PA QSO Party 2026

What is the PA QSO Party, in one sentence?

One weekend a year, hams everywhere try to work as many Pennsylvania stations as possible — and since we ARE Pennsylvania stations, everyone wants to talk to us.

Do I need to sign up or register first?

No. Just get on the air during the operating periods and start making contacts. No entry form, no fee, no reservation — the only paperwork is submitting your log afterward.

When exactly can I operate?

Two periods (Eastern time): Saturday, October 10 from noon to midnight, and Sunday, October 11 from 9 AM to 6 PM. You don't have to operate all 26 hours — an hour on Saturday afternoon is a perfectly good entry. The break overnight is built into the rules, so go to bed guilt-free.

What do I actually say?

The exchange is a serial number plus your location. Your first contact is number 1, the next is 2, and so on — most logging software counts for you. On voice it goes like this: “W3ABC from K3XYZ, you’re number 47, Bravo Uniform X-ray” — that’s QSO #47 from Bucks County. They’ll give you their number and location back. Log both accurately: a miscopied serial number costs the QSO.

What's my county abbreviation?

It’s where your transmitter is during the contact, not your mailing address. Around here: BUX Bucks · MGY Montgomery · PHI Philadelphia · DCO Delaware · CHE Chester · LEH Lehigh · NHA Northampton. Note Bucks is BUX, not BUC — the full official list is linked below.

Can I use FT8 / FT4 / RTTY?

No. The PA QSO Party is CW and voice only — digital QSOs don't count. CW contacts are worth 2 points, voice contacts 1 point.

Which bands?

Everything you're licensed for except the WARC bands (no 12, 17, 30, or 60 meters). Most activity is on 40 and 20 meters, with 80 meters strong in the evening. No repeater, satellite, or EchoLink contacts.

Can I work the same station more than once?

Yes — once per band per mode. So W3ABC on 40 m voice, 40 m CW, and 20 m voice is three valid QSOs. Mobiles and rovers can be worked again every time they change counties. And if you're not sure whether you already worked someone, work them again — duplicates carry no penalty.

I'm terrible at this. Is a tiny log worth submitting?

Emphatically yes. Every member log adds to Penn Wireless's club aggregate score, and the club needs at least three submitted logs just to appear in the results. Ten contacts from your attic dipole helps. This is the club-participation event where literally everyone counts.

How do I log contacts?

Any contest logger works — N1MM Logger+ and N3FJP both have a PA QSO Party module that fills in the serial numbers and county abbreviations for you (log times in UTC; the software does this by default). If you logged on paper, don’t give up: the rules only accept Cabrillo 3.0 files, but converting a paper log is a ten-minute job — ask on the club forum and someone will walk you through it.

How do I submit my log — and credit the club?

Upload your Cabrillo file at the PAQP log-submission page (linked below) within 7 days of the party — by Sunday, October 18. The form asks for your club affiliation: enter Penn Wireless Association so your score counts toward the club aggregate (you must be a current member, and you can credit only one club). Make sure your Cabrillo header has a valid email address. Don’t sweat your score calculation — the organizers rescore every log from the raw QSOs anyway.

What's the bonus station?

K3ZMC — the Pottsville Area Amateur Radio Club celebrating its 50th anniversary. Each valid QSO with K3ZMC is worth 200 points, so chase it on every band and mode you can.

Anything happening before the party?

A pre-party net runs Friday night, October 9 at 8 PM EDT on 3.910 MHz LSB — mobiles, rovers, and portable operations announce their plans, and it's a good warm-up for the exchange.

Can I use the DX cluster or spot myself?

Yes — spotting is allowed and encouraged in every category, self-spotting included.

Can I win anything?

Certificates go to entrants with 25 or more valid QSOs in their award category, and there are plaques by category, county, and club. There's also a Golden Log award for perfect logs of 100+ QSOs. But the real prize is bragging rights at the next meeting.