G7RDX Contest Calendar
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Frequently asked questions

What is a DX contest?
A DX contest is a timed amateur radio competition in which operators try to contact as many distant stations and territories as possible within a set period, usually 24 or 48 hours. “DX” means long distance. Scores combine the number of valid contacts with multipliers such as DXCC entities, CQ zones or grid squares, so working rare countries is worth more than working local stations.
What is an amateur radio contest?
An amateur radio contest is an organised operating event where licensed operators exchange short, standardised reports with as many stations as possible inside a fixed time window. Contests run on HF, VHF, UHF and microwave bands, in CW, SSB, RTTY and digital modes, and each has published rules, an exchange format and a log submission deadline.
What equipment do I need to start contesting?
A basic contest station needs a transceiver, an antenna, a power supply and logging software on a computer. A 100 W HF radio and a simple wire dipole or end-fed antenna are enough to work hundreds of stations in a major contest. A headset with a boom microphone, a foot switch and a CW paddle or keyer make longer sessions far more comfortable.
Do I need a licence to take part in a contest?
Yes. You must hold a valid amateur radio licence and operate within the privileges of your licence class and country. In the UK that means a Foundation, Intermediate or Full licence issued by Ofcom. Unlicensed listeners can still take part as shortwave listeners in the SWL categories that some contests offer.
What exchange do I send in a contest?
The exchange is the short piece of information each contest requires. Common formats are a signal report plus a serial number (for example 59 001), a signal report plus a CQ zone, a grid locator on VHF, or a licence year, name or region. The exact exchange is defined in each contest’s rules — open any contest above and follow the official rules link.
How are contest scores calculated?
Most contests multiply QSO points by multipliers. Each valid contact earns points, often more for contacts on other continents, and multipliers are typically DXCC entities, CQ or ITU zones, grid squares, states or prefixes. Because the two figures multiply, finding a new multiplier can be worth more than dozens of ordinary contacts.
Can beginners take part in contests?
Yes. Contesting is one of the fastest ways to improve operating skill and fill a logbook. Start by working only the loud, clearly audible stations rather than calling CQ, use the search and pounce method, and treat your first events as practice. Many contests have single band, low power, rookie or unassisted categories designed for newcomers.
Can I operate QRP in a contest?
Yes. Almost every major contest has a QRP category, normally defined as 5 W output or less. QRP entrants compete only against other QRP stations, so a modest station with a good antenna and patience can win its section. QRP contests such as the RSGB low power events are marked in this calendar.
Can I use FT8 or FT4 in contests?
Yes. FT8 and FT4 have dedicated contest modes and there are now events built entirely around them, including the RSGB FT4 series and the FT8 Activity Contests. Many mainstream contests also accept digital entries in their digital or mixed categories. Check each contest’s rules, because some traditional events exclude FT8.
What logging software should I use for contesting?
N1MM Logger+ is the most widely used free contest logger on Windows and supports almost every contest in this calendar. Other popular choices are Win-Test, DXLog, SD by EI5DI, and on Linux or macOS, CQRLOG, Log4OM and SkookumLogger. All of them export Cabrillo, which is the format required for log submission.
How do I submit my contest log?
Almost every contest accepts logs in Cabrillo format, produced automatically by your logging software. RSGB contests are uploaded through the RSGB contest portal, while worldwide events use a robot email address or web upload listed in their rules. Deadlines range from 24 hours to a week after the contest ends, so submit promptly.
Which contest is best for beginners?
Short, single band activity contests are the easiest starting point. The RSGB 80m Club Championships, the UK Activity Contests on VHF and weekday sprints such as the CWops Test or K1USN Slow Speed Test last only one to two hours and use a simple exchange. For a first big event, CQ WW SSB has enormous activity and slow, clear callers.
How long do amateur radio contests last?
Contest length varies widely. Weekday activity contests and sprints run for one to two hours, club championship events for around 90 minutes, and the major international contests such as CQ WW, CQ WPX and the IARU HF Championship run for 24 or 48 hours. Each entry in this calendar shows its exact start and end time in UTC.
Which bands are used in contests?
HF contests normally use 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 metres, avoiding the WARC bands of 30, 17 and 12 metres by convention. VHF and UHF contests use 6 m, 4 m, 2 m, 70 cm and the microwave bands. Every contest in this calendar lists its permitted bands, and you can filter the whole schedule by band.
Where can I find the official contest rules?
Every contest entry in this calendar links directly to the sponsor’s official rules page. RSGB events link to the RSGB Contest Committee rules, while worldwide contests link to their own sponsor sites. Always read the current year’s rules before operating, as categories, exchanges and deadlines can change between years.
Why is everything shown in UTC?
Contest exchanges and logs use Coordinated Universal Time so that every operator worldwide records identical times regardless of local time zone. UTC matches GMT in winter and is one hour behind British Summer Time. All times in this calendar, including the header clock, are UTC, and UK evening activity contests are converted automatically.
How often is this contest calendar updated?
Contest data is refreshed against the published RSGB HF and VHF calendars and the WA7BNM Contest Calendar, and recurring weekly and monthly series are generated automatically so the schedule never runs out of dates. Solar and propagation figures are pulled live from NOAA SWPC each time the page loads.

