Worked All Europe DX Contest RTTY 2026

WAEDC 48 hours of digital operation and QTC connections

Druhý novembrový víkend bude patriť ďalšiemu ročníku Worked All Europe DX contest RTTY. Súťaž organizovaná nemeckým rádioamatérskym zväzom DARC patrí medzi tradičné podujatia digitálnej prevádzky a ponúka trochu odlišný prístup k rádioamatérskemu contestingu. Nestačí iba nadviazať čo najviac spojení. Významnú úlohu zohráva aj výmena QTC správ, správne získavanie násobičov a strategické využitie jednotlivých pásiem.

In addition, the RTTY part of the WAE has one interesting feature. Unlike the CW and SSB parts, there are no continental restrictions on the QSOs themselves. Every station can work with every station regardless of continent. The continental restriction remains only for QTC operation. This also makes WAE RTTY interesting for both European and non-European stations.

When will the race take place?

Worked All Europe DX Contest RTTY 2026 sa uskutoční od soboty 14. novembra 2026 o 00:00 UTC do nedele 15. novembra 2026 o 23:59 UTC. Preteky teda trvajú prakticky 48 hodín. Na Slovensku sa začnú v sobotu o 01:00 SEČ a skončia sa v pondelok o 00:59 SEČ.

However, not everyone has to be on the radio all weekend. Stations in the Single Operator categories can work a maximum of 36 hours from the total time of the competition. The remaining 12 hours are breaks. A single out-of-service time must last at least 60 minutes and no QSOs or QTCs can be recorded during that time. It is therefore advisable to plan breaks in advance, for example for a time with worse spreading conditions or lower activity.

Bands and competition categories

It competes on five shortwave bands:

• 80 m - 3.5 MHz
• 40 m - 7 MHz
• 20 m - 14 MHz
• 15 m - 21 MHz
• 10 m - 28 MHz

During operation, it is necessary to respect the IARU Region 1 bandplan and recommended competition segments. The 14,099 to 14,101 kHz segment is specifically prohibited for RTTY. In this section, competitive operation is not allowed, neither when searching for stations, nor when broadcasting a call. It is therefore worth checking the setting of the frequency ranges in the logging program and the digital interface before the start of the competition.

The organizer lists three basic categories:

• Single Operator Low: one operator, maximum output power 100 W.
• Single Operator High: one operator, power higher than 100 W.
• Multi-Operator: a multi-operator station with the possibility of using several transmitters according to the rules.

In the Single Operator categories, only one broadcast signal is allowed at a time. With Multi-Operator, special rules apply for band changes. The main station can change the band every ten minutes, except when working on multipliers. On other bands, additional transmitters can be used in parallel to obtain multipliers. All transmitters, receivers and antennas used in the competition must be placed in a circle with a maximum diameter of two kilometers.

It is allowed to use DX spotting networks in all categories. The DX cluster can thus help in searching for new stations and multipliers, but the final decision to change the band should also be based on your own monitoring of the conditions.

Contest code and information exchange

The exchange during a connection consists of an RS/RST report and a progressive serial number starting with 001. Each subsequent connection receives the next number. RTTY uses the RST report, so a typical exchange might look like this:

• OM station transmits: 599 001.
• The counter station will answer: 599 125.

In the event that the opposing station does not transmit the serial number, the rules allow recording the value 000. However, such a connection brings point credit only if the station obtains a new multiplier with it. Each counter station can be counted only once on one band.

The most important difference of the RTTY part is the possibility of making QSOs without continental restrictions. Stations from Europe can work with other European stations as well as non-European ones. This creates a significantly wider space for acquiring connections than in the classic CW or SSB part of the WAE.

QTC operation: additional points for transmitted messages

QTC je jednou z najzaujímavejších častí Worked All Europe DX Contest. Nejde o ďalšie bežné spojenie, ale o odovzdanie informácie o už uskutočnenom súťažnom QSO. Správa obsahuje čas spojenia v UTC, značku stanice a jej odovzdané sériové číslo. Príklad takejto správy je 1307 DA1AA 431. Znamená to, že stanica DA1AA bola pracovaná o 13:07 UTC a odovzdala číslo 431.

Each correctly transmitted QTC brings one point to the sender and one point to the receiver. Therefore, QTC can significantly increase the final score and is a significant part of the result in successful journals. Each QSO can be transmitted as a QTC only once and cannot be sent back to the station with which the original call was made.

In the RTTY part, all stations can send and receive QTC. However, there is a condition that the QTC operation must take place between different continents. A total of ten QTCs can be sent and received between two stations. So the limit applies to both directions together, not ten messages in each direction.

QTCs are transmitted in groups. One group can contain from one to ten messages and is indicated by the serial number of the group and the number of messages. For example, the designation QTC 3/7 means the third sending group that contains seven QTCs. For each group, its number, time and band on which the transmission took place must be correctly recorded. If any of this data is missing from the log, the group may not be recognized.

It is the QTC operation that makes WAE RTTY more than a simple contest based on fast connection establishment. It requires accurate work with data, good coordination between operators and a properly set logging program. It is therefore worthwhile to try sending and receiving QTC before the start of the race.

Multipliers and score calculation

Multipliers are countries and territories defined by WAE and DXCC rules. Their choice depends on whether the station works from Europe or outside. For European stations, i.e. also for Slovak OM stations, the multiplier is represented by each worked non-European DXCC entity. In addition, for some large countries, the numerical areas of the call signs are calculated separately, for example, individual areas of the USA, Canada, Japan or Australia. For non-European stations, the multipliers are the countries listed in the WAE list.

Multipliers are calculated on each band separately and their point weight depends on the band:

• 3.5 MHz – multiplier 4
• 7 MHz – multiplier 3
• 14, 21 and 28 MHz – multiplier 2

This means that getting a new multiplier on 80 meters has more weight than on higher bands. Therefore, when planning operations, it is not necessary to monitor only the number of connections. It is important to continuously add new multipliers on all bands and not to miss the lower bands either.

The final score is calculated as the sum of all valid QSOs and QTCs multiplied by the sum of the band-weighted multipliers. In practice, a well-managed QTC operation and a few new multipliers can have a greater benefit than increasing the number of connections.

Upload log and check log

Competition logs are submitted exclusively in Cabrillo electronic format via the official DARC logbot. The deadline for RTTY 2026 is November 22, 2026 at 23:59 UTC, seven days after the end of the race.

Logrobot performs a preliminary syntax check of the file. In the event of an error, it displays information about the line or connection in which the problem is located. In previous years, logs appeared with incorrect formatting, incorrect characters or non-standard data created by some versions of logging programs. If the robot rejects the log, you should carefully read its warnings, correct the marked errors and send the file again.

We therefore recommend not to wait until the last minute to submit. After the contest, check the Cabrillo file, especially the category and power class header, QSO and QTC records, and correct timing data. Successful reception of the log by the logrobot is an important step towards its processing.

Conclusion

Worked All Europe DX Contest RTTY 2026 ponúka 48 hodín digitálnej prevádzky, v ktorej majú svoje miesto rýchle spojenia, práca s násobičmi aj premyslená QTC prevádzka. Práve možnosť pracovať s ľubovoľnou stanicou bez kontinentálneho obmedzenia robí RTTY časť WAE výnimočnou.

Stations with a power of up to 100 W can also participate in the competition. Good preparation, a correctly set logging program and the ability to use the conditions on all five bands are important. Remember that every valid QSO, every correctly transmitted QTC and every new multiplier counts in this race. We wish you many successful connections and a good result!