Το καλοκαιρινό Islands on the Air (IOTA) Contest 2019 που
διοργανώνεται από την RSGB, πάντοτε το τελευταίο Σ/Κ Ιουλίου τρέχει από αύριο το
απόγευμα μέχρι και την Κυριακή.
Είναι word-wide contest, δηλαδή όλοι δουλεύουν όλους. Σε
αυτό το contest πολλοί Ραδιοερασιτέχνες μετακινούνται και ενεργοποιούν νησιά,
μικρά ή μεγάλα, κάνοντας ταυτόχρονα και τις διακοπές τους.
Η Ελλάδα μας, προσφέρεται και είναι ο ιδανικός τόπος για
τέτοιου είδους αποστολών ή DxPedition. Αυτό όμως, δεν σημαίνει ότι δεν μπορούν
να λάβουν μέρος και οι σταθεροί σταθμοί ασυρμάτου.
Ο διαγωνισμός αρχίζει το Σάββατο από 12:00 UTC έως την
Κυριακή:12:00 UTC .
Τα mode λειτουργίας είναι CW - SSB και MIXED.
Οι μπάντες λειτουργίας είναι 10m έως 80m. Εξαιρούνται φυσικά
οι μπάντες WARC, που δεν τις χρησιμοποιούμε σε κανέναν διαγωνισμό (12m-17m-30m)
Οι κατηγορίες χειριστών είναι οι κλασικές: Ένας χειριστής
ένας Π/Δ, Πολλοί χειριστές ένας ή πολλοί Π/Δ.
Στην ανταλλαγή αναφοράς δίνουμε RS(T)+Serial Number
ξεκινώντας από 001, και όσοι ευρίσκονται σε κάποιο νησί δίνουν και τον αριθμό
ΙΟΤΑ του νησιού. ΠΧ Από την Ρόδο ο χαριστής θα δώσει 59(9)+001+EU001
Περισσότερα για τους κανονισμούς στο IOTA (Islands on the
Air) Contest 2019 διαβάστε παρακάτω.
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RSGB Islands on the Air (IOTA) Contest
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How
newcomers can enter the IOTA contest
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First of all –
be reassured. Contesting is meant to be fun, and you can enter without any
previous experience. If you have tried one of the shorter RSGB contests, such
as the 80m club contests or the VHF/UHF UKAC contests, you have a head start.
The main difference you will notice is that the RSGB IOTA Contest is likely
to be faster and more international. It should also be more exciting – isn’t
that what you're here for?
This web page
will tell you more about the contest, how to get on the air, what to expect,
and how to submit your entry. You may already know most of what you read
here, but you might also pick up a hint or two along the way. The emphasis is
on entrants using SSB, although CW methodology is not very different. Listen
to good contesters, on any mode, to learn the best techniques. The advice
here is aimed mainly at first-time UK entrants, but of course, the principles
are the same wherever you operate from.
You need a rig
that covers the HF bands, and at least one suitable antenna. The contest
takes place on five bands – 3.5 MHz, 7 MHz, 14 MHz, 21 MHz and 28 MHz. Both
SSB and CW can be used – you can work stations on both modes (which count
separately), so there are ten possibilities for contacting each station. You
need to decide the bands to operate on, which may be determined by the
antennas you already have or want to put up.
You can find a
link to the rules here. If you have limited contest experience, you just
need to know enough to get started. The date is always the last full weekend
in July from 1200–1200 UTC, that's 1 p.m. Saturday to 1 p.m. Sunday UK time.
Everyone sends a signal report, but don't be surprised if you virtually
always receive 59 or 599. To save time, HF contesters are in the habit of
doing this regardless of the actual signal strength! You also send a serial
number, starting at 001, and continuing regardless of band or mode changes.
So, for example, if you are using SSB and then change band when you have
reached serial number 123, you continue on the next band (using CW or SSB)
with 124, and so on.
As you look at
the rules, you will see that there are a number of options as far as your
entry is concerned. The contest allows both CW and SSB contacts, and entrants
can choose whether to use one or the other, or both. There is a category for
those who want to operate for 12 hours or for 24 hours – as a newcomer you
will probably want to maximise your effort by using the full 24 hours. And
you can choose whether to enter with QRP (5 watts), low power (100 watts), or
high power (over 100w). This choice will may well be determined by your class
of licence, but good advice for those starting on the IOTA contest is to use
the highest power that you are permitted, so as to increase your chances of
making the QSOs and multipliers needed. When you submit your entry, the Entry
Robot will confirm these choices with you.
The essence of
the contest is to work as many island stations as possible. Although you can
work any station, island or non-island, contacts with islands score more
points, and only new islands count as multipliers. How do you know if a
station is on an island? Because after sending the serial number, island
stations also send an island reference, but non-island stations don't send
any reference. The reference consists of a continent abbreviation, for
example EU for Europe, and a number, allocated by IOTA Ltd. Stations on
the UK mainland are in IOTA reference EU005. Other references can be found on
the Islands on the Air web site.
So, for example, search for "Wight" and you will see that the IOTA
reference for the Isle of Wight is EU120.
The rules have
references in the scoring section to "multipliers". Each time you
contact a new island, that counts as a multiplier. When you (or your
computer) have added up the score from QSO points, you multiply that by the
number of multipliers you have contacted. The IOTA contest rules will give
you more details of how this is done. But it's easy to see that it is very
important to find and work as many island station multipliers as possible,
because your score will receive a big boost. Have a look at the results
from previous IOTA contests to see the difference
between just making QSOs, and making QSOs which are also multipliers.
