Contest News

The final weekend of the month brings the CQWW DX Contest. This month it’s RTTY and it runs until 2359UTC today, 30 September. Using the 3.5 to 28MHz bands the exchange is signal report and Zone, which in the UK is 14.

The UK Microwave Group Cumulatives take place on the 5.7 to 24GHz bands for six hours between 1000 and 1500UTC today, Sunday 30th. The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The first RSGB VHF event of October is the 2m UK Activity Contest on the 2nd between 1900 and 2130UTC. Using all modes the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

It’s followed by the 1.3/2.3GHz Trophy Contest and the 432MHz – 248GHz IARU contest that both start at 1400UTC on Saturday 6th. The Trophy contest runs for eight hours, while the IARU runs for 24 hours. Those who enter either of these contests will have their logs automatically forwarded for entry into the IARU event unless they specify otherwise. In both contests the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The 21/28MHz Contest has seen a distinct upswing in participation over the last couple of years, as increased solar activity has resulted in much improved conditions on the upper HF bands. Last year there were almost 200 entries. It takes place for twelve hours on Sunday 7th, starting at 0700UTC. There are Open, Restricted and QRP categories for UK stations, the same again for non-UK stations, plus you can enter CW-only, SSB-only or mixed modes. The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The first weekend of October is really busy for international events. The first of them is the SSB leg of the Oceania DX Contest. It runs for 24 hours from 0800UTC on Saturday 6th. There are sections for single-op and multi-op stations, with the points for QSOs different on each band to encourage LF activity in particular. Work Oceania, that’s VK, ZL and Pacific islands, only. The exchange is signal report and serial number.

The Worked All Britain HF Contest starts at 1200UTC on the 6th and runs for 24 hours on 20, 15 and 10m. UK stations send a signal report, serial number and WAB area, while non-UK stations send report, serial number and DXCC country. UK to UK QSOs do not count for points in this event. Full details of the rules and also log sheets can be obtained from the WAB website at www.worked-all-britain.co.uk.

The third event of the weekend is the IARU 432MHz-248GHz Contest that runs from 1400UTC on the 6th until 1400UTC on the 7th. The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. In theory you could submit a log direct to IARU for this event but, in practice, UK stations that enter one of the RSGB events allow their logs to be forwarded by the Contest Committee.

The final event of the weekend is the first of the autumn EU Sprints, SSB leg. It takes place for four hours on Saturday 6th starting at 1600UTC. Using the 80, 40 and 20m bands the exchange is highly prescriptive, consisting of both callsigns, the serial number and your name, note no signal report.

Category: GB2RS Contest News