Christmas 2020 BATC Repeater Activity Contest and Activity Challenge

We are holding Christmas Repeater Contest again in 2020, with the aim of increasing ATV repeater use. On offer is a £100 prize for the repeater group with the most contacts recorded. The competition will run from 24th December 2020 through to Sunday 3rd January 2021 inclusive.

To make entries easier, the on-line entry and ladder system as used for the Spring Lockdown Challenge will be used on the BATC website. The Ladder has additional fields for you to enter the points claimed and the repeater's callsign.

As well as the Repeater Challenge, you are invited to enter any non-repeater contacts you make so that the Contest becomes an Activity Ladder Challenge too. There are no prizes for the winner of the Activity Ladder Challenge but the first and second places will receive a certificate and your name and callsign will appear in CQ-TV with attached bragging rights, kudos etc.!

To help you collate your contacts and calculate the points I suggest you use the contest spreadsheet here: images/d/d5/ATV-contest-log-callsign-20190608.xls and then transfer the data to the Ladder page. Use the 2m tab for any 4m contacts and record the band in the comments column. A separate entry is required for each unique QTH locator.

Last year’s prize went to the Severnside Group who were grateful for the cash support. Like many repeater groups, their income has been slashed by the pandemic precautions, so here’s a chance to help your local repeater group and stir up some activity.

The rules are available in .pdf form here: File:Christmas 2020 BATC REPEATER ACTIVITY CONTEST and ACTIVITY CHALLENGE RULES.pdf and are reproduced below. Note the rules in the pdf document are the master version. The wiki text below may have been changed for clarification.

Christmas 2020 BATC REPEATER ACTIVITY CONTEST and ACTIVITY CHALLENGE RULES

1. Introduction. The main object of an Amateur Television Contest is to promote ATV activity. 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. For this contest there is also a receive only section.

3. Dates and Times. The contest will run from 0000hrs GMT on 24th December 2020 to 2359hrs GMT on the 3rd January 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 restrictions in force.

5. Frequencies. Within the allocated segments of the 70cm, 23cm, 13cm, 9cm, 6cm, 3cm and 1.5cm bands for FSTV. The NoV bands of 71MHz and 146.5MHz are also eligible. Operation must be via repeaters to be valid for the Repeater Contest.

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 via the repeater by another station. Reception of the repeater can either be via the RF output or repeater streaming channel. The same exchange should be used for direct contacts for points to be valid in the Challenge.

Confirmation of reception is by transmitting back the sum of the code numbers (not the actual transmitted number) on the repeater or on the talk-back channel. Confirmation via the 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 all four digits in the contest number should be different and not consecutive. The numbers must be different for each band, e.g. these numbers are OK: 2741, 4820, etc, these are not:- 1111, 1138, 1381, 1234 etc. Reports should be sent using a 1-5 video quality report and a serial number, starting at 001 for each band. 8. Scoring. Points may be claimed for the RF path from the transmitting station to the repeater.

The following multipliers should be used:

71MHz & 146MHz @ 5 points per km 70cm @ 3 points per km 23cm @ 2 points per km Contacts on higher bands @ 5 points per km. You may claim points for multiple contacts with the same station on the same day provided you transmit on a different band. You can claim points for working the same contacts on each day of the contest. Contacts from multiple locations are permitted on the same day, band and with the same callsigns. For example you can work into the repeater from home and then you can go out portable to two locations and all of the points earned /p can be added to those claimed for working the same stations on the same bands later in the day from the home station. RF or Internet links between two repeaters do not count for additional points.

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. Examples:

a. Two stations are located in the same locator square, but make a 2-way contact on 23 cm through a repeater 50 km away. Each one-way contact earns 100 points (50km x 2 points per km) from each end of the RF path, so the total score for each station is 100 points.

b. If one station transmits to the repeater on 13 cm, he uses the distance to the repeater and the 13 cm multiplier. If the other transmitting station is using a 70cm or 2m input the points are calculated using the appropriate band multiplier.

c. A station operates /p from IO93PV and uses a repeater at IO93RS37 (distance 17.5km) to contact G9XYZ. He uses both the 23cm and 70cm inputs and claims 35 points for the 23cm contact and 53 points for the 70cm contact. He then moves to IO93OU91 (distance 14.7km from the repeater) and makes the same contacts on the same bands. He claims 29 and 44 points respectively. His total for the day if he makes no further contacts is the sum of all contacts, 161 points.

10. On-line logging. Use the Activity Ladder page on the BATC website here: https://batc.org.uk/ladder and fill in the boxes for each contact as appropriate. Use the standard contest Excel spread sheet to calculate your points, making sure that you "Enable Macros". The spread sheet is here Media:Repeater_contest_log_2019-yourcall.xls

11. Receive only section. Send or e-mail a log sheet giving your Call sign / BRS No. and name and address, Band, Date/Time, Call sign of station seen, Repeater Callsign, Repeater Locator, Locator of other station, Code number received, km from your station to repeater, km from repeater to distant station and points claimed. Scoring is the same as for a one-way contact defined above.

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

13. Spirit of the Contest. Don’t leave your video transmission on any longer than necessary. Let other stations use the repeater / frequency as well. 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.

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

15. Transmitting section entries will only be accepted via the on-line Activity Ladder web page. No paper or spreadsheet logs will be accepted except for the Receive section.

16. 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 1st December 2020