Swiss Amateur Radio Union
Contests
Swiss radio contests on HF and VHF — from a few hours to 48 hours. Goal: as many contacts and points as possible according to the respective rules.

Helvetia Contest
The USKA’s long-standing Helvetia Contest takes place annually at the end of April on the shortwave bands. Over a 24-hour period, contacts are made with Swiss and foreign stations in CW, SSB and digital modes. The rules are available in five languages (DE / FR / IT / EN / SP). The annual results, diplomas and Soapbox contributions are documented below.
Field Day CW
Der Field Day CW ist ein internationaler Wettbewerb der IARU Region 1, bei dem Funkamateure aus ganz Europa unter Feldbedingungen — also mit portablen Stationen und unabhängiger Stromversorgung — auf den klassischen Kurzwellenbändern in Telegrafie miteinander Verbindungen aufnehmen. Der Contest dauert 24 Stunden, von Samstag 15:00 UTC bis Sonntag 14:59 UTC, und findet jährlich am ersten vollen Juni-Wochenende statt.
NMD — National Mountain Day
National Mountain Day (NMD) is an annual competition organised by the USKA, in which Swiss radio amateurs conduct radio operations from mountain summits and aim to make as many contacts as possible from exposed locations. NMD combines outdoor activity with radio technology and is a highlight of the Swiss amateur radio calendar.
Field Day SSB
Der Field Day SSB ist ein internationaler Wettbewerb der IARU Region 1, bei dem Funkamateure aus ganz Europa unter Feldbedingungen — also mit portablen Stationen und unabhängiger Stromversorgung — auf den klassischen Kurzwellenbändern in Sprechfunk (SSB) miteinander Verbindungen aufnehmen. Der Contest dauert 24 Stunden, von Samstag 13:00 UTC bis Sonntag 12:59 UTC, und findet jährlich am ersten vollen September-Wochenende statt.
Christmas Contest SSB/Digi
The USKA Christmas Contest in the SSB and digital modes takes place annually on the first weekend in December. ‘Digital’ refers to RTTY, PSK31, PSK63, FT8 etc. — one QSO per station and band is permitted for each digital mode. The same software used for the Helvetia Contest can be used for logging.
Christmas Contest CW/Digi
The USKA Christmas Contest in the CW and digital modes takes place annually on the second weekend in December. ‘Digital’ refers to RTTY, PSK31, PSK63, FT8 etc. — one QSO per station and band is permitted for each digital mode. The same software used for the Helvetia Contest can be used for logging.
KW Contest Champion
The KW Contest Champion is the annual overall ranking across all USKA shortwave contests. The Single-Operator (SO) and Multi-Operator (MO) rankings are published at the end of the year; a summary is also published as an HBradio article. Rules, detailed annual rankings and HBradio analyses are linked below. For the individual shortwave contests (Helvetia Contest, Field Day CW/SSB, NMD, Christmas Contest), see the respective subpages.







