[nrv-hams] DX contest this weekend

[Kay Craigie]

This weekend is the ARRL International DX Contest, Morse code edition. The
exchange (what we send and receive) is a signal report (always 599) and our
state. The DX stations will send 599 and a number representing their
transmitter power out.

If you want to work some stations in the contest, please note that USA and
Canadian stations are not allowed to work each other. We *can* work Alaska,
Hawaii, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, and USA territories in the Pacific
such as Guam, however. Just not Canada and not the contiguous 48 states.

If you want to work some CW this weekend but are not interested in the
contest, remember that contesting is not done on 12, 17, 30, and 60 meters.
Plenty of room for rag-chews there.

How do people choose which band to operate on in these events? My contesting
mentors said to work the highest band that's open. When you've worked
everything you can on that band, then go to the next-highest band, and so
on. So in the morning I start by tuning around on 10 meters to see if
anybody's calling CQ there. If it's quiet, I go to 15, and then 20. The 40
meter band is for late afternoon and evening, with 80 and 160 meters
becoming active after dark. Every so often, I loop back through any higher
bands that were dead earlier in the day to see if they have opened. 

What if you don't recognize what country a callsign is from? As long as the
exchange the station is sending is 599 followed by a number, go for it. It's
DX. "Work First, Worry Later" is good advice for DXing in contests and every
day.

73 - Kay N3KN