Click Here for the Winter  rules

All Hounds will be in competition with each other, as will all Foxes. At the end of the hunt, the winner(s) will be the Hound(s) who has/have worked the most Foxes, and the Fox who has worked the most hounds. Special recognition may be given in other categories. The Foxes may also participate as Hounds. Good hunting, and make FUN your First Priority!

Rules:

GENERAL

The hunts will take place each Thursday evening (US
time) on 20 Meters, for ten weeks.

Each hunt will start at 0100Z, and last for 90 minutes
(last entry no later than 0229Z.)

The local Thursday evening starting times will be as
follows in North America: 
6:00pm Pacific
7:00pm Mountain
8:00pm Central
9:00pm Eastern
In each week there will be two Hunts, with two Foxes
operating simultaneously. 

• 1.1 The Fox tries to complete as many CW QRP QSOs as possible during the 90-minute hunt.
• 1.2 Each Fox will have two sessions or "runs" during the season, and the Fox's score for the season will be the aggregate QSO total for the two runs.
• 1.3 No later than 5PM EDT on the day before a Hunt, the Fox will post a notice on QFOX  and QRP-L providing useful details such as his QTH, equipment, antenna(s), etc. Because many Hounds read the list's daily digest, changes after that time are to be avoided, as far as possible. Since it's a "Hunt," the Fox will not post his starting frequency.
• 1.4 The Fox will operate within +/- 10Khz of 14.060 MHz.
• 1.5 The Fox will operate at an output level of 5W.
• 1.6 The Fox will call "CQ FOX DE [callsign]," "QRZ FOX," or otherwise identify himself as the Fox during the progress of the hunt.
• 1.7 The Fox may QSY to avoid QRM, but will indicate his intention to do so by sending "FOX QSY," or similar.
• 1.8 The Hounds should avoid transmitting on the Fox's transmitting frequency. Splits (separate transmit/receive capability or (XIT/RIT) of up to 5 Khz may be used by the Fox, but the Fox need not indicate where he is listening. The Fox can be expected to change his listening frequency often, depending on the number of stations calling and the frequency spread. Hounds who cannot work "split" or do not have RIT should, nevertheless, operate as far from the Fox's transmitting frequency as possible, or wait until late in the Hunt when the Fox is working zero-beat.
• 1.9 The posting of "spots" (or reports about fox activity) that indicate a Fox's operating frequency is prohibited during a hunt and will result in disqualification.
• 1.10 A valid QSO is defined as the exchange of:

  - Signal Report
  - QTH
  - Operator's Name, and
  - Power Output
  

• Examples: 559 CO ET 500MW

• 579 ND DOC 5W

  The Fox's information may, in some cases, be "deemed" to be exchanged. That is, the Hound need not acknowledge the Fox's information, and the Fox may work a list. For example, the Fox may call several stations and acknowledge their information one by one, while sending his own information only once for the list. Hounds must be operating at QRP power levels (5W or less) if the contact is to count in the competition. Hounds may participate at QRPp power levels (1W or less,) in which case they should report their power as 1W or as mW, as appropriate.  Hounds may work each Fox only once per session. Hounds, having worked a Fox, must not work the Fox again using a different call sign (e.g. a club call). Foxes may also compete as Hounds, and may claim one point for their own sessions as the Fox, and one point for each other Fox operating at the same time (this is to avoid having Foxes abandon their frequencies in order to work each other).

• 1.11 Each Fox will post his log to the  QFOX  list as soon as practical after the completion of each hunt, ideally within 24 hours of completion of the Hunt. The log is to be in ASCII text format, showing one QSO per line with the following information:
  Time Call RST (received) QTH Operator Power
  For example:
  0101 N1FN 559 CO ET 5W
• Extraneous information such as colons in the time entries, dates, and "QSO numbers" are to be deleted from the Fox's log before posting.
• 2.0 Hounds will ANSWER a CQ or QRZ? call by the FOX. Hounds may not call CQ or call the Fox, nor should they work each other in close proximity to the Hunt.
• 2.1 In his notice to QFOX and QRP-L, the Fox may include suggestions as to preferred operating procedure, but in the absence of any other instructions, the Hound should send his call sign only once after a call by the Fox or the conclusion of a QSO.
• 2.2 At the end of the Hunt, the winners will be everyone who participated! Certificates will be sent to the Hound who has worked the most Foxes, and the Fox who has worked the most Hounds.
• 2.3 Good hunting, and make FUN your First Priority!

Click Here to subscribe to the QFOX listserver for the QRP Fox Hunt!

KØEVZ -    Doc    N1FN - ET N9AW - Jerry N9NE -    Todd    VE5RC -    Bruce   W2LJ - Larry