Object
Make as many contacts as possible working Sydney ferries or ferry wharves.
Date
Sunday March 8th, 2020 — 10:00 am – 4:00 pm local time (6 hours).
Modes
Ferry and wharf operation is restricted to hand-held devices in the VHF/UHF bands. Any mode may be used (FM, digital) either simplex or duplex. Operators should abide by their licence conditions.
General
- Participants may operate from ferries, ferry wharves, home stations or any portable location. Home stations and portable stations may use fixed or mounted equipment, but ferry and wharf operation must be hand-held (see definition below).
- The contest is aimed at individual operators and teams are not permitted although operators may have one or more assistants to help with logging, rations, logistics etc.
- Second or multiple contacts between operators on the same mode are allowed only if either is on a different ferry or wharf from previous contacts. Multiple contacts are allowed from the same locations if in different modes (e.g. duplex then simplex).
- If operators are on the same ferry or wharf at the same time, the only contact allowed is “Eyeball” . Only one “Eyeball” is allowed between the same individuals. (see below). This year there is no requirement to swap QSL cards, but operators may choose to initial each other’s log. QSL cards can be exchanged as a souvenir but this is not mandatory.
- Wharf operation must be on the actual wharf; being nearby or in a vehicle is classified as portable.
- You must disembark the ferry in order to work from a wharf. That is working from a ferry waiting at a wharf is not counted as a wharf.
- Movement between wharves other than on ferries is permissible as long as it is undertaken either on foot or by public transport. It is not in the spirit of the contest to drive between wharves to accumulate multipliers.
- Ferry stops with multiple wharves (e.g. Circular Quay) are counted as one wharf.
- For the purposes of this contest, “ferry” means the ferry line (see below) the actual ferry name is not required as there may be multiple ferries on the same line.
- CQ call: CQ Ferry
Wildcard Bonus Points
Throughout the day a club home station run by Matt VK2FLY will be offering bonus points with the following calls:
CQ Ferry Contest Billy Blue
CQ Ferry Contest Arthur Phillip
CQ Ferry Contest William Dampier
CQ Ferry Contest Abel Tasman
CQ Ferry Contest James Cook
CQ Ferry Contest Matthew Flinders
The calls will be made on various repeater and simplex channels during approximate one-hour blocks and are worth 10 points per contact.
You can log one bonus point per block giving a maximum of 60 bonus points (applied after multiplier).
These are in addition to any other valid contacts with VK2FLY as per the rules. (Remember you cannot log a callsign more than once from the same location in the same mode).
To claim the bonus points you need to give the standard exchange of location + serial number (eg BB 001) and log the following:
BB + serial number for Billy Blue
AP + serial number for Arthur Phillip
WD + serial number for William Dampier
AT + serial number for Abel Tasman
JC + serial number for James Cook
MF + serial number for Matthew Flinders
PS don’t forget to download the logsheet which has all the latest information, locations etc.
Points
1 Point for repeater contact ship-to-shore (or shore-to-ship)
2 Points for repeater contact ship-to-ship
3 Points for any simplex contact (ship-to-ship, ship-to-shore or shore-to-ship)
4 points for “Eyeball” contacts. Operators must shake hands. Only one Eyeball contact between any two individuals is allowed on the day. It is not permissible to make multiple eyeball contacts with the same individual on multiple occasions.
5 points for “Eyeball” contacts made with a Waverley Club Member at the Rose Bay Club Station. Only one Eyeball contact with the Club can be made duration the contest.
10 points for a wildcard contact.
Multipliers
Home or other portable or mobile operators are not entitled to multipliers.
Operators who have worked from one ferry only or one ferry wharf only multiply their contact scores by 1.5
Operators who have worked from more than one ferry or ferry wharf multiply their contact scores by the number of ferry lines and wharves they have made contacts from.
Examples: QSOs from any 3 ferries and any 2 wharves multiply contact points by 5. QSOs from any one ferry and any two wharves multiply by 3. QSOs from one wharf only multiply by 1.5
Logs
Hand written or electronic logs must be submitted showing:
- Time (local) in 24-hour format
- Contact callsign
- Mode: Simplex, Duplex or Eyeball (no differentiation between FM, digital or other modulation)
- Sent serial
- Sent location
- Received serial
- Received location
- Comment (optional)
Logging options:
- The preference is for logs to be submitted in electronic format either utilising the Excel template which will be available for download or a comma delimited text file with the fields in the same order. This is to be returned to the Contest Manager for incorporation into a master log which will be used for scoring purposes.
