Tuesday, May 17, 2011

RULES FOR THE OCEANIA DX CONTEST

RULES FOR THE OCEANIA DX CONTEST

1. SPECIAL NOTES for the Contest:
• The SINGLE-OP entry category has been split into High Power (SINGLE OP HP) and Low Power (SINGLE OP LP) categories. Total output power must not exceed 100 Watts in the Low Power category. Rule 7 has been updated to reflect this change.
• The MULTI-SINGLE entry category has been deleted. It is replaced by the MULTI-ONE and MULTITWO entry categories. Rules 7 and 8 have been updated to reflect these changes.
• Rule 6 has been updated to clarify that only one entry may be submitted by each operator or team of operators.
• All email logs are processed by an email robot. The robot sends an automated email
acknowledgement indicating either acceptance or rejection of the log. If you do not receive this
acknowledgment, or are encountering difficulty in having the log accepted, then please contact the Contest Committee at info@oceaniadxcontest.com
• Electronic logs are to be in Cabrillo format which is now generated by all popular contest logging
software programs. Alternatively entrants can use the forms at http://www.b4h.net/cabforms/ to manually create and submit a Cabrillo file.
• Portable prefixes must be inserted in front of the home callsign, e.g., W1XXX operating in ZL1 would sign as ZL1/W1XXX.
• If the station worked does not provide a serial number, then log the received number as 001. See rule 8. This new provision allows credit for contacts with stations that are not in the Oceania DX Contest.
• A reminder that Single-Op Single Band logs must record ALL contacts made by the station - both on the band chosen for the entry and on any other bands.
• Stations must log a minimum of 10 contacts to be eligible for an award.

2. CONTEST PERIODS:
PHONE Contest: 08:00 UTC Saturday 2 October to 08:00 UTC Sunday 3 October 2010
CW Contest: 08:00 UTC Saturday 9 October to 08:00 UTC Sunday 10 October 2010

3. THE AIM of the contest is to promote HF contacts with stations in the Oceania region (VK, ZL, Pacific Islands and other locations within the IARU "Worked All Continents" Oceania boundary).

4. THE OBJECT is for:
• Oceania transmitting stations to contact as many stations as possible both inside and outside the Oceania region.
• Non-Oceania transmitting stations to contact as many stations as possible inside the Oceania
region. There is no penalty for working non-Oceania stations but contacts between non-Oceania
stations will score no points or multiplier credits.
• Oceania receiving (SWL) stations to copy as many contest stations as possible both inside and
outside the Oceania region.
• Non-Oceania receiving (SWL) stations to copy as many contest stations as possible inside the
Oceania region.

5. BANDS: 160M – 10M (no WARC bands).

6. TERMS OF COMPETITION FOR ALL CATEGORIES
• Only one entry is allowed for each operator or team of operators.
• A different call sign must be used for each entry.
• High power entrants must not exceed 1500 watts total output power, or the maximum permitted output power in their country, whichever is less, on any band.
• QSO alerting assistance (e.g., packet spots) is allowed in all entry categories, but self-spotting,
asking other stations to spot you, or any other form of soliciting QSOs is not allowed.
• All of an entrant's transmitters and receivers must be located within a 500-metre diameter circle or within the property limits of the station licensee, whichever is greater. All antennas must be physically connected by wires to the transmitters and receivers used by the entrant.
• Remote operation is permitted. The entry location of a remote station is determined by the physical location of the transmitters, receivers, and antennas. A remote station must obey all station and category limitations.

