Announcing:
The 2011 CQ World-Wide
VHF Contest
Starts: 1800 UTC Saturday, July 16, 2011
Ends: 2100 UTC Sunday, July 17, 2011

PLEASE NOTE:
This year’s rules reflect significant
changes, so please read them carefully.
Rationale: Single-op stations now routinely
use web- and packet-based clusters for
spots to locate potential contacts. Further,
VHF antennas are often of narrow beamwidths
which must be pointed directly at
each other to make the contact.
1. Thus, to facilitate making more QSOs,
and to prevent stations from inadvertently
falling into the multi-op category for using
the cluster (as previously), passive QSO
alerting assistance is now permitted in ALL
categories. This means anyone can look at
packet/web clusters.
2. Self-spotting is defined as active assistance
and is not permitted with the following
exception:
3. Accommodation is made for stations
attempting digital EME or digital meteorscatter
contacts. Such stations calling CQ
may self-spot callsign, frequency, and
sequence only and no other information.
“Chats” such as “I see your trace now” are
not permitted. Caution: Reflectors will be
monitored for any violations that may result
in punitive action.

I. Contest Period: 27 hours for all stations,
all categories. Operate any portion of
the contest period you wish. (Note: Exception
for QRP Hilltopper.)
II. Objectives: The objectives of this contest
are for amateurs around the world to
contact as many amateurs as possible in the
contest period, to promote VHF, to allow
VHF operators the opportunity to experience
the enhanced propagation available at this
time of year, and for interested amateurs to
collect VHF Maidenhead grid locators for
awards credits.
III. Bands: All authorized amateur radio
frequencies on 50 MHz (6 meters) and 144
MHz (2 meters) may be used as authorized
by local law and license class.
IV. Categories of Competition:
For all categories: Transmitters and
receivers must be located within a 500-
meter diameter circle or within the property
limits of the station licensee’s address,
whichever is greater.
Note the following change in rules!
There are three types of QSO alerting assistance:
(1) Passive is defined as any technology
technology
that provides callsign and frequency
information of potential new contacts to the
operator, not initiated by the entrant. It
includes, but is not limited to: The DX Cluster,
spotting nets, packet and web clusters,
Skimmer, and the like. (2) Active involves the
direct initiation of QSO alerting information
by—and with the direct participation of—the
entrant to benefit the entrant’s score. It
includes, but is not limited to, self-spotting or
by stealth (such as asking other stations to
spot you). (3) Interactive includes any twoway
conversation (or variation thereof)
between stations to effect a QSO. This
includes use of the telephone, and website
posts providing information beyond that of
callsign, frequency, and sequence.
Passive QSO alerting assistance is permitted
for ALL categories.
Active QSO alerting assistance is permitted
only by stations attempting digital
EME or digital meteor-scatter contacts.
Stations calling CQ using such modes are
limited to spotting callsign, frequency, and
sequence only. Caution: To ensure strict
compliance with these rules, the adjudication
process will include review of real-time
and archived transcripts from websites used
to coordinate active alerting data during the
contest period.
Interactive QSO alerting is prohibited
for all categories.
1. Single Op—All Band. Only one signal
allowed at any one time; the operator may
change bands at any time.
2. Single Op—Single Band. Only one signal
allowed at any one time.
3. Single-Op All-Band QRP. There are no
location restrictions – home or portable – for
stations running 10 watts output or less.
4. Hilltopper. This is a single-op QRP
portable category for an all-band entry limited
in time to a maximum of 6 continuous
hours. Backpackers and portables who do
not want to devote resources and time to the
full contest period are encouraged to participate,
especially to activate rare grids. Any
power source is acceptable.
5. Rover. A Rover station is one manned
by no more than two operators, travels to
more than one grid location, and signs “Rover”
or “/R” with no more than one callsign.
6. Multi-Op. A multi-op station is one with
two or more operators and may operate 6
and 2 meters simultaneously with only one
signal per band.
Stations in any category, except Rover
and QRP Hilltopper, may operate from any
single location, home or portable.
V. Exchange: Callsign and Maidenhead
grid locator (4 digits, e.g., EM15). Signal
reports are optional and should not be
included in the log entry.
VI. Multipliers: The multiplier is the number
of different grid locators worked per
band. A “grid locator” is counted once per
band. Exception: The rover who moves into
a new grid locator may count the same grid
locator more than once per band as long as
the rover is himself or herself in a new grid
locator location. Such change in location
must be clearly indicated in the rover’s log.
