Category Archives: DX

DXing is a ham radio activity focused on making two way contacts with distant stations. In my early years as a ham I felt like I was working DX when I worked a distant state such as Nevada, California or Alaska. Now days my DXing is focused on working hams in distant countries or in very remote locations. The majority of my DXing is done in the CW mode because I find it easier to get through the pile-ups in Morse Code.

A Little Snow and a Little Contesting

Posted on by March 2, 2014
More Snow at Our Farm

More Snow at Our Farm

We caught a bit of a break this weekend with the weather.  Instead getting the 5 to 8 inches of snow the National Weather Service predicted, we only received about 2 inches.    Never-the-less the ground is now white again and the temperatures are dropping toward single digits!

I used the snow as an excuse to spend a few hours working DX during the ARRL SSB DX contest.  The propagation was very good on 10m and 15m with both bands staying open late into the night. The contest was a good opportunity to become more proficient operating the KX3 and KXPA100. I got a lot of practice selecting the correct DSP settings for the crowded band conditions.

The KX3’s receiver continues to amaze me in how it is able to pull week stations out from between much stronger stations.  The DSP and flexible passband settings can literally pop stations out of the garble.

Here is a summary of my part time effort.

Band QSOs Points Countries
20m 28 144 27
15m 114 342 45
10m 157 471 53
Total 319 957 125
Score 119,625
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Want to Work More DX ?

Posted on by February 4, 2014
Complete DX'er by Bob Locher, W9KNI

Complete DX’er by Bob Locher, W9KNI

 

If you haven’t read Bob Locher’s “The Complete DX’er”  I highly recommend you read it if want to improve your success working DX.  Like many hams my ham radio activities were put on hold for many years because of career and family.  After I retired in 2008 I decided to setup my thirty old transceiver, a Kenwood TS-520 and see if ham radio was as exciting as it had been when I first got my license.  With a lot of help from my wife, we were able to string a 40/20/15 trapped dipole between two of our large yellow poplar trees.  Then, after spending some time re-learning how to tune the TS-520 I was on the air again.

At first I spent a lot of time tuning around the bands and making SSB contacts with hams around the US.  I decided it might be fun to try working the ARRL Sweepstakes like I had done as a Novice.  Since my CW skills had deteriorated over the years I figured I would start with the SSB Sweepstakes.  Working lots of stations in the sweepstakes was a real thrill.  I didn’t get a clean sweep by a long shot but I managed to work nearly as many states that weekend than I had during all of my years as a ham.

After working Sweepstakes I was hooked and wanted to try participating in the upcoming ARRL DX Contest. During the ARRL SSB DX Contest I was able to work over 40 DXCC entities; including Iceland and the Galapagos Islands.  For me,  working DX stations was a real thrill.  I decided it was time to upgrade my station and my skills.  My first purchase was Bob Locher’s The Complete DX’er.

In this book, Bob passes on his years of experience chasing DX by letting you sit in the shack with him as he works DX.  In each chapter he demonstrates specific skills that help him nab the rare ones with his Elecraft K2-10 and Skyhawk beam.  One of the key skills he teaches in this book is the importance of slowly tuning the band listening for DX stations.  He emphasizes how important it is to work the DX before they are spotted on the DX Clusters because they are much easier to work before the rest of the competition arrives; especially with a modest station.  He also explains the dynamics of a pile-up and how to increase your success rate by spending most of your time listening instead of just throwing your call into the pool with all of the other stations.  The pile up techniques Bob teaches have helped me work a lot of DX running QRP while the kilowatt stations were still beating each other up in the pileup.  It is amazing how often you can get the DX station on one or two calls if you call him just above the frequency he was listening on during his previous QSO.  This technique doesn’t always work, but it sure is thrilling when it does–which is quite often.

Even if your not a aspiring DX’er I think you will still enjoy reading Bob’s book, but if you are interested in working more DX, The Complete DX’er  will help you develop the skills to work more DX..  I find myself going back and re-reading portions of the book because even as my skills have improved I still pick up new things with each reading.

