[DX] DXpedition "attitude" (was K1B: Last Update )

Wed, 8 May 2002 22:04:57 -0600

Nicely said Tom.

For the life of me, it is hard to understand how any expedition can be
criticized for any reason.  It seems that the "Deserving" routinely forgets
that expeditioners are doing the hobby a service generally at great personal
expense and effort and often with risk to personal health and safety.  If an
expedition wants to run a single QRP rig into a coat hanger, that is their
choice.

I would suspect that the vast majority of complainers have never been nor
will ever be on an expedition and simply have no appreciation for the effort
it takes to pull one off.

I think a great deal of some of the issues we see arising in the DX world
today stem from one of the best parts of the hobby, that being the
technological advances in equipment, computers, etc.  I'm the biggest
techno-freak there is but, I think the advent of internet cluster spots,
digital radios, etc., has resulted in the users being very impatient if they
are not able to work the expedition of the week on a dozen or so band/modes
in the first couple  hours of operation. As a group we seem to be incensed
at the thought of actually having to put some effort into the chase as was
the case with the VP8 operation.

Personally, I miss the long winter nights as a kid when I was trying to tune
in Gus Browning on my old S-38B....

73's,
Bill, AA7X

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]On
Behalf Of [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, May 08, 2002 7:42 PM
To: [email protected]; [email protected]
Subject: Re: [DX] DXpedition "attitude" (was K1B: Last Update )

On Tue, 7 May 2002 John Geiger <[email protected]> writes:
>
> It was also nice to see that they (K1B) did not have a
> pre-dxpedition "attitude" about them before they left.
>  One recent dxpedition published a new (sic) brief saying
> that they were taking low power and simple antennas to
> punish us, because we as dxers have had it too easy,
> and we needed to renew our dxing skills.
> (John NE0P)

Please tell us exactly where the afore mentioned (VP8)
DXpedition said that they were taking low power and
simple antennas "to punish us, because we as dxers
have had it too easy".

I believe they refrained from hauling heavy amplifiers,
generators, and antennas across rugged terrain (and
deep penguin poop) because the LAST team that
went there (VP8SSI) encountered extremely SEVERE
Weather and narrowly averted disaster.

Part of their proposal to the controlling authorities
revolved around the fact that they proposed to take
light portable equipment that could be set up and
DISMANTLED in a FEW HOURS in the event of
severe Weather.  THIS approach was successful
in gaining approval for the operation after 2 years
of planning and negotation.

They acknowledged that DXers would need to
utilize their DXing skills to pull their signals
through under adverse conditions.

Is this what you meant by "pre-dxpedition attitude"?

Afterwards, they noted that MANY contacts
had been made with QRP stations showing
that with good operators at both ends,
weak signals can still prevail.

Tom  N4KG

>  VP8 Press Release

VP8/sg South Georgia and VP8/ss South Sandwich will be activated
on the HF bands in January and February of 2002.  Operators are EI6FR,
EI5IQ, HB9ASZ, PA3FQA, K0IR, W3WL, K4UEE, VE3EJ, N5KO, K5TR,
W7EW and 9V1YC.

The New Zealand registered vessel "Braveheart" of ZL9CI fame
will be supporting this team of 12 for the entire 30 day trip.

This DXpedition is the result of over two years of planning,
coordination,
and detailed permit applications by 9V1YC, EI6FR and N5KO.

A few important points:

1. This DXpedition is funded entirely by the 12 team members and a
grant by the Northern California DX Foundation.  There are no club,
individual, equipment or QSL sponsors.

2.  There will be no websites, no online-logs, no pilots, and no
promises of any bands or modes.  Given the dangerous nature of our
destination, we will simply focus on giving out a new overall DXCC
entity.

3. Due to heavy environmental and safety restrictions on our permit
application we are taking ultra-light generators, simple antennas and
low power.  Despite a lengthy and difficult application process we are
extremely grateful to the Government of South Georgia and the South
Sandwich Islands for their support and cooperation in this endeavour.
Please understand that personal safety and a clean environmental
approach is as important to us as it is to them.

4. Even though we are with an experienced Antarctic rated support
vessel and crew, there is always the chance we may not even make
it to one of our destinations (Thule Island, South Sandwich) due to
the extreme nature of Southern Ocean.  We are prepared for this,
and we hope the DX community will be too.

5. Contrary to the 425 press release, this DXpedition is NOT about
QSO totals.  In fact, it is quite the opposite. Unlike previous
DXpeditions
you may have worked, this time we are taking far less hardware and
presenting the DX community with much more of a challenge. We feel
that DXers need to get back to basics and work harder, so this time
the burden of working the DXpedition is being shifted back home.
(The hunt will be part of the fun, so if you need either of these two
countries as an all time new one we suggest you beef up your stations
and train your ears.)

6.      We may be restricted to 6db less of signal, but we are taking
30db
more of operator.  You will probably notice many familiar callsigns on
the
roster.

See you on the bands.

73  James  9V1YC

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