Radio Society of Great Britain HF Islands on the Air (IOTA) Contest 2007,
1. GENERAL The aim of the contest
is to promote contacts between stations in qualifying IOTA
island groups and the rest of the world and to encourage expeditions
to IOTA islands.
2. WHEN 1200UTC Saturday 28 July to 1200UTC
Sunday 29 July 2007 (The contest always takes place over the
last FULL weekend of July).
3. BANDS AND MODES 3.5, 7, 14, 21 and 28MHz,
CW and SSB. IARU band plans should be observed, with CW contacts
being made only in the recognised CW ends of the bands (see
RSGB Yearbook and similar sources, for recognised IARU band
plans). Contest-preferred segments should be observed, no
operation to take place on 3560 - 3600, 3650 - 3700, 14060
- 14125 and 14300 - 14350kHz.
4. CATEGORIES
All entrants must operate within the limits of their chosen
category when performing any activity that could impact their
submitted score. Transmitters and receivers must be located
within a
500m diameter circle or within the property limits of the
station licencees address, whichever is the greater.
4.1 Location:
Island (Any station operating from
a qualifying island, as listed in the IOTA Directory. Island
stations must ensure beforehand that the island from which
they are operating is a valid qualifying island for IOTA.
Any questions about the IOTA programme and island validity
should be addressed to the IOTA Manager G3KMA (
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)).
World (any station not on a qualifying
island).
4.2 Operators:
Single operator
Single-operator Assisted (passive
use (self-spotting not allowed) of DX spotting nets and DX
Cluster is allowed).
Multi-Operator (24-hour Mixed Mode
only. Multi-ops are restricted to a maximum of two transceivers,
the second station to be used to find and call other stations
only if the station is a new multiplier. It must not be used
to solicit other contacts, e.g. by calling "CQ"
or "QRZ". Any non-multiplier QSOs made accidentally
on the second station should be logged, but will be scored
as zero points. Multi-ops may make passive use (self spotting
not allowed) of DX spotting nets and DX Cluster. Multi-operator
entrants should include a full list of operators with their
entry).
4.3 Mode:
CW
SSB
Mixed-mode (multi-operator entries must be Mixed Mode).
4.4 Operating Time:
24 hours
12 hours (Multi-operator entries
must be 24 hours, In the 12-hour categories, operation need
not be for one continuous 12-hour period but, once operation
has commenced, off periods must be a minimum of 60 minutes.).
4.5 Power (Any station not indicating transmitter
power will be classified as High Power):
High-power (maximum, as permitted
by the station licence but, in any case, no more than 1500
watts output)
Low power (maximum 100 watts output),
QRP (maximum 5 watts output).
5. DXPEDITIONS
5.1 Island stations may, additionally, indicate that they
are a DXpedition station as defined below, and compete for
a range of expedition trophies and certificates (an additional
listing will be shown in the results). It is essential that
you make this clear on your cover sheet as notification after
the entry deadline cannot be accepted.
5.2 The definition of DXpedition for this optional listing
is one:
where the island can only be reached by boat or air
(islands which can be accessed by bridge or causeway - man-made
or natural - are not eligible),
where none of the operators is resident on the island,
where the operators take all radio equipment and antennas
with them and do not rely on a resident for any part of the
station,
where, in the case of 100W IOTA Island DXpedition
stations, the antennas are limited to one element per band
(e.g. dipole, vertical). (High power DXpeditions have no antenna
restrictions).
6. EXCHANGE
Send RS(T) and serial number starting from 001, plus IOTA
reference number if applicable (island stations MUST include
the IOTA reference as part of their exchange). Do not use
separate numbering systems for CW and SSB. Stations may be
contacted on both CW and SSB on each band. Multi-operator
entrants may find it convenient to allocate separate blocks
of serial numbers for the run and multiplier stations, but
do ensure if possible that there is no duplication of serial
numbers.
7. SCORING
7.1 QSO Points All entrants can work
anyone, island or non-island. Contacts with non-island stations
count 3 points. Contacts with IOTA islands count 15 points
except that, if you are on an island, contacts with your own
IOTA reference count 3 points.
7.2 Multiplier - The multiplier is the total
of different IOTA references contacted on each band on CW,
plus the total of different IOTA references contacted on each
band on SSB. Multi-op stations may not work members of their
own group for multiplier credit.
7.3 Total Score - The score is the total
of QSO points on all bands added together, multiplied by the
total of multipliers.
