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United Kingdom · Licence exam

UK ham radio contest calendar

The RSGB’s HF Contest Committee says there are HF or LF contests almost every weekend, plus some weekday evenings. Its full HF and VHF calendars are on the RSGB Contest Committee site, and the tables here show the ham radio contest calendar for the rest of 2026, dated as of October 2026.

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Updated October 2026 · Written from official sources, listed at the bottom of this page

What’s on the HF contest calendar?

As of October 2026, from the RSGB HF calendar (times UTC):

DateContestTime (UTC)
Sat 31 Oct - Sun 1 NovUK/EI DX SSB Contest12:00 Sat to 12:00 Sun
Mon 2 NovAutumn Series, data20:00-21:30
Wed 11 NovAutumn Series, SSB20:00-21:30
Sat 14 NovClub Calls (1.8 MHz AFS)20:00-23:00
Mon 16 NovRSGB FT4 Contest20:00-22:00
Sat 21 Nov2nd 1.8 MHz Contest20:00-23:00
Thu 26 NovAutumn Series, CW20:00-21:30
Mon 14 DecRSGB FT4 Contest20:00-22:00
RSGB HF contest calendar ↗

What’s on the VHF ham radio contest calendar?

As of October 2026. The monthly UK Activity Contests (UKAC) run in UK local time; the one-off events are in UTC.

ContestWhenTime
144 MHz UKACFirst Tuesday20:00-22:30 local
432 MHz UKACSecond Tuesday20:00-22:30 local
1.3 GHz UKACThird Tuesday20:00-22:30 local
SHF UKACFourth Tuesday, January to November19:30-22:30 local
50 MHz UKACSecond Thursday20:00-22:30 local
70 MHz UKACThird Thursday20:00-22:30 local
144 and 432 MHz FMACFirst and second Tuesday19:00-19:55 local
144 MHz CW Marconi7-8 Nov 202614:00 Sat to 14:00 Sun UTC
50 MHz Christmas contest27 Dec 202615:00-17:00 UTC
70 MHz Christmas contest28 Dec 202615:00-17:00 UTC
144 MHz Christmas contest29 Dec 202615:00-17:00 UTC
432 MHz Christmas contest30 Dec 202615:00-17:00 UTC
RSGB VHF contest calendar ↗

How a contest works

Each contact swaps a short exchange, such as a signal report, a serial number and your location. Contests have sections for different bands, power levels and modes, so you can enter at your own level.

The band plans state that no contests are organised on 5, 10, 18 or 24 MHz.

How do you enter your first ham radio contest?

  1. Pick a short UK contest. The RSGB says UK 80 m SSB contests are the easiest to enter: RSGB 80 m contests last 90 minutes and UKEICC ones an hour.
  2. Install contest logging software. The RSGB HF Contest Committee recommends N1MM+, which is free, and suggests practising basics such as correcting a call sign.
  3. Listen for a while first. HF contest procedure differs from VHF, and nobody expects a chat.
  4. Afterwards, export your log as a Cabrillo file and upload it to the RSGB’s log robot, which emails you to confirm or asks you to fix mistakes.
RSGB: Beginner’s guide to contesting ↗Logging software and QSL cards →
Sources: RSGB Contest Committee · RSGB HF Contest Committee · RSGB and 1 more. Checked October 2026.

Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.

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