so ive been licensed about 8 months now and i keep hearing people talk about chasing DXCC and WAS and WAZ and honestly it all kind of blurs together for me. like i understand the basic concept — you work a certain number of countries or states or zones and then you apply for a certificate or whatever — but im confused about how it actually works in practice.

like do you just keep a log and then submit it at some point? does every QSO count or do they have to be confirmed somehow? i've been using WSJT-X for FT8 mostly and i can see my contacts in the log but i dont really know if those are being tracked anywhere for awards purposes. someone at my local club mentioned Logbook of the World but i havent set that up yet because honestly it looked kind of complicated when i tried to read through it.

also whats the actual difference between the three? like is one harder than the other? i worked a station in Japan last week and i was pretty stoked about that, wondering if that counts toward anything

okay so first off — Japan definitely counts, that's JA land and it's an entity for DXCC purposes, so nice work getting that in the log. you're already on your way without even knowing it haha.

the short version is DXCC is about working 100 or more DXCC entities (most people just say countries even though technically thats not exactly right), WAS is working all 50 US states, and WAZ is working all 40 CQ zones around the world. WAZ is honestly the trickiest one because some zones are really hard to find active stations in — zone 2 for example will drive you crazy.

for confirmation you really do need LoTW. i know it looks like a lot to set up but once you get your certificate from the ARRL and get it loaded into your logging software it's pretty much automatic. most of your FT8 contacts through WSJT-X will confirm there because a ton of the digital operators use it. paper QSL cards still work too but LoTW is just way easier for award tracking. just set aside an afternoon and get it done, seriously worth it.

and yes you basically just keep logging and at some point when you hit the thresholds you apply through the ARRL. they have an online system now that checks your LoTW confirmations. it's actually not too bad once you understand whats happening under the hood.

im kind of in the same boat as you, been licensed about a year and just submitted my first WAS application last month. the LoTW setup really isnt as bad as it looks, there are some good youtube walkthrough videos that helped me a lot more than reading the documentation. took me maybe 45 minutes total.

one thing i'll add is that for FT8 specifically, WSJT-X integrates with a program called GridTracker or you can use Log4OM or HAMRS or whatever logging software and they can show you in real time which states and countries you still need. that visual stuff helped me stay motivated honestly. seeing the map fill in is kind of addictive