The lands around the Baltic Sea in Europe have a rich history that includes Vikings and Teutonic Knights. The Activity Group of Belarus (AGB) issues the Baltic Sea Award for Ham Radio operators who make a certain number of contacts with countries that border the historic sea.
There are three overall classes of the award. Each class requires a certain number of contacts and a certain number of countries in order qualify. For the entry level award (Class III) one need only make 10 QSOs with two of the 10 countries that border the Black Sea. Higher level awards require more contacts and countries.
But things can get more complicated because the award is also issued for individual modes (FT8, FT4, JT65, JT9, JS8 and T10) and bands (13 bands from 160M through 2M), each requiring a different number of QSOs or countries. On top of that, the requirements are different for European Hams versus those elsewhere in the world. Here are the requirements of each certificate class for non-European Hams using FT8.
| Class | QSOs | Countries |
| III | 10 | 2 |
| II | 20 | 6 |
| I | 30 | 8 |
Don’t let the complexity of the requirements deter you. The automated system to apply for the award keeps track of all of the details. It will simply let you know when you’ve qualified for a given award.
The certificate sports a map of the Baltic Sea with each of the countries which border it shown. It includes the standard AGB Matrix-like background image.
To apply for the Baltic Sea Award, and all other AGB awards, you must install the UltimateAAC application on a Windows machine. That application scans your WSJT-X ADIF log file and will inform you when you’ve qualified for the award at various levels. AGB issues the award in digital form only (JPG or PDF) with no printing or shipping costs. In fact, the award is completely free, like all of their other awards.