Hello. Rebecca VA7BEC here, contest coordinator for the British Columbia QSO Party presented by Orca DX and Contest Club.
I hope 2026 has started off on a good note. May it be a happy, healthy and memorable-for-all-the-right-reasons year for you and yours.
This is an early reminder about the 2026 running of the British Columbia QSO Party. This message may be TLDR (too long, didn’t read), but it contains useful info — a couple of updates and reminders for regular participants in BCQP, and hints and links for beginners — that will make BCQP 2026 fun for everyone. Please pass it along to membership. It would be great to have more
participants from beyond the Metro Vancouver area.
BC operators are truly the life of the party. BCQP puts BC in the spotlight. And because VE7/VA7s can contact anyone anywhere, calling “CQ BCQP” should attract attention from a growing pool of keen partiers. A solid on-air presence encourages more stations to get in the hunt for BC stations and ultimately fuels hours of fun at the radio.
When: First full weekend in February.
February 7, local time, 8am to 8pm AND February 8, local time, 8am to 4pm
(UTC 1600z Feb 7 to 0359z Feb 8, and 1600z to 2359z Feb 8)
Two blocks over the Feb 7-8 weekend.
Rules, tools, FAQ, in-depth event analysis/reports and scores from past years, examples of the lovely photo-based certificates and plaques... all available for viewing from links on the BCQP page of the Orca DXCC website. Go to http://www.orcadxcc.org/bcqp.html and click on the appropriate link in the menu on the left side of the page.
*IMPORTANT* New BC multipliers (federal electoral districts)
Canada’s federal electoral map was redrawn to reflect changing population numbers across the country. Since BC stations use these districts instead of counties, the multiplier list was revised. Confirm your federal electoral district here: https://www.elections.ca/home.aspx In the center of the page, you’ll see Voter Information Service. Type in your postal code or the postal code of the place closest to where you plan to operate if not at home.
Good to know...
1. Announced operations
I’m putting together a list of announced operations again this year. This raises awareness of activity in different parts of the province and helps operators near and far find you, as they will be better able to align antenna direction with your district and know to listen for you. If you plan to be on the air and want to be on this list, send me the callsign you will be using, the mode(s) you plan to work, and the federal electoral district that you will be activating. The list will be posted somewhere on the BCQP site. I will send out an email with a link at the end of January, so if you want to be on the list, let me know by Feb 4.
2. Rally
The rally idea has worked really well over the past couple of years, and we’ll do it again in 2026. Last hour of the Saturday segment. This creates a concentration of CQers and stations looking for BC.
Rally Schedule
80m CW at 0315z
160m CW and SSB at 0330z
75m SSB at 0345z
3. Expanded plaque program — now 11 sponsored plaques!
The plaque program has expanded with sponsorship of a new category — Top Young YL. If you know any interested young ladies, in the true meaning of “YL” (say... 19 or younger), please encourage them to get on the air for BCQP 2026.
Concurrent events
In recent years, a factor that has spurred greater interest in BCQP from outside the province is the State QSO Party Challenge. Details at http://stateqsoparty.com/ This competition is separate from BCQP but the organizer has included BCQP in the list of official events. The SQP Challenge continues to be extremely popular with QSO party enthusiasts, and it kicks off BCQP weekend, with BCQP as well as the Minnesota QSO Party and the Vermont QSO Party. This means a lot of stateside operators will be looking to maximize QSO opportunities across all three parties. BC operators should absolutely take advantage of SQP Challenge interest to call “CQ BCQP” and maximize QSO potential. Remember to identify “BCQP” or “British Columbia QSO Party” so other operators know which party you are in.
Meanwhile, the 10-10 Winter SSB Contest on 10m runs over the whole weekend, and NA Sprint CW coincides with the last four hours of BCQP on Saturday evening. It can be confusing with different QSO parties happening at the same time.
Use the handy same-weekend schedule (http://orcadxcc.org/content/pdf/2026_sked.pdf) to help you prepare the necessary exchange info.
If you have a question, I’m just an email away.
73,
Rebecca VA7BEC
Contest Coordinator for BCQP, Orca DXCC
Yes, it's still happening! Every Saturday at 9 am at the Hot Spot on 6 restaurant, across from Poulson Park. All are welcome including those not in the "club". This is an opportunity to discuss your latest project, seek help for ideas and to generally tell lies. Hope to see you there.
