SEQP and GSSC Contests for 2023 and 2024
Welcome amateur radio contesters, beacon enthusiasts and citizen scientists. This is the Contest Information Page for the 2023 and 2024 HamSCI Solar Eclipse QSO Parties and the Gladstone Signal Spotting Challenges. This page has links which will quickly take you to the FAQ pages, rules and the optional pre-registration form for both events. They are part of the HamSCI Festivals of Eclipse Ionospheric Science.
SEQP Rules and Log Submission Information: SEQP Rules
GSSC Rules and Entry Form: GSSC Rules
Please bookmark this page and join the HamSCI eclipse mailing list for future announcements related to the HamSCI FoEIS contests.
Solar Eclipse QSO Party (SEQP) (Next event: April 8, 2024)
The SEQP is a typical ham radio contest for those who wish to makes tens, hundreds or even thousands of CW, SSB and digital mode QSOs on 160-6 meters during the 2023 and 2024 American solar eclipses. Each QSO will become one of millions of data points which will help researchers answer science questions about ionospheric variability.
Gladstone Signal Spotting Challenge (GSSC) (Next event: April 8, 2024)
The GSSC is a unique event for those who enjoy operating beacons (CW and digital), and the 'propagation study modes' of WSPR and FST4W, both transmit and receive. Signals generated and received during the GSSC will help researchers answer science questions about ionospheric variability.
HamSCI Festivals of Eclipse Ionospheric Science (FoEIS)
The SEQP and GSSC are part of the HamSCI Festivals of Eclipse Ionospheric Science. Members of HamSCI, the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation, along with the ham radio community, will be creating data for researchers by transmitting, receiving and recording signals across the HF spectrum. Upon analysis, the data should inform researchers how the ionosphere reacted to the eclipse. The data will be compared to existing computer models of the ionosphere, potentially improving the accuracy of those models. Researchers will also be looking at how the ionosphere’s refractive properties varied during the beginning and ending phases of the eclipses. Further details on the scientific basis of the FoEIS will be published here soon.
In the meantime, you may wish to view the contest and science results from the 2017 SEQP.
Optional Pre-Registration Form
We are asking participants to voluntarily pre-register with their names, callsigns, and locations to ensure we have good participation from stations near or under the eclipse path. While all signals will have scientific value, those passing under the solar eclipse path (https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/) will be of particular interest. If we miss the chance to collect meaningful data in 2023 and 2024, it will be decades before North American hams and researchers get another opportunity!
Back to Pre-Registration Form information
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