ARRL's Logbook of the World to Add Support for CQ WAZ Award

I rest my case.

 

Anyone know the current status for the WAZ release time?

 

All the instructions for WAZ setup and application, etc. are on line. However the WAZ link that they say is on the Awards Page is not. I spent about an hour trying to find it or activate it. Not there, at least not where I could find it.

 

today.

LoTW Support for CQ Worked All Zones (WAZ) Award Goes Live
04/02/2018
ARRL and CQ magazine have announced the launch, effective immediately, of Logbook of The World (LoTW) support for CQ’s Worked All Zones (WAZ) Award program. The goal of the project, under way since last year, has been to create the proper technical support system to enable radio amateurs to submit LoTW confirmations for WAZ credit, and that has been accomplished, CQ and ARRL said in a joint statement. LoTW already supports CQ’s WPX Award program.

“We are very pleased that participants in CQ’s WAZ award program will now be able to use their LoTW confirmations for award credit,” CQ Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU, said. “CQ WPX Award participants have found it very helpful, and we are sure it will be equally helpful for those pursuing WAZ and its many variations.”

ARRL First Vice President Greg Widin, K0GW, concurred. “Users of LoTW have been telling us for some time that they would like to use QSLs from LoTW to apply for the WAZ award,” he said. “They will now be able to select confirmations to be used for WAZ credit.”

Beta testing has been under way since mid-December 2017 to bring the WAZ Award program into LoTW, and the LoTW technical support team has addressed any problems in the implementation that testers uncovered. Documentation also was improved through feedback from beta testers.

At the same time, each LoTW user was given an additional WAZ account. Standard LoTW credit fees and separate CQ award fees will apply.

LoTW — ARRL’s electronic confirmation system for Amateur Radio contacts —provides contact confirmation when both stations upload their logs to the system, and a match between the logs is confirmed. LoTW has supported the CQ WPX Award program since 2012.

 

Submitted and I got the letter saying my cert was being setup at CQ for sending back to me! So happy LoTW now does WAZ as well as several other awards!

 

Well said. I have been very critical of the ARRL in communications with Directors, the FCC and on public forms like this. I'm sure I have been a big pain in the back side for my Div Director and I plain to continue this practice when ever feel it is necessary.

But that doesn't mean that everything they do is bad. LoTW is a life saver and bank account saver for DXers pursuing advanced ARRL DX awards like 5 (or more) band DXCC and especially DXCC Challenge where the entry left for the award is 1000 confirmed DX QSO's and increases in increments of 500 up to 3,000. I would hate to wait out the QSL's via the bureau and would hate sending IRC's or Green Stamps even more.

I wish every ham used LoTW even if they don't chase awards. It's free to use for members and non members alike. But there is a fee to apply the confirmed QSO's to awards. But it's still at a greatly reduced cost over postage and IRC's/Green Stamps. Another great benefit is that LoTW can serve as an off site log back up if you upload all your QSO's on a regular basis. If you happen o lose your log in a PC crash or by other means, you can download your entire log from LoTW and reinstall in your log program. You will loose any remarks you may have logged but calls; dates; times; bands and modes will be preserved. That too is free even if you don't use it for awards credit.

LoTW is one thing the ARRL got right and I for one think it's great that they are expanding it to WAZ awards, which I consider second only to DXCC awards in prestige.

 

Is CQ even able to issue award certificates? I read posts that indicated some hams were waiting months, even close to a year, for award certificates.

 

I sure hope you are wrong... I just submitted, and got the letter saying it was sent to CQ HQ for an artist to create. Hopefully it comes sooner than later. My WPX took a few weeks. I will report back here when it arrives.

 

Got my ARRL, LoTW generated WAZ certificate two days ago! I submitted the day it became available. Sure is a large format cert, and well done, on really nice paper.