Radio Society of Great Britain – Contest Committee


RSGB - Contest Committee

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    RSGB FT4 Contest Series


    A series of monthly short duration events on 80m, 40m, 20m, 15m and 10m to allow entrants to experience FT4 in a competitive context.

    A collection of FT4 tips and hints is available here

    Rule changes for 2025:

    1. The number of sessions has been increased to 12 (one per month) with the best 9 results contributing to the final score
    2. The duration of each event has been increased to two hours (8pm to 10pm UK local time)
    3. There are no bonus points/DXCC for working 'HQ' stations.

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

    2. Date & Time
    On Mondays only - click     here for specific dates.

    QSOs will  not be accepted at or past the end time

    3. Mode & Frequency

    (a) Mode: Standard FT4 format will be used as implemented in WSJT-X V2.6.1 or later or the equivalent in JTDX, MSHV, WSJT-Z etc. The installation packages for the WSJT-X software are available here.  DO NOT USE the dedicated Contest formats.

    (b) Bands and recommended frequencies

    (i) 80m, 40m, 20m, 15m and 10m

    (ii) The recommended dial frequencies (all USB) are:

    80m: 3576 kHz

    40m: 7047.5 kHz

    20m: 14080 kHz

    15m: 21140 kHz

    10m: 28180 kHz

    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. Any UK&CD single operator with a Full License must be a member of the RSGB.

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

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

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

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

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

    (g) 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

    (h) The maximum number of sessions that will count towards the final individual scores will be NINE. Only the lowest scoring entries are discarded.

    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)   Call signs logged must be the same as those exchanged over the air by the entrants during the contest period.
    (c)   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
    (d)   UK&CD entrants are required to use a Regional Secondary Locator (RSL) where it is necessary to clarify the entity from which they are operating. Stations operating from England may optionally use the RSL "E". If no RSL is used e.g. M0HDG, G6XX or GB4ABC, the station will be assumed to be in England. The use of a misleading RSL will disqualify the entry.
    (e)   UK&CD entrants may append their call sign with one of the following: /A (Alternative Address), /P (Temporary Location), /M (Mobile) or /MM (Maritime Mobile) and this will comprise part of the call with which they enter. Other suffixes used by UK&CD stations, whether or not they are entrants, will be removed in adjudication and need not be logged.

    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 3rd December 2024