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 Previous: Survey Seeks Input on Novice/Tech Plus HF Spectrum |  Next: FCC Amateur Radio Enforcement Letters for Period Ending June 17, 2001 |
By Rod Vlach, NN0TT
June 27, 2001
Earning DXCC requires skill, attention to details, and lots of patience. Paying close attention to the details hidden in your own logs could help you earn that certificate sooner than expected.
Some of the DX prefixes that I learned as a teenager--such as KZ5, Panama Canal Zone--no longer exist. Today, The ARRL DXCC List contains more than 300 prefixes. It's not likely that most hams have memorized them all. I had a lot of learning and re-learning to do following my 27-year hiatus--1971 to 1998--from Amateur Radio.
I always have The ARRL DXCC List of entities and its "Allocation of International Call Signs" table close by. But even these do not always tell the whole story. The latter combines the prefixes of a country and its possessions under the country only. For instance, Guam, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Alaska are not listed separately. All are listed under United States only. That's why The ARRL DXCC List is so important.
 The ARRL DXCC List is |
Many possessions are listed individually, but even that list is not foolproof. I worked two somewhat rare DX stations and didn't even realize it--R1AND, Russian Antarctic Expedition, and HF0POL, South Shetland Islands. At the time, I glanced at the International Call Sign prefix list, and saw that HF was a prefix for Poland. I assumed I had worked another Poland station, which is quite common. And R1AND was just another European Russian operator--or so I thought!
But one day, glancing at Antarctica on my ARRL Radio Map of The World, I noticed that R1AN is one of the prefixes for Antarctica! This made me realize that perhaps there was other unrealized DX lurking in my log.
I now have QSLs from these two stations, and one of them was part of my initial DXCC application. The R1AN prefix was not listed on the DXCC List, and HF0 was listed below other South Shetland Island prefixes, so I didn't spot it. Since then, I have been keeping close tabs on my DX prefixes.
 QSL card from HF0POL, King George Island, South Shetland Islands. [Courtesy of WW7Q] |
There are other ways you can overlook a new entity. Of course, all DX entities have a main designator prefix, such as W, K or N for the US. But several countries issue other, less-common secondary prefixes. For example, Chile's principal prefix is CE, but its secondary prefix is XQ-XR. A DXpedition sometimes may use a secondary prefix, such as Chile's Easter Island. The main prefix for Easter Island is CE0, but the prefix could also be XQ0. Again, what might appear to be another Chilean station can actually be a semi-rare DX island. A quick check of the international prefix list at least will tell you which nation is represented, if a station is using a secondary prefix.
The number or letter following the prefix sometimes--but not always--will tell you which island is being represented. For instance VK9W, Australia's Willis Island, also could be AX9W. But sometimes a prefix like FO designates several islands--Clipperton, Austral, Marquesas, or French Polynesia. In that case you must obtain the location from the operator--or check for a listing in one of the DX newsletters or on the Web. Packet spots can be another source of information--but be careful! Incorrect or garbled information in DX spots is commonplace. For best results, make sure you copy the call sign correctly yourself.
While we're on this topic: Most of us have had trouble copying a call sign at one time or another, for the usual reasons associated with ham radio--QRM and QRN. A while back, I wasn't sure if I had copied all of a DX station's call sign correctly. Even though I had made a QSO in the pileup, I couldn't be sure of the call sign before the operator signed off. I did see the call sign I'd copied posted later on a Web site. This is one way the Internet can a big help.
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You should keep up with the latest DXCC information. Check for new DXCC entities that you may not be aware of. For example, Chesterfield Island was added to the list in 2000. It is listed as prefix FK (under the control of New Caledonia) on the DXCC List, but the first major DXpedition from Chesterfield in 2000 used the French secondary prefix of TX, not FK.
When Austral and Marquesas islands (FO) became separate DXCC entities, French Polynesia retained its own status. I didn't know that at the time. I checked and discovered that I already had a French Polynesia QSO in the log. An e-mail from an overseas QSL manager confirmed that I was also in the log of a Vietnamese operator! On the latter contact, I wasn't sure if he had copied me, as QRM was terrible. I used e-mail to confirm contact before going to the expense of an airmail QSL and "green stamp."
Along with some good QSO memories, reviewing your logs may reveal you already worked a DX that you thought you still needed for DXCC, an endorsement, or some other award. I discovered at least four new ones. Some night when the bands are mostly dead, start looking through your logs--and don't forget those contest logs. You might be pleasantly surprised to discover that you already worked another DX entity or two and didn't know it.
Editor's note: Rod Vlach, NN0TT, lives in Willmar, Minnesota. He holds DXCC, DXCC Y2K, WAC, WAS, and WAZ--all on CW. He earned his Extra class license in 1998 and obtained a vanity call sign this year. Readers may contact him at nn0tt@arrl.net .
| Previous: Survey Seeks Input on Novice/Tech Plus HF Spectrum | Next: FCC Amateur Radio Enforcement Letters for Period Ending June 17, 2001 |
