Stew Perry Topband Distance Challenge: How the Contest Works
Most contests reward quantity: more contacts, more multipliers, more hours. The Stew Perry Topband Distance Challenge, usually shortened to the Stew Perry or just the Stew, turns that logic around. It is a 160 meter CW contest in which the value of a contact depends on how far away the other station is, and in which a weak station that is heard across half a continent is worth far more than a strong one next door. It is also relaxed, cheap to enter and held four times a year. This guide explains the rules published on the contest website on 27 October 2026, including the 2026 dates, the grid-square exchange, the points per kilometer, the power bonuses and the unusual way that assistance is handled.
What the Contest Is and Where It Comes From
The contest home page says that the event was created by a small group of contesters who were interested in 160 meters, the Top Band. Its most unusual feature is that the point value of a contact depends on the distance between the two stations. You earn one point plus another point for each 500 km of distance, and points are also multiplied for lower power categories, for both the sending and the receiving station. The organizers say that participation continues to grow, and that the band tends to be less crowded than in the larger contests, which makes it easier to work DX.
The December event, called the Big Stew, has the highest participation, because conditions in the northern hemisphere are best and because plaques are sponsored. The plaque categories are chosen by the sponsors, and typically they include categories for stations that use small or temporary antennas. The contest is run by the Boring Amateur Radio Club in Oregon, which also looks after the log checking. For a general introduction to why the Top Band behaves as it does, see our guide to 160 meters and Top Band DXing.
Dates and Time Limits
The rules page lists four events for 2026: 14 March, 20 June, 17 October and 26 December. Each lasts 24 hours and starts at 1500 UTC, and each takes place on 160 meters, CW only. A station may operate at most 14 hours of the 24. Off times must be at least 30 calendar minutes with no contacts, and each of the 1440 minutes of the contest is counted as either on time or off time, never both. So a plan is needed: because you can only be on the air for 14 hours, you will normally choose the dark hours at your location and sleep, eat and rest during daylight.
At the time of writing, the 17 October 2026 event had just passed and the Big Stew on 26 December 2026 was the next one on the calendar. As the rules page notes, logs should be submitted within 14 days of the contest through the log upload tool; paper entries are accepted only for the December event with fewer than 50 contacts. Plaques are awarded only for the December contest.
The Exchange: Four Characters of Grid
The exchange is a four-character grid square, for example CN85. An RST report is optional. That small detail matters: the contest wants you to send something that the log-checking software can use to calculate the distance, so the grid is the one thing you must copy correctly. If you are not sure how locators work, our article on grid squares and the Maidenhead system explains how to find your own four characters. Most logging programs have a built-in lookup for your location, but you should still check it before the contest by comparing with a locator map.
How the Points Are Calculated
The QSO points are worked out from the distance between the centers of the two grid squares. The minimum is one point per contact, with an additional point for every 500 kilometers. The rules give an example: a contact with a station 1,750 kilometers away is worth four points. No additional distance is allowed for long path. Points are then multiplied by two if you work a low-power station and by four if you work a QRP station, and this is done automatically from the received logs during checking. You do not need your logger to compute the points, because the automated log checker does it.
| Item | Rule |
|---|---|
| Band and mode | 160 meters, CW only |
| Exchange | 4-character grid, RST optional |
| QSO points | 1 plus 1 per 500 km between grid centers |
| Partner multiplier | x2 for a low-power station, x4 for a QRP station |
| Own power multiplier | x1.5 above 5 W up to 100 W; x3 at 5 W or less |
| Maximum on time | 14 hours of 24 |
| Grid multiplier | None |
The final score is simply the total of the QSO points. There is no multiplier for different grids. Stations running more than 5 watts but no more than 100 watts multiply their score by 1.5, and stations running 5 watts or less multiply their score by 3. Scores are grouped by category, so you compete against stations with similar power. The great-circle distance calculation behind all this is the same one you use for beam headings, which our article on the great-circle map and beam headings covers, and the Wikipedia page on great-circle distance shows the formula.
Categories
You can enter as a single operator or as a multi-operator station, in high power, low power or QRP. Low power is 100 watts output or less, QRP is 5 watts or less, and high power is 1500 watts output or whatever you can legally run in your country, whichever is less. A station may enter two categories, for example QRP and high power, but must use a different callsign for each operation. This is a friendly rule for clubs that want to try both a QRP and a big-signal attempt in the same weekend.
One consequence of the two multipliers deserves attention. Because contacts with low-power and QRP stations are worth two and four times as much, a station in a small category is a valuable partner for everyone else. If you run QRP, you can expect other entrants to work hard to copy you, and a QRP station that is heard across an ocean will earn a large share of everyone’s score. That is why the contest is a favorite of low-power enthusiasts, and why a modest wire antenna such as an inverted L can bring big rewards.
