PEARS National VHF/UHF Contest

South Africa's big VHF and UHF weekend: two 22-hour sessions from 1600 UTC on the second Friday of January, analogue and digital from 6 m to 23 cm.

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

When it runs

Second Friday of January

1600Z Friday → 1400Z Saturdaysession 1
1400Z Saturday → 1200Z Sundaysession 2

Times are UTC, as the sponsor states them.

2 sessions run off the one anchor day; each is a separate running with its own log.

Next runnings

1600Z Fri 8 Jan → 1400Z Sat 9 Jan · 22h2027
in 99 days
1400Z Sat 9 Jan → 1200Z Sun 10 Jan · 22h2027
in 100 days
1600Z Fri 14 Jan → 1400Z Sat 15 Jan · 22h2028
in 470 days
1400Z Sat 15 Jan → 1200Z Sun 16 Jan · 22h2028
in 471 days
1600Z Fri 12 Jan → 1400Z Sat 13 Jan · 22h2029
in 834 days
1400Z Sat 13 Jan → 1200Z Sun 14 Jan · 22h2029
in 835 days

Operating

Modes: CW / SSB / FM / Digital
Bands: 6m2m70cm23cm
50, 70, 144, 432 and 1296 MHz, each split into SSB/CW, digital and FM channels -- for example 144.200-144.250 SSB/CW, 144.250-144.300 digital, 144.350-144.400 FM. The 70 MHz (4 m) band is in PEARS's list but has no token in this catalog's band vocabulary, so it is recorded only here.
Exchange: A signal report and locator, per the contest's channel plan.
Logs: no deadline or format recorded
Who can enter: Entry limited to ZS, V5, A2, Z2, C9, 7P, 3DA. K stations may be worked but cannot submit an entry.
'open to all licensed amateurs in the RSA, including non-members of the SARL, as well as amateurs from the neighbouring states.' PEARS says 'neighbouring states' rather than naming them; the list here is the same one SARL names for its own HAMNET contest.

Where this comes from

Checked against the sponsor: Yes. The rule on this page was read off Port Elizabeth Amateur Radio Society (PEARS)'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 PEARS National VHF/UHF Contest': '1.1. The PEARS National VHF and UHF contest will take place from 9 to 11 January 2026 and is open to all licensed amateurs in the RSA, including non-members of the SARL, as well as amateurs from the neighbouring states.' '1.3. This is a 44-hour dual contest for analogue and digital modes, which is divided into 2 sessions that will spread out activity over the contest period and reflect changes of propagation.' '2. Dates and Times The first 22-hour session of the VHF and UHF contest starts at 16:00 UTC on Friday 9 January and closes at 14:00 UTC on Saturday afternoon 10 January (2nd Friday and Saturday of January). The second 22-hour session commences immediately after 14:00 UTC on Saturday 10 January and ends at 12:00 UTC on Sunday 11 January 2026 (2nd Saturday and Sunday of January).'
Recorded caveats: TWO SESSIONS, NOT ONE 44-HOUR BLOCK, and the distinction is the sponsor's own: PEARS scores them separately and says so. They are back to back -- the second 'commences immediately after' the first ends at 14:00 UTC Saturday -- so a single 44-hour occurrence would draw the same bar on the rail and lose the fact that they are two scored periods. The anchor is the 2nd FRIDAY of January, which is how PEARS phrases it. Sourced from the SARL Contest Manual, which carries this contest's full rules and names its organising body -- the venue in which South African clubs publish their rules, not a listing of them. See data/sources.md, 'Nine South African clubs, one manual'.

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

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