Radio Society of Great Britain – Contest Committee


RSGB - Contest Committee

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    RSGB FT4 Contest Series


    A series of nine short duration events on 80m, 40m and 20m to allow entrants to experience FT4 in a competitive context.

    A collection of FT4 tips and hints is available here

    Rule changes for 2023:

    1. Required exchange is call sign and signal report
    2. DXCC multipliers introduced in place of large Locator Square multpliers

    1. Objective To score as many points as possible in this DXCC based multiplier contest

    2. Date & Time (1) Monday 27th February 2023: 2000 - 2130 UTC

    (2) Monday 27th March 2023: 1900 - 2030 UTC

    (3) Monday 24th April 2023: 1900 - 2030 UTC

    (4) Monday 22nd May 2023: 1900 - 2030 UTC

    (5) Monday 26th June 2023: 1900 - 2030 UTC

    (6) Monday 17th July 2023: 1900 - 2030 UTC

    (7) Monday 18th September 2023: 1900 - 2030 UTC

    (8) Monday 16th October 2023: 1900 - 2030 UTC

    (9) Monday 27th November 2023: 2000 - 2130 UTC

    QSOs will not be accepted at or past the end time

    All contests in this series will have a 'Le Mans' start. This means that entrants must not transmit during the two minutes immediately before the contest start time or use any other method to reserve a frequency.

    Stations that transmit during this two minute period will have 5 QSO points deducted from their score

    3. Mode & Frequency

    (a) Mode: Standard FT4 format will be used as implemented in WSJT-X V2.5.4 or later or the equivalent in JTDX, MSHV etc. The installation packages for the WSJT-X software are available here.  DO NOT USE the dedicated Contest formats.

    (b) Frequency:

    (i) The recommended dial frequencies will be 3576, 3579 and 3582 kHz (USB) on 80m, 7047.5 kHz (USB) on 40m and 14080 kHz (USB) on 20m

    (ii) Entrants are not permitted to operate as a FOX in FOX & HOUND mode

    4. Entrants and Sections Sections:
    1. UK 100W OPEN: 100W output power, Two Radios and/or any form of automation, UK&CD only
    2. UK 100W RESTRICTED: 100W output power, Single Radio, UK&CD only
     3. UK 10W RESTRICTED: 10W output power, Single Radio, UK&CD only
    4. Non-UK 100W OPEN: 100W output power, Two Radios and/or any form of automation, Non-UK&CD only
    5. Non-UK 100W RESTRICTED: 100W output power, Single Radio    , Non-UK&CD only
    6. Non-UK 10W RESTRICTED: 10W output power, Single Radio, Non-UK&CD only

    (a) Entrants may be Single or Multi-operator

    (b) UK&CD entrants must be RSGB members

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

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

    (e) All entries are classified as Assisted

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

    (g) Remote receivers outside of the Station location are not permitted

    (h) 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. 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. The location of the Station must also comply with the requirements above.

    (i) 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

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

    5. Exchange (a) Signal report is required

    (b) Serial number is NOT required

     (c) We suggest that you amend your TX6 message to start CQ TEST or CQ RSGB

    6. Scoring (a) One point per QSO

    (b) QSOs with HQ stations G#6XX will count for 5 points and 1 DXCC multiplier on each band

    (c) Final score is the total number of QSOs points multiplied by the total number of DXCC countries worked

    (d) Non-UK&CD stations may work other non-UK&CD stations and will score the same points/multipliers as UK&CD stations

    (e) Each station may work each other station once on each band for points

    (f) Working the same DXCC country on each band counts towards your total of DXCC countries

    (g) Stations operating outside the UK&CD are welcome to participate, and their scores will be listed in separate tables

    (h) Scores will be normalised in each section for each contest so that the scores can be added to give a total score for the series per section

    7. Log Submission and
        Adjudication     		(a) Submit your logfile in ADIF format as produced by WSJT-X or in Cabrillo format. Please submit your log here within 24 hours of the end of each event.  Click on this link to view an example of the correct Cabrillo format for your logfile.

    (b) If the log submission robot finds format errors, it will reject the log and ask for resubmission of a corrected logfile. (You can correct Cabrillo format errors using any text editor e.g. Notepad)

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

    (d) Errors will incur penalties as outlined in the RSGB HF Adjudication Principles. This penalty will be the loss of an additional 1 QSO point.

    (e) Adjudicated results will be online and will include online logfiles for all entrants

    (f) The use of CAT control to log the correct frequency and mode is recommended

    8. Results and Awards

    (a) There will be separate tables of Results for each of the six sections

    (b) A certificate may also be downloaded by all entrants showing their individual position

    9. Supplementary Rules
    (a)   Any infringement considered to be outside the spirit of the contest may result in an entry being reclassified as a Checklog or disqualified
    (b)   Self-spotting or asking to be spotted is not permitted
    (c)   Call signs and locators logged must be the same as those exchanged over the air by the entrants during the contest period.
    (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

    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 Graham G0NBI
    Updated 28th June 2023