October Meeting

The next regular meeting of the Carbon Amateur Radio Club will be on Thursday, October 21, at 7:30 p.m. at the Emergency Operations Center in Nesquehoning. Rob, KB3BYT, will do a presentation covering all manner of digital modes.

See you at the meeting!

American Diabetes Association Walk

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is having a Walk on October 10 to raise money for diabetes research and to support diabetics in need. The Carbon Amateur Radio Club will be providing communications support over the 3.2-mile path in Lehigh Park in Allentown from about 8:00 a.m. to about 12:30 p.m. As of this writing, four members of the club, Rob, KB3BYT, Bud, KB3FSU, Anna May, KB3GPM, and Brian, KB3KLJ, will be located at strategic locations along the path to support the walkers and other volunteers.

For further information and to support this worthwhile effort, please contact Brian, KB3KLJ, at [email protected].

Carbon Amateur Radio Club Plans Multi-Transmitter Operation for Pennsylvania QSO Party

The Carbon Amateur Radio Club plans to put W3HA on the air in a big way for the Pennsylvania QSO Party. Currently, it looks like as many as three transmitters may be on simultaneously from the QTH of Kent, WA3IEM, at 405 Main Street in Jim Thorpe.

Operating periods for the Pennsylvania QSO Party are from 1600Z on October 9 to 0500Z on October 10 and from 1300Z to 2200Z on October 10. So, the contest lasts for a total of 22 hours, with an 8-hour break for sleeping and generally recuperating.

For the UTC-challenged, that is noon on October 9 to 1:00 in the blessed a.m. on October 10 and from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on October 10.

Further information on the contest may be found at the Pennsylvania QSO Party web site: http://www.nittany-arc.net/paqso.html. Further information on CARC’s Pennsylvania QSO Party plans may be obtained by contacting Kent, WA3IEM, at [email protected], or Goody, K3NG, at [email protected] (or by reading the meeting minutes, below).

Carbon Amateur Radio Club Regular Meeting Minutes

September 16, 2004

President Anthony “Goody” Good, K3NG, called the regular monthly meeting to order at 7:42 PM on Thursday, September 16, 2004 at the Emergency Operations Center in Nesquehoning. 16 people were in attendance.

Goody, K3NG, read the treasurer's report in John's, W3MF, absence. The report is as follows:

Previous Balance	$826.45
Receipts (dues)	$15.00
Sub-total	$841.45
Disbursements (newsletters)	$5.55
Final Total	$835.90

Motion made to approve the treasurer's report as read; seconded and approved by members in attendance.

Old Business:

Goody, K3NG, reviewed the previous month's election of new officers, who officially took their posts on September 1st. The newly elected club officers are:

· Bob Wiseman, WB3W, Director at Large

· Anthony Good, K3NG, President

· Rob Roomberg, KB3BYT, Vice-President

· John Schreibmaier, W3MF, Treasurer

· Brian Eckert, KB3KLJ, Secretary

Goody, K3NG, asked about what had transpired with suggestions for future meeting topics. The group was able to recall suggestions for: construction (soldering, etc.), QSLing, packet and other digital modes, EchoLink, and DX monitoring.

New Business:

Goody, K3NG, noted that John, K3CT has resigned as repeater trustee. The board of directors met before the general meeting and appointed Bob, WB3W, as interim repeater trustee. John, K3CT, will give a tour of the repeater site to the board of directors. The board of directors also discussed by-law changes.

Goody, K3NG, presented for discussion the proposed changes to the by-laws. The general areas for changes are:

· New Repeater Trustee and Associate Repeater Trustee positions, requirements, and duties.

· Emcomm Coordinator

· Club officer requirements (for holding a club position)

Goody, K3NG, reminded the club that anyone in the club can propose by-law changes and that now was a good time if there were other changes that people had in mind.

A general discussion was held regarding the actual need for a Repeater Trustee and Associate Repeater Trustee. Suggestions were made that the terms for each be for two years, but not concurrently, with the Repeater Trustee elected in even years, and the Associate Repeater Trustee elected in odd years. This would make the Associate Repeater Trustee a one-year term for this year if the proposed changes were accepted by the membership.

Discussion was held regarding the PAQSO party. Kent, WA3IEM, offered his QTH for operation (on the second weekend of October), but indicated that more rigs were needed.

