RULES
Organizer: Lithuanian Amateur Radio Society (LRMD)
Referee: Lukas Bartkus, LY7J
Preamble
Vytautas the Great (1350–1430) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania and one of the most prominent rulers in the country’s history.
The purpose of the contest is to honour the name of Vytautas the Great, promote activity among Lithuanian and international amateur radio operators, and encourage operation on HF and VHF bands.
Date and Time
The contest takes place annually on the first Sunday after New Year’s Day, from 0700 to 0759 UTC.
Next contest date: 2026-01-04, 0900–0959 LST.
Modes
CW, SSB, FM.
Bands
80 m:
- 3510–3600 kHz – CW
- 3600–3700 kHz – SSB
2 m:
- CW – central calling frequency 144.050 MHz
- SSB – central calling frequency 144.300 MHz
- FM – central calling frequency 145.500 MHz
Participants
All licensed amateur radio operators from Lithuania and abroad may participate (excluding Russia and Belarus), as well as SWLs (shortwave listeners).
Transmitter Power
Maximum transmitter output: 100 W.
Categories
A: Single Operator
B: Multi-Operator / Team
C: SWL
D: Clubs
Exchange
Sent: RS(T) + serial number starting from 001 + 6-character WW locator.
Serial numbering is continuous across all bands and modes.
A QSO counts if the correspondent’s callsign appears in at least three other submitted logs.
QSOs made via active repeaters do not count.
Scoring
- 1 QSO = 1 point
- QSOs with the same correspondent are allowed::
- once per band
- once per mode
- Multipliers: different WW locators on each band
- Final Score = total points × total multipliers
Tiebreakers
If two stations achieve the same final score, ranking is decided by:
- PK% (Percentage of Verified QSOs) – the higher value wins.
- Log submission time – earlier submission is ranked higher.
SWL Rules
SWLs must log both callsigns and one complete exchange.
The same correspondent may be logged again only after at least three other logged observations.
Scoring is identical to regular participants.
Log Submission
Logs must be submitted within 24 hours after the contest ends.
E-mail: VMC@QRZ.LT
Paper logs are not accepted.
Logs must include:
- callsign
- operator name and surname
- entry category
- club (if applicable)
- WW locator
- number of QSOs
- claimed score
- declaration of compliance with license conditions and contest rules
If applying for youngest operator or newest operator awards, indicate age and/or first licence date in the soapbox field
(e.g., “23 yrs, 2018-11”).
Newest operator definition:
The newest radio amateur is the participant who most recently passed the amateur radio exam and received their first licence. The official licence issue date, as provided by the participant, is used for evaluation.
Example Log Line:
QSO: 3629 PH 2025-01-05 0700 LY7J 59 001 KO14WT LY0AA 59 001 KO00AA
QSO: 3639 PH 2025-01-05 0701 LY7J 59 002 KO14WT LY0A 59 001 KO00AA
Accepted log formats: call.xxx, where xxx = cbr / log / dat / txt.
Disqualification
Participants may be disqualified for:
- violation of amateur radio licence conditions
- violation of contest rules
Objections, Appeals, and UBN Reports
Objections, corrections, or UBN requests may be submitted within 48 hours after publication of preliminary results to VMC@QRZ.LT.
A previously rejected QSO may be restored only if the station can provide a clear, full audio recording of the QSO, with:
- both callsigns audible
- both sent and received exchanges clearly heard
Each case is reviewed individually.
Recordings with missing or unclear information will not be accepted as grounds for score correction.
Awards
Certificates are awarded to:
- Top 3 stations in the overall ranking
- Winning team
- Winning club
- SWL category winner
- Youngest operator
- Newest operator
- Best youth operator (≤21 years)
- Best result on 2 m
- Best result on 80 m
- Best result SSB on 80 m
- Best result CW on 80 m
- Highest PK% score
- Foreign station achieving the highest position in the overall ranking
- Additional donor-sponsored special prizes