YB Land DX Club DX-ing Is Our Life
http://n6pse.wordpress.com/2013/09/25/so-you-want-to-go-on-a-dxpedition/
So you want to go on a DXpedition?
I’m often asked, how does one get invited to join a Dxpedition? That’s a good question and one that I pondered myself for some time before I decided to mount my own Dxpedition.
When I was asking that question, I was given some good and some poor advice. I was told that I must send/receive CW at 40WPM. Well I can’t do that. I was told that I must win a major contest. Well, as much as I love DXing, I’m not one to operate continuously for 24-36 hrs at a stretch. My QTH is not in any way competitive for contesting, so I’ve not tried.
The best way to get invited to join a Dxpedition is to conduct one’s self as a solid, mature and disciplined operator. It’s good to attend IDXC at Visalia or the Hamvention in Dayton and rub elbows with those in the Dxpeditioning circles. Let them know who you are and what you can do.
Some of the major DXpeditions are seeking fast rate or elite operators. DXpeditions to less rare locations are seeking collaborative team members who want to have fun and make thousands of contacts. This is probably the best place to start.
The Intrepid-DX Group believes in developing operators on DXpeditions. When possible, we welcome newer Dxpedition members and give them coaching and mentoring. We look for eager people who display great attitude along with aptitude. Stamina and perseverance are important. Dxpeditioning is not easy or for the timid. You often travel for 30 hours straight to get to your destination. Just when you feel like going to bed, you set up your antennas and stations. Then you operate for 4-6 hrs before you sleep. This is always the biggest challenge for me. Fortunately, upon arrival my adrenalin kicks in and I am so excited to get set up and on the air. There is always time for sleep later!
Dxpeditioning is expensive! Each operator is always responsible for their travel to/from the destination. You are responsible for your boat passage or hotel/meals onsite. The donations that are made to the Dxpedition cover costs such as shipping equipment, paying customs fees and buying consumable items that must be replaced on each trip. DXpeditioners should expect to spend $5000 to $10,000 in total to fully participate in a Dxpedition.
One must also properly set their expectations. DXpeditions do not stay in luxury. Everything is done to keep the costs down. Team members must be prepared to do a myrad of tasks including carrying and loading items, refueling generators and sometimes cooking!
All in all, participating in DXpeditions is really fun and I highly recommend it. Probably the best part is the long term memories and friendships that you make on the various trips. DXpeditioners are special people and they thrive on the excitement and the chase. Dxpeditioning has enhanced my life and I hope it enhances yours as well.
Is pileup behavior getting worse?
Pileup behavior is often being discussed by hams these days. Many of us (but not all of us) are growing more and more concerned at what we perceive as a rapid erosion of civility/decorum on the bands.
This reduces the fun and enjoyment of this hobby that we otherwise enjoy. Some notable Dxers attest that a proper operator can control or manage any pileup and that the behavior of the pileup is a direct reflection on the operator’s skill.
I think this statement was truer some years ago when there was more civility on the bands but someone making that statement today makes me think that they have not operated from a rare and highly sought after DX location in a long time!
If you have a rig with dual receivers or if you have the ability to use the REV function, you can monitor the pileup and the operator. These days you will hear many stations calling out of turn. The DX says “who was the N8?” and a K9 station continues calling. It’s even worse over in Europe. I have participated in a number of DXpeditions where we were beaming across Europe to our target areas.
While some of the European noncompliance seems to be related to language difficulties or misunderstanding the operator’s instructions, I also believe that there is less respect among some in Europe for their neighboring countries and they tend to operate their radios in the same wild and reckless fashion that they drive their cars in their country. Have you ever noticed the correlation between the way a country operates and the way they drive? There is something to be studied there.
I also believe that behavior is much worse now in what I call “run of the mill” DX. Regularly, I hear poorly behaved pileups for entities that are not rare. There is a sense of desperation among the callers. What is even more interesting is that many of the callers are Top of the Honor Roll guys. It seems for some that the pursuit of CQ Marathon Points, IOTA points or DXCC Challenge causes them to throw all civility and respect for others out of the window.
You may wonder, what can be done about this? Some have suggested that the operator call out the offender during the pileup or establish a “black list” and refuse to work the worst offenders. I suspect that calling out an errant caller is just inviting them to tune on you or otherwise jam you. I cannot get comfortable with black listing Dxers either. Sometimes things happen for a reason. Mistakes happen. We have all made mistakes now and then and without any chance to clear the air, no one should be black listed.
I believe the proper response to a poorly behaving pile up and for the operator to manage as best they can and not let anyone overly affect them. This is what I’ve seen the best operators do. If it gets really bad, I suggest to “QRX for ten minutes” and take a break. This gives the pileup time to settle down. It can be like pushing the “reset” button at times.
I think some peer pressure is also appropriate if we hear our friends or fellow club members calling out of turn or acting improperly on the bands. As for the European situation, that one is a tough problem. Having operated from EU many times I cannot ever get used to what I hear. It makes me glad to come home to where things are not quite as bad. Better still are the Japanese. Politeness and respect are central to their culture. This carries over into amateur radio. It is much less common to hear an errant JA operator in the pileups. Perhaps we should all be more polite and respect each other more.
