HamSat-SA ZS QO-100 QSO Party

Two hours through the QO-100 geostationary satellite on the second Sunday of February, South Africa to the world.

Rules at mysarl.org.zaThe rules are the sponsor's. This page holds the dates and the facts.

When it runs

Second Sunday of February

1300Z → 1500Z Sunday

Times are UTC, as the sponsor states them.

Next runnings

1300Z Sun 14 Feb → 1500Z Sun 14 Feb · 2h2027
in 136 days
1300Z Sun 13 Feb → 1500Z Sun 13 Feb · 2h2028
in 500 days
1300Z Sun 11 Feb → 1500Z Sun 11 Feb · 2h2029
in 864 days
1300Z Sun 10 Feb → 1500Z Sun 10 Feb · 2h2030
in 1228 days

Operating

Modes: SSB
Bands: 3cm
Through the QO-100 geostationary satellite: SSB on 10 489.870 to 10 489.990 MHz, which is the 3 cm band.
Exchange: RS and grid locator.
Logs: no deadline or format recorded
Who can enter: Anyone, anywhere.
The aim names 'radio amateurs from South Africa and the world', and QO-100's footprint covers Africa, Europe and much of Asia.

Where this comes from

Checked against the sponsor: Yes. The rule on this page was read off HamSat-SA's own published rules. Link last confirmed 2026-08-19.
What the source says: 2026 SARL Contest Manual Version 1.1 (2025-12-15), mysarl.org.za, 'The HamSat-SA ZS QO-100 QSO Party': '1. Aim This is a fun activity to promote contacts between radio amateurs from South Africa and the world using the QO-100 satellite. The aim for stations from ZS to as many different countries as possible.' '2. Date and Time From 13:00 to 15:00 UTC on 2nd Sunday February - 8 February 2026.' '3. Exchange RS and Grid locator.' '4. Frequency SSB: 10 489,870 to 10 489,990.' Log sheets: 'Excel Log sheets template available from https://www.hamsatsa.co.za/hamsat-sa-satellite-competitions/.'
Recorded caveats: THE CATALOG'S FIRST SATELLITE CONTEST. Every contact is through QO-100, the geostationary amateur transponder, so the band recorded is 3 cm -- the 10 489 MHz downlink -- and a band filter will find it there. That is the honest token for the frequency in use, but it is worth knowing that this contest is nothing like the other 3 cm entries in the catalog: no terrestrial path is involved, and the equipment is a dish rather than a microwave rig. SOURCED FROM THE SARL CONTEST MANUAL, WHICH IS NOT AN AGGREGATOR. The manual carries this contest's FULL rules -- aim, dates, exchange, frequencies, scoring, log sheets -- and names its organising club, rather than summarising a calendar entry. It is the venue in which South African clubs publish their contest rules, the way DARC's Ausschreibungen or UBA's rules pages are, so it is a primary source for these contests and not a third-party listing. The distinction that matters: an aggregator republishes rules it found elsewhere, and this is where the rules appear.

Something wrong? How to report it — a link to the sponsor's own page is all it takes.

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