How to apply for your DXCC in southern Africa

Last updated: 2003-02-09

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.


At least since the Second World War, the DX Century Club (DXCC) has been the prime benchmark for DXing achievement. As the name implies, the basic admission requirement for DXCC membership is that one has to provide proof of two-way contacts with at least 100 countries. A standardised list of countries (now called "entities" in a case of political correctness gone haywire) is maintained, and now sports 334 countries. Another few dozen have been deleted.

The basic DXCC programme has been expanded over the years, and separate DXCC awards are now available for each HF and VHF band (except 10,1 MHz) and for Mixed, Phone, CW and RTTY modes. There is also a Five Band DXCC (5BDXCC) award for over 100 countries on each of 3,5, 7, 14, 21 and 28 MHz, and an Honour Roll for those who need less than 10 countries on a specific mode.

South African participation was reasonable from early days, with several dozen South Africans on the annual membership list in the Fifties. Unfortunately, as the Rand has continued its inexorable slide, participation dwindled to less than half a dozen members in the early Eighties. Apart from application fees, there was also the matter of shipping QSL cards to be checked; the cards had to be sent to ARRL Headquarters in Newington, Connecticut, and enough postage had to be provided for their return. These costs mounted up, and with the cost of the dollar being what it is, many have opted not to make an annual submission.

I have published an extract of all South Africans in every annual membership list, ever since about 1985. As of two years ago, I have started retaining submissions from not only the current year, but also the two previous years. This practice allowed one to get a good indication of the standing of all the active South Africans, even if they haven't made a submission to DXCC in the current year.

South Africans have earned every type of DXCC, except that for 144 MHz. There are currently several South Africans on the Honour Roll, on both Mixed Mode and Phone. Only one South African has made it on CW so far. There is a single South African on the Satellite DXCC list, two on 50 MHz, three on 1,8 MHz and several on each of the other bands.

The ARRL investigated ways of making the DXCC programme more attractive, a process that culminated in the DXCC 2000 revamp. These changes included the proposal that offshore checking would be allowed through authorised national checkpoints. Fortunately, we have been in regular communication with the DXCC administrators over the years, and when the first countries to participate in offshore checking were selected, South Africa was in that group. A quick look at the list of the eligible countries is interesting; only Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Africa, Spain and Sweden are on the list.

Tjerk Lammers ZS6P has now completed the accreditation process. Apart from having to be an ARRL and a DXCC member in good standing, Tjerk also had to write an examination on procedures. He can check most QSL cards, and forward the certified application to DXCC for further processing. The cards never have to leave the country.


Why participate in DXCC?

There is some effort involved in DXCC participation. Firstly, obtaining the QSL cards needs some work. Secondly, the paperwork needs some effort. Why would one want to do it?

I find DXCC appealing for only one reason: the fact that it offers a mechanism for objective scrutiny.

We've all heard individuals making impossible or unlikely claims, even though we know deep down inside that they are fibbing. Although some of these individuals are sometimes unmasked, they don't seem to get the hint. In the interim, legitimate claims from other operators are debased by those false claims.

It is very difficult to fake a DXCC application, and one can accept that DXCC totals are very unlikely to be inflated significantly. To be sure, there are those who fib even in their DXCC applications, but one can assume that the checking process will weed out the majority of chancers.

The bottom line: When you're comparing claims of DXing prowess, there is definitely room for doubt. However, when you're comparing DXCC scores, there is little doubt: All those on the list have played by the same rules, gone through the same scrutiny and come up clean. You really are comparing like with like.


How to do it

  • Obtain a list of DXCC countries and rules. A printed list can be obtained from ARRL for $ 2, or all the relevant information can be obtained from the ARRL Web site.

  • Keep careful track of your progress. With 334 different DXCC entities, this process can be a little laborious. Many logging programs can track DXCC progress automatically, or you can download ZS6P's DXCC Tracker (in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet) from the SARL Web site. Over the longer term, you can use lists of operating achievements such as the Southern Africa Band Country Survey or the annual DXCC list to compare your achievements to those of your peers. Incidentally, even if you are that way inclined, resist the temptation to make exaggerated claims. Your peers will probably have a very good idea of your actual standing, and you will inevitably pick sour fruits if your claims exceed your actual achievements, when those claims are challenged in public.

  • Pursue QSL cards. Although one can easily obtain confirmations for 100 countries through the bureau, anyone who is in a hurry must definitely pursue QSLs by air mail. Most pragmatic DXers use a combination of both methods. Using the bureau for common countries saves a lot of money, but takes time. Some rarer countries can only be confirmed by direct air mail or through a QSL manager. The Internet features many excellent sources of QSL information. Make good use of these sources; they save considerable effort and expense, as misdirected QSLs are very unlikely to be answered.

