IRTS 2 Metres Counties Contest Rules

The IRTS General Contest Rules will apply, except as noted below.

1

Dates and Time

1.1 Two separate contests: Easter Monday and a Sunday in September (see Contest Calendar)
1.2 From 2.30 pm to 4.00 pm local time  (Not UTC).

2

Sections

2.1    A.  SSB/FM High Power Portable  (see Requirements for Portable Section Entries in Section 3 below)
     B.  SSB/FM Low Power Portable – max 10W  (see Requirements for Portable Section Entries in Section 3 below)
     C.  SSB/FM High Power Fixed
     D.  SSB/FM Low Power Fixed – max 10W
     E.  FM Only – Single Operator (club call signs may not be used)
     F.  SWL (see Section 7 / General Rules)
2.2 Whether portable or fixed, entrants must operate from a single location for the duration of the contest.
2.3 In the SSB/FM sections, a station may be worked on both modes provided it remains in the same county.

3

Requirements for Portable Section Entries

3.1 Buildings or man-made structures, other than those brought to, or constructed on, the site within 24 hours before the start of the contest for use during the contest, may not be used as antenna support points.
3.2 Additional standby equipment is allowed on site, but it must not be connected to any power source when the main equipment is in use.
3.3 The station must not be sited in any permanent or semi-permanent building.
3.4 The station must not use the public mains supply.
3.5 Power for all equipment may only be derived from a portable generator, or from solar cells, accumulators or batteries.  Fixed generators are not permitted.  Float charging, if any, must be from a portable generator.
3.6 No equipment or antennas may be installed or erected on the site prior to 24 hours before the start of the contest.  This does not apply to storage of equipment.
3.7 The requirements specified in Rules 3.1 to 3.6 do not apply to entries in the FM Only section, even where the operator is in a ‘portable’ (i.e. temporary) location.

4

Exchange

4.1 Signal report, serial number (starting 001 for the first contact) and county e.g. 59 001 WIC.
(See the County Codes / General Rules)

5

Frequencies

5.1 SSB: 144.250 – 144.350 but not including the SSB calling frequency of 144.300
5.2 FM: 145.225 – 145.475 (25 kHz spacing)
5.3 Only one signal may be transmitted at a time.

6

QSY Rule (on FM channels only)

6.1 After any QSO in which you are called by another station, you must QSY to another channel before soliciting another QSO.
6.2 When you respond to a CQ or QRZ from another station, you then have the right to that frequency for a single additional QSO before QSYing as required by 6.1.
6.3 To summarise – the station calling CQ or QRZ must QSY once a contact has been made.  The station answering the CQ or QRZ has the frequency for one more contact.
6.4 This QSY Rule does not apply to SSB QSOs.

7

Scoring

(Note: The scoring rules mean that an EI or GI station must be at one or both ends of a QSO)

7.1 Entrants in EI/GI:
  •  Same County
   (as your location during the contest)
1 point
  •  Any adjoining county (see 7.5 below) 2 points
  •  Any other county in EI/GI 6 points
  •  Contacts outside EI/GI 1 point
7.2 Entrants outside EI/GI:
  •  Each contact with EI/GI 4 points
7.3 The final score is the total number of points multiplied by the total number of EI/GI counties worked.
7.4 In the SSB/FM sections, for multiplier purposes counties only count once.
7.5 For the purposes of these rules, one county adjoins another if it shares a border with the other – whether that border be on land, on a river or a lake.  Download a file of adjoining counties used in the adjudication process here.
Log submission info

8

Awards


(See Rule 6.2 / General Rules regarding the minimum number of QSOs for award eligibility)
8.1 An award will be made to the leading EI station in each section.
8.2 An award will be made to the leading station outside EI in each section.
Contest Calendar and Rules page

Updated: 17 May 2019