ARRL 10-Meter Contest Rules

Introduction and How to Operate

Contest Objective: For amateurs worldwide to exchange information with as many stations as possible
on the 10-meter band.

Your ARRL membership helps support the ARRL Contest Program – the world’s largest with
many different events from HF through microwave. Along with your membership, you’ll get
free access to the National Contest Journal, the ARRL’s online archive of QST articles, and the
Technical Information Service. Contesting builds skills and understanding – come join the fun!

Contest Period (All dates are maintained in the ARRL contest calendar):
Second full weekend in December. Begins 0000 UTC Saturday and runs through 2359 UTC
Sunday. Operate for a maximum of 36 hours out of the 48-hour period. Off times must be at
least 30 minutes long.

Log Deadline: Upload your log at contest-log-submission.arrl.org no later than SEVEN (7) days after the
contest is over at 2359 UTC. Paper log forms are available on the ARRL 10-Meter Contest web page.

Bands and Modes: Use only the 28 MHz band. Both phone and CW may be used. Contact stations only
once per mode.

Categories: Single Operator and Single Operator Unlimited stations in any power category can also enter
as Mixed-Mode, CW-Only, or Phone-Only. Multioperator stations may only enter as Mixed-Mode. See
the Special Rules and HF Categories sections for details.

Contacts: All stations may contact any other station on both CW and Phone.

Exchange: All stations send a signal report. W/VE stations, including Alaska and Hawaii) send their state
or province. (District of Columbia stations send “DC”.) Mexican stations send their state or province. DX
stations send a serial number. Maritime mobile stations send ITU Region (1-3).

This is a typical contest contact:

CQing Station: CQ TEST DE W1AW
Answering Station: VE6SH
CQer: VE6SH 599 CT
Answer: 599 AB
CQer: TU W1AW

Or

ARRL 10-Meter Contest Rules Version 1.06 Page 1 of 9

 CQing Station: CQ Test from W1AW
Answering Station: PY5EG
CQer: PY5EG 59 Connecticut
Answer: 59 1256
CQer: Thanks W1AW

As the answering station, it is not necessary to send the CQing station's call before the exchange unless
you think there might be some confusion about which station you are responding to.

Scoring: Each phone contact counts for two (2) QSO points. Each CW contact counts for four (4) QSO
points. To calculate your final score, multiply the total QSO points by the number of US states (plus the
District of Columbia), Canadian Provinces and Territories, Mexican states, DXCC entities, and ITU regions
you contacted. Each multiplier counts once on phone and once on CW. See the ARRL Contest
Multipliers List for a list of abbreviations.

Scoring Example: KA1RWY makes 2235 contacts including 1305 phone QSOs, and 930 CW QSOs,
for a total of 6330 QSO points. On phone, she works 49 states, 10 Canadian provinces, 3
Mexican states, 20 DXCC entities and a maritime mobile station in Region 2 for a total of
49+10+3+20+1 = 83 phone multipliers. On CW she works 30 states, 8 Canadian provinces, 1
Mexican state, and 18 DXCC entities for a total of 30+8+1+18 = 57 CW multipliers. Her final
score = 6330 QSO points x (83+57) multipliers = 6330 x 140 = 886,200 points.

Club Competition: You can contribute your score to your ARRL Affiliated Club by selecting the club name
when you upload your log. Club Competition rules are available here: Affiliated Club Competition Rules.

Feedback about the contest:

Send us your stories and photos! Tell us what fun you had, how you did, and what challenges you faced
at the ARRL Contest Program’s “Soapbox” page.

All contest queries should be directed to [email protected] or 860-594-0232.

