IARU HF Championship 2017

1. Eligibility: All licensed amateurs worldwide. Learn More

2. Object: To contact as many other amateurs, especially IARU member society HQ stations, around the world as possible using the 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meter bands.

3. Date and Contest Period: The second full weekend of July, beginning 1200 UTC Saturday and ending 1200 UTC Sunday . Both Single and Multi operator stations may operate the entire 24-hour period.

4. Entry Categories:

4.1. Single Operator

4.1.1. Categories

4.1.1.1. Phone only – High, Low and QRP power levels

4.1.1.2. CW only – High, Low, and QRP Power levels

4.1.1.3. Mixed mode – High, Low and QRP Power levels

4.1.2. One person performs all operating and logging functions.

4.1.3. Use of spotting nets, packet, or multi-channel decoders (such as CW Skimmer) is not permitted. Single-operator stations that use spotting nets, packet or multi-channel decoders will be reclassified to the applicable Single Operator Unlimited category.

4.1.4. All operators must observe the amateur radio regulations of their country at all times.

4.1.5. Single operator stations are allowed only one transmitted signal at any given time.

4.2. Single Operator Unlimited

4.2.1. Categories

4.2.1.1. Phone only – High, Low and QRP power levels

4.2.1.2. CW only – High, Low, and QRP Power levels

4.2.1.3. Mixed mode – High, Low and QRP Power levels

4.2.2. One person performs all operating and logging functions.

4.2.3. All operators must observe the amateur radio regulations of their country at all times.

4.2.4. Single operator stations are allowed only one transmitted signal at any given time.

4.3. Multi Operator, Single Transmitter, Mixed Mode Only

4.3.1. Must remain on a band and mode for at least 10 minutes before changing bands or modes. There are no exceptions. The “10 minute clock” starts when a QSO is logged.

4.3.2. Only one transmitted signal is allowed at any given time. There are no exceptions.

4.3.2.1.  Alternating CQs on two or more frequencies on the same band is not permitted.

4.3.3. All operators must observe the amateur radio regulations of their country at all times.

4.3.4. Violation of the band change rules will reclassify the entry as a checklog.

4.4. IARU Member Society HQ Station

4.4.1. May have only one transmitted signal per band mode (160 CW, 160 Phone, 80 CW, 80 Phone, 40 CW, 40 Phone, 20 CW, 20 Phone, 15 CW, 15 Phone, 10 CW, 10 Phone) at the same time.

4.4.2. All stations involved in an HQ operation must be in a single ITU zone.

4.4.3. Only one HQ station callsign per member society per band mode is permitted (160 CW, 160 Phone, 80 CW, 80 Phone, 40 CW, 40 Phone, 20 CW, 20 Phone, 15 CW, 15 Phone, 10 CW, 10 Phone).

4.4.4. All operators must observe the amateur radio regulations of their country at all times.

5. Contest Exchange:

5.1. IARU member society HQ stations send signal report and official IARU member society abbreviation. IARU International Secretariat club station NU1AW counts as a HQ station. Members of the IARU Administrative Council and the three IARU regional Executive committees send “AC,” “R1,””R2,” and “R3” as appropriate.

5.2. All others send signal report and ITU zone.

5.3. A complete exchange must be logged for each valid QSO.

6. Valid Contact:

6.1. The same station may be worked once per mode per band for QSO credit.

6.1.1. Mixed-mode entries may work a station once per mode per band.

6.2. A station may only be worked for credit in the portion of the band that is generally accepted for the mode used.

6.2.1. On any band, a station may be worked once on Phone (in the Phone segment) and once on CW (in the CW segment).

6.2.2. Cross mode, cross band and repeater contacts are not valid QSOs.

6.3. Where contest-preferred segments are incorporated into regional band plans, participants must observe them.

6.4. The use of non-amateur radio means of communications (e.g. telephone or the Internet) for the purpose of soliciting a contact (or contacts) during the contest period is inconsistent with the spirit and intent of these rules.

6.5. Use of self-spotting techniques on packet or other mediums are inconsistent with the spirit and intent of these rules.

7. QSO Points:

7.1. Contacts within your own ITU zone, as well as QSOs with any IARU-member society HQ station or IARU official (counting as the special multiplier), count one point each.

