RULES: The Indian Summer Contest 2014

SSB, CW, Digital (RTTY/PSK31): April 27, 2014

Starts: 0800 IST (0230 UTC) Sunday       Ends: 1959 IST (1429 UTC) Sunday

1. Objective: For amateurs in India to contact as many other amateurs within India as possible during the contest period. This is a National contest and DX QSOs do not count.

2. Period of Operation: 12 hours.

3. Bands: ONLY the 3.5, 7, 14, 21, and 28 MHz bands may be used. Observance of established band plans is strongly encouraged. On 40m, please spread out and use the upper section of the band from 7100 to 7200 as well.

4. Terms of Competition for All Categories:

(a) All entrants must operate within the limits of their chosen category when performing any activity that could affect their submitted score. Only the entrant’s call sign may be used to aid the entrant’s score.

(b) A different call sign must be used for each entry.

(c) Entrants must not exceed the maximum power limit specified by their license, or the power limit of their entry category, whichever is less, on any band. Power is measured at the final output connector of the transmitter.

(d) Self-spotting or asking other stations to spot you on any DX Cluster is not allowed.

(e) Use of QSO alerting assistance is not permitted except for multi operator categories. QSO alerting assistance is the use of any technology or outside method that provides call sign and frequency information regarding any other station to the operator. This can include telephone calls, DX Clusters, Skimmers etc.

(f) All operation must take place from one operating site. Transmitters and receivers must be located within a 500-meter 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.

5. Entry Categories:

A. Single Operator Categories: All operating and logging functions are performed by one person (the operator). Only one transmitted signal is permitted at any time. QSO alerting assistance of any kind is not allowed.

(a) Single Operator Low (All Band): QSO alerting assistance is not permitted. Total output power must not exceed 100 watts.

(b) Single Operator QRP (All Band): QSO alerting assistance is not permitted. Total output power must not exceed 10 watts.

B. Multi-Operator Categories (All Band): More than one person can contribute to the final score during the official contest period. Select category based on number of transmitted signals. Total output power of each transmitted signal must not exceed 100 watts.

(a) Single-Transmitter (MULTI-ONE): Only one transmitted signal is permitted at any time.

(b) Multi-Transmitter (MULTI-UNLIMITED): 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.

6. Exchange: RS(T) report plus a progressive contact serial number starting with 001 for the first contact. Note: Multi-One and Multi-Unlimited entrants use separate serial number sequences on each band.

CW: 599 001

SSB: 59 001

RTTY (other Digital Modes): 599 001

7. Contact Points:

(a) Contacts between stations in India or any of its territories (VU4, VU7, Antarctica Bases etc.) are worth six (6) points on 28, 21, and 14 MHz and three (3) points on 7, 3.5, and 1.8 MHz.

8 Scoring: A station may be worked once on each band for QSO point credit.

(a) Single-Operator and Multi-Operator:

(i) All-Band score is total contact points from all bands

9. Awards: Only logs submitted in electronic format are eligible for awards.

To be eligible for an award, a Single Operator station must show a minimum of 2 hours of operation. Multi-operator stations must operate a minimum of 8 hours.

(a) Certificates will be awarded to the first three highest scoring stations in each category listed under Section 5 above. The score will also count towards the annual VU Top Contester of the Year award each year.

10. Instructions for Submission of Logs: We would appreciate receiving all logs in electronic format. Electronic submission of logs is required for anyone competing for an award and for all who use a computer to log the contest or prepare contest logs.

(a) The log MUST show the following for each contact: correct time of QSO, frequency (or band), call, serial number sent, and serial number received. A log without all required information may be reclassified to CHECKLOG.

(b) The CABRILLO file format is the standard for logs. However you may use the Excel or Word documents which will be provided in the Resources section of this Contest on the ARSI web site.

The following is the Cabrillo format for this contest. This is identical to CQ-WPX if you are using a regular logging program.

START-OF-LOG: 2.0
CALLSIGN: Your Call Sign
CONTEST: ARSI-SUMMER
CATEGORY: SINGLE-OP/MULTI-OP ALL LOW/QRP CW/PHONE/MIXED
CLAIMED-SCORE: 2356
CLUB: Your Local Club Name if applicable
NAME: Your Name
ADDRESS: Your Address Line 1
ADDRESS: Your Address Line 2
ADDRESS: Your Address Line 3
OPERATORS: List call signs of all operators 
SOAPBOX: Put your comments here.
SOAPBOX: Use multiple lines if needed.
QSO:  7025 CW 2012-04-29 0911 VU2VWN        599 001    VU2TS         599 001    0
QSO: 14185 PH 2012-04-29 1020 VU2VWN        59  002    VU2UR         59  023    0
QSO:  3545 RY 2012-04-29 1143 VU2VWN        599 003    VU2NKS        59  115    0
END-OF-LOG:
 

Each QSO lines above will be formatted as below in text mode – the starting column of each line is important. Windows Notepad is an appropriate tools to just type this up.

                         UTC  --------info sent------- -------info rcvd-------- QSO: freq  mo date       time call          rst exch   call          rst exch   t QSO: ***** ** yyyy-mm-dd nnnn ************* nnn ****** ************* nnn ****** n QSO:  7025 CW 2012-04-29 0911 VU2VWN        599 001    VU2TS         599 001    0 QSO: 14185 PH 2012-04-29 1020 VU2VWN        59  002    VU2UR         59  023    0 QSO:  3545 RY 2012-04-29 1143 VU2VWN        599 003    VU2NKS        59  115    0 000000000111111111122222222223333333333444444444455555555556666666666777777777788 123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901  

Note the abbreviations for CW, SSB and RTTY are CW, PH and RY respectively.

If your radio does not use CAT control from a computerized logging program you may use the following FREQ designators in the QSO line of the Cabrillo log for each band.

80m    - 3500
40m    - 7000
20m    - 14000
15m    - 21000
10m    - 28000

(c) E-mail is the expected method of log submission. Please provide only your call sign in the SUBJECT line of the email. Logs in CABRILLO, Microsoft Excel or text format replicating the above columns may be sent to [email protected]

(d) Instructions for paper logs: Paper logs using may be mailed to Prasad Rajagopal, PO Box 7523, Bangalore, 560075. Please superscribe the envelope in bold as “INDIAN SUMMER CONTEST”. Each paper log entry must be accompanied by a Summary Sheet listing all scoring information, the category of competition, and the entrant’s name and mailing address in BLOCK LETTERS.

11. Rule Violations: Violation of amateur radio regulations or the rules of the contest; unsportsmanlike conduct; taking credit for excessive unverifiable QSOs or multipliers; use of any non-amateur means of communication to SOLICIT, ARRANGE, or CONFIRM any contacts during or after the contest will be deemed sufficient cause for disqualification.

12. Declaration: By submitting an entry in the ARSI Indian Summer Contest you agree that: 1) you have read and understood the rules of the contest and agree to be bound by them, 2) you have operated according to all rules and regulations that pertain to your amateur radio license, 3) your log entry may be made open to the public when notifying awards and scores, and 4) all actions and decisions of ARSI are official and final.

13. Deadline: All entries must be emailed or postmarked NO LATER than May 31, 2014. Logs emailed or postmarked after the deadline may be ineligible for any awards.

Any questions pertaining to the ARSI Indian Summer Contest may be e-mailed to the ARSI Contests & Awards Manager, Prasad VU2PTT, at [email protected]