Howard
NORAC is once again sponsoring the Vernon Winter Carnival parade on February 7, 2026.
We need as many members, family and friends out as possible to help with the organization of the staging area.
Please contact Felix VA7VOL at
Event date: Saturday,
RAC Advanced Qualification Course for Maple Leaf Operators
https://www.rac.ca/rac-advanced-course-for-maple-leaf-operators-winter-2026/
The Winter 2026 RAC Advanced Qualification course will be starting on Sunday, January 4. Please register now!
Radio Amateurs of Canada is once again offering an online Advanced Qualification Amateur Radio Course so that individuals can upgrade their qualifications.
With your Advanced Certificate, you can run higher power, operate a remotely-controlled station, obtain operating privileges when travelling overseas, set up repeaters, be the trustee for club stations and even become an Accredited Examiner (AE) if you have the Morse code qualification.
Course information:
Course material pertaining to all topics covered in the course syllabus will be provided to all registered students. Please see the Advanced Course webpage for more information.
Note: You need to be a RAC Maple Leaf Operator Member to register for this course. If you are not already a RAC Maple Leaf Operator Member, you can upgrade easily. A registration form will be provided but you will need to be a Maple Leaf Operator Member to be able to see it and to register.
Schedule and Cost:
The course will be 10 sessions in length and each session will be two hours long.
In order to offer maximum flexibility, we will be running two Advanced courses so students will be able to choose one of the following two options:
Courses are offered on Sunday afternoons or Monday evenings and are two hours in duration.
Sunday afternoons:
Sunday afternoons at 1 pm Eastern Time (10 am PT / 2:30 NT) starting on Sunday, January 4 and ending on Sunday, March 8
Or:
Monday evenings:
Monday evenings from 8:30 pm Eastern Time (5:30 pm PT / 10 pm NT) starting on Monday, January 5 and ending on Monday, March 9
Course instruction:
The course instructor is Dave Goodwin, VE3KG. Dave has been an Amateur since 1975, is an active HF Contester and DXer.
Dave has been a RAC volunteer for many years. He is currently RAC’s Regulatory Affairs Officer and previously served as Atlantic Director, RAC President and in other roles.
From 2015-2020, Dave taught both Basic and Advanced courses with the Fredericton (NB) Amateur Radio Club. He is an Accredited Examiner (AE) for ISED and gives many Basic, Advanced and Morse Code exams over the web.
Course material pertaining to all topics covered in the course syllabus which is available on the Advanced Course webpage and will be provided to all registered students.
Course requirements:
The RAC Advanced Qualification Amateur Radio course is being offered at no charge to RAC Maple Leaf Operator Members as described below.
Participants in the course will need to meet all of the following requirements:
- Participants must already have the Canadian Basic Amateur Radio Qualification and a Canadian call sign.
- Participants must already be a RAC Maple Leaf Operator Member or become one by joining RAC at the Maple Leaf Operator level or upgrading to that level.
- Participants must have a copy of the Canadian Amateur Radio Advanced Qualification Study Guide provided by Coax Publications. For more information please visit the RAC Study Guides webpage.
- Participants must have a computer and Internet connection capable of using the Zoom conference platform. You do not need your own account on Zoom to take part in this course, but you may have to download a Zoom applet to participate.
- Participants must have a working email address to receive course materials and links to the sessions.
There is room on the conference server for 200 participants in each session. Auditors are welcome to attend on a space-available basis, provided they are RAC Maple Leaf Operator members.
Course registration:
Please visit the Advanced Course webpage for information on how to register for the course.
Other Amateur Radio Courses:
Amateur Radio Basic and Advanced Qualification courses are also now being provided both online and in person by Canadian Amateur Radio Clubs and organizations. Please visit the Amateur Radio Courses webpage for more information at the link provided below.
https://www.rac.ca/amateur-radio-courses/
Allan Boyd, VE3AJB/VE3EM
RAC President
For members living in the "frozen north" of Armstrong and points north of there, there are weekly Wednesday morning coffee meet-ups.
They take place 10am Wednesdays at Jonnie and Lily’s Diner, 3460 Okanagan St, Armstrong, BC.
Any questions please contact Paul VE7PDE or Bud VE7KBK directly.