· Goody, K3NG, will bring the club 75m antenna.

· Eric, N3TVV, volunteered a 990

· Kent, WA3IEM, indicated that we would want stations on 40m and 80m all the time, and do SSB and CW if there is enough antenna separation.

· Kent, WA3IEM, suggested one station each on 10m, 15m, and 20m and that he had radios for that.

· Anne, KO3M, suggested a map be made to get to Kent's, WA3IEM, house.

· Motion made for club to provide meat and sodas; seconded and approved by members in attendance.

· Anna May, KB3GPM, will be the coordinator for who's bringing food. Her email is [email protected]. Participants are to email her what they're bringing and she will keep the list.

· Kent's email, WA3IEM, is [email protected] for those needing to contact him for directions and info.

· Club members agreed that the annual picnic would be held following/in concert with the PAQSO party on Sunday, the 10th of October.

Bob, K3PH has donated parts for the mic for the 2m rig, as well as an RSR multimeter. Goody, K3NG, will do the repairs on the mic.

Bob, WB3W, will do an EchoLink presentation in November.

Rob, KB3BYT, suggested covering all the digital modes in October (he will do the presentation).

Eric, N3TVV, presented information on vehicle magnet signs for the club. Sample layouts were passed around to the members. General costs were broken down as follows:

· 1 pair is $192

· 24 pairs are $22/pr.

· 12 pairs are $32/pr.

· The emergency overlay magnet is extra.

A more detailed breakdown of pricing was circulated to the members showing possible combinations and numbers of magnets with their associated costs.

Lamar, N3AT, suggested getting a number of them and then selling them to the club. It was decided that this was too much of an expense for the club to bear at this time.

Bud, KB3FSU, suggested that if 12 members bought the signs, the club could buy the other 12.

Brian, KB3KLJ, suggested that we see how many people wanted to buy signs, and the club could then buy a few extras to have on hand.

A sign-up list was circulated for the magnetic signs, and 10 people indicated interest in buying them.

A discussion was held about the ADA Walk in Allentown on the 10th of October and that the club would try to support it. Rob, KB3BYT, and Brian, KB3KLJ, volunteered, but are still looking for 2 or 3 additional volunteers. Some difficulty exists due to the conflict with the PAQSO party. An announcement will be made on the net and email reflector with basic details of the event.

Darryl, N2DIY, announced a need for additional volunteers for the Enduro being supported primarily by the SARA club on Sunday from 7:30 AM – 3:00 PM.

The meeting ended at 8:33 PM.

FCC Poised to Act on BPL Report and Order in Mid-October

(From the ARRL Letter)

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) will present a draft broadband over power line (BPL) Report and Order to the full Commission when it meets October 14, the ARRL has learned. More than 6100 comments have been filed on the topic since the FCC released its initial Notice of Inquiry in the proceeding, ET Docket 03-104, in April 2003 and a subsequent Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM), ET Docket 04-37, in February of this year. The ARRL so far on this round has taken its concerns regarding Amateur Radio and BPL to three of the Commission's five members. In a meeting this week with FCC Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein, an ARRL delegation again asserted that the FCC is pushing the proceeding to a predetermined conclusion with little regard for technical issues.

"Because the FCC has been unwilling to release for public review the results of its own tests and observations of BPL systems, the ARRL has no confidence that the draft Report and Order will be based on sound engineering and believes the rush to adoption is unwarranted and premature," ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, said in a follow-up letter to Adelstein. The letter reiterated the League's key points that, it said, "represent the minimum protection" that should be incorporated into the BPL Report and Order prior to Commission adoption.

"Without adequate safeguards, the deployment of BPL systems will result in the pollution and degradation of the unique natural resource of the high-frequency radio spectrum," Sumner said.

The League argued that the R&O include a reduction in the radiated emission limit. The ARRL wants the limit set 30 dB below current Part 15 requirements, which, it says, were established with narrowband point-source radiators in mind. "The record in this proceeding clearly establishes that BPL is not a point-source radiator," the ARRL's letter asserted.

The ARRL pointed out that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has concluded that at the current Part 15 limit, interference is "likely" to receivers in land vehicles 75 meters from BPL-connected power lines and to fixed stations 460 meters from such power lines.

