{"id":59753,"date":"2024-05-24T12:12:12","date_gmt":"2024-05-24T16:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=59753"},"modified":"2024-05-24T12:12:12","modified_gmt":"2024-05-24T16:12:12","slug":"still-time-to-earn-an-indy-500-special-event-certificate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/05\/still-time-to-earn-an-indy-500-special-event-certificate\/","title":{"rendered":"Still time to earn an Indy 500 Special Event Certificate!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Indy 500 Special Event Station: You Can Still Earn a Certificate!<\/h1>\n

by Brian D. Smith, W9IND<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not every Indianapolis 500 goes the full distance. Seven of the 107 races run since 1911 have been shortened by rain, notably the 1976 event that covered only 255 miles.
\nIn the same spirit, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Amateur Radio Club has decided to amend its usual policy of awarding a certificate only to those who work or tune in W9IMS during all three of the year\u2019s special events. For 2024 only, contacts with two separate W9IMS special events \u2013 and that includes reception reports \u2013 will be sufficient to qualify for the Checkered Flag Award.<\/p>\n

Extenuating circumstances prompted the decision for the revision. The first special event of the year, commemorating the IndyCar Grand Prix, took place May 5-11, but that was also the week of the strongest geomagnetic storm in two decades. The hyperactive sun zapped HF amateur radio frequencies, often making it difficult to even hear, let alone work W9IMS.<\/p>\n

So if you missed W9IMS during the first race of 2024, for whatever reason, you now have a second chance at a certificate if you act fast. Catch W9IMS between now and the end of Race Day \u2013 11:59 p.m. Sunday, May 26 (Indy time) or 0359 UTC Monday, May 27 \u2013 then repeat the feat during the Brickyard 200 NASCAR race during the week of July 15-21, and you\u2019ll meet the new award criteria.<\/p>\n

Of course, if you managed to bag W9IMS two weeks ago, you can clinch the Checkered Flag Award in the coming days. But you\u2019ll still probably want to chase a Brickyard 200 contact in July, since W9IMS is offering unique and collectible QSL cards for each special event of 2024.<\/p>\n

Tips on finding W9IMS:
\nCheck DX Summit (www.dxsummit.fi<\/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.<\/p>\n

Go to the W9IMS web page (www.w9ims.org<\/a>) and look for the heading, \u201c2024 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 frequently get on the air at unscheduled times, your odds of snaring the station improve significantly during hours with a listed op.<\/p>\n

Prime time for weeknight operations is 6 to 10 p.m. in Indy (2200-0200 UTC) and sometimes at least 2 hours longer. That\u2019s also your most likely shot at finding W9IMS activate on two bands \u2013 typically 20 and 40 meters. Preferred frequencies are 14.245 and 7.245 MHz, often varying by several kHz due to QRM. Other bands (especially 80 and 15 meters) are possible but rare.
\nRemember that the published schedule can be shortened by adverse circumstances, such as local thunderstorms, a lack of calling stations and, as we discovered earlier this month, solar flares! Don\u2019t wait till the final hour to look for W9IMS.<\/p>\n

But if you still haven\u2019t worked W9IMS by Sunday night, you may find it more advantageous for stations like yours. Toward the end of the special event, W9IMS ops often call for \u201conly stations that haven\u2019t worked us this week\u201d or switch to contest-style operations, exchanging only signal reports to put more contacts in the log.<\/p>\n

Keep in mind that both hams and SWLs are eligible for QSL cards and the certificate. So if your ham station isn\u2019t able to work the station by Sunday night, you can create an SWL report by copying down details of other W9IMS contacts \u2013 such as date, frequency, UTC, and a few of the stations you heard W9IMS working. SWL reports count as credits too, although the certificate may not feature your callsign.<\/p>\n

The current weather forecast calls for thunderstorms on Sunday (Race Day). If the race is postponed, W9IMS will likely extend its operation through the new Race Day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Indy 500 Special Event Station: You Can Still Earn a Certificate! by Brian D. Smith, W9IND Not every Indianapolis 500 goes the full distance. Seven of the 107 races run since 1911 have been shortened by rain, notably the 1976 event that covered only 255 miles. In the same spirit, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Amateur […]<\/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":[545,3,43],"tags":[3963,6168],"class_list":["post-59753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ham-radio","category-news","category-shortwave-radio","tag-brian-smith","tag-w9ims"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-fxL","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":52823,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/05\/w9ims-a-radio-run-at-the-indy-500\/","url_meta":{"origin":59753,"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":49022,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/05\/indy-500-week-marks-the-second-w9ims-special-event-of-2021\/","url_meta":{"origin":59753,"position":1},"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. Smith, W9IND If you\u2019re looking to add a 2021 Indy 500 QSL card to your collection, and perhaps a certificate as well, your odds of success just accelerated. 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":56923,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/05\/w9ims-indy-500-special-event-details\/","url_meta":{"origin":59753,"position":2},"title":"W9IMS: Indy 500 Special Event Details","author":"Thomas","date":"May 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"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.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/2022-GP-Front-W9IMS.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/2022-GP-Front-W9IMS.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/2022-GP-Front-W9IMS.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/2022-GP-Front-W9IMS.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/2022-GP-Front-W9IMS.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/2022-GP-Front-W9IMS.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":44854,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/08\/w9ims-chance-for-a-commemorative-certificate-and-qsl-card\/","url_meta":{"origin":59753,"position":3},"title":"W9IMS: Chance for a Commemorative Certificate and QSL Card","author":"Thomas","date":"August 17, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Indy 500 Week Offers the Chance for a Commemorative W9IMS Certificate and\/or QSL Card By Brian D. Smith, W9IND Your chance to obtain the 2020 W9IMS Checkered Flag Award \u2013 or at least a QSL card commemorating this year\u2019s Indianapolis 500 \u2013 unfolds in the coming week. And both amateur\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\/2019\/04\/W9IMS-QSL-Card-2018-e1556279998830.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/W9IMS-QSL-Card-2018-e1556279998830.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/W9IMS-QSL-Card-2018-e1556279998830.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/W9IMS-QSL-Card-2018-e1556279998830.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":62995,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/05\/memorial-day-weekend-last-chance-to-snare-the-indy-500-special-event-station\/","url_meta":{"origin":59753,"position":4},"title":"Memorial Day Weekend: Last Chance to Snare the Indy 500 Special Event Station","author":"Thomas","date":"May 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Brian D. Smith, W9IND If you still haven\u2019t caught the W9IMS Indy 500 special event, your final opportunity to earn the latest QSL card and certificate comes this weekend. 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