North American QSO Party (NAQP)

The North American QSO Party is a casual region-focused HF radio contest. 

SSB:  3rd  Saturday in January and  August

RTTY: Last Saturday in February and 3rd Saturday in July
2 pm to 2 am EDT 

What's a QSO Party?!

First things first: A QSO is ham lingo for a "contact or conversation" on the air,! A QSO party is a fun contest that makes stations in a specific state or region the "targets" of the contest. 

The North American QSO Party takes the State QSO party and expands the area of interest to you guessed it, North America. Unlike more hectic international contacts, the QSOs in these contests are slower paced, mostly US  participants, and often include some friendly chat along with the required info exchange. It's a great opportunity to "get on the mic" using the club callsign, even if you have never contested or been on the HF bands before. We will show you how to do it!

How do Piglets work the NAQP?

Given that the requirements of the contest do not dictate whether we need to be portable (like Field Day) or be anywhere specific other than Indiana, this gives us a rare opportunity to work from our shacks!

The most recent installment of NAQP SSB in August was hosted at the QTH of N9TD and may be held there for future events. Like our other events, the operating location may vary and it is recommended to pay attention to the Discord channel and event reminder emails for the latest information. 

Come out and join us, it's a fun time!

Want to Participate?

We need you to make this event a success! Please contact a club officer or post in the #contesting Discord Channel to express your interest. 

A lot of roles are available: You can choose to be the mic operator or logger, take turns doing both, coordinate our planning, help set up and take down, or just observe. Technicians are welcome to get on the air too: We'll pair you with a General or Extra operator so you can legally work ALL the bands under their supervision, not just 10 meters. 

You must be a member to reserve a time slot at the radios, but we will be happy to help licensed and unlicensed guests (legally!) get on the air for a few minutes to try out ham radio and contesting!

Observers, guests, and non-members are welcome to stop by too... Come learn how fun it is to contact stations around the country (and the world) with just 100 watts of power and a wire!

NAQP Contest Rules & Maps

For more NAQP details and contest rules, visit the NAQP page on the National Contest Journal website. 

Radio Channels

On-Site Simplex: Piglet-1 (147.475, with 77 hz tone squelch)

Drive Time Talk-In:  Hortonville UHF repeater (443.95 +5, 77 hz)