Rules/FAQ

The Shortest Version

When operating in the UKACs, follow all the RSGB rules as normal.
The GMDX VHF-UHF Celtic Knot Competition does not conflict in any way with the RSGB UKACs. 

We are only asking stations in England to think more often about beaming North and West – and to remember that most of your QSOs with Celtic-area stations are likely to be very high scoring.  

The Short Version

1. Enter the UKACs in the normal way.
2. When the RSGB results appear and the Open Logs are published, we will process the data.
3. You can then visit this site to view the Celtic Knot Results Blog.
4. Depending on your location, your score will automatically be listed in either the Celtic Knot Stations table or the Celtic Knot Supporters table.
5. Tables will be updated as soon as possible after the end of each month.
6. … and that’s about it for the Short Version.

The Full-FAQ Version

• Why are you doing this?

To give an extra boost to VHF-UHF DX and contesting activity in the North and West of the geographical British Isles. The ‘Celtic Knot’ concept covers all of these regions and a few more beyond.

• Why two different categories?

The Celtic Knot Stations category is to encourage activity within the ‘Celtic areas’ (defined for these purposes as GM, GD, GI, EI, GW, Cornwall, Brittany, NW Spain and Nova Scotia – see our Home page).

The Celtic Knot Supporters category is to encourage everyone else, outside of those areas, to work stations in the North and West of the British Isles.

• How are the two different categories scored?

The Celtic Knot Stations category is for stations operating from within the defined ‘Celtic areas’. Scoring comes directly from RSGB’s published ‘Overall UKAC’ tables which also act as a progress ladder throughout the year. Scores are normalized according to the positions in the results tables for individual bands. We update the Celtic Knot tables when all the results are available for the month just finished.

The Celtic Knot Supporters category is for all other stations. Scoring is
how many points/km you have earned by working Celtic-area stations.

• Which bands?

6m, 4m, 2m, 70cm and 23cm.

• How do I enter?

Enter the RSGB UKACs in the normal way, and we will do the rest.

Celtic-area stations simply need to enter the RSGB UKACs. We’ll find your entry in the RSGB results tables (even from Cornwall or Brittany).

For stations outside the Celtic areas, we analyse the published Open Logs to find the QSOs that have been made with ‘Celtic area’ stations. If you have made some qualifying QSOs, you will be listed in the Supporters table – with our thanks.

• Open Logs are only claimed QSOs – how do you validate them?

We use a database that has been validated following the same rules as the RSGB CC.

• Won’t the same ‘big guns’ win every time?

No, they won’t – to keep the competition open, the Celtic-area and Supporters trophies will be awarded to the leading stations who have not won that trophy in the past 5 years.
Previous trophy winners can still compete for our band/section leader certificates.

• What’s a Quaich?

A traditional Scottish drinking bowl – see our page headers. Each Quaich is personally engraved to its winner, and of course it’s yours to keep.

• I operate some bands /P from within the Celtic areas, but other bands from home in England. Can I enter?

We don’t have the resources to track occasional (holiday-style) operations, but if you let us know, we’ll see what we can do.

• “Northwest Spain, Nova Scotia”? You must be joking!

Quite the opposite – many VHF-UHF DXers have worked EA1 and VE1.

• Data Protection

The Celtic Knot VHF-UHF Competition uses data from the Open Logs of the RSGB VHF-UHF Activity Contests, as allowed under the terms of entry for RSGB contests.

General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR): the Celtic Knot VHF-UHF Competition is an activity of the GMDX Group and operates under its published Data Protection policies.