Re: [DX-CHAT] [DX-NEWS] ham DXpeditions also operating 11m?
(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 RR. 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
[DX-CHAT] CB and Freebanding
There's an important distinction between CB and Freebanding. In the USA, and many other countries, there is a 100% legal Citizens Band. The frequencies, power limit, etc., are all defined, and although not everyone stays within those limits, many do. Numerous hams, including some quite well-known DXers and contesters got started in CB. Hams tend to poke fun at chicken banders, but that's a LEGAL activity. Freebanding on the other hand is rarely 100% legal, is at least undefined, and is most often ILLEGAL in one way or another. They typically operate between 10M and CB, on frequencies that are allegedly accepted by some countries, but are surely not by most, and they QSO with people who are also operating illegally. In some cases their actual presence in a rare place is illegal (e.g. KP5), but they take pride in beating the law! Again, my question is what happens to freebanding when 10/11M go dead in a few years? Will they show up somewhere else? John, NT5C. 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
[DX-CHAT] Re:: Freeband / CB, etc.
I am one of the old farts that remembers when 11 meters was a ham band; back before 1958-59 when this travesty called CB came about. In fact, I used to use the band and made many enjoyable contacts there; my B W 5100' s still have the 11 meter band marked on the vfo. For whatever reason, the individuals that populated the new citizens band came mostly from the lower class under-educated masses. It became a cesspool of illegality right from the start and soon began its process of causing the general public to think of CB and ham radio as one and the same, since most people had no knowledge of the difference between the two. The advent of CB was the first giant step in the bastardization of the ham radio hobby. The quality of ham radio operators and the hobby as a whole has gone downhill ever since. I believe that the eventual demise of ham radio will be as a result of the negative influences of the citizen band, or more specifically, the CB' ers themselves. Most of the recent watering-down of the licensing requirements have happened because of CB'ers not being capable of passing real tests, but wanting to git on thet thar raadio anyway. For anyone calling himself or herself a ham, or for any legitimate manufacturer, or any legitimate organization, to promote any kind of freeband operation on a dx-pedition is a slap in the face to the ham radio community. All steps possible should be taken to discourage and eliminate this type of activity. We won' t have to worry about the internet destroying our hobby; the CB' ers are doing that quite well. We certainly don' t need to help them by letting the gross illegality of freebanding become an acceptable practice. M. Kent Miller - K4MK 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
Re: [DX-CHAT] Freebanding
On Wed, 4 Dec 2002, W0YG Charlie Summers wrote: I wonder how many of you folks have seen the excessive amount of illegal gear being posted on eBay in the ham section. I am sure a major amount of that type of gear goes through that auction house. I would say 5-15 items a day are posted. I know it's often hard to tell on eBay who the licensed hams are, because many of their sign-on names aren't callsigns, but I do wonder about this sometimes. I had been looking for an HTX-100 to convert to a 144 MHz IF rig (you disconnect the finals, install a tiny transverter board in the radio and you have a great microwave IF rig). I tried for quite a while before I won an auction. Finally got one for $60. But I suspect many of the bidders and some of the sellers are freebanders. The one I got is from a licensed ham. A lot of things in the world don't make sense to me. I can't understand why a licensed radio amateur would have anything to do with the freeband. For one thing, to jeopardize his license by being caught is unthinkable to me. For another, a legitimate DXpedition probably has its hands full withn pileups in the ham bands and isn't going to have time to operate in the freeband part of the spectrum. Supposing that someone on a DXpedition to a REALLY rare location actually did this, got caught and lost DXCC approval, what do you think would happen to them? Remember Graham, ZL9GD? Remember the harrassment he received from his fellow hams just because his operation took place offshore on a boat? How do you think the ham community is going to treat a DXpedition that loses accreditation because of a stupid move like freeband operation? If you're tired of HF and don't have any games left on HF, move up to the VHF/UHF/microwave bands. Really, it's a lot of fun up there ... 73, Zack W9SZ 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
[DX-CHAT] The cesspool
It became a cesspool of illegality right from the start and soon began its process of causing the general public to think of CB and ham radio as one and the same, since most people had no knowledge of the difference between the two. The advent of CB was the first giant step in the bastardization I am still reflecting on K4MK's remarks, and He is right on target. I too am old enough to have made a legal amateur radio contact on 11 meters with my mighty Harvey Wells TBS-50D. I was licensed as a novice in November of 1957, and became a general in January of 1958. In January 1963 I became Extra Class. It wasn't long after January of 1958 that I started chasing DX. I don't remember putting up with the BS that we do today when a rare country(entity) is on the bands. Pile-ups yes. Intentional QRM, VERY little. Let me preface the following remarks by saying that I have been a lifetime League member since 1962.(yep, they lost money on me) I believe in The League, and support it fully. Having said that, I am forced to recognize that none of us are infallible. The advent of the grow amateur radio at any cost mentality was the beginning of the end for amateur radio being a respectable fraternity. This trend has continued with Low-code No-code licensing and multiple choice exams. If we look at the current licensing structure, we aren't a helluva lot different than CB'ers. I wonder how many current licensees would have become hams if they had to draw schematics and do an Ohm's law calculation. I have no doubt that there are those among us who are ex CB'ers that have become good hams who respect the traditions of the hobby. There are far more who do not, and from this group comes the freebander attitude. If you think this attitude doesn't exist in amateur radio, go listen on 75 meter fone for a while. We are on a downhill slide that is likely irreversible. Therefore we MUST do everything possible to maintain what respect we have left. If that includes squealing on known violators so be it. K4MK is right. Most of the crap that we have to endure today comes from the attitude of lawlessness brought into our hobby by ex CB-ers. If this offends some of you, so be it. Come down on 7005 and we will duke it out at 35 wpm in a pile-up. I yield the floor. Outgoing Mail Scanned by Norton Antivirus 2002
Re: [DX-CHAT] [DX-NEWS] ham DXpeditions also operating 11m?
On Wed, 4 Dec 2002, Kelly Jones wrote: On Wed, 4 Dec 2002, Ron Notarius WN3VAW wrote: 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) Hi Ron and list... Well, after a little further investigation of these SugarDelta folks, there is undisputable proof they not only operate illegally, they also blatelnly rip off code and content. A few view sources of their cluster page shows they even steal code and don't make changes to it. Not too smart in my opinion, but then again, what else would we expect? I can't believe they didin't even edit MY stylesheet. That alone is a smoking gun... (sigh) Kelly - KE9KD I took a look at their webpage. Funny, I see no CW spots on their cluster! :-) I like to tell the story of the time I was working in an electronics repair shop about 10 years ago. A guy came in with a radio that covered 27 MHz SSB outside the CB portion and wanted it repaired. I started to chastise him for illegal operation when he pulled out a U.S. Marshall's ID and an FCC license to use frequencies in that part of the spectrum. I just went and hid under a rock and repaired his radio. 73, Zack W9SZ 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
Re: [DX-CHAT] Ham DXpeditions also operating 11m?
Ain't that wonderful, getting an award for working an illegal operation. But wait a minute, didn't the boys on H40 say it was legal to operate in that segment of the band out there? Maybe it is legal in other parts of the world too? But wait a moment again, did W9WNV or UB5RR really not go to those places that count? I said all that tongue in cheek guys. The bottom line is illegal operating is abhorrent to us hams. I wish there was a move afoot to clean up the mess others are causing. I know the FCC is hopping all over the few power companies that cause interference but isn't it time they hopped over the illegal radio users between 26 and 30 MHz as well as the many manufacturers or sellers or importers of illegal equipment? Life isn't fair! 73, Charlie, W0YG.. 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
Re: [DX-CHAT] Ham DXpeditions also operating 11m?
Now THERE'S a good idea! Maybe those clowns will accept my P5RS7 card and the first Scarborough trip?? Maybe I could make #1 by working 'em all in reverse order of difficulty. N2ERN Ain't that wonderful, getting an award for working an illegal operation. But wait a minute, didn't the boys on H40 say it was legal to operate in that segment of the band out there? Maybe it is legal in other parts of the world too? But wait a moment again, did W9WNV or UB5RR really not go to those places that count? 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
[DX-CHAT] Isn't that a Lynyrd Synyrd song, or am I thinking of FreeBIRD?
