The California QSO Party (CQP) is held every year on the first weekend of October.  The first CQP took place in 1966. Since 1974, the Northern California Contest Club (NCCC) has sponsored CQP.  CQP has traditionally opened the annual contest season by providing an opportunity for contesters to prepare for the ARRL November Sweepstakes since the format is similar.

Stations outside of California, worldwide, work stations in California only. The 58 counties of CA are the multipliers. California stations work all stations in or out of CA. The 50 US states and 13 Canadian provinces/territories are the multipliers.  Stations outside of Canada and the US add to one’s QSO total but do not count as multipliers. See the full set of CQP Rules for more details.

Contact Mike, W6MVM, at mvmcginty@gmail.com for more information and details.

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Attending Pacificon gives a chance to interact and share information with lots of other amateur radio enthusiasts to further (or begin) your own knowledge and to advance the hobby.

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Calaveras Amateur Radio Society (CARS) and the Tuolumne County Amateur Radio and Electronics Society (TCARES) are having a joint picnic & BBQ on September 19, 2026 at Utica Park, 1075 Utica Lane, Angels Camp, California, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

For details go to this event: Tri-County Picnic

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The North American QSO Parties are favorites of beginners and seasoned operators alike. The NAQPs are low-power only (no amplifiers allowed) which makes for a lot more breathing room on the bands. Small stations can generate very effective “runs” in the NAQP contests. Multipliers count once per-band, which makes for an exciting format, as multipliers can be “moved” from band to band. The NAQPs allow stations from all parts of North America to be in the running for the top spots. The 12 hour format allows participants to do some great contesting, yet still have time for other activities during the weekend. Participants can enter in the single op or multi-op categories and also have the opportunity to combine up to five separate single op scores into a team score.

NAQP Weblink

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Click on the poster, or here, for more info about the TCARES ARRL Field Day – we hope to see you there!

More info can be found at the American Radio Relay League (ARRL):

https://www.arrl.org/field-day

https://www.arrl.org/news/start-planning-for-arrl-field-day-2026

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Join us for the 50th annual Pinecrest Run! The five-mile winds through the roads of Pinecrest and along the shores of Pinecrest Lake. The one mile is a quick race on pavement. This is a fundraiser event for Pinecrest Expedition Academy, our local private school. Sorry, pets are not allowed in the race. Get registered today!

TCARES GMRS licensees are being asked to provide volunteer radio support for the 1 mile, and 5 mile races. This is Tuolumne County’s oldest, continually running foot race. We can use 5 or 6 volunteers. As we learned last year a couple of places have a hard time reaching the Pinecrest repeater, so we will be operating on simplex, and also using GMRS. This will be a good chance to work the Strawberry GMRS repeater.

Contact Rich Combs, KK6RIC/WRMM317, at combsrichard@sbcglobal.net if you have questions.

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Learn more about Parks on the Air (POTA) (Click on the link below to view the presentation).

https://tcares.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260502_POTA-Event.pdf

TCARES POTA Event
at Mt. Elizabeth
May 2nd, 2026

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WHEN: Thursday MAY 14 10:30-11:30 AM

Click on this link for more information.

2026 County OES Emergency Siren Test MAY 14 11:00 AM

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