VHF National Field Day 2023 Rules

 

1. Date/time of contest: 1400 UTC Saturday 1st July 2023 until 1400 UTC Sunday 2nd July 2023.

2. The VHFC General Rules Apply to this contest

3. Bands

a. There is a free choice of using different callsigns on all bands, or the same club callsign on all bands.

b. All entrants to the Open, Restricted, Low Power, Mix & Match or Multi-Single (MS) sections must sign /P

c. Fixed Station Sweeper entrants must not sign /P

4. Operators

a. Any RSGB member or group of members may enter.

b. Only groups operating from the British Isles (excluding the Irish Republic) will be eligible for awards, although a certificate for the leading overseas entry will be awarded. Also, affiliated RSGB societies may enter, and their operators must be members of the Affiliated Society (AFS) and/or members of the RSGB themselves.

c. In the case where some operators are AFS members but not RSGB members themselves, a declaration from an officer of the AFS that the operators are members of the society is required with the entry. This must be included in the soapbox or comments part of the entry.

5. Stations

a. All equipment including antennas, masts and accommodation must be installed on site not more than 48 hours before the contest.

b. Only portable accommodation can be used to house the stations.

c. Power for all equipment must be derived from an on-site generator, battery, wind or solar power.

6. Contest exchanges

a. On each band a report, serial number (starting at 001 on each band and incrementing by one for reach QSO) and a 6-character (e.g., IO91OJ) locator must be exchanged.

b. All times must be logged in UTC

7. Sections

Scoring is 1 point per kilometre for each QSO in all sections.

7.1 Open section (O):

a. Maximum output power as permitted by standard licence conditions.

b. Operate on any bands from the following list:

50MHz (6m) 1400 to 2200 Saturday (all mode)

70MHz (4m) 0800 to 1400 Sunday (all mode)

144MHz (2m) 1400 Saturday to 1400 Sunday (all mode)

432MHz (70cm) 1400 Saturday to 1400 Sunday (all mode)

1.3GHz (23cm) 1400 Saturday to 1400 Sunday (all mode)

c. Only the best 4 normalised scores will count to the final total.

7.2 Restricted section (R):

a. The power output on any band must not exceed 100W PEP at the transmitter, except on 4m where output must be restricted to 50W

b. The height of any part of the antenna's driven element must not exceed 10 metres above ground level.

c. Only one antenna per band may be used (i.e., no stacked, bayed or colinear arrays or switching between two or more antennas). A slot fed Yagi or Quad antenna is not permitted. Dish or Backfire antennas must not exceed 2m diameter.

d. Operate on up to 5 bands from the following list:

50MHz (6m) 1400 to 2200 Saturday (all mode)

70MHz (4m) 0800 to 1400 Sunday (all mode)

144MHz (2m) 1400 Saturday to 1400 Sunday (all mode)

432MHz (70cm) 1400 Saturday to 1400 Sunday (all mode)

1.3GHz (23cm) 1400 Saturday to 1400 Sunday (all mode)

d. Only the best 4 normalised scores will count to the final total.

e. Other than the selected entry bands, operation on any other band or bands is not permitted, even for the purposes of talk-back.

7.3 Low Power section (L):

a. The power output of any band must not exceed 25W PEP at the transmitter, except on 4m where the power output must be restricted to 10W.

b. The height of any part of the antenna's driven element must not exceed 10 metres above ground level.

c. Only one antenna per band may be used (i.e., no stacked, bayed or colinear arrays or switching between two or more antennas). A slot fed Yagi or Quad antenna is not permitted. Dish or Backfire antennas must not exceed 2m diameter.

d. Operate on up to 3 bands from the following list:

50MHz (6m) 1400 to 2200 Saturday (all mode)

70MHz (4m) 0800 to 1400 Sunday (all mode)

144MHz (2m) 1400 Saturday to 1400 Sunday (all mode)

432MHz (70cm) 1400 Saturday to 1400 Sunday (all mode)

1.3GHz (23cm) 1400 Saturday to 1400 Sunday (all mode)

e. Other than the selected entry bands, operation on any other band or bands is not permitted, even for the purposes of talk-back.

f. Each band may be operated for no more than 16 hours (except for 6m and 4m: see 7.3.d above) during the contest period. Each rest period must last at least 1 hour.

