Radiosport
Encyclopedia
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
an origin and is used to describe any of several competitive amateur radio
Amateur radio
Amateur radio is the use of designated radio frequency spectrum for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication...
activities. It is most often written as a single word, as in radiosport, but can be found as two separate words, as in radio sport.
The Friendship Radiosport Games
Friendship Radiosport Games
The Friendship Radiosport Games is an international multi-sport event that includes competitions in the various sports collectively referred to as radiosport. The Friendship Radiosport Games began in 1989 as a result of a sister city agreement between Khabarovsk, Russia and Portland, Oregon, USA...
is a multi-sport event
Multi-sport event
A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports between organized teams of athletes from nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of international significance was the modern Olympic Games.Many...
that features competitions in each of these radio sports.
Amateur radio contesting
The most common use of the term radiosport is as a synonym for amateur radio contesting. Contesting is an activity where amateur radio stations attempt to make as many two-way contacts with other stations as possible, following certain defined parameters of the competition, to maximize a score. At least two specific contests have used the term radiosport in their event names; the IARU HF World Championship, a worldwide contest sponsored by the International Amateur Radio UnionInternational Amateur Radio Union
The International Amateur Radio Union is an international confederation of national amateur radio organisations that allows a forum for common matters of concern and collectively represents matters to the International Telecommunication Union...
, was known as the IARU Radiosport Championship from its inception in 1977 until the name of the contest changed in 1986. The term radiosport also appears in the name of the World Radiosport Team Championship
World Radiosport Team Championship
The World Radiosport Team Championship is an amateur radio contest. WRTC is an invitation-only event in which the world's elite contesters compete against one another using amateur radio stations that are in one geographic area of the world and are equipped with similar antennas and operating...
, the radio contest considered by many to be the closest that contesting has to a world championships.
Amateur radio direction finding
Amateur Radio Direction Finding
Amateur radio direction finding is an amateur racing sport that combines radio direction finding with the map and compass skills of orienteering...
(ARDF). Although they represent a broad range of amateur radio interests in their nations today, several member societies of the International Amateur Radio Union
International Amateur Radio Union
The International Amateur Radio Union is an international confederation of national amateur radio organisations that allows a forum for common matters of concern and collectively represents matters to the International Telecommunication Union...
were originally formed for the promotion and organization of the sport of ARDF and continue to use the term radiosport in their society name. These include the Federation of Radiosport of the Republic of Armenia, the Belarussian Federation of Radioamateurs and Radiosportsmen
Belarussian Federation of Radioamateurs and Radiosportsmen
The Belarussian Federation of Radioamateurs and Radiosportsmen is a national non-profit organization for amateur radio enthusiasts in Belarus. The organization uses BFRR as its acronym, based on the standard Romanization of the Belarusian name of the organization...
, the Chinese Radio Sports Association
Chinese Radio Sports Association
The Chinese Radio Sports Association is a national non-profit organization for amateur radio enthusiasts in the People's Republic of China. The CRSA's primary mission is to popularize and promote amateur radio in China...
, the Kazakhstan Federation of Radiosport and Radio Amateur
Kazakhstan Federation of Radiosport and Radio Amateur
The Kazakhstan Federation of Radiosport and Radio Amateur is a national non-profit organization for amateur radio enthusiasts in Kazakhstan...
, the Mongolian Radio Sport Federation
Mongolian Radio Sport Federation
The Mongolian Radio Sport's Federation is a national non-profit organization for amateur radio enthusiasts in Mongolia. Early activities of the organization focused on radiosport, and the MRSF was active in promoting Amateur Radio Direction Finding competitions throughout the country...
, and the now defunct Radio Sport Federation of the USSR.
High Speed Telegraphy
High Speed Telegraphy competitions challenge individuals to correctly receive and copy Morse codeMorse code
Morse code is a method of transmitting textual information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment...
transmission
Transmission (telecommunications)
Transmission, in telecommunications, is the process of sending, propagating and receiving an analogue or digital information signal over a physical point-to-point or point-to-multipoint transmission medium, either wired, optical fiber or wireless...
s sent at very high speeds. International competitions typically involve several events, some of which are based on simulations of amateur radio activity. One event in the Radioamateur Practicing Tests (RPT) uses a computer program
Computer program
A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...
that sends amateur radio call signs
Call Signs
Call Signs is the third studio album by Melbourne electronica band Black Cab, released in 2009.The album evokes the atmosphere of the former totalitarian state of East Germany, set to a soundtrack of post-punk and atmospheric electronics. In an interview, the band explained the album's sound was...
at high speed for a specified period of time, and generates a score for the competitor based on errors in copying. Another event is the "pileup" competition, where competitors must copy as many individual call signs as possible while many are being sent simultaneously over a defined period of time.