About
Contest Objective: To work as many amateur stations as possible via the earth-moon-earth path on any authorized amateur frequency above 50 MHz.
NEW: Rule changes for 2024:
Effective in the 2024 event, the contest exchange will now be a station's four-digit Maidenhead grid square locator. The grid square now also serves as the score multiplier, replacing US states, Canadian provinces, and DXCC entities as the multiplier. Analog stations may optionally send a signal report in any mutually understood format if station size or propagation prohibit grid squares from being exchanged.
Participants using logging software that exports an ADIF (eg: WSJT-X) or Cabrillo formatted file with the required fields included in the log will be able to submit using their logs using the ARRL log submission webpage at https://contests.arrl.org/arrlemescoresubmission.php
For logging examples using Cabrillo format, see the "Cabrillo Log Examples" section under "Additional Information" for examples of how to log contacts.
For a listing of the required fields needed to submit an ADIF formatted log, see the "ADIF Logging Information" section under "Additional Information".
Dates:
Four full weekend 48-hour periods (0000 UTC on Saturday through 2359 UTC Sunday). Dates for 2024 are:
Weekends 1 and 2: 2.3 GHz & Up - August 24-25, 2024; September 21-22, 2024
Weekends 3 and 4: 50 to 1296 MHz - October 19-20, 2024; November 16-17 2024
2025 Contest Dates:
Weekends 1 and 2: 2.3 GHz & Up - August 16-17, 2025; September 13-14, 2025
Weekends 3 and 4: 50 to 1296 MHz - October 11-12, 2025; November 8-9, 2025
Click here for the complete ARRL International EME Contest Rules (PDF)
For contest information contact contests@arrl.org or (860) 594-0232
Log Submission Deadline:
Logs are due no later than THIRTY (30) days after the final weekend of the contest is over at 2359 UTC. Logs may be submitted either online or via mail, but electronic Cabrillo logs are the preferred method. Electronic logs must be submitted via our web app at contests.arrl.org/arrlemescoresubmission.php.
Logs that have been submitted electronically are listed on the Logs Received page. Click the contest name to see a list of submitted logs sorted by call sign and club name.
Online Log Submission - Cabrillo formatted logs must be uploaded via our web app at contests.arrl.org/arrlemescoresubmission.php. Log submissions must contain your complete log from all weekends operated during the event.
Submitting Paper Logs By Mail - Be sure to mail your completed Summary Sheet and Log Sheets postmarked before the log submission deadlines to ARRL EME Contest. 225 Main St. Newington, CT 06111.
Paper entry Forms:
Awards:
Certificates (downloadable on line at contests.arrl.org/certificates.php) will be awarded in the following categories. Multiband entrants will also be listed in the single band tables, and are eligible for those awards:
Single operator, Multi-band, All Mode
Single operator, Multi-band, CW Only
Single operator, All Mode, for each single band.
Single operator, CW, for each of the single bands 144, 432, and 1296 MHz.
Multioperator, Multi-band, All Mode
Multioperator, Multi-band, CW Only
Multioperator, All Mode, for each single band.
Multioperator, CW, for each of the single bands 144, 432, and 1296 MHz.
Additional Information
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Tell us how you did! Send us feedback and photos! Tell us what fun you had, and how you did, what challenges you faced, via our contest Soapbox page.
Send us your photos! Please, send us your high-resolution photos – especially youth! Kids (and us adults wanting to regain our youth!) We love to see activity photos – Kids and adults having fun, operating, setting up antennas! For higher resolution, please send your photos as 500kb to 3mb in size. ARRL is always looking for youth activity photos for Write-Ups, Strays and Upfront in QST!
Please be sure to send a Photo Release for each person shown when submitting youth photos - found at www.arrl.org/photo-video-release-form.
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In order for proper scoring of the multipliers in the event, it is important that your log include the four-digit grid square from which the QSO was made from. A station's 4-digit grid square must be reported as part of the submitted Cabrillo log on each QSO line regardless of what type of exchange was received from the other station. Portable stations who paper log, should indicate which QSOs were made from which grid square. See the following QSO lines as examples below.
QSO: BAND MODE DATE TIME YOUR-CALL YOUR-4-DIGIT-GRID STATION-WORKED EXCHANGE/GRID-YOU-COPIED
QSO: 2.3G PH 2024-08-24 0452 W5LUA EM13 WD5AGO 539
QSO: 3.4G DG 2024-08-24 0645 KB7Q BP40 NC1I FN32
QSO: 10 DG 2024-08-24 0712 KA6U DM86 W5AFY EM04
QSO: 2.3 DG 2024-08-25 0218 KA6U DM87 HB9Q JN47
QSO: 432 DG 2024-10-19 0001 W9JJ FN31 NC1I FN32
QSO: 144 CW 2024-10-20 0255 W9JJ FN31 N1SFE ROPortable stations who change locations during the event should indicate this in each of the QSO lines in the log as per the below example. W9JJ operated from his home location in FN31 on the first day of the August weekend. He then operated from FN41 on the second day of the same weekend. W9JJ then operated from FN32 on the October weekend. He then operated from home in FN31 during the November contest weekend.
QSO: 2.3G PH 2024-08-24 0452 W9JJ FN31 WD5AGO 539
QSO: 10G DG 2024-08-24 0645 W9JJ FN31 NC1I FN32
QSO: 2.3 DG 2024-08-24 0712 W9JJ FN31 W5AFY EM04
QSO: 2.3G DG 2024-08-25 0218 W9JJ FN41 HB9Q JN47
QSO: 10G DG 2024-08-25 0313 W9JJ FN41 N2EME FN65
QSO: 432 DG 2024-10-19 0001 W9JJ FN32 NC1I FN32
QSO: 144 CW 2024-10-20 0255 W9JJ FN32 N1SFE RO
QSO: 222 DG 2024-11-16 0124 W9JJ FN31 K1WHS FN43 -
In order for proper scoring of the multipliers in the event, it is important that your log include the four digit grid square from which the QSO was made from. A station's 4-digit-grid square must be reported in the submitted ADIF log regardless of what type of exchange was received from the other station.
The ADIF compliant log must contain the following fields in order to be submitted- these fields are automatically exported if using WSJT-X. If using another ADIF compliant logging program, the following fields are recommended.
call CALL OF STATION WORKED (required)
gridsquare GRID OF STATION WORKED (optional- will be determined during log checking)
mode MODE (FT8, CW, SSB, MSFK) (required)
submode (if needed as per ADIF spec)
rst_sent SIGNAL REPORT SENT (optional)
rst_rcvd SIGNAL REPORT RECEIVED (optional)
time_on OR time_off TIME OF START/END OF QSO (end time preferred) (required)
qso_date OR qso_date_off DATE OF START/END OF QSO (end date preferred) (required)
band BAND (eg: 2M, 70CM, 23cm, 3cm) (required)
freq Frequency in Mhz (eg: 144.174, 50.260) (required)
station_callsign YOUR CALLSIGN (required)
my_gridsquare YOUR GRIDSQUARE (required)
