CQ WW DX Contest Rules 2012

SSB: October 27 - 28 CW: November 24 - 25
Starts 0000 UTC Saturday Ends 2359 UTC Sunday

I. OBJECTIVE: For amateurs around the world to contact other amateurs in as many zones and countries as possible.

II. BANDS: Six bands only: 1.8, 3.5, 7, 14, 21 and 28 MHz.

III.TYPE OF COMPETITION (choose only one)

For all categories:

1. All entrants must operate within the limits of their chosen category when performing any activity that could impact their submitted score.

2. All high power categories must not exceed 1500 watts total output power on any band at any time.
3. All transmitters and receivers used the entrant must be located within a single 500-meter diameter circle or within the property limits of the station licensee's address, whichever is greater.

4. All antennas used by the entrant must be physically connected by wires to the transmitters and receivers used by the entrant.

5. Only the entrant's call sign can be used to aid the entrant's score.

6. A different call sign must be used for each CQ WW entry.

7. An entrant's remote station is determined by the physical location of the transmitters, receivers, and antennas. A remote station must obey all station and category limitations of Rule III.

8. A competitor who wishes to be judged for a top score in their category must agree to a potential visitation at any time during the contest by an observer appointed by the CQ WW Contest Committee (CQ WW CC). Failure of the entrant to respond to our correspondence or to allow a CQ WW CC observer full access to the contest QTH during the full contest period may result in the competitor being removed from award eligibility for 3 years.

9. Self-spotting or asking to be spotted is not allowed.

10. Only one signal on a band is allowed at any time.

11. Remote receivers outside the limitations of Rule III.3 are not allowed. The only exception is public remote skimmers which are allowed for the Multi-Operator, Assisted and Xtreme categories.

12. When two or more transmitters are present on a band, either a software or hardware device MUST be used to prevent more than one signal at any one time; interlocking two or more transmitters on a band with alternating CQs (soliciting contacts) is not allowed.

A. All Single Operator categories (1A-2C below): only one person (= the entrant) can contribute to the final score during the official contest period. Call sign alerting assistance of any kind places the entrant in one of the Single Operator Assisted categories. For all single operator categories, all-band or single-band, only one signal is allowed at any time; for the all-band category the operator can change bands at any time.

1A. Single Operator High Power (All-Band or Single-Band): QSO alerting assistance of any kind is not allowed. Total output power must not exceed 1500 watts on any band at any time.

1B. Single Operator Low Power (All-Band or Single-Band): QSO alerting assistance of any kind is not allowed. Total output power must not exceed 100 watts on any band at any time.

1C. Single Operator QRP (All-Band or Single-Band): QSO alerting assistance of any kind is not allowed. Total output power must not exceed 5 watts on any band at any time.

2. All Assisted Categories

Any public QSO alerting assistance is allowed for all assisted categories. This includes, but is not limited to, DX Cluster-type networks, local or remote Skimmer and/or Skimmer-like technology and reverse beacon network. A local Skimmer is one obeying Rule III.3.

2A. Single Operator High Power Assisted (All-Band or Single-Band): Total output power must not exceed 1500 watts on any band at any time.

2B. Single Operator Low Power Assisted (All-Band or Single-Band): Total output power must not exceed 100 watts on any band at any time.

2C. Single Operator Assisted QRP (All-Band or Single-Band): Total output power must not exceed 5 watts on any band at any time.

B. Multi-Operator (all-band operation only):

For all multi-operator categories: when two or more transmitters are present on a band, either a software or hardware device MUST be used to prevent more than one signal at any one time; interlocking two or more transmitters on a band with alternating CQs is not allowed; any public QSO spotting help is allowed. Any number of operators is allowed.

1. Single Transmitter (MS): Only one transmitter and one band permitted during any 10-minute period (run transmitter). Exception: One- and only one-other band may be used during any 10-minute period, if-and only if-, the station worked is a new multiplier (multiplier transmitter). The run and multiplier transmitters are governed by independent ten minute rules. Ten-minute periods are defined as starting with the first logged QSO on a band. The multiplier station cannot call CQ. Logs found in violation of the 10-minute rule may be reclassified as M2. If electronic logging is used (Cabrillo), for each QSO, the run transmitter or multiplier transmitter must be indicated in the log.

