[nrv-hams] DX on the air this week

[Ronald Angert]

Thanks Key,

That was great info.  While I am not a contester by nature, I have found it interesting to see how many contacts per hour I can make with minimal gear as a way to prepare for efficient exchange of information in an actual incident where we need to 'do it right.'

We missed you at Danny's eatin' time on Saturday, it was a winner.

Ron

On Oct 25, 2010, at 1:03 PM, Kay Craigie wrote:

> For those who are on HF and are interested in working DX, this week and the
> coming weekend will be a good time to go hunting for DX.
> 
> This coming weekend is the CQ World Wide DX contest, phone version. It
> starts at 0000 UTC October 30 (that's 8 PM local time on Friday, October 29)
> and ends at 2400 UTC October 31 (that's 8 PM local time on Sunday, October
> 31).
> 
>> From now until the contest starts, some DX operators in interesting places
> will be on the air tweaking up their stations and you can work them before
> the contest bedlam begins. The pile-ups may not be very big, making it
> relatively easy to log nice new ones.
> 
> During the actual contest, you and the DX will send one another an exchange
> consisting of the signal report and the CQ zone number. The signal report is
> always 59. CQ zone numbers are 01 to 40. Your CQ zone number is 05. So a
> typical exchange would be something like this:
> 
> He says: G3ABC QRZ?
> I say: November three kilo november
> He says : N3KN five nine one four
> I say: five nine oh five (or simply, "five nine five")
> He says: G3ABC QRZ?
> 
> G3ABC, a station in England, is in CQ zone 14 (hence the "one four"). He
> doesn't want to know my name, my town, how many watts I'm running, my
> favorite flavor of ice cream, or anything else other than my callsign and
> "five nine oh five." He doesn't want to hear "please copy" or "your signal
> report is" or "my zone number is." He wants to hear "five nine oh five."
> Period. If he gets my callsign wrong, I get him to correct it *before* I
> send my exchange (which is why I sent it phonetically in the first place).
> Also, avoid cute, non-standard phonetics. This is the time for "Kilo alpha
> four foxtrot bravo november," not "Keep all four fish browning nicely."
> 
> Unless you plan to submit an entry in the contest, which you probably don't,
> it is not actually necessary for you to log the CQ zone number. So you don't
> have to obsess if you aren't sure you got it right. As time goes by, you
> will pick up on which countries are in what zone, but it still doesn't
> matter unless you get to the point of turning in an entry. For the curious,
> a CQ zone map is on the web at www.mapability.com/ei8ic/maps/cqzone.php. 
> 
> Can you work stations in the USA in this contest? Well, technically yes, but
> I really don't recommend it. Not a good time to try to fill in your blanks
> for Worked All States. The only USA stations you should call in this contest
> would be in Alaska and Hawaii. I'll be happy to explain the relevant rules,
> if anybody cares.
> 
> Friday night is usually kind of a buffalo stampede, and newcomers may find
> the pile-ups are too big to be fun. Try again on Saturday and Sunday. If you
> need QSL card routing information, I'll help you get that info after the
> contest.
> 
> What if DXing and contesting are not your trip? Try working 12, 17, and 30
> meters during the contest period. Contesting is not allowed on those bands.
> 
> 73 and have fun - Kay N3KN
> 
> 
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> 
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--
Ronald Angert
Emergency Preparedness Planner
Virginia Tech - Division of Student Affairs
prepared at vt.edu (540) 231-5538

"What we anticipate seldom occurs; What we least expect generally happens." Benjamin Disraeli