About
The Makrothen RTTY Contest is held each year during the second full weekend of October in three separate periods. You may operate in any or all of the periods.
The contest scores QSOs using Distance Based Scoring with a band factor for the band on which the contact is made. One point is scored for each kilometer spanned by the QSO multiplied by the band factor. Contacts on 20m, 15m and 10m count 1x, while contacts on 40m count 1.5x and on 80m count 2x.
Contacts between stations in the same grid locator square always score 100 points regardless of the band on which the contact is made.
The exchange is your 4-letter grid Locator.
For the full rules, please see the Makrothen Rules page.
The name of the contest (Makroqen) is an ancient Greek word meaning “great distance” or “some distance away”.
Next Contest
October 9th, 2021
0000Z – 0759Z
1600Z – 2359Z
October 10th, 2021
0800Z – 1559Z
Logs Due
October 20th, 2021 2359Z
Distance Based Scoring = more FUN!
Most contests use a scoring system based on the number of QSOs made together with the number of multipliers accumulated by each station during the contest.
Each QSO made during the contest is allocated a point score. Often the points depend on whether the station you contact is in the same country, a different country in the same continent, or a different country in a different continent.
Multipliers vary by contest but are often based on how many unique DX entities you work or the number of different CQ or IARU zones you contact.
A simple look at a world map shows that these kind of scoring systems favor stations located in particular locations. For example, stations on the East Coast of the United States are closer to Europe with its many Hams and many different countries. They can generate a higher average point score per QSO because they work stations in different countries and different continents.
Being closer also means they are stronger. Contrast this with stations on the West Coast of the United States who are further away and weaker when working into Europe.
The Makrothen RTTY Contest scores based on the distance spanned by the two stations making the QSO. Each station sends its 4-character grid locator and logs the locater received from the other station. Each QSO in the log contains a pair of grid locators from which the distance spanned can be calculated. Each QSO gets scored using the center of each stations locator square as its effective location and then calculating the Great Circle path distance between them. To avoid any confusion, the Makrothen RTTY Contest rules include the specific formula used to calculate the Great Circle distance. The Band Factor recognizes that spanning distance on the lower frequency bands is more difficult due to differences in propagation, noise levels and antenna efficiency (usually lower on the lower frequency bands due to size and height limitations).
Distance Based Scoring provides a more equitable scoring system that minimizes the station location advantage that is so typical of most other HF contests. This allows stations around the world to compete with one another on effectively the same terms making the contest more fun for all participants!
You can learn more about the grid Locator system by visiting the Makrothen Contest Resource page. This page includes a link to a Google Maps based site which will instantly show you the grid locator for your station by simply clicking on your location!
2021 Makrothen RTTY Contest begins 0000Z October 9, 2021
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