Last updated: 2001-08-31 (no longer being maintained)

Notice: © 1994 to 2001, Chris R. Burger. This document may be reproduced as required for personal use, and may be freely referenced from other Web sites. However, publication elsewhere requires express written permission from the author.

Chris R. Burger ZS6EZ
Box 4485
Pretoria
0001 South Africa
crb@prism.co.za

Notes: Although ZS6KR is known to have received DXCC certificates on 14 and 21 MHz in the submission period, his callsign does not appear. A simple oversight or software error is probably responsible. ZS4TX was not listed in the Yearbook in the Mixed list, but ARRL have advised that he should have been included.

The DX Century Club programme is administered by the American Radio Relay League. The basic requirement is the submission of proof of two way communications with at least 100 countries on the DXCC Countries List. DXCC is probably the most prestigious and sought-after awards world wide.

Application has to be made on the official application forms. The countries list, and a full set of rules, can be obtained for $ 3,00 and application forms are free of charge. Write to DXCC Desk, ARRL, 225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111-1494 USA. The information and all forms are also available on the ARRL Web site.

The basic award fee is now $ 20,00 per submission for non-members of the ARRL. However, during one application, the initial issue or endorsement of any number of awards may be requested. If credit for more than 120 QSOs is being requested, there is a small fee for each additional credit.

Starting in 2001, cards no longer have to be sent to the USA. We're hoping that this concession will result in increased participation from South Africans! Tjerk Lammers ZS6P can now check most QSL cards for DXCC. You can find full instructions for submitting cards to Tjerk elsewhere on this Web site.

You might still want to send cards to the USA occasionally, because of special circumstances described in the instructions. In this case, you must include sufficient return postage for all the QSL cards.

For the past few years, I retained stations on the membership list even if they weren't included in the Yearbook for that year. However, I have now started building a complete list of South Africans who have in the past held DXCC membership. That list now serves the same purpose, and I have listed only stations that actually appear in the 2000 Yearbook.

This list was manually extracted from The 2000 DXCC Yearbook. The extract lists world leaders and every ZS station on each of the DXCC lists. Members who submitted cards between 1 October 1999 and 30 September 2000 are shown, as are all Honour Roll members (those needing less than 10 current countries). Honour Roll members are indicated by a "*" behind the call sign.

Stations holding 5 Band DXCC are not listed annually in the Yearbook; this list of ZS stations was compiled from previous announcements in QST and direct correspondence with the individuals concerned and with the ARRL. Stations are listed in chronological order, i.e. ZS5LB was the first ZS, and ZS6IR the most recent. Over 4000 5BDXCC certificates have been issued. 5BDXCC is a very worth while project. Single- operator stations have worked 5BDXCC in a single contest weekend, but from South Africa it is definitely not a trivial undertaking!

The listed scores include credit granted for countries that have subsequently been deleted.

New countries

The number of countries for this list is 332. Two more countries, Chesterfield (FK) and East Timor (4W6), were subsequently added, with cards being accepted from 1 October 2000. These countries are therefore not yet included in these totals. Both countries have seen large-scale operations, and most DXCC participants probably already have a QSL card ready for submission.

New developments

There has been little significant change from last year's list. Phone is still the mode of choice. However, on the Single Band front, 7 MHz has emerged as joint favourite with 28 MHz. Pretty amazing, considering that 28 MHz at the solar peak is probably the easiest and most productive DXing band! What's even more amazing is that 3,5 MHz is only slightly behind, with four participants instead of five on the other two bands. The 50 MHz list is expected to expand in the coming year, with at least two contenders known to be going through the motions to get their QSL cards submitted. Expect to see at least four ZS stations with 50 MHz DXCCs before the end of 2001! The 144 MHz award remains the only one not yet claimed by a South African.

One significant development is the addition of single band DXCC certificates on 14 and 21 MHz. In both cases, ZS stations have already been issued with the new certificates. With 18,1 and 24,9 MHz being phased in during 2001, there will now be single band awards for every amateur band but 10,1 MHz. The latter remains subject to international agreement that prohibits wide-band modes and competitive activities on this band, because it is only 50 kHz wide.

If you want to apply for a new single band award, you can request an updated copy of your DXCC records from the ARRL. You can then clearly see which credits are in the computer, to avoid expensive duplication. The records now include all bands but 10,1 MHz. The easiest way to obtain your records is by email. They generally respond within a day with a pair of PDF files that you can print with the free Adobe Acrobat reader.

This year was also the first time that cumulative band scores have been listed. The DXCC Challenge table can be found on the ARRL's DXCC site. This year, 25 MHz totals were not included. The top station was W4DR, who becomes the first winner of the Clinton B. DeSoto Trophy. Three ZS stations (ZS6EZ, ZS6WB and ZS4TX, in that order) are listed. The entry level is 1000, with further endorsments in steps of 500 band countries.

The lists have been manually extracted from almost 20 pages of fine print in the Yearbook. Although everything was double-checked, it is not inconceivable that something could have been overlooked or incorrectly re-typed. If you notice errors or omissions, please let me know so that I can fix them.

The closing date for DXCC submissions, as in every year, is on 30 September. Applications should be air mailed several weeks in advance to ensure that they get there before the closing date. Perhaps it's time to get in touch with Tjerk!

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