Monday, October 02, 2006

IOTA cards and island names

We are back from Pittsburgh and the games were fantastic. It was also a pleasant, relaxing drive through the hills of New York and Pennsylvania giving us a little quiet time that we've so desperately needed. One of the things we did to pass the time was listen to some of the Long Delayed Echoes podcasts by Jeff Davis (KE9V) on the history of ham radio through World War II. If you're not following these shows, you're missing something extraordinary. Begin with episode 25 to pick up the WWII thread.
I left the computer at home this weekend but pocketed the Blackberry so I could continue to read my email. I got a message from one fellow who had trouble getting credit for my Georges Island (NA-148) card. I had missed something important in the IOTA rules. Here's the part I goofed up:
QSL cards submitted must have printed on them the name of the island from which the operation took place. This must be an island mentioned as qualifying for that IOTA group in the island listing in the latest IOTA Directory or in the list of Additional Qualifying Islands on the IOTA Manager’s web-site. The IOTA group name and the IOTA reference number are not acceptable alternatives although it is desirable that they also appear on the card, nor are geographic coordinates, a locator square or a lighthouse or castle name. The name of the island should not have been handwritten, nor should it have been added in a way that makes ambiguous the location of the station at the time of contact.

My Georges Island card has only the name of the island group (Boston Harbor Islands) and not the name of the specific island (Georges). Of course, the reason why I had not put the name of the island on the card is because I had hoped to work from several islands of that group and didn't want to have the card be too specific. To solve the problem, I've ordered a rubber stamp from The Sign Man with the words "Georges Island" around the periphery and my call used on the island NE1RD/1 in bold in the middle. Check out the "InstaStamp 24". Thanks go to Don (W9DC) for putting me on the right track with this. Anybody who needs a new card, please drop me a note at ne1rd at arrl.net.
The ferry to Georges Island stops for the season on October 9 so I have one more chance to get out there and puts some QSOs in the log before the snow flies here in Boston. The weather outlook is good so plan on hearing me from NA-148 this Saturday. Perhaps I should update the RSGB IOTA site, too.

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