[TransAtlantic] 144 Mhz Transatlantic "Brendan Cup" Rules cut and paste from WEB site

[k4mhz at aol.com]

Location of the Stations:
The two stations involved must be located on land or non-tidal waterways within the continental shelves of Europe and America as defined[b].  Note that the limit of the continental shelf of Europe is deemed to lie along the line of maximum depth between the European land mass and Iceland, while that of North America is defined to lie along the line of maximum depth between Canada and Greenland.

Station Details:
Operators applying for the Transmitting Awards must have held a current Amateur Radio Licence provided by their respective authority at the time of the contact, and have operated within the provisions of their licence during the contact, particularly in regard to frequency and power limitations.  Any information regarding the stations demanded by the Awards Panel must be provided and if required the stations must be made available for inspection by nominated representative(s) of the Awards Panel.
 


Categories:
There are three categories of Award: 
The Brendan Trophies, awarded for the first traditional mode 2 way contact.  Modes permitted are phone and cw capable of being read without machine assistance. 


The Brendan Shields, awarded for the first non traditional mode 2 way contact.  Modes permitted are all digital modes including high speed cw. 
The Brendan Plates, awarded for the first verified reception of a trans Atlantic signal, all modes permitted. 


In addition the Brendan Medal, a triennial Silver Medal will be awarded to the group or individual who, in the opinion of the Awarding Committee, has contributed most to the promotion of propagation studies on the trans Atlantic 2 metre path.




The Contact:
The definition of a Contact is conventional, i.e. two way communication will be deemed to be established when each station has:
a) received both call signs in full
b) received a signal report (Minimum two characters of any generally recognised system[c])
c) received confirmation (R or Roger) that the other station has satisfied above conditions (a) and (b).
This Information must be exchanged within a maximum period of four hours, after which the contact must be recommenced.  The contact must be made via natural reflectors within the atmospheric mantle of the earth, which for these purposes may be taken as a distance of 1,000 km.  Thus man-made reflectors (aircraft, satellites, etc.) as well as EME are excluded.  The onus of providing proof of the contact satisfactory to the Panel rests on those involved.  The level of proof required by the Panel will depend on the circumstances involved.  For example, if the contact is the result of pre-arranged tests, then the Panel will expect a higher level of proof than if the contact were "random", such as complete recordings of the signals from both sides.  If on the other hand, the contact is made spontaneously, the signed statements of both operators and witnesses on one or both sides may be acceptable.  All relevant facts will be taken into consideration when evaluating a claim, and the Panel will pursue whatever line of enquiry they choose to evaluate a claim.



Procedures following a Claim:
Applications for the award must be made in writing to the Chairman of the Awards Panel within three calendar months of the contact being made, setting out clearly their evidence of a valid contact, and include a signed Declaration of Honesty and Operation within the true Spirit of Amateur Radio.  The Panel will make the claim public by providing details to the Amateur Radio press on both sides of the Atlantic, and invite relevant comments.  Any representation concerning the contact will be carefully considered before their decision is made.
For an award to be made, both stations must have satisfied the award conditions.  The decision on the validity of the contact within these rules rests solely with the appointed Awards Panel.  This Panel will make their decision on a claim for the award within one calendar year of the claim being received, and will make their reasons known in the event of a refusal to award the trophy.  However, they reserve the right not to enter into any correspondence subsequently to their decision.