DXCC — the DX Century Club — is the oldest and most recognized award in amateur radio: confirmed two-way contacts with 100 different "entities" on the ARRL's list. It has been running since 1937 and it remains the number most DX chasers quote.
Entities, not countries
The DXCC list counts entities, defined by ARRL rules that account for political separation, distance and other criteria. Alaska and Hawaii are separate entities from the continental US; so are Puerto Rico, Guam and the US Virgin Islands. The current list runs to roughly 340 entities, and it changes when the world does — an entity can be added or deleted, and contacts made while an entity counted remain valid.
Earning and endorsing it
- Contacts must be confirmed, through Logbook of The World or
- The basic award is mixed mode. Separate certificates and endorsements exist for CW, phone,
- 5-Band DXCC requires 100 entities on each of 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 m.
- DXCC Challenge counts band-entity slots across 160–6 m; Honor Roll recognizes working all
by paper QSL cards presented to a card checker.
digital, satellite, and for each band from 160 m through 6 m and above.
but a handful of the current list. Both take years and considerable antenna.
A LoTW account makes progress automatic: it shows what is confirmed, what is missing, and lets you apply for credit online without mailing anything.
The other big DX programs
- WAZ (Worked All Zones, CQ magazine) — the 40 CQ zones. Fewer targets, and some zones are
- WPX (CQ) — counts callsign prefixes, of which there are thousands, so it rewards volume rather
- IOTA (Islands on the Air, RSGB) — island groups rather than countries, and the reason for a
- WAC (Worked All Continents, IARU) — six contacts, and the right first award to apply for.
- VUCC — grid squares on VHF and above; see
genuinely hard.
than rarity.
great many expeditions to uncomfortable rocks.
Chasing DX effectively
- Listen before you transmit. Find out whether the station is working split, by number, or by
- Send your call once, then listen. Repeating over the DX station is what turns a pileup into an
- Use the spotting networks — DX cluster, Reverse Beacon Network, PSK Reporter — to know when a
- Watch the gray line and the openings, not the clock; see
- Check the QSL route on QRZ or Club Log before mailing a card; most expeditions want an online
- Digital modes count. FT8 has put DXCC within reach of small stations that could never break a
continent, and where they are listening.
unworkable mess.
band is actually open toward a region, then verify by ear.
propagation and space weather.
request rather than an envelope.
phone pileup; see FT8.
Rare entities appear when someone mounts an expedition to them, which may be once a decade. When one is on the air, work it early — the pileup only grows, and the operators go home.