DX RXThe Doctor of DX prescribes the
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DX RXThe Doctor of DX prescribes the
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Long ago in a land far away (actually 1957 in Washington State) a young Novice received his first license and eagerly ran up to his “shack” (my mother always said my bedroom looked like a shack) and, with a great deal of zeal .... and fright ... , pounded out his very first CQ. His right hand was shaking terribly, as were his knees, and copious quantities of sweat flowed from every pore of his body, particularly the palm of that right hand. To his absolute amazement, delight, and fear, someone was answering........lessee now, V-E-7-J-B-L.... he repeats the call ..... VE7JBL ..... Holy Cow!! It’s DX!! Now what do I do?
Needless to say, that first QSO of mine was rather rocky and slow. I told the gent on the other end that this was my first contact and, not surprisingly, he was slow, gentle and a great teacher. The shakes didn’t leave until hours later, and the euphoria of chatting with hams all over the world has never left in the nearly 39 years and hundreds of thousands of QSO’s since. I’m willing to bet that most hams remember their first QSO. Mine seemed particularly vivid because I had worked DX. 75 watts from an old used Globe Scout transmitter - crystal controlled, a “Halliscratchers” S-40A receiver and a random wire on 80/40/15 Meter CW. That was the station. There were 5 crystals for 80 Meters and 8 or 9 for 40 M. The 40 Meter crystals did double duty on 15 Meter CW as well by using the 3rd harmonic generated by the crystals. And never you mind that the DX was in Vancouver, BC and my QTH was Tacoma, Washington, a separation of only 125 miles. DX on my first QSO!
If you are already an avid or casual DX’er, I’m preaching to the choir. The adrenaline rush from “snagging” a new or rare one must be experienced to be appreciated. If you are new to DX or perhaps feel that DX is not for you due to equipment, budget or time constraints or a general lack of interest, it is hoped that future discussions in this column will spark your interest and enthusiasm, as well as demonstrate techniques and provide tips to assist you in becoming a cracker jack DX’er. A fellow I know in New York State has been DX’ing for more than 50 years with nothing more than a barefoot transceiver and wire antennas. His country tally, by the way, is 320. So much for equipment and antenna limitations. (Gads, I can just hear it now...... “Ya, but it took the guy 50 years!!”) Forget instant gratification. “Patience in DX’ing is an absolute”. Source: NE1V’s 2nd Commandment of Good DX’ing.
Like any other facet of the wonderful hobby of Ham Radio, the DX’ing game has its rules, its “do’s” and “don’ts”, its ups and downs, its successes and failures, etc. Successfully working that new country oftentimes depends upon your operating skills and your approach, rather than having the world’s BIGGEST antenna or signal. Success, in large measure, also depends on time of day and year, where we are in the current sunspot cycle (Please, pray for the return of sunspots!!) short-term solar conditions, and equipment and antenna factors. Another factor is the availability of the DX station to be “where” you are at the time you are listening or operating.
With the above in mind, subsequent columns will feature four sections:
The PBBS is a limited feature mailbox system using a KPC-3 TNC, so only one operator can access it at a time, but it is open to all amateur radio operators. Depending upon your QTH, you can access it directly "C NE1V-5" , digipeating through WA1UXA "C NE1V-5 VIA WA1UXA", or via the packet network by connecting to Node NASHUA, thence "C NE1V-5 VIA WA1UXA".
Please feel free to browse the files there. Every effort is made to ensure that the latest information is available, including my own spotting bulletins and propagation updates. Also feel free to leave any personal message you desire, including “HEARD” data which will be used in the following month’s column. If you do not wish to access the PBBS but would like to offer constructive criticism (emphasis is placed upon the word “CONSTRUCTIVE”) or ideas for future columns, please drop me a Packet message. My packet mailing address is NE1V @ KA1GOZ.FN42GR.USA.NOAM. If you wish to provide “HEARD” data, please use the following format:
STN/BAND/DATES/TIMERANGE
where STN = station or prefix heard, BAND = the band and mode, e.g. “40 CW”, DATES = date range, e.g. “22-28 FEB”, and TIMERANGE = the GMT times heard. As an example, I am hearing TU2FA each afternoon between 2000-2200 GMT on 20 phone. My report line would read:
TU2FA/20 PH/22-28 FEB/20-22
Please feel free to include as many report lines as you wish, one report per line. The more we share information, the more successful we will be.
Next month our discussions will center around which station sub-system is more important from a DX’ers perspective, the transceiver or the antenna. This is rather like the “Chicken or the Egg” controversy. You will also be introduced to NE1V’s Ten Commandments of Good DX-ing. As a hint: The First, Fifth and Tenth Commandments are collectively “Listen, Listen, Listen”. You may begin practicing your commandments today.
73 ES BEST DX DE NE1V.