ACARTS VHF/UHF Simplex Contest

Purpose

• To promote FM Simplex operation.
• To provide a local, fun, fast contest with equipment most hams already own.

When

Saturday, May 16th 2025, from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT. The contest is open to all radio amateurs. This contest is designed for hams to have fun over a short period. You don’t need to devote an entire weekend, just an enjoyable Saturday evening. So, get a cup of hot chocolate, a comfortable chair, and sit down for a few hours to see who is on the air. There will be some rovers running around during the full contest period to keep activity going the entire time.

General Rules

• Only mode allowed is FM phone simplex on the 2-meter, 1.25-meter, 70 cm bands.
  • 2-meter Simplex 146.40 – 146.595, 147.405 – 147.585 15kHz spacing.
  • 1.25-meter Simplex 223.40 – 223.52 20kHz spacing.
  • 70cm Simplex 445.9125 – 446.175 12.5kHz spacing.
• No contacts on calling frequencies. (146.52, 223.50, 446.00)
• Teams are permitted, but only one transmitter is allowed to operate at any one time.
• No repeater contacts, satellite, or EME, please stay on FM simplex frequencies. Stations can only be worked once per band. Rovers and portables can be worked again when they have moved to a different township.
• No cross-band, no split frequency contacts.
• Pre-arranging contacts by use of repeaters, telephones, or otherwise is not allowed, nor in the spirit of the contest. Requesting a move to another band during a contact is allowed.

Rover & Park Activation Special Rules

• Rovers are not allowed to drive and operate simultaneously. A solo rover must be stationary to operate. A rover team may operate while moving if one team member is designated as the driver and the driver does not operate the radio while moving.
• Rovers and portables cannot straddle township lines, only one township may be given during each contact. Rover and portable stations must remain in a township a minimum of 15 minutes.
• For Park Activation, you must operate within the park limits. To consider the park activated, three contacts must be logged to get park activation multiplier.

Operating Classes

• Base
• Rover
• Park Activation
• Portable – Limited to 5W, with transceiver mounted antenna

Exchange

Call sign, your sequential contact number, township, and county. Note: You should not use a separate set of sequential numbers for each band. Start at the beginning of the contest and keep going in order even if you change bands.

Sample Contact Exchanges

KB9JDL this is K9FFF – Please copy Number 3, Jefferson Township, Noble County

K9FFF this is KB9JDL Rover – Please copy Number 13, Milan Township, Allen County

Scoring

• 1 point per contact.
• Multiplier is the number of unique townships contacted.
• For Rovers/Portables and Park Activations, multiplier is the number of unique townships/parks contacted
• plus the number of townships/parks activated. Final score = multiplier X contact points.
• 1st Place in each class will receive a certificate and bragging rights.

Log Format

• Heading: Your name, call sign, operating category, & phone # or e-mail
• Listing of contacts to include;
  • Your contact number, contact time (local or zulu (UTC), but please specify), their call sign, band, township, and county.
• NOTE: For rovers and portables, include your township at time of contact, noting what county as well since some townships in different counties have the same name.
• Logs may be submitted in any text format that you choose.

Entry Deadline

All logs, either paper or electronic should be received by June 20th, 2026. Make sure to include your name, call sign, and contact information (either phone or e-mail).

Send to; ACARTS FM Simplex Contest, PO Box 10342, Fort Wayne, IN 46851 OR email to: sec@acarts.com

Winners will be announced at the July 21st, 2026 ACARTS club meeting and contacted via e-mail or phone.

Download the rules and log sheet here: