The contest will comprise two sections on each UHF/Microwave band on which ATV transmissions are authorized:

Section 1 - Transmitting:

This section is entered by all those who use transmitting equipment to send pictures for the purpose of establishing two-way vision communication, or those transmitting any other mode for the purpose of establishing one-way vision communication with a transmitting television station.

Section 2 - Receiving:

This section is entered by all those who use receive-only television equipment and do not attempt to.communicate in any way with other participating television stations in order to influence their opérations.
 

2. Eligible entrants

Section 1:

All licensed radio amateurs in Region 1 can participate in the contest.
Multiple operator entries will be accepted, provided only one callsign is used during the contest.
The contestants must operate within the letter and spirit of the contest and at no greater power than permitted in the ordinary licenses of their country.
Stations operating under special high power licenses do so "hors concours" and cannot be placed in the contest proper.

Section 2:

All amateurs within IARU Region I who possess ATV receiving equipment.
 

3. Date of contest

The contest will take place on the second weekend of September.
 

4. Duration of contest

The contest will commence at 1800 GMT on the Saturday and will end at 1200 GMT on the Sunday.
 

5. Contacts

For contest scoring purposes a participating station may be worked or viewed only once on each band.
Contacts made via active repeaters or transponders do not count for points.
 

6. Types of emission

On each band on which ATV transmissions are allowed, contacts may be made using the modes authorized for ATV on that band.
 

7. Contest exchanges

The following information shall be exchanged during a contact:

i) a codenumber
For each band used a transmitting station shall choose a fourfigure code group that shall not change throughout the contest.
The four figures shall neither be the same (e.g. 2222) nor consecutive (e.g. 4567 or 5432). Stations using such goups shall be disqualified.
THIS CODE GROUP SHALL BE EXCHANGED IN VIDEO ONLY AND SHALL NOT BE TRANSMITTED BY ANY OTHER MODE THAN VISION.
On different bands a different code group - obeying the above rules - must be used.

ii) - Call sign (also in video)
- Vision and sound report
- IARU Locator (also in video)
- Contact serial number, starting with 001 on each band used and increasing by one for each successive contact on that band

For the vision report the internationally recognized codes BO to B5 shall be used:
B0 - No picture perceived
B1 - Synchronisation with very little picture contents
B2 - Only large images (callsign etc.) perceivable
B3 - Picture noisy but some detail resolved but with good detail and resolution
B4 - Picture slightly noisy
B5 - Noise-free picture

For the sound report the codes TO to T5 shall be used:
T0 - No sound
T1 - Audible but unintelligible sound
T2 - Partly intelligible sound
T3 - Noisy, but intelligible sound
T4 - Slightly noisy sound
T5 - Perfect noiseless sound

The report (e.g. B4T4) is followed by the suffix "C" if the transmission is received in colour.
 

8. Scoring

Section 1

A two-way exchange of the four-digit code group by vision together with the exchange of the other information specified in rule 7 by vision or any other mode of transmission shall score:

If only one station received the four-digit code group, and the other information specified in rule 7 was exchanged, the scores for both stations shall be reduced by 50 %

Section 2:

Reception of the four-digit code group by vision and of the other information specified in rule 7 shall score:

Notes:

i) For scoring purposes all valid contacts shall be deemed to have taken place over a distance of at least 5 kilomètres, even if the two stations in contact have the same or adjacent IARU Locators.

ii) In order to make contest scores comparable, for the conversion from degrees to kilomètres a factor of 111.2 should be used when calculating distances greater than the 5 kilomètres mentioned under i) with the aid of the spherical geometry equation (Noordwijkerhout, 1987).

9. Entries

The entries must be set out on log sheets fulfilling the requirements given under rule 12.
Multi-operator stations shall be clearly marked as such.
A copy of the logs must be sent to the national ATV Manager, VHF Manager or the national Contest Committee postmarked not later than the third Monday following the contest weekend. Late entries will not be accepted. The submission of the logs implies that the entrant accepts the contest rules.
 

10. Judging of entries

The judging of the entries shall be the responsibility of the organising society, whose decision shall be final. Entrants deliberately contravening any of these rules or flagrantly disregarding the IARU Région I bandplans shall be disqualified. Minor errors may result in loss of points.
The claimed contact will be disqualified for an obviously wrongly stated Locator, callsign, codenumber, or a time error of more than 10 minutes.
 

11. Awards

The winner in each of the two sections on each band and the overall leading station shall receive a certificate. The organising society may also send certificates to all entrants if they so wish.
 

12. Logsheets

The logsheets used for the IARU Region I UHF/Microwaves ATV contest shall have an upright format not smaller than A4 and shall show the following columns in the order named:

- date
- time in UT/GMT
- callsign of the station worked/seen
- report sent: B report followed by serial number (section 1)
- report received: code number (vision!) followed by B report and serial number (sections 1 and 2)
- IARU Locator received (sections 1 and 2)
- number of points claimed

Note. A contest entrant must clearly mark crossband QSO's on the logsheet for the band on which the transmission was made.

A standard cover sheet, containing the essentiel information required to judge the contest entry and with a separate space for the comments of the national Contest Manager should be used for each band. The following information should be submitted:

- name and address of the first operator
- station call sign
- contest section
- station IARU Locator
- bands used, with the four-digit code group used for each band
- multi- or single-operator
- call-signs of other operators, if any
- claimed score

The coversheet should show the signature of the first operator certifying the correctness of the log(s) submitted.

IARU september 1993