Radio Society of Great Britain – Contest Committee


RSGB - Contest Committee

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    RSGB Eclipse FT8 Contest


    A short duration event on 40m only, to enable propagation effects due to the eclipse to be investigated using information from PSK Reporter and the submitted logs

    A collection of FT4 (also applicable to FT8) tips and hints is available here

    Advice on how to keep your signal clean is available here

    1. Objective To contact as many stations as possible during the eclipse period using FT8 only - to see the effect the eclipse has on propagation on 40m

    2. Date & Time
    Wednesday August 12    , 16:30 UTC to 19:30 UTC

    QSOs will  not be accepted at or past the end time

    3. Mode & Frequency

    (a) Mode: Standard FT8 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) Band and recommended frequency

    (i) 40m, 7074 kHz

    4. Entrants and Sections Sections:
    1. UK OPEN: Maximum Licensed Power, Single Radio, use of any form of automation permitted, UK&CD only
    2.     Non-UK OPEN: Maximum Licensed Power, Single Radio, use of any form of automation permitted, Non-UK&CD only

    (a) Entrants may be Single or Multi-operator

    (b) 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 permitted. 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.

    5. Exchange (a) Signal report is required

    (b) Serial number is NOT required

    (c) Locators are NOT required as these may be obtained from elsewhere during the analysis

    6. Scoring (a) One point per QSO with stations in the same Continent

    (b) Three points per QSO with stations in a different Continent
    (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 for points

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

    7. Log Submission and
        Adjudication

    (a) Submit your logfile in ADIF format (preferred) as produced by WSJT-X or in Cabrillo format. Please submit your log here within 24 hours of the end of the event.  If you submit your log in Cabrillo format, please use the RSGB-FT4 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 a separate table of Results for the UK&CD and Non-UK 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 Ian G0FCT
    Updated 24 June 2026