2022 6cm Activity Ladder

1. Introduction. The main object of the 6cm Activity Ladder is to promote ATV activity on 5.6GHz. Anyone interested in ATV, whether they are members of the British Amateur Television Club or not, are welcome to take part.

2. Eligibility. BATC Contests are open to all licensed radio amateurs who are equipped to transmit pictures by analogue or digital Fast Scan. There is no receive only section.

3. Dates and Times. The competition will run from 0000hrs UTC on 1st June 2021 to 2359hrs UTC on the 31st December 2021.

4. Location. The operating location must be within the terms of your licence. If operating away from your main station, please get the permission of the landowner. It is essential that you adhere to any local and national COVID virus movement and assembly restrictions in force.

5. Frequencies. This Ladder is restricted to the 6cm band.

6. Power. Output power must not exceed that set out in the terms of your licence.

7. Exchange. Both a CALL SIGN and a FOUR-FIGURE code number must be conveyed via video and received by another station. Reception of the transmitted signal can only be via the RF link. Reception via a streamer is not permitted.

Confirmation of reception is by transmitting the sum of the code numbers (not the actual transmitted number) on the talk-back channel. Confirmation via a streaming chat channel or other none radio means is NOT allowed, but confirmation by another voice repeater (analogue or digital) is acceptable.

Please note that the contest number should be four random chosen digits. The digits shall neither be the same (e.g. 2222) nor consecutive (e.g. 4567 or 5432).

Reports should be sent using a 1-5 video quality report and a serial number, starting at 001.

8. Scoring. Scoring is one point per km. A confirmed two-way contact doubles the score.

9. Distance Calculations. Your computer program should give 6371.290982 km as the earth’s radius and 111.2036 km for each degree change in latitude before rounding off to the nearest km. For scoring purposes, all valid contacts shall be deemed to have taken place over a distance of at least 5 Km, even if the two stations or the repeater in the contact have the same or adjacent locators. Scoring should be based on the distance between the centres of location squares, not map distance. Full 6-character length QTH locators must be used.

Use the standard rounding for decimals when converting distance to points. 0.5 and above add one point, anything less than 0.5 use the integer only.

Example: A station operates from IO93PV and contacts a station at IO93RS37 (distance 17.5km). If the checksum of the received numbers matches the sum of the number transmitted, the transmitting station will be awarded 18 points. If the contact is confirmed as two-way both stations will be awarded 36 points.

10. On-line logging. Use the 6cm Activity Ladder page on the BATC website here: https://batc.org.uk/6cm-ladder and fill in the boxes for each contact as appropriate. The website will calculate the points awarded for the contact and add them to your total. Entries will only be accepted via the on-line Activity Ladder web page.

11. Disputes. The decision of the contest manager and/or the BATC Committee is final.

12. Spirit of the Contest. Don’t leave your video transmission on any longer than necessary and don't hog the ATV calling channel 144.750MHz; move off to another channel once the contact is established. Contests mean activity and good fun, join in and, even if you only work one or two stations, please use the Ladder to record your activity.

13. Declaration of Interest. Although acting as contest manager, I reserve the right to take part.

14. Contact Address. Queries can be submitted to: C. Reynolds, 49 Westborough Way, Anlaby Common, East Riding of Yorkshire HU4 7SW. Email: contests@batc.tv

Clive Reynolds G3GJA / G8EQZ BATC Contest Manager 4 May 2021