ARRL January VHF Contest 2026

ARRL Jan VHF Contest Rove Plan Contest Rover AA2SD/R

January VHF Contest 2026 - January 17-19th

Contest Objective: For amateurs in the US and Canada (and their possessions) to work as many amateur stations in as many different 2 degrees x 1 degree Maidenhead grid squares as possible using authorized frequencies above 50 MHz. Stations outside the US & Canada (and their possessions) may only work stations in the US (and its possessions) and Canada.

Dates: The third or fourth full weekend in January as announced. (January 17-19, 2026)

Contest Period: Begins 1900 UTC Saturday, ends 0359 UTC Monday.

Notice: Participants in the FM Only category can now count contacts made on 902 MHz and 1.2 GHz toward their scores. Previously, only contacts on the four lowest VHF bands (50, 144, 222 and 432 MHz) counted toward participants' scores in this category.

Click Here for Complete ARRL January VHF Contest Rules (PDF)

For contest information contact contests@arrl.org or (860) 594-0232

AA2SD/R and KE5NJ/R Pack Rat Rovers Team Up for the Jan 2026 VHF Contest to Grid Circle

Lancaster PA AA2SD/R Rover -  Jan VHF Contest 2026  -  Plan to point your antennas to Grid Square Convergence in GAP PA during the Jan VHF Contest. 

We are pleased to report that “Chris KE5NJ/R Rover” and “Scott AA2SD/R Rover” will be Grid Circling up at (4) different overlooks throughout the Jan VHF Contest to maximize Pack Rat Club Member Contacts. (January 17-19, 2026) Contest Period: Begins 1900 UTC Saturday, ends 0359 UTC Monday.

At the start of the Jan 2026 VHF Contest both Rovers  will be strategically located at 800 feet elevation in Morgantown PA GRID FN20AD87J.“ The busiest time of the contest is the first 4 hours and we plan to be both operating in a combined  grids with good elevation to maximize contacts” says Scott D AA2SD/R. You can join our text list, for (1) msg from each location below.

Bands and Liaison Frequency

• KE5NJ/R Rover Chris  ( Bands 6-144-222-70-903-1296)

• AA2D/R Rover Scott    (Bands with 6-144-222-70-903-1296-2.3-3.4-5.7 & 10GHz)

• Starting frequencies will be 50.128 and 144.203+/- based on conditions

Saturday Day Grid Circling FN20 -FM10 and FN19

• 2:00 PM Both Rovers Start at Morgantown Overlook 800 Ft Elev FN20AD87JB

• 3:30 PM Rovers Move to Welsh MtnOverlook 1000 ft Elev  FN10XC90SX

• 4:40 PM Rovers Move to Linvellie HS Lot OVerlook 700 Ft Elev FM19XX

How To Track and Find the Rovers?

We will be utilizing the W3SZ App to allow you track our movement during the contest please use the links below. Please use the important links below, we suggest you sign up for text alerts.

W3SZ Map for tracking https://w3sz.com/map.php

AA2SD/R Web Site with Updates https://www.aa2sd.com/arrl-2025-september-vhf-contest

Join text here https://eztxt.net/2jYm9L

Contest info   https://www.arrl.org/january-vhf