Contest News 1 December 2013

All currently issued Special Contest Callsigns, both individual and club, expire on 31 December 2013. All holders need to re-apply if they wish to continue using their currently assigned callsigns after the expiry date. The qualification standard to obtain a SCC will be the same as it is currently. A new application form (4-page/44.8KB PDF) has been published on the Ofcom website. All new Special Contest Callsigns will expire on 31 December 2016.

To promote activity on 6m during the winter, the UK Six Metre Group has just introduced a new event to complement their Summer Es Contest. Called the Winter Marathon, it will be held over a two-month period, commencing on 1 December 2013 and ending on 31 January 2014. It’s a 100 percent Locator square chase, with no points for individual QSOs, but as well as normal QSOs you can claim the squares worked in other 6m contests over the period. Using all modes on the band the exchange is signal report and locator.

On Tuesday the 144MHz UK Activity Contest takes place from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The ARRL 160m Contest runs for 42 hours, starting at 10pm on Friday 6th. This is a CW-only event in which you work the USA, US Territories and Canada only. The wording of the rules suggests that good frequencies to work on are 1830-1835kHz, but you are not limited to this 5kHz window. Finishing at 1600UTC on the 8th, the exchange is signal report and Ws and VEs also send ARRL/RAC section.

Next Sunday sees the 144MHz AFS take place from 1000 to 1600UTC. Using all modes the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Category: GB2RS Contest News