ARRL 10-Meter Contest
| ARRL 10-Meter Contest | |
|---|---|
| Sponsor | ARRL |
| When | Second full weekend of December |
| Contest period | 0000 UTC Saturday to 2359 UTC Sunday (48 hours) |
| Operating limit | 36 of the 48 hours; off times at least 30 minutes |
| On the air | |
| Band | 10 meters only; CW below 28.300 MHz |
| Modes | CW Only, Phone Only or Mixed |
| Who works whom | Everyone works everyone |
| Exchange | Signal report plus state, province, serial number or ITU region |
| Scoring and logs | |
| Points | 2 per phone contact, 4 per CW contact |
| Multipliers | States, provinces, Mexican states, DXCC entities, ITU regions, per mode |
| Logs | Cabrillo, online only, within 7 days |
| 2026 date | December 12-13 |
The ARRL 10-Meter Contest is a 48-hour contest on the 10-meter band, held by the ARRL each December. Amateurs anywhere in the world may take part, working as many stations as possible on CW, phone or both.[1] A single band keeps the station simple, and because 10 meters is the one HF band where US Technician licensees may use voice, newer hams can take part on phone as well as CW. This article follows the 2026 rules; the ARRL revises its rules from time to time, so check them before each contest.
Rules and exchange
The contest is held on the second full weekend of December, from 0000 UTC Saturday to 2359 UTC Sunday. Each station may operate for up to 36 of the 48 hours, and each off time must last at least 30 minutes.[2] The 2026 contest falls on December 12-13, and the 2027 contest on December 11-12.[3]
All contacts are on 10 meters, and CW contacts must be made below 28.300 MHz. Everyone may work everyone, and each station may be worked once on CW and once on phone. The exchange depends on where the station is:[2]
| Station | Sends |
|---|---|
| United States (including Alaska and Hawaii) and Canada | Signal report and state or province; District of Columbia stations send DC |
| Mexico | Signal report and state |
| DX (everyone else) | Signal report and serial number |
| Maritime mobile (at sea, more than 12 miles offshore) | Signal report and ITU region: 1, 2 or 3 |
For this contest, US possessions in the Caribbean and Pacific, such as Puerto Rico, count as DX, as do Canada's St. Paul and Sable islands.[2]
Categories and scoring
Entrants choose CW Only, Phone Only or Mixed. Single operators enter with or without spotting help (the assisted category is called Single Operator Unlimited), at QRP (5 W PEP or less), low power (100 W) or high power (1,500 W or the national maximum, whichever is lower). Multioperator stations use one transmitter, low or high power, Mixed mode only. A Limited Antennas overlay is open to single operators using one single-element antenna, such as a vertical or dipole, no higher than 50 feet.[2]
Each phone contact is worth 2 points and each CW contact 4 points. The multipliers are the US states (with Alaska and Hawaii) and DC, the Canadian provinces and territories plus Labrador, the Mexican states, DXCC entities and ITU regions, each counted once on phone and once on CW. The score is total points times total multipliers. The contest rules count the ITU regions sent by maritime mobile stations as multipliers, while the ARRL's general contest rules give maritime mobile contacts contact credit only, so check the current rules.[2]
The Technician angle
In the United States, Technician and Novice licensees may use 28.000 to 28.500 MHz at up to 200 W PEP: CW, RTTY and data from 28.000 to 28.300 MHz, and CW and single sideband voice from 28.300 to 28.500 MHz.[4][5][6][7] A Technician can therefore enter any of the three mode categories, while General, Advanced and Amateur Extra licensees may use the whole band. Technicians must stay inside their 500 kHz, and higher-class operators who want to work them need to tune that segment too. Entry-level licenses in other countries carry their own privileges, so operators outside the US should check their national rules.
Conditions and the solar cycle
Ten meters depends heavily on the sun. Near the peak of the solar cycle it can open to every continent for most of the day; near the minimum, long-distance openings are short and rare, and much of the contest may be worked over shorter paths. Solar Cycle 25 reached its maximum in October 2024, so the contests of the late 2020s will fall on the declining side of the cycle.[8]
Log submission
Logs are due within seven days of the end of the contest and must be in the Cabrillo format, which logging software can export. They are uploaded through the ARRL's web app; paper logs are not accepted, and since September 30, 2026, the ARRL has accepted only online logs for all of its HF contests, including the IARU HF World Championship.[2][1][9] Certificates go to the top single operator in each category in each ARRL and RAC section, Mexican state and DXCC country, and to the top multioperator entries in each ARRL division, Canada, Mexico and each continent.[1]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 10 Meter, ARRL.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 ARRL 10-Meter Contest Rules, Version 2.0, ARRL, 2026.
- ↑ Contest Calendar, ARRL.
- ↑ 47 CFR 97.301, eCFR.
- ↑ 47 CFR 97.305, eCFR.
- ↑ 47 CFR 97.307, eCFR.
- ↑ 47 CFR 97.313, eCFR.
- ↑ Solar Cycle 25 reached its maximum in October 2024, Solar-Terrestrial Centre of Excellence, March 2026.
- ↑ ARRL Contest Log Submission, ARRL.
External links
- ARRL 10-Meter Contest, ARRL
- ARRL 10-Meter Contest rules, 2026 (PDF), ARRL
- ARRL contest log submission, ARRL