YO DX HF Contest

Official Rules & Regulations

Read the official requirements, categories, exchange information, scoring rules, and log submission instructions for the YO DX HF Contest.

Rules Directory
1.

Organizer

The Romanian Amateur Radio Federation (FRR).

2.

Scope and Objectives

  • To improve the competitiveness and performance of Romanian amateur radio operators through an open international competition.
  • To promote the operating skills of Romanian amateur radio operators at the international level.
3.

Date and Time

The contest is held during the fourth full weekend of August:

4.

Categories

Category Code Description
SOAB-MIX-HPSingle Operator, All Bands, MIXED, high power.
SOAB-MIX-LPSingle Operator, All Bands, MIXED, Low power (100 watts).
SOAB-CWSingle Operator, All Bands, CW only.
SOAB-SSBSingle Operator, All Bands, SSB only.
SOSBSingle Operator, Single Band, MIXED (5 different categories, totally separated: 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10m) regardless of power level.
MOSTMulti Operators, Single Transmitter, All Bands, MIXED.
YNYoungster and Novice (amateur radio operators under 18 years of age or licensed for no more than three years).
SWLShort Wave Listeners, MIXED.

4.1. The contest takes place in all the HF bands from 3.5 to 28 MHz with the exception of the WARC bands.

4.2. Single Band operators may submit entries for up to two different HF bands. This allows a station to submit separate logs, for example on 80 m and 10 m. Both entries will be included in the final rankings and will be eligible for awards, if applicable.

4.3. The Single Band operators, who operate on other bands during the contest, are kindly asked to keep their QSOs in the final Log, to assist in the log checking process.

4.4. Final results will be published separately for Romania and for the rest of the world, by continent and by country.

5.

Exchange

5.1. NON-YO Stations

RS(T) + serial number starting from 001.

5.2.1. YO Stations

RS(T) + county abbreviation, such as BU for Bucharest.

5.3. MOST (Multi Operator, All Bands, Single Transmitter): Can use different serial numbers for each band or a single chronological serial number.

5.2.2. Romanian County Abbreviations (by YO Districts)
  • YO2:
    ARCSHDTM
  • YO3:
    BUIF
  • YO4:
    CTBRGLTLVN
  • YO5:
    ABBHBNCJSMSJMM
  • YO6:
    BVCVHRMSSB
  • YO7:
    AGDJGJMHOTVL
  • YO8:
    BCBTISNTSVVS
  • YO9:
    BZCLDBGRILPHTR
6.

Scoring

6.1. For the NON-YO stations:
  • QSO with a YO station: 8 points
  • QSO with a station outside their own continent: 4 points
  • QSO with a station from the same continent: 2 points
  • QSO with a station from the same DXCC country: 1 point
6.2. For the YO stations:
  • QSO YO-DX: 8 points
  • QSO YO-EU: 4 points
  • QSO YO-YO: 0 points

6.3. The /MM stations do not count as multipliers, but are worth 4 points for each participant.

6.4. The SWL stations must log both callsigns and at least one of the exchange reports; the scoring is similar to the one above.

7.

Duplicate QSOs

7.1. Duplicate QSOs are those contacts made with the same radio station using the same mode and operating band. In the case when the first contact between two different radio stations is valid then the duplicate QSOs score 0 points. If the first contact is not valid, then the second contact (the duplicate one) is accepted for scoring.

7.2. The duplicate QSOs do not add penalties and should not be marked within the general Log. Moreover, it is recommended for the operator to keep all duplicate QSOs in the submitted Log.

8.

Multipliers

8.1. For the NON-YO stations:

There are two types of multipliers, namely:
• One multiplier given by each county worked per band, regardless of operating mode.
• One multiplier for each different DXCC country worked per band, regardless of operating mode.

8.2. For the YO stations:

QSOs between Romanian stations (YO-YO) score 0 points and Romanian county multipliers do not apply to stations operating from Romania. Only DXCC country multipliers are counted for YO stations.

9.

Final Score

Final Score = (Sum of all QSO points) × (Sum of all multipliers from all bands)
10.

