Radio Society of Great Britain – Contest Committee


RSGB - Contest Committee

  • Home
  • HF pages
  • VHF pages
  • HF Calendar, Results
  • HF Log upload
  • Email alerts
  • Information
  • Privacy Policy
    RSGB International Low Power Contest

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

    Rule changes for 2025:

    1. Voluntary pre-contest registration has been introduced

    1. Objective A contest for operators to experiment with QRP and low power levels, with a choice of fixed or portable operation.

    2. Date & Time 20th July 2025

    0900-1200 & 1300-1600 UTC

    QSOs will not be accepted at or past the end time

    3. Frequencies and Power CW only

    3510 - 3580 kHz  (recommended 3540 - 3560 kHz)
    7000 - 7040 kHz  (recommended 7020 - 7040 kHz)
    14000 - 14060 kHz  (recommended 14040 - 14060 kHz)

    Stations may be contacted once on each band

    10W maximum - see section 4 below

    Only one signal may be transmitted at any one time

    4. Entrants and Sections

    (a) Entrants may be Single or Multi-operator

    (b) UK&CD entrants must be RSGB members. Any UK&CD single operator with a Full License must be a member of the RSGB.

    (c) Multi-Operator entries by RSGB members may include non-member operators whose highest class of licence is Foundation or Intermediate

    (d) Entries may be Assisted or Unassisted (category selected during log submission)

    (e) Special Contest Callsigns or Club Callsigns may be used

    (f) Portable stations must sign /P

    (g) Each Group or individual may wish to register their intentions to operate in the contest (here), this is not mandatory, but is recomended so others will know who is likely to be active.

    (h) There are six sections:
    (h.1) UK&CD Fixed stations - 10W RF output maximum
    (h.2) UK&CD Portable stations - 10W RF output maximum
    (h.3) UK&CD Fixed stations - 5W RF output maximum
    (h.4) UK&CD Portable stations - 5W RF output maximum
    (h.5) Non-UK&CD Fixed/Portable stations - 10W RF output maximum
    (h.6) Non-UK&CD Fixed/Portable stations - 5W RF output maximum

    (i) Antennas used by Portable stations must not exceed 15m high, with no more than two elevated supports.

    (j) Operation must be from a single Station location where all transmitters, receivers, and antennas are located within a circle of a radius no greater than 500m

    (k) Remote receivers outside the Station location are not permitted

    (l) Remote operation of a station is allowed where the operator is situated within the same country on the DXCC list. Additionally an operator's home station, as shown in the licensee's licence documents, may be remotely operated from a location in another country.

    (m) A remotely operated station must obey all station licence, operator licence, and category conditions. The callsign used must be one issued or permitted by the Regulatory Authority of the remote station location.

    (n) The address of the operator must be included in the 'Address of Operator when operating Remote from Station Address' box on the Station Information Page and the address of the remote station must be included in the Cabrillo header 'ADDRESS:' box.

    (o) The RSGB HF Contest Committee may place remotely operated stations in a separate results table

    5. Exchange RS(T)  +  Serial Number starting at 1 and incrementing by 1  +  Transmitted power; entrants will not be penalised if their sent serial numbers are logged slightly out of sequence

    Serial numbers continue through all three bands and both sessions

    Power is expressed with 'W' as decimal point, e.g. '1W', '10W', '1W5'

    For more than 10W, send 'QRO'

    Please log any exchange that you are sent to the best capability of your logging facility; if you are not sent an exchange, log a zero

    6. Scoring Contacts with Low Power Portable or Mobile stations: 15 points

    Contacts with Low Power Fixed stations: 10 points

    All other contacts: 5 points

    Note: For the purposes of scoring, Low Power stations are those using 10W RF output or less

    7. Log Submission
            and Adjudication     		Submit in Cabrillo format here by 23:59:59 UTC on the fifth day following the end of the contest. View the correct Cabrillo format for this contest.

    If the robot finds format errors, it will reject the log and ask for resubmission of a corrected logfile. Second and subsequent log uploads may be subject to analysis of any changes that have been made.

    If you have difficulties preparing or uploading your Cabrillo logfile, please contact the contest adjudicator to ask for assistance, before the submission deadline.

    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 10 QSO points.

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

    8. Results and Awards

    There will be separate tables of results for UK&CD and non-UK&CD entrants, one table for each section

    Assisted and Unassisted status for each entry will be indicated in each section results table

    Awards for RSGB HF Contests are shown here. There are awards for both UK&CD entrants and non-UK entrants.

    Trophies and certificates will be awarded to the Leading Unassisted Station in each section

    Certificates will be awarded to the Leading Assisted Station in each section

    Winners of awards will be indicated in the results tables complete with downloadable certificates

    A certificate may also be downloaded by all entrants showing their position in their entry section

    Single-operator entrants in the UK&CD will have their scores entered automatically into the RSGB HF Championship

    9. Supplementary Rules
    (a)   Any infringement considered to be outside the spirit of the contest may result in QSOs being disallowed, the entry being reclassified as a Checklog, or the entry being disqualified. 
    (b)   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.
    (c)   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.
    (d)   You must send your callsign at least every 3rd QSO and no less often than once a minute.
    (e)   Proof of contact e.g. an MP3 audio recording, may be required as part of the adjudication process.
    (f)   UK&CD entrants are required to use a Regional Secondary Locator (RSL) where it is necessary to clarify the entity from which they are operating. Stations operating from England may optionally use the RSL “E”. If no RSL is used e.g. M0HDG, G6XX or GB4ABC, the station will be assumed to be in England. The use of a misleading RSL will disqualify the entry.
    (g)   UK&CD entrants may append their call sign with one of the following: /A (Alternative Address), /P (Temporary Location), /M (Mobile) or /MM (Maritime Mobile) and this will comprise part of the call with which they enter. Other suffixes used by UK&CD stations, whether or not they are entrants, will be removed in adjudication and need not be logged.

    10. Declaration 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, entrants give the RSGB permission to score, amend, publish, republish, print, and otherwise distribute that entry by any means.

    11. Adjudicator
    John G4CZB
    Updated 19th November 2024