Amateur radio operating award

Some awards require the amateur radio operator to have contacted other stations in a certain number of countries, Maidenhead grid locators, or counties.

Because amateur radio operators are forbidden by regulation to accept financial compensation for their on-air activity, award recipients generally only receive a certificate, wooden plaque, or a small trophy as recognition of their award.

DXCC is the most popular awards program, initially requiring amateurs to contact 100 of the 340 (as of 2015[update]) separately designated countries and territories ("entities") in the world.

Other popular awards include contacting remote islands, beaches, US counties, and lighthouses.

Summits On The Air, or SOTA, tallies points towards awards to hams who broadcast from mountain elevations or make contact with those transmitting from them, for which events are scheduled periodically.