CQP Logo
58th Running Of The CQP!
1600 UTC October 7, 2023 to 2200 UTC October 8, 2023
CQP 2023 Begins:
















FAQ


















Click here for a printable copy (PDF) of this page.

CQP Multipliers
Multiplier “Rules” California QSO Party (CQP)
First and foremost we want the multipliers to be “easy to remember” and somewhat “mistake proof”
for both casual contesters and experienced contesters.
CA County Multipliers for Out-of-State Participants (58)
Use the first 4 characters of the county name to make them unique
  • This rule is broken for Contra Costa (CCOS) and Los Angeles (LANG)
  • Marin (MARN) and Mariposa (MARP) counties are not unique in 4 characters
  • If the county name is one of the 10 counties that start with “San” or “Santa” abbreviate that part to a single “S
  • ALAM
    Alameda
    MARN
    Marin
    SMAT
    San Mateo
    ALPI
    Alpine
    MARP
    Mariposa
    SBAR
    Santa Barbara
    AMAD
    Amador
    MEND
    Mendocino
    SCLA
    Santa Clara
    BUTT
    Butte
    MERC
    Merced
    SCRU
    Santa Cruz
    CALA
    Calaveras
    MODO
    Modoc
    SHAS
    Shasta
    COLU
    Colusa
    MONO
    Mono
    SIER
    Sierra
    CCOS
    Contra Costa
    MONT
    Monterey
    SISK
    Siskiyou
    DELN
    Del Norte
    NAPA
    Napa
    SOLA
    Solano
    ELDO
    El Dorado
    NEVA
    Nevada
    SONO
    Sonoma
    FRES
    Fresno
    ORAN
    Orange
    STAN
    Stanislaus
    GLEN
    Glenn
    PLAC
    Placer
    SUTT
    Sutter
    HUMB
    Humboldt
    PLUM
    Plumas
    TEHA
    Tehama
    IMPE
    Imperial
    RIVE
    Riverside
    TRIN
    Trinity
    INYO
    Inyo
    SACR
    Sacramento
    TULA
    Tulare
    KERN
    Kern
    SBEN
    San Benito
    TUOL
    Tuolumne
    KING
    Kings
    SBER
    San Bernardino
    VENT
    Ventura
    LAKE
    Lake
    SDIE
    San Diego
    YOLO
    Yolo
    LASS
    Lassen
    SFRA
    San Francisco
    YUBA
    Yuba
    LANG
    Los Angeles
    SJOA
    San Joaquin
    MADE
    Madera
    SLUI
    San Luis Obispo

    USA/Canada Multipliers for California Participants
    Maximum of 58 Scored Multipliers out of 63 Total Multipliers
    (U.S. states = 50 and Canadian provinces/territories = 13)
    Reference: Postal Abbreviations
  • US https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._postal_abbreviations
  • Canada http://canadaonline.about.com/library/bl/blpabb.htm
  • AL Alabama MI Michigan TX Texas
    AK Alaska MN Minnesota UT Utah
    AZ Arizona MS Mississippi VT Vermont
    AR Arkansas MO Missouri VA Virginia
    CA 1st CA county counts as CA MT Montana WA Washington
    CO Colorado NE Nebraska WV West Virginia
    CT Connecticut NV Nevada WI Wisconsin
    DE Delaware NH New Hampshire WY Wyoming
    FL Florida NJ New Jersey AB Alberta
    GA Georgia NM New Mexico BC British Columbia
    HI Hawaii NY New York MB Manitoba
    ID Idaho NC North Carolina NB New Brunswick
    IL Illinois ND North Dakota NL Newfoundland & Labrador
    IN Indiana OH Ohio NT Northwest Territories
    IA Iowa OK Oklahoma NS Nova Scotia
    KS Kansas OR Oregon NU Nunavut
    KY Kentucky PA Pennsylvania ON Ontario
    LA Louisiana RI Rhode Island PE Prince Edward Island
    ME Maine SC South Carolina QC Quebec
    MD Maryland & DC SD South Dakota SK Saskatchewan
    MA Massachusetts TN Tennessee YT Yukon

    Notes:

    • MR (Maritime) multiplier has been removed.
      NB (New Brunswick), NS (Nova Scotia), NL (Newfoundland and Labrador) and PE (Prince Edward Island) provinces have been added as multipliers.
    • NT multiplier has been redefined as Northwest Territories only (VE8).
      YT (Yukon) and NU (Nunavut) territories have been added as multipliers.
    • Although there are 63 possible multipliers that can accrue toward the CA station's multiplier tally, the maximum number of counted multipliers toward the CA station's final score is 58.
    • DX is the QTH sent by all stations outside of the U.S. and Canada, however it does not count as an additional multiplier toward the CA station's multiplier tally. DX QSOs count as QSO credit.
    • The first valid CA QSO logged with 4-letter county abbreviation will count as the multiplier for California. California stations must log all CA contacts with their 4-letter county abbreviation.

    Common Multiplier Logging Errors California QSO Party (CQP)

    There are common multiplier abbreviation problems that can potentially result in losing points. One type of problem is not entering enough characters to clearly specify a unique California county. Here are some common problems we have seen over the years.

    County abbreviation problems

    MON – This is an ambiguous abbreviation for:
    MONT  Monterey
    MONO  Mono

    MAR – This is an ambiguous abbreviation for:
    MARN Marin
    MARP  Mariposa

    SB – This is an ambiguous abbreviation for:
    SBEN  San Benito
    SBER San Bernardino
    SBAR
      Santa Barbara
    Note: SB is the abbreviation of the ARRL section “Santa Barbara”. This is fine for ARRL Field Day, but CQP is about California counties and “SB” is not quite enough letters to clearly distinguish it from the other possibilities.

    State abbreviation problems
    ALAL  Alabama state, not ALAM Alameda county or ALPI Alpine county
    LALA  Louisiana state, not LANG Los Angeles county or LASS Lassen county
    NVNV  Nevada state, not  NEVA  Nevada county
    OROR  Oregon state, not ORAN Orange county

    DX QSOs
    DX QSO’s do not count for non-California participants.


    For California participants, DX QSO’s count for QSO points but not multiplier credit. There are no DX multipliers.  United States commonwealths, territories and possessions do not count as multipliers.  The preferred QTH abbreviation for any DX station is “DX”.  You may instead log the ARRL DXCC country abbreviation (e.g. G for England, DL for Germany, etc), but simply “DX” is easier for you.


    All NCCC web sites are hosted by QTH.com.  Web design and maintenance by K6MM