[SD-User] IOTA Contest

[Paul O'Kane]

The IOTA Contest takes place from 12:00 UTC Saturday 30th
to 11:59 UTC Sunday 31st July, with CW, SSB and mixed-mode
categories on the 5 contest bands from 80m to 10m.

Rules at www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2011/riota.shtml

SD V15.47 supports this event - www.ei5di.com

   Select the "IOTA Contest" template.

Work everyone.  Exchange Serial.  Island stations add
their IOTA reference and, in general, are worth 5 times
as many points as non-island stations.

Mults are IOTA references, by band and by mode.

IOTA11.LST, included with V15.47, lists Callsigns and
IOTA references for announced island operations.  When
you use the LOAD command to load IOTA11, or add the
contents to your preferred .LST file, SD pre-fills
IOTA references on a callsign match.

IOTA operating tips: -

If you want to win, don't work non-island stations in
preference to island stations (the ones that give an
IOTA reference).  You'll get more points, and more mults,
by working island stations at 25 per hour rather than
the others at 120 per hour.

In the IOTA Reference field, SD pre-fills the continent
prefix.  To log EU005, all you have to do is type 5 -
the reference is expanded when logged, and compressed
when editing.  If no reference is given, simply press
Enter to log the QSO - there's no need to clear the
continent.

As you type prefixes, SD identifies the country, and
area when appropriate, and displays all possible IOTA
references together with their worked/wanted status.

As you type callsigns, SD compares them, character by
character, with callsigns already logged.  On a match,
two thing happen.  The corresponding QSO total appears
to the right of the callsign - so you can thank the
other station for 5 QSOs, or whatever.  Secondly, a
band/mode analysis appears beneath the callsign.  If
it's an island station (with a known reference from
the previous QSO), all band/mode multiplier slots
needed are highlighted in blue.  Otherwise, they
appear in white (can't be mults).  In either case,
band/mode slots worked (including the current one)
are black - so you see instantly if it's worth trying
to move the station to another band or mode.

To see your multiplier status for any island, type
the reference in the callsign field - you don't need
leading zeros.  EU1 displays your band/mult slots for
EU001, add a 2 to see the slots for EU12 etc.  Those
needed are highlighted in blue - use Esc to clear the
field.

If you're operating CW, don't forget to update your
keyer memories (Shift-F1 etc) with your IOTA reference
before the contest.

Use SDCHECK to create your Cabrillo .LOG file, and send
it to iota.logs at rsgbhfcc.org.

Please mention SD in your soapbox comments, as this
encourages others to try it.  Here are some examples -
www.ei5di.com/soap2010.html

And here are the stats for contest loggers used in
IOTA for the past 5 years - www.ei5di.com/iotastat.html

Reminder - when a single call is displayed in the Check
Partial window, use Down Arrow to transfer it, in full,
to the logging line.


73,
Paul EI5DI