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On the air
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If you are new
to international contests, the easiest way to start is with “Search and
Pounce”, or S&P. Tune the band in a systematic way, looking for stations
you haven’t worked – if you are using logging software, this will tell you
immediately if a station is a "dupe". You will not be popular if
you often call stations when they know from their log that you have already
worked on this band and mode! You will be looking particularly for island
stations -- some will be in great demand: if so, note the frequency and move
on, coming back later when things are quieter. Otherwise, when they ask for
new callers, call just once -- if on SSB use the phonetic alphabet. Be ready
to copy down the information sent, and be ready to send your own.
If you miss
anything, ask for a repeat before you send any of your own information. When
you have everything copied, send your own report and island reference,
without unnecessary verbiage. People usually don't have time for chatting,
although you might add a “Good luck Bob”, or other sociable greetings if you
know who is operating. But your friend won’t be pleased if you spend so much
time on pleasantries that your contest information is lost in QRM! After a
dozen or so QSOs, you will get the idea of S&P.
Here's an
example. You are G9XYZ.
CR3T: CQ
contest, Charlie Romeo three Tango, contest
YOU: Golf nine X-ray Yankee Zulu CR3T: G9XYZ, 59, 327, Alpha Foxtrot one four [he sends you serial number 327, and his IOTA reference is Africa 014. Note or remember this information, and transmit as soon as he finishes] YOU: Roger, 59, zero nine seven, Echo Uniform five [you send serial number 097, and IOTA reference EU005] CR3T: Thank you, Charlie Romeo three Tango, contest
So far, so good.
Now conditions are poor, and there are requests to repeat information.
K1TTT:
.... Kilo one Tango Tango Tango contest
YOU: Golf nine X-ray Yankee Zulu K1TTT: The golf nine station, again YOU: G9XYZ, Golf nine X-ray Yankee Zulu, over K1TTT: G9XYZ, thanks, 59, 1x22 [he sends his serial number, but you miss the second digit. Ask for a repeat before sending your information. He's not on an island, so sends no island reference] YOU: Number again, please K1TTT: 1322, 1322, over [got it this time] YOU: Roger, 59, two four one, Echo Uniform five K1TTT: Is that two four one? Over [if he's got it right, just agree] YOU: Roger, roger, roger K1TTT: Good luck, K1TTT, contest
When it is
harder to copy information, you might be more repetitious. Follow the example
of the station you are working, who could have more contesting experience.
You might decide
you want to call CQ Contest yourself. You can get an idea of how good
operators do this by listening to them making these sorts of QSO for a few
minutes. Before starting, as at any other time, always check that the
frequency isn’t already in use. The rules specify some more limited segments
than the whole band, for instance, on 20m -- check first. Callers will expect
you to reply instantly to their calls, and to copy the information without
asking for excessive repeats. Don't be frightened to call CQ, but be aware
that even a lowly "G" station can generate a pile-up, with five or
six calling people at once – this is mainly because island stations such as
those in the British Isles score higher than non-island. Work out in advance
how you will deal with this, and listen to what other good operators do.
But also
remember that it's often normal to make up to ten CQ calls before getting a
reply, sometimes more, even for the best-equipped stations. On a quiet band,
you could wait for minutes at a time before getting any callers, although you
would also ask yourself if you are really on the right band at all in this
case! Many operators now get their computers to perform the job of calling
CQ, using MP3 voice files or similar, and CW operators almost always use the
computer to send CQs, as well as other contest information.
There is a good
general description of HF contesting by G4BUO. This will give you ideas about the RSGB IOTA and
other contests.
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Which Band?
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If you are
equipped for several bands, you will need to choose the band to operate on.
As a rule, you would use the highest frequency that is open at the time,
although this is a very general statement. If you can hear signals on 10m,
that is a good place to start, and then look on 15m. However, unless sunspot
activity has recently been high, 20m is likely to be the mainstay of contest
operation, with 15m also good if conditions are reasonable.
From the UK at
present, 20m is likely to be open to Eastern Europe (and further afield) in
the mornings. Propagation gradually opens up to the North America from around
midday, and tends to die down in the evening. You will probably find Western
Europe available most of the day and evening. If you can only equip yourself
for one band, 20m should probably be it.
As far as the
IOTA Contest is concerned, you might therefore find a mixture of European and
US stations on 20m soon after the contest begins. If you stay on the band,
you could expect North America to predominate into the evening, always mixed
with Europeans. Later on, many stations will move lower in frequency, but it
is always worth checking the band just in case. The next morning on 20m will
see stations from the East predominating, but you are likely to find Western
Europeans on at any time.
If you have an
antenna for 40m, you should have no trouble working European stations,
including plenty of multipliers, throughout the evening and overnight. If you
have 80m, you will find it is also most used once it gets dark, although some
stations will frequently be found as early as 1600 or 1700 UTC. There can be
high levels of static on 80m, which makes it a harder band to use during the
summer.
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Πάντως για να κλείσω μαθαίνω ότι και φέτος πολλοί, πάρα
πολλοί Έλληνες ραδιοερασιτέχνες, μεμονωμένα ή κατά ομάδες, θα ενεργοποιήσουν τα
Ελληνικά νησιά και θα προσπαθήσουν για το καλύτερο στον διαγωνισμό.
Καλή επιτυχία σε όλους και ελπίζω να σας ακούσω στον αέρα!!!
73 de SV7BVM
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