so ive been licensed for about 8 months now and people keep talking about awards and chasing DX and all that and i want to get into it but honestly i dont even know where to start. like i understand the basic idea of DXCC (work 100 countries) but then someone at the club meeting mentioned WAS and WAZ and i just kind of nodded along like i knew what was going on lol

i have a pretty modest setup, just a G5RV up about 25 feet and a 100w radio, conditions have been decent lately so ive been making some contacts but i havent been logging specifically with awards in mind. do i need to submit paper QSL cards for all of these or can you use LOTW for everything? and is there like a strategy people use when starting out or do you just work whatever you can and sort it all out later

also somebody mentioned something about "credits" and i got confused again. are those different from the actual confirmed contacts

ok so dont panic, its actually simpler than it sounds once you get the basic idea. DXCC is the big one from ARRL — you need 100 confirmed entities which are basically countries but not exactly countries, its more like the ARRL's list of radio entities. WAS is Worked All States, so all 50 US states confirmed. WAZ is Worked All Zones, there are 40 CQ zones around the world and you need all of them.

for your setup honestly WAS is probably the most achievable starting goal, 100w and a G5RV should get you there over time especially with good conditions, and every state counts even if youre making pretty routine contacts. DXCC is doable too but some entities are really rare and you'll be chasing them for years which is kind of part of the fun honestly

LOTW is absolutely the way to go, most serious operators upload there and it makes confirming contacts way easier than waiting on paper cards. the "credits" thing — when you apply for DXCC, ARRL reviews your confirmations and grants you credits for each valid entity. so you accumulate credits over time and apply for the award when you hit the threshold. you can also add credits later and get endorsements for higher numbers like 200 250 etc

my honest advice, just start logging everything carefully with the right info in LOTW and work whatever you can hear. it all counts eventually

yeah what he said. one thing i'd add is dont stress too much about a strategy early on, i spent way too much time early in my ham career reading about awards instead of just operating. your log is your best friend, log everything and upload to LOTW regularly and the picture of what you have will start to come together pretty naturally

the G5RV at 25 feet isnt going to get you everything but you'd be surprised what you can work from a modest station when conditions cooperate. i worked something like 80 entities in my first year on a similar setup before i ever put up anything serious. just keep at it