ARRL 10-Meter Contest Rules Version 1.06 Page 2 of 9

Special ARRL 10-Meter Contest Rules
1. Operating Period: 0000 UTC Saturday through 2359 UTC Sunday.
1.1 All stations may operate up to 36 hours of the 48-hour contest period.
1.2 Off times must be at least 30 minutes long.
2. Contacts
2.1 Any station may be contacted on Phone and CW.
2.2 Mixed-Mode entrants may contact stations for contest credit once on phone and once on
CW.
2.3 Use only the 28 MHz band.
3. Categories
3.1 See the HF Categories section for power sub-categories.
3.2 Single Operator and Single Operator Unlimited stations may enter as Mixed-Mode, CW-
Only, or Phone-Only in any power category.
3.3 Multioperator stations may only enter as Mixed-Mode.
4. Contest Exchange - the required exchange consists of:
4.1 Signal report
4.2 W/VE and Mexican stations also send their state or province. A list of abbreviations is
available at ARRL Contest Multipliers List. Hawaii (KH6) and Alaska (KL7) operate as US
stations and not DX stations.
4.3 DX stations also send a serial number.
4.4 Maritime mobile stations also send their ITU region (1-3).
5. Scoring
5.1 QSO points:
5.1.1 Each phone contact counts for two (2) QSO points.
5.1.2 Each CW contact counts for four (4) QSO points.
5.2 Multipliers:
5.2.1 Multipliers count once on phone and once on CW.
5.2.2 W/VE and Mexican states, the District of Columbia (DC), and Canadian Provinces
and Territories plus Labrador. (See the ARRL Contest Multipliers List.)
5.2.2.1 Hawaii (KH6) and Alaska (KL7) count as US states.
5.2.3 DXCC entities
5.2.4 ITU regions
5.3 Final score equals the total QSO points times the total multipliers contacted.
6. Operating Restrictions
6.1 Mixed-mode stations may change mode at any time.
6.2 CW contacts must take place below 28.3 MHz.
6.3 Call signs must indicate the DXCC entity of operation. For example, a KL7 station operating
in Florida must use a call sign such as KL7AA/W4 and a US station operating in Puerto Rico
must use KP4/W9JJ or the equivalent.
7. Awards
7.1 Online certificates will be available to all eligible participants. This includes:
7.1.1 Top Single-Operator station (in each mode category) in each ARRL/RAC Section,
Mexican state, and DXCC entity.
7.1.2 Top Multioperator entries (in each mode category) in each ARRL Division, Canada,
each Mexican state, and each continent.
8. Log Submission

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 8.1 Logs are due SEVEN (7) days after the event is over at 1559 UTC. If an extension of the log
deadline is needed, contact the ARRL Contest Program Manager. All entries received are
displayed on the Logs Received page.
8.2 Send paper logs to the ARRL, addressed to 10-Meter Contest.

Entry Categories for ARRL 10-Meter Contest

Version 1.5 – 25 Aug 2022

Categories QRP1 Low High Power Spotting

Power (HP)3 Assistance
(LP) 2

Single Operator (SO) Yes Yes Yes No

Single Operator Yes Yes Yes Yes

Unlimited (SOU)

Multioperator, Single No Yes Yes Yes

Transmitter (MS)

Checklog n/a n/a

1 — 5 watts PEP output or less

2 — 100 watts PEP output or less
3 — 1500 watts PEP output or the maximum allowable power level established by the national licensing
authority issuing the operator and/or station license, whichever is less.

HCAT.1. Single Operator (SO)

HCAT.1.1. Use of spotting assistance is not permitted.
HCAT.1.2. Only one transmitted signal is permitted at any time.
HCAT.1.3. Power sub-categories include QRP (SOQRP), Low Power (SOLP), and High Power
(SOHP).
HCAT.2. Single Operator Unlimited (SOU)
HCAT.2.1. Use of spotting assistance is permitted. Spotting information must be derived from
sources within the station’s circle or sources open to the general public.
HCAT.2.2. Entrants are permitted to use social media, video live streaming, and internet chat
rooms.
HCAT.2.3. Only one transmitted signal is permitted at any time.
HCAT.2.4. Power sub-categories include QRP (SOUQRP), Low Power (SOULP), and High Power
(SOUHP).
HCAT.3. Multioperator, Single Transmitter (MS)
HCAT.3.1. Use of spotting assistance is permitted. Spotting information must be derived from
sources within the station’s circle or sources open to the general public.

ARRL 10-Meter Contest Rules Version 1.06 Page 4 of 9

 HCAT.3.2. Entrants are permitted to use social media, video live streaming, and internet chat
rooms.
HCAT.3.3. Only one transmitted signal is allowed at any time.
HCAT.3.4. Power sub-categories include Low Power (MSLP) and High Power (MSHP).

Rules for Entry

Version 1.2 – 15 Jul 2022

Conditions of Entry
COND.1. By submitting a log, entrants agree to be bound by the contest rules. Violation of the contest
rules or engaging in prohibited conduct may result in disciplinary action at the discretion of the ARRL
Awards Committee up to and including disqualification.
COND.2 Multiple entries
COND.2.1 Individuals and stations may submit multiple entries per contest under different call signs.
Using a call sign modifier does make the call sign unique. (Example- W1AW and W1AW/7 are treated as
the same call sign.)
COND.3. Log contents used to determine final score and awards will be available to the public.
COND.4. Entrants agree to follow the regulations of their operating licenses and station licenses at all
times.
COND.5. Entrants agree to be bound by the decisions of the ARRL Awards Committee.
COND.6. All entries become the property of the ARRL and are not returnable.