73,

Fred, KC9QQ

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DX Code of Conduct

Posted on by February 4, 2014

As I listen to some of the high profile Dx-peditions I amazed by the bad behavior that I hear in the pile-ups.  I know that all of us have probably called on a DX frequency once or twice because we hit the wrong button on our transceiver or did not know the station was working split but what I’ve heard in the past two to three years goes well beyond the common errors of inexperienced DXers.  Some of the things I’ve heard include:

  1. Deliberate jamming of the DX stations frequency
  2. Calling CQ on the DX stations frequency
  3. Sending their call sign continuously in the pile-up
  4. Continuing to send their call sign while the DX station is working another station, and of course our favorite
  5. The policemen sending UP, UP, LID, LID and sometimes even answering the caller as if they are the DX station all while the DX station is trying work stations.

I’m sure most of you could add to this list.

I know in every large group their are probably going to be a few bad apples which even a code of conduct will not cure.  However, for the rest of us the DX Code of Conduct provides a list of “good” operating practices which will not only improve our DXing success but will make it much more enjoyable working DX.

73,

Fred, KC9QQ

DX Code Of Conduct

DXCode_Logo_small

  • I will listen, and listen, and then listen again before calling.
  • I will only call if I can copy the DX station properly.
  • I will not trust the DX cluster and will be sure of the DX station’s call sign before calling.
  • I will not interfere with the DX station nor anyone calling and will never tune up on the DX frequency or in the QSX slot.
  • I will wait for the DX station to end a contact before I call.
  • I will always send my full call sign.
  • I will call and then listen for a reasonable interval. I will not call continuously.
  • I will not transmit when the DX operator calls another call sign, not mine.
  • I will not transmit when the DX operator queries a call sign not like mine.
  • I will not transmit when the DX station requests geographic areas other than mine.
  • When the DX operator calls me, I will not repeat my call sign unless I think he has copied it incorrectly.
  • I will be thankful if and when I do make a contact.
  • I will respect my fellow hams and conduct myself so as to earn their respect.
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FT5ZM On the Air

Posted on by February 4, 2014
FT5ZM Amsterdam Island

FT5ZM Amsterdam Island

Well one of the most wanted DXCC entities is finally on the air.  After over a week of travel the team started operations today and the pile-ups were astounding.  I tried for nearly an hour to work them on 20 meters with no success.  The pile-up was nearly 15kHz wide.  One interesting thing I did was to hook up the I/Q output of the KX3 and feed it into CW Skimmer.  Within less than 5 minutes CW Skimmer had captured over 160 call signs.  Even with CW Skimmer running it was still difficult to pick the right spot to call.  I finally decided to try another time.

This evening I saw they were operating on 17m.  I went up to the shack and heard them loud and clear.  There was still a significant pile-up, but it was only about 5 kHz wide.  After about 20 minutes of tuning the pile-up I found a pattern in their operation.  After about 5 tries I finally heard my call sign and a signal report.  It was pretty exciting to work another All Time New One.

Hopefully over the next several days I will be able to work them on some other bands.  Their website is:  http://www.amsterdamdx.org/

DXCode_Logo_small

Feel free to join the pile-up.  Just be sure to follow the DX Code of Conduct and the pile-up will be fun for all.

 

 

73,

Fred, KC9QQ

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I Finally worked Vietnam

Posted on by February 4, 2014
3W1T QSL Card

3W1T QSL Card

I have been trying for the past several months to work Vietnam.  For some reason it has been alluding me.  The signal strength of the Vietnamese stations I have heard have typically been barely  above the noise level.  Yesterday, I saw that someone had worked 3W1T on long-path on 10 meters.  I tuned to his frequency and rotated my 8 element log period to the South and was amazed to hear 3W1T’s S9 signal.  I tuned across the pile up until I found the station he was currently working.  Fortunately, he was having great difficulty getting the correct call of the station so they went back and fourth several times before they completed the QSO.  I tuned about 500 Hz above that stations transmit frequency and gave a call after 3W1T thanked the other station.

He picked me up on the first try, but we also went back and forth a couple of times before he got my call correct.   What a nice feeling to hear your call from a rare (to me) DX station!  The next step will be to get a card.  Hopefully, this will be pretty straight forward since he has a QSL Manager.

