Chasing after operating awards is one of my main activities in Amateur Radio. In this category on my site you’ll find descriptions of many awards that I’ve received and how you can go about receiving your own.
CQ Magazine’s Worked All Zones (WAZ) award is one of the oldest and most prestigious awards in Amateur Radio. To obtain the award one needs to work confirm contacts with at least one station in each of the 40 CQ zones spread all over the Earth. Working and confirming 40 QSOs sounds easier than the […]
Amateur Radio prefixes are those parts of a callsign that contain its country allocation ID and call area number. For my callsign of KA5WSS that would be KA5. KA is part of a block of characters assigned to the United States by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). Prefixes are useful for indicating in which DXCC […]
The FT8 Digital Mode Club’s (FT8DMC) Worked VHF Grid Award (WVGA) honors operating achievement in working stations on the VHF bands using the FT8 digital mode in a given number of different Maidenhead grid squares. You can obtain the entry level synonym award with just a total of 50 grids. The American Radio Relay League’s […]
The American Radio Relay League‘s (ARRL) Worked All States Awards is one of the most popular Amateur Radio awards programs. There are more Hams who have attained WAS than have achieved DXCC status. The League runs a tight ship when it comes to their awards programs. If you’d like an easier entre into the goal […]
Cuba has been called the Pearl of the Caribbean. Despite its relative isolation from its neighbors it has continued to captivate many around the world. With travel to the island difficult at best, making contacts with lots of Cuban stations is another way to create experiences. The Worked Cuban Stations Award (WCUSA), sponsored by the […]
The Worked All Europe (WAE) award from the Deutsche Amateur Radio Club (DARC) in Germany is one of the more prestigious awards in Ham Radio. In a nutshell, it rewards making contacts with countries on the European continent. WAE comes in several classes for working a certain number of countries but also factors in a point […]
CQ Magazine‘s Worked All Zones (WAZ) is one of the oldest and most prestigious Amateur Radio operating awards out there. Working all 40 CQ Zones is arguably more difficult than working 100 unique DXCC countries. The 30 Meter Digital Group (30MDG) offers a easier, and cheaper, entry into chasing all 40 CQ Zones with their […]
The Pacific Ocean is really large. In an effort to promote Amateur Radio activity in “Oceania” the New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters (NZART) created the Worked All Pacific Award (WAP). One can find information for this award, and other NZART awards, on a PDF form available online. In a nutshell, refer to the ARRL […]
The Hawaiian Islands, like Alaska, remains a part of, but apart from, the majority of the United States. In Sweepstakes Hawaii is considered a domestic entity. In the ARRL DX Contest it’s considered a DX entity. The islands certainly maintain an allure that draws many tourists to their shores to this day. The Worked Hawaiian […]
I love maps. The FT8 Digital Modes Club‘s NZTD Award is issued for Amateur Radio operators who make contact with 6 or more New Zealand territories and dependencies. The award includes a nice map showing New Zealand and the surrounding dependencies whose contacts can be used for award credits. So that earns some extra points […]