8. LOGS
8.1 Electronic submission of logs by disc or e-mail is encouraged
- and in fact required - for all high scoring entrants and
all who use a computer to log or prepare the logs. Electronic
entries are preferred, preferably in Cabrillo format (a definition
of Cabrillo, as applied to the IOTA contest, can be found
on the RSGB HFCC Web page). For other electronic log formats,
send the log file but do NOT send a summary file. The contest
robot will direct you to a Web page where you will be asked
to enter this information. Always ensure that your logging
software produces a log file which correctly contains all
the QSO data. If you prepare your log electronically by any
means (e.g. Excel, Word) then please send the electronic version,
as it reduces the need for retyping data. Many popular contest
logging programs support the IOTA contest. Single-operator
entrants are recommended to try SDI from EI5DI, which is free
and can be downloaded from www.ei5di.com/sd/sdisetup.exe
8.2 For Cabrillo logs, the categories and category overlays
are:
CATEGORY: [SINGLE-OP, MULTI-OP] ALL [HIGH, LOW, QRP] [SSB,
CW, MIXED]
CATEGORY-ASSISTED: [ASSISTED, UNASSISTED]
CATEGORY-DXPEDITION: [EXPEDITION, NON-DXPEDITION]
CATEGORY-TIME: [12-HOURS, 24-HOURS]
So, a single-op, World, low power, 12-hours, CW, unassisted
would show:
CATEGORY: SINGLE-OP ALL LOW CW
CATEGORY-ASSISTED: UNASSISTED
CATEGORY-TIME: 12-HOURS
A multi-op island station may, for example, indicate:
CATEGORY: MULTI-OP ALL HIGH MIXED
CATEGORY-DXPEDITION: EXPEDITION
8.3 Logs must show: Time, Callsign, Band, Mode, RST / serial
number / IOTA reference sent, RST / serial number / IOTA reference
received. Please ensure you send a single log in order of
sent serial number. Do not send
separate logs for each band. Logs from IOTA stations must
state their island name and IOTA reference number. The log
data in a Cabrillo log should be of the format:
QSO: 28024 CW 2003-07-26 1338 G3XTT 599 001 EU-005 ZS6EZ 599
018 ------
QSO: 21003 CW 2003-07-26 1341 G3XTT 599 002 EU-005 G4TSH 599
130 EU-005
QSO: 21002 CW 2003-07-26 1343 G3XTT 599 003 EU-005 5B4/G3UFY
599 036 AS-004
8.4 Entries can be emailed to
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and should be sent as a normal attachment to the e-mail. Send
as an uncompressed file. Do NOT send more than one attachment.
In the "subject" line of your e-mail message, please
include your contest callsign. Please take a moment to check
your log via a text editor before sending it, to avoid potential
problems. You will receive an acknowledgement by e-mail within
24 hours, directing you to a Web page to complete the submission
process, or advising you if there is any problem with your
log. Further help on log submission is available by going
to the HFCC Web page (www.rsgbhfcc.org).
8.5 Postal (paper and disc) entries should be addressed to:
RSGB IOTA Contest, PO Box 9, Potters Bar, Herts EN6 3RH, England.
8.6 The closing date is for mailing of logs is 1 September
2006.
8.7 Island Stations - By submitting a log for this contest
you agree that the RSGB can automatically grant credit to
IOTA participants' scores for claimed QSOs that reasonably
match the data in your submission (this facility is being
included in the Next Generation IOTA Software, currently under
development).
8.8 Photographs of IOTA contest operations are very welcome
and will be posted on the HFCC Website or used in RadCom.
Do not send these as part of your log submission, but mail
them separately to
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There will also be an opportunity to upload photographs when
you complete your log submission.
8.9 Once the contest results have been published, UBN reports
are available on request from
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9. PENALTIES
Points may be deducted, or entrants disqualified, for violation
of the rules or the spirit of the contest. This includes,
for example, refusal by IOTA island stations to make contacts
with their own country when requested, use of a third party
to make contacts on a list or net, working CW multipliers
on an SSB frequency, or not giving the IOTA reference for
every contact. The decision of the IOTA Contest Manager and
RSGB HF Contests Committee is final in all matters of dispute.
10. AWARDS
Certificates will be awarded to leading stations in each category
and section, and in each continent, according to number of
entries. A large number of Awards and Trophies is now available,
and new sponsors are always welcome. Please see the full list
on the RSGB HFCC Web site.
11. SWL CONTEST
There is no longer an SWL section in the IOTA Contest, but
the Mediterraneo DX Club will be running an IOTA SWL Contest
in parallel with the IOTA Contest. SWLs can find full details
on the MDXC Web page: http://www.mdxc.org/swl
12. NOTE FROM RSGB IOTA CONTEST MANAGER:
The IOTA Contest Manager can be reached via the RSGB, or by
e-mail at:
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IOTA Contest information, including rules, trophies available,
previous results, soapbox and photographs, and logs received
can be found on the RSGB HF Contests Committee Web site at
www.rsgbhfcc.org Copies of the IOTA Directory, if required,
can be purchased from RSGB (see www.rsgb.org).
A full list of IOTA islands, and other information relating
to the IOTA program can be found on the RSGB IOTA Web Page
(www.rsgbiota.org).
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I'd like to take this time to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas.
