Reflecting on Reflections of IARU (Reflections)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coming up on the 2022 IARU GiG brings up many thoughts about IARU GiGs from the past. 
This year's IARU GiG of course includes the 2022 WRTC competition being held in ITALY
(but in July 2023).  The IARU HF Championship is NoT unlike a DX Field Day (FD); especially
every 4 years when WRTC contestants run their operations from operator tents at a previously undisclosed specific location in the host country.

Running operations from a tent help to "level the playing field"; the uniqueness being the pair of operators and the specific radio equipment they choose to use.  Would a pair of (modified for DC) Autek QF-1A units be allowed for Stereo-CW?  A filter is just a filter, right?

I have written several looks back Blog entries, some of my favorite being:

• [2018] BLAST from the Past
• [2019] IARU using Stereo-CW
  
• [2020] IARU Reflections
• [2021] IARU GiG from Anza
   

Because this is an IARU contest, we send our ITU Zone, not the CQ Zone.  (Instead of Zone 3, W6 is in IARU Zone 6,)  Luckily, we have a zone-lookup built-in to most contest logging software.  Years ago I developed the WQ6X IARU Zone Tracker APP, enabling a more detailed breakdown of Zones worked, and on which bands.

Unlike other major DX contests such as: CQ WW, ARRL DX, CQ WPX and All Asian (each which
run for 48 hours), the IARU Championship is a mere 24 hours; there are no "Do Overs" during a 2nd 24 hours.  This is where Space-WX tracking and propagation planning play an important role.

As I understand it, the WRTC contestants run their operations UNASSISTED (meaning no internet usage), altho WE can run assisted (SOA or Multi-Single).  With the WRTC operating from Italy this year, I expect that we will encounter nearly 50 unique Italian prefixes; kind of like a mini WPX contest, as the IARU GiGs often showcase many unique celebratory callsigns such as W100AW used by the ARRL in 2014 - at one point NX6T signed as W1AW/6 during that year.

Due to the weird conflict against Ukraine, there is the unique (for 2022) question to be raised regarding participation by stations from the Russian Federation.  Other DX contests this year allowed Russian participation, while disallowing eligibility from winning plaques and awards.  Radio amateurs in Russia certainly want nothing to do with their idiotic government's war - they just want to join us in the IARU HF Championship; like the rest of us.  Russian OPs are some of the TOP performers in IARU and DX contests.

For 2022, LooK for WQ6X to operate shifts remotely w/NX6T (@the WA6TQT Super Station in Anza).  Then, when not sleeping, listen for WQ6X live In living-CW, and possibly even on Ssb.

What about YOU?  Do YOU DO IARU?

With an increasing Solar Flux Index and the WRTC competition in Italy,
you should join-in and get YOUR share.

C U   T H E R E !!