DATE: MAY 2015 |
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PREVIOUS NEWSLETTERS:
2014 -- January, February, March, April, April special, May, May special, June, July, August, September, October, October special, November, December, December upissue. 2015 --
January,
February,
March,
March special,
April.
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| Saturday-Sunday | 2nd-3rd May 2015 | May 432MHz - 248GHz Contest | 1400 - 1400 UTC |
| Saturday | 2nd May 2015 | 432MHz Trophy Contest | 1400 - 2200 UTC |
| Saturday | 2nd May 2015 | 10GHz Trophy Contest | 1400 - 2200 UTC |
| Monday | 4th May 2015 | 80m Club Championship Contest (SSB) | 1900 - 2030 UTC |
| Tuesday | 5th May 2015 | 144MHz UK Activity Contest | 1900 - 2130 UTC |
| Sunday | 10th May 2015 | 70MHz CW Contest | 0900 - 1200 UTC |
| Tuesday | 12th May 2015 | 432MHz UK Activity Contest | 1900 - 2130 UTC |
| Wednesday | 13th May 2015 | 80m Club Championship Contest (data) | 1900 - 2030 UTC |
| Saturday-Sunday | 16th-17th May 2015 | May 144MHz Contest | 1400 - 1400 UTC |
| Sunday | 17th May 2015 | 1st 144MHZ Backpackers Contest | 1100 - 1500 UTC |
| Tuesday | 19th May 2015 | 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest | 1900 - 2130 UTC |
| Thursday | 21st May 2015 | 80m Club Championship Contest (CW) | 1900 - 2030 UTC |
| Sunday | 24th May 2015 | 70MHz Cumulative Contest #3 | 1400 - 1600 UTC |
| Tuesday | 26th May 2015 | 50MHz UK Activity Contest | 1900 - 2130 UTC |
| Tuesday | 26th May 2015 | SHF UK Activity Contest | 1900 - 2130 UTC except 2.3GHz 2030 - 2230 UTC |
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| Monday | 1st June 2015 | 80m Club Championship Contest (data) | 1900 - 2030 UTC |
| Tuesday | 2nd June 2015 | 144MHz UK Activity Contest | 1900 - 2130 UTC |
| Saturday-Sunday | 6th-7th June 2015 | HF NFD (CW, 1.8/3.5/7/14/21/28MHz) | 1500 - 1500 UTC |
| Tuesday | 9th June 2015 | 432MHz UK Activity Contest | 1900 - 2130 UTC |
| Wednesday | 10th June 2015 | 80m Club Championship Contest (CW) | 1900 - 2030 UTC |
| Sunday | 14th June 2015 | 2nd 144MHZ Backpackers Contest | 0900 - 1300 UTC |
| Tuesday | 16th June 2015 | 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest | 1900 - 2130 UTC |
| Thursday | 18th June 2015 | 80m Club Championship Contest (SSB) | 1900 - 2030 UTC |
| Saturday-Sunday | 20th-21st June 2015 | 50MHz Trophy Contest | 1400 - 1400 UTC |
| Tuesday | 23rd June 2015 | 50MHz UK Activity Contest | 1900 - 2130 UTC |
| Tuesday | 23rd June 2015 | SHF UK Activity Contest | 1900 - 2130 UTC except 2.3GHz 2030 - 2230 UTC |
| Sunday | 28th June 2015 | 50MHz CW Contest | 0900 - 1200 UTC |
| Sunday | 28th June 2015 | 70MHz Cumulative Contest #4 | 1400 - 1600 UTC |
| Tuesday | 30th June 2015 | 70MHz UK Activity Contest | 1900 - 2130 UTC |
The full 2015 RSGB contest calendars and rules for the above contests are available
here (HF)
and here (VHF).
OTHER UK VHF/UHF CONTESTS IN MAY 2015 (by John G3XDY & Dave G7RAU)
UK Microwave Group contests
The following UK Microwave Group contests take place this May:
| Sunday | 3rd May 2015 | UK Microwave Group 1.3/2.3/3.4GHz Contest | 0800 - 1400 UTC |
| Sunday | 31st May 2015 | UK Microwave Group 5.7/10GHz Contest | 0600 - 1800 UTC |
The rules are available here.
UK Six Metre Group (UKSMG) 2015 Summer Marathon
The UKSMG aims to promote and encourage activity on the Six Metre band and the Summer Marathon is an ideal opportunity to raise activity. It is a 3 month
contest that runs continuously between the first Saturday of May to the first Sunday of August (02 May 2015 at 00:00:00 UTC to 02 Aug 2015 ending at 23.59:59
UTC). The objective of the Marathon is to work as many grid squares (as defined by the first 4 characters of the Maidenhead locator) as possible on Six Metres,
and each grid square (eg. IO90) counts as 1 point. This is a single operator contest and there will be an overall World table and separate continent listings
(AF, AS, EU, NA, OC, SA, AN). The trophy winners will be published on 20 Sept 2015 on the UKSMG Marathon
web site.
The format for entering this contest is a straightforward ADIF export from your log which should be possible in nearly all logging programmes. This is open
to everybody in the world (not just UKSMG members!) and we would love you all to submit an entry this year. Submission is simple:
* Export your 6m QSOs from your logger in ADIF for the period.
* Go to the UKSMG site and create a login (yes, it is open to all, it is free to get a login).
* Go here, and follow the link to the rules which provide guidance on how to submit
your log.
