Dutch PACC contest

Dutch PACC contest

Please always send your log even if you made a few contacts. You will help to improve the accuracy of cross checking the logs and you will get our famous Token of Merit ("Vaantje").

1. Contest sponsors

The "Vereniging voor Experimenteel Radio Onderzoek in Nederland", VERON is pleased to announce the PACC 2012

2. Contest Period

1200 UTC, 11 February - 1200 UTC, 12 February 2012

3. Categories:

Non-Dutch stations

o  SINGLE-OP ALL HIGH CW, Single Op, All Bands, CW

o  SINGLE-OP ALL LOW CW, Single Op, All Bands, CW, Low Power   100 watts

o  SINGLE-OP ALL HIGH SSB, Single Op, All Bands, SSB

o  SINGLE-OP ALL LOW SSB, Single Op, All Bands, SSB, Low Power   100 watts

o  SINGLE-OP ALL HIGH MIXED, Single Op, All Bands, MIXED,

o  SINGLE-OP ALL LOW MIXED, Single Op, All Bands, MIXED, Low Power   100 watts

o  SINGLE-OP ALL QRP MIXED, Single Op, All Bands, MIXED, QRP   5 watts

o  MULTI-UNLIMITED ALL HIGH MIXED, Multi Op, All Bands, MIXED (no restrictions on # of

radios)

o  SINGLE-OP <BAND> HIGH CW (where <BAND> = one of 10M, 15M, 20M, 40M, 80M,

160M), Single Op, Single Band, CW

o  SINGLE-OP <BAND> HIGH SSB (where <BAND> = one of 10M, 15M, 20M, 40M, 80M,

160M), Single Op, Single Band, SSB

o  SWL ALL MIXED Dutch stations

o  A. SINGLE-OP ALL HIGH CW, Single Op, All Bands, CW

o  A1. SINGLE-OP ALL LOW CW, Single Op, All Bands, CW, Low Power   100 watts

o  B. SINGLE-OP ALL HIGH SSB, Single Op, All Bands, SSB

o  B1. SINGLE-OP ALL LOW SSB, Single Op, All Bands, SSB, Low Power   100 watts

o  C. SINGLE-OP ALL HIGH MIXED, Single Op, All Bands, MIXED,

o  C1. SINGLE-OP ALL LOW MIXED, Single Op, All Bands, MIXED, Low Power   100 watts

o  D. MULTI-ONE ALL HIGH MIXED, Multi Op, Single transmitter, MIXED, 1 extra multiplier

station allowed

o  E. MULTI-UNLIMITED ALL HIGH MIXED, Multi Op, All Bands, Multiple transmitters, MIXED

o  F. SINGLE-OP ALL QRP MIXED, Single Op, All Bands, MIXED, QRP   5 watts

o  G. SWL ALL MIXED, Single Op

o  N. SINGLE-OP LIMITED LOW MIXED NOVICE TECH, Single Op, All Bands, MIXED,

Dutch novice licensees (7.050-7.100, 14.000-14.250, 28.000-29.700 MHz,   25W).

Note: see appendix with example and table of valid Cabrillo categories!

All bands, 1.8 through 28 MHz, but avoid interference with other contests running in the same weekend, WARC bands excluded.

Please use frequencies according to the IARU Region 1 preferred (contest) segments:

CW: 1810 - 1840, 3500 – 3560, 7000 - 7040 and 14000 - 14060 kHz

SSB: 1840 – 1880, 3600 - 3650, 3700 – 3800, 7060 – 7100, 7130 - 7200 and 14125 - 14300 kHz

The band segments 3500 - 3510 kHz en 3775 - 3800 kHz should be used for intercontinental contacts only.

3.1 Single Band entrants operating other bands during the contest are encouraged to submit their logs for

more than one band to aid in the log crosschecking process.

3.2 All entries are separated by World and The Netherlands.

4. Club Competition (for Dutch single operators, including SWL participants, only)

4.1 Between VERON departments (“afdelingen”). Department number (not QSL region) needs to be mentioned in the Cabrillo log “Club” tag (department name can be added optionally). Sum of the single operator and SWL operator scores of one department will give the department score.

5. General Rules

5.1 Transmitters and receivers must be located within a 500-meter diameter circle. All antennas used by an entrant must be physically connected to the transmitters or receivers by wires (feeders).

5.1.1 All categories of entrants are allowed to use packet and WEB clusters.

5.1.2 Self-spotting is not allowed during the contest. Soliciting contacts by telephone, telex, internet, packet mail during the contest is forbidden.

5.1.3 Using other stations callsigns for the following - keeping the working frequency on the other bands,

making schedules, DX-spotting - is prohibited.

5.2 Single Operator participants may change bands and modes without restrictions. Only one signal can be transmitted at any given time.

