Guide to December 2024 Ham Radio Contests

Time sure flies when you’re having fun on the air.

As we post this final ham radio contest guide for 2024, OnAllBands looks back at another blockbuster year for Radiosport, aided by Cycle 25 and legions of operators who filled logbooks with QSOs in SSB, CW, RTTY, FT8, and lesser-used modes kept alive by dedicated enthusiasts.

To all those who continue to make the amateur frequencies a vibrant place that encourages new hams and promotes the very best of operating practices, we salute you.

To new amateurs who are just discovering the magic of ham radio, may the coming year be teeming with new opportunities and QSOs you’ll be proud to crow about at your club meetings.

To hams who are planning to expand their horizons in 2025—maybe learning CW, joining an EMCOMM organization, upgrading a transceiver or antenna, earning a General or Amateur Extra license, helping out at local events, or trying a first POTA activation —we wish you the best of luck in whatever you pursue.

As you embark on a brand-new year on the ham bands, rest assured that the team at DX Engineering—active operators with more than 1,000 years of combined experience—are only a phone call or email away to answer your questions and help you find the right gear to reach your goals.

Happy holidays to all from OnAllBands and DX Engineering!

• QRP ARCI Top Band Sprint: Dec. 5, 0000Z to 0300Z. Ready for a true challenge? Try making QSOs on the “Gentleman’s Band” using low power! Here’s what the QRP Amateur Radio Club International says about this annual event: “A very rewarding multi-mode (CW, SSB, Mixed Mode) contest on 160M. Put up a vertical or operate with a wire in the park. With a little bit of planning, YOU can work a 160M contest with QRP!” As always, the lower the power you use, the more significant the multipliers.
  
  Looking to upgrade your 160M acumen in the coming year? Find vertical, dipole, trap dipole, and whip 160M antennas like the Moonraker 160M Mobile Whip and DX Engineering THUNDERBOLT® Vertical, receive filters, phased array quarter wave tuned cables, add-on kits (including the 160M add-on kit for Butternut HF9V, HF6V, and HF2V antennas), tuners, ferrite bead kits, dual vertical array systems, reference books, and more at DXEngineering.com.

• NRAU (Nordic Radio Amateur Union) 10M Activity Contest: Dec. 5, 1800Z to 1900Z (CW); 1900Z to 2000Z (SSB); 2000Z to 2100Z (FM); and 2100Z to 2200Z (Digital). Here’s a great chance to take advantage of 10M openings compliments of Solar Cycle 25. Looking for gear to maximize your 10M capabilities? Click to read about some antenna upgrades. 

• ARRL 160 Meter Contest: Dec. 6, 2200Z to Dec. 8, 1600Z.  For amateurs worldwide to exchange information with W/VE amateurs on 160M CW.

• K1USN Slow Speed Test: Dec. 6, 9, 13, 16, 20, 23, and 27, 0000Z to 0100Z. Held every Friday and Monday, this CW contest is “for those who prefer a more leisurely CW pace or are new CW operators or contesters,” according to the K1USN SST website. If you copy under 25 words per minute and are looking for a welcoming place on the air to improve your CW speed, this might be just the ticket. The contest is the brainchild of members of the K1USN Radio Club, who are also members of the CW Operators Club.

• QRP ARCI Holiday Spirits Homebrew Sprint: Dec. 8, 2000Z to 2300Z. This CW-only contest encourages hams to put their handcrafted equipment to the test, with bonus points awarded for use of homebrewed receivers, transmitters, and receivers, as well as operations from a portable location.
  
  Need keys, paddles, bugs, electronic keyers, code practice oscillator kits, pocket size Morse code tutors, and absolutely everything CW? You’ll find it at DXEngineering.com.

• International Naval Contest: Dec. 14, 1600Z to Dec. 15, 1559Z. Sponsored this year by the Dutch Navy Amateur Radio Club, this annual CW/SSB event takes place the second weekend of December and involves naval clubs from Romania, Finland, Portugal, Austria, and other countries.

• ARRL 10 Meter Contest, CW, SSB: Dec. 14, 0000Z to Dec. 15, 2359Z. For amateurs worldwide to exchange QSO information with as many stations as possible on 10 meters. You’ll find plenty of ways to boost your 10M performance at DXEngineering.com, including this COMTEK 20VA 20-10M Antenna.

• ARRL Rookie Roundup, CW: Dec. 22, 1800Z to 2359Z. Rookies exchange information with as many other stations as possible on the 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meter bands. Interested in the Rookie Roundup or other contests for newbies? Read this OnAllBands article from blogger Sean Kutzko, KX9X, on contesting tips for Technicians.

• DARC X-Mas Contest: Dec. 26, 0830Z to 1059Z. This popular two-and-a-half hour SSB/CW sprint sponsored by DARC (Deutscher Amateur Radio Club) is the final competition which counts toward the German annual club championship. DARC invites all amateurs to join in the fun, noting that you’ll likely hear “Frohes Fest” (Merry Christmas) or “FF” in CW tacked onto more than a few QSOs.

• RAC Winter Contest: Dec. 28, 0000Z to 2359Z. Amateurs all over the world are invited to participate in the SSB/CW Radio Amateurs of Canada Winter Contest. Find complete rules here. Headquartered in Ottawa, the RAC is a not-for-profit national association that represents the interests of amateur radio enthusiasts across Canada. Read much more about the work of the RAC on its website. And in this article on Amateur Radio and Morse Code in Popular Culture, read about some CW action from three icons of the Great White North—Rush.

• YOTA Contest: Dec. 30, 1000Z to 2159Z. This is the third round of the 2024 Youngsters on the Air Contest. Organized by the IARU R1 Youth Working Group in association with MRASZ (Hungarian Amateur Radio Society), the event is designed to increase youth activity on the air, strengthen the reputation of the YOTA program, and demonstrate support for young hams around the world.

• Bogor Old and New Contest: Dec. 31, 0900Z to 2359Z. Spend New Year’s Eve making 80, 40, and 10 meter QSOs during the 17^th edition of this contest. The event is hosted by the ORARI Kota Bogor of Indonesia.

Special Operating Event of the Month: SKYWARN Celebrates 25 Years of Service

• SKYWARN Recognition Day: Dec. 7, 0000Z to 2359Z. In honor of SKYWARN’s 25^th anniversary and the many volunteer storm spotters who have served their communities, all amateur stations are invited to exchange QSO information with as many amateur radio SKYWARN spotters and National Weather Service stations as possible on the 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6, 2M and 70cm bands. ARRL will be on the air during the event from the ARRL Radio Laboratory station, W1HQ, using the call sign WX1AW.