https://www.contestcalendar.com/contestdetails.php?ref=75
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The next RSGB IOTA contest will take place on July 26-27, 2025.
The RSGB IOTA (Islands On The Air) contest is back, and for many radio amateurs, it's a highlight of the season. Organized by the Radio Society of Great Britain, this popular contest traditionally takes place on the last weekend of July and is the perfect opportunity to activate islands or work on the HF bands.
With participants from every continent, this competition is one of the most international and lively on the calendar. The format is simple yet demanding: work as many island stations as possible in 24 hours. This ensures intense activity on 80 to 10 meters, with an emphasis on strategy, propagation knowledge, and logging discipline.
Whether you're participating from an island or your own station, this is an excellent opportunity to work on new DXCC entities, IOTA references, and prefixes. For expedition teams, it's often a great combination of adventure, technology, and camaraderie.
Now's the time to plan, update your recording software, test your antennas, and maybe even book a venue for IOTA. Time is running out; so get ready, because the next RSGB IOTA competition promises to be another unforgettable radio adventure.
IOTA refers to the RSGB's "Islands in the Air" awards. A beginner's guide to the IOTA accreditation system and more information about the IOTA competition are available on the IOTA competition information page and FAQ.
A beginner's guide to entering the competition is available here:
https://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/information/iotahelp.shtml
For any questions regarding the rules, please email hf.query@rsgbcc.org
Thanks to Ronny Plovie ON6CQ for the info
Thank you to the REF 39 https://ref39.r-e-f.org/topic/index.html
Links about IOTA:
https://rsgb.org/main/operating/amateur-radio-awards/iota-programme/
IOTA maps
https://www7b.biglobe.ne.jp/~ja1qxy/sub19.html
IOTA en Français
http://promotion.hamradio.free.fr/swl/Listes_iota1.htm
What is IOTA ?
https://www.wimo.com/en/iota-pota-sota?
https://www.iota-world.org/de/
Next RSGB IOTA Contest: 26-27 July 2025
The RSGB IOTA Contest, using the Islands on the Air concept, was created in 1993. This is now a major international event, attracting thousands of participants from all over the world. Radio Amateurs will be travelling to islands around the globe, and putting them on the air, making contacts with other islands and with those who are chasing islands.
Contest bands are 80m, 40m, 20m, 15m and 10m, both CW and phone. The duration is 24 hours, starting at 12:00 UTC on Saturday (1 p.m. UK time). Stations send a signal report and serial number, with stations on islands sending their IOTA reference number, described below.
The next RSGB IOTA Contest is 26-27 July 2025, and a guide for newcomers to the contests is at www.rsgbcc.org/hf/information/iotahelp.shtml .
The IOTA Contest is based on the RSGB Islands on the Air awards programme which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. The IOTA idea was conceived in 1964 by British short wave listener Geoff Watts (SK), who imagined that those of us who live in crowded cities would love to set up a station on a sunny beach among palm trees. This prospect is appealing to Radio Amateurs, even if the island in question might not be further away from the UK mainland than the Isle of Wight!
Geoff realised that there were too many islands in the world to enumerate, so he grouped together islands, particularly when they were small. In the IOTA programme numbers are allocated to each group using a continental prefix. The basic IOTA award requires contacts with 100 islands and groups including at least one from each continent. Entrants can obtain award credit for QSOs made in the RSGB IOTA Contest.
The IOTA Reference, sent by Island Stations in the IOTA Contest, consists of two letters indicating the continent, and a number indicating the allocated reference within that continent.
For example:
| EU115 | EU = Europe | Ireland |
| AF032 | AF = Africa | Zanzibar |
| AN003 | AN = Antarctica | Heard Island |
| AS020 | AS = Asia | Taiwan |
| NA107 | NA = North America | Martinique |
| OC225 | OC = Oceania | Turtle Islands |
| SA004 | SA = South America | Galapagos Greek Islands https://www.qsl.net/sv2ael/sv2ael.files/sviota.htm |
Next year in 2026 a Islands of the world contest open to SWL and amateur radio operators
Concours RSGB IOTA (Islands On The Air) |
 12/07/2025Le prochain concours RSGB IOTA aura lieu les 26 et 27 juillet 2025. Le concours RSGB IOTA (Islands On The Air) revient et, pour de nombreux radioamateurs, il s'agit d'un moment fort de la saison. Organisé par la Radio Society of Great Britain, ce concours populaire se déroule traditionnellement le dernier week-end de juillet et constitue l'occasion idéale d'activer des îles ou de travailler sur les bandes HF. Avec des participants venus de tous les continents, cette compétition est l'une des plus internationales et des plus animées du calendrier. Le format est simple mais exigeant : travailler sur un maximum de stations insulaires en 24 heures. Cela garantit une activité intense sur 80 à 10 mètres, en mettant l'accent sur la stratégie, la connaissance de la propagation et la discipline du log. Que vous participiez depuis une île ou votre propre station, c'est une excellente occasion de travailler sur de nouvelles entités DXCC, des références IOTA et des préfixes. Pour les équipes d'expédition, c'est souvent une excellente combinaison d'aventure, de technologie et de camaraderie. C'est le moment de planifier, de mettre à jour votre logiciel d'enregistrement, de tester vos antennes et peut-être même de réserver un lieu pour l'IOTA. Le temps presse ; alors préparez-vous, car le prochain concours RSGB IOTA promet d'être une nouvelle aventure radio inoubliable. IOTA fait référence aux récompenses « Îles sur l'air » de la RSGB. Un guide d'initiation au système d'accréditation IOTA et plus d'informations sur le concours IOTA sont disponibles sur la page d'information et la FAQ du concours IOTA . Un guide du débutant pour participer au concours est disponible ici : https://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/information/iotahelp.shtml Pour toute question concernant les règles, veuillez envoyer un e-mail à hf.query@rsgbcc.org Merci à Ronny Plovie ON6CQ pour l'info |
