DX RXThe Doctor of DX prescribes the |  |
DX RXThe Doctor of DX prescribes the | |
The advent of widespread VHF Repeater use in the 1970’s, and personal computers and Packet radio during the 80’s heralded a new era in amateur radio communications. Whereas in earlier times, the mainstream of amateur radio communications was on the HF bands, with 75/80 meters being the “locals” band, the introduction of small, portable 2 meter transceivers and Terminal Node Controllers (TNC’s) opened the gateway for some exciting and innovative use of the airwaves as a “tool”, and not simply as a means to “ragchew”. Of course, avid VHF/UHF’ers had been around for many years and it was their work and dedication which acted as the backbone and wellspring of knowledge for the entity which is today’s modern and extensive repeater and packet BBS network.
I recall, in particular, my first exposure to a DX spotting network. Shortly after I arrived on Bahrain Island in the early ‘70s, I chanced upon a QSO with Bill Bennett, W7PHO. Those of you who frequent 20M SSB and enjoy chasing DX are familiar with that callsign. Bill is now a silent key, but he was, in many ways, “Mr. DX” for years and was one of the top DX “guns”. During the course of our QSO, I mentioned that I was also from the Seattle area and was interested in working hams from the Pacific Northwest. Bill told me to stay with him, and within a matter of minutes he was orchestrating a rapid-fire exchange of calls and signal reports between myself (MP4BJR) and hams in the Seattle-Tacoma area. Over the next three evenings I worked more than 100 hams from the State of Washington. Bill had jumped onto the Western Washington DX Club spotting network repeater (voice) and announced my call and frequency.
Meanwhile, here on the East Coast, similar spotting networks were evolving. In particular, the Yankee Clipper Contest Club was very active and on the leading edge of development of the concept. Later in the 80’s AK1A and a number of other members of that illustrious group began experimenting with the use of packet radio to announce the spots, instead of voice. Because personal computers were so easily adapted to packet and could quietly perform the “listening” chores, packet soon began replacing some of the voice spotting networks. The widespread proliferation of reasonably priced PC’s in the late ‘80s increased the rate at which packet replaced the voice spotting networks. Today’s DX PacketClusterä network is vast in scope and extremely sophisticated compared to those humble beginnings more than 20 years ago.
As I have previously mentioned, it is possible to work DXCC in a single weekend of a major contest. But how many of us have the time or, better yet, have the large towers and antenna networks which make that more likely? Now imagine sitting at your operating position and having as many as four or five hundred hams scattered across the entire eastern seaboard at your beck and call, working as spotters for you. You can pick and choose, depending upon your interest and needs. In essence, that is what the DX PacketCluster is……a very large network of DX’ers, contesters and casual users, all linked via a network of DX PacketCluster nodes, exchanging spotting information, as well as chatting with one another and posting and receiving bulletins and mail of interest from other members of the Cluster. You can rapidly check the Cluster database to see what DX stations have been recently spotted, you can quickly check the 3-hour WWV Propagation updates, check prefix and QSL information databases, calculate distance and bearing to any other place on earth, download the latest DX bulletins, go shopping for used ham equipment (wonderful and perhaps best source of “local” equipment), and you can even have the system maintain your DXCC needs lists and filter out spots of stations not needed. OK, so how does one get on the DX PacketCluster and what are the rules?
If you already have VHF Packet, you’re all set. The network here in New England is extensive and has great “ears”. Connecting to a PacketCluster node is the same as connecting to any packet BBS or station. However, similarity to BBS stations ends here. There is an extensive list of commands, and rather than repeat them here, I’ll mention that a great number of them are contained in an article on DX PacketClusters in the March, 1996 issue of QST, titled “DX PacketClusters” by Steve Ford, WB8IMY. You can also copy them off the node by using the capture features of your particular TNC software. There are several commands which can help you when you first connect, and I’ll list those here for you:
SHOW/DX - lists the last five spots
SHOW/WWV-shows last 5 announcements
DIR - shows a list of messages and bulletins
HELP (or ?) - lists all available commands
SHOW/USERS - lists all stations currently connected to your node
TALK - talk to other users (e.g. “TALK WS1E Howdy John”)
DX - announce a DX station
Once you have the hang of it, you’ll want to start sending spots yourself. However, a few words of caution are in order. It is strongly recommended that you spend some time observing the spots before attempting one yourself. We usually DO NOT spot VE’s!! Nor are you likely to see too many spots for most of the common European or South American countries, unless that station is working on a band not thought to be active at the moment. The capability exists to “link” the network into the Internet and you may see spots coming in from European stations for the Far East. Do not get too excited --- observe who the spot is from before getting “buck fever”. Oftentimes, you may not be able to hear these spots, but it does pay to listen anyway. Do not use the “ANNOUNCE” command. This command makes an announcement across the network and often annoys other hams on the Cluster. It should be used sparingly (emergencies, etc.) or preferably not at all. In putting bulletins up on the cluster, be careful to avoid controversial issues. “Flaming” is a high art form on the DX PacketCluster network.
When you’re ready to spot, the format is:
DX X Y Z where
X = Callsign of the spotted station
Y = Frequency of the spotted station
Z = Notes (names, QSL, etc.)
If the station is working split, use the following format in the notes: QSX 7235.5. This indicates that the station is listening on 7235.5 KHz. The use of this format allows stations who use the DXbase and certain other logging software programs to automatically set their VFO’s for split operations. Here’s an example of a complete DX spot for CW split operation where the DX is listening up 3-5 kilohertz:
Here’s a list of nodes/frequencies easily accessible from the Greater Nashua area:
| K1XX (Rindge) | 145.71 |
| KC1XX (Mason) | 145.73 |
| NO1A (Groton, MA) | 144.99/145.65 |
| K1GQ (Hollis) | 144.97 |
| K1EA (Harvard, MA) | 144.95 |
There are several other routes (indirect) which are accessible. A map of the YCCC/TriState Cluster Network is available over the Internet by accessing the YCCC Home Page on the World Wide Web at: http://www.yccc.org/.
If you have not used the DX PacketCluster before, please do yourself a favor and try it for an afternoon. You’ll find it a most rewarding and fun experience.
73 de NE1V