Saturday, April 22, 2023

Good DX

CQ DE N6V



(W7BRS operating the N6V special event station at the International DX Convention in Visalia, CA 2023)



(Antenna tower with 20 meter hex-beam)

Initial Observations


From what I can tell, the International DX Convention in Visalia is a big deal. But, you wouldn't know it by the size of the crowd.  It is not a large crowd -- a few hundred attended.   

I had not ever been among so many well experienced and notable amateur radio DX'ers and DX'p.
The experience at the Convention has exceeded my expectation.  It has been so far one of the most interesting and exciting things I've done with amateur radio.

For example, I had a great conversation with Mark K6UFO, a DX'er who has worked them all.  And Oliver W6NV who used to live on St. Helena Island.







The Highlights

I was able to have the opportunity to listen to a talk from Tom ND2T. His talk was simply titled "So, you want to go on a DX'pedition?"    It was a message delivered for about an hour that dove into the main point that there are two roles -- the leader and the follower.   To be part of a team (being the follower) means just that -- Followership.

That was a session that really made the trip to Visalia worth it.

Another presentation given was from Robert N7QT went over the good and the bad things that happened on Palau T88WA.    The tale that Robert told was quite frank about the benefits of preparation confronting the reality of there are events always out of your control.   Weather, politics, and the under-table machinery with local officials.

Near the end of the first day of the convention Friday April 21st my energy level was draining but there was more on the schedule.  A "Attitude Re-adjustment" (which is essentially a cocktail party) was held on the courtyard.  I almost didn't attend but as I walked through the hall, I noticed a person who fit the description of a DX'er who I had followed for years, Bob Schmieder KK6EK.  I had first contacted Bob by email to inquire his advice about a DX'p that I wanted to plan.  That was in 2011.   I've since had to shelve the plan for reasons, but his book (DX Aku) embraced a philosophical discourse on DX'ing.  I was able to meet the man and that was indeed a treat.

Last example was meeting Mark K6UFO.   He walked to me during the day and made a comment about a question that I asked in a session with Tom ND2T.   The question I asked had to do with the reality that if "so you want to go on a DX'p" what about the metric of Time.  Time to do that is the tent-pole.  Money, skill, etc.. -- those can be mitigated.  But Time cannot really be mitigated.   Mark and I shared a drink in the Courtyard and he and I shared "eye-ball" QSO cards.    Later, we were joined by his friend Oliver W6NV and by happy cooincidence Mark suggested we head out for dinner near the Convention.

So we did.  We were joined by another pair of hams and we had dinner at a resturant that pretended to offer Greek food.  (We won't go there).

Anyway -- what this means.   Turn left or right and the outcome is whether or not you meet an expert in DX'ing, or whether you bump into some new friends who take you out to dinner and share their knowledge of DX.   I cannot express just how special that was.    It was also remarkable in learning after the fact that Mark was a DXCC Honor Roll #1.  Number 1.   And, and he has a great sense of humor.

On Saturday morning I visited the Event Station (N6V) and sat at the K4 HD radio on the table.  It is connected to a hex-beam antenna for 20 meters.  I was allowed to work the radio and make CQ calls for the special event station call.  I logged about a dozen or so contacts and some DX too (VE and XE).

The few minutes of working the tiny pile up was fun, and reminded me of the adrenelin rush of contesting.  But the cliche of working the pile-up of stations had a new sense of fun -- it was happing at the DX Convention.

I don't know if you (reading this) are at all interested in DX'ing or going to DX Conventions, but the experience of being in Visalia for the IDXC has changed my thinking about DX -- the things I've learned so far, people I've met, and the wrong-assumptions cast aside because of the perspectives I've picked up has made the trip exceed all my expectations.




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