- Foundation entrant’s scores are multiplied by three; Intermediate entrant’s by two
- In CW, a separate entry category for those operating with a maximum speed of 15 words per minute (WPM) – plus a 5 kHz segment where stations should not call CQ faster than 15WPM
- A Le Mans start with 2 minutes of radio silence before the start time of each contest – leaping into the operating seat at 8pm is optional. It will be fascinating to see how this works out.
- A Local Category radius of 80kms so more clubs will be able to be Local rather than General
- Monthly reducing submission times to help clubs who are mentoring newcomers to contest technology
- Monday 11th September SSB
- Wednesday 20th September CW
- Thursday 28th September Data
- Monday 9th October CW
- Wednesday 18th October Data
- Thursday 26th October SSB
- Monday 13th November Data
- Wednesday 22nd November SSB
- Thursday 30th November CW
DATE: 14th August 2017 |
|
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, May, June, July, August, September, September special, October, November, December 2016 -- January, February, September, October, October special, November special 2017 -- January special, February, July |
UKAC Scoring Consultation (Andy G4PIQ - vhfcc.chair@rsgbcc.org)
Many of you will be aware that there has been an ongoing activity to review the UKAC scoring systems. The consultation document for VHF-UHF UK Activity Contest future scoring schemes is available here (25-page/3.1MB PDF). You can send questions on this consultation to vhf.survey@rsgbcc.org.
You can vote for your favourite scoring scheme until the 20th August here
RSGB DX Contest (by Nick G4FAL - hfcc.chair@rsgbcc.org)
Please put the RSGB DX Contest in your diary – Sunday 8 October 2017.This year the contest is a single day event but has been expanded to 18 hours, running from 05:00 - 23:00 UTC and now includes SSB and CW on the 3.5, 7, 14, 21 and 28 MHz bands. The contest exchange is RS(T) plus serial number - starting at 1 and incrementing by 1, irrespective of band. All QSOs will score but points are higher for QSOs between United Kingdom, Channel Island or Isle of Man stations and others.
Multipliers are the countries of the DXCC list on each band and mode for United Kingdom, Channel Island and Isle of Man stations and for other stations the first contact with each United Kingdom, Channel Island or Isle of Man callsign prefix, for example, G3, GJ0, MM0 etc., on each band and each mode will be a multiplier.
The DX Contest is a development of a long established series of HF contests on 21 and 28 MHz which is now enhanced to accommodate a period of reduced propagation on the higher bands. This contest is always an excellent opportunity for United Kingdom, Channel Island and Isle of Man stations to have DX QSOs and for other stations to work United Kingdom , Channel Island and Isle of Man stations on multiple bands and modes.
The DX Contest is held near to the autumnal equinox which can deliver excellent world-wide propagation. The contest has been advertised internationally so we do hope to have plenty of non-UK participants.
The full rules can be found from the RSGB HF Calendar page at http://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/.
Autumn Series (by Nick G4FAL - hfcc.chair@rsgbcc.org)
If you enjoyed the 80m CCs then please support the Autumn Series of introductory Club Contests. The details for the first running of this contest series can be found from the RSGB HF Calendar page at http://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/. Many of the ideas for these contests were suggested by our contesters and then the rules were chosen in a Survey that we held earlier in the year.
The series includes features which are designed to encourage newcomers
so please discuss in your radio clubs how you will use this series for
mentoring new contesters. You don’t have to be a member of an
Affiliated Society in order to participate but if you are an RSGB
member and you would like to be a part of a team then you can join the
RSGB Contest Club and enter on behalf of this group.
Although the rules are similar to the 80m Club Championships, there are some subtle differences:
To
avoid congestion with other contests, the contests start each month on
the second Monday with the full schedule shown below:
If
you have any questions about this series please e-mail hf.query@rsgbcc.org.
If not, we look forward to lots of QSOs in the nine events in the
autumn.
Keeping to the Band Plan (by Ian G0FCT - csc.chair@rsgbcc.org)
The
high level
of activity in the 144 MHz UKAC means that finding a frequency
to
operate on within the normally used frequency segment for SSB (144.150
MHz to 144.399 MHz) can be very difficult. Entrants are reminded that
the RSGB VHF Contest General Rules explicitly require adherence to the
RSGB Band Plan. Stations using SSB below 144.150 MHz or between 144.400
MHz and 144.500 MHz during the 144 MHz UKAC are liable to be penalised
and the VHFCC reserves the right to penalise both parties in a QSO made
outside of the band plan.
However, there is another segment (in
the all mode section) of 2m that can be used during the UKAC (144.500
MHz to 144.794 MHz). The VHFCC recognises that this is not normally in
use during SSB contests, but if people would like to try calling CQ in
a quieter part of the band, why not try between 144.500 MHz and 144.794
MHz, taking care to avoid the designated calling frequencies and
centres of activity for other modes such as SSTV, ATV talk back,
Digital Voice and Data (see RSGB Band Plans for the latest
band
plan).
G6XX (by Nick G4FAL - hfcc.chair@rsgbcc.org)
The callsign 6XX was held by the RSGB in the 1920s and was used in transatlantic tests. This was before the prefix “G” was added to callsigns in England, so G-6XX was used.G6XX is a now held as a club callsign by the RSGB Contest Club.
We believe that this is the first time for many years that the RSGB has held a normal callsign. Ofcom have agreed that the callsign (and any other club callsign) may be used simultaneously in more than one of the UK and Crown Dominion entities so do not be surprised if you come across G6XX and GM6XX, for example, in the same contest.
We are open to ideas for how this callsign can be used by the RSGB to support the development of contesting and to represent the RSGB in international contests.
Welcome to Mike Tubby G8TIC who recently joined the VHFCC. The current membership of the VHFCC is:
Andy G4PIQ (Chair VHFCC)
Ian G0FCT (Chair CSC)
Mike G0GJV
John G3XDY
Stewart G3YSX (Board Liasion Member)
Pete G4CLA
Nick G4FAL (Chair HFCC)
Richard G4HGI
Mike G8TIC
Martin GM8IEM
Richard GD8EXI
Minutes of Contest Committee Meetings
The minutes of contest committee meetings are available here.
RSGB Contests in 2017
The full 2017 RSGB contest calendars and rules for all RSGB contests are available here (HF) and here (VHF)
For more data on a wide range HF contests, the SM3CER and WA7BNM websites are very useful sources of information.
Another useful source of HF contest information is on the website of HB9DHG which can be reached by going to http://www.hb9dhg.ch, and selecting "Contest Calendar".
That's all for this edition of the Newsletter
73,
Ian Pawson G0FCT
Chair, RSGB Contest Support Committee
(csc.chair@rsgbcc.org)