Details of the Electronic Contest Log Exchange (EDI) format can be found here
Details of the IARU MGM Contest Operating Procedures can be found here

Rules of IARU-R1 Contests (Source: IARU-R1 website)

 

RULES IARU R1 50/70MHz, 145MHz, UHF/micrwave, AND MARCONI MEMORIAL 145MHz CW CONTESTS

 

1 Objective

The main objectives are to make as many contacts as possible and to have fun. Other objectives may include improving your operating skills, testing new equipment configurations and techniques, expanding your horizons by operating on the microwave bands and exploring radio propagation.

 

2 Definitions

- Station: set of antennas, transmitters and receivers used during the contest on each frequency band (i.e., multiband setups are composed of multiple stations).

- Location: geographical area with diameter of no more than 500 meters where the station resides during the contest.

- Call Sign: identification of the station during the contest. Added prefix and/or suffix do not generate different call sign (i.e., S50AAA/p or DL/S50AAA are the same call sign as S50AAA).

- Operator: an individual that operates the station during the contest using the station's call sign. Operator may reside inside (local operator) or outside (remote operator) the location. During the contest an operator may operate only stations that form one entry.

- Entries:

o MULTI operator: stations from the same location, operated by more than one operator and using one callsign on all bands.

o SINGLE operator: stations from the same location, operated by the same operator and using one callsign on all bands, with no operational assistance of another person during the contest.

o 6 HOURS: stations from the same location, operated by any number of operators and operating according to the 6 hours' time rule. The 6 hour time segment can be divided into maximum two periods. The time of the first QSO sets the start time of the first period. When operating in two periods, the pause between the periods must be longer than 2 hours. The first time difference of 2 hours or more between two consecutive QSOs marks the pause segment. Only the QSOs that fall into the combined 6 hour time segment will be counted for points. Participants are welcome to operate longer than 6 hours and in such case, they shall send their complete log (the contest robot will automatically extract the 6 hours part from the log, while the rest of the log entries will be used for cross-checking purposes).

o LOW POWER: multi or single operator entries, transmitting with total of up to 100 W PEP from the transmitter and using only one directional or omnidirectional antenna system. The same antenna must be used for transmit and receive. Directional antenna system is a single directional antenna or a group (array) of single directional antennas, grouped together to achieve maximum obtainable gain in a given direction (that is, all the antennas in the group shall be pointed in the same direction). Omnidirectional antenna is an antenna with a radiation pattern that has approximately the same gain in all azimuth directions.

 

3 Conditions for entrants

- All licensed radio amateurs in Region 1 may participate in the contest.

- The entrants must operate within the letter and spirit of the contest.
- Entrants must operate according to the license conditions of the country where the station resides.
- Stations operating under special high power license can only entry as check logs.

 

4 Date of contests

- IARU Region 1 50MHz MGM Contest: third Saturday of April

- IARU Region 1 70MHz MGM Contest: third Saturday of May

- IARU Region 1 50MHz (CW-SSB Only) Contest: third Saturday of June

- IARU Region 1 70MHz (CW-SSB Only) Contest: third Saturday of July

- IARU Region 1 145MHz contest: first Saturday of September

- IARU Region 1 UHF/Microwaves contest: first Saturday of October.

- IARU Region 1 Marconi Memorial Contest 145 MHz (CW only): first Saturday of November.

Each contest will commence at 14:00 UTC on the Saturday and end at 14:00 UTC on the Sunday.

