What are the words of the real pro of DX'ing?... There you are some:
What is DX'ing?
"Working DX- literally, communicating with distant stations- appeals to nearly every ham sooner or later.
It starts innocently enough: You answer the CQ of a foreign station and marvel that your signal
has travelled so far. Suddenly you realize that the entire world is at your fingertips. You may continue
to work domestic and foreign hams with equanimity, taking your DX casually when it comes along.
Or you may find you're seeking out only foreign stations, particularly from countries you
haven't worked yet."Jim Kearman, KR1S. "The DXCC Companion"
DX versus rare DX
"There is DX an there is rare DX. What's rare? Rare countries don't have active ham
populations. They may be very near or very far, but activity is the determining factor, not distance.
Of course, distant DX operators may be harder to work, but if they're active, sooner or later
the determined DXer gets trough. The religious enclave of Mt Athos would be easy to work
from anywhere in the United States if any active radio amateurs lived there!"
Jim Kearman, KR1S. "The DXCC Companion"
First...listening
"If your primary interest in DX'ing lies in reaching the DXCC Honor Roll, the first and most
important skill you must have or must learn is how to listen. No other skill is so important for
the DX'er....Two amateurs can sit down, side by side, at two identical receivers, using
identical antennas listening to the same band. The experienced and skilled listener will
unheart country after country as he tunes across the band, digging rare ones out, exploring,
probing; while the casual listener sitting at his side will, spending the same amount of time
and with the same objective, hear little or nothing of what's really going on."
Bob Locher, W9KNI. "The Complete DX'er"
20 Meters - The Queen of the DX bands
There is a lot of DX to be worked on any of the HF bands; 20-meter capability is not necessary
to achieve a high country total, but it surely helps! No matter what point in the sunspot cycle,
there is DX to be worked on 20 at some hour every day, with only an occasional lapse
of a day or so courtesy of massive solar storms. Twenty meters is the DX crossroads of the
Amateur Radio World. At the high point of the solar cycle, 20 is often open around the world around
the clock- the DXer's ultimate dream. And at the bottom of the cycle, especially in the summer
months, 20 is often the only band where everyone has a real chance of working DX. If
there is going to be a path open to a remote DX spot that is to be workable during difficult
conditions, 20 meters will almost always be the band that opens the path"
Bob Locher, W9KNI. "The ARRL Operating Manual - Chap.5"
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