This year the contest committee invited entrants to the VHF UK activity contests to complete an online survey. Feedback from that survey has been used as a guide to make some changes to the rules for 2009. The sections for the 2009 UK activity contests are now "Open" and "Restricted". The Restricted section will be for stations running 100W or less to a single antenna. There will be no distinction between single and multi-operator, which was thought to be of less importance in such short contests. All UKACs will now be scored at 1 point per Kms and each will have it's own club championship listings. Points will be normalised per section for calculating club scores. There was strong support for square Multipliers wnd these will continue to be used (M2).
There was a two-to-one majority
in favour of retaining the ban on the use of the DX cluster and internet chat
rooms to assist in making QSO's on 70cms and below.
The normalisation scoring for multi-band contests that include microwave bands
above 10GHz (May and Oct) has been changed to line up with the IARU Region
1 system. See General Rule 5c.
The 144MHz and 50MHz Backpackers contests rules have been extensively revised in response to suggestions from entrants. All sections in both contests are open to single and multi-operator entrants.
There are now only two sections in the 144MHz Backpacker contest with power levels of 3W and 10W. In the 3W ('Backpackers') section, all equipment must be carried and operated at least 100m from the transportation vehicle. Operation from a motor vehicle is permitted in the 10W ('Hill Toppers') section.
The 50MHz Backpacker contest now has a single section with a power limit of 3W and all equipment must be carried and operated at least 100m from the transportation vehicle. Please enter the 6 hour or 24 hours section of the 50MHz Trophy contest (same weekend) if you want to run more than 3W. Please consult the revised rules for further details.
The Contest Log file entry procedure has changed for 2009. We no longer accept entries for VHF contests via email. You should upload your contest logs to http://www.rsgbcc.org/cgi-bin/vhfenter.pl . There is a list of Frequently Asked Questions about the new system here. You can check that your entry has been received here.
The web based logher system will continue to be available for 2009 contests, for anyone who prefers not to use a computer based logging program during the contest. This will enable entrants to transfer their log after the contest into an electronic form. This should do away with the need for anyone to send in a paper-based log, although these will still be acceptable if an entrant has no access to the Internet. Click here to use the web based logger system.
The RSGB Contests Committee, which organises these contests, welcomes ideas, feedback and constructive criticism which can be e-mailed to chairman@rsgbcc.org or sent to any committee member.