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Award Query Workflow Examples

Amateur Radio operators don’t just make QSOs — they track and confirm them to pursue awards, challenges, and special programs. These awards provide goals, recognition, and a sense of achievement that keeps operating fun, motivating and educational.

ADIF-MCP provides a foundation to query logbooks in ways that directly support award tracking. Whether you’re chasing DXCC, WAS, or a niche program like SOTA or 30m Digital Group, the same core QSO data (callsign, band, mode, date, confirmation) can be filtered and summarized to answer questions like:

  • “Which DXCC entities have I confirmed on 20m CW?”
  • “How many US States do I still need on FT8?”
  • “Are my SOTA activations properly logged and confirmed?”

This section introduces the major award sponsors and the types of queries that matter for each. While each sponsor has its own rules and requirements, all of them build on the same ADIF fields — making MCP an ideal bridge between your logbook and the awards you care about.

IMPORTANT - ADIF-MCP does not try to “own” awards. Instead, it provides a safe, typed backbone to query QSO data in ways that award sponsors already define. MCP aligns to the ADIF 3.1.5 spec, including the official SponsoredAward enumeration.

Core Sponsors in ADIF

This matrix captures who sponsors what and how MCP can expose it to operators through Integrations. As we all kknow, this is just a "small" sampling of whats available.

Sponsor Focus Notes
ARRL LoTW, DXCC, WAS, VUCC, Triple Play, Challenge Premier award sponsor; strict QSO matching, digital signing via LoTW
CQ Magazine WPX, WAZ, WW Contest Awards Contest-centric; CQ World Wide DX Contest is globally recognized
DARC (Germany) DLD (German Districts), WAE (Worked All Europe) Strong EU/region-based award programs
eQSL eDX100, eWAS, eCanada, etc. Looser confirmation rules; parallel awards to ARRL/CQ
RSGB (UK) Islands on the Air (IOTA) Geographic/island award system, now standalone but ADIF-aligned
Other Programs SOTA, POTA, County Hunters, 30MDG, etc. May not appear in ADIF’s enumeration, but use ADIF fields

How MCP Tracks Coverage

  1. Spec Layer
  2. ADIF defines the field names (call, dxcc, state, cqz, iota_ref, etc.) and sponsor enumerations.

  3. MCP maps these to canonical QsoRecord fields.

  4. Provider Layer

  5. LoTW, eQSL, QRZ, Club Log expose subsets of ADIF fields.

  6. MCP normalizes them to a common schema.

  7. Persona Layer

  8. Operators (DXers, Contesters, SOTA/POTA activators, casual loggers) query their logs in plain language.
  9. MCP ensures those queries resolve only against valid fields/sponsors.

Persona → Award → Field Mapping (Examples)

Persona Typical Award Goal Key ADIF Fields Example Query
DXer DXCC (ARRL), WAZ (CQ) dxcc, cqz, band, mode “How many DXCC entities confirmed on 20m FT8?”
Contester CQ WPX, CQ WW call, prefix, contest_id “Show my confirmed prefixes from last WPX contest”
State Chaser WAS (ARRL/eQSL) state, band, mode “Which states do I still need on CW?”
SOTA Activator/Hunter SOTA (community) my_sota_ref, sota_ref “List my 2024 SOTA activations by summit code”
POTA Enthusiast POTA (community) my_sig, sig_info “Which parks have I activated this year?”
County Hunter MARAC / USA-CA cnty “Which counties do I still need on 40m?”

Coverage Percentage (Concept)

  • Denominator = All ADIF fields relevant to awards (from catalog).
  • Numerator = Fields MCP supports via QsoRecord + Provider Integrations.
  • Output = Coverage % (per provider, per sponsor, per persona).

This gives a simple way to say: - “MCP covers 85% of ARRL award fields” - “MCP covers 60% of CQ contest awards” - “MCP covers 95% of SOTA/POTA fields used in the wild”

Notes

This list is not exhaustive — new awards, challenges, and operating programs emerge all the time. ADIF-MCP’s role is not to enforce award rules or certify results, but to provide the reliable data plumbing needed for award-tracking tools, logbook providers, and operators to build upon.

By keeping the MCP layer focused on safe, typed access to QSO data, it remains flexible enough to support both long-standing awards like DXCC and emerging community programs yet to be defined.

🔑 Takeaway: MCP doesn’t replace LoTW, eQSL, or award programs. Instead, it gives operators visibility and accessibility into their award progress, across sponsors, without them needing to export, filter, or code.