Now it is on to the next ATNO (All Time New One).  The one advantage of not having worked the entire DXCC list is that I still have 60 or so DXCC entities to still work.  I am not a rabid DXer, but I do enjoy working new entities as they come along.

73,

Fred, KC9QQ

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Easter Island

Posted on by February 4, 2014
Easter Island Heads

Easter Island Heads

It was pretty exciting being able to work Easter Island.  There is currently a DXpedition operating CW only from the island.  I am not sure how rare of DXCC entity Easter Island is, but it is exotic.  When I think of exotic places, Easter Island is near the top of my list.

I hope everyones gets the opportunity to bag this one.  The British operators are doing a fantastic job controlling the pileup.

73,

Fred

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Evening in Shack

Posted on by February 4, 2014

I spent the evening in the shack catching up on QSLing.  I had a stack of cards I have received that needed to be marked as confirmed in my logbook.  I also have a large stack of bureau cards that I also need to mark as confirmed in DXLab.  However the bureau cards take a quit a bit longer because many of them are requesting return cards which need to be queued and processed using Global QSL.  The process involves preparing an ADIF file which I upload to Global QSL.  After asking a few questions the cards are printed and sent to the appropriate bureau.  I generally do not use the bureau when I really need a return card.  Many DX stations and QSL managers do not respond to bureau cards.  I always verify the QSL route through QRZ.com or the DX news letters before I send a card.  My return rate on bureau cards is probably less than 20%.  My QSL rate with LoTW is over 40%.  My return rate on direct QSLs with SAE and green stands is well over 80% so far.  OQRS seems to be the best way to QSL if your willing to invest the $2-4 for the card.  Of course that is a reasonable cost when compared to the cost of a QSL I mail via international air mail with $2 of green stamps.  I have had a 100% return rate on OQRS cards thus far.  While i worked on the QSLs I listened to the bands and worked a little DX.

The next thing I did was start the process of upgrading the hard drive in my shack computer to a Solid State Drive.  I installed the new drive but I put off the cloning of my C drive to the new drive until tomorrow since I wanted to clean up my C drive and defrag it before cloning the data to the new SSD.  The SSD should significantly boost the responsiveness of my computer; especially when running N1MM.  I’ll report on the improvement once I complete the upgrade.

73,

Fred

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Club Log

Posted on by February 4, 2014

I don’t know how many of you use Club Log, http://www.clublog.org , but I would recommend it to those of you that like to chase DX.  I used to only use Club Log to check the logs of current and past DXpediitons for my call, but recently I have setup my own account and had DXLab upload my QSO data  to Club Log.  This provides a significant advantage when you are wanting to QSL any DXpeditions that are uploading to Club Log.  First of all, with a couple of clicks you can check the logs of all of the listed Dxpeditions for your call.

Once you have determined that you are in their log, many of them allow you to use OQRS (Online QSL Request Service) to request a QSL card.  If you chose to use OQRS, Club Log will automatically insert the QSO details uploaded from your log into the OQRS request form.  The only thing you have to do to request a card is to decide whether you want to pay a nominal fee via PayPal for a direct card or request that the card be sent via the Bureau.  Since I am still chasing a lot of new ones and a bit impatient I usually opt for direct QSL.  I have gotten very quick returns on most of the OQRS cards I have requested.

Club Log also allows other hams to verify that they are in your log before they send you a card. Club Log will not provide them the details of the contact in order to protect the integrity of the system, but it will let them know that you logged them on a specific band so they know they are  good in your log before going to the expense of sending a card.  Of course I also use LoTW to confirm many contacts.  I have greater than a 40% confirmation rate with LoTW.  However, to me it is still a thrill to receive a QSL card in the mail, even if it is not DX.

I also added a ClubLog tab on the website that displays my last 10 contacts.  The output also show my current DXCC count so you can see that I am far behind many of you in working DX.  Of course it is not so bad to be so far behind because it means I have lots of opportunities to work new DXCC entities :-).

