With the growing popularity of FT8, the use of Gridsquares in awards criteria has exploded well beyond the realm of VHF/UHF. The Activity Group Belarus (AGB) offers up the Locators Award for working Amateur Radio stations in as many gridsquares as possible on HF as well as VHF. The bottom level requirement for a certificate […]
CQ Zone 16 covers the easternmost part of Europe. It’s been the location of a lot of pain and suffering lately, but plenty of Amateur Radio activity continues to reach out to the world despite this. The Activity Group of Belarus (AGB) offers the Zone 16 Award to track your progress of making contacts with stations in the area. […]
Maidenhead Grid Squares cover the world. There are many awards for contacting Hams in all of them. But country specific grid awards allow an applicant to focus on a particular area of interest. The FT8 Digital Mode Club (FT8DMC) offers the Worked ZL Grid Square Award (ZLGS) to Amateur Radio operators who make contacts with […]
The Caribbean has often been described as a paradise due to its warm weather, sandy beaches and laid back attitudes. Even if you cannot get away to some of the locations mentioned in a Beach Boys song you can get a taste of tropical breezes through Amateur Radio. The FT4 Digital Mode Club (FT4DMC) issues the Caribbean Countries […]
It had been a quiet couple of months of incoming QSL cards. But a couple of QSL Bureau envelopes came in with some interesting cards including one for a brand new country. I worked TO4A on the island of Martinique on 10M, 15M and 20M using CW during the ARRL DX Contest. All contacts were […]
Germany has one of the largest Amateur Radio populations in Europe. If you’re looking for a way to incentivize making more QSOs with DLs then the European Ros Club has something for you. The ERC issues the DL Grid Award to Amateur Radio operators who work German stations in at least 5 different Maidenhead Gridsquares. Additional certificates […]
The Roman Empire at its height spanned the entire Mediterranean Sea. But it’s trade routes went out even further. The Vele Romane Award from IK3GER is awarded to Amateur Radio operators who make contact with countries and regions taking part in this trade. For the purposes of this award, Paolo (IK3GER) has defined 66 entities. […]
For modest North American stations, particularly on the west coast, working African stations can be somewhat of a challenge. After you do log a nice list of stations it’s time to look for an award to celebrate the achievement. The Africa Stations Award (AFSA) from the FT8 Digital Mode Club (FT8DMC) is here to help. […]
The Valley of the Moon ARC (VOMARC) held their annual picnic at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park in 2025. The weather cooperated and there were plenty of shady spots to get out of the Sun. In addition to some grilling and chatting, the club did another Parks on the Air (POTA) activation. We made a total […]
Countries come in all shapes and sizes. On maps the large countries dominate. The smaller countries are easy to overlook without the aid of a magnifying glass. The FT8 Digital Mode Club promotes an award that gives these smaller countries (more accurately, DXCC entities) some well deserved attention. They issue the Worked Little Countries Award […]