  • Once you have the requisite 100 countries confirmed, obtain the application forms. The forms are available on the ARRL Web site.

  • Fill in the forms. List the cards by band and mode, and within those categories, alphabetically by prefix. Fill in the entry form completely.

  • Submit the cards and the forms to Tjerk. Remember to supply enough postage to allow Tjerk to send your entry to the ARRL, and to provide them with enough funds to cover the application fee, processing fees (if any) and certificate fees. The simplest way to pay for return postage and application fees is with a credit card number. Getting an invoice is very difficult, as the exact amount cannot be determined in advance, so a bank draft is not really an option. Full details about fees are listed in the rules. Tjerk may delete some cards from your list, if he finds any alterations on your cards. DXCC rules state specifically that cards with alterations are unacceptable, regardless of whether those alterations were made by the originator or not. Once Tjerk has checked that your cards correspond to your list, he will mail the application directly to the ARRL. He will then return your cards to you. If you're going to submit the cards to Tjerk in person, be sure to make prior arrangements. It may take Tjerk several hours to check all the cards. Be sure to check the list below for cards that Tjerk cannot check.

    Processing of your application can take several weeks, after which the ARRL will mail you a copy of your records and any certificates you may have earned. There are endorsements for more than the 100 basic entry level, and stickers will be included to honour all your achievements. Additions to the DXCC list are listed monthly in QST, the magazine of the ARRL. A DXCC Yearbook is published annually. The Yearbook is sent to ARRL members who have submitted cards in that year, or who are on the Honour Roll. The Yearbook contains a summary of activity during the year, a complete membership list for all DXCCs and a number of interesting articles. Usually, there are articles of general interest, and some describing several of the year's most spectacular DXpeditions.

    Once your DXCC has been issued, you are entitled to use the letters DXCC on your QSL card. While the basic Mixed or single mode award is relatively simple, and can be earned in just a few months, a higher endorsement level or a single-band DXCC on a band such as 1,8 or 50 MHz is an achievement you can be proud of. Only one ZS station (ZS6LW) has ever worked all countries, so there is another goal that you might want to set yourself. Perhaps the most challenging goal is Five Band DXCC. You will have to learn a lot about propagation to complete the required 100 on 80 m! 5BDXCC is a great accomplishment by anyone's standards, and only approximately a dozen South Africans have reached this milestone.


    Cards that Tjerk cannot check

    There are three categories of cards that Tjerk cannot check:

  • Cards older than ten years. Cards for any contacts more than 10 years before the date on which the list is signed, have to be submitted directly to ARRL.

  • Cards for contact with deleted entities. Cards for contacts with countries that no longer exist, have to be checked directly by the DXCC desk. Examples include Walvis Bay, Penguin Islands, East Germany and Czechoslovakia.

  • Cards for 1,8 MHz contacts. Cards for contacts on 160 m have to be submitted directly to ARRL. They are checked for the time of day to ensure that the contact was possible, presumably because the possibility for altering 18 MHz cards is too great.

    If you have cards that Tjerk cannot check, or you have cards with minor alterations that you feel that ARRL would accept even though Tjerk has rejected them, you can submit them directly to ARRL. Unfortunately, you cannot combine a certified list and single cards in a single application. If you are going to send any cards, you have to make a completely separate application.

    Practically speaking, one can make only one submission in a year. Most people submit their cards in September, as 30 September is the closing date for submissions for the annual DXCC Yearbook lists. A second application in a calendar year attracts a penalty (US$ 10), making it very expensive. Personally, I have decided that I will have Tjerk check my cards every second year, and I'll make a direct submission to ARRL in alternate years. I intend to make large submissions (lots of cards) to Tjerk, and small submissions (costing less postage!) to ARRL. These submissions will include very old contacts for which cards have recently arrived, my 160 m credits, and the odd card that has small alterations that do not materially affect the information on the card. Unfortunately, Tjerk's instructions are unambiguous: Altered cards have to be rejected, regardless of how frivolous the alteration appears. He has also been instructed not to get involved in arguments about his decisions, but rather to refer queries to ARRL. And, believe me, Tjerk takes those instructions seriously!

    A final note about Tjerk's duties: He cannot make any judgements about the legality of a specific station or its DXCC credentials. He also cannot rule on specific dates on which a station was or was not legal. He only checks that the cards correspond to what is written on the application form. Once the forms have been submitted to ARRL, they will make a ruling on the legality of any specific operations, and advise the applicant directly.


    Get to it!

    The appointment of a local checker removes the last excuses that many DXers have offered against DXCC participation. The cost issues around sending cards to the USA and getting them back, and the risk of mail loss have both been addressed. There is now no excuse; get those cards together and apply for the world's most prestigious DX award! We hope the participation levels will soon get back to where they were in the Fifties...


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