5.2.1 Single Operator: Those stations at which one (1) person performs all of operating, logging, and

spotting functions.

5.3 All categories that are allowed to work MIXED mode, can work the same station twice per band, once in SSB and once in CW.

5.4 MOST stations (Dutch section D) can have one running and one multiplier station.

5.4.1 Only one signal is allowed on any band at any time with the exception when the multiplier station can work a new multiplier on another band than the running station.

5.4.2 Both running and multiplier stations are allowed to switch bands not more than once per 10

minutes. Violating this rule will place the station in the MOMT category (E).

5.5 MOMT station (Dutch section E): No limit on the number of operators or transmitters. At any time there is only one signal allowed per band.

6. Exchange:

6.1 Non-Dutch stations: signal report + QSO number, starting with 001.

6.1.1 Non-Dutch MOAB (Multi Op, All Bands) stations can use separate serial numbers for each band if using more than one transmitter at a time. If only one transmitter at a time is used, chronological serial numbers need to be used, but skipped numbers are allowed (e.g. as a result of blocking numbers for the multiplier station).

6.2 Dutch stations: signal report + province code (two letters). There are 12 provinces: GR, FR, DR, OV, GD, UT, NH, ZH, NB, LB, ZL, FL

7. QSO Points.

7.1 Each valid contact with another participating contest station is worth one (1) point.  For foreign stations: only contacts with Dutch stations count. For PA stations: cross contest contacts (e.g. if the PACC coincides with the RSGB 160m contest) are considered valid as a long as a serial number is received. No crossmode or crossband contacts allowed.

7.2 SWL stations count each individual heard PACC contest station (both Dutch and non-Dutch) as 1

point provided both the calls and the exchange number of the heard station (i.e. RST + number or RST + Province) is logged of the QSO of concern. Each call counts only once per band, and one particular contest station may not be logged as counterstation more than 10 times per band.

7.2.1 All SWL QSO’s should be logged during the contest.

8. Dupes

8.1 Dupes are contacts made with the same station on the same band. If the first contact between stations is valid, dupes have 0 points value. If the first contact is not valid, the second (dupe) contact is accepted.

8.2 Dupe contacts are not penalized; one does not have to mark them in the Cabrillo log submission.

Moreover, entrants are strictly recommended to leave DUPES in the log file. DO NOT DELETE DUPES!

9. Multipliers

9.1 Non-Dutch stations (incl. SWLs): a multiplier of one (1) for each different Dutch province contacted on each band (mode independent). The Dutch province abbreviations are: GR = Groningen, FR = Friesland, DR = Drenthe, OV = Overijssel, GD = Gelderland, UT = Utrecht, FL = Flevoland, NH = Noord-Holland,

ZH = Zuid-Holland, NB = Noord-Brabant, ZL = Zeeland en LB = Limburg

9.2 Dutch stations (incl. SWLs):

A multiplier of one (1) for each different DXCC entity (ARRL list) on each band, including PA, with the following exceptions:

A multiplier of one (1) for each different call area of Asiatic Russia (UA8/9/0), Chile (CE), Japan (JA), Argentina (LU), Brazil (PY), Canada (VE), USA, Australia (VK), South Africa (ZS) en New-Zealand (ZL) on each band.

Note 1: this means that Asiatic Russia has 3 call areas/multipliers: UA8, UA9 and UA0.

Canadian call areas are interpreted as geographical districts, which means VE1, VO1, VY1, VE2, VO2, VY2, VY0 are all separate multipliers, but e.g. VE2, CG2, XK2 are all the same multiplier (VE2).

Note 2: A reciprocal callsign in one of the countries which have call areas as multipliers, but

without a call area designation, is counted as the zero-th call area, e.g. LU/G3XYZ gives multiplier LU0. Reciprocal calls in W, JA, VE and UA need to indicate their call area, otherwise the call should be regarded as invalid, e.g. W3/DL8ABC is valid, W/DL8ABC is invalid. (This means that, theoretically, PY0 is a separate multiplier besides PY0F, PY0S and PY0T)

Note 3: Call areas are taken as-is from the callsign, even if it is known that the station is

located in a different area, UNLESS the station explicitly indicates it. E.g. K5ZD is multiplier

W5, but K5ZD/1 would give multiplier W1.

Note 4: Special call signs will count for the call area to which it geographically belongs (e.g. UE150SBM = UA0).

10. Final Score

Non-Dutch stations: the final score is the result of the total QSO points multiplied by the sum of province multipliers.

Dutch stations: the final score is the result of the total QSO points multiplied by the sum of country + call area multipliers.

11. General Log Submission Requirements

We need electronic logs! The PACC Manager requires electronic log in Cabrillo format only for every possible entry.

11.1 Submit your log in the CABRILLO format created by all major logging programs. The Cabrillo

column definition for the PACC contest is exactly the same as for the ARRL and CQWW DX contests

(see  http://www.kkn.net/~trey/cabrillo/).

