Radio Society of Great Britain – Contest Committee


RSGB - Contest Committee

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    RSGB IOTA Contest
    In line with “Stay at Home” guidance, to minimise the impact of Covid-19, the IOTA Contest in 2020 is exclusively for Single Operators using their home stations;
    Single Operator Fixed “Island” or “World” Stations are eligible to enter

    RSGB will not be awarding trophies in 2020 but downloadable certificates will be available to winners

    The RSGB IOTA Contest is the most popular contest in the RSGB HF Contests calendar, attracting entries from around the world.

    IOTA refers to the RSGB "Islands on the Air" awards. A newcomers' guide to the system of IOTA references and further information on the IOTA Contest can be found at the IOTA Contest Information page and on the IOTA Contest FAQ page. A beginners' guide to operating in the contest is here.

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

    Changes for 2020:  

    (i) The sending of RS(T) in every QSO is mandatory 

    (ii) The contest in 2020 is exclusively for Single Operators using their home stations

    (iii) RSGB are not awarding trophies for the 2020 IOTA Contest
    1. Objective To promote contacts between stations in IOTA island groups and the rest of the world
    2. Date & Time 25th - 26th July 2020
    12:00 - 11:59:59 UTC
    3. Frequencies and Modes 3.5, 7, 14, 21 and 28 MHz
    CW and/or SSB
    4 (a) Entrants

    The contest is open to all single operator stations world-wide

    Stations operating from a qualifying island are "Island Stations". They must make sure beforehand that the QTH from which they are operating is a valid island for IOTA purposes. This can be checked and Island References can be obtained here.

    Stations not operating from a qualifying island are "World Stations"

    Special Contest Callsigns or Club Callsigns may be used

    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

    Remote receivers outside the Station location are not permitted

    4 (b) Categories

    4.1 CATEGORY - LOCATION:

    (i) "Island Station - Fixed", a station operating from a qualifying IOTA island, explained in Rule 4(a)

    (ii) "Island Station - DXpedition", may not enter the contest in 2020

    (iii) A "World Station" is any station which is not an Island Station

    4.2 CATEGORY - OPERATORS:

    (i)  Single Operator Unassisted

    (ii) Single Operator Assisted

    The Category Overlay - NEWCOMER is available to Single Operator entrants, where the operator was first licensed less than 3 years before the date of the contest

    In Single Operator categories, only one signal may be transmitted at any one time

    (iii) Island Multi-1 stations may not enter the contest in 2020

    (iv) Island Multi-2 stations may not enter the contest in 2020

    There are no World Station Multi-Operator categories

    4.3 CATEGORY - MODE:

    CW
    SSB
    Mixed-Mode

    4.4 CATEGORY - OPERATING TIME:

    24 hours
    12 hours. In the 12-hour category, operation need not be for one continuous 12-hour period, but once operation has commenced in the contest, off periods must be a minimum of 60 minutes.

    4.5 CATEGORY - POWER:

    High Power -- maximum licensed power, but no more than 1500W output
    Low Power - maximum 100W output
    QRP - maximum 5W output

    Any station not indicating transmitter power will be classified as High Power

    5. Exchange

    World Stations: send RS(T) and serial number starting from 1, for example:    599 254

    Island Stations: send RS(T) and serial number starting from 1, plus their IOTA Reference, for example:    59 378 EU115

    If you are not sent a serial number, log a zero

    Mixed-Mode entrants may contact stations on both CW and SSB on each band. Do not use separate numbering systems for CW and SSB. 

    Island stations should announce their IOTA Reference during CQ calls so that other stations can check for Dupes before replying

    6. Scoring

    Island Stations contacting:
            World Stations: 5 points
            Island Stations     having the same IOTA reference: 5 points
            Other Island Stations: 15 points

    World Stations contacting:
            World Stations: 2 points
            Island Stations: 15 points

    Multiplier. The multiplier is the total of different IOTA references contacted on each band on CW, plus the total of different IOTA references contacted on each band on SSB

    The Total Score is the total of QSO points on all bands added together, multiplied by the total of multipliers on all bands added together
    7. Log Submission
            and Adjudication     		Submit in Cabrillo format here within 5 days of 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 5 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

    RSGB will not be awarding trophies in 2020 but downloadable certificates will be available to winners

    Winners of awards will be indicated in the results tables complete with downloadable certificates
    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)   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 required as part of the adjudication process
    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
    Mike G3VYI
    Updated 25th April 2020