Re: [DX-CHAT] Future DXpeditions

[N7MAL]

Don said: ""You are not correct, the radios antennas etc are all going BACK to the manufacturers."" Why am I not correct? The manufacturers donated(or loaned if you prefer) tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment. In return the equipment manufacturers can rightfully expect credit and the maximum exposure of their products.   Don Said: ""Each member of the team put up $20K or so each.   Each member had to take 6 weeks or more out his life."" As I have said they are to be commended for what they have accomplished and endured. They are a very special group of individuals who deserve all the accolades they have been, and will continue to, receive.   Don said: ""It is well over half of the expended $."" I did not make a definite statement. I said "most likely". I based my comment on all the financial info that has been made public so far.     Don said: ""This team put out over 87,000 QSOs, the 5 most DXPedtion EVER.  It likely will go down as the costliest ever."" I guess we have a new syndrome here which I will call the Bode Miller syndrome. A lot of time, money, and resources were spent on Bode Miller and he didn't finish in the top 3. 3YØX was ""the costliest ever"" and didn't finish in the top 3. Could I have done better, NO. Do I have a right to point out what I perceived, from my own experiences, to have been the shortcomings, YES.   Lastly Don said: ""They don't owe you anything Mal"" I take particular exception to that remark. At no time have I ever asked for nor do I expect anything. I made all my contacts with the xpedtion 'fair-n-square'. I don't know what the duties of a PILOT are, but if one of the duties is to take a personal disparaging shot at anyone who criticizes the xpedition then you have more than succeeded at your duties. Very Best 73     MAL       N7MAL BULLHEAD CITY, AZ http://www.ctaz.com/~suzyq/N7mal.htm http://geocities.com/n7mal/ Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia ----- Original Message ----- From: Don Greenbaum To: N7MAL ; Tom Wylie ; Russell Kellam Jr Cc: Ken Holdom ; dx-chat@njdxa.org Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2006 12:54 Subject: Re: [DX-CHAT] Future DXpeditions You are not correct, the radios antennas etc are all going BACK to the manufacturers. Each member of the team put up $20K or so each.   Each member had to take 6 weeks or more out his life. It is well over half of the expended $. This team put out over 87,000 QSOs, the 5 most DXPedtion EVER.  It likely will go down as the costliest ever. They don't owe you anything Mal. Don At 03:04 AM 2/23/2006, N7MAL wrote: The email that I'm responding to seems like the perfect one for me to 'wrap-up' my original posting. You see Tom, GM4FDM, is 100% correct dead on the money. But, and this is a big BUT, for his type of operation only. When you go somewhere and you're paying all the bills you get to do whatever, whenever, and however you want.   The 3YØX guys were not paying all the bills, most likely not even half of them. There were donated radio's, antenna's, etc. Those manufacturers have a right, yes a right, to have their equipment exposed to the maximum number of hams possible. Next the 'collection plate' was passed around and a great many hams stepped up with financial donations. Those folks had the right to expect fairness in the operating style of the xpedition. Yes the 3YØX operators must use their  best judgment possible pertaining to what band/mode is the most productive at a given time. For the most part they were nearly perfect at determining band/mode.  I'm going to say this now for the 4th time: """ Yes they did a 'bang-up' job, and yes they did it under horrible, grueling,  conditions."" "I criticized one small segment of the xpedition, a part that rightfully or wrongfully, deserved criticism. I did not condemn the entire operation."""   My hat is off to those guys for going to one of the most God forsaken places on earth for 'ham-radio'.         MAL       N7MAL BULLHEAD CITY, AZ http://www.ctaz.com/~suzyq/N7mal.htm http://geocities.com/n7mal/ Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia