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Example, a recent contest offered a multiplier for "All 50 states". I presume that means I have to get all 50 states to get the multiplier. However, nowhere does it list what to multiply by? I'm very confused and googling around just hasn't been any help. I've been just submitting my logs only claiming the QSOs and never a multiplier because I have no idea when I'm eligible to claim one.

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Example of unclear contest rules: http://ncjweb.com/NAQP-Rules.pdf

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    $\begingroup$ Can you specify what that contest was, or quote its rules? Even if the question is general, a specific example may help. $\endgroup$
    – Kevin Reid AG6YO ♦
    Jul 20, 2014 at 20:38

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Usually if a contest says there are multipliers for "all 50 states" (and we have to assume this is US States? Without specifying a country or the actual contest we have to guess), that would mean that you would get one multiplier for each State worked (although what about DC? Presumably doesn't count as a mult?).

This would mean that the maximum number of multipliers would be 50 - one for each state worked.

Again - please specify more information. When saying "in a recent contest", it doesn't hurt to say which one it was :)

If you are asking how multipliers work generally, they are numbers that you collect as you are going. When you have worked out the score (you will get a number of points for contacts as specified in the rules of the contest), and the number of multipliers (again, specified in the rules of the contest), you multiply the numbers together to give you your final score.

Update

Since you have now posted an example, I will quote from that PDF: "Multiply total valid contacts by the sum of the number of multipliers worked on each band."

That means that each 'valid contact' (defined in the PDF) is worth one point. The total number of contacts would then be multiplied by the number of multipliers on each band, where the allowed bands are "160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10 meters only, except no 160 meters for the RTTY contest". The number of multipliers per band is given as 63 (50 states and 13 Canadian provinces). This gives a total number of 378 possible multipliers (6 bands x 63 states/provinces), and 315 for the RTTY contest.

So if you worked 10 stations on all 6 bands, but they were all in the same state/province, you would have 60 valid contacts and 6 multipliers, giving 360 points.

Of course, the cheat's way of doing all this is to use the EXCELLENT contest logging software by N1MM, where you enter each QSO as you work them, and it does the scoring for you.

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    $\begingroup$ Oh, and to answer the question I asked about DC - for this contest, they say count DC as MD. So that's that ambiguity cleared up :) $\endgroup$
    – Scott Earle ♦
    Jul 21, 2014 at 13:06
  • $\begingroup$ Yeah, I looked into N1MM after having it recommended to me earlier. Unfortunately though it's Windows only and my shack is all Linux now (I was running XP and being on a tight budget when XP went EOL I had to abandon the Windows ship). $\endgroup$
    – Brian Knoblauch
    Jul 22, 2014 at 23:20
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    $\begingroup$ I run N1MM on Windows 7 under VirtualBox. Just because Windows XP is no longer supported, doesn't mean it no longer works! If you don't connect it to the internet, it's perfectly fine to run it. Running it under VirtualBox with the VM's network card disconnected is fine. $\endgroup$
    – Scott Earle ♦
    Jul 23, 2014 at 1:24
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Well, you have to check the particulars of each contest. Almost all of them are different.

  • Some contests give a multiplier for the number of bands you worked a station on

  • Some contests give a multiplier for the number of different states or countries or continents you worked on.

  • Some even provide incentives to contact with members of the organizing club.

So, your contest may have offered a multiplier per state - I don't think you needed all states.

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