„Tisza Cup” International HF Radio Contest
- Details
„Tisza Cup” International HF Radio Contest
details
Organizers:
- Debrecen University Radio Club (HG0UD),
- Radio and Leisure Sports Club of Debrecen (HA0KDA) and
- Debrecen City Council
1. Eligibility: All licensed radio amateurs worldwide.
2. Objective: To contact radio amateurs around the World, especially with Tisza riverside countries (such as: Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Serbia), using the 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meter amateur bands. Observance of established band plans is strongly encouraged.
3. Date and Contest Period: The first Saturday of June every year. Beginning 00:00 UTC and ending 14:59 UTC Saturday (in 2026: it is June 6th.). Both Single (SO) and Multi operator (MO) stations may operate the entire 15-hour period.
4. Modes: CW and PHONE (SSB), recommended CQ format is: CQ TEST TC, CQ TISZA CUP CONTEST
5. Output Power Level Categories:
- High Power: HP-Total output power must not exceed 1500 W on any band at any time.
- Low Power: LP- Total output power must not exceed 100 W on any band at any time.
- QRP Power: QRP- Total output power must not exceed 5 W on any band at any time.
6. Each entrant undertakes to abide by the rules of this notice, the provisions applicable to her/him by the authorities of her/his own country and to accept the decisions of the Competition Committee.
7. Entry Categories:
Single operator (SO):
- One person performs all operating and logging functions.
- Use of spotting nets, packet, or multi-channel decoders (such as CW Skimmer, RBN) as well as self-spotting are permitted.
- Single operator stations are allowed only one transmitted signal at any given time.
7.1. Single Operator, All Band (SOAB)
7.1.1. SOAB HP CW- High output power level, only CW
7.1.2. SOAB LP CW- Low output power level, only CW
7.1.3. SOAB QRP CW- QRP output power level, only CW
7.1.4. SOAB HP SSB- High output power level, only SSB
7.1.5. SOAB LP SSB- Low output power level, only SSB
7.1.6. SOAB QRP SSB- QRP output power level, only SSB
7.1.7. SOAB HP MIX- High output power level, mixed mode
7.1.8. SOAB LP MIX- Low output power level, mixed mode
7.1.9. SOAB QRP MIX- QRP output power level, mixed mode
7.2. Single Operator, Single Band (SOSB) – No separated output power level, will be evaluated only in MIX mode category
The SOSB participant can enter in a maximum of two different single band categories. This allows a station, for example to enter log for 10m and 160m with both eligible for awards. This option must be selected by the operator during LOG upload. Only one log must contains all contacts.
Single Band entrants operating other bands during the contest are encouraged to submit check logs for their other bands to aid in the log cross-checking process.
7.3. Multi Operator, Single Transmitter (MOST) (only in MIX mode)
7.3.1. MOST HP- High power level
7.3.2. MOST LP- Low power level
Only one transmitted signal is allowed at any time. Alternating CQs on two or more frequencies is not permitted. Violation of these rules will reclassify the entry as a checklog.
7.4. Multi Operator-Multi Transmitter (MOMT)-No separated output power level categories (only in MIX mode)
The six contest bands may be activated simultaneously. Only one transmitted signal per band is permitted at any time. Violation of the band rules will reclassify the entry as a checklog.
7.5. For Tisza riverside countries (Ukraine, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia)
The same rules and categories as SOAB, SOSB, MOST and MOMT
8. Contest Exchange:
8.1. Send signal report (RST) and CQ zone.
8.2. A complete exchange must be logged for each valid QSO.
9. Valid Contact:
9.1. Each competing station may establish a connection with any other station during the competition, without restriction.
9.2. The same station may be worked once per band for QSO credit. Except in MIX category where the same station may be worked once in CW and once in SSB on the same band.
9.3. A station may only be worked for credit in the portion of the band that is generally accepted for the mode used.
9.4. Cross mode, cross band and repeater contacts are not valid QSOs.
9.5. The use of non-amateur radio means of communications (e.g. telephone or the Internet) for the purpose of soliciting a contact (or contacts) during the contest period is not permitted and inconsistent with the spirit and intent of these rules.
9.6. Use of self-spotting techniques on packet or other mediums is permitted!
10. QSO Points for participants from NONE Tisza-riverside countries:
10.1. Contacts with Tisza-riverside country stations counts 10 points (it doesn’t matter if this station is located in your own CQ zone or not).