Combining several replies into one: Sugar Delta: Well, considering that they're dishonest enough to steal content from other people's web sites, and considering that the CY0MM crew claimed it was a misunderstanding that led to SD claiming freeband activity from CY0 during the DXpedition, why should we neccesarily believe anything they say? Making a web page is easy. Going on a DXpedition is much harder. (PS -- Kelly, I hope you can sue their heinies off!) By the way, I see that they have use the term DXCC quite a bit. Is that an ARRL trademark or service mark? If so, maybe the ARRL's lawyer can tell them to cease desist. Just a thought. (Many of them seem to be in EU, so they may not really care what Newington has to say on this) Desecheo Freeband Activity: On further consideration, maybe it did happen, but if so, it may be a big deal (for us) over nothing. Consider: There was a recent announcement (in the Daily DX, I think) of a ham who was going to be vacationing in Puerto Rico and spending some time fishing in a boat off shore of Desecheo. Apparantly it's very popular (during the daytime) for this since it's very close to KP4 proper. And let's face it, it's not like there's a fence and armed guards around the island. So let's suppose some FB'er sat in his boat offshore and operated. (It's not like DXCC rules apply here gang). Maybe even attempted a landing somewhere. Hey, there's nothing we can do about it, so forget it. What's important is that WE keep ourselves on the straight narrow, if for no other reason than to say Nope, 'twasn't us, we know better. Hopefully will pay off in the long run. Hopefully. Other FB activity: Guantanamo Bay? We have some military personnel breaking the law? Really? As far as the rest... well, so what? Not trying to minimize the headache, but I think we need to remember that hams are self-policing within our ranks -- but we have no legal authority to police outside our ranks. Perchance 'tis best to notify the proper authorities whe n we stumble on this activity, and then let it go. I mean, do you want us to play frequency cop out of bands? I am NOT condoning illegal activity! Not in the slightest! I just think we have to be very careful where we draw the line between what we can should do, and what we should turn over to the FCC. (And if enough of us start kvetching to the FCC about these headaches, something will get done.) Honey: Yes, we have a potential source of new amateurs here. Though I'll bet many may not be all that interested in being legal, but it's worth a shot. Some may not know better. Some. eBay: You're surprised? Some equipment is being bought/sold by collectors. Some by hams who are not using their calls. Some for mysterious potentially illegal purposes. Problem is, in the US at least, you don't need a license to buy or own equipment, just to use it. As long as what they're permitting to be sold is legal equipment (unlike, say, a CB 27 MHz only amp, which is illegal as all get out), I'm not sure what can be done about it. 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 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
Re: [DX-CHAT]
Bill, Cannot disagree with you more. Aside from the dumbing down of the hobby that has taken place over the last 10 - 15 years, what makes you think that these individuals who currently are breaking the law will not bring their I don't care about authority attitude to our hobby. I have been a ham since 1959 and I don't want our hobby to look like freebanding. My suggestion is to petition the FCC to throw them in jail, to boycott manufacturers who market their product to them and to petition our legislators to question the FCC why they are not enforcing the law. 73, Bruce K1MY - Original Message - From: William Hein, AA6TT [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, December 04, 2002 9:49 AM Subject: [DX-CHAT] Bernie Group: Regarding Freeband DXers, one half of me says let's sic the dogs on these bastards but another, more sober, side says let's get these guys into licensed Ham DXing. Why? (1) The Ham DX contest crowd is aging. Look around at any DX or contest gathering. I feel like a youngster at these things and I'm 47. The typical Freeband DXer, based on my Web surfing, seems younger that the typical Ham DXer. What happens to our hobby when we all die off? (2) The Freebanders are putting serious time and money into DXing, contesting, QSLing and mounting DXpeditions (activations in Freeband lingo) all over the world. I'd like to see these resources re-routed to legitimate Ham DXing, contesting and DXpeditioning--in other words, bolster our strength in numbers. The more of us--Ham DXers and contesters--there are, the stronger our hold on our frequencies are (simple democractic politics) and the more fun our hobby will be. More DXpeditions + more people to work in contests = more fun in my book. (3) This really hurts to say, but the Freeband DXers are a creative group. Many of their DX Websites are better than equivalent Ham DX Websites. For example, the Sugar Delta site (http://www.sugardelta.com/) has detailed comprehensive DXpedition news archives, DXpedition 'proofs' (copies of documentation such as airline tickets DX locale photos--I'd like to see the ARRL DXCC office present this