ROYAL AIR FORCE AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY.
AIRFIELDS ON THE AIR.
REGULATIONS & OPERATING RULES.

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G4DQP
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RAFARS
"Airfields
On The Air"
ACTIVATIONS

Please Note. This page will be updated from time to time as amendments are found to be beneficial and in the interests of RAFARS and the AOTA event.

Regulations last updated 12th July 2010. Rules changed as per RAFARS Council Meeting 24th June 2010.

AIMS OF THE EVENTs.

1.         To encourage RAFARS members and affiliated Clubs to become involved in events and so promote the society.

2.         To encourage ATC squadrons and other youth groups involvement, with their participants becoming licensed and RAFARS members.

3.        To encourage all amateur radio enthusiasts to participate in commemorating service airfields and bases, the personnel who serve, or those that served and the many who gave of their lives in that service.

REGULATIONS AND RULES OF AOTA.

1.         An ongoing event with an operator certification award based upon contacting AOTA activations, including in the nominated prime RAFARS AOTA period in early April and throughout the on going year.

2.         To ‘Activate’ in a Radio sense, current or former RAF (Ministry of Defence or its predecessor) stations, airfields or bases, radar or radio sites, landing strips, including landing waters located in Great Britain & Northern Ireland, dating from 1914 to current times. Activating a station, current or disused, is deemed to be acceptable if made from a suitable location up to approximately 500 metres away from the (original) site of that station.

3.         Single operator based for awards but who may be supported by a club or society’s portable operation.  Only ATC Squadrons and other youth groups, may enter as a multi operator group award.

4.         To utilise frequencies in the proximity of the RAFARS net frequencies as published in QRV. Primarily 1.855 mhz & 1.993 mhz, 3.515 mhz & 3.710 mhz, 7.015 mhz & 7.155 mhz plus the 20mtr and 21mtr band frequencies as conditions improve. For VHF & UHF use the standard ‘Calling Channels’ to establish contacts and then moving to an unoccupied channel to exchange information.

5.         All power levels may be used from QRP up to 100 watts output.
                     
6 .         Modes of Operation to be Voice and Morse and Digital modes, (PSK, FT8 & RTTY).

7.         The specified RAFARS AOTA Days of portable activity will be published via the RAFARS Website, QSL.net/G4DQP Webpage, QRV, Newsletter, and through the RAFARS net controllers wherever possible. Any operator or group may ‘Activate’ a station/airfield/base at any time or date as an ad hoc activation however, all activating stations must register their activity with G4DQP (this web site) prior to their activation date, if they wish their activation to count towards any RAFARS award for the recipient operator..

8.         Award certificates will be available for working 'AOTA' stations, with certificates as follows:

                      Bronze AOTA Certificate.                5.   activated stations/airfields worked.
                      Gold     AOTA Certificate.              50.   activated stations/airfields worked.
              

N.B. A QSO with an activated station/airfield/base can only be credited once to an operator’s or group's entire “QSO” tally’.

The RAFARS AOTA management team will issue a special RAFARS ‘Pathfinder Award’, to the RAFARS member who they believe has contributed most to the RAFARS AOTA events by 'Activating Air Bases' during the previous twelve-month period, by the uniqueness of those activations, locations and or distances travelled.

All of the awards given will be announced or awarded at the RAFARS AGM each year.

Awards Fee.          £5.00 to cover administration and postage.

9 .       Operational rules. (Now amended please note)
Logs must be kept with normal details, but especially date & time and the airfield's name. Operators / groups claiming an award must ensure that all their stations worked, must be those station who are or have been logged as an activated airstation/base with their details & dates placed on this website's 'Activations Page'.
Any other airfield or airbase worked will not count towards the RAFARS Certificate.
A signed declaration, of the following wording is required:
"I   (John Smith G9xyz)   do hereby declare that the rules of the RAFARS AOTA have been observed and complied with in contacting the (21) 'Activated' stations and I now request I be granted the relevant RAFARS AOTA Certificate. signed: (JSmith G9xyz)"
This self declared statement that gives full compliance with all of the RAFARS AOTA event rules was complied with is required by all claimant operators / groups.
(There will be no exceptions to this operational ruling).

To claim an award send a copy of your relevant logs, the awards fee, a Cheque / Postal order made out to RAFARS and your signed declaration of operational conformity, To:                                                                                   
G4DQP, QTHr, Call Book, QRV, QRZ.com or qsl.net/g4dqp/; the RAFARS AOTA Coordinator, with the exception of the G8FC callsign being QSO'd, which is sent directly to RAFARS, RAF Cosford.

On receipt of the fee and declaration by he AOTA Coordinator, the relevent award certificate will be sent out by G4DQP. Please remember we must have your correct name, callsign and address if you have not yet joined RAFARS.

All airfield/airbase operations must include prior contact and permission to operate from the location owner and or airfield/airbase operator / SATCO / CRO. The activating operator / group will be responsible for finding out and complying with all security and safety aspects throughout.
RAFARS will accept no responsibilities whatsoever for any transgressions by any participating operator or group.

Safety & Security. Until further notice, do not attempt to activate any current major civil airfields.

Where activation of a current service / RAF airfield is anticipated, a written request must be made to the Officer Commanding or CRO of that station, giving full details etc. A written reply must be received by the operator / group before proceeding further. This must be done even if the intended activation is from a position outside but near the station boundary. It is highly desirable that a suitably large notice is visible to the authorities and members of the public from the operating position / station; giving brief details of who the operator is and why the radio station is present.

Activators must notify the organiser of their intended activation as early as possible to enable notice to be given via the website, webpage, net  controllers and news letter. A database will be kept by the organiser G4DQP, of all AOTA activations.
Airfield 'Activations' that are not notified to the organiser will not be accepted as part of the RAFARS AOTA awards scheme.

Special event call signs or club call signs where the club is located on an airbase, personal call signs where the person resides on an old or current air base and RAFARS sponsored call signs may be used for AOTA operations, providing that call sign, is used specifically in the activation of an airfield/airbase and is stated so in the QSO.
The SES call sign G4RAF is normally allocated to G4DQP via a NoV and is a RAFARS club callsign.

10.       AOTA Management.
A sub committee comprising the organiser and 2 RAFARS members, with the organiser liaising with RAFARS Council via the Council's Projects Officer..
The management team will continuously monitor and assess the RAFARS AOTA events. Amendments will be published via QRV, the RAFARS Website & this Webpage.

NB. Due to the covid-19 and the Flu stil being prevelent, operators may for 2023 theoreticly activate a station from their own homes; provided of course they state this in the QSO which hopefully will give history and information on the RAF station they are representing.