Radio Society of Great Britain VHF Contests Committee

  General Rules for RSGB VHF/UHF/SHF Contests 1998

1. Entries

a. In submitting an entry to a contest, you agree to be bound by the rules and spirit of the contest, and you agree that the decision of the RSGB shall be final in cases of dispute.

b. All paper and/or disk entries should be addressed to P.O. Box 2399, Reading, RG7 4FB.

c. Alternatively, entries may be submitted by e-mail to vhf-entry@blacksheep.org.

d. Entries should be postmarked or e-mailed not later than 16 days after the end of the contest, or, for cumulative contests, the last activity period.

e. Entries become the property of RSGB and cannot be returned.

f. Proof of contact may be required. Any station may be approached, without notice to the entrant, for confirmation of contact details.

g. In case of dispute, in the first instance, the Chairman of the VHF Contests Committee (VHFCC) should be contacted in writing. The VHFCC may refer cases of appeal may be to RSGB Council. Council's decision shall be final.

h. In multi-band contests, single band entries are always acceptable.

i. Queries about the contests may be addressed to the VHFCC Chairman - Steve Thompson, G8GSQ, PO Box 2399, Reading, RG7 4FB, Tel : (0118) 982 0848, evenings / weekends - FAX at other times. e-mail : g8gsq@blacksheep.org.

2. Paperwork

a. All paper or disk entries should be accompanied by a VHF/UHF contest cover sheet (form 427) for each band used, or a similar form which supplies the same information. Please include a contact telephone number or e-mail address in case of query.

b. The logs for paper contest entries should be made out on current RSGB VHF/UHF log sheets or a close replica. These forms may be photo-copied from the RSGB callbook, or small quantities are available from members of the VHFCC upon receipt of an SAE. Larger quantities may be purchased from RSGB HQ. If computer listings are to be submitted, these should be cut to A4 size, and be in RSGB log format, line spaced to contain 25 contacts per sheet, and be correctly collated (not Z fold). Each sheet should be headed with the entrants callsign, IARU locator, contest title and sheet number. Logs should be tabulated as follows :-

 

i. Date/time (GMT)

ii. Callsign of station worked

iii. My report on his/her signal and serial number

iv. His/her report on my signal and serial number

v. IARU Locator received

vi. QTH or county received (when required) or comments

vii. Points claimed.

c. Alternatively, entries are encouraged on floppy disk. The VHFCC guarantees that such entries will receive the same level of scrutiny as similar logs submitted on paper. A paper copy of the log is not required, but a VHF/UHF contest cover sheet (form 427) is required.

 

i. All files must be on an MS-DOS formatted disk, 3.5" (720KB or 1.44MB) or 5.25" (360KB or 1.2MB).

ii. The disk label must clearly indicate the contest name and the name of the log file(s), which must consist of the callsign and the extension .LOG, e.g. G9XXX.LOG or G9XXX-P.LOG.

iii. The log file must consist of one logical line of data per contact. Acceptable formats are CT .BIN, NA .QDF, Super Duper .LOG, G0GJV .GJVLOG/.GJV, G3WGV .LOG, N6TR .DAT, REG1TEST and RSGB standard log format for disk logs. Details of the RSGB format may be found on page xx. of this supplement. We will endeavour to work with any other reasonable format - please contact the VHFCC to discuss this.

iv. All diskettes become the property of the RSGB, unless you enclose an SAE, whereupon the disk will be returned to you.

d. Entries may also be submitted by e-mail to vhf-entry@blacksheep.org.

 

i. The blacksheep system will send you a receipt when your entry is received.

ii. The same formats and naming conventions for log files listed above in rules 2c (ii & iii) are acceptable.

iii. The title of your mail message should contain the contest for which you are submitting the entry and your callsign.

iv. You must also submit a text file which contains the same information as on a paper VHF/UHF contest cover sheet (form 427). Suitable templates can be found at http://www.blacksheep.org/vhfcc/stationery.

v. The WWW page http://www.blacksheep.org/vhfcc   may also contain details of other means of electronic log submission as they become available.

 

 

e. In contests with a multiplier scoring system, when submitting paper logs, please also submit a list of multipliers worked, showing at least the callsign, and either serial number sent or time of QSO, for each contact claimed as a new multiplier.

f. Any complaiadverse comments received or made about signal quality must be recorded in the comments column of the paper log or electronic log.

