Florida QSO Party

Florida's own party: phone and CW over two sessions on the last April weekend, with the state's 67 counties as the multipliers everyone else is chasing.

Rules at floridaqsoparty.orgThe rules are the sponsor's. This page holds the dates and the facts.

When it runs

Last Saturday of April

1600Z Saturday → 0159Z Sundaysession 1
1200Z → 2159Z Sundaysession 2

Times are UTC, as the sponsor states them.

2 sessions run off the one anchor day; each is a separate running with its own log.

Next runnings

1600Z Sat 24 Apr → 0159Z Sun 25 Apr · 9h 59m2027
in 205 days
Logs due 0159Z Wed 5 May
1200Z Sun 25 Apr → 2159Z Sun 25 Apr · 9h 59m2027
in 206 days
Logs due 2159Z Wed 5 May
1600Z Sat 29 Apr → 0159Z Sun 30 Apr · 9h 59m2028
in 576 days
Logs due 0159Z Wed 10 May
1200Z Sun 30 Apr → 2159Z Sun 30 Apr · 9h 59m2028
in 577 days
Logs due 2159Z Wed 10 May
1600Z Sat 28 Apr → 0159Z Sun 29 Apr · 9h 59m2029
in 940 days
Logs due 0159Z Wed 9 May
1200Z Sun 29 Apr → 2159Z Sun 29 Apr · 9h 59m2029
in 941 days
Logs due 2159Z Wed 9 May

Operating

Modes: SSB / CW
Bands: 40m20m15m10m
No 160 or 80 metres, no WARC bands and no VHF.
Exchange: Florida stations send RS(T) and their county. Everyone else sends RS(T) and their state, Canadian province, or DXCC prefix.
Logs: due 10 days after the end
Who can enter: Anyone, anywhere.
'For radio amateurs outside of the state of Florida to make contacts with as many Florida stations' -- and Florida operators 'can work anyone outside and within Florida'.

Where this comes from

Checked against the sponsor: Yes. The rule on this page was read off Florida Contest Group's own published rules. Link last confirmed 2026-08-21.
What the source says: floridaqsoparty.org/rules/, the Florida Contest Group's own rules: 'Starts the last Saturday of April. For 2026, the Florida QSO Party dates will be April 25th- 26th.' Sessions: 'Saturday 16:00:00Z (Noon EDT) - Sunday 01:59:59Z (9:59:59 PM EDT)' and 'Sunday 12:00:00Z (8 AM EDT) - 21:59:59Z (5:59:59 PM EDT)'. Modes: 'Phone, CW, Mixed (Phone and CW)', with 'No digital QSOs are allowed in the FQP'. Bands: 'No 160 or 80 meters, WARC or VHF bands'. Exchange: 'Florida operators send county'; 'US (including KH6/KL7) operators send State. Canadian operators send province'; 'DX (including KP4, etc.) operators send DXCC prefix'. Deadline: 'Entries must be received (postmarked for mailed logs) no later than 10 days after the end of the FQP.'
Recorded caveats: LAST SATURDAY, NOT LAST FULL WEEKEND -- the sponsor's own words are 'Starts the last Saturday of April', and the two readings diverge whenever 30 April is a Saturday. 2026 does not test it: the last Saturday is the 25th and the last full weekend is the same weekend. 2033 is the next year that separates them. TWO SESSIONS WITH A NIGHT BETWEEN THEM, which is why this record uses the sessions array: 1600Z Saturday to 0159Z Sunday, then 1200Z to 2159Z on the Sunday. A single block would put the contest on the air through a night it does not run. AND IT IS NOT A DIGITAL CONTEST. 'No digital QSOs are allowed in the FQP' -- worth stating because most state parties do allow them, and because an operator filtering for FT8 should not find this.

Something wrong? How to report it — a link to the sponsor's own page is all it takes.

Take it with you

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