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One of the most exciting facets of Amateur Radio operating is awards chasing. It's a major motivating force of so many QSOs that occur on the bands day after day. Indeed, it's a vital aspect that--if you want it--makes each and every radio contact a key element in your present or future Amateur Radio success. So transform those QSOs into beautiful certificates or plaques for your ham-shack wall!
Aside from the fun of operating itself, awards chasing is also a good way to get maximum performance from your station, become familiar with propagation, and even learn about the geography, history or culture of places near and far. The League sponsors some of the more popular operating awards (if you are in the US and Possessions, Canada and Puerto Rico, you must be an ARRL member to participate), and the following is a brief summary of what the ARRL has to offer.
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The Worked-All-States award is given for submitting confirmations from all 50 states. The cost of this award is $10 for the certificate, or $15 for the certificate and pin. Aside from the basic certificate for any combination of bands/modes, specialty certificates are issued for a variety of different bands and modes such as Satellite, 160-meters, SSTV, Digital, Phone, and each VHF band. Available endorsements, for a $7.50 charge, include CW, Novice, QRP, EME, and any single bands. The Digital and Phone awards are available for the various modes. They will be dated, but not numbered. Cards are checked by a volunteer ARRL HF Awards Manager affiliated with ARRL Special Service Clubs (although QSL cards can be checked at HQ, absent an awards manager). To encourage increased activity and station improvement throughout the bands, the 5-Band WAS certificate, at a cost of $10.00 for the certificate or $15.00 for the certificate and pin, is available for working all states on 5 amateur bands (except 10/18/24 MHz). Cards for 5BWAS can be checked by your local HF Awards Manager or at ARRL HQ.
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The Worked-All-States in the 90 th Award is given for certifying that you have established (or heard, if an SWL) two-way contact on the amateur bands between 0000Z April 3, 2004 and 2359Z December 31, 2004, with at least one station in each of the 50 states as listed on the WAS in the 90th Record Sheet.
No QSLs are necessary. You may use one of these methods to submit your application:
The premier operating award in all of Amateur Radio is the DX Century Club. The basic certificate (which can be obtained in several categories--Mixed modes, Phone, CW, RTTY, Satellite, 160, 80, 40, 30, 20, 17, 15, 12, 10, 6 and 2 meters) is awarded for working and confirming at least 100 entities on the ARRL DXCC List. Endorsements are available in specific increments beyond the 100-entity level, culminating in the coveted DXCC Honor Roll, for those at or near working them all! DXCC qualifiers are also eligible for a DXCC lapel pin, available at a nominal charge.
For those who enjoy the thrill of the hunt on more than one band, 5-Band DXCC can be earned for working 100 current entities on 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10-meter bands. 5BDXCC is a good test of the DXer's operating abilities, but is well within the reach of all of those willing to work for it. 5BDXCC qualifiers receive a handsome certificate and are eligible for an attractive plaque. The 5BDXCC award is endorsable for the 160, 30, 17, 12, 6 and 2-meter bands.
#1 Honor Roll--To qualify for a Mixed, Phone, CW or RTTY #1 Honor Roll plaque, you must have worked every current entity on the DXCC List. Contact the DXCC Desk for details. #1 Honor Roll qualifiers receive a #1 Honor Roll endorsement sticker for their DXCC certificate and are eligible for a #1 Honor Roll lapel pin and a #1 Honor Roll plaque.
The DXCC Challenge Award is achieved by working and confirming at least 1,000 DXCC band-entities on any Amateur bands, 1.8 through 54 MHz. This award is in the form of a plaque. Plaques can be endorsed in increments of 500. Entities for each band are totaled to give the Challenge standing. Deleted entities do not count for this award. QSOs for the 160, 80, 40, 30, 20, 17, 15, 12, 10 and 6 meter bands qualify for this award. Further information on the DXCC program can be found at: http://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc.
The QRP DXCC award is not just for the QRPer, although it is a proud recognition of the achievement of working 100 countries with minimal power. It is an award for all hams who want to experience the magic, or who want to use QRP as a way to start DXing from
scratch all over again.
