WMPLOTA Rules and Awards

Objective

For amateur radio satellite operators to contact as many amateur stations operating from Walmart parking lots as possible during the contest period.

All legal operating modes are permitted, but contacts must be made through an amateur radio satellite.

Date and Contest Period

First Weekend in July, on 00:00 UTC Saturday through 23:59 UTC on Sunday

Exchange

The exchange must include at least the station callsigns and either the Walmart Store Number or the 4-digit maidenhead grid square(s), at the discretion of the operator.

Associates operating from multiple stores are encouraged to exchange store numbers to reduce duplicate contacts and preserve satellite bandwidth. Exchanging store numbers allows other operators to know if and when it's appropriate to work an associate again for new credit.

Entry Categories

Associate

1. An Associate is defined as operating for activation credit from an allowable store.
2. An Associate is encouraged to announce "Walmart" along with callsign or mention his/her Walmart Store # to identify as Associate for the benefit of other participants.
3. Operation can occur in or near the store parking lot. (see verification rules, below)
4. Walmart, Walmart Neighborhood Market and Sam's Club stores are allowable for credit.
5. DX stations operating from a location not having a local Walmart branded store may activate the nearest local equivalent, but must operate portable.
6. The Associate must hold an appropriate transmitting licence.

• Verification:
  • A picture of the activated location must be available upon request and include the operator and an identifiable portion of the store or parking lot signage.
    • If the store in the image is not clearly identifiable due to lack of signage, an identifiable Walmart branded shopping cart must be included in the picture.
    • Associate can operate as far from a store itself as the store's sign, or as far as the Associate can legally take the store carts.
    • Cart theft is strictly forbidden.
    • Dislocated/abandoned carts found "in the wild" cannot be used unless they adhere to the image requirements above (the store can be seen) and they are returned to the parking lot after use (Good Samaritan Bonus).
    • Operating shopping cart mobile is allowed, but the rest of the verification requirements still apply.
  • All verification rules apply to DX stations operating under an equivalent local brand.

Shopper

1. A Shopper is any station operating from a location other than those defined as an Associate, and contacting an Associate.
2. The Shopper must hold an appropriate transmitting licence.
3. The Shopper must make a QSO with the Associate, in which at least callsigns and two-way reports are exchanged. Wherever possible, the Walmart Store Number should also be obtained as part of the QSO.
4. QSL cards or LoTW matches are not required, as the submitted Associate logs can be used to verify your QSOs.

DX

DX is an overlay category. DX is any station operating outside of the contiguous 48 US States and bordering Canadian Provinces. DX stations may enter as either Associate or Shopper.

Packet Rats

Packet Rats is an overlay category. A Packet Rat is any station operating packet satellites. Packet Rats stations may also enter in the Associate and Shopper categories.

Scoring

QSO Points

QSO points are awarded for each confirmed QSO between a shopper and an associate. An associate can be worked only once per store for credit.

Associate

• 1 QSO point per QSO with either a Shopper or another Associate

Shopper

• 1 point per QSO with an Associate

Apocalyptic QSOs

• Zombieland Multiplier - 2 additional QSO points each class-appropriate QSO made through the zombie sat Oscar-7 (AO-7)
• Robot Overlords Multiplier - 3 additional QSO points for each class-appropriate QSO made through the a PacketSat (Falconsat-3, NO-84, or ISS Digipeater).

Note: Zombie chasers always roll back the Power. If the zombies hear you, they'll eat you (and you'll kill the fun for everyone).

Bonuses

• Gridline - 40 points for any Associate operating on a gridline in a Walmart parking lot (once per day bonus)

• BOGO - 20 points for any Shopper contacting an associate who is operating on a gridline in a Walmart parking lot (once per day bonus)

• Near Gridline - 15 points for any Associate operating Walmart parking lot within 3 km of a gridline (once per day bonus)

• Back to School - 25 points for any Associate or Shopper who is currently a student in kindergarten through college (one-time bonus)

