so ive been licensed for about 3 years now and mostly just done local stuff and some casual HF but lately ive been getting really into chasing DX and I think I want to actually go for DXCC properly. I have maybe 60-something entities confirmed already just from messing around but never submitted anything official to the ARRL.

my question is like, do those old QSLs even count if I never applied? and how does Logbook of the World work for this, do I need to get everyone to upload their logs or is there another way. also WAS and WAZ - are those completely separate things I apply for separately or is there some bundle deal. I feel like theres a ton of administrative stuff I dont understand and the ARRL website honestly confused me more than helped lol

any pointers from people who have actually done this would be great. I have a modest setup, IC-7300 with a wire dipole up about 30 feet so im not exactly running a kilowatt into a beam but I manage to work some decent stuff

yeah those QSOs absolutely count as long as you have the QSL cards or the contacts are in LoTW. the ARRL doesnt care when you made the contact, just that you can confirm it. so dig out those old cards and see what you've got.

LoTW is really the way to go now, most serious DX stations upload pretty regularly and a lot of the rare ones do too eventually. you just need to get your own log uploaded with your certificate from the ARRL and then matches happen automatically when the other station uploads theirs. paper QSLs still work fine for DXCC if the station doesnt use LoTW, you just send them in for a manual check which costs a little money per card.

WAS and WAZ are totally separate awards with separate applications and fees. no bundle that I know of. WAZ is the 40 zone one from CQ magazine actually, not ARRL, so that's a whole different organization to deal with. honestly just start by getting your LoTW account set up and uploading everything, then look at what you already have confirmed and go from there. 60 entities is a solid start, you're probably closer than you think.

welcome to the rabbit hole haha. I only just got my basic DXCC last year and the admin side was confusing me too at first. one thing that helped me was joining the DX club in my area, they had an elmer who basically walked me through the whole LoTW setup in one afternoon. worth checking if theres one near you.

also dont underestimate what you can work with an IC-7300 and a dipole, I worked my 100th entity on similar gear. some of it is just being there at the right time and knowing when the good propagation windows are for different paths.