Special Events & Awards

California celebrated its sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) of statehood on 09 September 2000.  In 1849, delegates from all over California met in the capital Monterey to draft a state constitution, required by the United States Constitution before any state could join the federal union.  Upon completion, Congress approved admission, and California joined the union as the 31st state on 09 September 1850.  Of note, the state constitution was drafted in both English and Spanish.  I operated K6S the first 2 weeks of September 2000 in celebration of the sesquicentennial. And California Department of Motor Vehicles issued commemorative license plates:

 

The City of Monterey was founded on 03 June 1770 by Franciscan friar Bl. Junípero Serra and Captain Gaspar de Portolá, the second city founded in California (after San Diego). The city was named after the bay which was named after a Spanish viceroy of Mexico, the Count of Monte Rey.  I operated N6M 02-04 June 2000 to celebrate our 230th anniversary.

 

Under most of the Spanish and Mexican periods, California was politically divided into 2 prefectures, a northern district based in Monterey and a southern district based in Los Angeles.  During the California Constitutional Convention of 1849 held in the capital Monterey, delegates divided Califonia into 27 counties, which since then have been further subdivided into the current 58 counties.  The law establishing these counties took effect on 20 February 1850.  I operated K6M 18-20 February 2000 to celebrate the sesquicentennial of Monterey County. 


         California Radio Awards

Worked All California Counties

Worked All California Counties  (Northern California Contest Club)

W.A.C.C. Rules:
1.  Contacts may be made on any amateur radio band or mode. (No repeater or digipeater contacts allowed.)
2.  QSL cards for contacts made on or after October 1, 1987 may be submitted for the W.A.C.C. award.
3.  A QSL card must be presented for each of the 58 counties.
4.  Each QSL card must have the county claimed, printed or written, on the card by the person issuing the card.
5.  All your contacts must be made from the same county.
6.  Portable and Mobile units may be worked.
7.  You do not have to be a member of the NCCC.
8.  Your QSL cards will be returned with the W.A.C.C. Award.
9.  Send your application and 58 cards and $3 or 10 IRC's (to cover expenses) to:
 
NCCC W.A.C.C. Award
c/o K. O. Anderson, K6PU
P.O. Box 853
Pine Grove, CA 95665

List of Counties:
[Alameda] [Alpine] [Amador] [Butte] [Calaveras] [Colusa] [Contra Costa] [Del Norte] [El Dorado] [Fresno] [Glenn] 
[Humboldt] [Imperial] [Inyo] [Kern] [Kings] [Lake] [Lassen] [Los Angeles] [Madera] [Marin] [Mariposa] 
[Mendocino] [Merced] [Modoc] [Mono] [Monterey] [Napa] [Nevada] [Orange] [Placer] [Plumas] [Riverside] 
[Sacramento] [San Benito] [San Bernardino] [San Diego] [San Francisco] [San Joaquin] [San Luis Obispo] 
[San Mateo] [Santa Barbara] [Santa Clara] [Santa Cruz] [Shasta] [Sierra] [Siskiyou] [Solano] [Sonoma] 
[Stanislaus] [Sutter] [Tehama] [Trinity] [Tulare] [Tuolumne] [Ventura] [Yolo] [Yuba] 
 
The best time to look for rare California counties is during the California QSO Party, which is held annually the 
first full weekend of October. The Northern California Contest Club gives certificates to top scorers in the following 
categories: Top Single Operator entry in each CA county, US state, Canadian province, DX country, with 100 
or more QSOs. Other awards include plaques, t-shirts, and private reserve California wine!  See the NCCC website 
for more details. 

 

NCDXC California Award

California Award  (Northern California DX Club)

The NCDXC sponsors an award for radio amateurs in countries outside the continental United States to further DX interest, promote international good-will and publicize the NCDXC. This award is known as the California Award and is in the form of a certificate.

Applicants must submit proof of confirmation of 220 QSO's with different California stations, of which 20 must be confirmed with NCDXC members.

