[GCARC] ARRL International DX Contest

[Tony Starr]

Greetings All GCARC Members!

One week from today starts the ARRL International DX Contest, CW. The SSB
weekend will start on March 6th. This is the second largest contest of the
year, right behind the CQWW DX contest. As with most ARRL contests, all DX
stations can only work North America, and they cannot work each other. So
what does this mean to us? It means that the DX is looking for us! While
this makes for less overall activity, it does allow those who may not be
contesters, but are looking to increase their DXCC totals, the opportunity
to work a lot of DX quickly without having to work nearly as hard for it.
Calling CQ on Saturday or Sunday morning during this contest will surely
net you some DX contacts, probably more easily than you are used to. And
while it may not be the most exotic DX, unless you have over 250 or so DXCC
worked, you will very likely be able to pick up a few new ones. You can
also shop the spotting clusters for countries that you need and just call
them.

The full rules for this contest can be found on the ARRL website, along
with other pertinent information for the event. If you are a casual DX'er
who would like to significantly add some more countries to your DXCC total,
this is your chance to do it, without waiting for the next sunspot high.
And honestly, when was the last time you called CQ and had a bunch of DX
stations call you back right on the spot? Just for that experience alone,
this contest is worth checking out, if you are a DX'er.  These contests
have a tendency to "heat up the ionosphere" and "create" propagation that
did not exist prior to the contest, at least it seems that way. If any of
you would like to give this a try, but have questions, please feel free to
call or email me and I will do my best to answer them. Wishing you all 73
and good DX!

de K3TS