Well. Isn't this a kick in the teeth.
I've been a big ARRL supporter since my teenage years. But this one, this one just ain't sittin' right, no sir.
Days like this, I think Jim KJ3N had the right idea after all.
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[ Set at 12:32 PM (EDT) today ]
Dear Friend:
Thank you for your continued patience as we improve ARRL’s famous Worked All States (WAS) program. Admittedly the program had evolved in a complex fashion leaving it difficult to support at HQ. With the majority of WAS applications including a LoTW component, the need for more structure was evident. Logging program authors were also asking for more concrete rules so that they would be able to program more effectively. When we ran out of the old design certificate stock, we took the opportunity to make some of these changes.
With four months’ worth of applications sitting in the queue — most of which asked for awards or endorsements that would require lots of manual intervention, we decided that it would be best for all to simply cancel those applications and ask you to go back and make a new application. The newer system is more straightforward and will likely result in less cost. In the past we would issue WAS certificates for what should have been a simple endorsement.
Going forward, we are issuing larger format certificates that are based upon mode (Mixed mode, Phone, CW, and Digital) and these certificates are easily endorsed with inexpensive band stickers. Additionally, each certificate will be numbered now – most of the awards were not numbered previously. The popular “specialty” certificates are also available in the larger format, including 6 Meters, 160 Meters, the other VHF/UHF bands, Satellite, and RTTY. These certificates may also be endorsed with stickers for modes and bands as appropriate.
If you already have the old style WAS certificate(s), you can just buy the endorsement stickers as needed and apply them to the old certificate(s) if you like. Or, if you want to upgrade to the new design certificate, you can buy those and we will give you any endorsement stickers for which you qualify for free. Just tell us what the serial # is on your old certificate (serial #s were only used on the Mixed, basic award, and some of the specialty awards). If you have an old certificate with no serial #, we will assign a serial # from our records corresponding to when that award was issued. The serial #s are all in four digits or higher for the main awards, so there is no hurry to get a significant, low number. We have placed photos of the certificates and stickers on the WAS pages.
Again, thank you for your patience and interest. We think that we now have a strong Worked All States platform on which to move ahead. We will refine the program more in the coming months.
73, Dave NN1N
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David Patton, NN1N Field Services and Radiosport Manager
ARRL, The National Association for Amateur Radio™;
225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111-1494 USA
Telephone: (860) 594-0129
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Originally Posted by KG4NEL
