DX RX

The Doctor of DX prescribes the
answers to your problems, low and
high, near and far.

A how to of what for, by Mike(aka Billy)Graham, K7CTW

DXpeditions

Recent changes in the ARRL's rules regarding what constitutes a DXCC Country have sparked a plethora of "instant DXpeditions". These changes, which went into effect on 1 April, 1998, will result in the creation of a number of new radio "countries". Administratively, these changes will not necessarily spark changes in prefix, but the location will, for ARRL purposes, constitute a separate "radio" country for DXCC count. To a seasoned DX veteran, this means "new meat" ….. a new radio country to add to the "worked" or "confirmed" list. And the closer the veteran is to having worked all (current) 328 DX countries, the greater the pressure to work the new ones so as not to slip in the standings. For the fledgling DXer, it is an opportunity to snag a rare one at the outset.

To all but the most "battle tested" DX veteran (and even them at times), a DX pileup can be overwhelming, to say the least, and the new DXer may see the challenge as an insurmountable task. The new DXer is also faced with a lack of knowledge as to how best approach this formidable "wall" of QRM! If all of this were not bad enough, the "newbie" also finds that many of the DX operations, especially DXpeditions, operate in the Extra Class (CW) or Extra/Advanced (Phone) portions of the bands.

Solutions

The last problem presented is the easiest to solve… UPGRADE! Upgrading to Advanced Class from General is the fastest and easiest way to dramatically increase your chances of upping your DX tally, as this opens most of the phone sub-bands where DX stations will listen for calls. Upgrade to Extra Class and now the world is your oyster. A new ham will oftentimes make the mistake of becoming intimidated by the amount of work it takes to finally get the Extra Class ticket, rather than approaching the task one step at a time. Breaking down the challenge into easily attainable steps makes the entire process seem far more manageable.

Prior to the mid-1960s, DXpeditions were a rare commodity. This was primarily due to the general lack of truly portable equipment and readily available and reliable jet transport to the staging sites. Since then there have been many notable DXpeditions and their sophistication and complexity has increased dramatically. Some recent DXpeditions have been marvels of technology, what with very portable rigs, amps, antenna systems, laptop computers and even satellite links to transmit QSO data back to a logistics center of operations, and provide "instant" QSLs via the Internet.

Strategies

DXpeditions have one goal - to make as many QSOs possible with as many stations possible in as short a time as possible. That's a lot of possibles. Toward that end, DXpeditions usually employ very highly skilled DXers and contesters as operators. There have been a few notoriously infamous exceptions, but generally the ops are "crackerjack". They almost always employ split frequency operation. By working split, the chances of a QSO are dramatically improved, as is the expedition's throughput. Otherwise, the pileup of calling stations on the DX station will inevitably smother the DX, and result in a very low QSO rate.

The downside to this though is that if the DX station does not manage the "spread", it will QRM other QSOs, a very inconsiderate practice. Most good ops manage this fairly well. If the pileup becomes too large, a good operation will resort to "by the numbers". Here, the operator will QRZ by call districts. Oftentimes an operator will be in a call area which is different from his/her callsign. For example, if the DX operator is calling the 1s, I always sign K7CTW/1. This prevents some LID from flaming you for calling "out of sequence". "Kilocycle Cops" are bad enough as it is without adding fuel to the fire.

If a DXpedition originates from the U.S., you can expect that a greater preponderance of attention will be paid to U.S. hams. If it originates from another country, expect that more attention is going to be paid to operators from that part of the world. It's only fair. Many recent and very notable DXpeditions have been truly international affairs and have had operators from numerous countries. Operating around the clock, these operations have focused on that part of the world open to them at the time. Also remember that just because you can hear a DX station, it does not necessarily follow that they can hear you. Band conditions differ in different parts of the world at a given moment. Always respect a "directional CQ", i.e., a CQ directed to a specific geographical area. Do not transmit when directional CQs are in progress.

Each amateur band has a group of frequencies where the majority of DXpeditions operate. On 160 CW, the DX may transmit on 1825 or 1826 KHz and listen in the "DX Window" of 1830-1835 KHz. On 80, operation usually takes place between 3500-3510 KHz. On 75 Phone, operations are generally in the 3790-3800 KHz DX Window. In some cases, the DX may transmit below 3750 KHz and listen above 3800 KHz. On 40 CW, operations are almost exclusively between 7000-7010 KHz, with occasional operations at the sub-band edge of 7025 KHz. On 40 Phone, the DX will transmit between 7040 and 7099 KHz and listen above 7150 KHz, up to and including the General Class portion of the band. On 20, 15 and 10 CW, the ops will often be in the lower 25 KHz, and occasionally work above the 25 KHz sub- band split. On Phone, the recent trend has been for the DX station to transmit just below the General Class sub-band split and listen above that point.

A very important and useful tool to the DXer is the use of the DX Cluster packet spotting network. Most operations are spotted almost immediately when they begin operation on a given band, and almost always include the splits, if known. If you don't operate packet, another useful tool is the use of the Internet Spotting URLs which have begun to spring up. When using an Internet Spotting URL, exercise caution. The network is world-wide, and a spot from a European station does not necessarily mean you will hear it.

Before getting your "feet wet" on a spot, please do everybody a big favor and make sure that your rig is properly set for split operation. You may be transmitting out of your portion of the band right on top of the DX! That will win you a plethora of expletives, and perhaps even a "Pink Slip" from an Official Observer. Observe how the DXpedition operator works and the "sequence" he/she may be using. If the operator says "UP 2", don't transmit "DOWN 3". Be courteous…..don't transmit when the operator is acknowledging another station…..you are just adding to the QRM and confusion. And at all times, be courteous, we don't need anymore Kilocycle Cops, flamers and tuner-uppers than are already there.

The DXpeditions over the next few years are going to be thick and fast. The operations are going to be hectic, and a real challenge to your skills as a good op. May the DX roll your way! Good hunting!

73 es Good DX, de K7CTW

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