Stepping into my virtual time machine and going back over 10 years, you could obtain an award for making contacts with amateurs in many countries. Now, back from the virtual trip to December 2022 and the availability of awards is significantly reduced, but do we know why? What could be the reason for the decline in awards from the past? Have new modes in the amateur radio community created a loss of interest? Are there other factors? Let’s look at some possibilities.
Availability of Awards
My research has shown that, prior to 2010, you could find an award for every continent and many countries (most of the exceptions were smaller countries with very small ham populations). Within this search, most of the awards have expired the timeframe they covered, or…
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CQ Amateur Radio (Digital) - 1 Issue, December 2022