This award was first introduced by the Central States VHF Society and a discussion of the origin appears below in their and now our rules. AMSAT thanks the Central States VHF Society (CSVHFS) for not only sponsoring this award since its inception, but, also, entrusting AMSAT with the honor of carrying on this important award for the benefit of the entire AMSAT community for satellite contacts. This award was officially voted on by the CSVHFS and transferred to AMSAT on September 14, 2021 for satellite contacts. It was announced to the AMSAT membership at the AMSAT General Meeting on October 30, 2021. All submissions from this point on should be sent to the address below for AMSAT to process.
Reverse VUCC Award Program
Purpose:
This program is to recognize the contribution of rover station operators to the world of grid hunting. Rovers are folks operating while mobile in motion or temporarily parked to give out grids to fixed stations.
Discussion:
Fixed station operators have long appreciated the efforts to which Rovers go to activate rare grids–both in contests and outside of contests. While the fixed station operator is collecting grids usable for earning the ARRL’s VUCC award, the rover or portable station, until now, has been unable to put his work towards a similar award.
The award is called the Reverse VUCC Award. The abbreviation is VUCC/r. It is not an easy award to earn. Those who can meet it’s stringent rules will have earned a cherished honor. For instance, imagine a fixed station collecting grids on 10GHz. If one Rover is the station who activates the appropriate number of grids for him, each operator made identical contacts but who worked harder? The Rover–it is that effort which the CSVHFS wants to recognize and honor.
The award is very similar to the ARRL’s VUCC, but rather than contact a set number of grids on a frequency band, the goal is to make contacts FROM a set number of grids per band. The number of grids coincides with the ARRL award. Certificates will be awarded as well as endorsement stickers. QSL cards are required and will be verified by the program administrator. Awards will be presented with a unique serial number.
The award came into fruition due to the efforts of Bill Wageman, K5MAT, who wanted to show appreciation for the activity and grids that Rovers provide. Rules and contact information will always be available on the AMSAT website at www.amsat.org . Rovers and portables, take a look at the rules, initiate cards from all those QSO’s from your past, and submit entries for this significant award.
AMSAT took over the issuance of this award from the Central States VHF Society in September, 2021 for satellite contacts.
Rules:
Contacts made on January 1, 1983 or later qualify. The rules that govern the ARRL VUCC program are also applicable to VUCC/r with the following exceptions and qualifications:
1. All contacts must be made operating while away from the home station grid.
2. 2. The applicant must work and confirm contacts made while activating different grids. Confirmation can be QSL cards, QSO listings, LoTW or log extracts.
2a. Required information: QSL Cards, QSO listings, LoTW and log extracts must include both calls, both grids, mode, date, time, satellite, and band/frequency. The QSLing stations fixed info such as callsign and grid need not be on every line of a QSO listing, or log extract but must be indicated somewhere on the page. Required information may be in any order on a QSO listing or log extract. Cards, listings, LoTW and extracts should additionally have the name of the licensee (person or club); mailing address; operating location information if different from mailing address (address, 6-digit grid); and have a written signature (minimum of first name) of the licensee, trustee, operator, QSL Manager or appropriate person confirming the specifics of the listed contacts. If a QSL card does not natively indicate the grid in which the rover was operating, it should be added in pencil.
2b. QSL cards, QSO listings, LoTW, or log extracts may be submitted indicating contacts beyond the number required for an award or endorsement level. The program administrator will maintain record of these additional QSOs. Subsequent submissions should refer to QSOs on file when applying for an endorsement.
Sample QSO Listing:
|
Date |
Satellite |
Mode |
Time (UTC) |
My Call |
My Grid |
Station Worked |
Their Grid |
|
2020-Jun-10 |
SO-50 |
FM |
1900 |
N5AFV/R |
EM43 |
KK5DO |
EM20 |
|
2020-Jun-11 |
AO-27 |
FM |
0123 |
N5AFV/R |
EM33 |
KK5DO |
EM20 |
|
2020-Jun-11 |
RS-44 |
SSB |
1202 |
N5AFV/R |
EM35 |
KK5DO |
EM20 |
|
2020-Jun-11 |
XW-2C |
SSB |
1952 |
N5AFV/R |
EM45 |
KK5DO |
EM20 |
|
2020-Jun-11 |
FO-99 |
SSB |
2346 |
N5AFV/R |
EM44 |
KK5DO |
EM20 |
|
2020-Jun-12 |
RS-44 |
SSB |
0253 |
N5AFV/R |
EM34 |
KK5DO |
EM20 |
|
2020-Jun-23 |
RS-44 |
CW |
0147 |
N5AFV/R |
EM42 |
KK5DO |
EM20 |
|
1995-Jul-01 |
AO-27 |
FM |
0305 |
N5AFV/R |
EM56 |
KK5DO |
EM20 |
3. This rule was deleted by the CSVHFS awards committee with BOD approval on 7/25/2015.
4. Endorsements above the basic award may be submitted in groups of 25.
5. The only report form needed is a readable alphabetized list of the grids from which operation was done with the calls of the station worked. The applicants call and name must be clearly stated.
6. Scans of QSL cards and/or lists from LoTW can be emailed to Bruce Paige, KK5DO, at [email protected] or [email protected]
Application Fees
The fee for this award is the same as all other AMSAT awards. $10 for non-members and $5 for members of AMSAT-NA plus postage. All endorsements in a single application are $10 for non-members and $5 for members of AMSAT-NA plus postage. If you submit for an endorsement of 25 grids or 300 grids, you pay the same as long as it is on one submission.
|
Questions? Contact the program administrator at: [email protected] |
Reverse VUCC or VUCC/r sponsored by Central States VHF Society
| Cert No. | Name | Call Sign | Reverse Grids | Date Issued |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Randy Kohlwey | N7SFI now WI7P | 200 | 17 January 2005 |
| 02 | Allen Mattis | N5AFV | 109 | Date Not In Records |
| 03 | James Clary | ND9M | 340 | 10 January 2010 |
| 04 | Robert Dunham | KD4ZGW | 100 | Date Not In Records |
| 05 | Clayton Coleman | W5PFG | 100 | 09 December 2015 |
| 06 | Ron Oldham | N8RO | 112 | 02 April 2017 |
| 07 | Robert Bragg | WY7AA | 115 | 17 June 2020 |
| 08 | Patrick Stoddard | WD9EWK | 103 | 04 November 2020 |
Reverse VUCC or VUCC/r sponsored by AMSAT
| Cert No. | Name | Call Sign | Reverse Grids | Date Issued |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Randy Kohlwey | WI7P | 425 | 7-Nov-21 |
| 10 | James Clary | ND9M | 475 | 17-Apr-22 |
| 11 | Phil Sauvey | AK8CW | 103 | 25-Dec-22 |
| 12 | Ian Parsons | K5ZM | 104 | 08-Jun-23 |
| 13 | Eddy Schebesta | OE3SEU | 132 | 28-Feb-24 |
| 14 | Paulo Bauer Jorge | F5VMJ | 102 | 29-Feb-24 |
| 15 | Sean Kutzko | KX9X | 103 | 05-Aug-24 |
| 16 | Randy Shirbroun | ND0C | 109 | 13-Aug-24 |
| 17 | Leticia Raquel Alonso | LU5ILA | 106 | 10-Sep-24 |
| 18 | Nina Riethmueller | DL2GRC | 102 | 12-Sep-24 |