FISTS Operating Activities

The club has many activities and membership in FISTS is not required to participate, just a love of Morse! All FISTS activities are designed to promote camaraderie among members of the club and help hams hone and improve their Morse skills.

FISTS Calling Frequencies

FISTS members can be found on or near any frequency ending in .x58 or .xx8 (.058, .158, .258, etc.) Here are recommended calling frequencies by band.

BAND	Frequency			       BAND    Frequency

160m    1.808 MHz				17m    18.085 MHz
80m     3.558 MHz				15m    21.058 MHz
40m     7.058 MHz - IARU Region 2		12m    24.908 MHz
40m     7.028 MHz - All IARU Regions		10m    28.058 MHz
30m    10.118 MHz				 6m    50.085 MHz
20m    14.058 MHz				 2m   144.058 MHz

* Please Note :     The calling frequencies on 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meters - are only 2 kHz below the QRP calling frequencies (7.030 MHz is the QRP calling frequency in Europe).

 FISTS  FRIDAY - Operating  Event 

 Nancy Kott - Memorial Event! 

On the third full weekend in April, we will celebrate Nancy Kott's, (WZ8C - SK) long service to FISTS CW Club and the Ham Radio community.

Nancy met FISTS' founder George, (G3ZQS - SK) in a QSO in 1988, befriended him and shortly became the head of what is now The Americas Chapter of FISTS. From then till her passing on 2 March of 2014, she worked tirelessly to promote our club and Morse code, showing kindness to all and exemplifying our mottos of "courtesy at all times" and "accuracy transcends speed". She is deeply missed by all, but not forgotten.

Operation will be on all Amateur bands.

This operating event is a friendly celebration of what Nancy called her life's work. All are certainly encouraged to give out their FISTS numbers and collect others but more importantly, to simply be good FISTS that Nancy would be proud of. Let's promote CW on the air, make friends and encourage beginners in accordance with our club's mission.

 SPRINT INFORMATION 

  * * * SPRINT - NOTICE * * *  

Whereas our general membership keeps increasing, the participation in our Sprints keeps
diminishing. It appears the membership is no longer interested in Sprint activities.
If there is no increase in participation for the remaining Sprints of 2024,
all future Sprints will be cancelled on Jan 1, 2025.

Thanks to all who participate in the Sprints !

Sprints will be held 8 times throughout the year on the "Second" Saturday and "Third" Sunday in each quarter of the year during the following months: Feb, May, Aug, and Nov. Each Sprint will consist of a 24 hour operating period between 0000 to 2359 UTC.

The Sprints are a great opportunity for our newer members to get on the air, meet other club members, and have some fun! We encourage more experienced operators to please QRS to match the other operator's speed.

End-of-Year Certificates will be awarded ONLY to FISTS members with the highest cumulative point totals in the QRO, QRP and Club categories for all Sprints at the end of the year.

The following are the Official Rules for all FISTS SPRINTS.

OBJECTIVE:
To exchange specified information with as many stations as possible using Morse code only, and within the time frame stipulated.

HOW TO CALL:
To show you are participating in the FISTS Sprint event . . . Call "CQ FS CQ FS".

PARTICIPANTS:
Any properly licensed amateur radio operator, FISTS member or non-member is invited to take part in the event. At least one of the two stations in each QSO must be a FISTS member. This means FISTS members can work anyone and Non-FISTS can only work FISTS members.

DATES AND TIMES: (See Home page under "Up Coming FISTS Activities!")

All Sprint times are 0000 to 2359 UTC.

Winter SATURDAY SPRINT --- Second Saturday in February.
Winter SUNDAY SPRINT --- Third Sunday in February.

Spring SATURDAY SPRINT --- Second Saturday in May.
Spring SUNDAY SPRINT --- Third Sunday in May.

Summer SATURDAY SPRINT --- Second Saturday in August.
Summer SUNDAY SPRINT --- Third Sunday in August.

Fall SATURDAY SPRINT --- Second Saturday in November.
Fall SUNDAY SPRINT --- Third Sunday in November.


BANDS:
Operation is limited to the following amateur bands: 3.5, 7, 14, 21, and 28 MHz amateur bands.
You may NOT work the same station more than once.

