[CQ-Contest] Contest start and end

[Tree]

> The contest period is specified as beginning 2100 UTC Saturday, and ending 
> 0300 UTC Monday. Does that mean the contest period is 30 hours long like 
> the rules say or is it be 30 hours and 1 minute long as op time has been 
> calculated?
> 
> Inquiring minds...

Well, please add as many zeros as you need to those times to answer your 
own question.

The contest starts at 2100:00:00.00 and ends 30 hours later at 0300:00.0000.

It does not end at 0300:59.9999 - 24 hours and 59.9999 seconds later.  

Make sense now?

Therefore, the QSOs in your log should shows times between 2100 and 0259 UTC
inclusive.

Logging a QSO at 0300 suggests that some portion of the QSO took place during 
the minute called 0300 - which would be impossible since the contest already 
ended when that minute started.

There is an "unwritten" rule that if you start a QSO with a reasonable 
expectation of being able to finish it before the contest - and if it does
go over by a few seconds - it is still okay to log it - but showing the time
the QSO started, not ended.  But this does mean that in the CQ SS, you 
shouldn't be CQing right up to 0300 - since you can't reasonably expect to
finish the QSO before the contest ends.

73 Tree N6TR
tree at kkn.net