By H. Ward Silver, N0AX
n0ax@arrl.net

Spring marks the transition of the contest seasons, as the big DX contests give way to summer’s domestic and VHF+ activity. See if you’re ready to put some QSOs in your log with radiosport recreation in these April, May, and June on-the-air events! To help you complete the quiz, you can find contest calendars on the ARRL website and the WA7BNM Contest Calendar.

1) Match the location information to the operating event:
a. Zone                        e. ARRL Field Day
b. Grid                         f. ARRL VHF QSO Party
c. Section                    g. Yuri Gagarin DX Contest
d. State                        h. NS Sprint

2) What mode do you use to “run for the bacon”?
a. CW
b. SSB
c. PSK 31
d. RTTY

3) What contest allows phone, CW and digital operation during the same period?
a. CQ WPX
b. QCWA Spring QSO Party
c. QRP ARCI QSO Party
d. VHF Spring Sprints

4) What is a “captive rover”?
a. The dog chained up in your neighbor’s back yard.
b. A mobile station that only works the parent club station.
c. Slang for the multiplier hunting position at a multi-op station.
d. A mobile station checked into the County Hunter’s Net.

5) Match the exchange element with the contest:
a. Name                       g. Kids Day
b. Check                      h. ARS Spartan Sprint
c. Power                     i. ARRL Rookie Roundup
d. Serial Number         j. CQ WPX
e. Age                         k. Ten-Ten Spring Digital
f. Favorite Color          l. All Asia

6) What alternate signal report to RST is exchanged during the Worldwide EME Contest?
a. Q codes
b. 10 codes
c. TMO
d. ARL

7) Which three contests all occur on the same weekend?
a. Georgia QSO Party
b. 7th District QSO Party
c. New England QSO Party
d. Indiana QSO Party

8) If you are “rounding up mustangs,” which state’s QSO party have you entered?
a. Montana
b. Nevada
c. West Virginia
d. New Mexico

9) Which of these choices shows a good way to acknowledge a station’s exchange and resume soliciting contacts?
a. N0AX Contest
b. CQ CQ CQ Contest N0AX
c. Thank You, N0AX QRZ?
d. Test de N0AX

10) The Maritime QSO Party features what type of station?
a. VE1, VE9 and VY2
b. Maritime mobile
c. Portuguese navy
d. Lighthouse and lightship

11) Match the location exchanged to the contest:
a. Canton                    e. SP International DX
b. County                    f. Helvetia Contest
c. Province                  g. Japan International DX
d. Prefecture               h. Nebraska QSO Party

12) Which on-the-air operating activity is not a contest, but attracts more participants than any other ham radio activity in North America?

Bonus Question: What is the oldest contest?

Answers:
1. a-g (ITU zone), b-f, c-e, d-h
2. a -- the Run For the Bacon Contest is a short Sunday night sprint (www.fpqrp.org)
3. d -- sites.google.com/site/springvhfupsprints
4. b -- These stations activate multiple grids in VHF contests for a specific club effort.
5. a-k, b-i, c-h, d-j, e-l, f-g
6. c -- www.dubus.org
7. b (www.codxc.com/new/page.asp?content=dryland7s), c (www.neqp.org) and d (www.hdxcc.org/inqp)
8. b -- www.nvqsoparty.info
9. c -- If you don’t acknowledge the information, how is the other station supposed to know that you made the QSO? Many top stations don’t log an unacknowledged QSO.
10. a -- www.maritimecontestclub.com
11. a-f, b-h, c-e, d-g
12. ARRL Field Day

Bonus Answer:  The ARRL International DX Contest first ran in 1927, predating the ARRL Sweepstakes by five years.