The VHF/UHF Century Club, or VUCC, is a Amateur radio operating award granted by (and registered trademark of) the American Radio Relay League. The award is given to those amateur radio operators who successfully complete amateur radio communications with other amateur radio stations in a specified number of Maidenhead grid locators. The Maidenhead locator system divides the Earth's surface area into a grid of locators that are each 1° latitude by 2° longitude in size. For the 50 MHz and 144 MHz awards, the minimum number of grid locators is 100, the number from which the award derives its name.
The VHF/UHF Century Club award was created on January 1, 1983. The award is available to amateur radio operators worldwide although US applicants must be ARRL members.
The basic awards
The VUCC awards are available separately for each amateur radio band above 50 MHz in frequency that is available to amateur radio operators in the United States. Each of the awards is earned by submission of proof of two-way amateur radio contact, usually in the form of a QSL card. Each document submitted for proof of contact must indicate the radio frequency band on which the contact was made and the Maidenhead grid locator of the station when the contact took place.
The number of grid locators required to qualify for the basic award varies depending on the radio frequency band. For 50 MHz (6 meters) and 144 MHz (2 meters), 100 grid locators are required; for 222 MHz (1.25 meters) and 432 MHz (70 centimeters), only 50 are required; for 902 MHz (33 centimeters) and 1296 MHz (23 centimeters), 25 grid locators must be confirmed; for 2.3 GHz (13 centimeters), 10 grid locators and required, and for any band higher in frequency than 2.3 GHz, only five grid locators are required. The award certificate is dated and individually numbered, and notification of the award grant is made in the ARRL's journal, QST.
Endorsements
Endorsements are available to recognize those operators who have confirmed contacts with additional grid locators beyond the minimum required. These endorsements are available in increments of 25 grids for the 50 MHz and 144 MHz bands, 10 grids for the 222 and 432 MHz bands, and 5 grids for 902 MHz and higher bands.
See also
External links
- VUCC award rules
- VUCC Standings
- ARRLWeb: Calculate Grid Square
- Find your Grid Square using google maps
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