Iowa QSO Party 2026

Handy Resources:

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- Here is a Cabrillo template and sample log file
- Here is the Iowa counties and abbreviations list
- Here is the US states and Canadian provinces list
- Here is a map of Iowa counties
- Check here for spotting info during the contest:
*** http://qsopartyhub.com/iaqp-spots.php
*** https://mobiletracker.stateqso.com/IA/
- We also have a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/iowaqsoparty

Submit your logs online at our Log Upload website: https://iaqp.contesting.com/iaqpsubmitlog.php

Planned County Activations:

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Are you planning to activate one or more Iowa counties? Email us at iowaqsoparty@hotmail.com and we will include your activation plans here.

Iowa QSO Party -- 2026 Rules

There are no rule changes for 2026.

Date and Time:

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Saturday, September 19, 2026 from 9AM - 9PM US Central Time (1400Z, September 19 - 0200Z, September 20)

Purpose:

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The purpose of the Iowa QSO Party is to encourage contact with Iowa amateur radio stations by other Iowa hams and hams worldwide.

Objective:

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Iowa stations work everybody, including other Iowa stations. Stations outside Iowa work as many Iowa stations as possible. See the rules below for further details. Send comments or questions to iowaqsoparty@hotmail.com

Entry Classes:

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- Iowa Single-Op Fixed (between 5 Watts and 150 Watts)
- Iowa Multi-Op Fixed (between 5 Watts and 150 Watts)
- Iowa Single-Op Mobile/Rover (between 5 Watts and 150 Watts)
- Iowa Multi-Op Mobile/Rover (between 5 Watts and 150 Watts)
- Iowa Single-Op Portable (between 5 Watts and 150 Watts)
- Iowa Multi-Op Portable (between 5 Watts and 150 Watts)
- Out-of-State (within US and Canada) (between 5 Watts and 150 Watts)
- Iowa QRP (5 Watts or less)
- Out-of-State QRP (5 Watts or less)
- Iowa High Power (more than 150 Watts, any single fixed location)
- Out-of-State High Power (more than 150 Watts, any single fixed location)
- DX (outside US and Canada) (any LEGAL power)
Mobile/Rover is a station that can operate from one or more physical locations.
Portable is a station set up at a single temporary location away from any permanent station.
This table might help clarify the classes:

Power	Class
QRP (5 W or less)	Iowa QRP
	Out-of-State QRP
Low (more than 5 W up to 150 W)	Iowa Single-Op Fixed
	Iowa Multi-Op Fixed
	Iowa Single-Op Mobile/Rover
	Iowa Multi-Op Mobile/Rover
	Iowa Single-Op Portable
	Iowa Multi-Op Portable
	Out-of-State
High (more than 150 W)	Iowa High Power
	Out-of-State High Power
Any	DX

Modes:

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- Phone (includes digital phone)
- CW
- Digital (excludes digital phone but includes other digital modes)
Satellite QSOs are allowed.
Repeater or network QSOs are NOT allowed.
FT modes are allowed as long as the FULL Iowa QSO Party exchange is completed by BOTH parties.
It appears JS8Call could work, as that allows for free-form text entry QSOs. It looks like WSJT-x (FT8 and FT4) will NOT work at this time, as the software does not allow free-form text QSO, which means passing the FULL EXCHANGE is not possible. Perhaps in the future this may be possible, but as of 2024 it appears not.
Note especially for digital modes: All valid QSOs must complete the full contest exchange.

Exchange:

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- Iowa Stations: send RS/T and county (see the county abbreviation list)
- All Other US/Canada Stations: send RS/T and state/province (see the state/province abbreviation list)
- DX Stations (outside US and Canada): send RS/T and "DX"

Bands:

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Contacts may be made on any amateur band EXCEPT the 60m, 30m, 17m, and 12m bands. This table lists some suggested frequencies (plus or minus). Digital stations look around the customary calling frequencies for each mode.

Band	CW	PH/SSB	PH/FM
160m	1.820	1.855
80m	3.540	3.840
40m	7.040	7.210
20m	14.040	14.285
15m	21.040	21.330
10m	28.040	28.415
6m	50.040	50.150	52.550
2m	144.060	144.250	146.550
1.25m		222.150	223.450
70cm	432.105	432.150	446.550

Scoring:

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QSO Points:
- Each phone contact is worth one (1) point.
- Each CW contact is worth two (2) points.
- Each digital mode contact is worth two (2) points.
- Duplicate contacts are worth zero (0) points.
- Non-Iowa stations may be worked ONCE per MODE per BAND.
- Iowa stations may be worked ONCE per MODE per BAND per COUNTY.
- Iowa Mobile/Rover stations may work all stations AGAIN for each county that they operate from.

Multipliers:
- Stations Outside Iowa: One multiplier for each Iowa county worked (see the county list).
- Iowa Stations: One multiplier for each Iowa county worked, and one multiplier for each state (including Iowa) or Canadian province worked (see the state/province list).
- Iowa Stations: No multiplier for working DX stations. DX stations still count as QSOs, so definitely DO work them!
- Multipliers are applied one time only, NOT per Band, and NOT per Mode. This has always been our normal scoring method, we have just added this note for clarification.

Final Score:
- Multiply total QSO Points by the total number of Multipliers.

Note about Claimed Scores:
- For a variety of reasons, not all claimed scores produced by logging software are accurate. Your official score is the number we arrive at during the scoring process after all logs have been submitted and scored together.

