{"id":56923,"date":"2023-05-24T08:10:30","date_gmt":"2023-05-24T12:10:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=56923"},"modified":"2023-05-24T08:10:30","modified_gmt":"2023-05-24T12:10:30","slug":"w9ims-indy-500-special-event-details","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/05\/w9ims-indy-500-special-event-details\/","title":{"rendered":"W9IMS: Indy 500 Special Event Details"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Indy 500 Special Event: The Greatest Spectacle in Radio!\u00a0<\/b><\/h1>\n

By Brian D. Smith, W9IND<\/b><\/p>\n

Like the race cars that made Indy famous, your opportunity for another W9IMS QSL card is coming around again. This time it\u2019s the venerable Indianapolis 500 that will take center stage from now through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, May 28 (0359 UTC Monday, May 29).<\/p>\n

This is the second of three special events conducted by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Amateur Radio Club in 2023, and if you managed to catch W9IMS during the first race \u2013 the IndyCar Grand Prix \u2013 you\u2019re still on track to earn a 2023 Checkered Flag Award. The colorful certificate is presented to any ham or SWL who snares all three W9IMS special events in a given year.<\/p>\n

Regardless of whether you can still take the Checkered Flag, you\u2019re eligible for a special QSL card with every race. Both the cards and the certificate feature new images each year.<\/p>\n

Tips on finding W9IMS:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Check DX Summit (www.dxsummit.fi<\/b><\/a>) for spots listing the current frequency or frequencies of W9IMS. You can customize your search by typing \u201cW9IMS\u201d in the box at upper right.<\/li>\n
  2. Go to the W9IMS web page (www.w9ims.org<\/b><\/a>) and look for the heading, \u201c2023 Operating Schedule.\u201d Click on the Indianapolis 500 link, which opens into a weeklong schedule of individual operators and their reserved time slots. Although operators often get on the air at unscheduled times, your odds of bagging the station improve significantly during hours with a listed op.<\/li>\n
  3. Prime operating time on weeknights is 6 to 10 p.m. Indy time (2200-0200 UTC). That\u2019s also your most likely shot at finding W9IMS activate on two bands \u2013 generally 20 and 40 meters. Preferred frequencies are 14.245 and 7.245 MHz, but it\u2019s possible that the station will move to other bands if propagation warrants.<\/li>\n
  4. Remember that the published schedule could be shortened by adverse circumstances, such as noisy band conditions, local thunderstorms or a lack of calling stations. Don\u2019t wait till the final hour to look for W9IMS!<\/li>\n
  5. If you work W9IMS for the first two races, keep in mind that the third and final race of the year \u2013 the NASCAR 200 at the Brickyard \u2013 doesn\u2019t take place until Aug. 7-13. But it\u2019s worth the wait!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Indy 500 Special Event: The Greatest Spectacle in Radio!\u00a0 By Brian D. Smith, W9IND Like the race cars that made Indy famous, your opportunity for another W9IMS QSL card is coming around again. This time it\u2019s the venerable Indianapolis 500 that will take center stage from now through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, May 28 (0359 UTC […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[6168],"class_list":["post-56923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-w9ims"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-eO7","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":52823,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/05\/w9ims-a-radio-run-at-the-indy-500\/","url_meta":{"origin":56923,"position":0},"title":"W9IMS: A Radio Run at the Indy 500","author":"Thomas","date":"May 25, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"W9IMS: A Radio Run at the Indy 500 By Brian D. Smith, W9IND You can\u2019t win the Indianapolis 500 until they wave the checkered flag \u2013 and you can\u2019t win a W9IMS Checkered Flag Award unless you contact the Indy 500 special event. You\u2019ll have that opportunity from now through\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/2021-Grand-Prix-Front-QSL.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/2021-Grand-Prix-Front-QSL.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/2021-Grand-Prix-Front-QSL.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/2021-Grand-Prix-Front-QSL.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/2021-Grand-Prix-Front-QSL.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":57413,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/08\/how-to-earn-the-w9ims-2023-checkered-flag-award\/","url_meta":{"origin":56923,"position":1},"title":"How to Earn the W9IMS 2023 Checkered Flag Award","author":"Thomas","date":"August 6, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Once, Twice, Three Times a QSO: How to Earn the W9IMS 2023 Checkered Flag Award By Brian D. Smith Two out of three ain\u2019t bad, proclaims the late \u201970s classic rock song. But three out of three gets you the Checkered Flag Award from W9IMS. That\u2019s another way of reminding\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/2022-Indy-500-Front.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/2022-Indy-500-Front.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/2022-Indy-500-Front.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/2022-Indy-500-Front.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/2022-Indy-500-Front.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/2022-Indy-500-Front.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":63451,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/07\/taking-the-checkered-flag-at-indy-by-racing-and-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":56923,"position":2},"title":"Taking the checkered flag at Indy by racing and radio","author":"Thomas","date":"July 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Brian D. Smith, W9IND It\u2019s Brickyard 400 week in Indianapolis, and the checkered flag awaits \u2013 not only for NASCAR drivers, but also for radio enthusiasts who\u2019ve contacted all three of the 2025 special events staged by amateur radio station W9IMS. From now through the end of Sunday (Race\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2024-GP-Front-w9ims.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2024-GP-Front-w9ims.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2024-GP-Front-w9ims.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2024-GP-Front-w9ims.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2024-GP-Front-w9ims.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2024-GP-Front-w9ims.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":49022,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/05\/indy-500-week-marks-the-second-w9ims-special-event-of-2021\/","url_meta":{"origin":56923,"position":3},"title":"Indy 500 Week Marks the Second W9IMS Special Event of 2021","author":"Thomas","date":"May 24, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Indy 500 Week Marks the Second W9IMS Special Event of 2021 By Brian D. 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From now through the end of Sunday, May\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/w9ims-qsl-2020-e1621895386130.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/w9ims-qsl-2020-e1621895386130.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/w9ims-qsl-2020-e1621895386130.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/w9ims-qsl-2020-e1621895386130.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":62820,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/05\/2025-checkered-flag-award-w9ims-grand-prix-special-event-now-underway\/","url_meta":{"origin":56923,"position":4},"title":"2025 Checkered Flag Award: W9IMS Grand Prix Special Event Now Underway","author":"Thomas","date":"May 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Make the Month of May Even Merrier: Earn Your First Credit Toward the 2025 Checkered Flag Award By Brian D. Smith, W9IND Never mind the old saying about April showers bringing May flowers. 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