[ADXA] 3Y0 thoughts about ARRL input before a trip starts? Interesting thought...

Fri Feb 22 15:10:59 EST 2019

I do not subscribe to a high fee for a QSL. It simply goes against all
ethical boundaries that I believe exists in the DXCC program and if they
do in fact follow through with what has been rumored it will cause a
huge controversy. 

With that said, frankly nothing will be done to address it and here is
why as this has been a tactic used in the past with a couple of proposed
new countries. Say you head down to a new country, or in this case and
extremely rare country and you put  50,000 plus Q's in the log. No
question as to the legitimacy of the operation - everything is in order
and all good and then the DXPedition team draws a line in the sand,
daring the sponsor (in this case ARRL) to not accept the op because of
their QSL policy. Then the award sponsor declines to accept the
operation because of it, based on a rule or ethics violation. What
happens next is you have 50,000 folks, or representatives of 50,000 Q's,
screaming at the sponsor, who are willing to pay the ransom to get
credit for their Q! Yes, there is history here! 

For you Star Trek fans, it is the Kobayashi Maru, the "No Win Scenario"
for ARRL and I can assure you the screamers who don't care about ethics
will be loudest and win. 

I don't like it one bit however we will be playing on the Rebel DX
Groups terms and ARRL will be backed in a corner. Sadly the ethics of
year's past went out the window in the DXCC program a few years ago. 

Will I pay the ransom? Probably. I'm sitting at 2975 on the DXCC
Challenge in my quest for 3,000 and Bouvet should give me a minimum of 5
new band countries as I only have 3Y on 40 & 15 meters. But I certainly
won't wake up the next morning feeling good about it. 

We'll see what happens. Nothing is settled yet and as several have noted
"They ain't there yet!" My advice to those who need Bouvet and want to
work them is simply that, work 'em, get them in your log and then decide
what you want to do. You don't have to play their game right now (or
ever) if you don't want to however 5 years down the road you may change
your mind and want that card. You each have to decide what you want to
do on your own. If you decide not to work them and afterward they decide
to provide a reasonable QSL path you will kick yourself in the butt for
not working them if you need them! 

One additional point. If this does come to be and we are faced with a
very unreasonable fee for a QSL card and the ADXA membership concludes
it is unethical and not in the spirit of the DXCC program I will have no
issue whatsoever signing a letter, as ADXA President, to be sent to ARRL
regarding this matter on behalf of ADXA. 

73 Joel W5ZN 

On 2019-02-22 12:27, HamOP wrote:

> Agree, Stan... So, perhaps pressure the LoTW log submission by end of trip, but I do NOT think that will sway the group's leader the least bit. Not counting QSOs due to an ARRL Board decision perhaps will work. There is a thought process and possible sanctioning an operation based on ethics issues. Happened in the 1970s to a guy who said "no money, no QSL".. Rick, David or Joel might remember the specifics and the DXpedition call or could look it up. I was on the DXAC but no longer have those records. 
> 
> At the same time, I can see a group saying there have been so few pre-trip donations to speak of (hmmm, whose fault is that?) and the necessity of recouping the outlay of funds from "post trip" QSLing process. And they can say this is "our process and work us based on it"... We all just stand by and see now... 
> 
> This is going to be interesting, and the ARRL getting involved might help, letting pertinent direct QSLing and LoTW critique information out BEFORE the trip so the 3Y0 team will know in advance! If not counted for DXCC, then so many will not work them at all... Now, that would be a true money loser. I side with the ADXA member comments and suggestions.... 
> 
> San 
> 
> Sent from Mail [1] for Windows 10 
> 
> FROM: Stan Ross
> SENT: Friday, February 22, 2019 12:44 PM
> TO: David Norris
> CC: HamOP; adxa
> SUBJECT: Re: [ADXA] The ADXA Weenie Award and 3Y0 
> 
> Dittos, Gents! 
> 
> Maybe the DXCC desk could add a "LOTW by the end of the Dxpedition" rule to be credited!
> 
> Stan 
> 
> K5VR
> 
> Sent from my iPhone 
> 
> On Feb 22, 2019, at 10:18 AM, David Norris via ADXA <adxa at mailman.qth.net> wrote: 
> 
> I hear ya San!
> 
> $50 for the first QSO is what I call Bravo Sierra!  
> 
> Will they even get there? At this point who cares? 
> 
> It reminds me of this guy named Herrick  
> 
> many years ago. He had a lucrative QSL business bilking the DXer at $20 a pop and then you get your QSL three years later VIA BURO. What a load!  
> 
> 73  
> 
> David A. Norris, K5UZ
> 
> Director, Delta Division 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone 
> 
> help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

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