[SFDXA] Excerpts from Jim's GAZETTE - Newsletter #113

[Bill Marx]

Jim's GAZETTE
Newsletter #113
5 January 2002

Please feel free to forward this newsletter to any and all interested parties, or to reproduce it in
any other publication. All we ask is that you give credit where it is due.

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A porno DX site? Hey, now that's a great combination! A note from W2ZR threw me a curve, and I couldn't wait to check it out. The
URL is Hard-Core-DX.com
and is described as the best DX site in the world. Ever curious, I tuned in and, after a thorough going-over, had to agree. It is
first rate and, though their name no
doubt draws a ton of visitors looking for other forms of hard core, this site is perfectly safe for children ages 2-92! Give it a
whirl.

KG4 is in the news of late. Numbers of prisoners-of-war (or whatever they might be called in this current fracas) will soon call
Guantanamo Bay home. It will also be
the site of the Florida DXPedition Group's next activity. Bill W4WX (KG4DX) and Larry W1LR (KG4LR) will be on the air from Gitmo
11-19 of January. All
bands, including 6 meters and all modes, including PSK31 will be utilized. QSL via home calls, and remember there is no QSL bureau
in KG4.

So, where do you get good amateur radio world maps these days? For years I've used the large Yaesu map, most often distributed at
major hamfests but also packed
in with their ham gear. There are others as well. If in need, you might check them out. Look at www.jwoservices.com/maps.htm, or the
ARRL website, or investigate
the ICOM offering. ICOM's map has CQ Zones on one side, ITU Zones on the other. They also show local time vs GMT including those
half-hour and quarter-hour
deviations from it. You can't do DX without a good map, that's for sure.

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Speaking of DX, I continue to ponder the fate of good-to-rare DX on the PSK31 frequencies. Maybe these ops just need a map. Or, and
this is the more likely
conclusion, they just don't share the ham's traditional interest in, obsession or love affair with the subject of DX. The available
evidence also suggests they don't give a
damn about contests, either. Clearly this is a new breed of digital folk and, while it is easy to make fun of their seemingly na�ve
approach to the digital arena, the group
might be the best thing that has happened to us since the arrival of the computer in the ham shack.

Allow me to illustrate just how serious this disinterest situation is. Two days ago I tuned to 20 meters after a weeklong absence
from the band. There were 10-12
traces on the waterfall and, as usual, I clicked five or six of them in order to get some idea of propagation. Image my surprise
when, right in the middle of the display, I
found an FK8 chatting away with a W7, delivering a solid signal into this part of Florida. I couldn't wait for them to sign as the
exchange full of personal non-macro
information went on for several more minutes. Unheard of! Finally the moment came when both signed. After a few seconds of silence I
called the FK8 but he chose
to go QRT and I missed out.

I called again and then remained on frequency for a few minutes to see if he might come back with a 'QRZ,' but no such luck.
Suddenly it dawned on me that I was the
only station calling. Nobody else had seen the print or, if they did, care a bit about making the contact. I watched for several
more minutes to just to make certain, all
the while shaking my head in disbelief.

So, I tuned down a few more Hz and there was another surprise.  FR5HA was calling CQ, calling CQ, and calling CQ. There were no
takers during the time I
watched, even though Joseph's signal was quite strong with fine print here. It seemed that everybody else was too busy chatting away
to even notice.

These keyboarders seem to have more interest in exploring the pure joy of discovering new friends, regardless of location, than in
the tightly focused search for a new
country or a higher score. This just might lead to the restoration of the lost art of conversation on the digital HF bands. My
goodness, what an act of heresy that would
be! HI

Some might say that they are not ignoring such opportunities, they simply don't understand what digital modes are all about, that
they are a bunch of 'newbies,' sort of
like a bunch of 'cb-ers.' I don't think so. I have a habit of eavesdropping whenever I see that someone is making his or her first
or second QSO in PSK. Frequently
they explain that they are trying this new mode after long stints in CW or SSB. Often it is an attempt to revive their interest in
the hobby. Some are coming back to a
digital mode after a long absence-one from the 'big iron' days of RTTY. But I've copied few stories about being new to the hobby. My
sample, of course, is not very
scientific!

The lure of PSK to an experienced ham, though, is easy to understand. He/she has a computer. The software is free. Voila! You're on
the air with no investment in
new gear or antennas. Exploration and experimentation has never been more convenient!

Whatever the reason behind this unusual behavior, this phenomenal development provides a major benefit to the digital portion of the
spectrum. They are, after all,
restoring round-the-clock usage to all our bands. 10-15-20 (and 6-12-17 as well) are no longer glaring spots of inactivity except
for those hours or days when the DX
fanatics fire up and chase the new, new one (a temporary station on a distant rock in one of the oceans) or when the contest
gun-slingers fill the weekends and bands
with thousands of two second exchanges. Nothing wrong with either pursuit, but we old hands might profitably spend some time on the
air chasing new PSK contacts,
getting to know this new breed, getting back in the habit of normal, extended, satisfying digital conversation. It was pure,
unadulterated fun back in the good old days .
. . and, you know what, it still is.

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Tad K7VW writes in the ARRL propagation Email-'If we look at the average daily solar flux and sunspot numbers for 2001, it was
really a very good year with lots of
activity, considering that the peak was supposed to be in 2000. Average daily sunspot numbers for the years 1997-2001 were 30.7,
88.5, 136.3, 172.8 and 170.3.
Average daily solar flux values for those same years were 81, 117.7, 153.7, 179.5 and 181.6. Given those numbers, both 2000 and 2001
look like peak years for the
cycle.'

But what about 2002?

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73 de Jim N2HOS
jem@n2hos.com
www.n2hos/com/digital