Learn more about DX
What is a DX
The radio communication from its beginnings, launched as a major challenge, the gradual increase in distances of communications, both in the amateur area and in the area of professional activity, always aiming to achieve greater distances with maximum possible economic rationality.
The practice of DX is exercised from the beginning of the twentieth century and to run a DX, both amateurs (transmit and receive ) as practitioners of SWL ( receive only ), require certain conditions ideal climate, propagation, equipment, etc. It can be said in general terms that "DX " in amateur radio is the constant search for long distance communication with other radio amateurs from countries or more distant points and exhibit greater difficulty in making the contact. The language adopted in a contact DX is English, and it is advisable to "dx -man ", always have to hand the list of the world call signs in order to facilitate know which country is being carried out contact - (See full list on this page ).
Once executed a contact, this should be recorded in file must contain at least: date and time GMT ( UTC ), also known as Zulu time (in Brazil this is GMT plus three hours); reception conditions (RST code); the communication mode (AM, FM, CW, USB, LSB, Packet, PSK, SSTV) and the frequency used.
So that there was an organizing parameter for the pursuit of these contacts the wide distance, it was agreed internationally a list of countries published by the ARRL -American Radio Relay League-, as a formal parameter localities for the purpose of "DX" would be considered as valid countries - this list is constantly updated due to changes in technical, political and social. Thus, from time to time, they are removed and added to the official list, new countries, as well as added and removed prefix codes of the various countries listed.
So that there was an organizing parameter for the pursuit of these contacts the wide distance, it was agreed internationally a list of countries published by the ARRL -American Radio Relay League, as a formal parameter localities for the purpose of "DX " would be considered as valid countries - this list is constantly updated due to changes in technical, political and social. Thus, from time to time, they are removed and added to the official list, new countries, as well as added and removed prefix codes of the various countries listed.
What is a "DX-MAN"
Speaking in terms used by the international amateur radio, "DX -MAN" (DX operator) is the one ham that among the various radio amateurs activities such as rounds, casual chats, VHF operation, UHF satellite tracking, utilities, contests national and international; The DX-man constantly demand ( with particular emphasis ) to increase your contacts score a long distance.
Logically it was agreed also internationally the existence of a threshold for the definition of DX-man and this plateau, although not fully accepted by the international amateur radio class, is characterized as the "DX-CC" which is proving a certificate attesting that the amateur requesting worked and received confirmation releases 100 countries worldwide.
This is due to the operation of "DX" is in reality a competition and, by nature, all competition must have an assumption performance improvement challenge, it can be said that the "DX" operation is a competition that does not end , they are constantly create new countries, for the purpose DXCC, it creates new complexities in the various certificates such that the "DX-MAN" should always be exceeding its previous mark. After achieving the certificate of DXCC, the DX-MAN can apply it to the following certificates arising from: DXCC-CW, SSB or mixed, 5BDXCC - 100 countries in each of the 5 bands (80,40,20,15 and 10 meters ).
Contact DX
While it may maintain a longer conversation in contact "DX", as a rule, the more rare is the location in connection faster should be the QSO, and even in cases of "rare figurines" to only change the story. The List of Countries Postwar ARRL is the official standard used by DXCC (DX Century Club) and to qualify the DXCC award, the amateur has to undergo to confirm contacts made with at least 100 different countries dates after November 15, 1945, according to the DXCC Rules Postwar.
QSL cards should be sent to the DXCC for evaluation and if approved you will receive the club's certificate. These QSL cards will be returned. (Obs: usually they return, but there are cases that are not returned or returned in part).
There are other contests and clubs that will be subsequently disclosing the listings and qualifications of each of them. The main difference between clubs and contests for clubs is that you have to meet a certain goal, a number of countries or partners and confirm them. From that moment, you are entitled to a club. The contests have as main feature the short period of its duration, the technical test and measurement spread in certain tracks. Another feature of the contests is the disclosure of holidays entities, cities and countries.
The contest in the background becomes a big competition between radio amateurs around the world because usually the contacts are made with sequence number and are created various types of classification, by band used by amount of operators and modes of operation. To add to this dispute, awards are given to top finishers in all class types and classification. For this reason the contests are also called contests, exactly the disputes. The confirmations of contacts are crossed with the reports that are sent to the organizers of the event and from these reports and logs are confirmed which operators obtained more contacts in each category.
There are some classification criteria according to the contest, depending on key stations that are assigned by the organizers of the contest and contacted countries. There are some multipliers to these stations, so the operator who obtains the most points wins first place in the competition standings.
No engineer, doctor, dentist or other professional anyone can learn and be successful only in college... Everyone needs some time to develop the ability and skill in their activities. With the practice of amateur happens exactly the same, definitely not just study the apostilhas and be approved in the exams! This does not guarantee that we will be good operators... For our operational development is primarily necessary to understand and listen carefully bands hams, we follow the rounds and the various contacts are being maintained. So with a quiet, tuned our ears and learn to use the most appropriate, ethical and correct the "Q" code as well as the various expressions used by operators. For example: knowing how to use the phonetic alphabet official and abbreviated terms CW, always be courteous, polite and patient!