"Given the number of amateur stations and the fact that they almost invariably are located near power lines, the areas of potential interference at the existing Part 15 limit are clearly too large to permit case-by-case resolution of interference issues," Sumner said. "Based on experience with the very limited test deployments of BPL systems to date, notably in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Southern Wake County, North Carolina, and Cottonwood, Arizona," the ARRL told Adelstein, "widespread BPL deployment at the existing Part 15 radiated emission limit will result in an unmanageable incidence of interference."

The only way to reduce these areas of potential interference is to reduce the radiated emission limit, the ARRL maintained. Mandatory "notching" of the amateur bands by 30 dB would reduce the probability of interference to amateur stations sufficiently that the remaining interference cases might be resolved on a case-by-case basis. "However," the League added, "such notching would not solve the problem for other radio services."

The ARRL contingent, which included Sumner, ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, and ARRL Chief Technology Officer Paul Rinaldo, W4RI, decried the FCC's lack of response to issues Sumner raised two months ago regarding a North Carolina Amateur Radio interference complaint. The ARRL representatives carried copies of correspondence questioning a July OET report that essentially gave the Progress Energy Corp BPL field trial a clean bill of health despite continued interference on amateur frequencies.

The League delegation suggested to Adelstein that the OET has swept the North Carolina BPL interference case under the rug and has attempted to discount interference issues in general while overstating the FCC's ability to address them.

Other points the ARRL has stressed in its meetings with Commission members include:

* consider including the NTIA's recommendations to standardize measurement procedures and to require that Access BPL systems be certificated, not merely verified.

* requiring independent confirmation of rules compliance before a BPL system is placed in operation.

* the need for advance public notification of BPL system locations and characteristics, something not included in the NPRM

* performance standards for interference mitigation that would require that interference be terminated immediately upon notification to the operator; and meaningful penalties for non-compliance, including fines.

* require BPL marketers to "give clear notice to potential customers that licensed radio services have priority and that the delivery of broadband service via BPL cannot be guaranteed."

In addition to Adelstein, ARRL representatives have met so far with Commissioners Kevin J. Martin, and Michael J. Copps. The League hopes to meet with the principal advisors to Chairman Michael K. Powell and Commissioner Kathleen Q. Abernathy before the October 7 cutoff for ex parte communications in the proceeding.

Astronaut Thrills Audiences in Japan, Germany Via Amateur Radio

(From the ARRL Letter)

NASA International Space Station Science Officer Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, told youngsters at an elementary school in Japan September 17 that he's been so busy during his duty tour in space that it's hard to believe it's almost over. Fincke spoke via Amateur Radio from NA1SS aboard the space station with fifth and sixth-graders at Aoyama Gakuin Elementary School near Tokyo. The contact was arranged by the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program. Fincke answered the youngsters' questions in both Japanese and English.

"Because we are working so hard, it seems that the time goes by very, very fast," Fincke said. "We are already five months into our mission, and it feels to me that we started yesterday." Fincke and ISS Expedition 9 Commander Gennady Padalka, RN3DT, will wrap up their six-month stay aboard the ISS in mid-October. Fincke told the students that the two have gotten along well during their time aboard the ISS by exercising "a lot of patience."

One Aoyama pupil asked Fincke if his stay in space had made him more religious. Fincke answered in the affirmative.

"Because this is very dangerous, and I have had a chance to think about things, and I think I should thank God every day for letting me have this opportunity and for keeping me safe," he said.

Control operator of 8J1AGE at the school was Kuniori Togai, 7M4NEK, who once attended Aoyama Gakuin Elementary School and now is a junior in high school. In all, Fincke answered 13 questions during the approximately 10-minute contact. On hand at the school were nearly 200 visitors, including reporters from four television stations, one radio station, four newspapers and a monthly magazine. Among those taking it all in was Japan Amateur Radio League President Shozo Hara, JA1AN.

The following day, an Amateur Radio conversation with Fincke was a main attraction of "The Long Night of the Stars" event held at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany. Some 175 institutions, observatories and organizations in Germany, Switzerland and Austria joined forces for the occasion. During the direct VHF contact between the Center's DL0ESA and NA1SS, Fincke extended greetings from Padalka and himself.

