The Hiram Percy Maxim Birthday celebration is back! This year, the ARRL is honoring the 140th anniversary of the birth of the League's first president and cofounder. Hiram Percy Maxim, W1AW, was born September 2, 1869 and died February 17, 1936, in a Colorado hospital of complications stemming from a throat infection; his widow died just nine days later.

The operating event is open to all amateurs, and the goal is straightforward: Find the stations adding /140 to their call signs, and contact as many as possible during the event period, September 2-9. Who is eligible to sign /140? ARRL members who hold ARRL appointments, ARRL elected volunteers (such as ARRL Directors and Section Managers), ARRL Life Members, ARRL Headquarters staff and VEs, AECs, QSL bureau workers and awards managers (who are ARRL members). The complete list of eligible positions can be found on page 20 of the September 2009 issue of QST. If you work at least 25 /140 stations, an attractive certificate can be yours! The certificate can be endorsed in increments of 25 QSOs, up to 100.

Time Period: 0000 UTC September 2 until 2400 UTC September 9.

Exchange: All stations signing /140 send RS(T), their appointment and their name; others send RS(T) and their name.

Eligibility: All amateur stations may participate. ARRL Life Members, and those persons holding ARRL appointments, elected positions or ARRL HQ staff, may add /140 to their call signs for the duration of the celebration. Volunteer Examiners, Assistant Emergency Coordinators, QSL Bureau workers, Registered Instructors and Awards Managers who are ARRL members are also invited to participate.

Miscellaneous: /140 stations may be contacted on any band or mode for credit. You can work a station once per band and mode. Repeater contacts are valid for credit, but please be considerate of the users during a repeater's busy periods. All /140 stations are encouraged to be as active as possible on local repeaters and nets. The certificate is available for making at least 25 contacts with /140 stations, with endorsement increments of 25, and a maximum endorsement of 100. To receive the award, send in a log extract with the date, time, band, call sign worked and exchange for each /140 contact. Include your name, call sign and address, and tell us how many /140 stations you worked. Mail everything to HPM/140 Celebration, c/o W1AW, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111-1494. You can also send in your entry on a disk or CD in regular text format. All entries must be accompanied by a check or money order for $5 (US) payable to ARRL. Please make sure your entry is postmarked by October 9, 2009.