Operating and Entry Restrictions

OPRG.1. Call signs and exchange information must be sent, received, acknowledged and logged correctly
for a complete contact.
OPRG.2. An operator may not use more than one call sign from any given location during the contest
period.
OPRG.3. Alternating CQs on two or more frequencies using the same band and mode is prohibited.
OPRG.4. Each contact must include contemporaneous direct initiation by both operators making a
contact. Initiation of a contact may be by either local or remote control.
OPRG.5. Aeronautical and Maritime/Marine Mobile stations
OPRG.5.1. In contests in which DX stations may be worked by W/VE stations, contacts with
aeronautical mobile and maritime mobile stations outside the US and Canada count for contact
credit only.
OPRG.6. Only one transmitted signal per band is permitted at any time.

Station and Equipment Restrictions

STTN.1. A transmitter used to contact one or more stations may not be subsequently used under any
other call sign during the contest period, except
a) for family stations where more than one call sign has been issued, and then only if the second
call sign is used by a different operator.
b) for remote stations used by individual amateurs that have limited or no access to their own
stations.

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This rule does not permit any operator to use multiple call signs at the same station to manufacture
contacts to another station in the contest.
STTN.2. All transmitters and receivers must be located within a 500-meter diameter circle, excluding
antennas.
STTN.3. Remote receiving installations outside the 500-meter circle are prohibited. Stations remotely
controlled by radio link may use necessary equipment at the control point. This does not allow using the
control point as another receiving location.

Prohibited Conduct
Examples of prohibited conduct include, but are not limited to:
PROH.1. Claiming cross-band contacts.
PROH.2. Use of systems such as repeaters, gateways, or digipeaters to relay on-the-air signals. Satellites
may be used only if permitted by the contest rules. This does not apply to the remote control of a
station.
PROH.3. Arranging, soliciting, or confirming any contacts during or after the contest by use of any non-
amateur radio means. All required elements of a contact must be exchanged via amateur radio.
PROH.4. Misrepresenting contact times (“rubber clocking”) to meet band change or off time rules.
PROH.5. Claiming excessive unverifiable contacts or multipliers (“log padding”).
PROH.6. Transmitting signals with excessive bandwidth (e.g., spurious emissions) or harmonics.
PROH.7. Failure to identify transmissions in a timely manner (i.e., for longer periods than 1 minute).
PROH.8. Repeater input or output frequencies may not be used without the permission of the repeater
owner.

Log Checking Penalties

Logs are cross-checked using custom software and human judgment.
LGCK.1. Duplicate contacts are removed with no additional scoring penalty.
LGCK.2. Contacts with call sign errors ("Busted") or that are not found in the corresponding log ("NIL")
are removed from the log and an additional scoring penalty of the QSO point value of that contact is
assessed.
LGCK.3. Contacts with an incorrectly received exchange are removed with no additional scoring penalty.

Disciplinary Actions
DSCP.1. Disqualified entries will be listed in the published results, are not eligible for an award, and are
not eligible to submit an entry in the next running of that contest.
DSCP.2. Notification of Award Committee actions will be sent by email to the address provided with the
log submission. The entrant has five days to appeal the decision to the Contest Program Manager. If
there is no response, after that time the decision is final.
DSCP.3. The Awards Committee reserves the right to change the category of any entry based on its
examination of the log or other information.

ARRL 10-Meter Contest Rules Version 1.06 Page 6 of 9

Log Submission Rules
Version 1.01 – 30 April 2020

Electronic Log Submission

ELOG.1. The official ARRL format for electronic logs is the Cabrillo format (wwrof.org/cabrillo).
ELOG 1.1. A paper printout of an electronic log file is not an acceptable substitute. A utility for
converting log files in non-Cabrillo format to Cabrillo is available at www.b4h.net/cabforms.
ELOG.2. Electronic logs must be submitted via contest-log-submission.arrl.org with the exception of
Field Day, Straight Key Night, 10 GHz and Up, ARRL EME, Rookie Roundup, and School Club Roundup.
ELOG.3. Electronic logs are assumed to be signed as complying with all contest rules and conditions
when they are submitted.
ELOG.4. Multioperator logs must include the complete list of operators in the Cabrillo OPERATORS: field.
ELOG.5. Multioperator, Two Transmitter (M2) category logs must indicate which transmitter makes each
contact in the log.