7. ENTRY CATEGORIES
• Single Operator Low Power (SINGLE-OP LP): Either All Band or Single Band. One person performs all of the operating and logging functions. Total output power must not exceed 100 watts. Only one transmitted signal is permitted at any time.
• Single Operator High Power (SINGLE-OP HP): Either All Band or Single Band. One person performs all of the operating and logging functions. Only one transmitted signal is permitted at any time.
• Multiple Operators and Single Transmitter (MULTI-ONE): More than one person can contribute to the final score during the contest period. Only one transmitted signal is permitted at any time. A maximum of ten (10) band changes may be made in any clock hour (00 through 59 minutes). For example, a change from 20 metres to 40 metres and then back to 20 metres counts as two band changes. Use a single serial number sequence for the entire log.
• Multiple Operators and Two Transmitters (MULTI-TWO): More than one person can contribute to the final score during the contest period. A maximum of two transmitted signals is permitted at any time on different bands. Either transmitter may work any and all stations. A station may only be worked once per band regardless of which transmitter is used. The log must indicate which transmitter made each QSO. Each transmitter may make a maximum of eight (8) band changes in any clock hour (00 through 59 minutes). For example, a change from 20 metres to 40 metres and then back to 20 metres counts as two band changes. Use a separate serial number sequence for each band.
• Multiple Operators and Multiple Transmitters (MULTI-MULTI): More than one person can
contribute to the final score during the contest period. No limit to transmitters, but only one
transmitted signal (and running station) allowed per band at any time. Use a separate serial number sequence for each band.
• SWL: Short Wave Listener (Receive Only), All Band.

8. EXCHANGE: RS(T) report plus a progressive contact serial number starting at 001 and incrementing by one for each contact. MULTI-TWO and MULTI-MULTI entries must use a separate serial number starting at 001 for each band. If the station worked does not send a serial number, then the received number is to be logged as 001.

9. MULTIPLIER: The multiplier is the number of different valid prefixes worked. Note that the same prefix may be counted once on each band for multiplier credit.
A prefix is the letter/numeral combination that forms the first part of the amateur call - the same as the CQ WPX contest definition. Examples of valid prefixes are N8, W8, WD8, HG1, HG19, KC2, OE2, OE25, etc. Any difference in the numbering, lettering, or order of the same shall constitute a separate prefix.
A station operating from a DXCC country different from that indicated by its callsign is required to sign portable. The portable prefix must be an authorized prefix of the country/call area of operation. In cases of portable operation, the portable designator will then become the prefix. Example: N8BJQ operating from Wake Island would sign KH9/N8BJQ or NH9/N8BJQ. KH6XXX operating from Ohio must use an authorized prefix for the U.S. 8th district (W8, K8, etc.) Portable designators without numbers will be assigned a zero (0) after the second letter of the portable designator to form the prefix. Example: PA/N8BJQ would become PAØ. All calls without numbers will be assigned a zero (Ø) after the first two letters to form the prefix.
Example: XEFTJW would count as XEØ. Maritime mobile, mobile, /A, /E, /J, /P, or interim license class identifiers do not count as prefixes.
Special event, commemorative, and other unique prefix stations are encouraged to participate. Prefixes must be assigned by the licensing authority of the country of operation.

10. CONTACT POINTS: Each QSO is credited twenty points on 160M; ten points on 80M; five points on 40M; one point on 20M; two points on 15M; and three points on 10M. Note that the same station may only be counted once on each band for contact points.

11. THE FINAL SCORE is the sum of the Contact Points multiplied by the Multiplier (the total number of prefixes worked on all bands, noting that the same prefix can be counted once on each band).

12. AWARDS
Each station must log a minimum of 10 contacts to be eligible for an award.
Certificates will be awarded to the top scoring station in each category listed under Section 7 for each IARU WAC continent and each country. A special participation certificate will be awarded to every station that makes at least 100 QSOs in either the PHONE or CW sections of the contest.
Note: Both Low Power and High Power entries are eligible for the Single Operator ALL Band awards in the above table.
Awards may be withdrawn or added at any time, and at the discretion of the Contest Committee. Refer to the Oceania DX Contest web site at www.oceaniadxcontest.com for the latest information about contest awards.

13. GENERAL LOG REQUIREMENTS:
Transmitting entries are to submit a log showing the following details for each contact - band or
frequency, mode, date, time in UTC, callsign of station worked, RS(T) and serial number sent, RS(T) and serial number received. SINGLE-OP Single Band logs are to record ALL contacts made by the station - both on the band chosen for the entry and on any other bands. All logs must be submitted in date/time order.
SWL entries are to submit a log showing the following details for each contact - band or frequency, mode, date, time in UTC, callsign of 'station heard', callsign of 'station being worked', RS(T) and serial number sent by the heard station. The same callsign may appear only once in any group of 3 consecutive entries in the 'station being worked' column. Note that in the case of non-Oceania SWL entries, only Oceania callsigns should appear in the 'station heard' column.
All duplicate contacts must be shown - DO NOT delete duplicate contacts. No penalty will be applied for showing duplicate contacts.