 

5 Contest sections

The contests shall comprise the following sections for:

 

5.1 50MHz CW/SSB Contest:

- SINGLE (SO): single operator entries (only CW/SSB)

- MULTI (MO): multi operator entries (only CW/SSB)

- 6HOURS (6H): 6 hours entries (only CW/SSB)

 

5.2 70MHz CW/SSB Contest:

- SINGLE (SO): single operator entries (only CW/SSB)

- MULTI (MO): multi operator entries (only CW/SSB)

 

5.3 50MHz MGM Contest:

- SINGLE (SO-MGM): single operator entries (MGM contest)

- MULTI (MO-MGM): multi operator entries (MGM contest)

- 6HOURS (6H-MGM): 6 hours entries (MGM contest)

 

5.4 70MHz MGM Contest:

- SINGLE (SO-MGM): single operator entries (MGM contest)

- MULTI (MO-MGM): multi operator entries (MGM contest)

 

5.5 145MHz Contest:

- SINGLE (SO): single operator entries.

- MULTI (MO): multi operator entries.

- SINGLE LOW POWER (SO-LP): single operator low power entries.

- MULTI LOW POWER (MO-LP): multi operator low power entries.

- 6HOURS (6H): 6 hours entries.

 

5.6 UHF/Microwave Contest:

5.6.1 435MHz Band

- SINGLE (SO): single operator entries.

- MULTI (MO): multi operator entries.

- SINGLE LOW POWER (SO-LP): single operator low power entries.

- MULTI LOW POWER (MO-LP): multi operator low power entries.

- 6HOURS (6H): 6 hours entries.

 

5.6.2 1.3GHz, 2.4GHz, 3.4GHz, 5.7GHz, 10GHz bands and for the Millimetre group (the combined group of amateur bands above 10GHz)

- SINGLE (SO): single operator entries.

- MULTI (MO): multi operator entries.

 

5.7 Marconi Memorial Contest 145 MHz (CW only)

- SINGLE (SO): single operator entries.

- MULTI (MO): multi operator entries.

- SINGLE LOW POWER (SO-LP): single operator low power entries.

- MULTI LOW POWER (MO-LP): multi operator low power entries.

- 6HOURS (6H): 6 hours entries.

 

6 Operating

Only one signal on the band is allowed at any time.

Station must operate from the same location throughout the contest time.

 

7 Contacts

Each station may only be worked once per band. If a station is worked again on the same band, only one contact may count for points. Any duplicate contacts should be logged without claim for points and clearly marked as duplicates.

 

Contacts made via active repeaters and EME contacts do not count for points.

 

Competitors are obliged to follow the common definition for a valid QSO (as defined in the VHF Managers Handbook and replicated below). The contest exchange (call, report, QSO number and locator) shall be sent and confirmed on the band where the contact started and only during the contact.

 

No attempt should be made during the QSO or after the contest to obtain any part of the required exchange information via other communication methods such as the Internet chat channel, WEBSDR and remote receiver outside 500 metres diameter from the station location, DX Cluster, talk-back on another amateur band, telephone etc. Such a secondary method invalidates the contest QSO.

Correction of logged exchanges after the contest, by use of any database, recordings, email or other method, is not allowed. The log should contain what happened (sent and received) in the band during the contest.

 

Self-spotting is permitted on all media except the DX Cluster (sending lots of self-spots to chat rooms is not recommended and is discouraged).

 

7.1 Acceptable examples when using a secondary method:

- 'Shall we make a sked on 144.388?"

- "I have QRM, let's move to 144.218 kHz and start again"

- "Nothing received, please try again" and the QSO starts again

- "Thank you for a nice QSO" - Note: Only after the QSO has completed on the radio!

 

7.2 Unacceptable examples when using a secondary method:

- "I need your serial number"

- "Please repeat all information"

- 'Please confirm <report>, <serial number>, <locator> etc.'

 

7.3 Definition for a valid contest QSO:

A valid contact is one where both operators during the contact have:

- mutually identified each other

- received a contest exchange, and

- received a confirmation of the successful identification and the reception of the contest exchange.

 

8 Type of emission

Contacts may be made in A1A(CW), J3E(SSB) or F3E(FM) (G3E(PM)).

MGM (Machine Generated Mode) modes are allowed only during the 50MHz and 70MHz MGM contests. Every MGM contact shall be properly marked in the LOG with EDI mode code 7.

