CW QRS Telegram group
Born to promote amateur radio telegraphy
“1 Key Nights”
are back!
THEMATIC EVENINGS ON RADIO DEDICATED, IN ROTATION, TO A SINGLE TYPE OF TELEGRAPH KEY
Schedule
March 12, 2026: Straight Key
March 19, 2026: Mono Paddle
March 26, 2026: Bug
April 2, 2026: Side-sweeper
April 9, 2026: Dual Paddle
April 16, 2026: “Open Night” (any type of key may be used)
April 23, 2026: Straight Key
April 30, 2026: Mono Paddle
May 7, 2026: Bug
May 14, 2026: Side-sweeper
May 21, 2026: Dual Paddle
May 28, 2026: “Open Night” (any type of key may be used)
Radio operations will take place from 16:00 to 23:00 UTC.
Participation
Participation is open to all properly licensed amateur radio operators.
Bands and Modes
CW only on amateur radio HF, VHF and UHF bands, in compliance with the band plan.
Categories
Single operator, CW mode (A1A).
Calling
No specific call is required.
The standard call should be used:
CQ CQ DE …
Exchange
During the QSO, in addition to RST, operators should exchange as much information as possible about the key being used (model, year of production, technical specifications, etc.).
Rules
For scoring purposes it is strongly recommended that participants use the type of key dedicated to that evening.
Calls must not start at speeds higher than 20 WPM, in order to encourage new operators coming from beginner CW courses. Once the QSO has started, operators may agree on any speed they prefer.
Only two-way QSOs are valid. If a third station joins an ongoing QSO, points will be credited only to the two stations that initiated the contact. The third station is therefore encouraged to call independently on another frequency or wait until the QSO ends before calling one of the stations.
All QSOs count toward the final score even if the other station is not participating in the Activity.
Each station may be worked only once per day per band.
If repeated contacts occur on the same day, only the first one will be considered valid.
Scoring
Each QSO made using the key type designated for the evening is worth 4 points.
Each QSO made using a different key type than the one designated for the evening is worth 1 point.
All QSOs made during the “Open Night” are worth 1 point, regardless of the key used.
During a given evening, all QSOs must be made using the same type of key. QSOs made using different keys than the one chosen must not be uploaded and will not count toward the score.
The score for each QSO is independent of its duration. However, a QSO that begins less than ten minutes after the start of the previous QSO will receive no points and will not be counted in the ranking.
Score calculation will be automatically handled by the Activity management software, and participants are not required to perform any calculations.
Log
Log extracts in ADIF format must be uploaded to:
https://cwqrs.pythonanywhere.com
The log must include: date, band, mode, correspondent call sign, start time, RST sent and received.
When uploading the log, participants must indicate the single type of key used during the evening.
Logs must be uploaded separately for each evening.
Partial logs may be uploaded at any time and can be updated multiple times during the evening by uploading an updated ADIF file containing both previously uploaded QSOs and new ones.
New files will completely replace the previously uploaded ones.
Partial logs will immediately populate the provisional ranking.
By submitting a log, participants declares that they:
have understood and fully accepted these rules;
have operated in compliance with current regulations;
accept that the log may be used for checking purposes and ranking compilation, and may be made public in its entirety.
Ranking
The provisional ranking will be updated in real time when each log is uploaded and will be immediately visible.
The final ranking will be published on https://www.cwqrs.it
the CW QRS Telegram Group
the CW QRS Facebook group
Log Submission Deadline
Logs should preferably be uploaded at the end of each evening, and in any case no later than 7 days afterward.
Final Prize
The operator who finishes the activity in first place will win:
A Cap, a hoodie and a Polo shirt, all featuring the CW QRS Group logo.
The prizes will be awarded during the Montichiari Fair in September 2026, or alternatively during one of the subsequent meetings organized by the CW QRS Group.
At the organizers’ discretion, a Certificate of Merit may also be awarded to a novice operator who particularly stands out for the number of keys used, number of QSOs and score achieved.
Links
Website: https://cwqrs.it
Telegram: https://t.me/cw_qrs
Facebook: CW QRS Telegram Group