I need to keep up - Dipole back in air

Seriously ... over 2 years?  I do need to move this over to WordPress but even so .. two?  Maybe it will be better after graduation. 

Anyway, a year ago, the local utility was replacing poles on the property and inadvertently snagged the Spi-Ro D-52 40-80 trap dipole. So for the last year, I've been relegated to 10/12/17/30 m.  With the help of spouse, I've fixed the two breaks and hauled it back into the air.  Just in time for the ARRL November Sweepstakes.  And, I've even made a few QSOs.  Dips in the SWR are not as they were before (I need to find the old ones), but looks to be usable at the low end on 40 and 20 at least.

I see that my country totals are way off, too.  191/177?  More like 201/187.  Guess I should be sending out some cards, too, to get that 200 sticker.

Where was I?

Boy, I've sure let this go!  Let's see, since my last update I did complete 50-MHz VUCC with all credits via Logbook of the World.  And I did receive my 150 sticker for Mixed and my RTTY (not Data!) and 20-m DXCC certificates.  Been in something of a lull since then, though.  I'm qualified for 40-m WAS, but I'm going to wait until I have all I need for 5BWAS.  I'm only 15 states short of Triple Play, too, all on CW of course. 

How long before the next update? 

More on the paper chase

Here it is, six months later.  I've decided that my DXCC cycle will be to submit "sometime after Field Day" each year, meaning July.  That avoids the rush at HQ that happens at the end of the calendar year when everyone is trying to get the highest number possible for their listing in the DXCC Yearbook.

So, for me, none of that this year.  I'm up to 164 Mixed (so I'll get the 150 sticker) and I've also got more than enough for the 20-m DXCC and the RTTY DXCC.  Looks like I'll need to come up with two more frames that will fit 11.5 x 14 certificates. 

I've also got enough grids confirmed on 6m for VUCC, though only 96 of them are via LOTW.  I may do the separate applications thing (no hybrids for VUCC) since I do have the cards and need to visit the card checker for my DXCC application anyway (he's also a VHF Awards Manager).  Or I may wait to see if 4 more come in via LOTW.

Decision made

Didn't submit. I was waiting to see if I would get a few more confirmations before the year-end so I'd have some real reason to submit a DXCC application and get into the Yearbook.

Well, come New Year's Eve, I was only at 148 so I elected to put off the application. Soon enough, I'll have 150 (or more) confirmations and I'll also have qualified for 20-m and RTTY DXCC (I've got over 90 confirmed for both) so I'll save my money and submit later.

At least I managed to work a few New Ones, H40 and V5, the latter one already confirmed (giving me 149).

Pins, Needles

Well, maybe not that bad. I am sitting at 146 countries confirmed. At 150 confirmed, I can get an endorsement sticker for my Mixed DXCC award. Whee! :-)

So why pins and needles? Well, to be listed in next year's DXCC Yearbook, you have to make your DXCC application before the end of the current year. If you look at the calendar, you can see that I have about 15 days to do that.

Last year, I waited until the last minute and did a "hybrid" application. That's where you do the application online, submit Logbook of the World credits, then print some stuff and take it, with the cards you have, to your local DXCC Card Checker (dorky name - used to be "DXCC Field Representative"). It's actually easier than the paper application and lets you wait all the way to the last minute (paper-only applications have to be in Newington by 12/31, AFAIK).

Anyway, this year, I'm four cards short. The question is, do I wait until after the new year so I can get to 150 or do I wait to see if I get the 150 before the 31st (practically speaking, the 29th or 30th) so that I can get into the Yearbook?

You might say, "well, do one now, then do another later!" Here's the thing. Your first DXCC application in a calendar year is $12 but the second one is $22. So it would be an extra $10 to get in the Yearbook and not have to wait until next year for my sticker.

Decisions, decisions.

Right now, I'm just waiting. I sent a donation to the ZL8X folks by PayPal, so I expect that credit to show up any day, and I expect a bunch more via the BURO, which a little birdy told me will do another mailing to my sorter this week.

One thing is certain - I won't get to 100 on either RTTY or 20m. I'm in the 90s on both but won't make it to 100 by the end of the year.

Sigh.

More DX

It's been a good run, of late. I don't know if it's the few recent spots on Sol, or what, but I'm up to 145 as of this morning. Latest was OX on RTTY (#95 on RTTY). Got 9M6 the other night on "CW".

Last weekend, during the CQ WW SSB contest, I got KHØ, ZK2, and HBØ. I'm not entirely certain if the KHØ or the HBØ got my call correct, but I know the ZK2 did because he has an online log. Cool!

