The ARRL Contest Update for April 29, 2026 undefined

 

 

 

 

April 29, 2026

Editor:

iCom

 

In this Issue:

Upcoming Contests – Things to Do

You can get in shape for the ARRL 10 GHz and Up contest by testing your gear in this weekend’s . With the same scoring as the ARRL contest, you can concentrate on the gear aspect. This is not a contest you’ll be able to participate in unless you’re in the area — last year, the longest contact was under 450 kilometers.

 

QSO-Party-esque fare this weekend includes the 7QP (7th Area QSO Party), Indiana, Delaware, and New England QSO Parties. You can log these four contests in N1MM Logger+ in a single log! See the .

 

Your DX contest opportunity this weekend is the . ARI is based in Italy.

 

The weekend of May 9, try the on 80 through 10 meters. Contacts are valid if they are between different DXCC entities or call sign areas for Australian, Canadian, Japanese, New Zealand, and US stations. Multipliers are per-band. For the purposes of this contest, US call sign areas are each distinct multipliers. There are other multiplier bonuses, see the rules.

 

The Central States VHF Society is the sponsor of the on May 9. This one starts at 2300z, and goes for 4 hours, and all modes capable of the exchange are allowed. Good thing that the exchange is a grid square.

 

The Canadian Prairies QSO Party on May 9 is 40 through 10 meters, CW, and SSB only. Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba are together on this one, providing .

 

 

Contest Summary

April 30, 2026 - May 13, 2026

 

See the "Contests" section below for complete contest information.

 

Note: Contest dates and times are in UTC. This means that a contest that is listed to start on a Saturday at 0000z, for example, really starts on a Friday night in US time zones.

 

April 30

May 1

May 2

May 3

May 4

May 5

May 6

May 7

May 8

May 9

May 11

May 12

May 13

 

RigSelect Radio Switch SO2R Controller

 

News, Press Releases, and Special Interest

Bob Evans, K5WA, took advantage of AI coding to develop his own 2BSIQ training software: “… here is a 2BSIQ trainer following CT1BOH's 2017 2BISQ presentation as much as possible.” He’s aware that Morse Runner and N1MM Logger+ can be combined to provide this functionality but he “wanted an app that provided training wheels...” His software has a “Full Bore mode” and a “Half Bore mode.” He notes: “If you're like me, start at Half Bore, Novice level and gradually work your way up by Increasing speeds and levels as you get the basics down … Claude.AI has been my Elmer for this project and I lean on him for all coding issues… It is not meant to be as polished as global banking or Fortune 100 ERP software; it's just for fun and has no guarantees at all, however, in the limited test pool of folks that have tried it, we've found no showstoppers.” .

 

The recently completed introduced real-time logging of contacts, and by renaming the traditional post-contest submission of logs as “Classic,” is indicating where they think the future is going. According to the rules, “anyone participating in the Real Time Contesting (RTC) must also submit their log to for the ‘Classic’ category.“

 

Flexradio has an related to using their SmartSDR 4.2 software. Topics include everything from installation of the software to using new band plan features.

 

Word to the Wise

Sprint

 

In radio contesting terms, Sprint is used as part of a contest name by multiple different events that occur throughout the year. Most of the time, what makes a contest a Sprint is that it’s of shorter duration than a normal contest. Here’s a breakdown (duration rounded to nearest hour):

 

 

The North American Sprints have other operating features (QSY rule, proscribed exchanges) which increase the challenge.

 

SKCC’s Sprintathons have distinct themes (from the ):

 

Winter Bands

160- and 80-meter SKCC QSOs are 5 bonus points each.

 

Boat Anchors

Only the number of tubes received from the contacted SKCC station count as bonus points.

 

Bug/Cootie

5 points for each Bug or Cootie (Sideswiper) QSO.

 

Easter Egg Hunt

5 points for each Egg or Peter Rabbit QSO.

 

First Year SKCC Members

Members with SKCC numbers less than 2546 are worth 5 bonus points.

 

Old Timers and Summer Bands

If you held an amateur radio license 25 years ago or longer you will send your name/XX (number of years licensed). You can collect an additional 5 points for each QSO by using the 'Summer Bands' during this SKCC event.

 

13 Colonies

5 points for each of the 13 Colonies, plus UK and France.

 

Home Brew Key

5 points for each QSO you make with your home-made key.

 

Club Calls

5 bonus points for each unique KS1KCC, KS#KCC, or any other 'Club Station' that has an SKCC number.

 

TKA

5 points for each SKCC - TKA station worked on each band.

 

Veterans

The bonus points received are for the number of years served by the SKCC Veteran operating. Veterans also receive 5 bonus points for each QSO.

 

Reindeer Stations

5 points for each Reindeer, Santa, Scrooge, or Elf station.

 

Here’s a bonus word: Portmanteau. “A word formed by blending parts of two or more words to combine their meanings into a new, concise term.” For example, sprintathon, combining sprint and marathon. You’d think those two would cancel each other out in this example.

 

Sights and Sounds

Moments during the gathering of attendees of the recent were captured by Bob, N6TV. You can view them .

 

Results and Records

2025’s results for the CQ DX Marathon are now online at . The event experienced strong growth in QSO totals, as well as number of participants.

 

Andy Blank, N2NT, says: “The results for the 2026 CQ 160 Contest are now complete and available on our website: .”

 

are now available. The contest results article notes that participation on the contest frequencies was down this year, as was activity. (Ed, W0YK)

 

Operating Tip

Ed Muns, W0YK, provided a number of techniques and operating tips for better RTTY contest operating in his . Among them is learning to tune RTTY signals by ear, for quick acquisition during searching and pouncing. Even in this age of clicking, rig variations, spotter inconsistencies, and other factors can land you off frequency. Quickly getting the decode is key to a faster rate.

 

Technical Topics and Discussion

Gary, W1VE, has released an “RBN S-meter” — a display of signal levels derived from RBN (Reverse Beacon Network) data, displayed in a graphical UI. “This app gets data from the RBN for all modes the RBN supports, and creates a sliding average of SNR values. You select your vantage point as either a continent/part of a continent, or, you can specify a grid square and a radius around that.” He further describes his work, and how to access the web app, on his blog: .

 

Rudy Bakalov’s, N2WQ, work on his modernized spot server software GoCluster has been getting quite the workout. You can track the discussions at , and use the cluster (via telnet) at cluster.n2wq.com port 8300 — but it’s really designed for feeding N1MM and DXLog. Last week, he started ingesting spots from DXsummit. Though there was skepticism from some that this would lower the quality of the spots, Rudy mentioned that one user noted: “After processing several thousand DXSummit spots, the incremental coverage win rate has been running around ~23% +/- 3%, where:

win rate = unique DXSummit-only spots not seen by DXSpider / (total DXSpider spots + unique DXSummit-only spots) (RBN spots excluded).”

 

Rudy has also added a chatbot feature to the GoCluster: “To make support faster and easier, I’ve created a that answers questions in plain language using the actual GoCluster code and documentation. Give it a try! The quicker users can get answers, the more time I can spend building new features and improving GoCluster.”

 

Conversation

Technical Debt

 

In the computer software industry, the term technical debt means the remaining work required to take a hasty solution to a problem and turn it into a more durable solution. For example, it could be that some piece of software being used is wasteful of computing resources, but a better-engineered solution would take longer, and after all, since it’s “working,” it’s good enough, for now. Companies that expect to be around for the long term usually try to budget some resources on addressing technical debt, and at least keep track of things they know could be improved. Startups typically don’t, since they don’t know how long they’ll be around, and if they do succeed, well, of course they’ll have time and resources then to address these issues.

 

“Quick and dirty fixes” is a less fancy term for about the same thing, but applied to everyday things.

 

“Temporary Antenna” is a very specific term of art in our hobby, which in a tongue-in-cheek fashion really means “forever, or until I’m done using it,” but gives cover to putting up something makeshift which isn’t really expected to last. The problem is if it actually works well, then one may come to depend on it, and then of course Murphy will break it at the time it’s needed most.

 

Thinking about all aspects of our contest stations, how many things are there that were done quickly to get on the air for a contest with the intention of improving it later that haven’t been improved yet? Or things that we know are flakey or on the way to being broken? Those PL-259 connectors that aren’t completely weatherproof? That droopy elevated radial that is a hazard in the back yard? That mostly working power connector under the desk that cuts off when you touch it with your big toe two out of ten times? The knob on the radio that is cracked and about to fall off? Those logging program features you keep meaning to learn but haven’t made time for yet?

 

That's all for this time. Remember to send contesting-related stories, book reviews, tips, techniques, press releases, errata, schematics, club information, pictures, stories, blog links, and predictions to .

 

73, Brian, N9ADG

 

Contests

April 30, 2026 - May 13, 2026

 

An expanded, downloadable version of QST's is available as a PDF. Check the sponsors' website for information on operating time restrictions and other instructions.

 

HF CONTESTS

 

, Apr 30, 0300z to Apr 30, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 2.

 

, Apr 30, 0700z to Apr 30, 0800z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 2.

 

, Data, Apr 30, 1900z to Apr 30, 2030z; RTTY, PSK; Bands: 80; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: May 1.

 

, May 1, 0100z to May 1, 0130z; FT4; Bands: (see rules); 4-character grid square; Logs due: May 3.

 

, May 1, 0145z to May 1, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 3.

 

, May 1, 0230z to May 1, 0300z; CW; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: May 3.

 

, May 1, 1300z to May 1, 1900z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST + QSO No. + "/" + Class ID (A/B); Logs due: May 15.

 

, May 1, 2000z to May 1, 2100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm, Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 3.

 

, May 2, 0300z to May 2, 0859z; CW, SSB; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RCC Members: RS(T) + "RCC" + member number, Non-Members: RS(T) + ITU Zone; Logs due: May 9.

 

, May 2, 1200z to May 3, 1159z; Phone, CW, RTTY; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; I: RS(T) + 2-letter province, non-I: RS(T) + Serial No.; Logs due: May 9.

 

, PSK, May 2, 1200z to May 3, 1200z; PSK; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 2; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Jun 3.

 

, May 2, 1300z to May 3, 0700z; CW, Phone, Digital (no FT8); Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; 7th Area: RS(T) + 5-letter state/county code, non-7th Area: RS(T) + (state/province/DX); Logs due: May 13.

 

, May 2, 1500z to May 3, 0300z; Phone, CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; IN: RS(T) + county, non-IN: W/VE: RS(T) + (state/province), DX: RS(T) + "DX"; Logs due: Jun 1.

 

, May 2, 1700z to May 3, 2359z; Digital(CW/RTTY/Digital), Phone; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, VHF; DE: RS(T) + County, non-DE: RS(T) + (state/province/"DX"); Logs due: Jun 2.

 

, May 2, 2000z to May 3, 2359z; Phone, CW/Digital; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; CT,ME,MA,NH,RI,VT: RS(T) + state + county, non-NE: RS(T) + (state/province/"DX"); Logs due: Jun 2.

 

, May 3, 1000z to May 3, 1400z; SSB; Bands: 40; British Isles: RS + serial no. + WAB square, Other: RS + serial no. + country; Logs due: May 13.

 

, May 4, 0000z to May 4, 0100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm, Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 6.

 

, May 4, 1300z to May 4, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due: May 7.

 

, May 4, 1630z to May 4, 1729z; CW; Bands: 80, 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: May 8.

 

, May 4, 1900z to May 4, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due: May 7.

 

, May 4, 2300z to May 5, 0300z; CW, Phone; Bands: All, except WARC; Mie: RS(T) + age + "ME", non-Mie JA: RS(T) + age + "MEJ", non-Mie non-JA: RS(T) + age; Logs due: May 31.

 

, May 5, 0000z to May 5, 0200z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST + (state/province/country) + Power; Logs due: May 7.

 

, May 5, 0100z to May 5, 0159z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6; RS + age group (OM, YL, Youth YL or Youth); Logs due: May 6.

 

, May 5, 0300z to May 5, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due: May 7.

 

, May 6, 0230z to May 6, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15; NA: Name + (state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: May 8.

 

, May 6, 1145z to May 6, 1300z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: RST + Name; Logs due: May 11.

 

, May 6, 1300z to May 6, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 9.

 

, May 6, 1700z to May 6, 1759z; CW; Bands: 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: May 8.

 

, May 6, 1800z to May 6, 1859z; CW; Bands: 80; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: May 8.

 

, May 6, 1900z to May 6, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 9.

 

, May 7, 0000z to May 8, 0300z; CW; Bands: 40; Maximum 13 wpm, RST + (state/province/country) + Name + (Member No./power); Logs due: May 14.

 

, May 7, 0300z to May 7, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 9.

 

, May 7, 0700z to May 7, 0800z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 9.

 

, May 7, 2000z to May 7, 2200z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6; RST + (state/province/country) + Name + (SKCC No./"NONE"); Logs due: May 14.

 

, May 8, 0100z to May 8, 0130z; FT4; Bands: (see rules); 4-character grid square; Logs due: May 10.

 

, May 8, 0145z to May 8, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 10.

 

, May 8, 0230z to May 8, 0300z; CW; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: May 10.

 

, May 8, 2000z to May 8, 2100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm, Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 10.

 

, May 9, 0600z to May 9, 1000z; SSB, FM; Bands: 40, 2; Activator: RST + QSO No. + Mill Reference, Hunter: RST + QSO No.; Logs due: May 19.

 

, May 9, 1200z to May 10, 1200z; RTTY; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST + QSO No. + CQ Zone; Logs due: May 25.

 

, May 9, 1200z to May 10, 1159z; CW, SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RS(T) + Serial No.; Logs due: May 20.

 

, May 9, 1200z to May 10, 2359z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6; RST + (state/province/country) + Name + (SKCC No./"NONE"); Logs due: May 17.

 

, May 9, 1700z to May 10, 0300z; CW, Phone; Bands: 40, 20, 15, 10; VE4/5/6: RS(T) + district code, Non-VE4/5/6: RST + (state/province/"DX"); Logs due: May 25.

 

, May 11, 0000z to May 11, 0200z; CW, SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: RS(T) + (State/Province/Country) + Member No., Non-member: RS(T) + (State/Province/Country) + Power; Logs due: May 13.

 

, May 11, 0000z to May 11, 0100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm, Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 13.

 

, May 11, 1300z to May 11, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due: May 14.

 

, May 11, 1630z to May 11, 1729z; CW; Bands: 80, 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: May 15.

 

, SSB, May 11, 1900z to May 11, 2030z; SSB; Bands: 80; RS + Serial No.; Logs due: May 12.

 

, May 11, 1900z to May 11, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due: May 14.

 

, May 12, 0100z to May 12, 0159z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6; RS + age group (OM, YL, Youth YL or Youth); Logs due: May 13.

 

, May 12, 0300z to May 12, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + QSO No.; Logs due: May 14.

 

, May 12, 1900z to May 12, 2029z; FT4; Bands: 80, 40; Signal report + 4-character grid square; Logs due: May 19.

 

, May 13, 0230z to May 13, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15; NA: Name + (state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: May 15.

 

, May 13, 1145z to May 13, 1300z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: RST + Name; Logs due: May 18.

 

, May 13, 1300z to May 13, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 16.

 

, May 13, 1700z to May 13, 1759z; CW; Bands: 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: May 15.

 

, May 13, 1800z to May 13, 1859z; CW; Bands: 80; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: May 15.

 

, May 13, 1900z to May 13, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 16.

 

VHF+ CONTESTS

 

, May 2, 0600 local to May 3, 2359 local; Any; Bands: 2.3 GHz and up; 6-character Maidenhead locator; Logs due: May 24.

 

, May 2, 0800 local to May 2, 1400 local; not specified; Bands: All above 902 MHz; 6-character grid square; Logs due: May 16.

 

, May 6, 1700z to May 6, 2100z; FT8/4; Bands: 144 MHz; 4-character grid square; Logs due: May 9.

 

, May 7, 0000z to May 7, 0500z; FT8/4; Bands: 144; 4-character grid square; Logs due: May 12.

 

, May 9, 2300z to May 10, 0300z; Analog, Digital; Bands: 6; 4-character grid square; Logs due: May 23.

 

, May 13, 1700z to May 13, 2100z; FT8/4; Bands: 432 MHz; 4-character grid square; Logs due: May 16.

 

Also, see , , , , , and , above.

 

Log Due Dates

April 30, 2026 - May 13, 2026

 

April 30

May 1

May 2

May 3

May 4

May 5

May 6

May 7

May 8

May 9

May 10

May 11

May 12

May 13

 

 

 

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