This weekend sees one of the big contests of the year – the Worked All Europe DX Contest – CW Leg.
Start: 8th August 2026 0000z Finish: 9th August 2026 2359z
Many leading contesters claim the WAEDC to be the most challenging contest of the year. Being a true blue DX contest, only intercontinental QSOs between DX and Europe are counted (exception is the RTTY-leg). Therefore the number of DX QSOs may be similar to the amount of DX usually worked in the CQWW.
Moreover, the unique feature of QTC-traffic adds much fun and another operating challenge to the contest. Here the DX stations transfer real telegrams to the European stations. These telegrams contain data of previously logged QSOs. Each of these records counts one additional point for the sender and the receiver, given that the complete record was logged correctly. Thus, a DX station can actually double its score by sending QTCs. Some European stations, and not only the leading ranks, gain more than 70 percent of their score from QTC traffic. QTC mode is available in many contest loggers to help automate the generation of the telegrams. This aspect adds a unique challenge for this contest and really tests your ability to maintain a long distance QSO while you work to transfer the necessary data “back home” to Europe.
The rules for this year’s event are available here: www.darc.de/en/wae-rules/
Logs need to be uploaded in Cabrillo-Format here: dxhf2.darc.de/cont_hub/
This is one contest where Europe is genuinly looking for contacts outside of their continent and is an ideal opportunity for VK stations to make contact with the other side of the world. So if you dont fancy mowing the lawn in the rain this weekend, settle in and call CQ WAE and enjoy the pileups!
Special Note:
WAE-DX-Contest and IARU bandplan
According to IARU-Region-1 rules, no contest operation (neither RUN nor S&P) is permitted outside the contest-preferred segments is permitted. Make sure you are not operating in any of the following non-contest subbands: CW : 3570-3800; 7040-7200; 14060-14350 kHz