In a lengthy monologue, Fincke outlined what he and Padalka have been doing aboard the ISS in recent days. Recent tasks included installing antennas during a space walk for the automated transfer vehicle or ATV, a European Space Agency project. "It was very exciting for us to step outside into the cosmos with only several millimeters of fabric and a little bit of metal between us and the entire cosmos," he said.

Fincke said he was looking forward to the future when all humans can explore the stars, "not just through a telescope, but to venture there together. We're working hard at the International Space Station toward that goal."

Rolf Maarschalkerweerd, DK7FU, was the ground station operator at DL0ESA for the ESOC contact with NA1SS. The entire conversation was broadcast live throughout the Center.

"It was a nice late summer evening, and the sky was clear," said ARISS Europe Chairman Gaston Bertels, ON4WF. "The crowd followed the ARISS contact on the big screen outside, and at the same time could see the ISS crossing the sky as a bright moving star. Quite an experience!"

Some 1200 visitors and 150 staff members were at the ESOC for the occasion. Another 500 visitors at nearby Mannheim Radio Observatory also listened in on the conversation. An additional 120,000 witnessed the contact at participating observatories and institutions in the three neighboring countries.

The event also attracted the attention of 28 journalists and their associated staff members from 11 newspapers and magazines, four news agencies, the Hessen TV station — which relayed the contact to its main national channel — and four radio stations.

ARISS is an international educational outreach with US participation by ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.

“Intruder Signal” on 40 Meters Disappears

(From the ARRL Letter)

The odd and unidentified signal that had been reported showing up on the 40-meter phone band on or about 7238 kHz has disappeared just as mysteriously as it arrived earlier this summer. Numerous amateurs in the western US and Canada had reported hearing the signal over a period of a few weeks. The FCC's High Frequency Direction Finding Facility in Maryland, which had narrowed down the signal's source as somewhere east of Prescott, Arizona, was unable to hear it at all during the day and evening watches on September 16. Earlier FCC monitoring had indicated the "buzz" was centered on 7238.1 kHz with a bandwidth of about 1 kHz and consisted of a series of discrete signals spaced about 90 Hz apart. According to an FCC HFDF staff member, a radio amateur in Camp Verde, Arizona, who had reported hearing the signal at nearly 40 dB over S9 a week earlier said it suddenly disappeared, and no one in that area has heard it since. The signal's presence reportedly generated a lot of discussion on a local repeater, however. The FCC offered no firm opinion as to the signal's source. Stations with information on unidentified signals in the amateur bands are asked to report them via e-mail to International Amateur Radio Union Region 2 Monitoring System Liaison Chuck Skolaut, K0BOG, [email protected].

DXCC Desk Accredits DX Operations

(From the ARRL Letter)

The following DX operations have been approved for DXCC credit: 4W4JEG, Timor-Leste, October 7, 2003-June 30, 2004; T6RF, Afghanistan, July 1-August 31, 2004; TT8KR, Chad, September 7-14, 2004; 5X2A, Uganda, August 3-22, 2004; 5X4CM (5X4/KH9AE), Uganda, September 6, 2004-September 1, 2005. For more information, visit the DXCC Web page http://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc. A new feature, "DXCC Frequently Asked Questions http://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc/faq," can answer most of your questions on the DXCC program. Current ARRL DX Bulletins are available on the W1AW DX Bulletins for 2004 page http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/dx.

This Space Reserved For YOUR Article!

ARRL Propagation Forecast Bulletin

Propagation Forecast Bulletin 40 ARLP040

From Tad Cook, K7RA

Seattle, WA October 1, 2004

To all radio amateurs

The sun was quiet this week. Average daily sunspot numbers fell over 31 points to 20.9, and average daily solar flux declined from last week over 11 points to 89.7. Geomagnetic conditions were very stable though, which is always good. Conditions for the near term look the same, but with a slowly increasing solar flux and sunspot numbers. 90 is the predicted solar flux for October 1-2, 95 for October 3-4, and solar flux is expected to pass 200 around October 7. Quiet geomagnetic conditions should prevail over the next two days, with a rise to only slightly unsettled conditions for October 3-5.