73,

Fred, KC9QQ

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Logging Software

Posted on by February 4, 2014

Over the past 5 years I have tried several Windows based logging programs.  I have installed and worked with each of the following logging programs:

  1. AC Log  http://www.n3fjp.com/
  2. Logic 8  http://www.hosenose.com
  3. Ham Radio Deluxe  http://www.hrdsoftwarellc.com
  4. DXLab   http://www.dxlabsuite.com

In addition to these general purpose logging programs, I also use N1MM for contest operation.

After extensively working with each of these programs I found there is not a perfect logging program.  However, all of these programs can easily handle station logging.  In the end, it boils down to your operating style and personal preferences as to which of these or one the dozens of other logging programs is the right one for you.

Some have visually nice user interfaces such as Ham Radio Deluxe.  Ham Radio Deluxe also has a wonderful digital mode program, DM780.  Others are very easy to use such as AC Log.  Logic 8 and DXLab are more complicated because they provide a tool chest of applications which cater to the DXer; especially those chasing new countries and relying on LoTW, eQSL, traditional QSLs and OQRS for confirmations.  Ultimately, I adopted DXLab as my primary station log.  I continue to use N1MM as my contest log.

DXLab has enabled me to take control of my QSLing because it does and excellent job keeping track of all confirmations and automating much of the process of generating QSL cards for needed DXCC entities.  DXLab can also track confirmations for several other awards.  DXLab also has a very active Yahoo support group.  Anytime I have had a question or problem, I have gotten the solution within hours from the Yahoo group–often from Dave the programs author.    The other amazing thing is that DXLab is free.

DXLab is actually a suite of programs that function in unison to seamlessly handle logging, spotting, rig control, DXCC data lookup and call sign lookup from CD,  QRZ.com , HamCall etc.  You can select which pieces you want to run for any given operating session.  For example, if you do not need spotting when your doing your morning ragchew, you do not need to start that module.  In the afternoon or evening when you decide to chase some DX, just fire it up and it begins to show you the last spots.  Spotcollector will also color highlight those entities needed for award submittals. Double click on a spot and Commander will tune your radio to the right frequency, set the initial split offset and switch to the proper mode.  Also, DXView (if you have it running) will look up the station, provide the beam location and a wealth of other useful information.  It is really impressive how the various modules work together to provide seamless logging solution.

The digital mode program Winwarbler is OK, but I still prefer DM780 for PSK-31 operation.  That is not a problem, because DXLab has hooks that allow Winwarbler to be replaced with DM780 using a simple plugin that integrates it into the DXLab system (pretty slick).

My one complaint about DXLab is that it does take a lot of screen real estate.  I solved that problem by moving to a larger monitor.   DXLab can also work with two monitors, by allowing you to place some of the less used windows on one monitor while the windows you use the most are kept on the main monitor.  I am considering adding a second monitor, because it would be nice to have a second monitor when using N1MM during contests.

During contests, I still do my logging in N1MM because it is absolutely fantastic for contest work.  After the contest is over I export an ADIF file  which I easily import into DXLab.  Recently, a plugin was released which provides a realtime interface between DXLab and N1MM so that the export/import process can be avoided.  However, my personal feeling is that N1MM is enough of a resource hog during a contest that I would prefer not to have DXLab running in the background.  However, I admit I have not tried it so I don’t know if would be a problem.

If your considering moving to a new logging program be sure to spend some time with DXLab.  If you do, I think you’ll like what you see.

Fred, KC9QQ

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Good day for hamming

Posted on by February 4, 2014
Winter View of Tower

Winter View of Tower

It’s a cold windy day in Southern Indiana.  At least it is not snowing.  The temperatures are supposed to drop to near zero tonight.  Hopefully, it won’t drop below zero!

My wife and I have to do some running around this morning, but plan to spend the rest of the day inside close to our wood burning stove.  I also plan to spend some time in the ham shack catching up on QSLing and working a little DX.  I briefly checked out the conditions on the bands this morning and the bands were a little noisy, but I was able to work an HZ1 (Saudi Arabia) on 15 meters. Hopefully the bands will still be in good condition this afternoon when I make it back to the shack.

Fred

 

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