 

9 Contest exchanges

9.1 CW, SSB or FM/PM modes

Code numbers exchanged during each contact shall consist of the RS or RST report, followed by a serial number commencing with 001 for the first contact on each band and increasing by one for each successive contact on that band. This exchange must immediately be followed by the complete QTH locator (6 digit) of the sending station (examples: 59003 JO20DB or 579123 IN55CC).

All times must be logged in UTC.

Call signs logged must be the same as those exchanged over the air by the entrants during the QSO. For contacts on 50MHz, outside of Region 1, the received locator can be 4 digits and 'MM' will be added as 5th and 6th characters.

Correction of logged exchanges after the contest, by use of any database, recordings, email or other method, is not allowed.

 

9.2 MGM modes

Code numbers exchanged during each contact shall consist of the report (as appropriate for the mode in use) and 4-character QTH locator (e.g. IO91). Serial number is not required.

All times must be logged in UTC.

Call signs logged must be the same as those exchanged over the air by the entrants during the QSO. Correction of logged exchanges after the contest, by use of any database, recordings, email or other method, is not allowed.

 

10 Scoring

10.1 50MHz and 70MHz CW/SSB only, 145MHz and UHF/Microwave Contests

For the amateur bands up to 10GHz inclusive, points will be scored on the basis of one point per kilometre, i.e. the calculated distance in kilometres will be truncated to an integer value and 1 km will be added. The centre of each locator square is used for distance calculations. In order to make contest scores comparable, for the conversion from degrees to kilometres a factor of 111.2 should be used when calculating distances with the aid of the spherical geometry equation.

 

All QSOs including those with unique stations shall count for points (unique station is a station that appears in the log of only one contest entrant).

 

For the combined higher bands (Millimetre group) the score will be the sum of the points scored on each of the bands, using the following multiplication factors for the number of kilometres scored on each band:

- 24GHz 1 x

- 47GHz 2 x

- 76GHz 3 x

- 122GHz 4 x

- 134GHz 8 x

- 245GHz 10 x

 

10.2 50MHz and 70MHz MGM Contests

The points will be scored on the basis of one point per kilometre, i.e. the calculated distance in kilometres will be truncated to an integer value and 1 km will be added.

The centre of the Large Locator Square (e.g., IO84MM to IO91MM) is used for distance calculations. In order to make contest scores comparable, for the conversion from degrees to kilometres a factor of 111.2 should be used when calculating distances with the aid of the spherical geometry equation. A QSO between stations in the same Large Locator Square will count for 50 points.

All QSOs including those with unique stations shall count for points (unique station is a station that appears in the log of only one contest entrant).

The final score is total kilometres worked multiplied by the number of large Locator Squares (e.g., IO91) worked.

e.g., 10.000 (total QRB points) x 20 Large Locator Square = Final Score of 200.000 points

 

11 Entries

11.1 50MHz and 70MHz CW/SSB only, 145MHz, UHF/Microwave and Marconi Memorial Contests

The entries must be set out in EDI digital/electronic form (refer to VHF Managers Handbook, Part 3 section 7.3) separately for each frequency band. EDI header shall as a minimum contain the following fields:

- Callsign and WWL used (PCall and PWWLo)

- Section and band (PSect and PBand)

- Operators callsigns (RCall for SO entries, RCall and Mope1, Mope2,... for MO entries)

- E-mail address (RHBBS)

- TX power in watts (SPowe)

- Antenna (SAnte); it shall be clearly identifiable how many antenna systems were in use

Logs shall be sent no later than the second Monday following the contest weekend. Late entries will be accepted as check logs.