General Rules

10.1. It is allowed to use all the prefixes assigned to Romania, under the authorization circumstances established by ANCOM (YO, YQ, YP, YR).

10.2. All the transmitters and receivers must be located within a circle having a maximum radius of 500 m. All the antennas used by each participant must be physically connected via cables with the transmitters and receivers.

10.3. The use of DX Clusters is permitted.

10.4. The use of remote transmitters or receivers located elsewhere is considered unsportsmanlike and will result in disqualification.

10.5. Self-spotting on DX Clusters is strictly prohibited. Moreover, planning and making QSOs via phone, telex, internet, packet mail, etc before or during the contest is forbidden.

10.6. The use of other callsigns for the purpose of occupying a frequency, making skeds, self-spotting on DX Clusters or trying to move the multipliers in other bands is totally forbidden.

10.7. Requesting contacts via phone, telegrams, internet, packet radio during the contest is considered to be self-spotting and is not allowed and will result in disqualification of the competitor.

10.8. The participants from the Single Operator category are allowed to change bands and operating modes without restrictions. However, only one transmitted signal is permitted to be "on the air" at the same time.

10.9. A Single Operator station is one in which a single person is responsible for operating the radio station, logging QSOs and spotting.

10.10. Stations entered in the MOST (Multi-Operator, Single Transmitter) category must comply with the 10-minute rule. The 10-minute period begins with the first QSO made on a band. During this period, no band changes are permitted.
Only one transmitted signal is permitted at any given time. An exception is allowed for a second transmitted signal on a different band only for the purpose of working a new multiplier. Any such band change must also comply with the 10-minute rule.
QSOs that do not comply with these rules may remain in the submitted log; however, they will not be credited to the entrant's final score. These QSOs may still be credited to the corresponding station.

10.11. All MIXED categories can operate with the same station both in CW and SSB. Contacts made in CW within the SSB band segments, and vice versa, are prohibited.

11.

Logs

  • 11.1. Logs are accepted only in CABRILLO electronic format.
  • 11.2. The name of the file must be "callsign.log" or "callsign.cbr". Example: YO3KAA.log
  • 11.3. Logs will be directly uploaded via yodx.ro or sent as an attachment to logs@yodx.ro.
  • 11.4. The recorded QSO time must be specified in UTC.
  • 11.5. All the transmitted and received exchanges will be logged.
  • 11.6. Participants aiming to obtain a Top 3 ranking in any of the participation categories listed in Section 4 are required to record the exact operating frequency for every QSO in their log, using a CAT-controlled logging system with a minimum frequency resolution of 1 kHz.
    A Top 3 result in any participation category will be validated only if the submitted log contains the exact operating frequency for every QSO, or if the participant provides the Contest Committee with a complete audio recording covering the entire period of participation in the contest.
12.

Log Submission

12.1. All logs must be submitted to the contest organizers within 7 (seven) days from the end of the competition.
13.

Awards

13.1. Diplomas will be awarded for places 1, 2 and 3 in each category listed in Section 4.

13.2. Separate rankings will also be published by continent and by country for foreign stations. Plaques will be awarded to the first ranked stations in each continent and diplomas to the top three ranked in each country, in each participation category, provided that at least 50 valid QSOs have been confirmed after log checking.

14.

Other Information Related to the Contest

14.1. Log checking is performed entirely by computerized log analysis.

14.2. A QSO will count as 0 (zero) points in a participant's log, under the following conditions:

  • Incorrect logging of the other station callsign (BadCall);
  • Incorrect logging of the RST and serial number sent by the corresponding station (ControlError);
  • The QSO is not confirmed in the corresponding station's Log (NIL);
  • The time difference between two same QSOs is larger than 5 minutes (TimeError);
  • There is a difference between time, mode or operating band (Band-Mode Error).

14.3. A QSO with a station that did not send a log shall be scored if that station appears in at least 10 logs sent regularly.

14.4. By sending the log, the participants declare that they have fully complied with this regulation and accept that any decision of the organizing committee is final, and cannot be challenged in any way.