO 53
QSO: 1.2G DG 2024-08-24 0645 KB7Q BP40 NC1I FN32
QSO: 902 DG 2024-08-24 0712 KA6U DM86 W5AFY EM04
QSO: 1.2G DG 2024-08-25 0218 KA6U DM87 HB9Q JN47

See ARRL Contest Update at
https://arrl.informz.net/informzdataservice/onlineversion/ind/bWFpbGluZ2luc3RhbmNlaWQ9MzA5NjgzMSZzdWJzY3JpYmVyaWQ9NTIwNTAwOTAz

Or Check the ARRL EME Rules for coming update at
https://www.arrl.org/eme-contest

As always, electronic logs must be submitted via our web app at
*contests.arrl.org/arrlemescoresubmission.php*
<https://contests.arrl.org/arrlemescoresubmission.php>

If you have any additional questions, drop us email to contests at arrl.org

Thanks for participating!


73,

Bart Jahnke, W9JJ

Radiosport and Regulatory Information Manager

ARRL - The National Association for Amateur Radio®

225 Main Street

Newington CT 06111-1400

*bjahnke at arrl.org <bjahnke at arrl.org>*

*www.arrl.org <http://www.arrl.org/>*