[ADXA] DXAC Meeting, Results

Mon Oct 10 19:44:44 EDT 2022

Not a bad idea George... set the "Old Honor Roll" on the top shelf where it
belongs. Everything else goes down below, but not by fault of the Operator
but only as a course of his age or when he got into Ham Radio.  I also like
the idea of deleting inactive entities every ten years.  A lot can change
in 10 years!  I pray not but in the next ten years we could see Ukraine
returned to the Soviet Union.
Rory

On Mon, Oct 10, 2022 at 4:53 PM WB5JJJ <wb5jjj at gmail.com> wrote:

> I don't have a dog in this fight (should there be one), but to all those
> that have made it to the top by working and getting QSL cards from all
> "those" places that some might want to delete or have since been deleted, I
> agree that their effort was gargantuan for "back in the day".  No FT, no
> LoTW and only snail mail.  How did they ever do it?  But on the flip side,
> some of those DXCC locations might be "underwater" in a few years or
> totally unavailable for hams to access in order to activate them ever again
> for one reason or another, so why keep them on the list?
>
> Over the years, locations have been deleted from the DXCC list.  Some
> Honor Roll members (probably most) worked them when they were teenagers or
> shortly before they were deleted.  By leaving these entities on the list
> now will make it almost impossible for up and comers to achieve the Honor
> Roll status ever again unless that magic number is lowered.  Nobody is
> making new dirt, but entities do come and go all the time politically,
> so why not update the DXCC list every 10 years or so to reflect the
> ever-changing world and the logical chances?
>
> Ok, here's a novel idea.  Why not create a "new" DXCC list with all those
> stations deleted as a "21st Century" Honor Roll Award, leaving intact the
> current one for those that just might still be able to achieve the original
> Honor Roll status via that "older list" route.  Yes, 2 of them so as not to
> diminish what the old-timers were able to accomplish, but give the new guys
> a chance to do the same with a different, but accurate, up to date slate of
> entities to work, like it was in the "wayback machine" of old.  Can I hear
> the ARRL gasping for air about now?
>
> Of course the introduction of FTx in 2017 has changed the landscape with
> regard to ARRL Awards for sure.  Most of the "new guys" don't have a clue
> how really difficult it was 50 or  60 years ago to get simple things like a
> mixed WAS.  I know, I was one of them.  Now it's just a few mouse clicks
> away during a serious weekend FTx effort and they get the  LoTW
> confirmations in a few days for mixed WAS.  Bingo, check it off the list.
>
> Just to set the record straight, I used FTx to complete several Awards
> myself.  Almost like shooting fish in a barrel, but they still count.  I
> only have my first DXCC certificate from ARRL hanging on the wall.  Even
> though I have many of them now, the main reasons are 1) I have 7 windows in
> my shack so no wall space, and 2) hardly anybody visits my shack  that
> would see them anyway.  I can check LoTW or my spreadsheets to see what I
> have earned and where I stand on the rest.  That's good enough for me.
>
> A whole new world awaits.  Maybe the DXAC should go ahead and take some
> steps forward.  Looking back is great, but looking forward is even better.
> Of course not everybody will be happy, but that's life.
>
> Fire extinguisher at the ready.
>
> 73's
> George - WB5JJJ
> HoIP - 100105
> HH - 4969
>
>
>
> On Mon, Oct 10, 2022 at 3:30 PM <w5zn at w5zn.org> wrote:
>
>> Hi Steve,
>>
>> First, thanks for this excellent summary report. I greatly appreciate
>> your serving as the ARRL Delta Division representative on the DXAC and it
>> is great to have you as an active ADXA member as well !!!!!!
>>
>> I get pretty defensive (sometimes aggressively) when the topic of
>> deleting DXCC countries from the list that haven't been active for a while
>> just so someone can achieve "Honor Roll" status. That roll is titled
>> "Honor" for a reason. It took me over 25 years to achieve Honor Roll my
>> first Honor Roll and it was Mixed. Just because someone can't do it in five
>> years, well, let's give them a participation trophy with a pacifier
>> attached. Several of us refer to China and Albania as two countries that
>> were impossible to work for years due to amateur radio not being allowed in
>> those countries. Today, they are on the air literally daily. So, times and
>> politics change.
>>
>> The only country I don't have to be "#1 Honor Roll" is North Korea. When
>> it was active I was traveling extensively with my job and was never home
>> when he was on. So do I want that one deleted just so I can be "#1" ?? (I
>> would have to award myself a pacifier!!!!)
>>
>> Now, whether or not a rock in the south China sea that is only above
>> water at low tide should have ever been a DXCC country in the first place
>> is another matter!!!!!!!! That's, well to keep it somewhat clean, BRAVO
>> SIERRA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  :-)
>>
>> Thanks again for the excellent summary, Steve, and for representing us on
>> the DX Advisory Committee!
>>
>> 73 Joel W5ZN
>>
>>
>> On 2022-10-10 11:59, Steven Rutledge wrote:
>>
>> A DXAC meeting was held this past Sunday.  It was well attended.  These
>> were the items put forth for discussion:
>>
>> 1) 4U1A county status
>> 2) Balleny & Scott Island county status
>> 3) VADXCC petition to suspend inactive countries
>> (with possible consideration to reconsider honor roll threshold)
>> 4) Return of RTTY only DXCC Award
>> 5) Additional DXCC Award suggestions
>> 6) Field "Card Checker" guidelines, rules adjustments considerations
>> 7) Thoughts on DXCC 2025
>>
>> Regarding  1) and 2), under current DXCC rules, neither qualify for
>> country status.
>>
>> Regarding 3) It was generally agreed that this was a bad idea.  BS7 was
>> discussed but it was pointed out that it was declared a DXCC country under
>> rules that existed at that time.  If we recommended that it be dropped,
>> where does it end?
>>
>> Regarding 4)  There didn't seem to be much enthusiasm for a separate RTTY
>> award.  Currently, RTTY is combined with the rest of the digital modes.
>> Personally, I would not be against this, a Q on RTTY takes a lot more
>> effort than an FT8 Q.
>>
>> Regarding 5)  There are over 20 DXCC awards.  It wasn't felt that adding
>> additional awards would increase participation, cause an increase in
>> membership or retention.
>>
>> Regarding 6)  We didn't touch that one.  I personally don't see a problem
>> in my area with getting cards checked.  In any event, it isn't up to the
>> DXAC to make changes to this program.
>>
>> Regarding 7)  The last review and changes to the DXCC program was DXCC
>> 2000.  Is there need for a reevaluation of DXCC 2000?  Is the DXCC program
>> healthy?  Can it be updated?  Are changes even needed?  We agreed further
>> discussion was warranted.
>>
>> One member suggested that countries that had not been active for a period
>> of years be put into suspended status to give newer operators a chance at
>> the Honor Roll.  It was the ultimate feeling of the DXAC that the DXCC
>> program should be not be diminished due to a minority of operators
>> inability to achieve it.
>>
>> FT8 was also discussed.  It was pointed out that new, young hams are more
>> interested in communicating via data than Phone or CW, the latter of which
>> isn't even required for an amateur license anymore.
>>
>> I've tried to make this as brief as possible.  The meeting was 1.5 hours
>> long and it would be impossible to recount all comments.
>>
>> If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact me.  And feel
>> free to pass this along to any ops in Delta who are interested and might
>> not be DXAC members.
>> Steve Rutledge, N4JQQ, DXAC, Delta
>>
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