...A warm welcome to the discussion group to those who have recently joined.
I hope you will find it useful.
This is a quick update of news about the RSGB HF Contests in 2020.
The calendar of our HF contests is at https://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/.
As I write this, the 2019 calendar is still live and the 2020 calendar is accessible at the top of the page. As we have no HF Contests in December, we will shortly flip these over so that the 2019 contest results will be in the results archive and the 2020 contests will be live.
What's new in 2020?
We are running an FT4 contest series of 9 events on Monday evenings from 8pm to 9:30pm local time. This starts in February and ends in November - with a month off in August. The FT4 evenings are on Mondays in weeks when there are no other RSGB HF weekday contests.
I have just prepared an article for February Radcom to help solicit people to take part in this - look out for this in the next Radcom.
We are calling this a "contest" series but it is unlike contesting as most of us know it. If you are geared up to use WSJT-X and can transmit on 80m, please have a go at this. Arguably, an FT4 contest has more in common with an online computer game than with an SSB or CW contest, but it is certainly fun and of course it uses RF for all the interaction, with no Internet assistance.
If you are currently making QSOs using FT8 you will find the transition to FT4 contesting very straightforward. The main thing is that it is quite entertaining.
If you have any questions after you have read the rules and the "hints and
tips" document, please ask them here as it will encourage others to take
part.
What isn't new in 2020?
In January we have the three 80/40 AFS contests - CW then Datamodes then Phone on consecutive weekends. These are always popular and can be a real "bun-fight" with more power used than in most of our contests - plus some use SO2R techniques to clock up QSOs on both bands. If you do not have any other club to represent then please enter your log on behalf of the Contest Club.
In February we start the 80m Club Championship series. This runs until July
with three evening events each month - CW, SSB and Datamodes (RTTY & PSK63) in rotation. Again, please enter on behalf of the Contest Club if you don't have another club to represent. In 2019, 18 of us entered one or more events - we started the year in 5th place in the "General Clubs" section and ended it in 5th place - consistent if nothing else!
From September to November, the Autumn Series is similar but is designed to be more welcoming to newcomers. Here we came 4th in 2019.
The other "historic" RSGB HF contests are:
1st and 2nd 160m CW contests - 4 hours, February and November
Commonwealth Contest (Beru) - 24 hours CW, second weekend in March - great opportunity to work the pink countries on the world map - a favourite of many including me
Rolo SSB, April and Rolo CW, October - 90 minutes receiving and resending
QRA locators and trying not to mess up
CW Field Day (NFD) June and SSB Field Day September - 24 hours of intense activity, often as a team (spot the pun) - we may enter an NFD team from Yorkshire again in 2020 if you are interested
Low Power Contest July - six hours of QRP CW either portable or fixed - with
a lunch break
Club Calls 160m AFS contest November - 3 hours, SSB or optionally SSB+CW club based
Very few people do all the contests, but some do. Eleven of the contests
have their scores combined towards the HF Championship - an endurance
challenge. Good to try to win once every 25 years - at least that is what
Dave G3TBK appears to have done!
I will leave you with these contests to think about for the next year.
If you enter one that you have not entered before, you will be surprised how much fun it is. If you have pals who don't like contests but love FT8, please encourage them to enter the FT4 series - it really isn't like contesting but it should be fun and it might change a few preconceptions about contests.
Have a great Christmas and I hope to come across you in our contests next
year.
73 Nick G4FAL
ContestClub@rsgbcc.org
...A warm welcome to the discussion group to those who have recently joined.
I hope you will find it useful.
This is a quick update of news about the RSGB HF Contests in 2020.
The calendar of our HF contests is at https://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/.
As I write this, the 2019 calendar is still live and the 2020 calendar is accessible at the top of the page. As we have no HF Contests in December, we will shortly flip these over so that the 2019 contest results will be in the results archive and the 2020 contests will be live.
What's new in 2020?
We are running an FT4 contest series of 9 events on Monday evenings from 8pm to 9:30pm local time. This starts in February and ends in November - with a month off in August. The FT4 evenings are on Mondays in weeks when there are no other RSGB HF weekday contests.
I have just prepared an article for February Radcom to help solicit people to take part in this - look out for this in the next Radcom.
We are calling this a "contest" series but it is unlike contesting as most of us know it. If you are geared up to use WSJT-X and can transmit on 80m, please have a go at this. Arguably, an FT4 contest has more in common with an online computer game than with an SSB or CW contest, but it is certainly fun and of course it uses RF for all the interaction, with no Internet assistance.
If you are currently making QSOs using FT8 you will find the transition to FT4 contesting very straightforward. The main thing is that it is quite entertaining.
If you have any questions after you have read the rules and the "hints and
tips" document, please ask them here as it will encourage others to take
part.
What isn't new in 2020?
In January we have the three 80/40 AFS contests - CW then Datamodes then Phone on consecutive weekends. These are always popular and can be a real "bun-fight" with more power used than in most of our contests - plus some use SO2R techniques to clock up QSOs on both bands. If you do not have any other club to represent then please enter your log on behalf of the Contest Club.
In February we start the 80m Club Championship series. This runs until July
with three evening events each month - CW, SSB and Datamodes (RTTY & PSK63) in rotation. Again, please enter on behalf of the Contest Club if you don't have another club to represent. In 2019, 18 of us entered one or more events - we started the year in 5th place in the "General Clubs" section and ended it in 5th place - consistent if nothing else!
From September to November, the Autumn Series is similar but is designed to be more welcoming to newcomers. Here we came 4th in 2019.
The other "historic" RSGB HF contests are:
1st and 2nd 160m CW contests - 4 hours, February and November
Commonwealth Contest (Beru) - 24 hours CW, second weekend in March - great opportunity to work the pink countries on the world map - a favourite of many including me
Rolo SSB, April and Rolo CW, October - 90 minutes receiving and resending
QRA locators and trying not to mess up
CW Field Day (NFD) June and SSB Field Day September - 24 hours of intense activity, often as a team (spot the pun) - we may enter an NFD team from Yorkshire again in 2020 if you are interested
Low Power Contest July - six hours of QRP CW either portable or fixed - with
a lunch break
Club Calls 160m AFS contest November - 3 hours, SSB or optionally SSB+CW club based
Very few people do all the contests, but some do. Eleven of the contests
have their scores combined towards the HF Championship - an endurance
challenge. Good to try to win once every 25 years - at least that is what
Dave G3TBK appears to have done!
I will leave you with these contests to think about for the next year.
If you enter one that you have not entered before, you will be surprised how much fun it is. If you have pals who don't like contests but love FT8, please encourage them to enter the FT4 series - it really isn't like contesting but it should be fun and it might change a few preconceptions about contests.
Have a great Christmas and I hope to come across you in our contests next
year.
73 Nick G4FAL
ContestClub@rsgbcc.org
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