Isle of Man Amateur Radio Soap-Box

Friday, July 27, 2012

Special Olympic Prefix update (RSGB)

A number of UK amateurs have asked for clarification on the applicability of the special letter O prefix. Despite being very busy with the Olympics, Ofcom has responded to the Society’s request on this matter. It has been explained that the special prefix is a temporary one that is only available to individuals and clubs where the licensee’s callsign has not been changed by a Notice of Variation, NoV. Thus, it is not applicable to Short Contest Calls or Special Event Station callsigns, as these require the use of a callsign different from that of the NoV holder. For licence variations such as the 5MHz and 500kHz NoVs it would be allowable to use the special O prefix, as the licensee’s callsign has not been varied by the NoV. Amateurs should be aware that this clarification does not affect the other terms and conditions within the licence, or a related NoV. Note too that the use of the special prefix started at 00.00BST on 21 July and finishes at 23.59BST on 9 September. Radio amateurs in the UK may still apply for an NoV to use the letter O in place of their regional identifier. Details are on the RSGB website, www.rsgb.org/olympics. Anyone logging stations using this special prefix can apply for the Olympic QSO Party Award. Again, full details are on the RSGB website at www.rsgb.org/olympics/qsoparty

Friday, July 20, 2012

Changes to IOTA Rules

The IOTA Contest takes place on 28 and 29 July and there are some important rules changes for participants. The scoring for Island-World and World-World QSOs has changed, to increase the importance of working island stations. The World Multi-op category has been discontinued. A QSY rule for Island Multi-Op stations has been introduced, because some entrants have been operating with more than one multiplier station. Finally, low power expedition entrants are now allowed to use any antenna. The 2012 rules are on the Contest Committee section of the RSGB website. All operators are asked to please be careful to use contest preferred band segments, as penalties will be applied to stations who do not observe these limits.