Ham Radio Awards

Awards give your operating a goal. A contact with a new state or a far-off island is fun on its own, but it is even more satisfying when it fills a gap on a list you are working through. Many hams who thought they had nothing left to do on HF found a new hobby the day they started chasing an award.

This article covers the best-known awards, who runs each one, and how to get your contacts confirmed. It sticks to the basics, so treat the sponsor’s current rules as the final word.

Confirmations Come First

Working a station is only half the job. For award credit you need proof that the contact happened, and that proof is a confirmation. The two kinds almost every award accepts are paper QSL cards and Logbook of The World, ARRL’s free online confirmation system.

LoTW matches your log against the other station’s log and confirms the contacts that agree. You can see your progress toward several awards for free and pay only when you apply for credit. Paper cards can be mailed in, and for some ARRL awards they can be checked by a volunteer card checker near you. Our article on QSL cards and LoTW explains both methods.

WAS, DXCC and VUCC

Worked All States (WAS) is ARRL’s award for confirming contacts with all 50 US states. Hams anywhere in the world can apply, though applicants in the US and its possessions must be ARRL members. Any band except 60 meters counts, and all your contacts must be made from one place or from places no more than 50 miles apart. Endorsements are offered for single bands and modes, and there is a 5-Band WAS for those who want more. Our states and call areas map helps you keep track.

DXCC, the DX Century Club, is ARRL’s award for confirming 100 entities on the DXCC List. An entity is usually a country, but some islands and territories count separately, which is why the list uses that word. The list holds well over 300 current entities and changes from time to time, so check ARRL’s current list. DXCC accepts paper cards and LoTW confirmations but not other electronic confirmations, and all your contacts must be made from within the same entity. The very top of the ladder is the DXCC Honor Roll.

VHF/UHF Century Club (VUCC) is ARRL’s award for the bands above 50 MHz, and it counts Maidenhead grid squares instead of countries. The basic award needs 100 grids on 6 meters, on 2 meters or via satellite, with lower totals on the higher bands. US applicants must be ARRL members. Our grid square tool will tell you your own grid.

Worked All Continents

Worked All Continents (WAC) is sponsored by the International Amateur Radio Union and administered by ARRL. You need confirmed contacts with North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania. It is one of the simplest awards to complete, and a good first goal for a new HF operator. A Five-Band WAC asks for all six continents on each of 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meters.

WAZ and WPX

CQ, the amateur radio magazine, sponsors two popular awards. Worked All Zones (WAZ) asks you to confirm a contact in every one of CQ’s zones, which divide the world into large regions. WPX counts prefixes, the letter and number group at the start of a callsign, so the unusual calls you hear during contests and special events can help you along. Our prefixes page explains how they work.

Both awards accept LoTW confirmations. LoTW passes your confirmed contacts to the CQ award manager, and you then apply to CQ, which charges its own fees separate from LoTW’s. The WPX program also accepts eQSL confirmations. Check CQ’s current rules for the exact requirements.

Islands, Parks and Summits

• Islands on the Air (IOTA): Administered by IOTA Ltd in partnership with the Radio Society of Great Britain. The goal is to contact at least one island in as many of the program’s island groups as you can, and Club Log is used to match contacts. Details are at iota-world.org.
• Parks on the Air (POTA): Activators set up portable stations in parks, and hunters work them from anywhere. Activators upload their logs, and hunters’ progress toward certificates comes from those logs, so you do not need to trade cards. Details are at parksontheair.com.
• Summits on the Air (SOTA): Activators operate from mountain summits, and chasers work them. Both earn points, tracked in SOTA’s online database, with certificates at set totals. At 1,000 points an activator becomes a Mountain Goat and a chaser a Shack Sloth. Details are at sota.org.uk.

If you activate a park or a summit yourself, think about safety first. Watch the weather, take down antennas and stay off exposed ground when lightning is near, and carry batteries in a way that protects their terminals from shorting.

Keeping It Fun

Start with an award you can finish, such as WAC or WAS on one band, and enjoy the paperwork when it arrives. Then pick something that stretches you, like a new mode or a band you rarely use. Upload your log to LoTW regularly so you can watch the progress pages fill in.

Above all, keep awards in their place. Be polite in pileups, thank the stations who give you a new one, and answer the cards you receive. The certificate on the wall is nice, but the contacts behind it are the real prize.