I set a goal to earn my
DX Century Club (DXCC) status by my birthday, and it has been achieved!
With 105
DXCC
entities
(
a discrete geographical or political entity) and 7,928 QSO records
contact logged, as of May 20th, 2021.
These QSOs are matched up on
https://lotw.arrl.org/ and not all HAMS use this service, so I also have paper cards that I can get reviewed to add more
DXCC
entities.
ARRL DXCC LIST CURRENT ENTITIES as February 2020 is 340.
The DXCC List is based on Clinton B. DeSoto's, W1CBD, landmark 1935 QST article, "How to Count Countries Worked, A New DX Scoring System."
DeSoto's article discussed problems DXers had in determining how to
count the DX, or entities, they had worked. He presented the
solution that has worked successfully for succeeding generations of
DXers.
In DeSoto's words, "The basic rule is simple and direct: Each
discrete geographical or political entity is considered to be a
country." This rule has stood the test of time -- from the original list
published in 1937, to the ARRL DXCC List of today. For more than 85 years, the DXCC List has been the standard for DXers around the world. -http://www.arrl.org/dxcc-rules
DeSoto never intended that all DXCC "countries" would be
countries in the traditional sense of the word. Rather, they are the
distinct geographic and political entities which DXers seek to contact.
Individual achievement is measured by working and confirming the
various entities comprising the DXCC List. This is the essence of the
DXCC program.
Over time, criteria for the DXCC List has changed. The List
remains unchanged until an entity no longer satisfies the criteria
under which it was added, at which time it is moved to the Deleted List.
Thus, today's DXCC List does not fully conform with today's criteria
since many entities are grandfathered under previous rules.
KY6R Visual History of ARRL DXCC Program:
- electronically submit contacts (QSOs) for confirmation
- view your submitted QSOs and resulting confirmations online
- view your DXCC, VUCC, WAS, WAZ and WPX award progress online
- electronically submit confirmations for credit toward DXCC, VUCC, WAS, WAZ and WPX awards
As stated in LoTW's Mission and Objectives, membership in the ARRL is not a requirement. To use LoTW, download the free TQSL application and direct it to request participation. You'll be issued a unique Callsign Certificate, and provided with access to an LoTW Account via the world wide web.
After you're registered, you can submit QSOs to LoTW by either using TQSL to digitally sign those QSOs and convey them to LoTW via the internet, or by using one of the many logging applications that provide this capability.
If the information in a submitted QSO matches the information
submitted to LoTW by the your QSO partner, the LoTW Accounts of both you
and your QSO partner will show the submitted QSO as confirmed.
A Callsign Certificate authenticates the source of each submitted
QSO, and no operator is permitted to see the information submitted by
other operators. This combination maintains the integrity of the QSO
verification process that has long been the hallmark of ARRL awards.
Via your LoTW Account, you can submit a confirmed QSO for credit in one or more of the DXCC, VUCC, WAS, WAZ, and WPX award programs.
There is no fee for obtaining a Callsign Certificate, submitting
QSOs, or using one's LoTW Account to view submitted QSOs, confirmed
QSOs, or award progress. A fee is only charged when submitting confirmed
QSOs for Award Credit.
When the processing of a WAZ or WPX application made from LoTW is
complete, your LoTW confirmations will be conveyed to the CQ WAZ or CQ
WPX Award Manager, respectively. You can then apply to CQ for awards, placques, or pins.
If you're not yet using LoTW, here's how to get started.
If you're already using LoTW and need information, check the Using Logbook of the World "navigation bar" on the left, consult the searchable list of Topic Titles, or try Frequently Asked Questions. You can also search the contents of this help system using the Search facility in the upper-right corner of every page. - https://lotw.arrl.org/lotw-help/
