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"Firsts" on 70 MHz
Please advise any updates or amendments to Bo OZ2M: MyCallsign at rudius net. Please send all the infomation in the first email, i.e. date and time in UTC when the QSO was completed, both callsign and propagation. Principles for a First QSO on The Four Metres Website The operation must be between two stations that both have valid licenses issued by their respective regulatory entities. The Four Metres Website is not responsible for issuing licenses. The Four Metres Website is responsible for what takes place on this website. The operation also has to be within the conditions of the license issued. Therefore e.g. operation outside the allocated frequency span, modes or time are not valid for a first QSO. There is no need for the proof of license or QSL card(s) issued, however, if the operation is questioned, blurry or challenged further documentation will be needed to clarify the circumstances, e.g. no one else has a license, license is denied, there are consistent rumours saying that no license has been issued, license date is dubious or many entities involved. Still the necessary "bureaucracy" will have to be completed. The licensing date might be difficult to find out but in this case issues like the date of a document, could the information have been known or when was its contents publicly disclosed are taken into consideration. In some countries the license is general and even valid for CEPT operation. In some countries there might be a general permit but individuals have to register and in other countries the license is individual. No matter what licensing policy applies the necessary steps have to be completed in full for a QSO to be valid for a First QSO on The Four Metres Website. This applies even if it is just a matter of "bureaucratic paper work." The Four Metres Website cannot participate in a discussion about the legal issues of a "first" QSO. It is the responsibility of the QSO parties to adhere to their own local conditions. All QSOs must unconditionally comply with the QSO principles set forth by IARU standards for the relevant area, mode and propagation. Date and time of a First QSO is when the QSO is completed not commenced. Those stations who complete a QSO first has the "first" not the station who claims it first. A First QSO claim has to be submitted via email. The Four Metres Website wants to manage the website in a consistent, fair and common sense manner stimulating the activity but also acknowledging the fact that First QSOs have a very special place in history. This is enforced giving the station(s) the benefit of the doubt but not against subsequent details or clarifying information. In such cases an existing First QSO can be deleted or replaced. There should be no doubt that The Four Metres Website encourages licenses to be valid from a specific and well defined date that is also officially and commonly known to everybody. This will place everybody in the same situation and cater for fair and equal opportunities. QSOs and talkback Please pay attention to the MS Procedure section 7.4.9 VALID CONTACTS "... However no recourse should be made during the contact to obtain the required information, change of frequency, antenna direction, etc. via other methods such as the DX Cluster, talk-back on another band, etc. Such secondary methods invalidate the meteor scatter contact. In essence: if anything concerning the ongoing QSO attempt is agreed through other means than the QSO attempt frequency a new start is required." At the beginning of the 2009 the message was posted in the forum how stringent this should be interpreted especially for firsts QSOs. The broad consensus was that a very harsh interpretation should be used. Actually this does not apply to MS QSOs only but to any type of QSO. There is no question that a "“first QSO" has a very special place in history and that no one else can make it. Therefore please make my job easy when I have to process your firsts claims. |
