Holiday Spirits Homebrew Sprint

2025 QRP-ARCI  HOLIDAY SPIRITS HOMEBREW SPRINT

Always the 2nd Sunday of December

December 14th 2025, 2000Z - 2300Z

 A popular short contest which encourages homebrewers to put their rigs on the air.

Bonus points for homebrew receivers, transmitters and transceivers. Extra bonus for those operating from a portable location.

Bonus points can be claimed for equipment built from kits where individual components are soldered. Kits assembled from pre-built modules are not eligible for bonus points.

A) DATE/TIME:

2000Z to 2300 on Sunday 14 December 2025

B) MODE: HF CW Only.

C) EXCHANGE:
Members send:  RST, State/Province/Country, ARCI member number
Non-Members send:  RST, State/Province/Country, Power Out

D) QSO POINTS:

Member = 5 points
Non-Member, Different Continent = 4 points
Non-Member, Same Continent = 2 points

E) MULTIPLIER:

SPC (State/Province/Country) total for all bands.  The same station may be worked on multiple bands for QSO points and SPC credit.

F) POWER MULTIPLIER:

>5 Watts = x1
>1 - 5 Watts = x7
>250 mW - 1 Watt = x10
>55 mW - 250 mW = x15
55 mW or less = x20

G) SUGGESTED FREQUENCIES:

160m 1810 kHz
80m 3560 kHz
40m 7030 kHz (please listen at 7040 kHz and 7100 to 7125 kHz for rock bound participants)
20m 14060 kHz
15m 21060 kHz
10m 28060 kHz

H) SCORE:
Final Score = Points (total for all bands) x SPCs (total for all bands) x Power Multiplier + Bonus Points.

BONUS POINTS:

If operating a HB Transmitter add 2000 points per band
If operating a HB Receiver add 3000 points per band
If operating a HB Transceiver add 5000 points per band
(Homebrew is defined as:  if you built it, it is homebrew (kits too! However, "kits" means those that you soldered components to the board(s), an Elecraft K-3, for instance, does not qualify as a "kit")

If you are operating PORTABLE using battery power AND a temporary antenna, add 5000 points to your final score. You can NOT be at your shack operating from battery power using your home station antenna to qualify for this bonus; this is to help level the playing field for contesters who work from the field against contest stations with 5 element yagis at 70 ft.

I) CATEGORIES:

Entry may be All-Band (AB), Single Band (e.g., SB-160, 80,40,20,15 or 10), High Bands - HB (10m, 15m and 20m) or Low Bands - LB (40m, 80m and 160m)

Antennas:

Entry may be A1 or A2

A1: Single Element Antenna
If you are using a single element antenna such as a dipole, inverted V, loop, or a vertical you can enter the A1 category. ( Note that with a vertical you can have as many radials as you want but only one “vertical” element. )

A2: Multiple Element Antenna
If you are using a multi element beam, vertical array, or any antenna that has more than one driven element or uses reflective or directive elements you are in the A2 category. 


J) HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

Get on any of the HF bands except the WARC bands and hang out near the QRP frequencies.  Work as many stations calling CQ QRP or CQ TEST as possible, or call CQ QRP or CQ TEST yourself!  You can work a station for credit once on each band.

Log Submission:

Submit your entry online at http://www.qrpcontest.com

Deadline:

Entries must be posted on or before 23 December