kind of info on the Web), DXpedition online logs, audio recordings of DXpeditions, QSL card pix, 11m DX cluster, IOTA DXCC info (the Freebanders have adopted the DXCC IOTA programs) and so on. I'd love to see a Ham version of this, a DX supersite! To get some idea of how active the Freeband DXpeditioners are, check out these links: East Timor: Freeband operation by a CT ham, I couldn't figure out how to link to this page on the Alfa Tango Website, just look for 341ATØ - Finally ... started! under Hotnews on the home page South Georgia Island: http://www.sugardelta.com/sections.php?op=viewarticleartid=15 Aves (5,900 QSOs on Freeband frequencies!): http://inicia.es/de/280sd0/ St. Paul Is (3,100 QSOs): http://www.alfa-tango.com/284at0/ Greenland (@ Thule AFB): http://www.dxproofs.com/portal/showlink.asp?nyhetsID=35 M-V Island: http://www.sugardelta.com/modules.php?op=modloadname=My_eGalleryfile=index do=showpicpid=867 Market Reef: http://www.alfa-tango.com/dx/?it=17 (Windows Media audio file of this operation at http://perso.wanadoo.fr/11.11dxcc/11%2011%20dxcc%20web.htm it's the last listing on the bottom of the page) Jan Mayen: http://www.dxproofs.com/portal/showlink.asp?nyhetsID=75 Vatican City: http://www.dxproofs.com/portal/pictures/AT/138at0_pic2_m.jpg Ascension Is: http://www.alfa-tango.com/dx/?it=7 Chesterfield Is: http://www.ppit.it/ Willis Is: http://www.dxproofs.com/portal/showlink.asp?nyhetsID=371 Revillagigedo: http://www.dxproofs.com/portal/showlink.asp?nyhetsID=88 Guantanamo Bay: http://www.atmessina.net/messina/82AT0.htm http://www.alfatango.org/images/album/82at0.jpg And I could go on and on and on Safe to say, there is a LOT of Freeband DXpedition activity. Check out the 35 pages of DXpedition validition data on this pdf file (and this is just for the Alfa Tango group thru 2001): http://www.alfatango.org/files/committee/dxcc/dxcc1-2002.pdf So what should Hams do? My proposal: Get more flies with honey than vinegar. (1) Actively recruit Freeband DXers into the Ham DX hobby. ARRL and various DX clubs such as INDEXA NCDXF should start outreach programs, creating programs to 'graduate' Freebanders to licensed Hams, advertising on Freeband Websites, etc. These people already like DXing and already own Ham gear, so how hard can this be? We should ask for financial support from amateur radio equipment manufacturers and dealers for such programs, especially Icom who have a karma issue here. (2) I'm personally on the watch for Freebanders whom I can invite to my shack to witness real DXing and contesting and whom I can mentor into our hobby. I'll try not to be a snob. (3) Petition the FCC (and other PTTs around the world) to allocate some or all of the so-called 'Freeband' spectrum between CB and 10m to the Amateur
Re: [DX-CHAT] Isn't that a Lynyrd Synyrd song, or am I thinking of FreeBIRD?
Ron wrote: Other FB activity: Guantanamo Bay? We have some military personnel breaking the law? Really? Should not happen on a military base..I will see that the base Comm Officer is advised and hope that corrective measures are taken as required. 73 NormK1AA 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
[DX-CHAT] Freeband = Napster?
Bruce: You make a good point. However, I still like my 'outreach' idea and I strongly support the movement to make '10.5 meters' a licensed amateur band. The whole world has been dumbed down. Based on the resumes I review at my job, I don't think the ability to compose a coherent paragraph is required to graduate from college. This is an unfortunate trend. As far as keeping Freeband operating techniques off of the Ham bands, do you mean CB-style? I can't imagine that Freeband SSB DXers are any worse than Hams. Ham SSB pileup behavior is awful. This is one of the many reasons I prefer CW DXing and contesting, especially on 160m and 6m where the general operating skill level is higher. How to improve Ham DX pileup behavior is a separate (but important) issue. I'm not a defender of Freebanding (if I were God, not only would I eradicate all unlicensed HF operation, I'd also stop people from calling with their last two...). Quite frankly, I wish that the FCC had never allocated spectrum capable of ionospheric propagation to the CB service. However, I'm also a realist. This toothpaste isn't going back into the tube. We can pretend that Freeband DXing doesn't exist and be oblivious to a gradual erosion of our hobby or we can develop positive, proactive schemes to address the situation. I work in the music business. It has been painful to watch the 'free music' Internet file-swapping movement massacre the legitimate music business while the music business is unable to effectively address the problem. I'd hate to see the 'free DX' activity wreck licensed Ham DXing. 