Ohio State Parks On The Air

The Portage County Amateur Radio Service (PCARS) announces the first Ohio State Parks On The Air Contest to be held on Saturday, September 6, 2008, from the hours of noon to eight p.m. EDT (1600 UTC to 2400 UTC).

For hams throughout the State of Ohio this is your opportunity to visit and enjoy the amenities offered by the seventy-three beautiful State Parks here in Ohio. Don't just make a day of it, spend the weekend at the park of your choice. No matter whether you are camping or staying at one of the outstanding lodges or resorts you will find that the parks are one of Ohio's greatest assets. Find out more about the parks at http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/parks.

This contest places a premium on working stations at the State Parks. That means that it is critical to have as many parks activated as possible. The challenge for Ohio stations will be to work HF in the 50 to 300 mile range. NVIS anyone?

Individuals and clubs can operate Ohio State Park stations and there is a special award for the club that activates the greatest number of Ohio State Parks! Non-park stations in Ohio as well as stations outside of Ohio can also compete.

A special entry allows clubs compete to see which club activated the greatest number of Ohio State Parks.

Contacts can be made with any mode (CW, SSB, FM, AM, digital) on the HF and VHF bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6 and 2 meters and all contacts have the same point value. (Digital includes PSK-31, RTTY, etc.)

Make sure that you read the FAQ's and don't forget to download the "ODNR Info" sheet to take with you on September 6th in case any State Park staff have questions about the event.

So get to an Ohio State Park and get On The Air in September. Have some fun with this contest! Complete information, FAQ's, rules and forms can be found at http://parks.portcars.org/.