so ive been chasing DX for about a year now and just recently started taking it more seriously. got into logging with LOTW after a friend basically forced me to set it up and im really glad he did. anyway i have like 87 entities worked but only 62 confirmed on LOTW so far and im just trying to understand how the credit system works before i apply for anything.

do i need 100 confirmed to apply for the basic DXCC award, or 100 worked is enough to start the process? i know some people mail QSL cards in for credit too which seems kind of old school but i guess it still counts. also how does the mixed mode thing work — if i work the same entity on SSB and FT8 does that count as one entity or two for the basic DXCC. reading the ARRL site has me going in circles a bit

also completely separately, anyone working toward WAS at the same time? im in the midwest so a lot of states are easy but alaska and hawaii are always a pain. wondering if the two awards kind of feed off each other or if its just completely separate grind

yeah you need 100 confirmed, not just worked — so LOTW confirmations count, paper QSLs count through the card checker process, and some awards managers will accept a mix. 87 worked with 62 confirmed means you're actually in decent shape, just need to keep at it and maybe chase some of those unconfirmed ones more aggresively. some dx stations are really slow to upload to LOTW so it might just be a waiting game for a few of them.

for mixed mode — basic DXCC is mixed, meaning any mode counts toward the same 100 entity total. so working Kazakhstan on SSB and FT8 still only gets you one entity credit for basic. now if you want the CW endorsement or the digital endorsement that's a separate thing, you'd need 100 confirmed specifically on that mode. the ARRL page is honestly a bit of a maze but once it clicks it makes sense.

WAS is totally separate, different award, different submission. but you're right that they kind of happen in parallel if you're just working a lot of stations in general. alaska tends to show up more than you'd expect if you're on 40m in the evenings, just have to be patient.

I was in almost the exact same spot maybe two years ago. Took me forever to figure out that LOTW confirmations don't just automatically apply to your award — you still have to go in and actually apply through the ARRL system and pay the fee. Felt kind of obvious in hindsight but nobody told me that part and i sat there thinking i was almost done when i hadnt actually started the application at all.

Hawaii on WAS was my white whale for a while. Finally got it during a contest weekend, think it was a guy running a pile on 15 meters. Alaska i got weirdly fast on 40 SSB one random Tuesday evening so who knows.