A. A rover station becomes a new QSO
to the stations working him or her when that
rover changes grid locator.
B. The grid locator is the Maidenhead grid
locator to four digits (FM13).
VII. Scoring: One (1) point per QSO on
50 MHz and two (2) points per QSO on 144
MHz. Work stations once per band, regardless
of mode. Multiply total QSO points times
total number of grid locators (GL) worked.
Rovers: For each new grid locator visited,
contacts and grid locators count as new.
Final Rover score is the sum of contact
points made from each grid locator times
the sum of all grid locators worked from all
grids visited.
Example 1. K1GX works stations as follows:
50 QSOs (50 × 1 = 50) and 25 GL’s (25
multipliers) on 50 MHz
35 QSOs (35 × 2 = 70) and 8 GL’s (8 multipliers)
on 144 MHz
K1GX has 120 QSO points (50 + 70 = 120)
× 33 multipliers (25 + 8 = 33) = 3,960 total
points.
Example 2. W9FS/R works stations as
follows:
From EN52: 50 QSOs (50 × 1 = 50) and
25 GL’s (25 multipliers) on 50 MHz
From EN52: 40 QSOs (40 × 2 = 80) and
10 GL’s (10 multipliers) on 144 MHz
From EN51: 60 QSOs (60 × 1 = 60) and
30 GL’s (30 multipliers) on 50 MHz
From EN51: 20 QSOs (20 × 2 = 40) and
5 GL’s (5 multipliers) on 144 MHz
W9FS/R has 230 QSO points (50 + 80 +
60 + 40) × 70 multipliers (25 + 10 + 30 + 5)
= 16,100 total points
VIII. Awards: Certificates suitable for
framing will be awarded to the top-scoring
stations in each category in each country.
Certificates may also be awarded to other
top-scoring stations who show outstanding
contest effort. Certificates will be awarded
to top-scoring stations in each category in
geographic areas where warranted.
Geographic areas include states (U.S.),
provinces (Canada), and countries, and may
also be extended to include other subdivisions
as justified by competitive entries. U.S. rover
certificates are issued on a regional basis.
IX. Club Competition: Credit your club
for aggregate club score. See cqww.com/clubnames. htm> for a list of registered
clubs. Follow directions for resistering
your club if not already registered.
X. Miscellaneous: An operator may sign
only one callsign during the contest. This
means that an operator cannot generate
QSOs by first signing his callsign, then signing
his daughter’s callsign, even though both
callsigns are assigned to the same location.
A station located exactly on a dividing line
of a grid locator must choose only one grid
locator from which to operate for exchange
purposes.
A different multiplier cannot be given out
without moving the complete station at least
100 meters.
Making or soliciting QSOs on the national
simplex frequency, 146.52 MHz, or your
country’s designated national simplex frequency,
or immediately adjacent guard frequencies,
is prohibited. Use of commonly
recognized repeater frequencies is prohibited.
Recognized FM simplex frequencies
such as 146.49, .55, and .58, and localoption
simplex channels may be used for
contest purposes.
Aeronautical mobile contacts do not count.
Contestants should respect use of the DX
window, 50.100–50.125 MHz, for intercontinental
QSOs only.
UTC is the required logging time.
XI. Declaration: Your submission of a log
entry affirms that: (1) you have abided by all
the rules of the contest as well as those of
your country’s licensing authority; (2) you
accept any decisions made regarding your
entry by the contest’s adjudication process
which are official and final.
XII. Log Submissions: Log entries must
be submitted by September 1, 2011 to be
eligible for awards. Submit your electronic
log in the Cabrillo format created by all major
logging programs. Send via e-mail attachment
to <[email protected]>. Subject
line: Callsign [used in the contest] only.
Entrants are reminded to be sure their log
indicates their grid location. For USA/VE stations
operating away from their home address,
be sure to indicate the state or province
location of operation.
It is strongly recommended that paper logs
be entered on-line for automatic Cabrillo submission.
Click on the “Web Form for Typing
in Paper Logs” link on the contest website at
. Computergenerated
logs must be e-submitted. Callsigns
of electronic logs received are posted
and updated regularly on the website.
For those without web access, paper logs
may be submitted to: CQ VHF Contest, 25
Newbridge Road, Hicksville, NY 11801
USA. Questions may be sent to cqww-vhf.com>.