This coming weekend is the 2012 QRP ARCI Fall QSO Party, one of the  most popular contests of the QRP calendar. This year, new entry categories are based on the antenna used; those participating with a simple wire antenna or a vertical won’t be competing against those using beams or other multi-element antennas.

The Fall QSO Party runs from 1200UTC on Saturday the 13th through 2400UTC on Sunday the 14th.

Here are the complete rules:

http://www.qrparci.org/content/view/8399/118/

I won’t be competing in the Fall QSO Party to win. Instead, I’ll do as I’ve done several times in the past–I’ll use this event as an opportunity for what might be my last outdoor “field event” of the year. A good friend and I will be spending a few hours at Mt. Gilead State Park in north-central Ohio enjoying what promises to be beautiful fall weather, good friendship, and an opportunity to enjoy CW in the great outdoors.

If you participate in the Fall QSO Party, you are very likely to hear stations participating in the Pennsylvania and Arizona QSO Parties. Here are the rules for these two events:

Pennsylvania QSO Party:
http://www.nittany-arc.net/pqppdf/paqsorules12.pdf

Arizona QSO Party:
http://www.azqsoparty.org/rules.html