PREVIOUS NEWSLETTERS:

2014 -- January, February, March, April, April special, May, May special

RSGB CONTESTS FOR JUNE 2014 (by Quin G3WRR & John G3XDY)

RSGB CONTESTS FOR JULY 2014 (by Quin G3WRR & John G3XDY)

OTHER UK VHF/UHF CONTESTS IN JUNE 2014 (by John G3XDY)

The UK Microwave Group 1.3 / 2.3 / 3.4 GHz contest takes place on Sunday 8th June 2014 from 0800 - 1400 UTC, and the 5.7 / 10 / 24GHz contest on Sunday 29th May 2014 from 0600 - 1800 UTC. Rules are here.

OTHER EUROPEAN VHF/UHF CONTESTS IN JUNE 2014 (by John G3XDY)

OTHER HF CONTESTS IN JUNE 2014 (by Quin G3WRR)

For more data on a wide range HF contests, the SM3CER website is a very useful source of information.

RECENT RESULTS (by Quin G3WRR & John G3XDY)

The following results have been published or updated since the previous Newsletter:

50MHz UKAC
70MHz UKAC
432MHz UKAC
1.3GHz UKAC
SHF UKAC
Overall UKAC

1st 70MHz

80m CC CW
80m CC SSB
80m CC data

Commonwealth (BERU)


CHAIRMAN'S CORNER (by Ian G0FCT)

Greetings! As part of an initiative to consult with the contesting community over topics of mutual interest, the Contest Committee has published a 'white paper' containing eighteen proposals and suggestions for changes to the RSGB contest rules for 2015. Six of the proposals apply to both HF and VHF contests, eight apply to HF contest and the remaining four only apply to VHF contests. The white paper is available from the RSGB Contest Committee website at www.rsgbcc.org/whitepaper2014.pdf or by clicking on this link.

Comments on any of the proposals and suggestions are invited. All comments will be reviewed by the RSGB Contest Committee and the revised rules for all RSGB contests will be published by the date of the RSGB Convention in October - earlier if possible. The revised rules will take effect on 1st January 2015. Please send your comments to committee@rsgbcc.org no later than 14th August 2014.

To complement this initiative, a revised rule change process has been produced and this is given below:

1. Rules for the contest year will be "locked- down" and published no later than the date of the RSGB Convention in October for implementation in the following year. No further changes are permitted except for (a) typo corrections and (b) changes brought about by external events (e.g. license changes by OFCOM).

2. Proposed changes to contest rules will be considered at the Contest Committee (CC) meeting in March/April.

3. A 'white paper' summarising the proposed rule changes will be published on the CC website and publicised in the May CC newsletter.

4. Links to this document will be posted on (at least) the uk-hf and uk-vhf reflectors.

5. Comments/consultation on the proposed changes will be invited from the contesting community.

6. The comments on the proposed changes will be reviewed at the CC meeting in September and the rules for the following year locked-down at the end of this meeting.

7. The locked-down rules will be posted on the CC website.

8. No further consultation will be entered into on the locked-down rules, and no changes will be made except as noted in (1) above.

The minutes of the March 2014 Contest Committee meeting are available here.

The following text, in addition to reiterating the position as set out in the May special issue of the Newsletter (subject to correction of the reference to the third, rather than the fourth, Tuesday), adds an additional limitation (in italics below) which applies to two very specific geographic areas only. The CC believes that these areas are most unlikely to be utilised by UKAC entrants, but the additional limitation has been included in the interests of fullest possible compliance with the Ofcom requirements:


"After further feedback on possible date / time changes to avoid potential interference to the primary user on 2.3GHz, it has been decided to:
* retain the fourth Tuesday of the month slot for the SHF UKAC
* move the start times for 2.3GHz later and shorten the period for that band to 2 hours during the summer months.

The times for 2.3GHz will be 2130 - 2330 BST for the months of May, June and July, reverting to 2000 - 2230 clock time from August onwards. Timings for the other bands will remain as they were, running 2000 - 2230 clock time

Stations that plan to operate in Wales within 150km of Aberporth (NGR SN247 518) or in Scotland within 200km of St Kilda (NGR NF 094 987) must not commence operation until after local sunset. More detailed guidance can be found in Annex 1 of the Ofcom PSSR Amateur Statement at http://tinyurl.com/ofhvh2z"

Stations wishing to take part in the 2.3GHz events are reminded that they must register their station with Ofcom by e-mailing pssramateurs@ofcom.org.uk providing the following information:

* Name
* Address
* Call sign
* Location of use
* Frequency range uses
* Type of use
* Regularity of use (e.g. evenings and weekends; 24/7; occasional)
* Transmit power (ie. EIRP)."

The italicised additional limitation is also being promulgated via other RSGB communication channels.

In 2013 for the first time, winners additionally received a small commemorative plate to keep. The question is whether recipients would value the provision of such a memento in this and subsequent years sufficiently to justify the overheads of providing it? Please send any comments to chairman@rsgbcc.org.

AND FINALLY

That’s all for this month - good contesting.

73, Quin G3WRR

For RSGB Contest Committee