Sponsor: WSJT Group  groups.yahoo.com/group/wsjtgroup/

Contest period: 0000 UTC Dec 11 to 0200 UTC Dec 15, 2008. The test period has been chosen to coincide with the 2008 Geminids meteor shower.

Bands: 50, 144, 222, and 432 MHz.

Rules and scoring: QSOs can be made using any mode provided they are entirely by meteor scatter. No QSOs within own maidenhead grid square or any of the 8 adjacent grid squares. Exchange is both callsigns, 4 character maidenhead grid squares, and final `Rogers'. Output power up to the legal limit on any band. Use of self-spotting and scheduling (eg. Pingjockey website) before and during the event are allowed. Random QSOs completed without the use of any scheduling aids or self-spotting will score double points. Detailed procedures for random operation can be found here. All operators are reminded that exchanging information without the use of meteor scatter during the QSO attempt invalidates the contact. The scoring is as follows:

Band	Points	Random Points
50	1	2
144	2	4
222	4	8
432	8	16

Total score is QSO points times number of unique grid squares worked per band (standard VHF contest scoring).

An operator is free to attempt both scheduled and random QSOs. If a random QSO is made with a station that has already been worked with a schedule, replace with appropriate random points. Example: K1JT works W8WN on 50 MHz after scheduling on Pingjockey. The QSO is scored with 1 point. Later in the event, these stations work randomly. The QSO is now scored with 2 points. An example of self-spotting is a Pingjockey post `CQ east on 144.140'. QSOs that result from making or reading such a posting cannot be scored as random. Monitoring Pingjockey activity violates the spirit of random operation.

Pingjockey use gets very heavy during this event, so operators are encouraged to adhere to proper posting etiquette.

Rovers: QSO points x (Unique grid squares worked per band + Number of grids from which at least 1 QSO was completed). This is the standard rover scoring formula for VHF contests. Rovers making QSOs from their home station must submit a separate log for those contacts.

Awards: Certificates will be mailed to the high scorers in each of the four North American time zones. Awards will also be given to top scoring Random-Only operators and Rovers in each time zone. A Random-Only operator is expected to refrain from any self-spotting and/or scheduling before and during the contest.

Log submission: Participants should submit: 1) A summary and 2) A log.

1) The summary should include: i) Your call; ii) Your time zone; iii) Category: Regular, Random-Only, or Rover; iv) QSOs per band; and vi) Final claimed score. Please show the arithmetic you use to obtain your final score, ie. QSO points x Multipliers = Final Score.

2) For each QSO, the log must show: i) Date, ii) Time (UTC), iii) Callsign of station worked, iv) Grid, v) Band (50, 144, etc), and vi) QSO points. This information will be used to cross-check with other logs for scoring accuracy.

Submission of the log as an Excel spreadsheet (arrange the columns as shown above) is strongly encouraged, although any convenient log submission format is acceptable. OpenOffice Calc is an excellent free program that almost perfectly mimics Excel. It can be downloaded here. Logs should be emailed by January 15, 2009 to Tip WA5UFH (wa5ufh@ykc.com).

Contest coordinators: Tip (WA5UFH); John (N6ENU); Mike (WB2FKO)