Kangaroo Tabor Software has a new version of the real-time propagation monitoring software for the PC, called "GeoAlert Extreme Wizard." You can download a temporary version good for a 60-day trial at, http://www.taborsoft.com/gawiz.

This program monitors solar flux and geomagnetic indices, and displays them in real time. One really neat feature is the ability to draw real time MUF maps centered on your location. These are world maps with colored areas correspoonding to each amateur band. glance at the map tells you the approximate best band to use to reach anywhere in the world. It calculates this using the VOACAP engine.

Comments in the previous two bulletins about using beacon signals to determine when 10-meters is actually open when nobody appears to be using the band elicited a huge email response.

Thomas Giella, KN4LF sent a message about PropNET, an automatic beacon network that operates on 10-meters at 28.128 MHz. There are both regular packet and PSK31 networks described at, http://w2ev.rochesterny.org/PropNET/, which has a title at the top of the page that reads, "If the band is open and no one is transmitting, does anybody hear it?" Chuck Bridges, AK6DV sent in a link to PropNET at, http://www.rochesterny.org/beaconet/propnet/.

Vincent Varnas, W7FA of Portland, Oregon wrote to say he works the Southern Hemisphere regularly on 10-meters, even when he can't hear any beacons. He usually calls CQ around 28.345 or 28.495 MHz. During sporadic-E season this summer, he worked the east coast as late as 0600z on 10-meters. He says he can work 10-meters even when the solar cycle is low, and when the band is marginal he will often hear loud signals that will fade to nothing, then come back to S9 a few minutes later.

Mike Williams, W4DL of South Florida had to run outside and take down antennas before the next hurricane, but said he also likes to use beacons, on both 10 and 6-meters. Lately he finds 1800z to be the best time for him, and he regularly works the northeast U.S. and the Caribbean, although the openings are short lived.

Also Bernie McIvor, VK4EJ wrote to say he has been working many low power SSB stations on 10-meters from all over North America. He noted "Good strong signals from folk with 25 watt radios and dipoles and verticals," and said even if the band sounds dead and you don't hear beacons, "Don't give up! Call CQ." He recommends staying between 28.3-28.5 MHz on phone when the band isn't active, so you have more chance of being discovered.

Jack Fisher, K2JX wrote to say that recently there was great propagation on 12-meters according to the beacon signals he heard, and the only two live operators audible were two DX stations with

S-9 signals complaining that the band was dead! I used to read advice to newcomers to listen instead of calling, but if everyone is listening instead of calling, nobody communicates with anyone.

Allen Sherwood, K6USN said he was ZK1USN in the South Cooks last November, and he tried 10-meter FM. Several times, he brought up 10-meter repeaters in Chicago and Dallas, but his call of "ZULU KILO ONE UNIFORM SIERRA NOVEMBER listening" brought only kerchunks in response, no calls from anyone.

Tim Lanners, N9RET wrote that he operates a 10-meter beacon in Illinois (on 28.2335 MHz) that was mentioned in last year's Propagation Forecast Bulletin ARLP045, dated November 7, 2003. He said he enjoys getting QSL cards and reports for his beacon station, and wants to tell us about the "hfbeacons" email list, dedicated to operating and listening for HF beacon stations.

You can get details on the list by sending what I presume is just a blank email to [email protected] and/or [email protected].

Geoff, GM4ESD says that he keeps his receiver tuned to around 28.2 MHz when he is not actively listening or on the air from his location in Scotland at 56.31 deg N, 3.08 deg W. He hears ZS6DN almost daily from 1100-1400z and sometimes from 1600-1700z with good copy, even at one watt sometimes. After 1700z he hears LU beacons. The majority of the time when he is copying South Africa and South America, he hears no live signals on the band, except E-skip from Europe.

If you would like to comment or have a tip, email the author at [email protected].

For more information concerning propagation and an explanation of the numbers used in this bulletin see the ARRL Technical Information Service propagation page at, http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html.

Sunspot numbers for September 23 through 29 were 19, 15, 24, 22, 22, 22 and 22 with a mean of 20.9. 10.7 cm flux was 90.2, 89.4, 89.5, 89.5, 89.8, 89.9 and 89.8, with a mean of 89.7. Estimated planetary A indices were 12, 6, 5, 4, 5, 8 and 5, with a mean of 6.4. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 10, 5, 2, 2, 2, 5 and 3, with a mean of 4.1.

