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 2024 FOBB
Everyone in the contest can work anyone
else in the contest. In other words:
Home-based stations can work Bumblebees
and other home-based stations.
Bumblebees can work home-based stations
and other Bumblebees.
However, this event
really is all about working as many swarming Bumblebees as possible.
Finding and working
Bumblebees is the most rewarding thing to do for a Home Station.
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
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.
Here are the recognized standard QRP frequencies
https://qrper.com/resources/qrp-calling-frequencies
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 will be needed.
SCORING
Working the same Bumblebee on a different band counts as another
Contact and another Bumblebee worked.
So, try looking for Bumblebees 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 Bumblebee] that you worked.
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 experiences,
and anything else you
wish to comment on.
Scores will be Automatically Calculated
Reports will be available for both the 'Home' and 'Bumblebee' entrants.
Current Results will be available
immediately.
Once everyone has entered their data,
you will see how well you did.
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 : 30JUN24