PREVIOUS NEWSLETTERS:

2014 -- January, February, March, April, April special, May, May special, June. July.

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

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

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

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

OTHER HF CONTESTS IN AUGUST 2014 (by Quin G3WRR)

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

Another useful source of HF contest information (with thanks to Ian G3KZR) is at http://www.hb9dhg.ch , which can be reached by clicking here, and clicking on "Contest Calendar".

RECENT RESULTS (by Quin G3WRR & John G3XDY)

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

50MHz UKAC
144MHz UKAC
432MHz UKAC
1.3GHz UKAC
SHF UKAC
Overall UKAC

50MHz Trophy
432MHz Trophy
10GHz Trophy
May UHF
70MHz Cumulatives
50MHZ CW
2nd 144MHz Backpackers

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

VHF Championship
VHF CW Championship



SHF UKAC TIMINGS (by John G3XDY)

As stated in the July Newsletter, timings for the above events will revert to 2000-2230 clock time from August onwards. Feedback on the revised timings in the summer months would be welcomed prior to setting rules for 2015: please e-mail comments to g3xdy@rsgbcc.org . Stations wishing to take part in the 2.3GHz events are reminded that they must register their station with Ofcom by emailing pssramateurs@ofcom.org.uk providing the following information:
- Name
- Address (and location of use)
- 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).

Readers who received trophies at the 2013 Convention and elected to retain them (rather than leaving them in the care of the RSGB) are reminded that they are responsible for their safe return to the Society. The CC will be sending e-mail reminders to those in possession of trophies from early August. Please keep an eye open for these, and respond in a timely manner.

A number of adjudicators have noticed a worrying trend in recent events where some or all of the incoming and outgoing RS(T)s are reversed in some entrants' logs. The traditional order in both paper and electronic contest logs is:
- Date
- Time
- Callsign
- RS(T) sent
- Serial number sent
- RS(T) Received
- Serial number received
- Other exchange info (e.g. locator).
(Note: some logs may include frequency (or band) and mode. These have been omitted in this example).

It is thought that a possible reason for the reversal in order of the sent and received RS(T)s is when entrants are operating in search and pounce mode. Having called a station who is calling CQ, the first item in the QSO is your report received from the other station. Potentially this is being written in the first column in the log which should be RST Sent. Does this matter? Yes !! All of the exchanged information is checked during adjudication. An assumption is made that an entrant logs what he/she sends. This is then used to check that the other station received what was sent. If this is incorrect, the receiving station will lose the QSO. So if you mis-logged the RS(T) sent by reversing the RS(T)s, all of your QSO partners will lose their QSOs with you. You will also lose the QSO as you will appear to have mis-logged the incoming RS(T).

This is where the adjudicators come into play. The adjudication software makes it possible to spot patterns such as this. If it is determined that the sending station has been mis-logging their QSOs, the points will be restored to the receiving stations. However, this is time consuming and is likely to delay the publication of the results. So a plea from the adjudicators: please think about how you log during the contest and ensure that all of the information appears in the correct columns in your log. Indeed this is an area where clubs and contests groups can help in training their operators. The impact is that you will lose less points and potentially finish higher up the table !!

In 2013, the results of VHF NFD and a commentary (produced by myself based on information supplied by the individual band adjudicators) were published on the CC website. The same is planned for 2014. For a number of years the details published on the website have been complemented by an article in Radcom, containing an edited version of the website commentary plus a selection of photographs submitted by participants. The Radcom article was unable to be produced last year, but it is intended to do so again this year (subject to the normal RadCom column-inches limits).

Participants are encouraged to submit photographs of their activity for inclusion in the RadCom article - targeted on the October/November issue. The selection will be limited again to about 5 - column space not being determined by the commentator. Preference will be given to photos which capture activity (mast erection, people elated by a valuable contact, barbecue enjoyment etc. Nevertheless, sunrise/sunset landscape views are always welcome, as too are pictures of disaster/failure, to set the scene of today, yesterday and maybe tomorrow. Photos in any format (limited by your ISP) should be sent direct to g8iys@btinternet.com .

That’s all for this month - good contesting.

73, Quin G3WRR

For RSGB Contest Committee