[nrv-hams] CQ World Wide DX this weekend

[Kay Craigie]

Starting at 8 PM Friday night, local time, the CQ World Wide DX contest,
phone edition, will begin and go on for 48 hours. Friday night is crazy, but
by Saturday morning people will have spread out and it will be possible to
work some nice DX on various bands. There is no contesting on 12, 17, 30,
and 60 meters, so people who don't want to chase the DX can operate on those
bands or choose another mode.

For this contest the world is divided into 40 geographical zones. The
official zone map is at http://www.cqww.com/resources.htm.

The exchange (what we send and receive) is a signal report and our CQ zone.
For us, the zone is 5, so we would say to the other op, "Five nine oh five"
or simply "five nine five." If you don't plan to turn in an entry, you don't
have to log the other op's zone, but it's fun to learn where the other 39
zones are located. Practicing fast and accurate contest exchange logging on
noisy bands is very good for building skills for disaster communications.
Contesting develops what we call "ears" -- the ability to concentrate and
hear despite natural and human-made noise.

One tip about this contest: Don't call other USA stations except for those
in Alaska and Hawaii. States in the lower 48 generally don't want to work
other stations in the lower 48 because of the contest rules. 

Can we have success and fun with 100 watts and a simple wire or vertical
antenna? Sure. It just takes persistence and the development of those
all-important "ears."

73, Kay N3KN