3. Station/Operators

a. All operators must be RSGB members except in VHF NFD and the Affiliated Society contests - see individual rules.

b. Stations entering a fixed station section or contest must operate from permanent and substantial buildings located at the main station address as shown on the licence validation document. The spirit of the contest will be paramount.

c. Entrants must not change their location or callsign during the contest. In multi-band events, all stations forming one entry must be located within a circle of 1 km radius.

d. Stations located outside of the UK (G, GW, GM, GI, GD, GU, GJ) may enter a contest, and will be tabulated within the overall results tables, but will only be eligible for their own awards.

e. Entries will not be accepted from stations using special event callsigns (e.g. GB), or special club callsigns (e.g. GX, GS etc.) Normal club callsigns can be used - i.e. G4DSP is OK, but GX4DSP is not.

f. There must be only one frequency used for transmit on any band at any one time.

g. The lower of the contest power limit or the standard licence power limit must not be exceeded during the contest. Contacts made under a high-power permit will not count for points. Severe action may be taken against infringements of this rule.

h. Stations which persistently radiate poor quality signals, cause deliberate interference to other stations, or otherwise contravene the code of practice for VHF/UHF/SHF contest operation may be penalised.

i. Entrants must permit inspection of their stations by members of VHFCC or its representatives, and give site access information if requested to do so. The inspector must be permitted to remain for as long as desired, and to return to the site for subsequent inspections at any time during the contest. Contestants must demonstrate to the inspector's satisfaction that they are obeying the rules of the contest.

4. Contacts

a. The contest exchange consists of at least both callsigns, RS(T) signal reports followed by a serial number, and the IARU locator. Particular contests may require additional information to be exchanged as described in the individual contest rules.

b. Serial numbers start from 001 on each band and advance by one for each contact. In cumulative contests serial numbers start from 001 for each activity period.

c. Crossband contacts do not count for points below 2.3 GHz. On 2.3 GHz and above, crossband contacts are scored at 50% of the two way score.

d. No points will be lost if a non-competing station cannot provide an IARU locator, serial number, or any other information that may be required. However, the receiving operator must receive and record sufficient information to be able to calculate the score.

e. Contacts with callsigns appearing as operators on any of the cover sheets forming an entry will not count for points or multipliers. In AFS contests, stations within the same AFS team may work each other for points/multipliers.

f. Only one scoring contact may be made with a given station on each band, regardless of suffix (/P, /M, etc.) during an individual contact or cumulative activity period. All non-scoring contacts must be clearly marked in the log, and unmarked duplicates will be penalised at ten times the claimed score for that contact.

g. Contacts made using repeaters, satellites or moonbounce will not count for points.

h. The IARU/RSGB band-plans must be observed.

i. All information must be copied off air at the time of the QSO. Databases must not be used to fill in missing information.

j. The DX Cluster may be used in all sections of the contest, but deliberate self-spotting by the entrant or close associates is not permitted.

k. Any band may be used for setting up contacts or talkback. No confirmation of QSO details must take place on the talkback frequency. All exchanges for the contest band in use must be made on that band. The talkback channel can be used for antenna alignment signals and confirmation that signals are audible, but not for giving reports and serial numbers.

l. In contests with a section SS, single operator fixed stations may enter and choose any continuous 6 hour period in which to operate (e.g. 1500-2300, or 1917-0317). Serial numbers must start at 001 for this period, and you cannot enter both this section and the full contest.

5. Scoring

a. Scoring will normally be at 1 point per km. Contacts with stations in the same locator square as your station will score 3 points.

b. For computer purposes a conversion factor of 111.2 km/degree must be used.

c. Multi-band contests will contain an overall results table in addition to the individual band results. The scores in this final tabulation will be formed by taking the sum of the normalised scores on each band. The normalised scores will be calculated by :-

Normalised score for each band/session = Score achieved x 1000
                                                    Band/session leader score

6. Awards & Results

a. Certificates will be awarded to the leading and second placed station in each section of the contest. Additional certificates of merit may be awarded at the adjudicator's discretion.

b. In all contests/sections where the power limit is above 25W, a certificate will be awarded to the leading fixed station using 25W or less into a single antenna.

c. Placement certificates showing the result achieved in the contest can be obtained by including an A4 SAE with the entry marked with callsign, contest and (if applicable) group name.

7. Multipliers

a. Where a contest uses multipliers, the score for each band will be the number of points made on that band multiplied by the number of multipliers contacted on that band.

b. The type of multiplier scheme for a particular contest will be referred to in the individual rules for the contest. Not all contests will use multipliers.

c. Each new multiplier must be clearly marked in the log and a summary sheet provided (see rule 2c.)

d. In post code multiplier contests, each Scottish Post Code may be worked up to three times for multiplier credit, and BT for Northern Ireland may be worked up to six times for multiplier credit.

e. In co-operation with the HFCC, we have agreed that because of the break-down of the existing counties for 1998, we will replace county multipliers with Post Code Area multipliers.

In these events the exchange will include the first 2 letters of the postcode (e.g. EN from EN5 7JE). Where a post code consists of only a single initial letter (e.g. B6 9AA), the exchange will be padded out to 2 letters - ie in this case 'BM'. A complete list of valid exchanges is available here.

This extended exchange is used to keep a common format, but entrants need to be aware that some non-contestants may not be aware of their extended code.

 

Next Rules | Rules Home | VHFCC Home