Before that, I got 4U1UN, UN Headquarters in NYC, which counts as a separate entity for DXCC purposes.

Don't know why it happened, but 13 new ones in October is pretty darn good. Hope November is as productive!

"I'm your host, Joe DX"

The tally box up there on the left now says 137 138. I've had a good run of late: GU, 3D2/f, FO/a, KH4, and FO/m. And VK on 'phone. Much of it is just happenstance. I use the DXLab Suite and the Spot Collector application works FB.

One evening, while filling out QSLs, I saw a VK7 (Australian state of Tasmania) spotted on 17 m 'phone at about 2100 local. I figured that this was a spot from a station outside of the middle part of the country -- Spot Collector lets you specify the origin of the spots that are displayed -- and that there was little chance of hearing him. Ha. Clicked to his freq and there he was, S9! It was midday in Tasmania and the op was working a little DX on his lunch break. Managed to actually break the pile-up, which made me happy. I've already confirmed him on LoTW for #99 on 'phone.

Well, make that 138. Just worked LA on the 17-m band. Thought I already had Norway, but no.

The others I got while looking for the KH4 DXpedition. I've been playing with the keyer memories in the IC746Pro again and worked the FO/m on "CW". As with K5D, I used UA9OV's CwGet to "help" with copying the code ... you know, since it was so fast and all. I worked K4M the same way. Actually, the K4M op was really cooking - about 40 wpm, I would estimate.

Now I just need to confirm them all. Don't have enough (and won't confirm enough) to get the 150-country sticker for my Mixed DXCC, but should be able to get Phone and 15 m this year.

Desecheo

The KP5 folks have been on the air for over a week. I hate to complain about DXpedition operations, but man, these guys have been hard to work. I finally got them on 17 SSB last Wednesday morning. Worked them again yesterday on 15 RTTY and last night on 80 SSB. But man, they're never strong. Well, they were pretty strong on 30 CW today, but they couldn't hear me (I was cheating with CwGet and the memories in the 746 :-).

VP6DX and TX5C were easy to work by comparison and Ducie, at least, is much further away. Lack of sunspots isn't helping, of course, but that should mean they'd be loud at night on 40 and 80. Well, not really. ZF2AM was loud on 3794 kHz the other night ... S9+10dB loud. And the Caymans aren't that much closer than Puerto Rico.

Anyway, I got them on 2 modes and three bands. They're there for several more days so we'll see if I can get them on CW.

Or rather if my machines can get them on CW.

#126

Been a dearth of new one lately, for me at least. Home today in honor of the Reverend Dr Martin Luther King, Jr's, birthday and worked H4 on 17m for #126. Doesn't appear to be a LoTW participant, so will need to send a card.

Got my D4 card today ... Unfortunately, I got the LoTW credit a few weeks back, so the $2 for the card could have gone somewhere else. Ah, well. Didn't know that at the time.

Also, I'm up to 77 (of 150) on the Triple Play award and 189 (of 250) for 5BWAS.

Card Checking

Dropping off my cards at the DXCC Card Checker's house Saturday. He checks the cards to make sure that I have what I say I have on the submission paperwork and then sends in my application. This saves me the trouble of sending 100+ cards off to Newington and paying for postage both ways.

The logging software I use, DXLab's DXKeeper, keeps track of all my QSOs, obviously, but it also tracks awards. I tell it what my DXing objectives are, then tell it to create my DXCC submission.

I did that and it came up with 166 QSOs that I can submit for DXCC credit. I'll end up with 100 entities, which will get me the Mixed award, with the rest going towards the various mode and band awards.

I'm doing my inital submission with cards, no LoTW credits. Once I get my initial certificate, I'll do another electronic submission of the other credits. Actually, I'll probably wait until I have enough credits for another award (say, 15 m).

Only took 15 years. :-)

Awards

Seems like the local club is a bit thin on DXCC members. By my count, only four, two of whom are at the top of the Honor Roll. I know that there are two others with cards ready to check, me being one of them. Still, 6 out of nearly 100 members doesn't seem like enough.

I wonder how many have WAS or WAC? The ARRL (and IARU) don't have an online list of folks who hold those, so I can't tell. Need to do a survey of the club, I guess.

I keep threatening to do some kind of QSL/BURO/Awards presentation. Maybe my goal should be to get as many people working on awards as I can.

WAC is easy - 6 QSOs and you're done. EA8 and CT3 count for AF (which is a continent!). KH6 counts for OC. NA, SA, and EU are a dime a dozen. The tough one, at this point in the cycle, is AS, though I've heard bunches of JAs on 20, 17 and 15 lately.