Illinois QSO Party

Illinois's party is a Sunday-afternoon sprint of the third full October weekend; digital is allowed but FT modes get no credit.

Rules at w9awe.orgThe rules are the sponsor's. This page holds the dates and the facts.

When it runs

Third full weekend of October

1700Z Sunday → 0100Z Monday

Times are UTC, as the sponsor states them.

Next runnings

1700Z Sun 18 Oct → 0100Z Mon 19 Oct · 8h2026
in 2 days
1700Z Sun 17 Oct → 0100Z Mon 18 Oct · 8h2027
in 366 days
1700Z Sun 22 Oct → 0100Z Mon 23 Oct · 8h2028
in 737 days
1700Z Sun 21 Oct → 0100Z Mon 22 Oct · 8h2029
in 1101 days
1700Z Sun 20 Oct → 0100Z Mon 21 Oct · 8h2030
in 1465 days

Operating

Modes: SSB / CW / Digital
Bands: 160m80m40m20m15m10m6m2m
Exchange: Illinois stations send serial number and county; others send serial number and state, province or DX.
Logs: no deadline or format recorded
Who can enter: Anyone, anywhere.

Where this comes from

Checked against the sponsor: Yes. The rule on this page was read off Western Illinois Amateur Radio Club's own published rules. Link last confirmed 2026-10-15.
What the source says: Sponsor's own rules (https://w9awe.org/ilqp/), read 2026-10-15: 'Held Annually on Sunday the third full weekend of October'; 1700Z 18 Oct to 0100Z 19 Oct 2026. FT4/FT8 earn no credit.
Recorded caveats: Recurrence anchors on the Saturday of the third full weekend with the session on the Sunday (day offset 1). FT4/FT8 contacts earn no credit, so the FT token is not recorded. No WARC bands.

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

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