[SADXA] Interesting VP6D Operating Practices

[W7EXG (Bill)]

Hi Gene,

Thanks so much for sharing your experience with DX-peditions, and especially
with the VP6D perspective. 

I am sure there are 1000s of stories you can share with us from your
perspective, and there are often many stories we can share with DX-peditions
from our perspective. 

The stories I outlined below was certainly meant to be in the humorous
spirit, and I am glad your group enjoyed. Learning and having fun, is what
Ham Radio is all about. 

I want to congratulate you and your team for making 121K + QSOs with almost
as many happy hams through out the world. 

Most of us can only dream of what you and your team members are able to do. 

Hope you and your team have safe travels home, and we welcome you back to
Tucson. 

Best 73's
Bill W7EXG

-----Original Message-----
From: Gene K5GS [mailto:k5gs at arrl.net]
Sent: Wednesday, November 07, 2018 4:05 PM
To: Southern AZ DX Association E-Mail Reflector; W7EXG (Bill)
Subject: Re: [SADXA] Interesting VP6D Operating Practices

I always read the blogs and reflectors after a DX-pedition. This note thread
caused a chuckle when i read it to the team last night:

Most of us own and use K3 radios. What you're missing is the obvious.

We're in a tent, wind and generator noise, poor lighting, tired and sleep
deprived, sometimes pouring rain, and occasionally we hit a button once too
often. Sometimes the generator will take a dive and voltage sags cause
something to change. Sometimes we're just too tired to notice the split
indicator went off for some unknown reason. It's not the end of the world,
we eventually right the ship.

On one 17m run I must have forgotten to punch Split when I opened, and a
kind gentleman called on my freq and told me of the problem. I know it was
in split when I set it up because I always check, something changed and I
missed it.

I was the op on 15m who was listening only on 21.291.  What may have seemed
like a goat rodeo to you was a perfect pileup to me. Working the pileup down
on 291 (only) was a pleasure, the callers were disciplined and called only
when I said QRZ or thank you. It was a wonderful experience. The biggest
problem were the ones who were over compressed - splattering and unreadable,
or those 1 - 2 kc off freq.

Also, we don't always come up on the published frequency. If a QSO is in
progress on that freq we'll open up far enough away as to not bother the in
progress QSO. We may or may not listen for calls on our xmit freq and then
announce the split.

When you have 14 highly experienced DX and contest ops, you let each guy do
it his way, we don't dictate a DX-pedition operating style.

Last night was our first full night's sleep in a real bed that wasn't
rocking with the ship.

The Braveheart crew were absolutely wonderful, they made living on the
island tolerable so we could work radios.

Cheers,
GS K5GS

On 10/30/2018 8:45 AM, W7EXG (Bill) wrote:
> Hi SADXA Group,
>
> While chasing the VP6D DX-pedition, I discovered some interesting 
> operating practices that are unexplained.
>
> For example, I heard VP6D on 20m 14190 kHz (S9+) last night calling CQ 
> for up 5, with no acknowledgment of any answering station. He kept 
> calling and calling CQ. Finally, I decided to give him a call up 5, 
> and he also did NOT answer me, even though I called and called. I 
> decided he was listening somewhere else - but where?
>
> Finally I called him on HIS transmit frequency 14190 kHz (AND I KNOW THIS
IS
> A LID practice!!).   Yup, he was listening to his transmit frequency, and
> gave me a 59 + report. LID operation works!!  He asked me to spot him 
> in 20m which I did, because he was not getting any response.  I told 
> him I WAS calling him up 5 and he did not hear me and I was ON this
transmit freq.
>
> I dismissed this odd practice until today.
>
> I was on 18071 kHz, calling VP6D up 2 as requested. AGAIN -- NO ANSWER 
> - from anyone, even though I could hear the pileup. He was calling and 
> calling CQ. So, based on my seasoned DX experience with past VP6D 
> stations, I became a LID AGAIN, and called him on HIS frequency, and 
> YES, that IS where he was listening.
>
> Other stations calling realized his practice, and soon stared a pileup 
> on his transmit frequency. WE ALL BECAME LIDS!! What fun was that!!
>
> I did hear one VP6D op say "I am listening UP 5 -- NO TUNING" which 
> may be common practice?
>
> I am now thinking that these ops are using radios they are not 
> familiar with and this may be the reason for this unexplained op 
> practice. I think all of us have, at one time in our ham career, 
> "misused" the offset function, especially with a new rig.
>
> Now we know why LIDS call on the DX station's transmit fre1quency.
>
> Don't get me wrong, I am NOT encouraging LID operation!!  Hi Hi
>
> This is one of my interesting observations of the VP6D operation.
>
> Best 73's
>
> Bill W7EXG
>
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