All contacts must be dated after October 10, 1946. Confirmations may be for any band or mode. Submission of cards is not necessary, cards may be checked and confirmed by any officer of any recognized amateur radio society or club.

Submissions for the award should be sent to:


California Awards Manager
Robert Bickel
1316 Deneb Ct.
Walnut Creek, CA 94596

 

West Coast DX Group Series

General Requirements: All bands/modes ok except repeater contacts. GCR accepted; but manager reserves right to request any or all cards. However, for CA Lighthouse Award, cards or photocopies must be sent. Fee is $US5 for certificate; for plaque, write or e-mail for current price. While separate achievement levels are available, applicant may bypass lower levels and apply for any level desired. Fee of $US5 or 10 IRC to:

 

G. Costello WC6DX

PO Box 1332

Monterey CA 93942-1332.

 

California Sesquicentennial 1850-2000 Award  (CSA)

All contacts must be made in Calendar Year 2000. All bands or modes OK, repeater contacts not valid.

Earn 150 points from following schedule:

 

1pt. - Any CA station. The same CA station may be worked again if portable in another location.

2 pts. - Stations located in the original 27 counties established in 1850: Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Los Angeles, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Monterey, Napa, Sacramento, San Diego,

San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Solano, Sonoma, Sutter, Trinity, Tuolomne, Yolo, Yuba.

5 pts. - stations portable in any state park, National Park, or Indian Lands in CA.

10 pts. - stations in CA past/present capital cities: Sacramento, Vallejo, Benicia, San Jose.

25 pts. - stations in the city of Monterey, the first capital and host of the CA Constitutional Convention. Applicants

may make multiple contacts in Monterey for credit.

50 pts - Sesquicentennial Special Event Station K6S (01-15 Sept. 2000).

Points are doubled for stations in CQ Zone 39, the zone antipodal from California.

QSLs not needed. Prepare list of stations worked in alphabetical order, in 3-column format: callsign, location and point value. Instead of providing a paper copy, you may e-mail the list to WCDXG awards mgr <[email protected]>.

 

California Prefix Award (CAPX)

Work and confirm CA prefixes. There are 82 standard prefixes (K6, N6, W6; AA6-AK6; KA6-KZ6, NA6-NZ6, WA6-WZ6, minus KL6/KP6, NL6/NP6, WL6/WP6, which are not issued by the FCC to CA).  Separate award available for each level.

Class D: 25 CA prefixes. Class C: 50 CA prefixes. Class B: 75 CA prefixes. Class A: All 82 standard CA prefixes.  Plaque available for all standard 82 prefixes. Plaque endorsement bar available for 100 CA prefixes; valid additional prefixes are commemorative prefixes authorized for use in CA (for example, the "23" or "84" number replacement during the 1984 Olympic Games, like "WA23QDR", and the "200" number replacement during the U.S. Constitution Bicentennial, like "W200SD").  Non-6 prefixes may be substituted for the equivalent 6-call:  AA1AAA in CA (signing /6 or not) counts as AA6; WW0WWW /mobile 6 in CA counts as WW6. In the application, add the "/6" (AA1AAA/6).

California Lighthouse Award (CLA)

Work and confirm stations operating from California Lighthouses. Stations operating from CA coastal lighthouses must be on the lighthouse grounds or within a one-mile radius; stations operating from a CA lighthouse on an island may be located anywhere on the island.  List of CA lighthouses available from sponsor; list of past CA lighthouse activations also available from sponsor.  Separate award available for each level. Class D: 05. Class C: 10. Class B: 15. Class A: 20.

W-DX-Call (W-DX-C)

Not exclusively California!  Work and confirm stations with the "DX" suffix, such as "BY1DX".

Class D: 25  "DX" calls.  Class C: 50 "DX" calls.  Class B: 75 "DX" calls.  Class A: 100 "DX" calls.

Plaque available at the 100 level.