The PACC contest with Cabrillo output is currently supported by the following programs: N1MM logger, W3KM GenLog, WinTest, SD, TLF, Writelog, PA0FLE and PA3AYQ (but there are probably more …). SWLs can use SWL-DQR-log by SP7DQR (http://swl.veron.nl/SWL_Consoft.html).

11.2 All times must be in UTC. The Cabrillo format specifies strict chronological order for the full log; this includes Multi Op stations.

11.3 All sent and received exchanges are to be logged.

11.4 Filename for the log should be <yourcall.log> or <yourcall.cbr>

11.5 A plain-text file, space filled, column format or ADIF format is also acceptable. Preferred filenames

<yourcall.txt> or <yourcall.adi> respectively. In this case a summary sheet with score calculation needs to be submitted too, showing number of QSOs and multipliers per band.

11.6 In the header part of the electronic log submission you MUST specify a category of entrance and the

full postal address for dispatch to the participant PACC results, trophies, awards and certificates. A

written declaration is not necessary.

11.7 Submit your electronic log by e-mail. If you have no access to e-mail, sending a floppy or CD is acceptable too.

11.8 Hand-written logs are discouraged.

11.9 Points and final score calculations are not necessary; calculations are done by our software.

11.10 Dupes should not be marked or deleted.

11.11 Multi Operator stations: the electronic log submittal (Cabrillo) should indicate which transmitter

(number) made each QSO (provided more than one transmitter is used).

12. Log Submission Addresses and Terms

12.1 Logs must be submitted to the contest sponsors before March 13, 2012.

12.2 Electronic logs must be submitted via E-mail to:      pacc@dutchpacc.com or uploaded via www.dutchpacc.com. Be sure to put the station call sign and the category in the "Subject:" line. Example: “K3ZO SOAB CW HP” or “PA9ABC  A1” or copy category from Cabrillo file.  You will get an acknowledgement via e-mail or a reason for rejection.

12.3 Floppies, CDs (and paperlogs, but strongly discouraged) must be sent to: PACC Contest Manager,

c/o VERON Central Bureau, P.O. Box 1166, 6801 BD Arnhem, The Netherlands. Make sure “PACC Contest” is clearly indicated on the envelope!

13. Awards

13.1 Dutch stations: 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in each category listed under Section 3 will be awarded with a trophy. All participants, including all operators of multi-op stations, who submit a valid log will receive a token of merit.

13.2 Non-Dutch stations:  all participants who submit a valid log will receive a token of merit. First placed

station in each category per country or per call area (UA8/9/0-CE-JA-LU-PY-VE-USA-VK-ZS-ZL) will receive a certificate, if they make 25 QSO’s or more.

13.3 Club competition (PA only): only clubs represented by 5 or more stations will be awarded.

14. Contest-Related Information

14.1 All "Dutch PACC Contest" and related information (Rules, claimed/ confirmed scores, FAQ, additional information) is posted at the official PACC website http://www.dutchpacc.com/.

14.2 Every participant will receive a token of merit and if they qualify a certificate.

14.3 Every participant, who sends his log submission via e-mail, will be sent an overview with his claimed/confirmed results separately by bands/modes and QSO list, containing his errors and errors of worked stations.

14.4 Any PACC related question should be sent via e-mail to      contestmanager@dutchpacc.com.

15. Analysis

All PACC 2012 electronic logs are subject to computerized cross-check and analysis.

16. Penalties

QSO is penalized with 1 QSO point for the following:

o  incorrectly logged calls (BAD). These are calls, occurring in the database, but not in the other station’s log (if it exists) and which could clearly be related to a similar station in the database which log is at hand.

o  incorrectly logged exchange numbers as revealed by cross-checking (BAD)

o  QSO is not present in the other station log A close similar callsign, giving evidence of a miscopy by the other station, could not be found in the other station’s log. (NIL)

QSO neither counted nor penalized for the following:

o  QSO time in entrant's log and other station's log difference is more than 5 minutes (except systematic computer errors)

o  QSO bands or modes in entrant's log and other station's log differ.

o  dupe QSO which is not in the other station's log.

o  other station obviously not a contest participant (‘001’ exchange in multiple logs, other exchanges not found)

o  other station listed in entrant’s log exclusively, but calls with only one character difference are found in other logs and the received serial number is > ‘001’. (UNIQUE+1)

QSOs which are UNIQUE (not in the database and cannot be related to a possible miscopy) will get normal credit. The Contest Manager will further check logs of stations with a far above average percentage of UNIQUES.

16.1 PACC Contest Manager decisions are final.

PACC Contest Manager invites all the radio amateurs from The Netherlands and foreign countries to take part in the 2012 PACC Contest.