7.4 Mix and Match (M):

a. A group can elect to place different bands into Restricted, Low-Power, or Open sections, e.g., 4m in Restricted, 2m and 70cm in Open, and 23cm in Low Power. 

b. At least one station (or two if entering 5 bands) must be in a different section to the other stations.

c. Only the best 4 normalised scores will count to the final total.

d. Individual band entry will be tabulated in the appropriate main section, and a normalised score for the band produced on this basis.

e. The sum of the normalised scores will appear in a separate Mix & Match section table.

f. Operate on up to 5 bands from the following list:

50MHz (6m) 1400 to 2200 Saturday (all mode)

70MHz (4m) 0800 to 1400 Sunday (all mode)

144MHz (2m) 1400 Saturday to 1400 Sunday (all mode)

432MHz (70cm) 1400 Saturday to 1400 Sunday (all mode)

1.3GHz (23cm) 1400 Saturday to 1400 Sunday (all mode)

g. Other than the selected entry bands, operation on any other band or bands is not permitted, even for the purposes of talk-back.

h. Note that 2m, 70cm or 23cm stations entered in the Low Power section may be operated for no more than 16 hours during the contest period.

i. Each rest period must last at least 1 hour.

7.5 Single Transmitter (MS):

a. Operate on up to 3 bands from the following list

b. Simultaneous transmission on more than one band at a time is not allowed.

c. Operation on more than 3 bands is not allowed.

d. Indicated output powers are PEP measured at the transmitter.

50MHz (6m) 1400 to 2200 Saturday (all modes, 100W maximum output power)

70MHz (4m) 0800 to 1400 Sunday (all modes, 50W maximum output power )

144MHz (2m) 1400 Saturday to 1400 Sunday (all modes, 100W maximum output power)

432MHz (70cm) 1400 Saturday to 1400 Sunday (all modes, 50W maximum output power)

1.3GHz (23cm) 1400 Saturday to 1400 Sunday (all modes, 10W maximum output power)

e. Other than the selected entry bands, operation on any other band or bands is not permitted, even for the purposes of talk-back.

f. All antennas must be installed on a single mast and only one antenna for each band may be installed on that mast. Backfire or parabolic dish type antennas must not exceed 2 metres in diameter. No stacked or bayed arrays are permitted.

g. The maximum height for any part of the driven element of any antenna is 12 metres above ground level. Note: a mast of greater than 12 metres in height is permitted as long as the antenna height restriction is complied with.

h. All 3 normalised scores will count towards the final total

See separate FAQ.

7.6 Fixed Station Sweepers:

a. Open to fixed stations only. (See Section 3 of VHF Contest General Rules for definition) and the station restrictions set out in Section 5 do not apply.

b. Entrants may elect to enter one of 2 sections:

(i) FSO: No power or antenna restrictions

(ii) FSR: The power output on any band must not exceed 100W PEP at the transmitter, except on 4m where output is restricted to 50W. Only one antenna per band may be used (i.e., no stacked, bayed or colinear arrays or switching between two or more antennas). A slot fed Yagi or Quad antenna is not permitted. Dish or Backfire antennas must not exceed 2m diameter.

c. The final score on each band will be the number of points multiplied by the number of QSOs made with portable stations that enter VHF NFD on that band. For example, if you score 500 points and you work 10 portable stations that have submitted a valid entry for VHF NFD on that band, your final score is 500 x 10 = 5000 points.

d. Operate on up to 5 bands from the following list.

50MHz (6m) 1400 to 2200 Saturday (all mode)

70MHz (4m) 0800 to 1400 Sunday (all mode)

144MHz (2m) 1400 Saturday to 1400 Sunday (all mode)

432MHz (70cm) 1400 Saturday to 1400 Sunday (all mode)

1.3GHz (23cm) 1400 Saturday to 1400 Sunday (all mode)

e. An award will be made to the leading Sweeper in each section on each band and additionally bronze, silver and gold awards for contacting 40, 60 and 80% of the number of portable stations that have submitted a valid entry for VHF NFD on that band.

8. Inspections

a. Entrants must permit inspection of their stations by members of RSGB CC or its representatives and give site access information if requested to do so.

b. The inspector must be permitted to remain for as long as desired, and to return to the site for subsequent inspections at any time during the contest.

c. Contestants must demonstrate to the inspector's satisfaction that they are obeying the rules of the contest.

9. Entries

a. All entries must be uploaded no later than 7 days after the end of the contest

b. Log files should be uploaded here, or use the Web Logging System here.

10. Awards.

a. The Surrey, Martlesham, Arthur Watts and G5BY Trophies will be awarded to the overall winners of the Open, Restricted, Low Power and Mix & Match sections respectively.

b. The Tartan Trophy will be awarded to the leading resident Scottish entry in the Open section, the Cockenzie Quaich to the leading Scottish station in the Restricted Section and the Scottish Trophy to the leading Scottish entry in the Low power section.

d. Certificates will be awarded to the winners and runners-up on all bands in each section.

RSGB CC 2023