10.2. Contacts with other, not Tisza-riverside country stations:
10.2.1. Within your own CQ zone- 2 points.
10.2.2. Contacts within your continent (but different CQ zone) count 3 points.
10.2.3. Contacts with a different continent (DX) count 5 points.
10.2.4. Connections to air- and water mobile stations (/AM, /MM) uniformly - 3 points.
10.3. QSO Points for participants from the Tisza-riverside countries (UR, YO, OM, HA, YU):
10.3.1. The contacts with other stations from the Tisza riverside-countries are uniformly worth 1 (one) point (regardless of whether they are located in your own CQ zone or not).
10.4. Contacts with other, NOT Tisza-riverside country stations:
10.4.1. Within your own CQ zone - 2 points.
10.4.2. Contacts within your continent (but different CQ zone) count 3 points.
10.4.3. Contacts with a different continent (DX) count 5 points.
10.4.4. Connections to air- and water mobile stations (/AM, /MM) uniformly - 3 points.
11. Multipliers (for all contest participants):
11.1. The total number of CQ zones worked on each band (regardless of operating mode).
11.2. Prefixes of Tisza riverside country stations worked on each band (regardless of operating mode).
11.3. The Tisza riverside country stations can also count as CQ zone multiplier.
11.4. The /AM, /MM stations can also count as CQ zone multiplier.
12. Final Scoring: The total number of QSO points times the total number of multipliers worked.
13. Reporting:
13.1. 6-day log submission deadline. Entries must be uploaded to the web app no later than 6 days after the end of the contest (in this year: 23.59 UTC June 12, 2026.).
13.2. Electronic entries must conform to the Cabrillo file format. Any entry which has been generated using a computer (either during the contest or after the contest) must be uploaded via the Tisza cup contest web site. Electronic files must use the entrant’s callsign as the file name.
13.3. The competition organizers will only accept electronic logs uploaded to the competition server (www.tiszacup.eu).
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14. Log Checking:
14.1. The competition is evaluated by a Contest Committee appointed by the organizers. The decision of the Committee is final and binding on everyone.
14.2. All logs are checked using custom software and human judgment.
14.3. The final result (callsign, operator(s), final score) will be listed in each competition category.
14.4.The results of the competition in each competition category will be published by the competition committee on the website: WWW.TISZACUP.EU
14.5. Disqualification: Any entry may be disqualified if the claimed score is reduced by more than 25%.
14.6. Duplicate contacts are removed with no additional penalty.
14.7. Contacts with an incorrectly received exchange or call sign errors (BUST) or call signs not in the other log (NIL) are removed and receive a penalty of the QSO point value for that contact.
14.8. Checklogs: Entry submitted to assist with the log checking. The entry will not have a score in the results and the log will not be made public.
14.9. Information useful for the preparation and evaluation of the LOGs is given in point 16. of this competition notice
15. Awards:
A. Certificates: Electronic certificates will be made available in pdf format for download for everyone who submits an entry.
B. Plaques: Plaques are awarded for top performance in a number of categories. Only one plaque will be awarded per callsign. A station winning a plaque will not be considered for a sub-area award; the plaque will be awarded to the runner-up in that area. The condition for issuing the plaque is that at least 10 submitted logs in the given category are evaluated.
C. Special Awards: The two Radio Clubs in Debrecen and the Council of Debrecen city also established a special award. The individual participants (single op, both Tisza riverside and other categories) with the highest points will be invited to spend the Carnival week (with his/her partner) in Debrecen city. The Flower Carnival of Debrecen city (20th of August, every year) and the related cultural and entertainment programs are famous far and wide. The special award includes the cost of weekly accommodation (6 days), meals and VIP entrance fees for two persons.
15. Others:
All the radios and antennas must be in physical contact with each other and within 500 meters radius.
Remote operation is allowed.
Do not delete dupe contacts! If there is a valid contact to a station in the same band, it will be scored. It counts as zero (0) points without penalty point even if the received exchange is incorrect or the contact is not included in the other station's log.
For logged contacts, the time difference between the 2 stations's log records may not exceed 3 minutes. Exceeding that, the contact will be deleted. This does not authorize anyone to establish a contact outside of the contest period. It is advisable to synchronize your computer clock with your GPS or Internet time server before the contest.
The callsign of a multiplier, if no log has been submitted from them, must be included in the logs of at least 5 other competitors. Otherwise the multiplier contact will be deleted.
Disqualification: Violation of contest rules, unsportsmanlike conduct or taking credit for excessive unverifiable QSOs will be deemed sufficient cause for disqualification.
- All decisionsof the contest committee are final.
The contest is sponsored by the organizers.
- Home web page:TISZACUP.EU
For additional contest information, contact the contest director: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or send your mail to: „Tisza Cup International Radio Contest”, 130. Rozsavolgy str. Debrecen, H-4225, Hungary.
The contest rule can be downloaded at the below link: