view this email in your browser [ https://arrl.informz.net/InformzDataService/OnlineVersion/Individual?mailingInstanceId=3627955&subscriberId=520533606
]


May 13, 2026
Editor: Brian Moran, N9ADG [ mailto:brian.moran@gmail.com ]

ARRL Home Page
https://www.arrl.org/

Contest Calendar
https://www.arrl.org/contest-calendar

iCom [https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/amateur/?utm_source=QR&utm_medium=Banner&utm_campaign=YearoftheClub&utm_id=ARRL2026]



In this Issue:
?-?Upcoming Contests - Things to Do
?-?Contest Summary
?-?News, Press Releases, and Special Interest
?-?Word to the Wise
?-?Sights and Sounds
?-?Results and Records
?-?Operating Tip
?-?Technical Topics and Discussion
?-?Conversation
?-?Contests
?-?Log Due Dates

Upcoming Contests - Things to Do

Xenia, Ohio weather forecast: Partly cloudy Thursday through Sunday, high temperatures range from high 60s on Thursday to low 80s on Sunday. Don't
forget sunscreen even though it's cloudy.


Many contesters will be attending the Hamvention this weekend.
Don't forget to use those cameras on your phones and send some
contest-related snaps to contest-update@arrl.org [ mailto:contest-update@arrl.org ] . If you're going, tear yourself away from
the flea market and attend some of the contest-related forum presentations Saturday and Sunday, in addition to the festivities at the Hope Hotel and
other offsite locations.

During the Hamvention-weekend hijinks, there are traditionally CW pileup contests, and sometimes even CW sending contests using body parts not
normally employed in this endeavor.

On good years there are performances by the Spurious Emissions [ https://www.facebook.com/groups/162578843845678/ ] .


For those staying home, on the air this weekend you might find the Arkansas
QSO Party dominating the domestic airwaves.

For some DX, the His Majesty King of Spain [ https://concursos.ure.es/en/s-m-el-rey-de-espana-cw/bases/ ] contest on CW,
and the UN DX Contest [ http://undxc.kz/rules-eng/ ] could work for you. Next weekend, the four-hour Real Time Contest [ https://blog.contestonlinescore.com/real-time-contest-rtc-rules/ ] would be something new for many.

The contest requires that you stay logged into their servers and reporting scores for the duration of the event.


For the UN DX Contest [ http://undxc.kz/rules-eng/ ] , I invite you to read
the rules, as published by Kazakhstan Federation of Radio Sports and Radioamateur and the Committee of Sports and Physical Culture of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The exchange sent by Kazakh stations consists of signal report and a number and a letter denoting the "district code of KDA;" non-UN stations send a serial number. ??(tm)???-??-?!


[https://www.kf7p.com/KF7P/Dacron_Rope.html]


Contest Summary

May 14, 2026 - May 27, 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.


May 13
?-?Phone Weekly Test [ http://www.perluma.com/Phone_Fray_Contest_Rules.pdf ] ?-?A1Club AWT [ https://a1club.org/contest/awt/ ]
?-?CWops Test (CWT) [ https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/ ]
?-?VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest [ https://ft8activity.eu/rules/ ]
?-?Mini-Test 40 [ http://minitest.narod.ru/ ]
?-?Mini-Test 80 [ http://minitest.narod.ru/ ]
?-?CWops Test (CWT) [ https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/ ]

May 14
?-?VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest-NA [ https://ft8activity-na.net/rules/ ] ?-?CWops Test (CWT) [ https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/ ]
?-?QRP Minimal Art Session [ http://qrpcc.de/contestrules/mas/index.html ]

May 15
?-?NCCC FT4 Sprint [ https://www.ncccsprint.com/ft4ns.html ]
?-?Weekly RTTY Test [ https://radiosport.world/wrt.html ]
?-?NCCC Sprint [ https://ncccsprint.com/rules.html ]
?-?K1USN Slow Speed Test [ http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html ]

May 16
?-?UN DX Contest [ http://undxc.kz/rules-eng/ ]
?-?NZART Sangster Shield Contest [ https://www.nzart.org.nz/activities/contests/sangster-shield ]

?-?His Maj. King of Spain Contest, CW [ https://concursos.ure.es/en/s-m-el-rey-de-espana-cw/bases/ ]

?-?EU PSK DX Contest [ https://eupsk.club/eupskdx/eupskdxrules.pdf ] ?-?Arkansas QSO Party [ http://www.arkqp.com/ ]
?-?Feld Hell Sprint [ https://sites.google.com/site/feldhellclub/Home/contests/sprints/hamvention-sprint
]

?-?Baltic Contest [ http://www.lrsf.lt/en/ ]

May 17
?-?Run for the Bacon QRP Contest [ http://qrpcontest.com/pigrun/ ]

May 18
?-?K1USN Slow Speed Test [ http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html ]
?-?ICWC Medium Speed Test [ https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/ ] ?-?OK1WC Memorial (MWC) [ https://memorial-ok1wc.cz/index.php?page=rules2l ] ?-?RSGB FT4 Contest [ https://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2026/r80m_ft4.shtml ] ?-?ICWC Medium Speed Test [ https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/ ]

May 19
?-?Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest [ https://wwsac.com/rules.html ] ?-?ICWC Medium Speed Test [ https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/ ]

May 20
?-?Phone Weekly Test [ http://www.perluma.com/Phone_Fray_Contest_Rules.pdf ] ?-?A1Club AWT [ https://a1club.org/contest/awt/ ]
?-?CWops Test (CWT) [ https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/ ]
?-?VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest [ https://ft8activity.eu/rules/ ]
?-?Mini-Test 40 [ http://minitest.narod.ru/ ]
?-?Mini-Test 80 [ http://minitest.narod.ru/ ]
?-?RSGB 80m Club Championship, Data [ https://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2026/r80mcc.shtml ]

?-?CWops Test (CWT) [ https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/ ]

May 21
?-?VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest-NA [ https://ft8activity-na.net/rules/ ] ?-?Walk for the Bacon QRP Contest [ https://qrpcontest.com/pigwalk20/ ] ?-?NAQCC CW Sprint [ http://naqcc.info/sprint_rules.html ]
?-?CWops Test (CWT) [ https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/ ]
?-?NTC QSO Party [ https://pi4ntc.nl/ntcqp/ ]

May 22
?-?NCCC FT4 Sprint [ https://www.ncccsprint.com/ft4ns.html ]
?-?Weekly RTTY Test [ https://radiosport.world/wrt.html ]
?-?NCCC Sprint [ https://ncccsprint.com/rules.html ]
?-?K1USN Slow Speed Test [ http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html ]

May 24
?-?Real Time Contest [ https://blog.contestonlinescore.com/real-time-contest-rtc-rules/ ]


May 25
?-?QRP ARCI Hootowl Sprint [ http://qrparci.org/contest/hoot-owl-sprint ] ?-?K1USN Slow Speed Test [ http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html ]
?-?QCX Challenge [ http://www.qrp-labs.com/party.html ]
?-?ICWC Medium Speed Test [ https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/ ] ?-?OK1WC Memorial (MWC) [ https://memorial-ok1wc.cz/index.php?page=rules2l ] ?-?QCX Challenge [ http://www.qrp-labs.com/party.html ]
?-?ICWC Medium Speed Test [ https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/ ]

May 26
?-?Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest [ https://wwsac.com/rules.html ]
?-?QCX Challenge [ http://www.qrp-labs.com/party.html ]
?-?ICWC Medium Speed Test [ https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/ ]

RigSelect Radio Switch SO2R Controller
[https://rigselect.com/]


News, Press Releases, and Special Interest

SteppIR Communications is serving the ham radio market once again.
According to their website, their Urban Beam, BigIR, and SmallIR verticals,
and three- and four-element Yagi antennas are available for online purchase.

Their DB-series products are available, but must be scheduled to fit within
the production schedule of their commercial operations.

CEO John Mertel said in a recent Groups.IO post: "We never left ham radio because we wanted to, we did it because what we had been successful at for
many years in the ham market was not working any longer and we were trying to be too many things to too many people and taking a lot of (deserved) heat in the process from our ham customers.

We knew for certain that something had to change and while we did not know
how this was all going to turn out, we always were hoping for some kind of rekindling of the ham radio consumer market.

Now a year later, here we are; we have a stable, growing commercial business platform, key commercial partnerships, and we feel we can responsibly start going back to our original roots ?-" our ham radio customers.

We're still not a perfect company by any means, for example we've got work to do on making the user experience a better one ?-" albeit through more modern means of communication and support." I spoke with John recently: "Though
we're not exhibiting at the Hamvention, we have donated an UrbanBeam to the grand prize pool.

You can find our products online at our website, along with parts for all of our products."


The WSJT-X development team has released a new version of WSJT-X and
associated programs. Joe, K1JT, noted in his email announcement:


"We are pleased to announce that WSJT-X 3.0.1 is available for download. This is a bug-fix release, correcting a few known flaws in WSJT-X 3.0.0. For a summary of changes see the Release Notes at wsjt.sourceforge.io/Release_Notes.txt [ https://wsjt.sourceforge.io/Release_Notes.txt ] .


We have made a number of significant changes in the ways we develop,
maintain, and deploy our code. Our public repository is now at GitHub: github.com/WSJTX/wsjtx [ https://github.com/WSJTX/wsjtx ] . Anyone can clone this repository, which contains the project's full open-source history back
to 2005. Scroll down this page to the README tab for a summary statement
about the project.


We encourage those with interests and skills in software development to click on the "Contributing" tab for some details about contributing to the WSJT project. If you have something to offer, we welcome your input!


Bug reports, Issues, and Pull Requests can be submitted on the GitHub site.

Download links for Windows, Linux, and macOS are available at these web
sites:


GitHub: wsjtx.github.io/wsjtx/downloads.html [ https://wsjtx.github.io/wsjtx/downloads.html ]

SourceForge: wsjt.sourceforge.io/downloads.html [ https://wsjt.sourceforge.io/downloads.html ]


Uwe, DG2YCB, announces that his WSJT-X Improved 3.1 has some new
functionality: "We have been working on better ways to connect WSJT-X or QMAP to SDRs, which is particularly important for EME operations.

A new 260510 (beta) version of WSJT-X Improved 3.1 is now available for testing, featuring new QMAP technology developed by Andreas, N6NU. In
addition to the standard I/Q bandwidth of 96 kHz, QMAP v0.7 now also supports bandwidths of 128, 192, and 256 kHz. With 256 kHz spectrum we can cover
almost the whole sub-band for EME operation! However, QMAP v0.7 is fully backward compatible.

It still works very well with 96 kHz streams ... QMAP v0.7 works seamlessly with the N6NU SDR Bridges [ https://bridges.n6nu.org/ ] , providing a modern solution for connecting various SDRs to WSJT-X (Improved) and QMAP without
the need for Linrad or SDR-Console. For those who don't know yet: N6NU's Bridges generate both a narrowband audio stream for connection to WSJT-X Improved (via virtual audio cable VAC), and a wideband I/Q network stream for QMAP or MAP65.


In addition, they retrieve the frequency set in WSJT-X Improved via UDP so
that the SDR as well as QMAP are synchronized.


Besides QMAP v0.7, this 260510 (beta) build includes some minor improvements
to the wsjtx(.exe) program.


As usual, all packages are available on my SourceForge page [ https://sourceforge.net/projects/wsjt-x-improved/files/WSJT-X_v3.1.0/ ] . Currently, 64-bit Windows and Linux builds of WSJT-X Improved 3.1 260510 are available for download and testing, as well as the source code."


Vevor's tossed their imported hat into the ring for antenna launchers with
the "king of alternate use" Tire Bead Setter [ https://www.vevor.com/bead-seater-c_12142/vevor-tire-bead-seater-8l-2-1-gal-air-blaster-portable-trigger-seating-inflator-p_010787857882
] ?-" or as they call it "Bead Blaster!!!" You'll need to add a few things before you're lofting your tennis balls over trees to pull up your wire antennas.

Maybe just use the DX Engineering's DXLAUNCHER [ https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/dxl-dxlauncher ] , where you have all you need from the get-go.


Word to the Wise

Sunday Driver

"Casual contest participants who appear late in the contest (usually Sunday afternoon) to make a few contacts." You might have to talk them through the exchange, but you'll (maybe) get a contact.


Sights and Sounds

Results and Records

The January VHF Contest full results are out! Jim, K5ND, noted in the results "...there were quite a few new records set in divisions, sections, and call sign areas." If you're planning your participation in a future contest, reviewing the information from last year's contest can help. For example,
when it might be best to be on the air, and why it's good to be on when the contest starts. See the results article for more details.


Operating Tip

Just Ask.

When your run rate just drops, but you don't notice a difference in signal strengths of the remaining stations calling you, ask the stations calling you whether the run frequency is clear on their end. It could be that another station that you cannot hear has started using the frequency.


Technical Topics and Discussion

The mechanism that causes lightning discharges is still an area of active research. A recent article in Quanta Magazine [ https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-causes-lightning-the-answer-keeps-getting-more-interesting-20260506/
] discusses the possibility and evidence for a connection between cosmic rays and other high energy particles and the avalanche mechanism that precipitates
a strike.


Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), aka 3D printing, in its most popular form takes spools of filament material and extrudes it under computer control into complex shapes.

It's been around for a while now, and has continued to improve in
reliability, applicability, and capability over what was available a decade
or two ago when there was more hype, and less "there" there. Today, you can find filament material composed of a wide range of plastics to address
strength or flexibility needs.

Some have various additives like carbon [ https://shop.polymaker.com/products/fiberon-pa612-cf ] and glass [ https://shop.polymaker.com/products/fiberon-pet-gf15 ] fibers for enhanced strength.

Some filament glows in the dark [ https://shop.polymaker.com/products/panchroma-glow ] ; some filament
dissolves in water [ https://shop.polymaker.com/products/polycast ] . There's even filament to print your own soap [ https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/1m9grfk/successful_3d_printed_soap_test_timeplast_soapgen4/
] . Software for modeling and printing has improved as well.

Online sites provide vast libraries of user-contributed designs for download and print, and there are specialty sites to generate models on the fly.

Answer a few questions, and you're downloading a model you can print or bring into a CAD package (also online) for modification.


Those seeking a more intuitive understanding of linear algebra may want to
work through "Think Linear Algebra [ https://allendowney.github.io/ThinkLinearAlgebra/index.html ] " which
combines the Jupyter notebook environment with exercises that apply linear algebra to various tasks. Chapter 7 of the book "Applies LU decomposition and matrix equations to analyze electrical circuits."


N1MM Logger+ may be the most widely used Visual-Basic-based application in
ham radio. A recent nuts-and-bolts history of "VB" [ https://evilgeniuslabs.ca/blog/visual-basic-history-chapter-1-launch ] talks about the people involved in the early days of the language, topics that
other histories of this language don't cover.


In an article on connecting TTL-level devices together [ https://kohlschuetter.github.io/blog/posts/2026/05/07/serial-ttl-connector/ ] in a way that doesn't let the smoke out, the author discusses using e-bike "Julet connectors" for low-level signals. They're designed to be waterproof, though that really depends on the manufacturer. Of course, you can find these on Amazon, too. I can see using these for some outdoor control circuits for antenna switching.


Conversation

Expecting the Multiplicity

There are just a few technology pieces missing before your logging program
will be able to work with an AI agent that you can use during a contest.

That AI agent ?-" shall we name it HALmer? ?-" will be able to look at your current log, look at the spots, access propagation models, interpret current
A and K indices, reference your and your competitors' logs from last year,
see real-time PSKreporter information, and make recommendations on what you should be doing during a contest, minute by minute or hour by hour.

It will tell you whether you're ahead or behind your competition, and what you're doing differently from those that are currently ahead of you in the scores.

It may be able to present QSOs to you to work on the second VFO.
It can listen in to your audio stream and "suggest" what the correct call
sign was that you miscopied.

Even if it's SSB using phonetics.
It will definitely be able to critique your operating, urging you to do
better.


If you used such an assistive technology, would these capabilities be too assistive, and put you in the Multi-op category?


The AI will never say "Please copy."

Don't leave the operating chair, it might take over for you.

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 contest-update@arrl.org [ mailto:contest-update@arrl.org ] .


73, Brian, N9ADG

Contests

May 14, 2026 - May 27, 2026

An expanded, downloadable version of QST's Contest Corral [ http://www.arrl.org/contest-calendar?utm_source=Informz&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=ARRL
] is available as a PDF. Check the sponsors' website for information on operating time restrictions and other instructions.


HF CONTESTS

Phone Weekly Test [ http://www.perluma.com/Phone_Fray_Contest_Rules.pdf ] ,
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.


A1Club AWT [ https://a1club.org/contest/awt/ ] , May 13, 1145z to May 13, 1300z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: RST + Name; Logs due: May 18.


CWops Test (CWT) [ https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/ ] , 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.


Mini-Test 40 [ http://minitest.narod.ru/ ] , May 13, 1700z to May 13, 1759z; CW; Bands: 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: May 15.


Mini-Test 80 [ http://minitest.narod.ru/ ] , May 13, 1800z to May 13, 1859z; CW; Bands: 80; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: May 15.


CWops Test (CWT) [ https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/ ] , 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.


CWops Test (CWT) [ https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/ ] , May 14, 0300z to May
14, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member
No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 16.


CWops Test (CWT) [ https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/ ] , May 14, 0700z to May
14, 0800z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member
No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 16.


QRP Minimal Art Session [ http://qrpcc.de/contestrules/mas/index.html ] , May 14, 1400z to May 14, 2200z; CW; Bands: 80, 40; RST + "/" + class + number of components; Logs due: May 28.


NCCC FT4 Sprint [ https://www.ncccsprint.com/ft4ns.html ] , May 15, 0100z to May 15, 0130z; FT4; Bands: (see rules); 4-character grid square; Logs due:
May 17.


Weekly RTTY Test [ https://radiosport.world/wrt.html ] , May 15, 0145z to May 15, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 17.


NCCC Sprint [ https://ncccsprint.com/rules.html ] , May 15, 0230z to May 15, 0300z; CW; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: May 17.


K1USN Slow Speed Test [ http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html ] , May 15, 2000z to
May 15, 2100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm, Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 17.


UN DX Contest [ http://undxc.kz/rules-eng/ ] , May 16, 0600z to May 16,
2100z; CW, SSB; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Kazakhstan: RS(T) + District Code, non-Kazakhstan: RS(T) + QSO No.; Logs due: May 31.


NZART Sangster Shield Contest [ https://www.nzart.org.nz/activities/contests/sangster-shield ] , May 16,
0800z to May 16, 1100z; CW; Bands: 80; ZL: RST + Serial No. + Branch No., non-ZL: RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Jun 15.


His Maj. King of Spain Contest [ https://concursos.ure.es/en/s-m-el-rey-de-espana-cw/bases/ ] , CW, May 16, 1200z to May 17, 1200z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; EA: RST +
province, non-EA: RST + Serial No.; Logs due: Jun 1.


EU PSK DX Contest [ https://eupsk.club/eupskdx/eupskdxrules.pdf ] , May 16, 1200z to May 17, 1200z; BPSK63; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; EU: RST + EU area, non-EU: RST + QSO No.; Logs due: May 22.


Arkansas QSO Party [ http://www.arkqp.com/ ] , May 16, 1400z to May 17,
0200z; CW, Phone, Digital (no FT8); Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6, 2; AR: RS(T) + County, non-AR: RS(T) + (state/province/"DX"); Logs due: Jun 1.


Feld Hell Sprint [ https://sites.google.com/site/feldhellclub/Home/contests/sprints/hamvention-sprint
] , May 16, 2000z to May 16, 2359z; Feld Hell; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15,
10, 6; (see rules); Logs due: May 20.


Baltic Contest [ http://www.lrsf.lt/en/ ] , May 16, 2100z to May 17, 0200z;
CW, SSB; Bands: 80; RS(T) + Serial No.; Logs due: May 24.


Run for the Bacon QRP Contest [ http://qrpcontest.com/pigrun/ ] , May 17,
2300z to May 18, 0100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST + (state/province/country) + (Member No./power); Logs due: May 23.


K1USN Slow Speed Test [ http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html ] , May 18, 0000z to
May 18, 0100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm, Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 20.


ICWC Medium Speed Test [ https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/ ] , May 18, 1300z to May 18, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name +
QSO No.; Logs due: May 21.


OK1WC Memorial (MWC) [ https://memorial-ok1wc.cz/index.php?page=rules2l ] ,
May 18, 1630z to May 18, 1729z; CW; Bands: 80, 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs
due: May 22.


RSGB FT4 Contest [ https://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2026/r80m_ft4.shtml ] ,
May 18, 1900z to May 18, 2100z; FT4; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Signal
report; Logs due: May 19.


ICWC Medium Speed Test [ https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/ ] , May 18, 1900z to May 18, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name +
QSO No.; Logs due: May 21.


Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest [ https://wwsac.com/rules.html ] , May
19, 0100z to May 19, 0159z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6; RS + age group (OM, YL, Youth YL or Youth); Logs due: May 20.


ICWC Medium Speed Test [ https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/ ] , May 19, 0300z to May 19, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name +
QSO No.; Logs due: May 21.


Phone Weekly Test [ http://www.perluma.com/Phone_Fray_Contest_Rules.pdf ] ,
May 20, 0230z to May 20, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15; NA: Name + (state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: May 22.


A1Club AWT [ https://a1club.org/contest/awt/ ] , May 20, 1145z to May 20, 1300z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: RST + Name; Logs due: May 25.


CWops Test (CWT) [ https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/ ] , May 20, 1300z to May
20, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member
No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 23.


Mini-Test 40 [ http://minitest.narod.ru/ ] , May 20, 1700z to May 20, 1759z; CW; Bands: 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: May 22.


Mini-Test 80 [ http://minitest.narod.ru/ ] , May 20, 1800z to May 20, 1859z; CW; Bands: 80; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: May 22.


RSGB 80m Club Championship [
https://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2026/r80mcc.shtml ] , Data, May 20, 1900z to May 20, 2030z; RTTY, PSK; Bands: 80; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: May 21.


CWops Test (CWT) [ https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/ ] , May 20, 1900z to May
20, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member
No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 23.


Walk for the Bacon QRP Contest [ https://qrpcontest.com/pigwalk20/ ] , May
21, 0000z to May 22, 0300z; CW; Bands: 20; Maximum 13 wpm, RST + (state/province/country) + Name + (Member No./power); Logs due: May 28.


NAQCC CW Sprint [ http://naqcc.info/sprint_rules.html ] , May 21, 0030z to
May 21, 0230z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20; RST + (state/province/country) + (NAQCC No./power); Logs due: May 24.


CWops Test (CWT) [ https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/ ] , May 21, 0300z to May
21, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member
No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 23.


CWops Test (CWT) [ https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/ ] , May 21, 0700z to May
21, 0800z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Member: Name + Member
No./"CWA", non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 23.


NTC QSO Party [ https://pi4ntc.nl/ntcqp/ ] , May 21, 1900z to May 21, 2000z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20; NTC Member: RST + Member No., non-Member: RST + "NM", Less than 25 wpm; Logs due: May 25.


NCCC FT4 Sprint [ https://www.ncccsprint.com/ft4ns.html ] , May 22, 0100z to May 22, 0130z; FT4; Bands: (see rules); 4-character grid square; Logs due:
May 24.


Weekly RTTY Test [ https://radiosport.world/wrt.html ] , May 22, 0145z to May 22, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 24.


NCCC Sprint [ https://ncccsprint.com/rules.html ] , May 22, 0230z to May 22, 0300z; CW; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: May 24.


K1USN Slow Speed Test [ http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html ] , May 22, 2000z to
May 22, 2100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm, Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 24.


Real Time Contest [ https://blog.contestonlinescore.com/real-time-contest-rtc-rules/ ] , May 24, 1600z to May 24, 2000z; CW, SSB; Bands: 40, 20, 15, 10; Serial No. + 4-character grid; Logs due: May 24.


QRP ARCI Hootowl Sprint [ http://qrparci.org/contest/hoot-owl-sprint ] , May 25, 0000z to May 25, 0100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST + (state/province/country) + (ARCI no./power); Logs due: Jun 10.


K1USN Slow Speed Test [ http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html ] , May 25, 0000z to
May 25, 0100z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Maximum 20 wpm, Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: May 27.


QCX Challenge [ http://www.qrp-labs.com/party.html ] , May 25, 1300z to May
25, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST + Name + (state/province/country) + Rig; Logs due: May 31.


ICWC Medium Speed Test [ https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/ ] , May 25, 1300z to May 25, 1400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name +
QSO No.; Logs due: May 28.


OK1WC Memorial (MWC) [ https://memorial-ok1wc.cz/index.php?page=rules2l ] ,
May 25, 1630z to May 25, 1729z; CW; Bands: 80, 40; RST + Serial No.; Logs
due: May 29.


QCX Challenge [ http://www.qrp-labs.com/party.html ] , May 25, 1900z to May
25, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST + Name + (state/province/country) + Rig; Logs due: May 31.


ICWC Medium Speed Test [ https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/ ] , May 25, 1900z to May 25, 2000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name +
QSO No.; Logs due: May 28.


Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest [ https://wwsac.com/rules.html ] , May
26, 0100z to May 26, 0159z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6; RS + age group (OM, YL, Youth YL or Youth); Logs due: May 27.


QCX Challenge [ http://www.qrp-labs.com/party.html ] , May 26, 0300z to May
26, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; RST + Name + (state/province/country) + Rig; Logs due: May 31.


ICWC Medium Speed Test [ https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/ ] , May 26, 0300z to May 26, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10; Name +
QSO No.; Logs due: May 28.


VHF+ CONTESTS

VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest [ https://ft8activity.eu/rules/ ] , May 13,
1700z to May 13, 2100z; FT8/4; Bands: 432 MHz; 4-character grid square; Logs due: May 16.


VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest-NA [ https://ft8activity-na.net/rules/ ] , May
14, 0000z to May 14, 0500z; FT8/4; Bands: 432; 4-character grid square; Logs due: May 19.


VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest [ https://ft8activity.eu/rules/ ] , May 20,
1700z to May 20, 2100z; FT8/4; Bands: 1.2G; 4-character grid square; Logs
due: May 23.


VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest-NA [ https://ft8activity-na.net/rules/ ] , May
21, 0000z to May 21, 0500z; FT8/4; Bands: 1296; 4-character grid square; Logs due: May 26.


Also, see Arkansas QSO Party [ http://www.arkqp.com/ ] , Feld Hell Sprint [ https://sites.google.com/site/feldhellclub/Home/contests/sprints/hamvention-sprint
] and Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest [ https://wwsac.com/rules.html ] , above.


Log Due Dates

May 14, 2026 - May 27, 2026

May 13
?-?7th Call Area QSO Party [ http://7qp.org/ ]
?-?432 MHz Spring Sprint [ https://sites.google.com/site/springvhfupsprints/home/2026-information ]

?-?WAB 7 MHz Phone [ http://wab.intermip.net/Contests.php ]
?-?4 States QRP Group Second Sunday Sprint [ http://www.4sqrp.com/SSS/sss_rules_revised_02_2026.pdf ]

?-?Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest [ https://wwsac.com/rules.html ] ?-?K1USN Slow Speed Test [ http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html ]

May 14
?-?SKCC Sprint Europe [ https://www.skccgroup.com/operating_activities/skse/
]

?-?Walk for the Bacon QRP Contest [ https://qrpcontest.com/pigwalk40/ ] ?-?ICWC Medium Speed Test [ https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/ ]

May 15
?-?AGCW QRP/QRP Party [ https://www.agcw.de/contest/qrp-qrp ]
?-?Mini-Test 40 [ http://minitest.narod.ru/ ]
?-?Mini-Test 80 [ http://minitest.narod.ru/ ]
?-?Phone Weekly Test [ http://www.perluma.com/Phone_Fray_Contest_Rules.pdf ] ?-?OK1WC Memorial (MWC) [ https://memorial-ok1wc.cz/index.php?page=rules2l ]