DX expeditions
Shipments of " DX " operations are organized , as a rule , by excellent operators " DX " the rare locations for short periods. These expeditions are too requested throughout the world amateur radio population , thus requiring much skill and patience to work them , as the operating periods are usually very short , sometimes only 48 hours, which makes the job of operating them one chess game . The ARRL maintains strict rules regarding the shipment acceptance as valid for purposes of "New Country " , and the main parameters for this judgment are characterized by the authorization certified by the appropriate power of that country to use prefix in the expedition and its exact geographic location is within the minimum distance parameters set by the ARRL .
International Contests
The world radio amateur international, for the purpose of promoting amateur in competition level, has seen fit to introduce several "international contests", which in recent years have received an increasing influx and an increasingly impressive acceptance by radio amateurs worldwide. The international contests are competitions usually 48 hours, where the scoring parameters and score are the result of the largest possible number of QSO's with the highest number of multipliers (countries or regions) in certain special conditions. The main international contests of today are: World Wide DX Contest and WPX Contest , sponsored by CQ- Magazine; WAEDC, promoted by Germany; ARRL Contest, sponsored by the American Radio Relay League; Word 40 meters SSB Championship, sponsored by the magazine 73 of the United States; Scandinavian Contest, sponsored by Sweden.
Condition of Propagation
It is extremely important for the DX-man meet with a certain level of detail, the various factors that directly influence the propagation conditions of the various amateur radio bands. The HF communications as we know reach greater distances, through reflection of radio waves in the ionosphere. This reflection phenomenon allows the ionosphere contacts with a reflection or more, and of course, the greater the number of reflections, the greater the loss by absorption at the time of reflection, or the ionosphere or the earth layer.
The saying goes that "the discussion comes light" or that "the discussion is what is called the Education... or lack of it..." If we bring into our midst we can say that it is for the DX, Contests, DXpedition 'if so, we know the Ethics and Education of the participating amateurs.
It tells the Popular Electronics Magazine that an experienced colleague of ours, shining star DX, international contests champion recently "tried to" participate in a Brazilian tender. That our colleague in international competitions can within a week 5,000 contacts failed to even 10 QSO's in 5 hours period... An absurd as it was subjected to massacre!
The result is that vowed never to participate in any national competition. NEVER!
It is very natural that the tender participants wish to obtain good results, great performance, but this should NEVER be grounds for attacks on Ethics and morality.
The expectation that we can collaborate with the success of each is that we have prepared this article which will seek comment on some topics we deem interesting and useful for all during the practice of DX:
Never call in a single ticket exchange, calling one of the contestants before being closed the QSO or even after the completion of the message exchange. Wait a new call!
If the frequency "belongs" to another colleague, we must release it immediately after scoring the "blip", making a QSY.
By doing QSY should avoid the vicinity of colleague frequency in order not to harm you in your QSO's.
Avoid operation with high power in an attempt to "cover" each other and be heard, use more power only when really necessary.
Before you call a DX, CQ-CONTEST (CQ-TEST), CORUJE carefully chosen frequency. Sometimes the frequency is already occupied by a station whose signals are received with some difficulty because it is distant location or be operating in QRP mode.
If you hear one "figurine" in late QSO before calling it OBSERVE who is the priority in frequency; if another colleague, wait for your turn.
Defend yourself from the "attackers" without hurting ethics: if a colleague calling him out of these standards, just do all you did not hear...
IMPORTANT: Many participants contests record on a "black list" those aggressors and simply stop having reception for them. Sometimes a simple QRL is enough to let the aggressor on the hanger.
Some other minimum knowledge and care is needed to enable success in our DX's. Next, we try to show them in a simple and accessible to any novice:
a) There are reasonable propagation conditions for long-distance and where bands;
b) Fully meet the phonetic code, at least the international;
c) Be aware at least of the main terms used in the English language;
d) It is indispensable to know the RST system and correctly report the received signals;
e) Note the time and the right way to go and receive the word;
f) Always register the contacts using UTC or ZULU (GMT + 3 hours);
g) Maintain, at hand, the global list of prefixes (to know which country is being contacted);
h) Always send the QSL card;
i) In the case of contest or diploma, know its rules, filling its LOG;
j) There are two ways to start a DX statement, calling general DX (CQ DX, CQ DX, CQ DX) or answering / contesting a call general DX;
It is perfectly possible to maintain DX with several countries using only the Portuguese language. Among the countries of South America, Central America and the Caribbean, (except Brazil), the vast majority of countries speaking the Spanish language. In the European continent, and Portugal, we'll have some facility with hams from Spain and several Portuguese spread across the continent, especially in France and Belgium. Already on the African continent there are some Portuguese speaking countries such as Angola, Azores, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Madeira. There are even Spanish language countries such as: Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla. The Asian continent can enumerate the Macau and in Oceania, the East Timor;
Good propagation conditions for long distance should be checked according to the band being used. In the 160, 80 and 40 meters it usually happens overnight. In other HF bands (30, 20, 17, 15, 12 and 10 meters) it can vary throughout the day (twenty four hours), both in direction and in intensity. Click here to see the predictions of propagation. We believe that the recommendations followed up on stakes in DX, National or International Contests in Diplomas, QSL`s Special, etc., all will be greatly helping to achieve the expected success in these exciting events!
Click : Propagation Bulletins - assess the conditions to realize their DX
Click : DX Bulletins - (NODXA-OPDX)
List of Prefix (World)
( Reproduction of the above text is authorized provided the holder is preserved and mentioned - Copyright - Marcus Martins / PY4SM - PY2DD - ZW4SM )
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