Rules

Scandinavian Activity Contest Rules 2021

Rules for all participants

Latest update 2021-08-11

No changes made since 2020.

1. Aim of the contest

The aims of the contest are to promote amateur radio activity in Scandinavia and to encourage amateur radio communications between Scandinavian and non-Scandinavian amateur radio stations. Scandinavian stations will try to work as many non-Scandinavian stations as possible and vice versa.

Scandinavian stations are defined by prefixes as follows:

Svalbard and Bear Island JW
Jan Mayen JX
Norway LA – LB – LC – LG – LI – LJ – LN
Finland OF – OG – OH – OI
Aland Islands OFØ – OGØ – OHØ
Market Reef OJØ
Greenland OX – XP
Faroe Islands OW – OY
Denmark 5P – 5Q – OU – OV – OZ
Sweden 7S – 8S – SA – SB – SC – SD – SE – SF – SG – SH – SI – SJ – SK – SL – SM
Iceland TF

All other legal prefixes according to the ITU definition of Scandinavian prefixes are good for the contest and multipliers as well. Greenland is included as a Scandinavian prefix, although it is located in North America.

2. Eligible entrants

Licensed radio amateurs all over the world are invited to participate.

3. Periods

CW: 3rd full weekend of September each year.
SSB: 2nd full weekend of October each year.

Starts 12:00 UTC Saturday and ends 11:59 UTC Sunday.

4. Entry Categories

Scandinavian and non-Scandinavian stations are placed in separate categories.

4.1 Single Operator – Single TX

Single operator means that one single person performs all operating, logging and spotting functions.

4.1.1 For Scandinavian stations:

All Band – High Power [SINGLE-OP ALL HIGH]
All Band – Low Power (transmitter output 100 W or less) [SINGLE-OP ALL LOW]
All Band – QRP (transmitter output 5 W or less) [SINGLE-OP ALL QRP]
Single Band [SINGLE-OP 80M] [SINGLE-OP 40M] [SINGLE-OP 20M] [SINGLE-OP 15M] [SINGLE-OP 10M]

All Band, Single Operator entrants may also participate in one of the overlay categories by adding the CATEGORY-OVERLAY: line with either ROOKIE, TB-WIRES or WIRE-ONLY in their Cabrillo log file:

Rookie [CATEGORY-OVERLAY: ROOKIE]
Tribander/Single-element [CATEGORY-OVERLAY: TB-WIRES]
Wire-only [CATEGORY-OVERLAY: WIRE-ONLY]

Participants in the ROOKIE overlay must be licensed for the first time less than 3 years before the actual contest starts.

Participants in the TB-WIRES overlay shall use only one triband antenna with a single feed line from the transmitter to the antenna for 10, 15 and 20 meters, and single-element non-rotateable antennas for 40 and 80 meters.

Participants in the WIRE-ONLY overlay shall use the same single wire antenna for all bands.

Overlay category entries will be listed separately in the results. They are scored as All Band entries and grouped by High Power and Low Power (includes QRP).

4.1.2 For non-Scandinavian stations:

All Band – High Power [SINGLE-OP ALL HIGH]
All Band – Low Power (transmitter output 100 W or less) [SINGLE-OP ALL LOW]
All Band – QRP (transmitter output 5 W or less) [SINGLE-OP ALL QRP]
Low Band – High Power, only 80 and 40 meters. [SINGLE-OP LOW-BAND HIGH]

4.2 Multi Operator – Single TX – All Band [MULTI-ONE]

This category is for all participants. Only one signal may be transmitted on any band at any time (running station). When operation has started on one band, the station must remain on that band for at least 10 minutes. The 10-minute period starts with the first QSO worked on that band.

Exception: It is allowed to work a QSO on another band if it is a new multiplier (multiplier station). The multiplier station is allowed to be on the air at the same time as the running station. The multiplier station may not solicit contacts by calling CQ, but may ask stations during the multiplier QSO to move to another band where the multiplier is needed. The log must indicate which station/signal (run or multiplier) made each QSO.

4.3 Multi Operator – Multi TX – All Band [MULTI-MULTI]

This category is only for Scandinavian stations. There are no restrictions on the number of transmitters. Only one signal per band is allowed at any time.

4.4 Station Location

All transmitters and receivers must be within a single 500-meter diameter circle. Antennas must be physically connected by RF transmission lines to the transmitters and receivers.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic we allow Scandinavian Multi-Multi stations to operate with “scattered stations”, similar to the HQ-station concept in the IARU HF Championship. If you decide to participate with “scattered stations”, please inform us via email to support@sactest.net.

4.5 QSO finding assistance

The use of DX-Cluster, Skimmer, and Skimmer-like technology (such as Reverse Beacon Network) is allowed for all categories. Self-spotting or requesting stations to announce one’s own call on the DX-Cluster is NOT allowed.

