The official rules for the new ARRL 222 MHz and Up Contest have been released. The contest will debut in August 2017. Participants will attempt to work as many stations as possible on the 222 MHz through 241 GHz bands, “using any allowable mode.” Competing stations will exchange six-character grid locators (“sub-grid”). Rovers report their grid locator at the time of each contact.

Contact point values will be computed on the basis of both the center-to-center distance in kilometers between the sub-grid square of each station and an arbitrary “band factor,” a multiplier ranging from 1 to 20. For example, contacts made on 222 MHz will have a band factor of 2, contacts on 432 MHz will have a band factor of 1, and QSOs made on 24 GHz and higher will have a band factor of 20.

To encourage participation, the new contest encourages the formation of operator teams. These may be made up of Single-Operator, Fixed; Multi-Operator, Fixed and / or Rover category participants operating within a single Contest Region as defined in the contest rules. Participants may only be on one team, and the scores of all team members are combined. This is similar to the approach used for years in the NCJ-sponsored North American QSO Party (NAQP) events. Teams must register in advance of the contest with the ARRL Contest Branch Manager.

The contribution of a Rover to a team score is limited to that portion of the Rover’s score achieved from within the team’s region. Team members’ score also count toward a club total in the Club Competition.

The ARRL 222 MHz and Up Contest will kick off on the August 5-6, 2017, weekend.