[OKDXA] DX IS !
Roger Simpson
rksimpson1 at cox.net
Mon Apr 17 09:31:18 EDT 2023
I think the allure of DXing is due to the thrill of aperiodic reinforcement.
If it was “impossible” to work a new band / mode / country then people wouldn’t get involved in DX.
If it was “easy” to work even the most rare DX occasion to Podunk Island then there would be no challenge. Everyone would be on the Honor Roll.
As it is, there are a dozen or so entities that are possible to work but these entities are only activated occasionally and for a short duration with huge competition for other hams to work. Some of these DXpeditions have low power, marginal antennas, and locations which are “behind the mountain” for you – but they are still workable.
As for me I plead guilty as to having “DXitis”. I needed Bouvet the worst way. I heard others working him. He was “behind the rock”, with marginal antennas, and an FT8 clock that was badly out of sync. But it was for naught.
As for Crozet I worked him the first day.
73 Roger K5RKS
===============================================================
Sent from Mail for Windows
From: Jeff Martin
Sent: Monday, April 17, 2023 6:26 AM
To: Oklahoma DX Association
Subject: [OKDXA] DX IS !
Good Morning... Ran across this the other day... Hope you enjoy it...
Why do I like to chase DXpeditions on multi bands and multi modes?... DX
Is!... de K5WE...
--------------------------------
Too Many Awards
One of the Local QRPers came by the other day with purpose in his stride
and a glare in his eye. It was a warm, spring day, and we were sitting
on the veranda with the window open. There was mostly hissing as the rig
scanned a rather dead band. It was one of those lulls in the afternoon
when the bands take a rest before the early evening flurry of activity.
As we watched the QRPer beat his way up the hill we had the usual twinge
of anxiety. We never really understood it, but we suspected it was a bit
of the residual fight or flight primordial protection. For while these
Local QRPers sometimes bring amusement and even a bit of newfound DX
information, they often cause enough aggravation to make it wise to exit
before the show begins.
We waited a bit too long, as the QRPer made eye contact, and our escape
was blocked. This one was a bit overweight, sleek of head, and wearing a
baseball cap. He made his way up the steps and flopped into the chair
beside us, needing a few seconds to catch his breath before he began.
This one seemed to be carrying the weight of a heavy load on his
shoulders. "Tell me", he said, staring at us with his beady little eyes,
"Why do the pileups never die down? Why is it after 10, 12, even 15 days
the hordes are still calling?" We looked at him with the usual poker
face and said, "How so? Things always are crazy the first few days, but
after a week no matter how rare, the din subsides and the spread
narrows."
It was like we threw gasoline on a fire! "Not always true!" he shouted
at us, leaning closer and waving his finger in the air. "When I first
started there were more DXers and more Hams than today. And now it seems
that every time there is a new one on, the pileups are bigger and they
last days longer! I hear the same calls on every band and every mode
working the DXpedition over and over! It isn't fair. I have a tribander
and a 500 watt amp, and still I have to fight for hours to try to get a
contact. Sometimes for days! And I know most of the calls in the pileup
have worked the DX before! Some of them are #1 Honor Roll, and still
they are in there calling and calling! Why is that?"
We thought about it for a bit and then said, "You missed that rare one
that was activated a few weeks ago, right?" "NO!!" was the quick retort,
"Not at all!! I got them on the third day on 20 CW and then a backup on
17 phone, but I spent endless hours calling and calling. He was S9 most
of the time, but I heard stations calling him who I know had it
confirmed from 15-20 years ago, and others who I heard work them an hour
earlier on 20 phone! I checked the Internet log and some of them had
them worked 6-7 times the first day! 40 phone, 40 CW, 30 RTTY, 17 CW, 15
phone, 10 CW! Why do they need to keep calling and calling and making it
harder for me? They have monobanders and stacks and big amplifiers, and
all that sophisticated software that sets off alarms when the DX shows
on any band or mode they haven't logged them on. At the end of one of
the operations last year, I saw a few calls that had 26-27 QSOs with the
same DXpedition!! Why do they do this?"
"Are they duping them on the same band and mode?", we asked. "No, but
you only need one CW QSO and one phone QSO and one digital QSO to
satisfy the DXCC. So what is the point of working them on 160 through 10
on CW? And on 160 through 10 on phone? And 160 through 10 on RTTY or PSK
or whatever other mode they show up on? And 160 is really tough, so if
you happen to get lucky enough to log them on 160M CW, why are there DX
Cluster comments begging for 160 SSB? It makes no sense!"
