Already this Sunday, November 15, 2026, a new year of the popular VKV Operational Assets competition, VKV PA for short, opens for Slovak VKV radio amateurs. It's a year-round series of monthly races. It's supposed to help revive the bands from 144MHz up and get us to turn on our devices at least once a month to see who's on the air.
The competition is organized by the Slovak Association of Radio Amateurs (SZR) with a clear goal: to increase the activity of Slovak VHF stations. It follows on from similar activities in neighboring states. The good news is that victory is not determined only by performance or a large antenna farm, but above all by regularity and creativity.
You will read in the article
How VKV PA works
The basic rule is simple: only stations operating from the territory of the Slovak Republic will be evaluated. One stage will take place every month and with one station it is possible to work once on each band in each stage. Repeated connections on the same band are therefore not counted.
Stages are held every third Sunday of the month from 08:00 to 11:00 UTC. Three hours is just enough to check the technique and operator skills and not have to sacrifice the whole day.
Dates of individual rounds
The third Sundays for the year from November 2026 to October 2027 are published as follows:
- 15/11/2026 – start of the new year
- 20/12/2026
- 17 January 2027
- 21 February 2027
- 21 March 2027
- 18 April 2027
- 16 May 2027
- 20 June 2027
- 18 July 2027
- 15 August 2027
- 19 September 2027
- 17/10/2027 – end of year
All stages take place at the same time, from 08:00 to 11:00 UTC.
Bands, categories and performance
It competes in the bands from 144 MHz to 10 GHz, so even those who have a microwave transverter in their drawer will get their money's worth. Enabled modes are CW and FONE (A1A, J3E, R3E, F3E, G3E).
There are two categories: single operator / single band and multiple operators / single band. The maximum power is 100 W in all categories, so the conditions are the same for everyone.
Competition code and scoring
The sold competition code consists of RS(T), serial number of connection from 001 and WW locator. Scoring also motivates working with distant stations:
- a station in the locator's own large square (e.g. JN98) = 2 points,
- in adjacent large squares = 3 points,
- in other large squares = 4 points and so on, always 1 point more.
The large squares of the locator that you worked with in the given zone during the race are counted as multipliers. The custom big square is calculated automatically, even if you haven't worked with anyone from it. The stage result is the sum of points for connections in the respective band multiplied by the sum of multipliers in the same band. The year-round results are compiled by adding up the stage results from November to October.
Where to send a report
In Slovakia, reports from individual rounds are submitted via the portal pa.telesweb.sk. According to the terms of the SZR, the report must be sent no later than the third day after the race, i.e. on Wednesday. Therefore, do not delay in sending.
Competitors can also send reports abroad. In the Czech Republic, a robot at the address is used for this vkvpa.hamradio.cz. He operates it in Croatia hamradio.hr/vhbrobot. It's a nice option to compare with stations from neighboring countries.
Official terms
You can find the complete wording of the rules on the SZR website: vkv.szr.sk – VKV operational assets. Before the first stage, you'd better go over them one more time, especially if you missed something in the last year.
VKV Operation of assets is a great opportunity to regularly revive the bands and contribute to higher activity on the airwaves. All you need is three hours a month, a functional antenna and the desire to work. See you on air and good luck in the new season!