(Reply moved to DX Chat... as per the reflector rules on discussions, after all...)
I wonder how much of a problem this really is. Has anyone actually heard, with their own ears, the DXpeditions operating Freeband or otherwise, shall we say, improperly? Keep in mind what just happened with CY0MM. The "Sugar Delta" people had a big web page that mimicked the official DXpedition page, named names, named equipment... and when the, ah, news hit the fan (mainly over on CQ Contest) the CY0MM team was extremely quick to "disavow any knowledge of (their) actions" and claimed it was an over-zealous over reaction by people unconnected to the CY0MM team. Now, was it indeed the "SD" people going off on a romp of wild imagination, or did the CY0MM team member(s) planning to "freeband" back off when it came to light? My only concern here is this: To the various individuals who regulate Amateur Radio around the world, they may well clump all individually licensed operators (Amateur, CB, and "Freeband") in the same boat, and may not care to distinguish between those of us who have worked so hard for our licenses (and those who didn't) with those who buy a radio off the shelf and turn it on without caring a whit about Radio R&R. So highly illegal (on many counts) operations like the alleged Desecho op recently cited could come back to haunt us amateurs when we try to jump through all of the many hoops that have prevented legit ops in the recent past -- "See, you guys operate there anyway without permission, so no permit for you! Freeband? CB? Ham? What's the difference?" And I'm not sure how disqualifying a DXpedition and/or banning it's operators from DXCC will neccesarily help matters any. We've heard all the screams about 7O1YGF already, can you imagine the outrage from those who work 1XX0ZZZ for a new one, send in the extra shekels for donation along with their QSL card, wait patiently for months to get the New One for whatever... and then find out the DXpedition was DQ'd because of alleged Freeband operation by one op? Who do you think will take the bulk of the heat on that, the DXpedition, the op, or the ARRL & DXCC Desk? (That's a rhetorical question, by the way... after all, who's taken most of the heat recently on 7O1A and 7O1YGF to name two, the ops who have yet to provide the government license if any -- yes, I know the story -- or the ARRL DXCC Desk for sticking to the rules that have long been in place?) This is a serious issue, and it needs to be addressed before it gets further out of hand, but we must be careful that we're not overeacting to puffery. Oh, and Kelly (KE9KD) -- I haven't looked, but if the "Sugar Delta" guys have indeed swiped your content, I hope you know a good lawyer who can draft a "cease and desist or else" letter. Theft like that is uncalled for -- but they probably figure that they'll get away with it because who ever bothers to prosecute? Just ask the HCA about that... (what HCA? Exactly) 73, ron wn3vaw "You used up all the glue ON PURPOSE!" In Memory of Shep K2ORS (SK) and 10:15 PM on WOR 710 AM ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kris Mraz" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "William Hein, AA6TT" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, December 03, 2002 11:53 PM Subject: Re: [DX-NEWS] ham DXpeditions also operating 11m? Bill, I sent an email to Bill Moore asking what the DXAC's position was on the validity of DXpeditions that operate freeband in light of DXCC rule 12c. I haven't received a response yet. My belief is that their QSLs should be disqualified and the ham operators on the operation should be banned from the DXCC program. To hear that legitimate manufacturers are supporting illegal operations is disgusting. Kris N5KM "William Hein, AA6TT" wrote: > > I am astonished by the number of ham DXpeditions who are also > operating on 11m 'freeband'. > > For example, the recent ham DXpedition to The Gambia appears to > have also operated on 11m as 118AT/DX with freeband QSLs to > 310AT102 (aka YL3CW). These callsigns apparently assigned by the > Alfa Delta organization in Italy. > > I've heard that many, many other ham DXpeditions also fire up on > 11m 'freeband' (Temotu, Chesterfield, East Timor, etc.). Icom > France is even financially supporting freeband DXpeditions which > means they must be selling a lot of ham gear to freebanders. > > Casual Websurfing will reveal that the freebanders are perhaps > even more active than hams in mounting DXpeditions. And going to > places (like VU7, YVO, SV/a) that hams can't easily go. And > tagging along on a lot of ham DX outings. > > Is this the DX equivalent of Napster? What does this mean for > our DXing hobby in the long run? > > Bill AA6TT > > ------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/unsubscribe, feedback, FAQ, problems, etc DX-NEWS http://njdxa.org/dx-news DX-CHAT: http://njdxa.org/dx-chat To post a message, DX NEWS items only, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Archives http://www.mail-archive.com/dx-news%40pro-usa.net ------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/unsubscribe, feedback, FAQ, problems http://njdxa.org/dx-chat To post a message, DX related items only, [EMAIL PROTECTED] This is the DX-CHAT reflector sponsored by the NJDXA http://njdxa.org
