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.
For administrative purposes, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) divides up the world into three different zones. Amateur Radio’s International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) organizes itself along similar lines. These zones consist of: ITU Zone Area 1 Europe (including the part of Russia that lies in Asia) and Africa 2 North America and South America 3 […]
The FT4 Digital Mode Club (FT4DMC) issues the Grid Square Award (GSA) for working stations in at least 100 different Maidenhead Grid Squares around the world. You must make all contacts using the FT4 digital mode. After working 100 grids for the initial award you can obtain additional awards for working 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, […]
The world gets divided up in many ways. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) carves up the world into three regions for administrative purposes. Region 1 consists of the continents of Europe (including the Asian portion of Russia) and Africa. The FT8 Digital Mode Club (FT8DMC) sponsors the Worked Region 1 Award (WR1A) for working Ham Radio stations in the countries of […]
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 […]
The Canadaward is the Radio Amateurs of Canada‘s (RAC) answer to Worked All States. To obtain the award you need to work one Amateur Radio operator in each of the country’s provinces and territories. That amounts to a total of 13 separate contacts. In addition to the standard all modes and bands basic award, there […]
Japan has one of the largest populations of Amateur Radio operators in the world and FT8 is now one of the most popular operating modes. Combining these two facts, the FT8 Digital Mode Club (FT8DMC) offers the Japanese Stations Award (JSA) for working as many Ham Radio stations in the Land of the Rising Sun […]
Maidenhead grid squares started out as a contest multiplier for VHF contests. Particularly with the rise of the FT8 digital mode, grid squares have become common on the HF bands as well. The European Ros Club‘s Worked Grids USA award celebrates working stations within grid squares that include some portion of the United States. It […]
The Caribbean Sea is often portrayed as a paradise on Earth with sandy beaches, cool ocean breezes and a laid back atmosphere. Can’t get away for an island adventure at this time? You can use the Worked Caribbean Award (WCARA) as a way to imagine and plan for a future trip. The FT8 Digital Mode […]
The European Ros Club issues the Worked Grid Spain award for working stations in 5 different grid squares that cover Spain. That is just the start. You can receive additional awards for every 5 additional squares up to the maximum, which appears to be 55. That’s 10 different certificates. But why stop there? You can […]
Japan consists of 47 administrative units below their national government. These entities, called prefectures, are roughly analogous to states in the United States. The Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) sponsors the Worked All Japan Prefectures Award (WAJA) for making contact with at least one Ham Radio operator in each of these prefectures. Beyond the standard […]