Radio Society of Tucson AK7AZ / K7RST 

2025 CACTUS EVENT STATUS: Event Completed, QSL Card and Certificate requests start being processed on Friday December 12.

Read the "QSL Card Manager", and "Certificate Request Manager" sections below on how to order QSL cards and a Certificate. Check our log of your contacts here. You can review various stats of the event on the Summary Page.

Thank you to those who participated in the event, we had a blast and we hope it was fun for you also! We're looking forward to seeing you next year!

The Radio Society of Tucson (RST) is an ARRL Special Service Club and a 501(c)3 charitable organization that focuses on "Communications For All" by activity supporting a variety of amateur radio activities focusing on education and a lot of hands-on activity. Club members support many public service events, public outreach with Radio Days in the Park, emergency communications, VE testing, contesting, and Special Events.   Anyone interested in amateur radio, licensed or not, is welcome to attend our monthly meetings and participate in our many events throughout the year.  Club meetings are held at the Golden Corral, 4380 E. 22nd St. at 6 PM the second Tuesday of each month except in December.  For more information about RST visit our website, www.k7rst.club. 

2025 CACTUS Special Event, November 21 - November 30
         "Prickly Signals from the Sonoran Desert"

This special event is to promote amateur radio and celebrate the unique cactus of the USA southwest.  Join in the fun and contact one of the 6 special station call signs (CACTUS K7C, K7A, N7C, K7T, K7U, K7S) along with the 2 bonus stations (K7RST, AK7AZ).  All HF bands will be in play, with the exception of 60 meters.  Simplex on 2 meters and 6 meters is encouraged.  All popular modes of operation may be represented - SSB, AM, CW, RTTY, FM, FT8, PSK, etc.  The mode of operation is the special operators choice, check the Public view of CACTUS Operator schedule (no password needed) for current information.

Details

Dates: November 21 (Friday) 5:00am MST - November 30 (Sunday) 4:59pm MST
    2025-09-21 12:00 UTC - 2025-09-30 24:59 UTC

Operating Stations:
- CACTUS K7C, K7A, N7C, K7T, K7U, K7S
- Bonus stations: K7RST, AK7AZ

Exchange

The exchange for this event is not fixed, but typically is:
CALL SIGN
RS / RST / RSQ
STATE / PROVINCE or COUNTRY

A typical exchange as an example:
(CACTUS op) CQ CACTUS Special Event this is K7U Kilo 7 Uniform
(caller) Kilo Charlie 1 Sierra Quebec
(CACTUS op) KC1SQ thanks for the call, you’re 57 in Tucson Arizona
(caller) QSL, you’re 59 in Maine, 73 and good luck
(CACTUS op) Thanks, 73, QRZ CACTUS
(CACTUS op) If no immediate response, go back to CQ

Keep it fun and relaxed. And let them know they can get more information on the appropriate qrz.com page: K7C K7A N7C K7T K7U K7S K7RST AK7AZ

Viewing the schedule of operators

To see who's on when, and where to look for them, anyone can browse the CACTUS operator's schedule..

Spotting

If you work a CACTUS station, you are encouraged to spot it for others.  
We suggest DX Summit.

Live logs during the event

CACTUS operators will be logging with Wavelog. A searchable public view of each log is available at these links:
K7C K7A N7C K7T K7U K7S K7RST AK7AZ

QSL Card Manager

Send your QSL card requests to:

Radio Society of Tucson, Inc.
Attention: QSL card request manager
PO Box 13603
Tucson AZ 85732-3603

The suggested donation is $2.00 for the first card and an additional $1.00 for each additional card. One card = $2, two cards = $3, three cards = $4, four cards = $5, 8 cards = $9, etc. Donations are voluntary, of course.

In addition, we request 1 Self Addressed Stamped Envelope for each group of 4 cards. 1-4 cards = 1 SASE, 5-8 cards = 2 SASEs, etc.

As a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization your donations help us a lot in managing our costs. The Radio Society of Tucson is incorporated as a STEM outreach and STEM teaching organization. We conduct at least two Technician classes each year, two merit badge classes for Scouting America, and free VE testing, plus a lot of other hands-on operating events like our CACTUS 2025 event and Radio Days in the Park

QSL card requests and Certificate requests should not be combined as we have two different processes for handling them.

Certificate Request Manager

You can receive a participation certificate for working one or more of the CACTUS operating stations. (See example below)

Send your Certificate request to:

Radio Society of Tucson, Inc.
Attention: CACTUS Certificate request manager
PO Box 13603
Tucson AZ 85732-3603

  1. Access our 2025 CACTUS Special Event Certificate Request Form.
  2. Fill out the form with Stations worked, Achievement, Endorsements, and Address. (As a convenience, the [Search Callsign] button below will attempt to load the table from our CACTUS log and QRZ.)
  3. Be sure to indicate the endorsements that we can't calculate (All QRP, All Mobile, SWL)
  4. Print the completed form. (Use the print button on the form.)
  5. We suggest a donation of $5.00 (cash, check, or money order, made payable to: Radio Society of Tucson) for a 2025 CACTUS Certificate.
  6. Include your completed form, donation and a self addressed LABEL for where to send the certificate. We will provide the return envelope and postage.

Donations

The CACTUS Special Event is a not-for-profit event.  All donations are used to fund the next years event, and to defray  any expenses incurred. All donations are used for operating costs, supplies, equipment and RST initiatives. RST is a 501(c)3 charitable organization.  Donation is voluntary.  If you have difficulty with a donation, tell us on your log sheet, and we will send you the certificatge earned - No Questions Asked!

QSL Card Examples

Certificate Example

Example CACTUS Certificate

Operator Instruction Summary

If  you would like to help with this event by operating one of the special call signs, follow these steps:

  1. Contact N7DZ, Bill, at (rst-cactus-work-group@googlegroups.com) to get a userId for the CACTUS Operator Self-scheduling Tool (userid/password required.)
  2. Use the schedule tool to sign up for times, band, and mode that you will operate.
  3. A special call sign will be assigned to you by the schedule tool.
  4. Review the event logging tool instructions, and use the event logging tool for your QSO's.
  5. There will be "Top Operator" award plaques for:
    1. Top Operator HF Voice
    2. Top Operator HF FT8
    3. Top Operator 6M/VHF/UHF Simplex.
    4. Top Operator-CW
    5. "Clean Sweep" Operator (a CACTUS operator was assigned and made contacts with all eight CACTUS call signs.)
  6. If you have questions, contact rst-cactus-work-group@googlegroups.com (subject: HELP - your question)
  7. More detailed instructions are here CACTUS Operator's Guide

Thank you for your help in making this an outstanding event!

FAQ's

Selected FAQ's:

Is this the first time this event has operated?
Yes, 2025 is year one for this event.
Why is the Radio Society of Tucson (RST) organizing and running the CACTUS event?
The RST president, Joe, K3TYE, suggested it. The Radio Society of Tucson is active in promoting amateur radio through regular meetings, operating events, educational classes, VE testing, contesting, and special events. Joe felt like clubs in the Sonoran desert had a unique opportunity to support amateur radio by creating a special event that leverages the beauty of the American southwest. We thank everyone who participated in our inagural event and we are looking forward to CACTUS 2026.
Is this a contest?
It's not really a contest. We do have QSL cards and participation certificates with Achievements and Endorsements that will be fun to have in your collection. Instructions for how to get a QSL card and a participation certificate are on this web page.

If you have further questions you can contact us by email: rst-cactus-work-group@googlegroups.com

Resources

2025-12-17 updated by RST Cactus Work Group.