2. Two Transmitters (M2): A maximum of two transmitted signals at any time on two different bands. Both transmitters may work any station. A station may only be worked once per band regardless of which transmitter is used. Each of the two transmitters used must keep a separate chronological log for the entire contest period, or if electronic logging is used, the electronic log submittal (Cabrillo) must indicate which transmitter made each QSO. Each transmitter may make a maximum of 8 band changes in any clock hour.

3. Multi-Transmitter (MM): No limit to the number of transmitters or operators. Six bands may be activated simultaneously.

C. Xtreme Contesting: To encourage the development of new technologies in contesting. The rules for the Xtreme category are different from the rules presented here. For the full Xtreme rules, go to <http://www.cqww.com> and click on rules for the Xtreme category.

D. Team Contesting: A team consists of any five radio amateurs operating in any single operator category. A person may be on only one team per mode. Competing on a team will not prevent any team member from submitting his/her personal score for a radio club. A team score will be the sum of all the team members submitting scores. SSB and CW teams are totally separate. A member of an SSB team may be on a totally different CW team. A list of a team's members must be received at CQ Headquarters by the time the contest begins. E-mail to <teams@cqww.com>, or mail or fax the list to CQ, Attn: Team Contest, 25 Newbridge Road, Hicksville, NY 11801 U.S.A.; fax 516-681-2926. Awards will be given to the top teams on each mode.

IV. NUMBER EXCHANGE: Phone: RS report plus zone (i.e., 5905). CW: RST report plus zone (i.e., 59905).

V. MULTIPLIER: Two types of multiplier will be used.

1. A multiplier of one (1) for each different zone contacted on each band.

2. A multiplier of one (1) for each different country contacted on each band. Stations are permitted to contact their own country and zone for multiplier credit. The Worked All Zones written rules, DXCC entity list, Worked All Europe (WAE) multiplier list and IG9/IH9, and WAC boundaries are standards. Maritime mobile stations count only for a zone multiplier.

VI. POINTS:

1. Contacts between stations on different continents are worth three (3) points.

2. Contacts between stations on the same continent but different countries, one (1) point. Exception: For North American stations only, contacts between stations within the North American boundaries count two (2) points.

3. Contacts between stations in the same country are permitted for zone or country multiplier credit but have zero (0) point value.

VII. SCORING: All stations: the final score is the result of the total QSO points multiplied by the sum of your zone and country multipliers. Example: 1000 QSO points × 100 multiplier (30 Zones + 70 Countries) = 100,000 (final score).

VIII. AWARDS: First-place certificates will be awarded in each category listed under Sec.III in every participating country and in each call area of the United States, Canada, European Russia, Spain and Japan. All scores will be published. To be eligible for an award, a Single-operator station must show a minimum of 12 hours of operation. Multi-operator stations must operate a minimum of 24 hours. A single-band log is eligible for a single-band award only. If a log contains more than one band it will be judged as an all-band entry, unless specified otherwise. In countries or sections where the returns justify, 2nd and 3rd place awards will be made. All certificates/plaques will be issued to the licensee of the station used.

IX. TROPHIES AND PLAQUES: Plaques and trophies are awarded for top performance in a number of categories. They are sponsored by individuals and organizations. For a current list of plaques and sponsors, or to learn how to become a sponsor, see the CQ website: <http://www.cq-amateur-radio.com/cqwwhome.html>. A station winning a World trophy will not be considered for a sub-area award; the trophy will be awarded to the runner-up in that area.

X. CLUB COMPETITION:

1. The club must be a local group and not a national organization.

2. Participation is limited to club members living within a local geographic area defined as within a 275 km radius from center of club area (except for DXpeditions conducted by members living within the defined club geographic area). Club contributions from DXpedition scores are a percentage of the number of club members on the DXpedition.

3. To be listed, a minimum of three logs (combined phone and CW) must be received from a club, and an officer of the club must submit a list of eligible members.

XI. LOG INSTRUCTIONS:

1. All times must be in UTC.

2. All sent and received exchanges are to be logged.

3. If submitting a paper log, you must indicate zone and country multipliers the FIRST TIME worked on each band. This is not required for electronic Cabrillo log submissions.

4. Electronic log submission: We want your electronic log. The Committee requires an electronic log for any possible high-scoring log.