By submitting the contest or check log, an entrant agrees that he / she has:

- understood the contest rules and agrees to be bound by them,

- operated according to all the rules and regulations that pertain to his and/or station license,

- agreed the cross-checked log may be made open to the public, except for the personal data in PAdr1, PAdr2, RName, RAdr1, RAdr2, RPoCo, RCity, RCoun, RPhon and RHBBS lines of EDI file format,

- agrees the contest organizer can score, amend, publish, republish, print, and otherwise distribute (by any means including paper or electronic) the entry either in its original format, in any other suitable format with or without modifications or combined with the entries from other contestants for entry into the specific contest, other contests, or for other reasons including training, development and advancement of amateur radio,

- accepts all decisions of the contest organizer as final.

 

11.2 50MHz and 70MHz MGM Contests

Since MGM modes need proper software packages that can't export their logs in EDI format, it has been decided to permit the upload of WSJT-X and MSHV ADIF files.

Logs shall be sent no later than the second Monday following the contest weekend. Late entries will be accepted as check logs.

By submitting the contest or check log, an entrant agrees that he / she has:

- understood the contest rules and agrees to be bound by them,

- operated according to all the rules and regulations that pertain to his and/or station license,

- agreed the cross-checked log may be made open to the public, except for the personal data in PAdr1, PAdr2, RName, RAdr1, RAdr2, RPoCo, RCity, RCoun, RPhon and RHBBS lines of EDI file format,

- agrees the contest organizer can score, amend, publish, republish, print, and otherwise distribute (by any means including paper or electronic) the entry either in its original format, in any other suitable format with or without modifications or combined with the entries from other contestants for entry into the specific contest, other contests, or for other reasons including training, development and advancement of amateur radio,

- accepts all decisions of the contest organizer as final.

 

11.3 Stations eligible to win a prize

- In every category of all the IARU Region 1 Contests the stations willing to win their categories must submit their logs individually to the IARU R1 Contest Robot within the 23:59 UTC of the Monday after the contest (34 hours); only these stations will be eligible to the victory and prizes.

- If the first station in the classification did not send his log before the deadline to be eligible for the victory (34 hours), then the first station which sent his log within the 34 hours deadline will be the winner.

 

12 Judging of entries

All logs are checked using custom software and human judgement.

The claimed contact shall be disqualified for any error in the information logged by the entrant.

When there is high evidence that the error is due to the wrongly logged information of the transmitting station (i.e., wrong date/time or call/UL) such a LOG shall not be used for adjudication purposes.

The final judging of the entries shall be the responsibility of the contest organizer whose decision shall be final.

 

Entrants deliberately contravening any of these rules, attempting fraud or flagrantly disregarding the IARU Region 1 band plans shall be disqualified. Each VHF Manager and/or national Contest Committee can propose to the contest organizer disqualification or penalization of an entrant.

 

13 Awards

13.1 Section winners:

Certificates will be issued by the contest organizer to the winners of the sections on each band up to 10GHz and for the Millimetre group.

 

13.2 Overall winners for UHF/Microwave contest:

The overall winner of the IARU Region 1 UHF/Microwaves contest will be declared separately for the SO and MO sections.

For the overall results tables, the scores of the entrants operating on at least two of the following bands will be combined, using an adaptive multiplier system:

 

13.3 Millimetre group

Note: SO entries to the 6H section on 435MHz will be included in the Overall SO classification if the entries on all bands are SO. MO entries to the 6H section on 435MHz will be included in the Overall MO classification.

The band multipliers for the overall score are calculated as follows:

- The multiplier for 435MHz is one.

- The multiplier for each of the other bands is equal to the winning score on the 435MHz band divided by the winning score on each band. The multiplier on each band for the SO and MO sections are determined separately.

- Example:

o Winning score in SO on 435MHz is 200,000 points

o Winning score in SO on 1.3GHz is 20,000 points

o The multiplier for SO on 1.3GHz is 200,000 divided by 20,000 = 10

o So, all scores in SO on 1.3GHz are multiplied by 10 for the Overall SO results table

- The overall millimetre group scores are calculated according to rule 9 before the multiplier for the millimetre group is calculated.