5. Frequencies to be used

CW : 3510-3560, 7000-7040, 14000-14060, 21000-21070, 28000-28070 kHz
SSB: 3600-3650, 3700-3800, 7060-7100, 7130-7200, 14125-14300, 21151-21450, 28320-29000 kHz.
According to the IARU Region 1 HF Bandplan.

6. Contest exchanges

The contest exchange consists of RS(T) plus serial number sequence starting with 001 (e.g., 59(9) 001). QSO’s after 999 are numbered 1000, 1001, etc. Stations in the Multi Operator Single TX category may use separate serial number sequences on each band. Stations in the Multi Operator Multi TX category must use separate serial number sequences on each band. The same station may be worked once on each band. Cross-mode and/or cross-band QSO’s are not allowed. The minimum content of a valid contest QSO is a correct callsign and correct contest exchanges.

If the station worked does not send a serial number, log the contact with number 000. QSO’s with zero in the received serial number field will not give QSO points nor multiplier points. Do not enter a “fake” number if you log a station that doesn’t send a serial number. QSO’s that we find with “fake” numbers will be lost, and may also lead to further penalties.

7. Scoring

A QSO with correct callsign and received exchange counts for QSO points. QSO’s with stations that do not give the required contest exchange do not count for QSO points or multipliers.

7.1 For Scandinavian stations:

EUROPEAN stations, outside Scandinavia, are worth two (2) points for every complete QSO.
NON-EUROPEAN stations are worth three (3) points for every complete QSO.

7.2 For non-Scandinavian stations:

EUROPEAN stations receive one (1) point for every complete Scandinavian QSO.
NON-EUROPEAN stations receive one (1) point for every complete Scandinavian QSO on 14, 21, and 28 MHz and three (3) points for every complete QSO on 3.5 and 7 MHz.

8. Multipliers

8.1 For Scandinavian stations:

Each worked non-Scandinavian DXCC entity is valid for one multiplier for each band.

8.2 For non-Scandinavian stations:

Each worked prefix-number (Ø-9) in each Scandinavian DXCC entity is valid for one multiplier for each band (e.g. SI3, SK3, SL3, SM3, 7S3, and 8S3 are all in ONE district and count for ONE (1) multiplier on each band).
Stations without a prefix number count for the 10th area (e.g., LA/G3XYZ counts for LAØ), and those with two or more prefix numbers counts for the area indicated by the first number (e.g., OZ150A counts for OZ1).

9. Final score

To calculate the final score, multiply the sum of QSO points on all bands with the sum of multipliers worked on all bands.

10. Logs

Logs must be submitted separately for CW and SSB, and the QSO’s must be listed in chronological order. By submitting a log, you agree that your log and the corresponding log checking report may be made open to the public.
Electronic submission of logs at https://www.sactest.net is required for all entrants. Use the CABRILLO format. Please ensure that you fill out all of the header information, including a possible category overlay as indicated in §4 above. Leave all your QSOs in the log, dupes included. The log checking software will find the dupes and mark them with zero points.
Participants aiming for a top-three score should include the exact frequency (a 1-kHz resolution is sufficient) of every contact in the log.

11. Closing date for logs

Cabrillo logs or typed-in paper logs shall be uploaded no later than 5 days, at 23:59 UTC after the end of the contest. Logs submitted after the deadline will be listed as checklogs.

12. Awards

Certificates for all participants will be downloadable for printout from the SAC website.

12.1 Plaques

Contest plaques in both CW and SSB part will be given to the following.

Scandinavian winner stations:

All Band categories: High Power, Low Power and QRP.
Overlays: Rookie, TB-Wires and Wire-only no matter of transmitter power used.
Multi-One and Multi-Multi.

Non-Scandinavian winner stations:

All Band, Low-band and Multi-One from each continent. No matter the power used, but there must be at least 25 QSOs in the log.

Depending on the number of participants, the Contest Committee may consider additional awards.

12.2 Sponsored Plaques

Both Scandinavian and non-Scandinavian stations may receive Special Plaques sponsored by individuals through the “SAC Sponsored Plaque Program”. Find more information on www.sactest.net

13. Scandinavian Cup

The Scandinavian Cup is a competition between the Scandinavian Regions as defined in §1. All entrants’ scores for both CW and SSB are accumulated to a total for each region. All logs, except for checklogs, are counted towards the total. A circulating trophy is awarded to the national society of the region that wins the Cup.

14. Judging

Violation of Amateur Radio Regulations in the country of the entrant or the rules of this contest, unsportsmanlike conduct, and taking credit for unverifiable QSO’s or multipliers may lead to disqualification.
The decisions by the Contest Committee are final and definite. The right to changes in these rules is reserved.

15. Organizer

The Nordic Radio Amateur Union (NRAU) is the organizer of the contest. The member societies of NRAU are EDR (Denmark), FRA (Faroe Islands), IRA (Iceland), NRRL (Norway), SRAL (Finland), and SSA (Sweden).

The contest is administered by a committee composed of one member each from Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Contact support@sactest.net. with any questions regarding the rules.

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