Prior to 2014 this contest was organised and administered successfully by Hannu OH3WW and Seppo OH1VR for 10 years. For 2015 onwards the rules have changed
and the scoring is based on grid squares rather than DXCC based. The DXCC scoring format was fine for EU stations but to encourage activity from other
regions we have changed the scoring to the 1st 4 digits of grid squares and it will make this much more appealing across the world and level the playing field.
Please have a look at the rules here and if you have any questions please email
G7RAU - Dave at contest@uksmg.org.
OTHER EUROPEAN VHF/UHF CONTESTS IN MAY 2015 (by John G3XDY)
A co-ordinated calendar of IARU Region 1 VHF Contests has now been produced and is available
here.
OTHER HF CONTESTS IN MAY 2015 (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
70MHz UKAC
144MHz UKAC
432MHz UKAC
1.3GHz UKAC
SHF UKAC
Overall UKAC
70MHz Cumulatives #2
80m Club Championship (CW)
80m Club Championship (SSB)
CHAIRMAN'S CORNER (by Ian G0FCT)
Recently, the VHF Manager has brought to my attention an error in VHF General Rule 1(b). This error relates to the change in status in
the RSGB band plans from 'Calling Frequency' to 'Centre of Activity'. The VHF Manager has informed me that a designated centre of activity
should have the same protection as a calling frequency from use during a contest. The only difference between a calling frequency and a
centre of activity is a station can conduct a contact on a centre of activity whereas a station can only establish initial contact on a calling
frequency but then must change frequency before continuing with the contact. Thus a centre of activity provides a hole in the spectrum for a
non-contesting station to conduct a contact.
Hence VHF General Rule 1(b) should read:
1b. Entrants must abide by their licence conditions and observe the RSGB/IARU band plans. On bands where the RSGB band plan specifies a calling
frequency or a centre of activity, this frequency, +/- 5 kHz, must not be used for contest QSOs or any other contest related communications. GB2RS
and GB2CW frequencies (+/- 5 kHz) must not be used during the period of a scheduled transmission from these stations. On 50MHz, entrants must not
call CQ within the DX window (50.100 to 50.130MHz) unless they only conduct QSOs with stations located in other continents
(i.e. inter-continental QSOs only).
The VHF General Rules will be formally amended in 2016. However, for the rest of 2015, entrants are asked to abide by the band plans and not use
frequencies designated as Centres of Activity (+/- 5 kHz) for any contest related communications.
REGISTRATION FOR HF NFD (UPDATE) (by Quin G3WRR)
Thanks to those groups who have registered so far. A couple of points to note:
* groups intending to use a name not already registered with the CC will need to register it by contacting afs.query@rsgbcc.org
* groups intending to enter two (or more!) stations should note that registrations for each station will need to be made under the callsigns
of different individuals (ie. the callsign shown on the "your callsign" line in Q1 should be different for each of the stations). If this is not
done the first registration will be overwritten by later ones!
Just a reminder that the closing date for registration is 10th May....and if you want to do so now while you remember, you can get to the
web site by clicking here.
REGISTRATION FOR VHF NFD (by Quin G3WRR)
Registration for VHF NFD is now open. The on line registration form is available via the VHF NFD rules web page or
here. Please note that the points regarding registration listed above for HF
NFD also apply to VHF NFD.
PARTICIPATION IN RSGB PRESIDENT'S REVIEW (by Quin G3WRR)
Newsletter readers will probably be aware via the RSGB website or May Radcom (see page 10) that a "broad review of the key aspects of [RSGB]
contest management" is to be undertaken, led by the RSGB President, and that members for the review team are being sought. It is important
that a wide spectrum of views (from all types of participants in RSGB contests ranging from casual entrants, through normal contesters - whatever
that means! - to dedicated enthusiasts) are represented to provide a balanced picture. Accordingly you are invited to consider whether you might be
able to participate in the review. The President is asking interested parties to contact him at g3wkl@rsgb.org.uk.
SPONSORSHIP OF RSGB CONTEST AWARDS - REPEAT REQUEST (by Quin G3WRR)
The CC's Trophy Administrator, Jacqui G6XSY, has mentioned that there has been a poor response to last month's request for sponsors for
certain RSGB contest awards. Accordingly the text of last month's item is repeated below....respondents welcome!
"Although most of the RSGB contest awards consist of trophies / cups / plaques that are awarded annually and passed from one year's
holder to the next (or retained by HQ), there are a number of annual awards (eg. for IOTA and BERU) consisting of plaques that are retained by the winner.
The CC is looking for new sponsors for existing awards of this type. Anyone interested in such sponsorship please contact the Trophy
Administrator at trophies@rsgbcc.org".
COMMUNICATIONS TO THE RSGB CONTEST COMMITTEE (by Quin G3WRR)
Readers are reminded that the UK HF CONTEST and UK VHF CONTEST reflectors are independent bodies, and not organs of the CC. It is important that this should remain so in order to provide a neutral environment for UK contesters to express their views. This being the case, it is frequently not clear whether a particular posting is: discussion of technical issues: something for the attention / action of the CC: simply letting off steam: testing the temperature of the water: humour: and there are no doubt others. As a result, although many CC members choose to follow them in order to keep a finger on the pulse of what is of interest within the UK contesting community, neither of these reflectors (nor any others) can be regarded as a formal channel of communication between UK contesters and the CC. Accordingly, the correct channel for formal communications, particularly if a CC response is required, is to contact the appropriate CC member, or by default the CC Chairman at chairman@rsgbcc.org.
Quin G3WRR
For RSGB Contest Committee