- The downloadable A4 paper log may also be submitted, but it is preferred that your data is entered into the Excel template and emailed.
Exchange
Exchange consists of a sequential 3 digit number starting from 001 followed by location (Ferry Line, Wharf Code, QTH or other location as per the table below). For example: 003 Foxtrot 5.
An example log would look like this:
| Time | Contact | Mode | Sent Serial | Sent Location | Received Serial | Received Location | Comment |
| 10:17 | VK2XRH | S | 001 | CQ | 001 | MY | Rob |
| 10:18 | VK2GZ | D | 002 | CQ | 003 | MY | Laurie |
| 10:15 | VK2RM | D | 003 | F3 | 006 | MY | Andy |
| 10:45 | VK2BV | E | 004 | RB | 027 | RB | Club |
| 11:03 | VK2XRH | S | 005 | F7 | 031 | F1 | Rob |
| 11:15 | VK2ABC | E | 006 | F7 | 017 | F7 |
Multiplier
The overall contest score is calculated by multiplying the total points by the appropriate multiplier which is total number of unique wharves and ferry lines worked.
Example from above log: 4 wharves / ferry lines x 14 total points = 56 contest score
Location Designators
| Ferry Lines | |
| FI | Manly |
| F2 | Taronga Zoo |
| F3 | Parramatta River (includes Cockatooo Island Loop line) |
| F4 | Cross Harbour |
| F5 | Neutral Bay |
| F6 | Mosman Bay |
| F7 | Double Bay |
| F8 | Cockatoo Island |
| Other | |
| H | Home or fixed QTH |
| M | Mobile |
| P | Portable |
| Wharves | |
| AB | Abbotsford |
| BA | Barrangaroo |
| BE | Balmain East |
| BG | Birchgrove |
| BN | Balmain |
| CB | Cabarita |
| CW | Chiswick |
| CQ | Circular Quay |
| CI | Cockatoo Island |
| CP | Cremorne Point |
| DP | Darling Point |
| DB | Double Bay |
| DM | Drummoyne |
| GI | Garden Island |
| GP | Greenwich Point |
| HP | Huntleys Point |
| KB | Kirribilli |
| KG | Kissing Point |
| KA | Kurraba Point |
| MY | Manly |
| MM | McMahons Point |
| MK | Meadowbank |
| MP | Milsons Point |
| MB | Mosman Bay |
| NB | Neutral Bay |
| NS | North Sydney |
| OC | Old Cremorne |
| PA | Parramatta |
| PB | Pyrmont Bay |
| RB | Rose Bay |
| RD | Rydalmere |
| SM | South Mosman |
| OP | Sydney Olympic Park |
| TZ | Taronga Zoo |
| WB | Watsons Bay |
| WW | Woolwich |
These ferry and location designators are also available on the downloadable A4 log sheet.
Simplex call channels
The following are the recommended simplex calling frequencies:
147.450
441.450
Once contact has been made, operators can QSY to any other permissible channel.
Declaration
Contestants submitting logs will be deemed to have operated in accordance with the rules and in the spirit of the contest and within the conditions of their licence. In the event of a dispute or adjudication, the Contest Manager’s decision will be final.
Definition
For the purposes of this contest, a handheld is defined as a single unit radio which has an integral antenna mounted on the transceiver and which is easily and comfortably held in its entirety in one hand. The radio must be able to be operated without the addition of any accessories which means that the power supply, microphone, speaker and all controls must be contained within the unit. External microphones/earphones/headsets etc and additional batteries are permitted. External antennas are not permitted. In the event of a dispute, contestants agree that the radio classification decision of the organizing committee is final. To assist contestants, we suggest the primary reference point should be the manufacturer’s description of the device in question. If the manufacturer classifies the device as anything other than handheld or HT, the device is ineligible. For home brew and other devices we suggest getting a classification determination from the organizing committee prior to the contest.