What is a DX contest?

A DX contest is a race on the radio. For a set number of hours, thousands of operators all over the world try to talk to as many other stations as they can. “DX” simply means “far away”, so the further your signal travels, the more it is worth.

You do not have to win to enjoy one. Most people join in because the bands suddenly get busy, new countries appear, and you get much better at operating in a single weekend than you would in a month of ordinary contacts. This DX contest calendar shows you what is coming up, when it starts, and what you need to know before you switch the radio on.

Who is this calendar for?

Anyone with a licence. If you passed your exam last week, you will find short evening contests that only last an hour and ask for one simple piece of information. If you have been on the air for thirty years, you will find the big international weekends listed months ahead so you can book the time off.

It is also built for people who like one particular corner of the hobby: QRP operators running five watts, single band specialists, VHF operators chasing tropo and sporadic E, and digital operators who live on FT8 and FT4. Whatever you call it, a ham radio contest calendar or an amateur radio contest calendar, the job is the same: show what is on and when.

How to use this calendar

Start with the filters on the left. You can narrow the list by month, by band from 160 m all the way to 23 cm, by mode, by who runs the contest, or by series. If you already know the name, just type it into the search box and the list updates as you type.

The four tabs switch between contests that are coming up, ones running right now, ones that have finished, and everything at once. Each contest has four buttons: open the full details, jump to the official rules, download it straight into your own calendar, or share it with a friend.

Which contests are included

The big international events are all here: CQ WW in SSB, CW and RTTY, CQ WPX, the IARU HF World Championship, ARRL DX and Sweepstakes, the IOTA Contest, WAE, Field Day and the Stew Perry Topband Challenge.

So is the regular club-level activity that fills the rest of the year. That means the full RSGB programme, including the 80 m Club Championships, AFS, the UK Activity Contests from 50 MHz up to the microwave bands, FMAC, the FT4 and FT8 series, Backpackers, and the Christmas and Trophy events. Weekly favourites such as the CWops Test, K1USN Slow Speed Test, ICWC Medium Speed Test, NCCC Sprint and OK1WC Memorial are included too.

Every mode is here

If you like Morse, look for the CW contest entries. If you prefer talking, the SSB contest weekends are the busiest of the year. There are RTTY contest events for classic teleprinter operating, and plenty of digital mode contest and FT8 contest activity for anyone running WSJT-X or MSHV.

Contests that allow all of these are marked as mixed. Use the mode filter to show only the ones your station is set up for, so you are not scrolling past events you cannot enter.

How the data stays current

Dates are checked against the published RSGB HF and VHF calendars and the WA7BNM Contest Calendar. Anything that repeats on a fixed pattern, like the weekly sprints and the monthly activity contests, is worked out automatically, so the contest schedule never runs dry and contest dates stay accurate months ahead.

The solar numbers at the top come straight from NOAA every time you load the page. That lets you weigh up real conditions against the list of upcoming amateur radio contests before you decide which band to point an antenna at.

Why use this contest calendar

  • Live conditions next to the schedule. Solar flux, A-index and K-index come from NOAA, so you can see whether the bands are likely to play before the contest starts.
  • Everything in one place. RSGB HF, RSGB VHF and worldwide events are merged into one list, so you are not checking three sites for the same weekend.
  • Filters that actually work. Narrow by month, band, mode, organiser or series, or search by name, and the list changes instantly.
  • A countdown on every event. Each contest tells you how long until it starts, and anything running right now is marked as on air.
  • Rules one click away. Every entry links to the organiser’s own page, so you always read this year’s rules and not an old copy.
  • Straight into your diary. Any contest downloads as a normal calendar file for Google Calendar, Outlook or Apple Calendar.
  • It never runs out of dates. Repeating events are generated through 2027, well past the published lists.
  • Made for the shack. Fast and easy to read on a phone next to the radio, with a dark theme for late nights.

Where does the data come from?

The dates come from the people who actually run the contests. The RSGB Contest Committee publishes the HF and VHF programmes for UK events. The WA7BNM Contest Calendar, looked after by Bruce Horn, is the reference the whole hobby uses for worldwide events. Individual organisers publish their own rules: CQ Magazine for CQ WW and WPX, the ARRL for its events, and the IARU for the HF World Championship.

Space weather figures are supplied by NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.

No rules text is copied here. Every entry links out to the organiser’s own page, so the official wording, categories and deadlines are always read at the source. If you spot a date that looks wrong, please get in touch and it will be checked.

More contesting resources

Contesting guideHow to start contestingBest logging softwareBest contest antennasCQ zonesITU zonesBand plansRST reportContest exchangesDXCC guidePropagation guide

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