I think I may be on a hiding to nothing with this post, but.....
With both the Ducie and Clipperton DXpeditions, I simply called when I could hear them well (that is, genuinely well) and I must say they both seemed to come back 'without malice' if they heard me calling, irrespective as to where they were directionally calling at the time. I think their response was the same to any VK/ZL who did the same thing! But, at least, I will stand being corrected on this point! Now, why would I deliberately 'call out of turn'. Well, you have to believe me when I say that, by nature, I am not normally disruptive of otherwise sensible processes but, if I waited for a DXpedition operator to ask for VK/ZL, specifically, I could wait a very long time - and because the total DXing strength of both countries combined is probably no more than 500 dedicated souls, when a DXpedition does call for VK/ZL, they generally work all that are on the frequency, at that particular moment, in about a minute. So, again you could wait for a very long time between VK/ZL calls. As an aside, at one stage, late in their operation Clipperton went for more than three hours, on 30 metres, without calling for anyone other than EU or NA - the whole time being close to, or at, 599 at my QTH. Yes, I was already in the log on 30, so I could afford to listen, and take notes, without my blood pressure rising, Hi. But any VK/ZL who listened through that period, without throwing in their call at least once, probably deserves a medal. I digress to say that whenever Martti OH2BH is involved, anywhere, he seems to call for VK/ZL way above our true fighting weight (level of importance), but I cannot be critical of that, can I. And the 3B7C mob also called for VK/ZL quite regularly - but not every DXpedition does, or does very often. Ducie did - Clipperton did not. But please, I have no complaints. None at all. That's the way the cookie crumbles. It is also my belief that many VK/ZL stations now operate the same way as I do, and for the same reason. Is it fair? Probably not! Is it 'against the rules'? Obviously. Does it provoke a few souls? Yes, it does - but not too many, in my experience. Is there a better way for VK/ZL (or any one of the 'lesser' areas) to get a crack at the DX? Not one that I know of. Frankly, mainline DXpeditions have to call by direction, or number, or country, or something, because it is a valid way of reducing the pile somewhat, even if not always to manageable proportions. A directional to NA, EU and JA is justified, given the numbers of DXers in each of those areas, but the rest of the world (OC, SA, AF, AN, AS (minus JA) - and even sub-sets of some of the above ie Caribbean, Scandanavia, etc) simply do not earn the right to expect such a service - again, based only on the relative strengths of their Dxing numbers I don't have the answer, and I don't think anyone who reads this post does either - sorry about that! But, I have no complaints. I am retired, have plenty of time, and being in VK realise that I will never be able to compete at the top end, due to fundamental propagation facts of life. But I will have a lot of fun trying. Regards to all DXers. Ernie Ernie Walls VK3FM [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mobile 0418 301 483 Subscribe/unsubscribe, feedback, FAQ, problems http://njdxa.org/dx-chat To post a message, DX related items only, dx-chat@njdxa.org This is the DX-CHAT reflector sponsored by the NJDXA http://njdxa.org
