The CQ WW Contest Committee has announced two important rule changes for the 2026 CQ World Wide DX Contest, bringing the rules in line with those already adopted for the WPX and WW Digital contests.

48-HOUR LOG DEADLINE

The deadline for submitting logs has been reduced from 5 days to 48 hours after the end of the contest.

For 2026:
• SSB: logs must be submitted by 23:59 UTC, October 27
• CW: logs must be submitted by 23:59 UTC, December 1

Logs resubmitted after the deadline will be considered late logs.

AUTONOMOUS / ROBOT OPERATION PROHIBITED

The rules now explicitly require a human operator to initiate, at all times:

• changes of receive or transmit frequency
• calls to another station
• logging of a QSO

Autonomous systems or robots that emulate these actions are therefore not permitted.

This is an interesting and important clarification at a time when automation and AI-assisted technologies are rapidly evolving.

The principle remains clear: technology can assist the operator, but the operator must make the QSO.

What do you think about these changes?

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EUDXCC – European DX Contest Club

Self-spotting, automated logging and rapid log checking are forcing contest organizers to rethink the traditional boundary between Assisted and Unassisted contesting.

The new UKEICC 80m Contest Series has opened the 2026–27 season with a number of changes that deserve attention well beyond the United Kingdom and Ireland.

At first sight, the changes may appear to concern only a relatively short 80-metre contest. In reality, they touch on one of the most important questions facing modern amateur radio contesting:

Where should we draw the line between human operation and technological assistance?

The United Kingdom and Ireland Contest Club (UKEICC) has explicitly highlighted changes to its 2026–27 80m series, which began on September 2, 2026.

The UKEICC approach is particularly interesting because it combines technological assistance with increasingly sophisticated automated adjudication.