PA QSO Party FAQs - PA QSO PA

Please see the Rules page:

Brevity and clarity are keys to efficient contesting (refer to the ARRL Contest Basics). Repeating what you have copied or adding phrases like "please copy" are unnecessary. If you need a "fill" or repeat, ask only for the information that is required, such as serial number or county or the entire exchange only if needed. Note that there is no need for using the K or BK prosigns on CW. Experienced CW ops are masters at sending only what is necessary and the same techniques can be applied to Phone operation. Don't make up phonetics on phone - use the ITU Phonetic Alphabet. It's also clearer to say the individual digits of a serial number on Phone, i.e., "One Zero One" or "Three Five" as opposed to "One Hundred One" or "Thirty Five".

Below are examples of a PA QSO Party exchange. In these examples K3NG is the station calling CQ (or "running") and W3HC is the station doing "search-and-pounce" or looking for stations calling CQ. K3NG is located in Carbon County (CAR), and W3HC is located in Lycoming County (LYC).

Phone QSO:
K3NG: "CQ PA QSO Party from K3NG, Kilo Three November Golf"
W3HC: "Whiskey Three Hotel Charlie"
K3NG: "W3HC number 101, One Zero One, Carbon County, Charlie Alpha Romeo"
W3HC: "Thank you, you are number 35 Lycoming County" (add phonetics for county if warranted: Lima Yankee Charlie)
K3NG: "Roger, Good Luck, QRZed Kilo Three November Golf"

CW QSO:
K3NG: "CQ PAQP DE K3NG K3NG"
W3HC: "W3HC"
K3NG: "W3HC 101 CAR"
W3HC: "TU 35 LYC"
K3NG: "TU DE K3NG"

Yes. County activation plans are collected and updated each year and are available - click button below. It is best to check this site often as plans evolve right up to the start of the contest.

Please see our analysis which shows the rarest counties for the last five years.

This is optional but appreciated by the PA QSO Party Association to help ensure that all 67 counties are covered. Plans can be shared via this page:

Please go to section 9 of the rules.

There are several contest logging programs available that support the PAQP. The most popular programs are N1MM Logger+, N3FJP, and WriteLog. Use the latest version to insure the best results. Also, integration of the contest logging program and radio are strongly encouraged.

No. Logged exchanges must conform to the standard abbreviations shown at the link below. Use of non-standard abbreviations will likely cause the QSO to not count in the final score.

No. QSOs can only be made on CW and SSB.

Yes! The PA QSO Party allows and encourages spotting in all categories. Self-spotting is permitted. Spotting may be performed via the DX cluster and/or the PA QSO Party spotting page available at the link below.

Yes, please. There is no penalty for dupes, and a dupe in your log might be a valid QSO for the other station (e.g., the other station doesn't have you in their log).

No. There is no penalty for dupes, and a dupe in your log might be a valid QSO for the other station (e.g., the other station mis-copied your call the first time).

No, you will not receive credit for QSOs if you miscopied calls, serial numbers, or locations (county or ARRL section). The other elements of the QSO are equally important. For additional information see section 5 of the rules.

You must use UTC for the QSO time.

For those without rig control, the logged frequency can be anywhere within the QSO band.

No. Once you operate as a multi-op station then you are multi for the duration.

Yes, but as there is no single band category you would enter as one of the categories defined in the rules.

Everyone can call CQ. Here are recommended (optional) CQ messages:

It is suggested that you add your county to your callsign to help participants recognize your Pennsylvania location. For example, NK8Q/MER would denote that NK8Q is in Mercer County.

The “Mobile Window” is a set of suggested frequencies set aside exclusively for the mobiles to operate in. Non-mobile stations should not call CQ or “run” in the “Mobile Window” to avoid interfering with the mobile stations. You are encouraged to look for the mobiles in the “Mobile Window.” Please see Section 4 of the PAQP rules for mobile window frequencies.

The Bonus Station is a special operation selected by the PA QSO Party Association. These operations are often clubs that are commemorating anniversaries or other notable activities. Each valid QSO with the Bonus Station is worth 200 points. Please see section 11 of the rules for more information.

No, but the submittal of a log, no matter how large or small, contributes to the log checking process and is strongly encouraged.

No. Only Cabrillo 3.0 logs are accepted. For support in converting paper logs to Cabrillo 3.0 format, please go to:

Cabrillo is a specification intended to establish contest log formatting standards. Compliance with these standards facilitates electronic submission and checking of contest logs. Contest logging software will generate Cabrillo 3.0 formatted logs. The Cabrillo specification is available at:

All PAQP logs should be submitted within 7 days after contest via the PA QSO Party website (the Log Submission page is activated a few weeks before the Party).

No. The log checking system used in the PAQP will automatically calculate the claimed scores for all logs submitted.

Yes, the receipt of logs is automatically acknowledged via email. Further, a listing of uploaded logs is provided at:

You may re-submit revised logs via the website as many times as you like, until the submission deadline. The last log you submit will be used for scoring. You may not revise your log once the submission deadline has passed.

Please see the listing of awards and certificates available to all PAQP participants.

Yes. Please see Section 15 of the PAQP rules.

Yes, you can pay the sponsorship fee and a plaque will be sent to you. However, you must submit your request and pay the fee on a timely basis following the posting of the results before we send the list of the plaque winners to the vendor that produces the plaques.

This is heartbreaking when it happens, but rest assured, it has happened to many participants over the years. We only grant awards when a participant has met the award criteria. This makes attaining the award that much more fulfilling.

Yes. Plaque sponsorship opportunities will be typically announced by the PA QSO Party Association in November.

The preliminary results of the PAQP are typically released in January followed by the final results some time afterwards. Both are published at:

- The primary source of information is the PAQP Website located at https://paqso.org/

- The PA QSO Party Association administers a groups.io list (https://groups.io/g/PaQSOParty) for sharing PAQP related traffic including operating plans. This groups.io list is open to all.

- An informal warmup net is held on the Friday night before the contest at 8:00 PM local time on 3910 KHz +/-.

- There is Pennsylvania QSO Party Facebook that is typically active before and after the PAQP; signup at:

Donations are strictly voluntary and welcomed. These donations are primarily used to cover the costs of maintaining the PAQP information technology infrastructure and PA QSO Party Association sponsored awards. A list of all donors is available at:

Please send your question(s) to: