Less than two weeks

until the Flight of the Bumblebees - make sure to get your number!

OVERVIEW & RULE SUMMARY FOR THE ADVENTURE RADIO SOCIETY

Flight of the Bumblebees

Sunday, July 28, 2024

1700 to 2100 UTC

What is the ARS Flight of the Bumblebees and how can I participate?

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

If you are a Bumblebee, your exchange is RST, state/province/country, and your Bumblebee Number.

If you are Home-Based Station, your exchange is RST, state/province/country, and your Power.

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

And there you have all you need to know!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!