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DX Web Sites, Good or Bad?

Discussion in 'Amateur Radio News' started by Guest, Dec 13, 2001.

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  1. n7ah

    n7ah Ham Member QRZ Page

    What fun is this? Really? Just like the DX spotter nets where a DX station is very weak and one big gun runs the show. Telling others when to transmit. 59 signal reports when the guy can't be even heard, etc. Yeah go ahead and do it, but for the rest of us it has totally ruined the DXing like we used to know of. It used to be such fun coming across a rare one before anybody got to them, especially when running low power and less than ideal antennas. Nowadays a person can work DX without even operating the rig. Just let the computer do it. Curt, N7AH
     
  2. Guest

    Guest Guest

    True. It seems more people are getting a case of the "gottas" now... gotta have a tower, gotta have a log periodic, gotta run a kilowatt. No wonder it's impossible to find real estate without antenna restrictions.
     
  3. W4CNG

    W4CNG Ham Member QRZ Page

    Shooting fish in a Barrel. Starting in 1961 there was no internet or VHF repeater Clusters to forward the Rare Find.

    Back to the basics, you hear it, work it, QSL it!

    73 Steve W4CNG
     
  4. KA8DDZ

    KA8DDZ Ham Member QRZ Page

    Ralph:

    Everyone has an opinion on clusters, here's my thoughts. After 20 years of DX'ing I have found that by crusing the bands and listening carefully you can find the DX yourself, many times being the first call they answer, or, if very rare having only a small pile up to contend with. By the time you see it on the cluster there is already a good size pile up (typically but not always).

    As far as DX for your region, remember your neighbor with a much better antenna system can hear stuff you may not anyway so I don't bother with trying to compare my location with another, additionally, it's good sometimes just to know a particular station is on the air, if you hear Europe working Bouvet Island you can pay a bit more attention so when propagation changes you'll be ready.

    Since you admit this is somewhat new for you here are a few tips.

    * DONT call the DX if you can't hear him at least well enough to know when he's calling you.

    * LISTEN CAREFULLY, many DX ops will only work complete calls e.g someone calling Delta Zulu, Delta Zulu, then again some do

    * Jump in an call no matter what other signal strenths may be, your hearing W5's at 40 over 9 at YOUR QTH but the DX may not hear them but could hear you.

    Think of the Clusters as more of a "heads up" bulletin, helpful for QSL info etc, don't use them as your sole source for finding DX.

    Good DX'ing

    Tim KA8DDZ
     
  5. KI8CO

    KI8CO XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    I really love them because I can just sit back and fool around and wait for something good to show up. Then I fire up my gigantic amp, zero
    in the monster beam and activate my endless loop
    IDer till the DX station has to work me or go QRT.
    Even if I can't hear the DX, it doesn't matter.
     
  6. KS4YT

    KS4YT Ham Member QRZ Page

    There are other sites that will have DX reported by people in your own area...you can probably find some of these sites by going to AC6V's page, which has a ton of links on it.

    I used to hear a lot of complaints about the international DX clusters that are so popular (like the one from Finland). I've found, however, that many times the spots would give me a sense for what was coming my way. I've also discovered that many stations you wouldn't think you'd hear might actually be audible from your location (an example: an Italian spotted Maldives at 4:30 AM local time for Alabama...and I could actually hear him without a huge stateside pileup to have to contend with...during the low of the sunspot cycle, by the way). I think the key here is to get a feeling for propagation. I'd also reiterate what someone else said...DON'T call the station being spotted unless you actually hear him/her.

    When I first started DXing I often found that I could find a new country merely be tuning around the bands, and often heard the DX long before it was spotted. Now that I'm past 320, however, I find that the cluster helps me hone in on those stations I need that I'll only get because of DXpeditions. This doesn't mean I only get on the radio for "new ones", but it sure does help me know how to maximize my time on the radio when a new one is on the air.
     
  7. Guest

    Guest Guest

    I disagree. The TITLE of the article is about DX websites. But if you read your own writing, you'll see that the words "I", "me", or "my" show up a LOT more often than any reference to the DX website.

    Speaking as a magazine editor, I would say that the actual topic of the article was "K2WH's impressions of DX in the era of websites". The DX Website was the third most important topic in the article.

    Bzzzt. You lose, due to inability to keep your own initial posting on the topic you intended.

    Hey, you're the one who posted the article with the ridiculous implication that you didn't even TRY to call the DX station barefoot. If it wasn't part of the focus of the article, why bring it up? Oh, you didn't know you were sidetracking us...oh, yes, I guess I could see that...

    You're funny, I like you.
     
  8. Guest

    Guest Guest

    How about a new one?

    Not complaining, I like em'. Like to see a new one is all

    ..73........Craig..........KC0GOA
     
  9. K8DD

    K8DD Ham Member

    DX Clusters .... 2M spotting nets .... DX bulletins .... Phone calls in the middle of the night .... All forms of "spotting" that have been around for a long time. In any event, someone had to put out the original spots .... someone had to be on the bands listening. The fish are in the barrel for you to shoot (grab the spot) or you can "cast" and find your own fish. Something for everyone. Great hobby, isn't it!?!!? Hank K8DD k8dd@arrl.net
     
  10. K2VDH

    K2VDH Ham Member QRZ Page

    These clusters take the good fun out of DX ing
    everyone knows where the DX is WHY the enjoyment
    is to just look for DX thats all I do!
    I have worked some rare DX this way also!
    Throw the clusters away!
    Clusters are unfair method of getting DXCC
     
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