Hi All, South sandwich island is now starting to ramp up. If you are wanting to add to your DXCC, THIS IS A TOUGH ONE TO GET. It's one of the southernmost points to the South Pole next to being on Antarctica itself. it's a forbidding land, Cold, windy, covered in Ice and snow. These guys spent a mint, nearly HALF A MILLION BUCKS to get that signal to us all- WHAT A GIFT!!!!! Many Hams have been waiting, Very patiently on the CW and SSB bands for the chance to get them. The majority are like me, A wire antenna of some sort, 100 watts and hoping for a little luck. Imagine you are waiting for that once in a lifetime chance, you have everything you can think of for the most heart pounding 30 seconds of your life, AND SOME LID KEYS UP ON THE DX SENDING FREQUENCY WITH A 1000 WATTS, TUNING HIS RIG! I am not going into the psycho-babble about his drunk parents, his heartless ways, It may not be any of that, but c'mon folks, LOOK AT THE DX sites before you THINK of transmitting please? There is so much written about working DX, How the bigger DX-peditions operate, how much money they spent, how they left the warm confines of the home station, Left a worried wife and family behind to ply dangerous seas, storms and a God Awful place to live for 2-3 weeks, spent thousands of their own cash and someone, regardless of the reason just defaced their effort. No less than a perfect stranger spending 10,000 dollars to give YOU a gift and you smash it at their feet. In this case, it would be to some poisoning the food starving people waited for! Sounds extreme? "gee, I did not know they were on!" There are so many ways to know what is going on- It's an excuse that does not fly. and think! Some KNOW IT and are doing it anyway! If you are that worried about your tuning, MOVE AWAY , 5, maybe 10 and tune. That means before you do anything else, Know where the DX station is, and where the Rest of the entire world is trying to call back at- assume that from the DX station frequency to the Frequency they are calling him back is off limits. If the DX station is on 18.080.5 and he's listening on around 18.084, then everything between and slightly above should be left alone. LISTEN or get on the internet. No internet? Ask someone , on the local repeater, your club buddy maybe? Please read where and how they are operating. If you cannot hear them I would bet my last pair of clean socks they are not hearing you, But Thousands of your Brother and sister hams are hearing you- and they all just got the shaft by your key up. Sad isn't it? To the folks trying to work VP8STI, I wish you well! Hope that contact brings you all the Joy they intended. And maybe- Just maybe, the LIDS and malcontent, sociopaths, and just plain dumb can't get a signal out past the front lawn. To the ones tuning, randomly keying up and sending QRL on top of the DX station, YES- QSL, QRM QLF and PSE QRT til 2050. Go to your local plumbing supply store and have your head re-threaded, Your lid is a bit loose! 73 to the Decent Ops and thanks to all who considered trying these DX stations and READ and Follow the rules! Drew, KB2SEO
