[ADXA] Ain't No Cure for the Summertime Blues?

[w5zn at w5zn.org]

Greetings ADXA Folks,

When Eddie Cochran's song "Ain't No Cure for the Summertime Blues" was 
released in August, 1958, summer was in full force. The weather here in 
Arkansas has now turned "summer like" and the focus we had on radio 
through the winter months dissolves into outside activities and other 
interests. DX activity and reflector traffic diminishes. You might say 
we suffer from summertime radio blues!

Once daylight savings time kicks in I begin the effort of removing all 
of my low band receive antennas (about a four day job for one person) to 
allow for summer hay cutting out in the fields as the low band season in 
the northern hemisphere is winding down. The major contest season is 
over as well. Before we fall too deep into radio depression, though, an 
assessment of DX during the past six months is in order so we can plan 
and look forward to the 2023-2024 season.

Activation of the #2 and #3 most needed DX entities was exciting in its 
own right but to have the upper bands, 10, 12, and 15 meters explode 
with significant propagation was amazing. Whether it will continue is 
yet to be seen but if the current propagation trend is any indication 
the doomsday predictors of a Maunder Minimum can just go sit in the 
truck next to the TV personalities that masquerade as a weather 
predicting meteorologist!

We all nabbed a new one, at least on a band, during the past six 
months.......yes even the old dogs of ADXA whether they will admit it or 
not!! After two years of nothing new on 160 meters due to COVID I was 
able to add 3 this past winter with the most exciting being Eddie, XV1X, 
in Viet Nam on 160 CW early one morning that brought my band total to 
286.

There were days when the spots posted on our reflector were coming in so 
fast it looked like the DX cluster during CQWW and we were chasing DX 
all over the bands, night and day! Now, the summertime blues are taking 
charge, major DXpeditions and DX contests have ended and will not fire 
back up until the fall. We're all outside doing "summer things".

So where does that leave our passion for DX? For those of you who have 
been around for a while and read my past posts, you know now is the time 
to plan for the fall-winter DX and contest season. If you wait until 
then you've missed the train. Now is the time to review your station, 
your operating technique, and make a list of things that need 
improvement. Don't just sit around a think (dream?) of what you wish you 
could do or what you would do if you just "had the time". Get those 
thoughts out of your head and on paper, write it down, then spend a 
little time developing a plan to accomplish your goal. Some of my 
projects take a long time, even years to complete. I pose questions to 
those who have been successful in accomplishing a similar task and I 
write it down and assess how that would work in my station 
configuration. I'll even talk to or visit someone I don't like if I can 
learn something from them (oh yea, I have a list of those folks!!). I 
read a lot (I don't really watch television so cut that out and gain 
some time!) and study the topic I want to implement here. Sometimes I 
don't understand what I'm reading, so I read it again, and again if 
needed until it sinks in.

If you're a serious DX'er, learn that sleep is secondary to working a 
new one! Yea, that's right - DX and propagation don't always work on 
your schedule. Some of you have seen the card in my shack with the 
picture of a very mean, grizzly coyote that is growling with the caption 
"You can't run with the BIG DOGS if you pee like a puppy!" Real DX'ers 
will be awake and at the radio when a new one is on. I have two old dog 
DX buddies in ADXA that are always on to nab a new one when I am 
regardless of the time of day or night and we're exchanging texts about 
who is hearing the station. The importance of that goes much farther 
than bragging rights. If one of my buddies can hear the station and I 
can't, I'm reviewing his station installation and why he's outperforming 
me. It might simply be propagation, even if we're close, but maybe I 
need to improve something in my station.

You can do this. START NOW! You can't work ten projects at the same time 
but if you prioritize your list you can begin to work them down one by 
one.

By working your plan, you'll be ready to "GET IN THERE AND WORK 'EM!" 
when the DX starts pouring in.

73 Joel W5ZN
ADXA President
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