Category — DXpeditions

With the end of the TX5C DXpedition, QSL cards will be flying through the air to confirm the contact.

But do you really want the card? Or do you really want the confirmation to be part of your DXCC total?

It’s an important question. There is a tremendous amount of post DXpedition operator time spent on the QSL function. The QSLing, in fact, goes on for years after the event (I still get VP9 cards from my DXpedition there in 2005).

To be perfectly honest, QSLing is not what I came into the hobby to do. I came into operate. But, if you operate, especially in DXpeditions and contests, you will get QSL cards — thousands of them.

It’s not so much the cost of the cards, but the TIME. Finding time to go through the log, write out the card (almost as fast as creating a label), getting the card into the envelope, putting on the right number of stamps, and getting them into the mailbox or bureau pile (in country order…) is just a real pain.

On the other hand, confirming contacts via Log of The World is a piece of cake. After uploading the LoTW file for VP9, some 89 countries were confirmed and a total of some 300 contacts were confirmed for DXCC credit — two days after I came home from the DXpedition.

With the advent of Global QSL, bureau cards became just as easy to do. Take the bureau card, tag the file, export the file and upload it to Global QSL and the rest is done by them. I can’t tell you how much time has been saved using these two methods of confirming the contact.

Now, some people really want a card they can hang on the wall. Mine are all in files by country — and I haven’t looked at them for years and am seriously considering throwing them all out.

The saying goes that the final courtesy of a QSO is a QSL. But is the final courtesy the card? Or the confirmation of the contact?

Scot, K9JY

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The Marion Island DXpedition web site is up. The DXpedition is scheduled for May of this year and the web site will be a great place to follow the progress. You can subscribe to changes on the site through their RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed (http://zs8t.net/feed/) and participate in their forum.

I don’t need Marion Island for a new one, but for those who do, this is an impressive and informative site.

Scot, K9JY

PS Hat tip: Christian, DL6KAC

I’ve spent a lot of time the last 3-4 days looking for places to go on a personal DXpedition. I’m not positive I’m going to do it, but I have the time and the dollars to do something that isn’t too extravagant.

Here’s the criteria:

• The antenna’s need to be in place. I don’t want to take any antennas.
• A separate structure. A place where there already is a shack, not a hotel or apartment building.
• Less than four time zones away from Pacific Time. I just got back from Ireland and the jet lag was tough!
• Only eight or nine hours of flight time. Blowing one day on each end of the trip is probably necessary, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it! I’d like to get there and at least get set up on the first day, operating the second day and forward.
• Relatively easy licensing. I’m not looking to work with 27-government agencies trying to get a license.
• Relatively easy transportation. I’m not thinking about going to a place and then having to have four more hours spent getting the final place.

The idea behind the DXpedition is to simply operate as much as possible from a place. Since I do so little operating here at home (like…none), I want to get on the air and just operate as much as makes sense. The timing doesn’t need to be associated with a contest and, if it is, my objective wouldn’t be to win the contest, just participate in a way that supports my operating objectives.

I’ve done some research and have some thoughts. Any good ideas out there?

Scot, K9JY

This month’s CQ Magazine leads off with an article by John Kountz, KE6GFF/T6EE, on finding "The Responsible Person: Bringing Amateur Radio Back to Afghanistan."

The story, a good one, chronicles the continuing effort by John and others to reactivate ham radio in this country ravaged by more things than I want to see in my life time.

One of the great things about our hobby is our persistence at bringing ham radio to more parts of the world, regardless of the circumstances that the country has at the time. In my ham radio career, off the top my head, we’ve had hams work with governments in China, North Korea, Albania, Libya, Palestine, Nepal and other countries to enable ham radio operations.

Sure, the efforts are somewhat self-serving in that these people want to operate from rarified DX locations — but the seeds of these efforts often grow into much more that ham radio brings to the table.

Public service, emergency communications, and good will across countries are often built from these (Herculean) efforts of individuals.

Without the efforts of these people, these individuals, the world wouldn’t be as small as it is today.

Here’s a tip of the hat and a sip of wine to those that promote the hobby to others. I certainly appreciate their work.

Scot, K9JY

Bermuda flag on top, with Canada and United States flags below. From the VP9/K9JY contest DXpedition.

Scot, K9JY

Local ham (for me) AD7AF is off on a personal DXpedition to South Cook as E51WWA. There are two time frames:

January 27th through February 7th, Richard will operate from Rarotonga, OC-013, 80-10 meters CW and SSB. Then, moving to Mauke, OC-083, from about February 10th through February 21st.

He specifically notes that he will participate in the ARRL International DX CW contest. QSL’s will be handled by AD7AF.

This is great news — and should be a blast!

Scot, K9JY