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IOTA Contest FAQs
(The contest rules appear elsewhere on this website. These FAQs are
intended purely to expand on the rules, but not in any way to override
them)
1. Q. Who can take part?
A. All licensed amateurs may take part.
2. Q. What is the purpose of the contest?
A. The contest is based on the popular IOTA Awards Program, and is
intended to encourage contacts with island stations. There are also
special awards for expedition entrants, to encourage island expeditions
over the contest weekend.
3. Q. Who can I contact? A. You may
contact any amateur station, whether on an island or not. However,
extra points and multipliers are gained by working island stations.
4. Q. What bands may I use? A. The contest
takes place in the 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10m bands, in the IARU
contest-preferred segments. CW QSOs should take place in the recognised
CW ends of the bands.
5. Q. What power levels? A. There are
High Power, Low Power and QRP sections. These are defined as (High
Power) Whatever your licence permits, up to a maximum of 1500 watts
output; (Low Power) Maximum of 100 watts output; (QRP) Maximum of 5
watts output.
6. Q. What modes? A. The contest is
mixed-mode. Single-operators may enter as SSB, CW or Mixed Mode.
Multi-ops must enter as Mixed mode.
7. Q. How many hours can I operate? A.
The contest is 24 hours in length. As a single-operator, you can choose
to operate in a 24-hour or a 12-hour section (Multi-ops must enter as
24 hours). In the 12-hour section, your operating time starts with your
first QSO and ends with your last QSO. Off times before the first QSO
and after the last QSO need not be 60 minutes in length. Off-times
during your period of operation must, however, be a minimum of 60
minutes. So, for example, if you make a QSO at 1545 and the next at
1630, that is regarded as continuous operation. For the off-time to
count, your next QSO must not take place until 1645.
8. Q. What antennas? A. There are no
restrictions on antennas for most entrants, However, those entrants
competing for the Low Power Expedition Trophies are restricted to
single-element antennas (see below).
9. Q. What is the DXpedition category? A.
All entrants will be listed in the main results listing. However,
expedition stations will also be listed in the separate Expedition
Listing, and can compete for DXpedition trophies. The purpose of this
is to encourage DXpeditions to islands which might not otherwise be
activated during the contest. Therefore, an expedition must meet
certain criteria in terms of the island itself (for example, it must be
accessible only by sea or air, not by a bridge or causeway) and in the
nature of the operation, which must be set up on a temporary basis. Low
power expeditions are also restricted to single-element antennas, as
this is often all that can be carried on small aircraft or in small
boats.
10. Q. How does the scoring work? A.
Contacts with island stations count 15 points. Contacts with non-island
stations count 3 points. The only exception is that, if you are an
island station, contacts with your own IOTA group count 3 points.
11. Q. What is a good strategy for the contest?
A. The contest lasts just 24 hours, so you need to use every minute
effectively. Your exact strategy will depend on where in the world you
are. But remember that island QSOs count for five times as many points
as QSOs with non-island stations. Islands also count as multipliers,
once per band and per mode. So you will want to ensure that you work as
many multipliers as possible. In the Northern Hemisphere the night will
be short, as the contest takes place in the middle of summer, so you
will want to ensure that you use the LF bands effectively during the
hours of darkness.
12. Q. Can I use the Packet Cluster system?
A. Multi-ops may use the Packet Cluster. Single-Operators may also do
so, but should declare their entry as “Assisted”, and will be listed
separately from other entrants. Self-spotting is not allowed.
13. Q. What format should the log be? A.
Logs can be in any recognised form, paper or electronic. However, the
Cabrillo format is preferred, and the contest rules give examples to
illustrate this. Several of the popular logging programs now support
Cabrillo for the IOTA contest, or you can use a text editor to create
your own Cabrillo log. Please ensure that your log contains all the
necessary QSO data (date, time, frequency, your callsign and callsign
of station worked, RS(T) + serial + IOTA sent, RS(T) + serial + IOTA
received). If you use electronic means to log, then please send your
log in electronic form, either by e-mail or on disc. All logs will be
entered into a single database for adjudication. Paper logs will be
typed into the database by volunteers, and the organisers cannot be
held responsible for any errors in this process, which is why it is
always best to send an electronic log if possible. WA7BNM offers an
online form into which you can type small logs after the contest. This
generates the preferred Cabrillo format. It can be found at http://www.b4h.net/cabforms/iota_cab.php
14. Q. Are there any logging programs you recommend?
A. SDI (www.ei5di.com),
Writelog (www.writelog.com),
CT (www.k1ea.com),
LuxLog, N1MM (http://pages.cthome.net/n1mm/) and
several other popular programs support the IOTA contest effectively.
15. Q. Where should logs be sent? A.
Electronic logs should be sent to iota.logs@rsgbcc.org
Do not use any other address which you may have seen published. You
will receive an acknowledgement within 24 hours, asking you to go to a
Web page to complete the submission process. Paper logs should be sent
to RSGB IOTA Contest, PO Box 9, Potters Bar, Herts EN6 3RH, England.
16. Q. When will the results be published?
Where can I find them? A. Rules, claimed scores, soapbox, photographs
and, when they are ready, the final results, all appear on the RSGB
Contest Committee Web site (www.rsgbcc.org). The results are also
published in the RSGB’s monthly journal RadCom.
17. Q. What if I operate more than 12 hours, but enter
the 12-hour category. A. The first 12 hours of operation
will count.
18. Q. What if I enter single-mode but make some QSOs on
the other mode? A. The QSOs on the other mode will only
be used for checklog purposes.
19. Q. What if I sent an incorrect or duplicate serial
number during the contest? A. Log what you sent. This
way neither you nor the station you worked will lose points.
20. Q. How are the logs adjudicated. A.
Where we have logs for both sides of a QSO, we check all info
(callsign, time, band, mode, RS(T),serial number, IOTA received).
Errors in copying may result in the QSO being disallowed. Where we do
not have the other log, we are often still able to check many of these
details. Final scoring is based on remaining QSOs. So, for example, if
you lost a QSO which was a mult, as long as you worked that same mult
again later, you will have lost QSO points but not the multiplier. If
you did not work that same mult again, then you will have lost the
multiplier too.
21. Q. Are UBN reports available after the contest?
A. Yes, we have our own version of UBN, which gives you details of
where you gained or lost points. Send an e-mail to iotacontest@rsgbcc.org
requesting the UBN after the results are available.
22. Q. What trophies and certificates are available for
taking part in the contest? A. A large number of
trophies and certificates are available, based on category and
continent, but not on individual countries. A full list appears on the
RSGB CC Web site.
23. Q. Where can I go for more information?
A. If anything is unclear, you can e-mail a question to iotacontest@rsgbcc.org
24. Q. How can I find out more about the IOTA Awards
Program? A. The IOTA Awards Program is run by the RSGB,
and details appear on the following Web page: www.rsgbiota.org
You can also buy an IOTA Directory from the RSGB, which gives full
details of the Program, along with lots of other related information.
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