Assistance: The Rule Six Philosophy
The longest part of the rules is the sixth, which the organizers explicitly say is long because it was not possible to keep it simple. It starts with a statement of intent for single-operator entries: you should not be assisted by other humans during the event. Any communication with people other than the exchanges on the air can be assistance. Asking your family to bring you a sandwich is fine, and so is saying hello to an old friend who calls in, but if someone starts to tell you that a particular station is on a particular frequency, that is going too far. Packet spotting is not allowed, and neither is using a chat room to arrange schedules.
The rule also covers technology that does the same job as a human assistant. A skimmer, the Reverse Beacon Network, or whatever people invent in the future that can tell you who is on a frequency is assistance and is not allowed in the single-operator category. A band scope that shows a signal on a frequency, but not who it is, is acceptable, and the organizers say that blind skimmers are also allowed, although they encourage you to switch the skimmer off and enjoy the contest the way it was in the days of Stew Perry himself. If you want to know more about these tools, our article on CW Skimmer and the Reverse Beacon Network explains how they work. Multi-operator stations may receive help from other people in the shack and may use a skimmer, but they still may not use the cluster or other spotting methods that operate during the contest.
Callsign databases such as Super Check Partial are allowed, and so are those that remember the grid squares of stations you have worked before, but the club warns that operators who rely on them too much have higher error rates. Our article on Super Check Partial and call history shows how to use them safely. What you may not do is use an online callbook to fill in missing or doubtful callsigns or grids after the contest. The rules say plainly that it is a radio contest, and the log must indicate what you heard during the contest, not what you found on the internet afterward.
Remote Receivers and Other Rules
The organizers recognize that some stations use remote receivers to escape local noise, and they allow this within limits: a remote receiver must be no more than 100 km from your transmitter site, which is roughly a grid square, and you may not use a local receiver at the same time. The limit protects the idea of giving extra points for copying QRP stations, which would be undermined by remote receivers on the other side of a country. Remote operation is permitted as long as all of the radio equipment is at the remote site and the other criteria are met. It is best not to operate from two locations with the same callsign, because that would confuse the distance calculation.
The club also discourages dual CQing, where a station alternates calls on two frequencies, because it takes more than a fair share of a crowded band. You may change frequency as often as you like, but a pattern of using two frequencies for an extended period is regarded as ignoring the advice, and it is easy to see on the Reverse Beacon Network. Cheating is explicitly ruled out: operating more than 14 hours while trying to make it look like less, running more power than the category and country allow, or using a database to fix a doubtful callsign afterward. Anyone who wants to try something that does not fit the two categories can submit a check log, which is processed and scored, and explain what they were doing in the soapbox comments.
Getting Started
You do not need a large station. A wire antenna, a few watts to a few hundred watts, a CW keyer and a good set of headphones are enough to make a respectable first entry. Practice copying grid squares at your own speed, set up your logger to accept a four-character grid and to calculate distance, and decide before the contest which 14 hours you will operate. In the first hours after local sunset, expect stations in your own region; later in the night, listen for the weak ones from far away, because that is where the score is. After the contest, check the posted results and your logs against other entrants to see where you could improve.
The Bottom Line
The Stew Perry Topband Distance Challenge is a distinctive contest. It uses only one band and one mode, it needs only a four-character grid for an exchange, and it pays by distance, not by the number of contacts. A 14-hour limit, bonuses for low power and QRP, and a strict, but clearly explained, attitude to assistance make it fair for small stations. If you enjoy 160 meters, copying weak CW and a bit of friendly competition, the next event is a good reason to put up a wire and listen.
Frequently Asked Questions
What band and mode does the Stew Perry use?
160 meters, CW only. There are no other bands or modes in this contest.
How many times a year is it held?
Four times. The 2026 dates were 14 March, 20 June, 17 October and 26 December, each starting at 1500 UTC and lasting 24 hours. The December event is the Big Stew, with plaques.
What is the exchange?
A four-character Maidenhead grid square, such as CN85. An RST report is optional.
How are the points calculated?
One point per contact plus one more for every 500 km between the centers of the two grid squares. A station 1,750 km away is worth four points. Contacts with low-power stations are multiplied by two and with QRP stations by four.
How many hours can I operate?
A maximum of 14 hours of the 24, with off times of at least 30 minutes.
Can I use CW Skimmer or the Reverse Beacon Network?
Not as a single operator. Skimmers and the Reverse Beacon Network count as assistance. Multi-operator stations may use a skimmer but not the cluster or other spotting during the contest.