Guide to February 2026 Ham Radio Contests—Valentine’s Day Gifts & Fractured Poetry Edition

 February 5, 2026
      No Comments
      KK7XU
      5:32 am

Greetings, lovers of amateur radio!

February’s OnAllBands contesting guide features a few of our favorite on-air competitions for the month along with something extra: amateur radio gift ideas for Valentine’s Day and a bit of holiday poetry in the vein of William Shakespeare, who famously wrote these words (or something like them) for Hamlet’s most famous melancholic soliloquy: “To beam or not to beam—that is the question…especially if you’re dealing with limited space or an HOA. Alas.”

This year, think outside the heart-shaped box of chocolates and consider amateur radio Valentine’s Day gifts for someone special in your life:

  • Slip a DX Engineering Gift Card inside a Valentine’s Day card and you’ll bring a smile to someone who will love shopping from more than 30,000 amateur radio products at DXEngineering.com. Gift cards are available in denominations from $25 to $500.
DX Engineering Gift Card
(Image/DX Engineering)
  • Icom’s original IC-7300 HF Plus 50 MHz Transceiver is still available at DX Engineering. Why not surprise someone with this beloved rig that makes a perfect gift for hams who are looking to expand their operating capabilities?
Icom IC-7300 Radio
(Image/Icom)
Spooltenna Antenna Kit
(Image/Spooltenna)
speckled DX Engineering Coffee Mug
Why give the traditional Valentine’s Day flowers when you can give a 16 Oz. Flecked Exterior DX Engineering Ceramic Coffee Mug? (Image/DX Engineering)

If you’re looking for something catchy to write in the Valentine’s Day card to your significant other, here are a handful of suggestions courtesy of the team of poets at OnAllBands who have studied the great works of Robert Frost, John Keats, Emily Dickinson, Ogden Nash, and Weird Al to bring you these memorable sentiments:

  • Roses are red, violets are blue, my best QSO was the one made with you.
  • Your beautiful eyes set me afire, one look I’m aglow like some soldering wire.
  • How do I love thee, I’ll give it a try, your CQs are sweeter than Raspberry Pi.
  • Our love is as strong as a radial plate, but when the signal is weak, we’ll try FT8.
  • Whether 1,000 watts or just QRP, regardless the power, you exhilarate me.
  • Your velvety tones couldn’t be sweeter, you’d never kerchunk on the local repeater.
  • The SWR may be lesser or greater, but whatever the band, you’re a smooth operator.
  • We part with such sorrow, wearing DXE shirts, our time off the air sure mega-hurts.

***

Here’s hoping you have smooth operations this February. The month includes RTTY action, 2026’s first State QSO Parties, PSK31 on Valentine’s Day, 10-meter and Topband challenges, and much more. Here are a few highlights:

  • Mexico RTTY International Contest, Feb. 7, 1200Z to Feb. 8, 2359Z. The 28th edition of this Baudot RTTY-only contest encourages amateurs around the world to contact as many stations as possible on 3.5 to 28 MHz (WARC prohibited). The contest is sponsored by the Federaciòn Mexicana De Radioexperimentadores.
  • F9AA Cup, CW, Feb. 7, 1200Z to Feb. 8, 1200Z. Find all the rules for this worldwide 80/40/20/15/10/2M CW-only contest here.
  • European Union DX Contest, Feb. 7, 1200Z to Feb. 8, 1200Z. This is the sixth edition of this worldwide CW/SSB, 160-10M (WARC bands prohibited) contest.
  • NAQCC CW Sprint, Feb. 11, 0130Z to 0330Z. With more than 10,000 members in 103 countries, the North American QRP CW Club hosts these CW sprints throughout the year. Open to licensed and shortwave listeners who have an interest in CW/QRP operation, these events and other club activities encourage “the use of CW and helping all hams increase CW speed and proficiency…using simple wire antennas,” per the NAQCC CW Club website.
  • ARRL School Club Roundup, Feb. 9, 1300Z to Feb. 13, 2359Z. This bi-annual event is designed to foster contacts with and among school radio clubs. Participants can exchange QSO information with any amateur radio station, so non-school clubs and individuals are encouraged to participate as well. All amateur bands except 60, 30, 17, and 12 meters are permitted.
  • OMISS (O.M. International Sideband Society) QSO Party, Feb. 14, 1500Z to Feb. 15, 1500Z. Check out these tips for being successful in this SSB-only contest. Per the OMISS website, “OMISS, or O.M. International Sideband Society, has been operating list-type awards nets on the General Amateur bands since 1981. Want to get your WAS quickly? This is a great place to get it done. Do you like to work lots of stations for unique awards? We have several challenging awards to work for, each with an attractive certificate to hang on your wall. Do you like contesting? We hold an annual QSO Party and invite the whole amateur community.”
  • CQ WW RTTY WPX Contest, Feb. 14, 0000Z to Feb. 15, 2359Z. This annual event draws more than 20,000 RTTY enthusiasts trying to make as many contacts with as many different call sign prefixes as possible.
  • KCJ Topband Contest, Feb. 14, 1200Z to Feb. 15, 1200Z. The Keymen’s Club of Japan, a group established in 1976 to promote CW activity on the amateur bands, will be once again hosting this 160M contest.
  • PODXS 070 Club Valentine Sprint, Feb. 14, 0000Z to 2359Z. For those with a soft spot for PSK31 mode, this is a Valentine’s Day treat that will let you make connections without the use of Cupid’s arrow. Work as many stations on 160/80/40 meters as possible using PSK31 mode during a six-hour block. This event is open to all amateur radio operators licensed to operate on the HF bands.
  • ARRL International DX, CW, Feb. 21, 0000Z to Feb. 22, 2359Z. W/VE amateurs (anyone from the U.S. or Canada): Work as many DX stations in as many DXCC entities as possible on the 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10-meter bands. DX stations: Work as many W/VE stations in as many of the 48 contiguous states and provinces as possible.
  • CQ 160 Meter Contest, SSB, Feb. 27, 2200Z to March 1, 2200Z. This annual contest challenges amateurs around the world to contact other amateurs in as many U.S. states, Canadian provinces, and countries as possible utilizing the 160-meter band.
  • North American QSO Party, RTTY, Feb. 28, 1800Z to March 1, 0559Z. This is the first portion of this annual RTTY contest. You’ll have a second shot at making RTTY QSOs July 18-19. From the National Contest Journal: “The 12-hour format allows participants to do some great contesting, yet still have time for other activities during the weekend. Participants can enter in the single op or multi-op categories and also have the opportunity to combine up to five separate single op scores into a team score.” Find complete rules here.

    The North American QSL Party, RTTY, runs simultaneously with the North American Collegiate RTTY Championship.

State/Province QSO Parties for February 2026

  • Vermont, Feb. 7, 0000Z to Feb. 8, 2400Z
  • Minnesota, Feb. 7, 1400Z to 2400Z
  • British Columbia, Feb. 7, 1600Z to Feb. 8, 0359Z, and Feb. 8, 1600Z to 2359Z
  • South Carolina, Feb. 28, 1500Z to March 1, 0159Z

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