ENTRY CLASSES:
There are three entry classes:
1. QRO: Over 5 watts to legal limit.
2. QRP: 5 watts output power or less.
3. Club: (regardless of power).
Entry class MUST be shown on logs to be considered for entry in a particular class, or will be assumed QRO.
An entry must be ONE class only, no combination of classes allowed.

EXCHANGE DATA:
The following is the exchange and is to be included in each QSO log entry:

R S T
First Name
FISTS Number (non-members omit or use 0)
U.S. State or Canada Province or 3 Digit DXCC Country Entity Number

Exchange Examples:
FISTS Member KE4QZB: 599 Brian 1934 NC
Non-Member VE7JJM: 579 Jack BC
DX FISTS G3ZOD: 559 Graham 8385 223

DX COUNTRY STATUS:
U.S. states and Canadian provinces are those states and provinces that are contiguous and found within the North American continent.
DX are those countries listed in the current 2019 ARRL DXCC List Current Entities.

MULTIPLIERS:
Each U.S. State, Canadian Province, and DXCC Entity counts as 1 multiplier. Count each only once, no matter how many times worked.
USA and Canada do not count as a DX multiplier.

BONUS POINTS:
If a submited log contains 25 or more listed QSO's, 250 Bonus Points will be added to the final calculated score.

SCORING:
Each QSO with a FISTS member: 5 points.
Each QSO with a non-FISTS member: 2 points.
Final score is total QSO points times the number of multipliers worked. *** Bonus Points will be added to the final calculated score.

CERTIFICATES:
Certificates will be awarded to the first, second, and third place finishers in each Entry Class for each Sprint. Certificate will be sent to the winners via email in PDF format.

LOG SUBMISSIONS:
PLEASE NOTE:
All log entries must be received within 7 days after the Sprint to be considered valid.
Sending in logs is what counts. Logs will be spot checked for accuracy and correct scoring procedures.
Logs not sent to the proper address will not be considered for entry.
ALL log QSO's must be CW mode ONLY.

SPRINT LOGS MUST CONTAIN the following information to be considered for entry;

[1] Your name, call sign, mailing address, and FISTS Nr if member.
[2] Club name and call sign if entry is for a club station.
[3] Date of the Sprint.
[4] Entry class - QRO, QRP, or Club.
[5] Total of FISTS member QSO's.
[6] Total of Non-FISTS QSO's.
[7] List of multipliers.
[8] Your calculated claimed score.
[9] Log of each Sprint QSO showing Call Worked, Date & UTC Time, Mode, and Exchange Data.
[10] Soapbox Comments (Optional)

INCOMPLETE LOGS WILL BE REJECTED!

ELECTRONIC LOGS:
We will accept E-logs in standard Cabrillo or Text files ONLY. Be sure to include the needed information (1 thru 10 above) in your electronic log. If you're not sure about your format, please contact the Sprint Manager before the contest entry deadline.

E-logs are sent to ONLY.

PAPER LOGS:

The entry form is the best way to record the required log information (1 thru 10 above) for paper logs. Download the PDF entry form HERE
Mail your log and entry form to our Sprint Manager:

FISTS Sprint Manager
Ashley Lambe KX4ASH
4305 Roundwood Ct.
Indian Trail, NC 28079

2024 - Sprint - Results
Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
Saturday Sprint Sunday Sprint	Saturday Sprint Sunday Sprint	Saturday Sprint Sunday Sprint	Saturday Sprint Sunday Sprint
2003 to 2023 Sprint Data is available on the Archives Page

 G3ZQS MEMORIAL STRAIGHT KEY EVENT 

The G3ZQS Memorial Straight Key Event will be celebrated each year during the first full Saturday and Sunday weekened in September.

The FISTS Club, (International Morse Preservation Society) was founded in 1987 by the late George "Geo" Longden G3ZQS of Darwen, Lancashire England, after recognising a need for a club in which veteran operators would help newcomers and less-experienced operators learn and improve CW proficiency. The original Introduction to FISTS by Geo holds as true today as it did when he wrote it.

"A love of Morse is the only requisite for membership; there are no others."

Operation will be on all Amateur bands.

This operating event is a celebration of our late founder George "Geo" Longden G3ZQS.

All FISTS club members are encouraged to seekout, help, and encourage beginning CW operators to enjoy using Morse code in accordance with our club's mission.

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