Overview & Rule Summary
FOR THE ADVENTURE RADIO SOCIETY
The Adventure Radio Society Flight of the
Bumblebees is a four-hour event held annually on the last Sunday of July.
It is open to all QRP CW operators – there
is not any membership requirement.
The Bumblebees are the stations that are
out in the field who are sought after.
CONTEST PERIOD BY TIMEZONE (Local Times)
1300 to 1700 – Eastern DST
1200 to 1600 – Central DST
1100 to 1500 – Mountain DST
1000 to 1400 –
Pacific DST
0700 to 1100 – Hawaii DST
This contest period accommodates
multiple US time zones simultaneously.
No matter where you live, there will be
time for Bumblebees to travel to a field operating site,
set up their station, operate the
contest, and travel home.
WHO CAN PLAY?
Both home-based stations and portable
operations are encouraged.
PLAYING IN THE 2024 FOBB
This event really is all about working
as many swarming Bumblebees as possible.
Primary Goal for Bumblebees is to work
Home-Based Stations and other Bumblebees.
Primary Goal for Home-based stations is
to work Bumblebees.
For Home-Based Stations, finding and
working Bumblebees is the most rewarding thing to do.
However everyone in the contest can
work anyone else in the contest.
WHAT QUALIFIES AS A BUMBLEBEE?
Participants who operate portable from
field locations are designated as 'Bumblebees'.
They get to their final operating site
principally under their own power by walking, biking, boating, and so on.
The distance traveled to get to the
site is at the Bumblebee’s discretion.
Bumblebees will add /BB to their calls.
(NOTE: Home-based stations do not ever add /BB to their callsign.)
BUMBLEBEE NUMBERS
If you plan to operate the 2024 FOBB as
a portable field station – you’re invited to request a Bumblebee Number.
Click Here For Instructions
for Obtaining a Bumblebee Number
There
is no limit to the number of Bumblebees.
POWER OUTPUT
To keep with its minimalist theme,
Maximum FOBB Power Output is 5 watts.
This Maximum Power Limit applies to
participating Home Stations also.
OPERATION
We operate CW on 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10
meters, around standard QRP frequencies.
Call
CQ BB Or listen for calling stations.
Look for Bumblebees around these frequencies :
3560 kHz -
7030 kHz
, 7040 kHz, 7122 KHz - 14060 kHz
- 21060 kHz -
28060 kHz
EXCHANGE
Here are examples of exchanges:
Bumblebee NE6SW/BB (Bumblebee No. 81)
sends:
579
CA
BB 81 or NR 81
Home-based station WN1DWL sends:
579
MA
5W
How do I know that I
worked a Bumblebee?
Bumblebees will put a /BB after their Call, and/or will give you
a BB Number.
Keep track of how many Bumblebee
you work - that total will be needed.
WHAT COUNTS ?
You can work each Bumblebee or Home Station once on each Band.
Working the same Bumblebee on a different band counts as an
additional Contact
and as an additional Bumblebee Worked.
So, try looking for Bumblebees on all of the bands that are open during this event.
ENTERING YOUR RESULTS
To report your results, go to 3830scores.com, and select the ‘ARS
FOBB’ (on the Left side)
Be certain to properly select 'Home' or 'Bumblebee' so that you end up in the proper Results List
You will enter your [Total Contacts] that you made and the [Number of
Bumblebees] that you worked.
( [Total
Contacts] includes both Bumblebees and non-Bumblebees )
( [Number of Bumblebees] that you worked is self explanatory )
If you are a Bumblebee, put a General Description of your
Field Location into your Soapbox Comments
Soapbox comments may also include
your power, equipment, antennas, band conditions, outdoor conditions,
outdoor experiences, and
anything else about the event that you wish to comment on.
If you are a Home Station, Soapbox comments may include your power,
equipment, antennas,
band conditions, and anything else
about the event that you wish to comment on.
SCORE CALCULATION and RESULTS
REPORTS
Total Scores will be
Automatically Calculated using this Formula:
[Total Score] = [Total Contacts] x [Number of Bumblebees]
x 3
( The calculation defaults
to [Total Contacts] = 1 and [Number of Bumblebees] = 1 to protect against a multiply by Zero )
Separate
Reports will be available for both the 'Home'
and the 'Bumblebee' entrants.
Current Results will be
available on 3830scores.com immediately.
Once everyone has entered their
results, you will be able see how well you did within your group.
All of the Comments are available by
clicking on the 3830scores.com Summaries-->Comments selection.
SUBMITTING BUMBLEBEE PHOTOS
If you would like to submit Photos of
your Bumblebee Operation, email your .jpg files to:
fobb-pictures@ars-qrp.com
Include your Call and Name. Add any Comments that you wish to add.
As time permits, they will get posted
on https://ars-qrp.com
POTA/SOTA OPERATIONS AND HIGHER POWERED HUNTERS/CHASERS:
Many of the Bumblebees have indicated
that they will be operating from POTA or SOTA locations.
Many Bumblebees have said that they
will also be responding to POTA Hunters and/or SOTA Chasers.
As long as a Bumblebee Number is sent
in the Outgoing Exchange, that will be a Bumblebee FOBB Contact.
Participating FOBB Home Stations are
expected to be running 5W QRP Maximum.
However most POTA Hunters and SOTA
Chasers will be running more than 5W QRP.
A Bumblebee should strive to obtain and
log the Power of the POTA Hunter or SOTA Chaser.
However, that is not always going to be
possible - do not dwell on it - it is a FOBB Contact - move on.
(POTA Hunters and SOTA Chasers running more
than 5W QRP cannot Submit FOBB Results)
SAFETY:
As with all ARS events, please keep
safety in front of mind when conducting operations in the field.
Such things as weather, power lines,
terrain, dehydration, and fatigue can be lethal.
Above all, we want all participants to
have a fabulous and safe experience.
Here is a nice video from Bumblebee WG0AT in 2012
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0-0-pMH8Y4
Looking forward to working you during the Flight of the Bumblebees.
73, Jody – K3JZD on behalf of
Russ Carpenter - AA7QU and Richard Fisher - KI6SN
The Adventure Radio Society
Last Updated : 25SEP24