We were starting to see the point the QRPer was making and, although we
were pretty sure of the answer, we decided to get a second opinion. So
we hauled the Local QRPer up the hill a bit further to consult with the
Old Timer. The Old Timer had his amp apart on the bench and was
replacing the plate choke. "Resonates on 25 MHz and I nearly burnt it
out trying to tune this thing for 12", he explained, "so I'm moving it
up to 26-27 MHz. I need full power for all the bands and this thing was
designed before we had 30/17/12."
The QRPer didn't seem interested in the amp redesign, and launched right
into his story, with pacing back and forth and wiping the sweat off of
his upper lip. Occasionally he stopped to stare at the Old Timer to make
sure he was listening. The Old Timer was winding his plate choke and
checking it with his grid dip meter.
He looked at the choke with a slight smile of satisfaction. Then he
turned to the QRPer and said, "How many have you got worked and
confirmed?" The QRPer stopped for a second, and then replied, "It is
number 281 worked and I have 277 confirmed. Why?" The Old Timer added
half a turn of wire, made a final measurement and put the choke down on
the bench. "I've got all 340 confirmed, and with deletions, I think I'm
somewhere around 366. Know why I'm working on this amp?" The QRPer
stopped pacing and answered, "So you can work DX on 12 meters." "Right",
the Old Timer replied.
The QRPer scratched his head and said, "But if you have all of them
worked, why do you need them on 12? You have them on other bands . . .
wait! I get it! You are after 12 meter DXCC, right?" "Nope, got that
with 100 watts 5 years ago." "Then why work them on 12 if you already
have 12 meter DXCC?" The Old Timer looked back and stated the obvious,
"The DXCC Challenge. Only have 168 on 12."
Enlightenment! The QRPer jumped up and exclaimed, "I get it! The reason
for the big pileups on every band is because everyone is chasing the
DXCC Challenge! OK, it still makes my life difficult, but I see the
reason." Then his face took on a puzzled look and he said, "But wait a
minute! Red-Eyed Louie has well over 300 on 12, and I hear him in there
chasing every DXpedition. Chasing stuff I know he has verified by the
DXCC Desk on 12 meters. Why is he doing that?" We had the answer for
that, and before the Old Timer could speak, we simply said, "CQ DX
Marathon.".
The QRPer stepped back and looked at us. He wasn't happy. "That's the
one that starts over every year at zero! Another award to contend with.
OK, so that adds to the pileups too. But why are there DXers in there
calling on every mode on every band?" We spoke in unison with The Old
Timer "Leader boards."
Son of a Gun! The QRPer threw his baseball cap on the floor, clenched
his fists and screamed, "So I have to compete with the regular DXers,
the DX Challenge guys, the CQ DX Marathon and now this Leader board
thing!! That's not fair! There are too many awards."
We thought for a moment and said, "There is no award for the Leader
board. It's just a competition to see who can get their call into the
on-line logs the most, and who can do it the fastest."
"This is ridiculous!", the sleek-headed QRPer yelled. "All you bored old
fellows are tying up the DX to get awards that are less important than
the basic DXCC! And in some cases, there is no award at all! No wonder I
can't get through for a week." He glared at us and let out a growl of
exasperation and frustration. "How can we fix this?" The Old Timer
shrugged and said, "It isn't broken. There is nothing to fix. DX IS! Who
told you that the basic, mixed DXCC was the most important award? Just
remember, son, that DX IS!"
"What do you mean? You two have been saying that forever and it makes no
sense! DX IS! DX IS! What does that mean? I want to work everything on
the DXCC list, and that's what is important." He threw up his arms in
frustration, stomped, out and ran down the hill. The Old Timer looked at
the crumpled baseball cap on the floor, "Hope he doesn't sunburn his
head."
We turned to the Old Timer and said, "Good thing we didn't mention WPX.
Lot of those DXpeditions get new prefixes. Some of the fellows are
looking for new zones too." The Old Timer picked up his plate choke and
looked at it carefully. Then he said, "Lot of the DXers who have
thousands of QSLs never send in for any awards, either." We nodded in
agreement, "For many of the QRPers, this is the hardest of the Eternal
Enigmas to understand, and one of the biggest Mysteries of the Ages. It
isn't the chase to work them all, or to fill in bands and modes. Or to
get an award to put on the wall. It's to understand that DX IS!"
And with that we left the Old Timer to work on his amp. We walked back
down to the house and into the shack to wait for the polar path to open
to Asia. Some times things can't be put into words, and this was one of
them. DX IS! Follow the advice of Lord Baden Powell, the Hero of
Mafeking, and Be Prepared. Be prepared for big pileups. Huge pileups
with a lot of familiar calls!
by Paul VE1DX
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