[SFDXA] An Alternative for alerting the Club on DX

[Sebastian, W4AS]

Thanks for the heads up on DXWATCH.  I didn't know they had that feature.  I went to login and forgot my password, and when I ask for a reminder via email, I never get it.

I sent them an email tonight, but in the meantime, do they charge for the SMS messages?

73 de Sebastian, W4AS



On Sep 10, 2012, at 12:01 PM, Ed Callaway <ed at sunrisemicro.com> wrote:

> I think the reason this type of thing is of only moderate interest is that one has been able to get SMS DX alert messages for years, from any number of cluster web sites.  On http://www.dxwatch.com , for example, it's easy to set up alert filters for the DX entity, the spotting entity, band, and mode; when a spot meeting your requirements appears, at text is sent to your phone (or whatever email address(es) you desire).  One can, for example, receive spots only for Swains Island activity on 12m CW, sent by spotters in the US.
> 
> Using one of these sites, one is immediately aware of DX activity on a desired band or mode.  The question then becomes one of propagation to SFL and, in my experience, the variation in station capability and local noise is so great among SFDXA members that knowing that Norm or Bill or Dick or Harry has heard a DX station is of little use.  Even when I was at W4MOT -- not a pipsqueak station by any means -- frequently Norm would spot DX that I could not hear (and, I hope, the reverse was true -- at least occasionally :-) ).  
> 
> Frankly, while W4MOT was just down the hall from my office, I used the web alerts to great advantage -- at the first DX spot, from any spotting entity, I was off to the station like a shot, before the pile got too big and the time away from my desk noticeable.  If I had to wait for someone locally to spot the DX, rather than anyone anywhere in the world, I would be waiting a long time.  Having a worldwide network of potential spotters means that substantially no DX activity is missed, and the value of this, in the minds of most, is greater than the knowledge that the DX is audible to someone in the tri-county area.
> 
> Ed N4II.