Maine's
Premier International HF Contest!
Mission:
The Maine QSO Party is designed to encourage Maine stations to expand
their knowledge of DX propagation on the HF and MF bands, improve their
operating skills, and improve station capability by creating a
competition in which W/VE, and DX stations have the incentive to work
Maine.
Contest
Period: 1200
UTC Saturday, September 26 to 1200 UTC Sunday, September 27, 2026.
Bands
and Modes: 160, 80,
40, 20, 15, and 10, CW, and phone (SSB, FM, AM).
Exchange:
Stations in Maine send signal report and county. Stations outside of
Maine, but within either the United States or Canada, send signal
report and state/province. DX stations send signal report and "DX."
QSO's:
Contacts with
stations in Maine are worth 2 points. Contacts with stations outside
Maine are worth 1 point.
Multipliers
are the same for all participants: Use Maine counties (16), States
(50), Canadian Provinces (14), and DXCC entities as multipliers. You
may work any station once on each of the two modes, on each of the six
contest bands.
Multiplier notes: For U.S.
states, DC and MD will be counted as a single multiplier. For Canadian
Provinces, use the following abbreviations: NB, NS, QC, ON, MB, SK, AB,
BC, NT, NF, LB, YT, PE, NU. Please note that Newfoundland (NF) and
Labrador (LB) will count seperately.
Maine
County Abbreviations:
Sixteen in
total, (Maine's counties). Each multiplier may be counted once on each
mode on each of the six contest bands. The counties are: Androscoggin
(AND), Aroostook (ARO), Cumberland (CBL), Franklin (FRA), Hancock
(HAN), Kennebec (KEN), Knox (KNO), Lincoln (LIN), Oxford (OXF),
Penobscot (PEN), Piscataquis (PSQ), Sagadahoc (SAG), Somerset (SOM),
Waldo (WAL),
Washington (WAS), York (YOR).
Cross-mode,
cross-band, and repeater QSO's are not permitted.
Use
of a DX spotting system, including Skimmer and similar technologies or
any type of Packet Cluster network during the contest is encouraged.
It
is prohibited to make CW contacts in the conventional phone sub-bands
and phone contacts in the conventional CW sub-bands. Soliciting QSO's
through a repeater during the contest period is not allowed.
Final
Score: The total QSO
points from all bands multiplied by the total number of multipliers
from all bands.
Categories:
- Single
Operator High Power (>100 watts)
- Single
Operator Low Power (max. 100 watts output)
- Single
Operator QRP (max. 5 watts output)
- Single
Operator Mobile (max. 100 watts output)
- Multi-Operator
Single Transmitter High Power (>100 watts)
- Multi-Operator
Single Transmitter Low Power (max. 100 watts output)
- Multi-Operator
Multi-Transmitter, any authorized power
Entry
Deadline for logs: October 12, 2026
Entries with 10 or more contacts must be submitted electronically
in Cabrillo format to: maineqsoparty@gmail.com
The
contest committee
recommends the N3FJP Maine QSO Party software, as
well as N1MM+ logger, with the Maine QSO
Party update, and EI5DI's SD
log. All are available as downloads. Special thanks to all
the programmers who included Maine QSO
Party updates in their softwares and to those who continue to
support our contest.
Paper
mail entries must contain a summary sheet showing score calculation,
multiplier check, and a dupe sheet listing calls worked on each mode on
each band. Log sheets must show time, band, mode, call sign of station
worked, exchanges sent and received and claimed for each QSO. New
multipliers must be clearly marked in the log. Contest entry forms will
be available on the WSSM website.
Send
paper entries to:
Wireless
Society of Southern Maine
Maine QSO Party
P.O. Box 1603
Scarborough, ME 04070 USA
It
is strongly suggested that logs be sent as soon as possible after the
close of the event. It is also recommended that DX logs be sent via AIR
MAIL to ensure that they are received in good time. Any logs received
with a post mark date after the deadline date will be handled as a
check log. Any logs received more than 15 days after the entry
deadline, regardless of postmark, will be discarded.
Notes
We continue to receive a small number of logs submitted in formats
intended for other QSO parties, as well as instances where the
incorrect MEQP log type is used (e.g., in-state logs submitted by
out-of-state operators, and vice versa). These submissions require
manual review and scoring, which is time-consuming. We also
occasionally receive logs that list ARRL sections instead of states,
though these are generally easier to correct. To streamline log
processing and to ensure fairness to all participants, please ensure
your submission follows MEQP guidelines. Moving forward, logs submitted
in an incorrect format will be classified as check logs and not
eligible for scoring.
We would also like to remind participants that all QSOs made during the
contest period that meet MEQP criteria are eligible for points—not just
contacts with Maine stations. We continue to receive logs that include
only a handful of Maine QSOs and no additional contacts. While we
appreciate the effort it takes to log and submit these entries, this
approach significantly limits your potential score. We strongly
encourage participants to log all qualifying QSOs to ensure an accurate
and competitive result.
FUTURE DATES:
The Maine QSO Party always takes place the last full weekend in
September:
1200 UTC Saturday
25 September to 1200 UTC Sunday 26 September 2027
1200 UTC Saturday 23 September to 1200 UTC Sunday 24 September 2028
1200 UTC Saturday 29 September to 1200 UTC Sunday 30 September 2029
1200 UTC Saturday 28 September to 1200 UTC Sunday 29 September 2030
1200 UTC Saturday 27 September to 1200 UTC Sunday 28 September 2031
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Rules in
other languages:
Supported
logging programs:
MEQP
Results:
Click here for
2013 MEQP Results
Click here for
2014 MEQP Results
Click here for
2015 MEQP Results
Click here for
2016 MEQP Results
Click here for
2017 MEQP Results
Click here for
2018 MEQP Results
Click here for
2019 MEQP Results
Click here for 2020 MEQP Results
Click here for
2021 MEQP Results
Click here for
2022 MEQP Results
Click here for
2023 MEQP Results
Click here for
2024 MEQP Results
Click here for
2025 MEQP Results
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