DATE: JANUARY 2015 |
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PREVIOUS NEWSLETTERS: 2013 -- January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December 2014 --
January,
February,
March,
April,
April special,
May,
May special,
June,
July,
August,
September,
October,
October special,
November,
December,
December upissue.
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| Tuesday | 6th January 2015 | 144MHz UK Activity Contest | 2000 - 2230 UTC |
| Sunday | 11th January 2015 | AFS Contest CW (3.5MHz) | 1400 - 1800 UTC |
| Tuesday | 13th January 2015 | 432MHz UK Activity Contest | 2000 - 2230 UTC |
| Saturday | 17th January 2015 | AFS Contest SSB (3.5&7MHz) | 1400 - 1800 UTC |
| Tuesday | 20th January 2015 | 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest | 2000 - 2230 UTC |
| Tuesday | 27th January 2015 | 50MHz UK Activity Contest | 2000 - 2230 UTC |
| Tuesday | 27th January 2015 | SHF UK Activity Contest | 2000 - 2230 UTC except 2.3GHz 2030 - 2230 UTC |
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| Monday | 2nd February 2015 | 80m Club Championship Contest (SSB) | 2000 - 2130 UTC |
| Tuesday | 3rd February 2015 | 144MHz UK Activity Contest | 2000 - 2230 UTC |
| Sunday | 8th February 2015 | 432MHz Affiliated Societies Contest | 0900 - 1300 UTC |
| Tuesday | 10th February 2015 | 432MHz UK Activity Contest | 2000 - 2230 UTC |
| Wednesday | 11th February 2015 | 80m Club Championship Contest (data) | 2000 - 2130 UTC |
| Saturday - Sunday | 14th - 15th February 2015 | 1st 1.8MHz Contest (CW/SSB/mixed) | 2100 - 0100 UTC |
| Tuesday | 17th February 2015 | 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest | 2000 - 2230 UTC |
| Thursday | 19th February 2015 | 80m Club Championship Contest (CW) | 2000 - 2130 UTC |
| Sunday | 22nd February 2015 | 70MHz Cumulative Contest #1 | 1000 - 1200 UTC |
| Tuesday | 24th February 2015 | 50MHz UK Activity Contest | 2000 - 2230 UTC |
| Tuesday | 24th February 2015 | SHF UK Activity Contest | 2000 - 2230 UTC except 2.3GHz 2030 - 2230 UTC |
The full 2015 RSGB contest calendars and rules for the above contests are available
here (HF)
and here (VHF).
OTHER HF CONTESTS IN DECEMBER 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 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 Final results
144MHz UKAC Final results
432MHz UKAC
1.3GHz UKAC
SHF UKAC Final results
Overall UKAC
1.2/2.3GHz Trophy
October 432MHz - 248GHz
50MHZ AFS
Club Calls (1.8MHz AFS)
80m Club Sprint (CW)
80m Club Sprint (SSB)
VHF Championship (Final results)
AFS Superleague 2014/15
CHAIRMAN'S CORNER (by Ian G0FCT)
Firstly, a request: if you hold a Notice of Variation (NOV) for a Special Contest Call (SCC) please check the expiry date of your NOV before you
next use it (or permit it to be used if it is a club SCC). All current NOVs have an expiry date of 31.12.2016 so if your NOV has a different date
(e.g. 31.12.2013) it has expired and you are not currently authorised to use your SCC. You can apply to Ofcom to renew your SCC by completing
Form ofw286 (available here). Currently,
there are 95 SCCs that have not been renewed since they expired at the end of December 2013.
Secondly, some entrants appear to be confused about when they are required to sign /P. Please read all the rules (including the General Rules) for the contest you want to enter and if you are still confused or are not sure what section you should enter, please ask for advice at least a week before the contest starts. You can send your question to vhf.query@rsgbcc.org or chairman@rsgbcc.org
Lastly, I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
ALL RSGB CONTEST RULES FOR 2015 NOW AVAILABLE (by Quin G3WRR)
The rules for all 2015 RSGB contests are now available on the CC website, and can be viewed by clicking on the links from the HF or VHF calendars as appropriate.
SHF UKACs IN 2015 (by John G3XDY)
The geographic restrictions on operation on 2320MHz during weekday daylight hours meant some revisions to timings during the summer of 2014, and caused some difficulties for those with early morning starts the following day, but did help to boost activity on the higher bands during the first hour. The timings for 2015 have been changed to give a clear half hour at the start for higher band contacts, with the 2.3GHz period shortened to 2 hours, as almost all single band entrants run out of contacts within 2 hours. Timings for 2.3GHz will vary during the summer months to avoid any possibility of interference to the Primary User.
Contacts on the new 2300-2302MHz band will be valid, but entrants must have received the NoV allowing them to use this band.
For 2015 the overall SHF UKAC individual station tabulation will be changed to a single list combining both SAO and SAR sections. This recognises that some stations do not enter the same section on all bands, the new tabulation should more accurately represent their overall results.
UPGRADE TO QSO MAPPING FACILITY (by Quin G3WRR)
The facility by which entrants to VHF contests are provided with a link to a map showing their contest QSOs has recently been updated to accommodate the withdrawal in February 2015 of an existing feature of Google maps. This update will make a number of extra user features available. However it should be noted that old links from previous contests will cease to work.
PROBLEMS WITH VHF LOG SUBMISSION (by Quin G3WRR)
A significant number of instances have been reported recently where MINOS users have been submitting the wrong file to the CC robot when entering
VHF contests. The MINOS program and associated documentation will be updated to make this clearer, but for now you may wish to note that the
preferred procedure for submitting logs from MINOS is as follows:
1. At the end of the contest, select File / Produce Entry/Export File
2. Select Reg1Test(entry) - this is the default option - then click OK
3 Save the resultant .edi file to the directory of your choice (this defaults to the directory in which your MINOS .exe file resides)
4. Submit the .edi file to the robot in the usual way.
I had expected this to be a fairly short Newsletter as things wind down for Christmas, but as it has turned out there has been a fair amount to be included. Anyhow, at the risk of repeating the Chairman's good wishes (as well as mine from last month), Happy Christmas and a prosperous 2015 to you all. Hope to see you on the bands in 2015 - who knows, I might even be tempted to give this VHF stuff I keep hearing about a try...
That's all for this month and for 2014 - good contesting to you all!
73, Quin G3WRR
For RSGB Contest Committee