The DX Century Club, or DXCC, is an amateur radio operating award earned by making contacts with licensed amateur operators in at least 100 "countries" (i.e. geographic locations listed in the rules for the award) around the world, many of which are physically distant from the claimant (i.e.DX).
Contents
- The basic awards
- Endorsements
- 5 Band DXCC
- DXCC Honor Roll
- DXCC 1 Honor Roll
- DXCC Challenge
- QRP DXCC
- Satellite DXCC
- References
The award is granted by (and is a registered trademark of ) the American Radio Relay League. Radio amateurs worldwide are eligible to apply although applicants from the US, its possessions and Puerto Rico must be ARRL members. Proof of two way contacts, either in the form of QSL cards or online confirmations in the Logbook of The World (LoTW), must be submitted to and verified by ARRL to qualify. Each DXCC award certificate is dated and individually numbered, and is widely recognized among the global amateur radio community as confirmation that the holder is an accomplished DXer.
As amateur radio grew, achievement awards for working several distant places were developed. As early as 1926 the International Amateur Radio Union started issuing the Worked All Continents certificate. In 1934 R/9 magazine began the Worked All Zones award. The ARRL started to examine the issue in 1932 and, after considerable work to determine what constitutes a "country", presented its criteria in 1935. Although the first DXCC certificates were awarded in 1937, the award program was suspended during World War II. When American amateurs returned to the air on November 15, 1945, the DXCC award program was re-launched and has continued ever since.
Most - but not all - entities on the DXCC list are conventional countries. All have some definable political or geographical distinctiveness. For example, although Hawaii is part of the country called the United States of America, it counts separately in the DXCC award program due to its distance from the rest of the US. The criteria for inclusion or exclusion of entities from the list have been refined occasionally during the life of the program.
The basic awards
There are 16 basic DXCC awards, earned by submitting to ARRL proof of two-way amateur radio contacts with at least 100 entities using the radio bands or transmission modes listed in the rules.
The five mode-based awards are:
Single-band awards are available for contacts made on each of the following eleven amateur bands, regardless of mode:
Endorsements
Endorsement stickers for affixing to certificates are awarded as additional DXCC credits are granted beyond the initial 100. For most DXCC awards, there are endorsement stickers for contacting 150, 200, 250, 275 and 300 entities, and multiples of 5 above 300. DXCC lapel pins are also available.
As of February 2017, there are 339 entities on the current published DXCC entities list. The most recent additions to the list were the four arising out of the former Netherlands Antilles, which were added on October 13, 2010, and South Sudan on July 14, 2011. Another 62 entities are listed but marked as "Deleted": provided they were contacted when they were listed as current on the DXCC entities list, and the contacts have since been confirmed and verified by the ARRL, those credits stand in perpetuity. Examples in this group include former countries such as Czechoslovakia and colonial areas such as French West Africa, or places such as Kingman Reef that are no longer far enough above sea level to qualify under the present DXCC rules. This in turn creates the situation where amateurs who have been DXing for many years can have "all-time" DXCC totals in excess of the "current" 339, even without necessarily having contacted all 339.
5-Band DXCC
A 5-band DXCC award is awarded to hams who successfully complete and confirm two-way contacts with 100 or more entities on the current DXCC List on each of the 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meter amateur radio bands. Endorsements are awarded for working and confirming 100 or more entities on the current DXCC List on any of the 160, 30, 17, 12, 6 or 2 meter amateur radio bands. A 5-Band DXCC award plaque may also be purchased.
DXCC Honor Roll
A radio amateur with less than ten of the 339 entities on the current DXCC List still to contact and confirm is eligible for the DXCC Honor Roll. Honor Roll qualifiers receive an Honor Roll endorsement sticker for their DXCC certificate and are eligible for an Honor Roll lapel pin and an Honor Roll plaque. Mode-based Honor Roll awards are available for Mixed (any modes), Phone (radiotelephone), CW (radiotelegraphy) and Digital (radioteletype).
DXCC #1 Honor Roll
A radio amateur who has confirmed contacts with all 339 entities on the current DXCC List is eligible for the #1 Honor Roll plaque. #1 Honor Roll qualifiers receive a #1 Honor Roll endorsement sticker for their DXCC certificate and are eligible for a #1 Honor Roll lapel pin and a #1 Honor Roll plaque. Mode-based DXCC #1 Honor Roll awards are Mixed (any modes), Phone (radiotelephone), CW (radiotelegraphy) and Digital (radioteletype).
DXCC Challenge
The DXCC Challenge Award recognizes radio amateurs who have contacted a combined total of at least 1000 current band-entities on the current DXCC List on any combination of amateur radio bands from 160 to 6 meters. The amateur with the highest DXCC Challenge total at the end of each year is awarded the Desoto Cup. The DeSoto Cup honors the memory of Clinton B. DeSoto, W1CBD, who wrote the definitive 1935 QST article that inspired the original DXCC program. Silver and bronze medals are awarded to the second and third-place winners each year. A gold medal is awarded if the overall winner has won the DeSoto Cup in a prior year. Each year, the ARRL announces the winner of the DeSoto Cup and the top contenders above the 3000 level.
QRP DXCC
The QRP DXCC award recognizes radio amateurs who have contacted at least 100 DXCC entities using no more than 5 watts output power (measured at the antenna system feed point, typically the coaxial cable output of the transmitter). There is no time limit on contacts and no QSLs are required to claim the award - simply an assertion signed by the claimant - reflecting the trust-based nature of QRP operating.
Satellite DXCC
Although contacts made via amateur radio satellite, repeaters etc. do not qualify for any of the other basic DXCC awards noted above, the Satellite DXCC award is available separately for contacting at least 100 DXCC entities via amateur radio satellite.