7.1.1. Contacts with a station in the same ITU zone but on a different continent count one point.

7.2. Contacts within your continent (but different ITU zone) count three points.

7.3. Contacts with a different continent and IARU zone count five points.

8. Multipliers: The total number of ITU zones plus IARU member society HQ stations worked on each band (not mode). IARU officials represent a maximum of four multipliers per band (AC, R1, R2 and R3).

8.1. IARU member society HQ stations and officials do not count for zone multipliers.

8.2. To qualify as the special multiplier, Administrative Council and Regional Executive Committee stations must only be operated by the individual station licensee as a single operator entry or as a multi operator, single transmitter entry with significant participation by the licensee.

9. Scoring: The total number of QSO points times the total number of multipliers worked.

10. Reporting:

10.1. Entries must be postmarked or emailed no later than 30 days after the end of the contest.

10.2. Electronic entries must conform to the Cabrillo file format.

10.2.1. The Cabrillo file format and specifications.

10.2.2. Any entry which has been generated using a computer (either during the contest or after the contest) must be submitted either as an attachment to an email or on a 3.5” diskette.

10.2.3. Electronic files must use the entrant’s callsign as the file name. Electronic entries can be submitted by email or using our web app.

10.2.4. The log file must be a chronological list of QSOs as made not separated by band or mode.

10.2.4.5.  Entries can be submitted via web app at http://b4h.net/cabforms/iaruhf_cab.php

10.2.5. Entries sent as attachments to email must be sent to iaruhf@arrl.org

10.2.5.1. Email entries must include the callsign used during the contest on the SUBJECT line of the email.

10.2.6. Entries sent on diskette should be mailed to: IARU HF Championship, IARU International Secretariat, Box 310905, Newington, CT 06111-0905 USA.

10.2.6.1. Diskettes must be clearly labeled with the station call sign, contest name, entry class and date.

10.3. Participants may manually convert their paper logs to a Cabrillo log one QSO at a time and submit their entry using the web applet found at www.b4h.net/cabforms.

10.4. Paper logs must be in chronological order, not separated by bands, and clearly indicate for each contact: band, mode, date, time (in UTC) callsigns, complete exchanges sent and received, multipliers and QSO points.

10.4.1. Multipliers should be marked in the paper log only the first time they are worked on each band.

10.4.2. Paper logs with more than 500 QSO’s must include dupesheets (an alpha-numeric list of all callsigns worked, broken down by band and mode.)

10.4.3. All contacts in paper logs must be in chronological order, not separated by bands.

10.4.4. Paper logs must be mailed to IARU International Secretariat, Box 310905, Newington, CT 06111-0905 USA.

10.5. All paper entries must include an official summary sheet or reasonable facsimile thereof with complete contest information.

11. Awards:

11.1. A certificate will be awarded to the high scoring entry in each category in each ITU zone, each DXCC country and each ARRL Section.

11.2. A certificate of participation will be awarded to all IARU member society HQ stations.

11.3. Achievement level awards will be issued to those making at least 250 QSOs or having a multiplier total of 75 or more.

11.4. Additional awards may be made at the discretion of each country’s IARU member society.

12. Conditions of Entry: Each entrant agrees to be bound by the provisions of this announcement, by the regulations of his/her licensing authority, and by the decisions of the ARRL Awards Committee, acting for the IARU International Secretariat.

13. Disqualification: Any entry may be disqualified if the overall score is reduced by more than 2%.

13.1. For paper log entries:

13.1.1. Score reductions do not include correction of arithmetic errors;

13.1.2. Any entry may be disqualified if more than 2% of duplicate QSOs are left in the log and claimed for credit; and

13.1.3. A three-QSO reduction will be assessed for each duplicate QSO found during log checking or for miscopied callsigns.For electronic logs, a one-QSO penalty will be assessed for a miscopied callsign.

Additional Rules. For situations not covered in these rules refer to the ARRL General Rules for All Contests and the ARRL Rules for Contests on Bands below 30 MHz.

For contest information, contact contests@arrl.org or IARU HF Contest Information, PO Box 310905, Newington, CT 06111-0905 USA.