OCEANIA DX CONTEST: AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY

OCEANIA DX CONTEST: AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY

The Oceania DX Contest, formerly the VK/ZL Contest, started in 1935 and is one of the longest running amateur radio DX contests. The aim of the contest is to promote HF contacts with stations in the Oceania region. Oceania stations can work other Oceania and non-Oceania stations. Non-Oceania stations can only work Oceania stations.
The contest provides a unique opportunity to make QSOs with a large number of Oceania stations using SSB and CW modes and on all of the non-WARC bands between 160 and 10 meters. As well as many VK, ZL and YB stations there is also a good turnout from some of the rarer South Pacific entities. This year the Oceania Amateur Radio DX Group is undertaking a major DXpedition to Vanuatu and will be active in the contest using the callsign YJ0VK.

The contest was originally established by the Wireless Institute of Australia and the New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters. The management of the contest was delegated to a joint VK and ZL committee in 2001. This committee has grown the participation in the contest from around 300 logs in 2000 to 1100 logs in 2010. The contest is now one of the larger ones on the international calendar and is also recognized as a qualifying event for Oceania amateurs who are interested in being considered for the 2014 World Radio Team Championship (WRTC).

A range of trophies, including attractive plaques for the leading CW and PHONE stations in Europe, will be awarded as listed on the web site athttp://www.oceaniadxcontest.com/trophies.htm. Certificates will be awarded to the winning stations in each of the entry categories – for each continent and country. A participation certificate will also be awarded to every station that makes at least one valid QSO.

Rules of Oceania DX Contest

Here is brief summary of the rules for the 2011 contest:
PHONE: 08:00 UTC Saturday 1 October to 08:00 UTC Sunday 2 October
CW: 08:00 UTC Saturday 8 October to 08:00 UTC Sunday 9 October

Bands: 160M to 10M (excluding WARC bands).
Exchange: RS(T) + serial number.
QSO points: 20 points per QSO on 160M; 10 points on 80M; 5 points on 40M; 1 point on 20M; 2 points on 15M; and 3 points on 10M.

Final Score: The sum of the QSO points multiplied by the number of prefixes worked (the same prefix can be counted once on each band).

Categories of the Oceania Dx Contest

Entry Categories:
Single Operator All Band Low Power (max 100W)
Single Operator All Band High Power
Single Operator Single Band Low Power (max 100W)
Single Operator Single Band High Power
Multiple Operators and Single Transmitter (only one transmitted signal at any time)
Multiple Operators and Two Transmitters (no more than two transmitted signals at any time and on different bands)
Multiple Operators and Multiple Transmitters (no more than one transmitted signal at any time on each band)
Shortwave Listener (receive only) All Band

A range of trophies and plaques will be awarded as listed on the web site athttp://www.oceaniadxcontest.com/trophies.htm. Certificates will be awarded to the winning stations in each of the categories above – for each continent and country. A participation certificate will also be awarded to every station that makes at least one valid QSO.

Deadline: All logs must be emailed or postmarked NO LATER than 7 November, 2011.

More information about the contest, including the detailed rules, is available from the Oceania DX Contest web site athttp://www.oceaniadxcontest.com/index.html .. You can also forward any questions to info@oceanidxcontest.com