POSTBAG

Contests for the listening amateur –  by PA3DTX

The NL (Netherlands) committee (NLC) of the VERON organizes a number of contests for listening amateurs throughout the year. These are accessible to every radio enthusiast. They are, of course, primarily intended for the active listening amateur, but radio amateur broadcasters may also simply participate, for example if circumstances do not allow them to transmit. You also do not necessarily have to be a member of the VERON to be allowed to participate. For example, it has been apparent for years that more than half of the participants come from abroad. But we would like to see a large Dutch participation.

Our listening contests have different levels of difficulty, although none is really difficult.

The “New Year Contest” is on the first Sunday of the year. In addition to beginners, more experienced contesters participate every year. The contest costs you a maximum of three hours and you can only make connections in speech. A trophy is available for the winner and every participant who has logged at least ten connections will receive a certificate of participation.

Then there is the series “Short Listening Period” contests (SLP).
These are held 8 times a year and are planned in such a way that they coincide with large contests for radio amateurs, so that sufficient pressure on the amateur bands is guaranteed. It is the intention that during an SLP weekend you log three hours of radio amateur connections that you choose yourself in speech. Choosing the most favorable hours makes the contest more suitable for the experienced contester. But also beginners are encouraged to participate, as they learn by doing. There are also prizes attached to the SLP and anyone who participated in at least 3 SLPs in one year will receive the SLP certificate.

In the second full weekend of December, the NLC organizes a 48-hour contest on the 10-meter band, the “28MHz SWL Contest”. This coincides with a large international contest on the 10 meter band. In this contest we have two participation categories: speech (SSB, FM) and morse (CW).
Prizes and certificates are also made available for this.

The complete information, such as regulations, results and information about a special logging program for listening contests can be found https://a03.veron.nl/contesten-voor-de-luisteramateur/?fbclid
Source: VERON.nl.   (Association for Experimental Radio Research in the Netherlands)