Paper Log Submission

PLOG.1. Entrants must use the most current official contest forms or an acceptable facsimile, as scoring
rules, ARRL sections, etc., do change periodically. See the ARRL website for downloadable forms.
PLOG.2 Paper logs may be mailed to ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington CT 06111, USA. Each paper log entry
must be accompanied by a Summary Sheet listing all scoring information, the category of competition,
and the entrant’s name.
PLOG.3. Paper entries with 500 or more contacts must include an official dupe sheet for the contest.

Log Submission Deadline

LGDL.1. Entries must be sent to the ARRL by the log deadline published in the rules for each contest. For
electronic submissions, the submission date and time is determined by the app confirmation. For paper
entries submitted by mail, submission date and time is determined from the postmark.
LGDL.2. Submitted entries will be listed on the Logs Received page until final results are published.
LGDL.3. Logs not submitted or postmarked by the contest deadline are not eligible for awards.
LGDL.4. Entries received at the ARRL after the contest submission deadline may not be included in the
contest results.

ARRL 10-Meter Contest Rules Version 1.06 Page 7 of 9

Definitions and Glossary
Version 1.04 – 16 Aug 2021

Automated Multi-Channel Decoder: Device such as CW Skimmer software that provides information
about the identity and frequency of contest station transmissions while functioning independently of
the operator’s direct control and participation. Software that displays multiple decoded signals at the
same time is considered to be a multi-channel decoder.

Band Changes: A band change consists of two consecutive contacts on different bands. For example,
making a contact on 20 meters then on 40 meters and then on 20 meters counts as two band changes.

Clock Hour: A clock hour is from zero to 59 minutes on the clock, not any 60 consecutive minutes.

Digital (mode): Any mode defined as “data” in the FCC Part 97 rules (§97.3(c)(2)).

Dupe Sheet: An alphanumerically sorted list of all contacts made during the contest, sorted by band and
mode as appropriate. A list of duplicate contacts does not meet this requirement.

DX Stations: Any non-W/VE station. This includes US possessions and territories in the Caribbean and
Pacific and St. Paul Island (CY9) and Sable Island (CYØ). Exceptions such as the status of Hawaii (KH6)
and Alaska (KL7) are stated in the Special Rules for each contest.

DXCC Entities: defined by ARRL DXCC List

Electronic Log or Entry: consists of any log submitted by electronic means.

High Power (HP): 1500 watts PEP output or the maximum allowable power level established by the
national licensing authority issuing the operator and/or station license, whichever is less.

Low Power (LP):

Below 30 MHz- 100 watts PEP output or less

Maritime Mobile: For the purposes of ARRL contests, maritime mobile is defined as shipboard
operation, outside of the territorial waters of the country (defined for these purposes as 12 miles
offshore).

Maximum Number of Signals: This Maximum Number does not include a signal necessary to provide
spotting assistance, i.e. 2m packet connection. Other than that exception, it is the maximum number of
signals that a station may emit at any time.

Multioperator: More than one person performs all transmitting, receiving, and logging functions as well
as equipment and antenna adjustments.

Off Time: A period during which no contacts are logged. Unless otherwise specified, to count as off time,
there must be at least 30 consecutive minutes in the log without a contact. During off time, operators
may not listen to contest activity.

QRP: 5 watts PEP output or less

RTTY (mode): Any mode defined as “RTTY” in the FCC Part 97 rules (§97.3(c)(7)).

ARRL 10-Meter Contest Rules Version 1.06 Page 8 of 9

Single Operator: One person performs all transmitting, receiving, and logging functions as well as
equipment and antenna adjustments.

Spotting Assistance: Use of any operating arrangements involving other individuals, DX-alerting nets,
packet, Internet, automated multi-channel recorders, chat rooms, etc. Generating spotting information
for use by other stations is not considered to be spotting assistance.

W/VE stations: stations operating in the United States and District of Columbia with the exception of
Alaska and Hawaii, and stations operating within the Canadian provinces and territories with the
exception of the DXCC entities St Paul Island and Sable Island. (Exception – See the Special Rules for
Sweepstakes and the 160 Meter Contest regarding US possessions and territories.)

ARRL 10-Meter Contest Rules Version 1.06 Page 9 of 9