Captain James Cook was one of the most intrepid explorers of his day. In circumnavigating the world he visited scores of countries. The New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters (NZART) organization offers the Captain James Cook Award for Amateurs who make contacts with those many nations around the world. The award comes in three classes. […]
Amateur Radio operators try to leave politics out of our normal discourse on the air. But sometimes the urge to dive into controversy seems irresistible. Here are a few examples where geopolitical disputes get expressed in the form of Amateur Radio awards. Japan and Russia have yet to sign a treaty ending World War II […]
Indonesia is spread across innumerable islands in a sprawling swath of the Earth that abuts both the Pacific and Indian Oceans. An Amateur Radio operator who makes contacts with one station in each of the 10 call areas of the country can earn the Worked All Indonesia Call Area award. The European ROS Club issues […]
The European Ros Club (ERC) issues the Diplomas Distritos EA Award to Radio Amateurs who make digital contact with one other Ham operator in each of the 9 call areas of Spain. Call area EA0 is either not used or only issued for special occasions. When thinking of the country of Spain from an Amateur […]
The FT8 Digital Mode Club issues the Worked All Australia Award to Radio Amateurs who make contact with at least one station in each of the 8 call areas of Australia. Australia actually administers two additional call areas not required for this award. The VK9 call area is issued for territories such as Christmas, Cocos, […]
The Diploma Paises and DXCC programs from the European Ros Club are the ERC equivalent of the American Radio Relay League’s DXCC program. To earn certificates an Amateur Radio operator has to work as many “countries” as possible using digital modes such as FT8. It appears the Diploma Paises is awarded for working countries across […]
Maidenhead Grid Squares are an Amateur Radio invention designed to spur activity on the VHF bands. By creating a uniform grid of possible multipliers around the world the insurmountable advantages some stations had due to political boundaries could be mitigated. Particularly with the advent of FT8, which uses the grid as its main QSO exchange, […]
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 […]
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 […]