By submitting a log to the CQ WW Contest, the entrant agrees to have the log open to the public. If possible, we would appreciate complete frequencies in the log. E-mail Required Content: Please submit your log in the Cabrillo file format created by all major logging programs.

Be sure to put the STATION CALL SIGN in the "Subject:" line of each message. Your e-mail log will automatically be acknowledged by the server. You will also receive a personal access code from the server at a later time (usually in late spring). Electronic submission implies a signed declaration that all contest rules and regulations for amateur radio in the country of operation have been observed. Submit your CQ WW SSB log to <ssb@cqww.com> and your CQ WW CW log to <cw@cqww.com>.

5. Paper log submission: Use a separate log sheet for each band.

Each paper log entry MUST be accompanied by a summary sheet showing all scoring information, category of competition, and contestant's name and address in BLOCK LETTERS. Sample log and summary sheets and zone maps are available from CQ. A large, self-addressed envelope with sufficient postage or IRCs must accompany your request. If official forms are not available, make up your own, 80 contacts to the page on 8 1/2" × 11" paper or European A4. All paper log entrants are required to submit cross-check sheets (an alphabetical list of calls worked) for each band on which 200 or more QSOs were made.

6. Bad QSO: The bad QSO is removed and a penalty of three more equivalent QSOs is applied to the points only.

7. QRP and Low Power stations must indicate their category on their summary sheets and state the actual maximum power output used in the comment section of their Cabrillo submission.

XII. ACTIONS OF THE CQ WW CC

Violation of the rules of the contest makes the entrant subject to either a red or yellow card or a warning letter at the discretion of the CQ WW CC.

A. YELLOW card: One Yellow card, entrant not eligible for any award in the entered contest. An entrant or operator issued a yellow card will be removed from the results. Entrants receiving a yellow card will be listed at the end of the published results. Two Yellow cards: see One Red Card.

B. RED card:One Red card, entrant not eligible for an award in the entered contest. Entrants receiving a red card will be listed at the end of the published results. An entrant or operator receiving a red card will be ineligible for any CQ-sponsored contest award for a period of one year beginning with the publication of the violation in CQ magazine. Two Red cards: An entry or operator receiving two red cards within five consecutive CQ WW DX contests will be ineligible for any CQ-sponsored contest award for a period of two years beginning the month of publication of the second violation in CQ magazine. If the entrant is in a multi-operator category, all listed operators are so affected.

Further CQ WW CC actions:

1. The entrant agrees that the CQ WW CC reserves the right to reject any entry for non-compliance with the rules.

2. Unsportsmanlike conduct can be grounds for either a red or yellow card at the discretion of the CQ WW CC. Unsportsmanlike conduct includes but is not limited to violation of the CQ WW rules, ANY use by an entrant of any non-amateur means during the contest including, but not limited to, telephones, Internet, instant messaging, chat rooms, VoIP, or the use of any DX cluster/reflector to SOLICIT, ARRANGE, or CONFIRM any contacts during the contest. Unsportsmanlike conduct also includes out of band transmissions by the entrant.

3. Taking credit for excessive unverifiable QSOs or unverifiable multipliers may result in a yellow or red card at the discretion of the CQ WW CC.

4. An entrant is free to withdraw his/her submitted log for any reason prior to receiving an official letter from the CQ WW CC. The log will then be handled per the entrant's request. If after receiving an official letter from the CQ WW CC, an entrant chooses to withdraw their log, the entrant's call will be listed at end of the results showing their log as having been withdrawn.

5. By submitting a CQ WW DX Contest log, an entrant agrees that the issuing of red cards, yellow cards, and other decisions of the CQ WW CC are official and final.

6. A card penalty given to an entrant will be honored by all CQ sponsored contests, the EUHFC, the SCC RTTY Championship and the JIDXC.

7. Actions of the CQ WW CC will be announced.

XIII. DEADLINE:

1. All entries must be sent NO LATER than November 21, 2011 for the SSB section and December 21, 2011 for the CW section.

2. An extension of up to one month may be given if requested by e-mail (questions@cqww.com). The granted extension must be confirmed by the Contest Director, must state a legitimate reason, and the request must be received before the log mailing deadline. Logs postmarked after the extension deadline may be listed in the results but will be declared ineligible for an award. All paper logs should be sent to Paper Logs, Box 481, New Carlisle, OH 45344, USA. Please mark SSB or CW on the envelope.