May 16
?-?Microwave Spring Sprint [ https://sites.google.com/site/springvhfupsprints/home/2026-information ]

?-?CWops Test (CWT) [ https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/ ]
?-?VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest [ https://ft8activity.eu/rules/ ]

May 17
?-?NCCC Sprint [ https://ncccsprint.com/rules.html ]
?-?NCCC FT4 Sprint [ https://www.ncccsprint.com/ft4ns.html ]
?-?Weekly RTTY Test [ https://radiosport.world/wrt.html ]
?-?SKCC Weekend Sprintathon [ https://www.skccgroup.com/operating_activities/weekend_sprintathon/ ]

?-?K1USN Slow Speed Test [ http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html ]

May 18
?-?A1Club AWT [ https://a1club.org/contest/awt/ ]

May 19
?-?Ontario QSO Party [ http://www.va3cco.com/oqp/rules.htm ]
?-?EA-QRP CW Contest [ https://www.eaqrp.com/index.php/actividades/concurso?id=310 ]

?-?VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest-NA [ https://ft8activity-na.net/rules/ ] ?-?DARC FT4 Contest [ https://www.darc.de/der-club/referate/conteste/ft4-contest/ft4-rules/ ]

?-?RSGB FT4 Contest [ https://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2026/r80m_ft4.shtml ]

May 20
?-?CQ-M International DX Contest [ https://cqm.srr.ru/en/rules/ ]
?-?Feld Hell Sprint [ https://sites.google.com/site/feldhellclub/Home/contests/sprints/hamvention-sprint
]

?-?Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest [ https://wwsac.com/rules.html ] ?-?K1USN Slow Speed Test [ http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html ]

May 21
?-?ICWC Medium Speed Test [ https://internationalcwcouncil.org/mst-contest/ ] ?-?RSGB 80m Club Championship, Data [ https://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2026/r80mcc.shtml ]


May 22
?-?EU PSK DX Contest [ https://eupsk.club/eupskdx/eupskdxrules.pdf ] ?-?Mini-Test 40 [ http://minitest.narod.ru/ ]
?-?Mini-Test 80 [ http://minitest.narod.ru/ ]
?-?Phone Weekly Test [ http://www.perluma.com/Phone_Fray_Contest_Rules.pdf ] ?-?OK1WC Memorial (MWC) [ https://memorial-ok1wc.cz/index.php?page=rules2l ]

May 23
?-?50 MHz Spring Sprint [ https://sites.google.com/site/springvhfupsprints/home/2026-information ]

?-?Run for the Bacon QRP Contest [ http://qrpcontest.com/pigrun/ ]
?-?CWops Test (CWT) [ https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/ ]
?-?VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest [ https://ft8activity.eu/rules/ ]

May 24
?-?NCCC Sprint [ https://ncccsprint.com/rules.html ]
?-?Baltic Contest [ http://www.lrsf.lt/en/ ]
?-?SBMS 2.3 GHz and Up Contest and Club Challenge [ https://w6ife.com/Page/2GHzContest ]

?-?NCCC FT4 Sprint [ https://www.ncccsprint.com/ft4ns.html ]
?-?Weekly RTTY Test [ https://radiosport.world/wrt.html ]
?-?Real Time Contest [ https://blog.contestonlinescore.com/real-time-contest-rtc-rules/ ]

?-?K1USN Slow Speed Test [ http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html ]
?-?NAQCC CW Sprint [ http://naqcc.info/sprint_rules.html ]

May 25
?-?VOLTA WW RTTY Contest [ https://www.contestvolta.it/rules.pdf ]
?-?NTC QSO Party [ https://pi4ntc.nl/ntcqp/ ]
?-?A1Club AWT [ https://cpqp.ve6hams.ca/ ]
?-?Canadian Prairies QSO Party [ https://cpqp.ve6hams.ca/ ]

May 26
?-?VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest-NA [ https://ft8activity-na.net/rules/ ]

ARRL Information

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Acknowledgements

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--- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
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