Extreme DXing

[K7JBQ]

Bob,

We have always had spotting. Before the Internet, there was packet cluster. Before that, there were DX announcements on DX club repeaters. Before that, there were telephone trees. Before that, there wasn't radio.

73,
Bill

[KF6ABU]

Bob,

We have always had spotting. Before the Internet, there was packet cluster. Before that, there were DX announcements on DX club repeaters. Before that, there were telephone trees. Before that, there wasn't radio.

73,
Bill

You didnt have w3lpl robot spots on every station cqing though, automatically, 24/7. I hate that guy.

Find a station cqing you need, 3 or 4 people calling him. If you are not within 2 qso's, w3lpl's robot spots it, and now 50 people are calling. If its somewhere in Europe or Africa, I now get to wait for everyone on the East Coast with a better station.

[KQ9J]

Bob,

We have always had spotting. Before the Internet, there was packet cluster. Before that, there were DX announcements on DX club repeaters. Before that, there were telephone trees. Before that, there wasn't radio.

73,
Bill

Didn't have packet clusters or internet spotting sites when I was first licensed. Packet wasn't even around yet and even a 2 meter repeater wouldn't exist in my hometown for ten years yet. Somehow we survived, and worked DX too.

[KR2D]

You didnt have w3lpl robot spots on every station cqing though, automatically, 24/7. I hate that guy.

It would be trivial to build a system that calls CQ with random, rare DX callsigns on random frequencies. Put up a few of those, and people would figure out pretty quickly that the W3LPL robot was spotting useless info and stop using it. But that is completely illegal, so I don't recommend that anyone actually do it.

[KC2SIZ]

That rare station you mention is not me (XZ1K), but I operate using search and pounce, because it is the 'fairest' way to give everyone a chance to work my small station. I found that if I stayed on one frequency, within a few minutes the spotters created a massive 'JA wall' of callers, and it was totally impossible for anyone outside my immediate region to get a contact.

As has been said S&P rewards those who are calling CQ ...

Simon

Yes, I've often thought that spots must be a real pain in the behind for people operating in relatively sought after DX locations. Don't get me wrong, it'd be great fun to work a pileup from time to time and to hear 50 different stations calling you. But to have that happen every time you call CQ? Man oh man, that would get old very, very quickly. Search and pounce is definitely the way to go. Or I suppose you could call CQ but stay on no frequency for longer than, say, 10 minutes.

[K7JBQ]

There have always been DX stations that did just that.

And even back during Cycle 19, pileups grew quickly. After all, when tuning the band, it's pretty hard to miss a pileup.

73,
Bill

Search and pounce is definitely the way to go. Or I suppose you could call CQ but stay on no frequency for longer than, say, 10 minutes.

[N3OX]

Spotting programs are one of the best things to ever happen period only those who are unable to work a pileup complain about it.

Definitely not true.

I bust lots of pileups and I like the idea of people having access to DX spots but I absolutely, positively do not think we should give every idiot and malcontent with a radio real-time play-by-play information about where to intentionally jam or carelessly ruin others' day by tuning up on frequency, constant-calling or whatever.

The worldwide anonymous cluster system has consequences. I have participated in a number of popular DX chat rooms and it's really striking the fun you have when you have twenty or fifty pairs of ears but no ability for the crazies and jerks to get the information that those ears are finding.

I would like a system that was internet-based but worked more like a phone tree.

If I were in a DX club and we had a phone tree and noticed that KX3YXZ always caused trouble when we called him up, eventually people would start to regularly "forget" to call KX3YXZ. "Oh, look, my copy of your needs list didn't have that one on it..." "Oh, your line was busy, sorry!"

We need a DX spotting system with actual identities that works more like that.

And even back during Cycle 19, pileups grew quickly. After all, when tuning the band, it's pretty hard to miss a pileup.

Sure, but you were more likely to have a pileup that was made entirely of people who can actually hear the DX on their radio and find his transmitting frequency.

I think someday we'll look back on global broadcast DX spotting kind of like how we look back on un-regulated incredibly polluting coal burning factories that used to fill our cities...

http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/...49-520x370.jpg

Some people saw no harm in it, a large portion were simply resigned to it for the sake of progress and jobs, and indeed they were probably a necessary step in modern living, which has many benefits. But someday when we have a better way where we can still get the benefits without the choking, suffocating miasma that comes out at the start, it will seem baffling that we ever did it that way.

[KO6WB]

Like I've already posted, DX stations that do not desire pile ups will resort to search and pounce. This is effective and actually gives the DX station a chance to be involved in a casual QSO at least for awhile. Then move on to more quiet portions of the band before the thundering herd figures out where you are. Some operators actually get it. There's hope after all.
BTW a so-called rare DX station that works ten's of thousands of stations makes them something less than rare. To keep a rare status the DX would resort to the s&p and be more selective in who they will make contact with. Simple huh?
Have fun
73
Gary

[NN3W]

sounds like you're talking about SU9VB

[NW9R]

His station, he can call out what he wants to work and not work, and/or go QRT. Always the big dial in front of the radio....