Category: Awards

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.

Zone 7 Award

The Activity Group of Belarus (AGB) offers a large number of Amateur Radio operating awards. Several of their awards are based on the zones of the world created as part of CQ Magazine’s Worked All Zones program. Zone 7 covers countries within Central America. AGB offers up the Zone 7 Award for working Ham Radio stations just within that zone. The […]

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Long Call Award

The longest “normal” callsign in Amateur Radio consists of 6 characters. My callsign of KA5WSS is such an example. But there are special event stations that often utilize longer callsigns that include a word or acronym indicating the event or place being highlighted. You can obtain the Long Call Award by working at least 10 […]

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Grid Awards

Worked VHF Grid Award

There are many awards you can chase that base achievements on the number of grids worked. Maidenhead grid squares were introduced in 1980 to replace the QRA locator system used for VHF activity in Europe. The new grid scheme could be applied worldwide and its popularity exploded. Though originally intended for VHF/UHF operations, its use […]

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VHF/UHF Century Club (VUCC)

The VHF/UHF Century Club (VUCC) is the world’s premier VHF/UHF operating award. The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) offers the award for all bands above 50 MHz (with a couple of exceptions noted below). The requirements for VUCC vary widely depending upon the band in question. The lower VHF bands requires contacts with stations in […]

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Indonesia Grid Locators

Indonesia has a growing Amateur Radio population. The European Ros Club has an award to incentivize making contacts with Indonesian stations across the archipelago. Their Indonesia Grid Locators Award requires Amateur Radio operators to work Indonesian stations in at least 5 different Maidenhead Gridsquares. Additional certificates can be had by working more grids within Indonesia. A grand total […]

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Arab African League Award

Founded in 1945, Arabic speaking countries formed the Arab League to draw its members closer and foster cooperation. Today there are 22 member states. The FT8 Digital Mode Club (FT8DMC) sponsors the Arab League Award (ALA) for working Amateur Radio stations residing within those countries. But there’s another FT8DMC award requiring contacts with Arab League nations solely in Africa. That would […]

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Worked All Oceania Award

Of all of the Continents defined for Amateur Radio purposes, Oceania may cover the greatest expanse on the planet. The FT8 Digital Mode Club (FT8DMC) offers up the Worked All Oceania Award to track progress in contacting Ham Radio stations in the many countries that dat its extent. The entry level Bronze award requires contact […]

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Captain James Cook Award – FT8DMC

To celebrate the widespread exploration of British naval officer James Cook, the FT8 Digital Mode Club (FT8DMC) offers the Captain James Cook Award. To obtain the award, applicants need to make contact with stations in the places Cook visited. This award is a synonym for the Captain James Cook Award from NZART. The award is […]

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Arab League Prefixes Award

The Arab League consists of 22 members states across Africa and Asia. The FT8 Digital Mode Club (FT8DMC) sponsors the Arab League Prefixes Award (ALPA) for working Amateur Radio stations residing within those countries with differing prefixes of their callsign. The entry point for the award is 10 unique prefixes. There are certainly more but it’s hard to determine […]

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My Birthday Award

Awards come in all levels of difficulty. If you are looking for a quick way to earn an operating award look no further than the My Birthday Award, sponsored by Paolo Corsetti, IK3GER. To qualify for the award you need only make 5 contacts via Amateur Radio on your birthday. That’s it! There is no […]

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