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 Previous: Air Force Adds More Repeaters to California PAVE PAWS Problem List |  Next: The K7RA Solar Update |
By Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU
Contributing Editor
January 24, 2008
This week, visit Web sites to discover what is on the bands that is worth pursuing.
My first job after obtaining my higher education was in the Communications Department at ARRL headquarters. Going in, I was a VHF-UHF guy, messing around with FM repeaters and occasionally chasing DX and working contests on 144 MHz.
HF DXers populated the Communications Department staff and included W1YL, W3AZD, K1KI, K1XA, W1XX, and the late K1WJ. They influenced me to start chasing DX on the low bands.
Working in the Communications Department at ARRL Headquarters gave me an advantage because the DXCC Branch was part of that department and it always had the latest and greatest news regarding DX. It always was among the first to know when who was going to be on from where.
The information came in many forms: phone calls, letters and even over the air, but my favorite source of DX information was the various DX newsletters that showed up in the DXCC in-box. I would pore over each new arrival and hone new strategies on how to work what was up and coming rare country-wise.
Back then, there were also a handful of FM repeaters dedicated to announcing DX spots in real time, enabling listeners to pounce on DX as it showed up on the air. I wish to thank the folks at the Long Island DX Association (LIDXA), whose 2 meter repeater provided the means for me to work some rare -- and not so rare ones -- way back when.
Times changed. When packet radio took off, the international packet radio network was a natural conduit for DX alerts. Similar to the real-time alerts that I monitored over the LIDXA repeater, the packet alerts had the advantage of using the packet network and thus, were disseminated further than any 2 meter voice repeater could be heard. The packet cluster software refined the system and attracted a vast audience. That extended audience fed more information back into the system, making the disseminated data even more comprehensive.
Times changed again and the Internet begat Web sites that provided the same function as the old voice repeaters and the packet cluster network. The big difference was that you did not need a voice or packet repeater to receive the DX data; instead, you could receive it on the computer sitting next to the HF transceiver in your radio shack.
The bands may be dead, but here is a sample of what you can find on the Internet to find today’s DX:
• Recent Spots appear on the home page of DX-Central DotCom.
• The home page of DX Summit has links to its selection of “DX-Spots,” such as the last 250 spots, HF/Phone spots, the last 50 VHF spots and so on.
• Announced DX Operations page of the NG3K Amateur Radio Contest/DX Page.
Online DX bulletins include the W1AW ARRL DX Bulletins, the OPDX (Ohio-Penn DX) Bulletin and the 425 DX News Bulletin.
Until next time, good DX -- and keep on surfin’ safely!
Editor’s note: Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU, used to work DX from W1AW during his lunch hours at ARRL headquarters. To communicate with Stan, send him e-mail or add comments to his blog. By the way, every installment of Surfin' is indexed here, so go look it up.
| Previous: Air Force Adds More Repeaters to California PAVE PAWS Problem List | Next: The K7RA Solar Update |
