International Marconi Day is observed annually on the Saturday closest to the 25th of April, which is the birth date of Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, who is recognised as inventor of radio. This year International Marconi Day takes place on the 22nd of April.
The International Morse Code Preservation Society (FDU) will be celebrating Marconi’s birth date and contribution to our hobby during the month of April. We have applied for the Special Event Callsign VI1MARCONI. We invite members to operate the callsign throughout the month of April as a part of a casual contest and to recognise Marconi’s birth date and achievements.
The primary purpose of this event is to encourage more activity, and by running a structured contest we hope this will motivate all CW operators to get on air more than they might otherwise.
If you would like to use VI1MARCONI during April (excluding 22nd April) please send an email to Chris vk3qb(at)hotmail.com
Members can also apply to use the club’s callsign VK2FDU during April.
RULES – The Marconi Contest
The primary objective of this initiative is to encourage more CW activity on our bands. So, dust off your key, cootie or paddle and get on-air.
The specific goal is to work as many CW stations as you can throughout the month of April. If you are comfortable with conversational morse code, we ask that you mention the special event callsign and/or reference Marconi and his contribution to radio. You can direct listeners to the website www.fdu.org.au for more information.
Bands:
160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10 metres. No WARC bands please.
Scoring:
VK station – 1 point
DX station and VK9, VK0 – 2 points
VK2FDU – 5 points
VI1MARCONI – 10 points
DX Special event callsigns (GM4IMD – only active on 22 April – UK time) – 15 points
Duplicates are permitted but cannot be on the same day on the same band. (i.e. you can work VK2FDU on three different bands on the same day, and you can work VK2FDU on 3 April and then again of 4 April on the same band etc)
All CW QSOs for the month of April are valid (either in UTC or local times, just be consistent)
Categories:
- Open >100W
- Low Power 100W
- QRP 5W or less
- You can request an endorsement for straight key.
There will be certificates for place-getters and participants.
Contesters can use their 2×1 contest-callsigns if they wish.
Only FDU members can apply to use VK2FDU or VI1MARCONI.
Logging:
For VK2FDU and VI1MARCONI, operators must provide the log in ADI Format – other formats will only be permitted by agreement with committee prior to use. When you apply to use VI1MARCON or VK2FDU you are agreeing to provide a log in ADI Format. Other methods may be agreed with committee on a case-by-case basis (e.g. Excel or photo of paper log).
For entrants, any format with a summary sheet – we have many members who use paper logs
We’ll advise if other FISTS Chapters or Morse Code clubs intend to operate similar special event callsigns.
Credits:
Photo of Marconi source: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Guglielmo-Marconi
Photo of morse code key source: https://www.titanicmuseum.org/artefacts/white-star-line-wireless-room-marconi-key/