• Alaskan Activator - 15 points for any Associate operating from Alaska (one-time bonus) Alaskan Shopper - 10 points for a QSO with an Associate from Alaska (one-time bonus) Northwest Passage Activator - 10 points for any Associate operating from Yukon, Northwest Territories, or Nunavut (one-time bonus)

• Northwest Passage Shopper - 5 points for a QSO with an Associate from Yukon, Northwest Territories, or Nunavut (one-time bonus)

• Aloha Activator - 30 points for a QSO for any Associate operating in Hawaii (one-time bonus) Aloha Shopper - 25 points for a QSO with an Associate in Hawaii (one-time bonus)

• Black Friday - 5 points for a QSO made on Friday night local time, from 00:00 UTC on Apr 28 until 00:00 midnight local time on Saturday (one-time bonus)

• Big Hop - 5 points for each QSO having more than 3,600 km distance between stations (6 digit grid squares must be provided)

• Big Talker - 7 points for a social media post highlighting your WMPLOTA activation using the #WMPLOTA hashtag. (one-time bonus)

• Zombie Apocalypse - 5 points for activating a Zombie Walmart, a permanently closed Walmart store that remains vacant (one-time bonus)

QSO Multipliers

• Zombieland Multiplier - 2x multiplier for each QSO made through the zombie sat Oscar-7 (AO-7)
• Zombie Apocalypse Multiplier - 20x multipler for each QSO made through the zombie sat PCSat (NO-44).

Zombie chasers always roll back the Power. If the zombies hear you, they'll eat you (and you'll kill the fun for everyone).

Awards

Award Levels

• Express Lane - 1 QSO Checkout - 2-4 QSO
• Greeter - 5 QSO
• Overnight Stocker - Late night QSO from the nighttime hours (North America) of 00:00 UTC through 10:00 UTC. For you night owls, but pajamas are optional!
• Store Manager - 10+ QSO
• District Manager - work FROM more than 1 Walmart in your vicinity
• Regional Manager - work (shop) at least one station in 4 major alpha gridsqares (example: at least one station each from EM EN DM DN)
• Sam Walton Award for the most stores activated
• People of Walmart - self-photo of operation from parking lot uploaded to Twitter with #WMPLOTA hashtag
• "MacGyver Works at Walmart" Award. Achieve one QSO with an antenna built with parts purchased from the Walmart whose parking lot you are operating from. Antenna must be assembled in the parking lot, and receipt picture with items and store number posted with hashtag #WMPLOTA. You are allowed to bring a Swiss Army Knife, a pack of chewing gum, and an existing coaxial cable with connectors for connecting the MacGyver antenna to your radio. Everything else must be purchased.
• Ol' Roy (activator with most twitter posts of their dog from activated parking lots)
• Ol' Roy' with Roy (activator named Roy with most twitter posts of their dog from activated parking lots)
• Special Kitty - Same as 'Ol Roy, but with your cat
• Straight Talk - Broadcast the pass on your cell phone via Periscope on Twitter, YouTube Live, or Facebook Live, and post a link using the hashtag #WMPLOTA
• Mobility - QSO from a motorized shopping cart or a regular shopping cart being pushed by an assistant
• Buy One Get One Free Tabor^2 - work Chris Tabor (K7TAB) and Douglas Tabor (N6UA) on the same pass
• Great Value - QSO while eating chicken obtained from the deli
• Mainstays - QSO from a tent available in the camping section
• Sam's Choice - QSO with an op named Sam
• Faded Glory - Twitter photo of the operation with the USA flag in the background
• Maple Syrup - Twitter photo of the operation with the Canada flag in the background
• Prickly Pear - Twitter photo of the operation with the Mexico flag in the background

Award Submission

For Leaderboard updates while the WMPLOTA Event is active, Associates and Shoppers should send a messages to award@wmplota.org (mailto:award@wmplota.org) to update their point totals. Each message, including the first message and all subsequent updates, should contain their entire log for the WMPLOTA period. Total points, bonus details, and any applicable awards summarized at the top of the message are appreciated for quicker updates of the Leaderboard. The following details will be needed in each message:

• Callsign Contacted
• Walmart Store # Contacted (if known)
• Contact Date and Time (UTC)
• Satellite
• Band