Contesting

Contesting (also known as radiosport) is a competitive activity pursued by amateur radio operators. In a contest, an amateur radiostation, which may be operated by an individual or a team, seeks to contact as many other amateur radio stations as possible in a given period of time and exchange information. Rules for each competition define the amateur radio bands, the mode of communication that may be used, and the kind of information that must be exchanged. The contacts made during the contest contribute to a score by which stations are ranked. Contest sponsors publish the results in magazines and on web sites.

Contesting grew out of other amateur radio activities in the 1920s and 1930s. As transoceanic communications with amateur radio became more common, competitions were formed to challenge stations to make as many contacts as possible with amateur radio stations in other countries. Contests were also formed to provide opportunities for amateur radio operators to practice their message handling skills, used for routine or emergency communications across long distances. Over time, the number and variety of radio contests has increased, and many amateur radio operators today pursue the sport as their primary amateur radio activity.

Because radio contests take place using amateur radio, competitors are generally forbidden by their national amateur radio regulations from being compensated financially for their activity. High levels of amateur radio contest activity, and contesters failing to comply with international band plans, can result in friction between contest participants and other amateur radio users of the same radio spectrum.

During a radio contest, each station attempts to establish two-way contact with other licensed amateur radio stations and exchange information specific to that contest. The information exchanged could include a signal report, a name, the U.S. state or Canadian province in which the station is located, the geographic zone in which the station is located, the Maidenhead grid locator in which the station is located, the age of the operator, or an incrementing serial number. For each contact, the radio operator must correctly receive the call sign of the other station, as well as the information in the "exchange", and record this data, along with the time of the contact and the band or frequency that was used to make the contact, in a log.

A contest score is computed based on a formula defined for that contest. A typical formula assigns some number of points for each contact, and a "multiplier" based on some aspect of the exchanged information such as 'country' or 'state'.

Most contests offer multiple entry categories, and declare winners in each category. Some contests also declare regional winners for specific geographic subdivisions, such as continents, countries, U.S. states, or Canadian provinces.

The most common entry category is the single operator category and variations thereof, in which only one individual operates a radio station for the entire duration of the contest. Subdivisions of the single operator category are often made based on the highest power output levels used during the contest, such as a QRP category for single operator stations using no more than five watts output power, or a High Power category that allows stations to transmit with as much output power as their license permits. Multi-operator categories allow for teams of individuals to operate from a single station, and may either allow for a single radio transmitter or several to be in use simultaneously on different amateur radio bands. Many contests also offer team or club competitions in which the scores of multiple radio stations are combined and ranked.

A wide variety of amateur radio contests are sponsored every year. Contest sponsors have crafted competitive events that serve to promote a variety of interests and appeal to diverse audiences. Radio contests typically take place on weekends or local weeknight evenings, and can last from a few hours to forty-eight hours in duration. The rules of each contest will specify which stations are eligible for participation, the radio frequency bands on which they may operate, the communications modes they may employ, and the specific time period during which they may make contacts for the contest.

Contests exist for enthusiasts of all modes. Some contests are restricted to just CW emissions using the Morse code for communications, some are restricted to telephony modes and spoken communications, and some employ digital emissions modes such as RTTY or PSK31. Many popular contests are offered on two separate weekends, one for CW and one for telephony, with all the same rules. The CQ World Wide WPX Contest, for example, is held as a phone-only competition one weekend in March, and a CW-only competition one weekend in May

The wide variety of contests attracts a large variety of contesters and contest stations. The rules and structure of a particular contest can determine the strategies used by competitors to maximize the number of contacts made and multipliers earned. Some stations and operators specialize in certain contests, and either rarely operate in others, or compete in them with less seriousness. As with other sports, contest rules evolve over time, and rule changes are one of the primary sources of controversy in the sport.

-from wikikpedia:radio-sport

On many weekends you will find hams engaged in the "sport" of amateur radio. Contesting is one of the activities that has more participants than any other sport in the world. On the last weekend of October you will find thousands of amateur operators making contacts on SSB worldwide to see how many other stations they can reach. The top stations will make thousands of contacts in just 48 hours but even a modest station can quite easily make several hundred contacts. How about getting your DXCC in just one weekend? It is possible.

Contests come in many forms but you will find that most require operating in one mode, either CW, SSB or Rtty. A few, such as QSO Parties, permit both CW and SSB. Some of the most popular contests are:

Contest Date Details
CQ-Worked PrefiXes (WPX)(RTTY) Second full W/E February Stations contact as many stations as possible. Extra points given for new callsign prefixes contacted.
ARRL DX Contest (CW) Third Full W/E February Worldwide stations contact those in USA / Canada.
ARRL DX Contest (SSB)     . First full W/E March Worldwide stations contact those in USA / Canada.
CQ-Worked PrefiXes (WPX)(SSB) Last full W/E March   Stations contact as many stations as possible. Extra points given for new callsign prefixes contacted.
CQ-Worked PrefiXes (WPX) (CW)     Last Full W/E May      Stations contact as many stations as possible. Extra points given for new callsign prefixes contacted.
All Asia DX (CW)          Third full W/E June Worldwide stations contact stations in Asia.
IARU-HF Championship (SSB / CW)       Second full W/E July    Contact as many stations as possible. Extra points given for new countries contacted.
Island On The Air (SSB/CW)       Last full W/E July    Contact as many stations as possible. Extra points given for contacting island stations.
Worked All Europe-DX (CW)        Second full W/E August   Stations outside Europe to contact European stations.
All Asia (SSB)      First full W/E September     Contact stations in Asia.
Worked All Europe-DX (SSB     2nd full W/E September.     Stations outside Europe to contact European stations.
CQ-WorldWide (RTTY)    Fourth full W/E September     Contact as many stations in as many countries as possible.
CQ-WorldWide (SSB)     Last full W/E October     Contact as many stations in as many countries as possible.
Worked All Europe-DX (RTTY)         Second full W/E November Stations outside Europe to contact European stations.
CQ-WorldWide (CW)         Last full W/E November Contact as many stations in as many countries as possible. Contesting is not as difficult as it might seem although winning your category can be very challenging. To begin you need to be familiar with the contest rules and each one is different. Checkout some of the contest calendar web sites for the rules of a contest that interests you. Pay special attention to the exchange that you will be using in the contest. Then when the contest begins listen to how the other stations operate. When you are ready call a station that is calling CQ contest and when he comes back with your call record his exchange and then give your exchange. It's as simple as that.

 

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