ARRL DX Bulletin

DX Bulletin 39 ARLD039

From ARRL Headquarters

Newington CT September 30, 2004

To all radio amateurs

This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by CT1BWW, NC1L, QRZ DX, the OPDX Bulletin, The Daily DX, 425DXnews, DXNL, WA7BNM and Contest Corral from QST. Thanks to all.

AZERBAIJAN, 4J. Rashad, 4J9RI has been QRV on 20 meters CW around 1600z. QSL via DL7EDH.

ALGERIA, 7X. A group of Spanish operators will be QRV as 7W0AD from October 2 to 9. Activity will be on 160 to 6 meters, including the newer bands, using CW, SSB, RTTY and PSK. QSL via operators' instructions.

GHANA, 9G. Kees, PA0CJH is QRV as 9G5JH from Accra until November 13. Activity is on 80, 40, 20, 17 and 15 meters using CW, SSB and PSK31. QSL to home call.

MALTA, 9H. Arno, DL1CW will be QRV as 9H3AP from Gozo Island, IOTA EU-023, from October 5 to 13. He will be active on 40 to 10 meters using CW. QSL to home call.

MOZAMBIQUE, C9. Ralph, C93Q has been QRV on 17 meters CW around 1600z. QSL via VK4VB.

ENGLAND, G. Bill, G3WNI, Tom, G0PSE and Dave, M0AOD will be QRV as GB0SM from St. Mary's Island, IOTA EU-011, from October 2 to 9. Activity will be on 160 to 10 meters, and possibly 6 meters, using CW and SSB. QSL via G0PSE.

SOUTH SHETLAND ISLANDS. Voytek, HF0QF has been QRV on 12 meters around 1500 to 1700z. QSL via SP7IWA.

SOUTH KOREAN, HL. Special event station DT40YL will be QRV from October 6 to 16 during a meeting organized by the Korea Ladies Amateur Radio Club. QSL via HL1OYF.

MINAMI TORISHIMA, JD1. Itokazu, JR6TYH/JD1 is stationed at Marcus Island and expects to be QRV until December 20. QSL via bureau.

LUXEMBOURG, LX. Six Dutch operators will be QRV as LX/PA6Z from October 2 to 8. Activity will be on 160 to 6 meters using CW, SSB and PSK31. QSL via PA1K.

LEBANON, OD. Hassein, OD5UE has been QRV on 15 meters between 1400 and 1700z. QSL via IZ8CCW.

ANTARCTICA. R1ANB is QRV from Mirny Base on Queen Mary Coast, IOTA AN-016. QSL via RU1ZC.

SEYCHELLES, S7. Willi, DJ7RJ and Klaus, DJ4SO will be QRV as S79RJ and S79SO, respectively, beginning October 3 for about three weeks. They will be active on 40 to 6 meters, using CW, SSB, RTTY and PSK31. They will seek permission to try and operate on 80 meters during the weekends. QSL to home calls.

SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE, S9. Marq, CT1BWW is QRV as S92BWW from Rolas Island, IOTA AF-023, until October 15. Activity is on all bands and modes. This is the first operation from this island. QSL to home call.

BENIN, TY. Michael, PA5M is QRV in his spare time as TY5M until October 21. QSL via PA7FM.

MICRONESIA, V6. Neil, V73NS will be QRV as V63NS from Pohnpei, IOTA OC-010, from October 7 to 10. QSL to home call.

AUSTRALIA, VK. In celebration of the 175th anniversary of the state of Western Australia, the Northern Corridor Radio Group will be QRV as VI6175WA for the month of October. They will participate in the Oceania DX Phone Contest. QSL via VK6NE.

INDONESIA, YB. Hotang, YC0IEM/9 is QRV from Kupang on Timor Island, IOTA OC-148, for about two weeks. He is active on 15 and 10 meters. QSL via IZ8CCW.

Operations approved for DXCC credit: Uganda, 5X2A, from August 3 to August 22, 2004; 5X4CM and 5X4/KH9AE from September 6, 2004 to September 1, 2005.

THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO. The PSK Rumble (Fall Classic), Oceania DX Phone Contest, International HELL-Contest, EU Autumn SSB Sprint, California QSO Party, UBA ON SSB Contest, The RSGB 21/28 MHz SSB Contest and the German Telegraphy Contest are all scheduled for this weekend. The YLRL Anniversary CW Party is scheduled for October 6 to 8. Please see October QST, page 98, and the ARRL and WA7BNM contest websites for details.

QSL Rules

By Paul Dunphy, VE1DX

Son of a Gun! We were sitting on the veranda in the early fall when one of the local QRPers made his way around the curve and beat his way up the hill. He was not happy. "I worked a lot of DX over the years, and lately I've been running into the same roadblock. I can't get a QSL. Or, more properly put, I can't get one on time, according to the rules!"

"What rules?" we replied, looking at the QRPer with our standard poker face. "Well," he replied, "I don't know if there are QSLing rules set forth by any organization, but I would think that I should get my QSL the same time as all the other DXers. And furthermore, why do I have to wait so long? If the operators of a DXpedition don't get the cards out right away, we miss our chance to submit them in time for the listings in the DXCC Yearbook. Until last February, we always could look in QST, but they don't list the DXCC standings anymore. Now I only have one chance to get listed... and if I miss the DXCC Yearbook, I have to wait a whole year to get another chance!"

We looked at the QRPer for a moment and thought about the discussion that had gone on in the DX community during the past 6-8 months. Why were the listings in QST missing? Some had said that it was because of a computer format conversion. We weren't sure what that was, but it sounded reasonable to us, the computer uninitiated... some of the more knowledgeable DXers who knew about computers weren't buying it. And a couple of the members of the Legion of HandWringers went so far as to say that we'd never see the DXCC standings in QST ever again. Their theory was that the DXCC listing pages had been replaced by advertisements. We weren't about to re-hash any of this again, so we looked the QRPer straight in the eye and repeated one of the Eternal Enigmas of DXing.

"The DXCC program," we began, "is an awards program offered by a radio club. A radio club that has its headquarters in Newington, CT. You have chosen to participate in this radio club's awards program. If you follow the rules as they set forth, then you will be on equal footing with other DXers who also compete in this awards program. Understand?"

The QRPer was shifting from foot to foot. "Yes, I sort of follow you," he answered, "but isn't the DXCC program the top echelon of DX achievement in DXing. Isn't getting your call listed in the DXCC the pinnacle of DX achievement?"

"Maybe so," we replied, "but if the folks in Newington change the rules, and you are a member of the club, then you have to change your way of thinking with them. Follow the rules of the awards program, and all this will be equal. But remember, it's just an awards program offered by a radio club."

The QRPer looked at us for a moment then started with "But I thought..." We raised our hand and stopped him in mid-stream. "You are a DXer, son!" we said, standing up, "and DXers are the top echelon of Ham radio. Make no mistake about it. Stand tall! DXers are better looking, richer, more competent in their operating style and wiser than other Hams. DXers realize that their DX contacts are true-blue before any net controller or radio club gives it their blessing. They realize that no radio club can take away from their achievements by changing a date, or allowing or disallowing a QSL because of a technicality. Believe this, for it is the essence of a true-blue DXer! You know you worked the DX station. You will get a card! Don't let a radio club take away the enjoyment of DXing. They set the rules for their awards program, but they do not define a DXer! Understand?"

The QRPer looked at us for a moment, then said, "I never thought of it that way. I worked the DX. And I know it was a good QSO. Why do I have to prove it to anyone?"

"A good question." we replied, and we were silent. The QRPer was as well. He was deep in thought for several minutes, then he looked up at us and simply said, "Thanks." He made his way down the hill and around the bend in the road. We thought things over for a few moments and turned back to the rig. The flux had been good the past few days, but the Ap index was high and the bands were not that good. And even though conditions were poor, we tuned the bands... as DXers always do. The rare and exotic land were out there, ready to be worked. They always are. And will they send a QSL? Probably. And if they do not... who cares? Always remember, DX IS!

Helpful Hints

Never slap a man who’s chewing tobacco.

Shallow Thoughts

Why isn’t there mouse-flavored cat food?

October 2004

“Intruder Signal” on 40 Meters Disappears

DXCC Desk Accredits DX Operations

ARRL DX Bulletin