Tracking WAS Award Progress
The ARRL's WAS award program grants credits to QSOs with stations in US States made from locations no more than 50 miles apart. Record each QSO's 2-letter State abbreviation in the State box in DXKeeper's Capture window, or the State box in the QSO Info panel on WinWarbler's QSO Info panel. You can modify the State of a logged QSO via the State box in the Awards panel on the Log QSOs tab of DXKeeper's Main window.
Enabling Realtime Award Tracking
SpotCollector can highlight Spot Database Entries needed for WAS, place an a S in each needed entriy's Needed column, and generate audio or email alerts. To enable this,
terminate SpotCollector
check the Realtime Award Progress box in the WAS panel on the Configuration window's Awards tab; when asked if all QSOs in the log should be scanned, click the Yes button
Direct DXView to install the USAP database, which will enable SpotCollector to determine the US State of each callsign issued by the Federal Communications Commission
start SpotCollector
on the General tab of SpotCollector's Configuration window, check the Lookup missing location info box
on the Spot Database tab of SpotCollector's Configuration window, click the Recomputation panel's Recompute button
Obtaining WAS Credit
To obtain WAS credit for a State, you must submit a QSL card that specifies your QSO partner's US State, or an LoTW confirmation that specifies your QSO partner's US State. If your QSO partner submits your QSO to LotW with a station location that specifies a US State, the ARRL will consider that State confirmed; if your QSO partner's station location does not specify a US State, the ARRL will not consider that State confirmed. WAS digital mode endorsements further require an exact mode match, meaning that you and your QSO partner have submitted the exact same mode to LoTW.
When you direct DXKeeper to synchronize with LotW, DXKeeper will insert an S into a QSO's LotW confirmation item if that QSO's LoTW confirmation specifies a US State, and an M into the LotW confirmation item if there's an exact mode match ; this enables your WAS award progress to be accurately determined.
With the Subdivisions box checked in the Other panel on the Awards tab of DXKeeper's Configuration window, DXKeeper's Sync LoTW QSLs operation will
- report any QSO with a US Station that is confirmed via LotW but whose LotW confirmation does not specify a valid US State.
- report any LotW confirmation specifying a US State that doesn't match the US State specified in the logged QSO
- report any logged QSO confirmed by LotW that specifies a US State that doesn't match the US State specified in the LotW confirmation
If a QSO confirmed by LotW specifies an unconfirmed (needed) US State that isn't specified in the LotW confirmation,
contact your QSO partner and ask them to add their US State to their station location and to then re-upload your QSO
right-click the QSO in DXKeeper's Log Page Display, and select the Update from LotW menu item; DXKeeper will download the the updated confirmation from LotW, and update the logged QSO to reflect the confirmation of its US State.
Generating Outgoing QSLs whose Confirmation would Advance your WAS Award Progress
To populate the QSL Queue with QSOs whose confirmation is needed for WAS, check the Award panel's WAS box in the QSL Configuration window's Add Needed panel and then click the Add Needed button on the Main window's QSL tab.
Using the WAS Verified item to capture WAS status
Each QSO's WAS Verified item is accessible via the QSL panel in the Main window's Log QSOs tab. The choices provided by this item are
S
submitted to WAS
V
verified WAS
I
the QSO is invalid for WAS, and ignored
If You Operate from Multiple Locations
WAS rules state that "Contacts must be made from the same location, or from locations no two of which are more than 50 miles apart". If you've logged QSOs made from locations more than 50 miles apart,
define a QTH for each such location; check the WAS box in each QTH for which contacts should count for WAS
set the myQTH ID item in each logged QSO to the QTH from which it was made; for each QTH,
on the Main window's my QTHs tab, select the QTH by clicking on its entry in the grid
select the Main window's Log QSOs tab, and filter the Log Page display by date range to contain only QSOs made from that QTH
on the Main window's my QTHs tab, click the Update QSOs in Log Page Display panel's Set myQTH ID button; this will set the myQTH ID item of each QSO in the Log Page Display to that of the current QTH.
after all QSOs have been assigned to a QTH, click the Recompute button on the Main window's Check Progress tab
Configured in this way, WAS Progress Reports and WAS Realtime Award Tracking will only consider QSOs made from your QTHs that "count" for WAS.
If You Move to a New Location
If you relocate to a new location that is more than 50 miles away from your previous location, then
uncheck the WAS box in the my QTH for your old location
define a new my QTH for your new location, and check its WAS box
in the Log Settings panel on the Configuration window's Log tab, select your new my QTH as the default
at the bottom of the Main window's Check Progress tab, click the Recompute button
Checking Realtime Award Progress
The Realtime Award Tracking window's WAS tab provides an WAS Award Progress panel that lists all US States that have been worked, confirmed or verified; to display this window, click the RAT button on the Log QSOs tab of DXKeeper's Main window. In this window,
The WAS Award Progress Filter panel enables you to filter the WAS Award Progress panel to selectively show what US States are worked, worked but not requested, requested but not confirmed, confirmed but not verified, and/or verified - on a specified band, or in a specified mode.
to reset the filter so that all US States are visible in the Progress Grid, click the All button.
to generate a report showing all US States listed in the WAS Award Progress panel, click the WAS Award Progress Filter panel's Report button.
The WAS Award Progress panel is live: double-clicking a cell will filter the Log Page Display to show all QSOs with the row's US State and the column's band or mode.
Generating a Progress Report
To generate a progress report for the WAS awards you're pursuing, select the Main window's Check Progress tab and click the North American progress reports panel's WAS button. To limit this report to specific bands, modes, or time intervals, filter the Log Page Display before invoking the progress report. The report's LotW column will contain Missing if the QSO is confirmed via LotW but the LotW confirmation does not specify the logged US State.
Releases of DXKeeper prior to 9.6.9 did not populate the LotW Confirmation item when synchronizing with LotW, so a WAS progress report will show Missing in the LotW column of each QSO confirmed via LotW. To populate the LotW Confirmation items of all QSOs confirmed via LotW,
select the Main window's QSLtab and
set the QSL Via panel to LotW
while depressing your keyboard's CTRL key, click the Sync LotW QSLs button
DXKeeper will direct LotW to report all of your confirmed QSOs, and update the LotW Confirmation items of these QSOs to reflect confirmed US States.
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