-pjd is making a valid point, but.........
On the other side of the coin, how can you put a price on the thrill of
being on the receiving end of a huge pileup for a week or two???????.
If it cost me $5,000 to go to a Dx Expedition, I would not compute my
cost per contact. If I would have to, I should not be going......
Just my 2cents worth
Lou KE1F
On 5/20/2012 3:47 PM, Peter W2IRT wrote:
Ryan hit the nail on the head, gents. Please download and analyze Don's
PowerPoint presentation when it becomes available on the site. There are two
facts that become blatantly obvious. One, the cost-per-QSO incurred by the
DXpeditions to bring you that rare on is very high. In some cases, the cost
they bear to bring you that new one is over $5.00 USD PER CONTACT. In other
less-difficult-to-get-to places it's in the $3 range. So those who toss $2 or
an IRC into the envelope and nothing more are putting more of the burden on
your fellow hams. This is not sustainable as prices to put these operations on
increase. I can see it if you work a guy once or twice, request a bureau card
or wait out the LoTW hit or toss a couple of bucks into an envelope. It's not
right if you picked up 20 greenies on Clublog. Sorry. They're not telling you
that you have to *pay* $5 or $3 per Q, but that's what THEY HAVE SPENT to bring
you the chance.
The second issue is that certain parts of the world are more readily willing to
lend financial support through QSL-request donations than other parts of the
world. I didn't take notes during Don's presentation but I'm pretty sure the
European donation percentage was infinitesimally small as compared to the NA
donation base (again, as averaged over 20-odd years by major DXpeditions).
Less-than-1% if memory serves--Don, if I'm wrong, please feel free to beat me
about the head with a large abacus.
Regardless of the exact percentages, it's irresponsible and outright selfish to
sit there and work these big-league ops and not toss something into the hat not
as a way to say thank you (which is a great gesture in and of itself) but as a
way to ensure they'll be able to commit to going to that one place you need
that'll put you over the top and into the Honor Roll or to HR#1, maybe.
If you're so poor that you can't afford $10 or $20 a couple of times a year,
when you've bagged a biggie across a bunch of bands and modes, then there's
something wrong and I definitely think you should reconsider your choice of
hobby, or your desire to be a DXer.
Yeah, there are DXpeditions that I work once or twice and I'll send an SASE or an IRC or even request
a bureau card for. These are nominally the ones I worked just 'cuz they were there and I thought
"gee, it's been a couple of years since I worked<entity> on<band>." But if
it's something I spend 2 weeks chasing up and down the spectrum, damned straight I'll toss at least
$10-25 into the hat, maybe more if money's not as big an issue as it is now.
- pjd
-----Original Message-----
From: kf...@njdxa.org [mailto:kf...@njdxa.org] On Behalf Of Ryan Jairam
I don't begrudge a DXpedition for asking for a few $ or € to cover their costs. It's your
choice to work them. It may not fit someone's definition of "ham spirit" but I
also understand that without the donations, many rare entities wouldn't be activated.
It's just how it is.
Some hams spend more than just money - they risk life and limb, just so you can
get a QSO in the log.
Ryan, N2RJ
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