North American QSO Party, RTTY

12-hour low-power North American party, 100 W maximum with no amplifiers. Multipliers count once per band, so moving multipliers between bands is central to strategy. Single ops may operate 10 of the 12 hours.

Rules at ncjweb.comThe rules are the sponsor's. This page holds the dates and the facts.

When it runs

Last Saturday of February, and Third full weekend of July

1800Z Saturday → 0559Z Sunday

Times are UTC, as the sponsor states them.

Next runnings

1800Z Sat 27 Feb → 0559Z Sun 28 Feb · 11h 59m2027
in 149 days
1800Z Sat 17 Jul → 0559Z Sun 18 Jul · 11h 59m2027
in 289 days
1800Z Sat 26 Feb → 0559Z Sun 27 Feb · 11h 59m2028
in 513 days
1800Z Sat 15 Jul → 0559Z Sun 16 Jul · 11h 59m2028
in 653 days
1800Z Sat 24 Feb → 0559Z Sun 25 Feb · 11h 59m2029
in 877 days
1800Z Sat 21 Jul → 0559Z Sun 22 Jul · 11h 59m2029
in 1024 days

Operating

Modes: RTTY
Bands: 160m80m40m20m15m10m
Exchange: Name + state/province/country
Power categories: Low Power 100 W
Logs: Cabrillo
Who can enter: Anyone, anywhere.
NCJ rule 1: any amateur licensee may enter. Object is working North American stations.

Where this comes from

Checked against the sponsor: Yes. The rule on this page was read off National Contest Journal (NCJ)'s own published rules. Link last confirmed 2026-08-11.
What the source says: NCJ rules: winter running STARTS ON THE LAST SATURDAY IN FEBRUARY (not the last full weekend -- in 2026 that is Feb 28, whose Sunday falls in March); summer running is the third full weekend in July. Verified against NCJ's published Feb 28 2026 and Jul 18 2026.
Recorded caveats: Demonstrates that 'last Saturday' and 'last full weekend' are distinct rules. CQ 160 SSB turned out to need a third one again -- CQ's published dates fit neither, and that record is the fourth Saturday of February.

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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