Working an Amateur Radio station in all 50 States of the US is an achievement that can be obtained using stations of all capabilities. There’s a reason why the American Radio Relay League‘s Worked All States Award is one of the most popular operating awards around. But there are similar synonym awards for the same effort that might be worth looking into. One such example is the Worked All States Award from the European ROS Club.
Unlike the ARRL’s WAS award, you can get started in the ERC WAS program by working just 25 different states. Consider it an enticement to keep striving towards your ultimate goal. The 25 and 50 state certificates differ in design and page ratio. However, both feature prominent displays of the American flag and one or two Bald Eagles.
ERC offers separate awards for working 25 or 50 states on individual bands. Of particular interest here is the fact that you can also chase all 50 states on the 60M band. That band is not included in the ARRL’s WAS program at all.
To apply for the Worked All States Award, and all other ERC awards, you must install the UltimateAAC application on a Windows machine. That application scans your WSJT-X ADIF log file. It then informs you when you’ve qualified for the award at various levels. ERC 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.