Club Competition:

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Scores attributed to any amateur radio club will be credited toward that club. All clubs with three or more credited scores will be included in an overall ranking of those scores with a certificate awarded to the club with the highest score.

General:

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- The Iowa QSO Party is included in the State QSO Party Challenge http://stateqsoparty.com/.
- Spotting on the packet clusters or via Internet is permissible, including self-spotting.
- Mobile/Rover and Portable stations are encouraged to post your locations via APRS (see: https://mobiletracker.stateqso.com/IA/)
- Stations entering the QRP Class are limited to no more than 5 Watts.
- Stations transmitting with more than 150 Watts must enter the High Power Class (except DX stations).
- Stations are not allowed to change their entry class once established.
- The Out-of-State, DX, QRP, and High Power classes include both single-operator and multi-operator stations combined in the same class.
- Iowa Mobile/Rover stations who change counties are considered to be a new station in each new county.
- Iowa Mobile/Rover stations and Portable stations may park/setup on a county line/junction and represent all counties at the intersection simultaneously.
- Some portion of the vehicle or station must physically be in each county being run. For example, if your antenna is in one county, the feedline passes thru a second county, and the transmitter is in a third county, then you may claim all three counties at the same time. All parts of the station must be physically connected.
- All intersecting counties may be worked in a single exchange (JA6DX this is W0YL, you are 59 in Story STR, Marshall MSL, and Hardin HDN counties).
- County-line operations should be prepared to provide proof that their station was physically located in each county claimed.
- Mobile/Rover is a station that can operate from one or more physical locations.
- Portable is a station set up at a single temporary location away from any permanent station.
- Please keep safety in mind and do not cause a traffic hazard where you park your vehicle.
- Single Op is one person performing all operating and logging functions.
- Multi-Op vs. Single-Op is determined by the number of operators, not the number of radios used.
- Download the list of Iowa counties and 3 letter abbreviations. All operators must use these abbreviations in their exchanges and in their logs.
- Download the state and province list. All operators must use these abbreviations in their exchanges and in their logs.
- Here is a map of Iowa counties for those interested in station locations.
- Here is a Cabrillo template and sample log file.

Software:

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There may be additional ones, but these are the logging programs we are aware of at this time. Please use the newest available version of your chosen logging program.
- PoLo Portable Logger by Ham2K ( https://polo.ham2k.com/ )
- N1MM ( https://n1mm.hamdocs.com/ )
- N3FJP ( http://www.n3fjp.com/stateqsoparty.html )
- GenLog ( http://www.qsl.net/w3km/ )
- WriteLog ( https://writelog.com/ )
- NO5W ( http://www.no5w.com/ )
- SkookumLogger ( https://k1gq.net/SkookumLogger/ )

Submission of Logs:

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- Submit logs via website: https://iaqp.contesting.com/iaqpsubmitlog.php
- Logs must be received by 11:45PM US Central Time on October 19, 2026 (0445Z OCT 20 2026).
- Contest logs should be in Cabrillo format! Here is a Cabrillo template. Most contest software will produce this output for you automatically.
- See https://wwrof.org/cabrillo/ or http://www.arrl.org/cabrillo-format-tutorial for some basic Cabrillo info.
- Other electronic formats might work but we STRONGLY PREFER Cabrillo format.
- Paper logs will only be accepted for 10 contacts or less. Paper logs should be postmarked by October 9, 2026, so they will arrive in time to be included in the scoring process. The mailing address is below.
- Another option instead of paper logs would be to use one of the various online Cabrillo generators. Manually enter your contacts into one of those, and it will generate a Cabrillo file for you.
- Verification of receipt of logs will be made on the log submission website and on the Iowa QSO Party website.
- Did we mention your log file should be in Cabrillo format?

Mailing Address:
STORY COUNTY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB
1124 Roosevelt Ave
Ames, IA 50010
USA

Awards:

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- Iowa Single-Op Fixed High Score
- Iowa Multi-Op Fixed High Score
- Iowa Single-Op Mobile/Rover High Score
- Iowa Multi-Op Mobile/Rover High Score
- Iowa Single-Op Portable High Score
- Iowa Multi-Op Portable High Score
- Out-of-State (within US and Canada) High Score
- Iowa QRP (5 Watts or less) High Score
- Out-of-State QRP (5 Watts or less) High Score
- Iowa High Power (more than 150 Watts) High Score
- Out-of-State High Power (more than 150 Watts) High Score
- DX (outside US and Canada) High Score
- Club High Score
- Top number of counties worked
- Top number of counties activated

Prizes:

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- The top 3 scoring stations (overall point total only, NOT each class) will receive a bag of Iowa-grown popcorn.
- We would like to offer plaques to category winners, but to do this we will need sponsors for each plaque. Please contact the contest committee at iowaqsoparty@hotmail.com if you would like to be a sponsor.

ENTRANT AGREEMENT:

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By submitting a log to the Iowa QSO Party, entrant agrees that all decisions made by the Story County Amateur Radio Club Iowa QSO Party High Council are final. That said, every effort will be made to maintain fairness to all participants.

Iowa QSO Party High Council (contest committee):

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- Pat Rundall, N0HR, High Council Grand Master (committee chair)
- Clint Miller, K0GR
- Paul Cowley, W0YR
- Jason Skretta, KC0EDE
- Ron Nelson, KN0R
- Claus Niesen, AE0S