14. ELECTRONIC LOGS are preferred and are compulsory for stations logging more than 50 contacts. Electronic logs are to be submitted in Cabrillo format. The Cabrillo log file must include an accurately completed header (containing the summary information) and the QSO log data. All of the fields in the Cabrillo header must be completed except for the ARRL Section, Category Overlay and Soapbox lines. Failure to fill out the header correctly can result in the entry being placed in the wrong category or reclassified as a check log. See www.oceaniadxcontest.com for the latest information on the Cabrillo log format requirements.
The log file name is to be in the form callsign.log, for example, if ZL2WB submits a log file - then it should be named zl2wb.log.
Send the log file as an e-mail attachment to ph@oceaniadxcontest.com (for PHONE entries) or
cw@oceaniadxcontest.com (for CW entries). Please insert only your callsign in the Subject field of the e-mail used to send your Cabrillo log. The log file must be sent as an attachment, not as text or other content within the e-mail message. Do not zip the log file and only include one log in each email submission.
All incoming email log messages are processed by an email robot. The robot sends an automated email acknowledgement indicating either acceptance or rejection of the log. If you do not receive this acknowledgment, or are encountering difficulty in having the log accepted, then please contact the Contest Committee at info@oceaniadxcontest.com .
Note: SWL files cannot be processed by the robot so please forward all electronic SWL files to
info@oceaniadxcontest.com .
Entrants using paper logging, or logging software that does not produce a Cabrillo file, are encouraged to use the on-line forms at http://www.b4h.net/cabforms/ to manually create and submit a Cabrillo file.

15. PAPER LOGS:
Electronic Logs are preferred (see Rule 14 above) but if this is not possible then paper logs in the
Oceania DX Contest format may be submitted, provided they contain less than 50 contacts. Each paper log is to be accompanied by a summary sheet that clearly states:
The station's callsign
Operator callsign/s
Entrant's name and mailing address (for receipt of awards)
Mode and Category entered
Contact points claimed on each band
Number of multiplier prefixes claimed on each band
Total claimed score
Official log sheets and summary can be downloaded from the Oceania DX Contest web site at
www.oceaniadxcontest.com. If you do not have access to the official forms then you may make your own in accordance with the general requirements outlined above and in Section 13.
Paper logs are to be are to be posted to: Oceania DX Contest, c/o Wellington Amateur Radio Club Inc., PO Box 6464, Wellington 6030, New Zealand. Only one entry is to be included in each submission. Airmail is preferred if you are submitting a log from outside VK or ZL.

16. DEADLINE
All logs must be emailed or postmarked NO LATER than 8 November 2010. The reception of logs will be acknowledged by the email robot (for electronic submissions) and a listing of all logs received by the robot will be posted on the Oceania DX Contest web site at www.oceaniadxcontest.com.

17. DISQUALIFICATION
Violation of amateur radio regulations in the country of the contestant or the rules of the contest;
unsportsmanlike conduct; or taking credit for excessive unverifiable QSOs or multipliers will be deemed sufficient cause for disqualification. Incorrectly logged calls will be counted as unverifiable contacts. ANY entrant that uses means, other than contacts on the permitted bands and modes, to SOLICIT, ARRANGE, or CONFIRM any contacts during the contest is unsportsmanlike and the entry will be subject to disqualification.

18. DECLARATION
Although no signed declaration is required, by submitting a log you are deemed to have agreed that: 1) you have read and understood the rules of the contest and agree to be bound by them, as well as all rules and regulations of your country which pertain to amateur radio, 2) your log entry may be made open to the public, and 3) all actions and decisions of the Oceania DX Contest Committee are official and final.

19. FURTHER INFORMATION
The latest information about the contest will be published on the Oceania DX Contest web site at
www.oceaniadxcontest.com. Any questions can be emailed to info@oceaniadxcontest.com or posted to Oceania DX Contest Committee, c/o Wellington Amateur Radio Club Inc., PO Box 6464, Wellington 6030, New Zealand.

No comments: