A series of short evening contests on 3.5MHz, promoting competition between Affiliated Societies. Individual scores in every event count towards a Society's overall score. A rolling listing is maintained on the Contest Committee HF Contests web page.

If you have any queries about these rules, please e-mail hf.query@rsgbcc.org.

Note - In 2018, it is planned that individual scores in the RSGB DX Contest may contribute towards a Society's overall score in this Autumn Series. More details in next year's Rules.

September and October:  1900-2030 UTC

November:  2000-2130 UTC

On PSK and RTTY, entrants must ensure that their transmitted signal is within the above frequency limits.

For the CW events there will be a separate category in each power section for stations who send all CW at 15wpm or slower for the entire contest. (Entrants will be prompted to choose this category by the log submission robot)

(a) These are contests between RSGB Affiliated Societies, represented by members in each Session of the series. There is no limit to the number who can participate on behalf of their Society, but entrants may represent only one Affiliated Society in a Session.

Societies must enter in one of two Categories:
(i) The Local Category is intended for societies drawing their membership from a limited geographical area.
(ii) The General Category is intended for societies which are national, regional, or more contest-oriented, and which may have a geographically diverse membership. Societies which do not specify their entry category will be placed in this General Category.

(b) The operators of Stations representing a Society must be members of that Society, but are not required to be RSGB members. Stations not representing a Society may enter and may compete for certificates mentioned in rule 8, but all operators of such stations must be RSGB members.

(d) Society members in the Local Category must operate from within a circle of radius 50 miles from their Virtual Meeting Place and be within the UK&CD. However, members whose home address (as shown on their OFCOM validation document) is greater than 50 miles from the Virtual Meeting Place of their nearest Affiliated Society may nonetheless operate from their home address when representing this Affiliated Society. Stations must state the UK&CD Postcode or 6-digit QTH locator of their location for the Session being entered when submitting their entry to the contest Robot.

(e) Societies that do not meet the requirements of the Local Category must enter in the General Category. Society members must operate from within the UK&CD. Members of the RSGB Contest Club, described below, may also enter this section.

(f) All stations are considered as single operator even if operated by more than one person.
Special Contest Callsigns or Club Callsigns may be used. All stations are classified as Assisted.

Remote operation is permitted where the Operator and the Station are situated in the same UK or CD country. Both the Operator's address and the Station's address must be included in the log submission. If competing for a Local Category Society, the Station address must comply with (d) above.

(g) The RSGB Contest Club is an RSGB sponsored group for members who wish to enter the RSGB Club Championship and Autumn Series as representatives of a club but who are not members of a participating Affiliated Society. To join the RSGB Contest Club, you need have no previous experience of contesting and you will not be obliged to enter all or any of the Club Championship or Autumn Series events. Please register with the group by sending your name, callsign and RSGB membership number by email to ContestClub@rsgbcc.org. The same e-mail address may also be used if you have any queries about the RSGB Contest Club.

One point per QSO.

Foundation entrants will have their scores multiplied by three; Intermediate entrants will have their scores multiplied by two. Operators must use the highest class of licence that they hold.

In the Datamodes events, the same station may be worked once on PSK and once on RTTY. The score in Datamodes events is the sum of the score on PSK and the score on RTTY.

A UK&CD station is required to be at one or both ends of a contact for it to count for points.

Stations operating outside the UK&CD are welcome to participate, and their scores will be listed with UK&CD stations in individual tables.
Non-UK&CD stations can earn certificates by providing points to UK&CD competitors, but scores from non-UK stations do not contribute to Society scores.

For the September Events, logs must be submitted by 23:59:59 (UTC) on the third day following each contest.

For the October Events, logs must be submitted by 23:59:59 (UTC) on the second day following each contest.

For the November Events, logs must be submitted by 23:59:59 (UTC) on the day following the end of the contest.

Submit in Cabrillo format here. View the correct Cabrillo format for this contest.

Before submission, check that you have used the correct Cabrillo Mode Codes:
RTTY = RY, PSK = PS, SSB = PH, CW = CW.

Logs must be uploaded individually, using the appropriate Club Name chosen from the list on the contest entry robot. If the robot finds format errors, it will reject the log and ask for resubmission of a corrected logfile.

Adjudicated results will be online and will include online logfiles for all entrants.

Errors will incur penalties as outlined in the RSGB HF Adjudication Principles. This penalty will be the loss of an additional 1 QSO point.

The use of CAT control to log the correct frequency and mode is highly recommended - you will lose QSO points for frequency or mode errors.

There will be a listing of Societies for Local and General Categories.

There will be separate listings for CW, SSB & Datamodes entrants, showing UK&CD & non-UK&CD together.

A comprehensive Awards Web Page will be online in due course.

(a)  Any infringement considered to be outside the spirit of the contest may result in an entry being reclassified as a Checklog or disqualified.

(b)   Self-spotting or asking to be spotted is not permitted.

(c)   Call signs logged must be the same as those exchanged over the air by the entrants during the QSO. Correction of logged call signs and exchanges after the contest, by use of any database, recordings, email or other methods, is not allowed.

(d)  All requests for contacts, responses to calls, and copying of call signs and contest exchanges must be accomplished during the contest period using the mode and frequencies of the contest.

(e)  You must send your callsign at least every 3rd QSO and no less often than once a minute .

(f)   Proof of contact e.g. an MP3 audio recording, may be used as part of the adjudication process.

By entering any RSGB HF Contest you declare that :

(a)  Your station was operated strictly in accordance with the rules and spirit of the contest, within the conditions of your licence, and that the power output from your transmitter was no greater than that permitted in the section of the contest that you are entering.

(b)  You agree that decisions of the RSGB HF Contest Committee will be final in cases of dispute.

(c)   By submitting a log entry, you give the RSGB permission to score, amend, publish, republish, print, and otherwise distribute that entry by any means.