Pacific NorthWest VHF Society Grid Exploration Award Program

Purpose:

To encourage VHF+ activity in the greater Pacific Northwest and to honor the achievements of operators within its boundaries as well as the stations who work them.

Goal:

To work or activate all grids with land mass in the Pacific Northwest. Acknowledgment will be given in the form of certificates for incremental steps, and Plaques for achieving the ultimate goal.

Certificates:

Award Certificates will be issued for confirmed contacts from 50 Mhz to light. Certificates will be numbered in the order stations are qualified and confirmed. A list of certificate holders and plaque holders, along with there sequence numbers, will be kept on the PNWVHFS website. Upon completion of all four certificates, the Awards Chair will document and number the instance and order a numbered plaque to be presented by the PNWVHFS club president at the next society business meeting.

Home Station Certificates and Plaques

The Apple Certificate
The Apple Certificate will be given to any station who works all grids within the state of Washington using any combination of bands.

The Chinook Certificate
The Chinook Certificate will be given to any station who works all grids within the state of Oregon using any combination of bands.

The Mountain Bluebird Certificate
The Mountain Bluebird Certificate will be given to any station who works all grids within the state of Idaho using any combination of bands.

The Spirit Bear Certificate
The Spirit Bear Certificate will be given to any station who works a minimum of 15 grids within the province of British Columbia with any combination of bands.

The Homestead Plaque
The Homestead Plaque will be issued to any station who completes the Apple, Chinook, Mountain Bluebird, and Sprit Bear certificates. Plaques will be numbered in the order stations are qualified and confirmed.

Outpost Certificates
One numbered Outpost Certificate will be given to any station who achieves any of the above awards on any single band. A second or third certificate will be awarded when additional sections are completed on a single band.
Numbered Band Endorsements will also be added to the Homestead Plaque for each Outpost Certificate.

Portable / Mobile / Rover Certificates and Plaques

Captain Lewis Certificate
The Captain Lewis Certificate will be given to any station who activates all grids within the State of Washington using any combination of bands.

Captain Clark Certificate
The Captain Clark Certificate will be given to any station who activates all grids within the State of Oregon using any combination of bands.

Sacagawea Certificate
The Sacagawea Certificate will be given to any station who activates all grids within the State of Idaho using any combination of bands.

Fraser Certificate
The Fraser Certificate will be given to any station who activates 15 grids within British Columbia using any combination of bands.

Pioneer Plaque
One Pioneer Plaque per band will be issued to any station who completes the Captain Lewis, Captain Clark, Sacagawea, and Fraser certificates. Plaques will be numbered in the order stations are qualified and confirmed.

Explorer Certificate
One Explorer Certificate per band will be given to any station who achieves any of the above awars on any single band. A second or third certificate will be awarded when additional sections are completed on a single band.
Numbered Band Endorsements will also be added to the Pioneer Plaque for each Explorer Certificate.

Contact Qualifications:

• Contacts made via man made satellites or repeaters are not eligible.
• Contacts for the Mountain Bluebird, Apple, Spirit Bear, Chinook, and Outpost Certificates must be made from within 200km of your current home station and all contacts must be within 200km of each other.
• Contacts where there is evidence of rover to rover grid circling will be disqualified after review by the Board of Directors.
• Confirmation of contacts can be traditional QSL cards or electronic QSL cards (eQSL or LOTW).
• Contacts made in grids that are on a state border may be counted in either state. British Columbia contacts only count for British Columbia if that station was in British Columbia. British Columbia contacts can not be used for Idaho, Oregon or Washington state certificates.
• Roving / Portable stations must have the other station clearly state what grid you were in during the contact on the QSL.
• Maritime Mobile contacts count for the grid they are in if the grid includes land for the state/ province claimed.
• Contacts with Aeronautical and Orbital stations do not apply.
• All qualifying contacts must be made after 00:00 UTC January 1, 2009.

Application Procedure:

• Please use the provided Grid Worksheets in Excel or PDF.
• There is a one time application fee of ten dollars that includes lifetime membership in the society. Applications are free to existing members.
• Certificate application will be made to a representative of the PNWVHFS Board of Directors. Applicants are encouraged to apply with the Director representing the state/province of the award they are applying for, but may use any board member for convenience. Board members must have their own application checked by another board member.
• Upon completion of the four required certificates, the Board of Directors will forward a plaque application to the PNWVHFS club president for final approval.
• A complete submission for an award will include all required QSL cards or E-QSLs and a properly filled out grid check off sheet. The official grid check off sheet is attached at the end of this document. A self addressed stamped envelope must be provided along with the QSL cards if they are to be returned.
• A board member will review the certificate submission, forwarding it on to the Awards chair if approved or returning it if the submission is rejected.
• Additional opportunities for award checking will be posted on the PNWVHFS e-mail reflector. (Common examples will be major ham fests or during the PNWVHFS annual conference.
• Certificates will be sent out as soon as practical at no additional cost.
• The first five plaques issued will be free of charge. The plaques and endorcements will be charged at cost (plaque creation plus shipping & handling) after that.