[ADXA] Life in the Fast Lane (and the W5ZN Lazy Lane!)

Tue Aug 22 20:15:32 EDT 2023

My only Spring project was completed over Memorial Day when I replaced my
rotator as it was getting very flaky on positing.

After reading Dennis' first paragraph, I was "worried".  Then I read the
second SHOUT OUT and sat back in my chair and took a deep breath.  Blood
pressure and heart rate returned to normal.  Thanks Dennis I was hitting
the pills already.

I was a bit surprised this morning when I checked my points and found 3 new
ones.  A couple were from 2022 and one from earlier this Spring.  Always
enjoy the delayed responders for sure.  Now to get a few more on my 6m FFMA
that have not been uploaded to LoTW in MONTHS.

Unlike Dennis and most of the rest of you "Old DX Dogs", I don't have a
bunch of amplifiers (actually NONE)  for each of my 6 ICOM rigs.  Yes, they
are a 745, 718, 7000, 7410, 7610 and most recently I added a 7300.  The
7300 is on a long coax across 3 rooms to my antenna switch in the shack set
to a 40m EFHW that tunes 80-10 decently.  This 7300 is next to my recliner
in the living room so when I get a hankering for some 40m nighttime SSB,
it's handy.  So for me, high power DXCC is more the luck of the draw and
all the atmospheric anomalies I can abuse.

I had lots of fun with the SSB NAQP Saturday.  I didn't break any records
for sure, but still made about 140 contacts worth 7,200 points.  Called CQ
NAQP for about 15-20 minutes and picked up a few, but probably made more
guys happy with AR than me getting yet another FL station.  Perhaps in the
next SSB contest, I'll be one of the CQ callers as I really enjoy that
phase.  The past couple of years on the ARQP, I've had to "go by the
numbers" on more than one occasion because of the pile up.  Now, that's
FUN.  I know some guys that just won't call CQ because they can't handle
the mugging, but I just have fun picking and choosing who to call out.

73's
George - WB5JJJ
HoIP - 100105

On Tue, Aug 22, 2023 at 6:08 PM Dennis Schaefer <dennisw5rz at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I’m getting ready for fall by setting up a “DX Vacuum” station.   This is
> to increase my Challenge score.   I got another TS-590S, so I will have
> three transceivers going simultaneously on the three bands I need the most
> entities on.  I have bandpass filters on all, and can run an amplifier on
> two rigs.  These will all run FT8 24/7 and I will run Grid Tracker to alert
> me every time a new one comes on.  I expect to make it to 1500 Challenge
> points by the end of 2023.
>
> NOW THAT I HAVE GEORGE AND JOHN’s ATTENTION, I’LL TELL THE TRUTH!
>
> I did acquire another 590S so I plan to devote one to CW and SSB with no
> digital capability.  The second 590S will have a digital interface for FT8
> and also, of course, be capable of CW/SSB.   The third rig is a Yaesu
> FT-991, which will primarily be used for VHF digital, SSB, and CW.  It can
> also be used on HF but will not be connected to an HF amplifier.
>
> There may be some minor antenna upgrades, but my problem has mainly been
> B.I.C. (butt in chair) so maybe having the rig setup a little smoother will
> help.
>
> I’m not going to get serious about 160 meters this winter because there
> are so many to work on other bands.
>
> I’m looking forward to fall both for the DX and the weather!
>
> 73,
> Dennis/RZ
> keep repeating…B.I.C, B.I.C……
>
>
> On Tue, Aug 22, 2023 at 3:24 AM <w5zn at w5zn.org> wrote:
>
>> Greetings ADXA folks,
>>
>>
>>
>> It has been a very busy summer for me, much more so than I thought it was
>> going to be. I’ve mentioned many times on our reflector that my attention
>> is always directed in other areas during the summer months. This summer is
>> no exception so my on-the-air radio time has been minimal. It appears,
>> though, based on ADXA VP W5VY’s reports the past couple of days that I’ve
>> become a slacker as Dennis DCT, Don DB, and Charles TL, and many others
>> have been in the fast lane – CONGRATS TO YOU ALL. Keep those activity
>> updates coming to Pat. I know the local Searcy gang has been knocking off
>> new ones, or many new ones on a band/mode, this summer at a pretty fast
>> pace.
>>
>>
>>
>> I was cleaning up and reorganizing my office/shack yesterday since I had
>> let it get a bit “untidy” and realized that Labor Day and football season
>> is in sight and it occurred to me my on-the-air time isn’t the only thing I
>> haven’t been paying attention to. My station/antenna plans for the upcoming
>> season have laid dormant and the clock is ticking! I called N5QS yesterday
>> to discuss a project I would need some assistance with and discovered his
>> station plans for the upcoming DX season are moving ahead quickly and so is
>> a “top-secret” antenna project at N5QZ! So, even on the local level I’m
>> once again a slacker!!!
>>
>>
>>
>> Time to step up my game and get going! In another four to six weeks the
>> second hay cutting will occur here in the field by the house and it will be
>> time to get low band RX antennas out. I also have a new “secret” 160 meter
>> receive antenna to erect and test for a designer this winter.
>>
>>
>>
>> With the understanding that my ADXA leadership has been stellar this
>> summer – stellar as the leader of laziness and procrastination, how is your
>> station plan coming along? Need some motivation? Look at the ADXA website
>> homepage and all the DXpeditions coming up this winter. There are more
>> countries planned to be activated than you can shake a big 20-meter
>> monobander at. That alone should be serious motivation.
>>
>>
>>
>> So blow the dust off your 2023 station plan, revise your project schedule
>> as necessary and work your plan. Yea the wx is very hot right now but in a
>> few short months we’ll be complaining about how cold it is. Don’t let the
>> more pleasant fall months pass by and leave you sitting in the shack this
>> winter saying “I can’t get in there and work ‘em because I followed ZN’s
>> lazy lead this summer!”
>>
>>
>>
>> 73 Joel W5ZN
>>
>> ADXA President
>> ______________________________________________________________
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