The QRP DXCC is a one-time award and is non-endorsable. You do not have to be an ARRL member to qualify.
To apply for the QRP DXCC, just send a list of your contacts including call signs, countries/entities and contact dates. Do not send QSLs. The list must also carry a signed statement from you that all of the contacts were made with 5 W RF output (as measured at the antenna system input) or less.
Along with your contact list, include a $10 application fee in the form of a check or money order in US funds. Make sure to indicate your mailing address and your name as you want it to appear on the certificate. Mail everything to: QRP DXCC, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111.
Downloadable QRP DXCC application forms are available on the Web.
The VHF/UHF Century Club is the counterpart to DXCC for the bands 50 MHz to 300 GHz. It requires working and confirming V/UHF contacts in 2 x 1 grid square locators on all V/UHF bands. Satellite and Laser contacts count, too. Individual certificates are issued per band to those meeting initial qualifying levels, with an extensive endorsement program beyond the initial certificate. All cards must be checked by ARRL VHF Awards Managers--check the VUCC website for the Awards Manager near you. A VUCC lapel pin is available at a nominal charge. Additional information, including fees, is available at: http://www.arrl.org/awards/vucc.
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The Fred Fish Memorial Award (FFMA) is awarded for confirming contact with all 488 Maidenhead grid squares in the 48 contiguous United States on the 6 meter (50 MHz) band. Grid locators are designated by a combination of two letters and two numbers. More information on grid locators can be found in January 1983 QST, pp 49-51 (reprint available upon request. Send a 9 × 12-inch SASE with 3 units of postage). The ARRL World Grid Locator Atlas and the ARRL Grid Locator for North America are available from the ARRL Publication Sales Department.
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Only the best operators can qualify for the A-1 Operator Club, amateurs who have met the highest operating standards (details on request). But you can't apply; you must be recommended independently by two amateurs who already belong to the A-1 Operator Club. Who knows? Fine-tune your operating skills, and one of these days you may be pleasantly surprised when the mailman delivers an A-1 Operator Club certificate.
A beautiful lapel pin is now available.
Evaluate your Morse code ability through the ARRL Code Proficiency program. Copy one of W1AW's qualifying runs (see W1AW schedule) and submit one minute of solid copy (legible), along with your $10 fee for a certificate, to HQ. Your submission will be checked directly against the official W1AW text, and if you pass, you'll get your initial Code Proficiency certificate. From then on, endorsement stickers, for a $7.50 charge, are issued for speeds up to 40 WPM. Non-hams and hams alike are eligible for the Code Proficiency program.
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Sponsored by the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU), the Worked-All-Continents award is issued for working and confirming all six continents (North America, South America, Oceania, Asia, Europe and Africa) on a variety of different bands and modes. The cost of the WAC certificate is $7.50. A 5-Band WAC certificate (at a cost of $10) and a 6-Band sticker are also available. For US amateurs, cards are checked at ARRL HQ. More detailed information regarding awards is available at: http://www.iaru.org/wac/
The Membership Services Department Awards Branch has just introduced a new version of the Extra Class License Certificate. This newly designed certificate acknowledges the achievements of recent Extra Class operators as well as those who made the grade long ago. The size is approximately 8 1/2 x 11 inches and is suitable for framing. The cost is $7.50 for ARRL members and $10.00 for non-members, and be sure to tell us the date your Extra Class license was issued.
The League sponsors exciting on-the-air contests for developing operating skills from 160 meters to 10 GHz. Contests are also the fast-track way to make those needed QSOs for ARRL awards. See QST or go to http://www.arrl.org/contests for details on all League-sponsored contests and recognition awards.
Those who qualify for either 5BWAS, 5BDXCC, Honor Roll, #1 Honor Roll and Challenge awards are eligible for a handsome plaque. Further information, including required fee, is in the 5BWAS or DXCC application materials.
For WAS, DXCC, VUCC and WAC, official application forms are required.
From the World Wide Web at: http://www.arrl.org/awards/
From ARRL Special Requests
Send your request with a business-size self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) to:
SPECIAL REQUESTS
ARRL Headquarters
225 Main Street
Newington, CT 06111