73, Bill AA6TT k1my wrote: Bill, Cannot disagree with you more. Aside from the dumbing down of the hobby that has taken place over the last 10 - 15 years, what makes you think that these individuals who currently are breaking the law will not bring their I don't care about authority attitude to our hobby. I have been a ham since 1959 and I don't want our hobby to look like freebanding. My suggestion is to petition the FCC to throw them in jail, to boycott manufacturers who market their product to them and to petition our legislators to question the FCC why they are not enforcing the law. 73, Bruce K1MY - Original Message - From: William Hein, AA6TT [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, December 04, 2002 9:49 AM Subject: [DX-CHAT] Bernie Group: Regarding Freeband DXers, one half of me says let's sic the dogs on these bastards but another, more sober, side says let's get these guys into licensed Ham DXing. Why? (1) The Ham DX contest crowd is aging. Look around at any DX or contest gathering. I feel like a youngster at these things and I'm 47. The typical Freeband DXer, based on my Web surfing, seems younger that the typical Ham DXer. What happens to our hobby when we all die off? (2) The Freebanders are putting serious time and money into DXing, contesting, QSLing and mounting DXpeditions (activations in Freeband lingo) all over the world. I'd like to see these resources re-routed to legitimate Ham DXing, contesting and DXpeditioning--in other words, bolster our strength in numbers. The more of us--Ham DXers and contesters--there are, the stronger our hold on our frequencies are (simple democractic politics) and the more fun our hobby will be. More DXpeditions + more people to work in contests = more fun in my book. (3) This really hurts to say, but the Freeband DXers are a creative group. Many of their DX Websites are better than equivalent Ham DX Websites. For example, the Sugar Delta site (a href=http://mail.aa6tt.com/jump/http://www.sugardelta.com;http://www.sugardelta.com/a/) has detailed comprehensive DXpedition news archives, DXpedition 'proofs' (copies of documentation such as airline tickets DX locale photos--I'd like to see the ARRL DXCC office present this kind of info on the Web), DXpedition online logs, audio recordings of DXpeditions, QSL card pix, 11m DX cluster, IOTA DXCC info (the Freebanders have adopted the DXCC IOTA programs) and so on. I'd love to see a Ham version of this, a DX supersite! To get some idea of how active the Freeband DXpeditioners are, check out these links: East Timor: Freeband operation by a CT ham, I couldn't figure out how to link to this page on the Alfa Tango Website, just look for 341ATØ - Finally ... started! under Hotnews on the home page South Georgia Island: a href=http://mail.aa6tt.com/jump/http://www.sugardelta.com/sections.php?op=viewarticleartid=15;http://www.sugardelta.com/sections.php?op=viewarticleartid=15/a Aves (5,900 QSOs on Freeband frequencies!): a href=http://mail.aa6tt.com/jump/http://inicia.es/de/280sd0;http://inicia.es/de/280sd0/a/ St. Paul Is (3,100 QSOs): a href=http://mail.aa6tt.com/jump/http://www.alfa-tango.com/284at0;http://www.alfa-tango.com/284at0/a/ Greenland (@ Thule AFB): a
Re: [DX-CHAT] Freebanders
Are we to assume from this comment and attitude that because theUSA has a problem with CB/Freebanders or whatever you want to call them, that the rest of the DX world should be denied the chance to work DXCC because the USA people want to disqualify an expedition, which may not even be manned by Americans.?? I am sure some of you people worked Jack Haden when he was flitting around the Pacific Islands in 1997 as 3D2JH etc. He was also working 27 mhz (SSB) at the same time but no one suggested that his activity should be disqualified at the time. Best wishes..Kevin VK2CE http://vk2ce.com/ Scanned with NAV 2003 ~ ---Original Message--- Ron, WN3VAW wrote in part.. 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. Unfortunately the regulatory authorities in the US lost control of this situation well over 30 years ago. It is now(and has been for years) so wildly out of control that the FCC can not garner the funds nor the personnel to do anything about it. Thus it becomes legitimate by default. We all know that the original sin was letting the Genie out of the bottle in the first place. In my opinion, all we must distance ourselves from this group as much as possible, and if it is found that ANY member of an otherwise legitimate DX-Pedition participated as a freebander, the entire Dx-Pedition should be disqualified for DXCC purposes. 73, Mike, W5UC 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
Re: [DX-CHAT] [DX-NEWS] ham DXpeditions also operating 11m?
At 10:29 AM -0500 12/4/02, Ron St.Laurent ND5S wrote: And here many of us sit and wait for our Federal Government to allow Desecheo to come on the air and an 11 meter DXpedition landed without permission and operated this past summer. I found their website when I did a Yahoo search on Desecheo http://www.sugardelta.com/299sd0/ At 11:16 AM -0600 12/4/02, Zack Widup wrote: I really hope they don't hurt our chances for an operation there. I still need that one! There's still hope. Don Miller has his license again. Keep the faith...:-) 73, -- Please don't use my [EMAIL PROTECTED] address. ARRL mail forwarding to me seems hopelessly broken and I have received _no_ help in resolving the problem _ /~\ The ASCII| J o h n B a s t i n K 8 A J S \ / Ribbon Campaign | [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] X Against HTML | http://www.qsl.net/k8ajs / \ Email! | 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
Re: [DX-CHAT] Isn't that a Lynyrd Synyrd song, or am I thinking ofFreeBIRD?
On Wed, 4 Dec 2002, Norm Gertz wrote: Ron wrote: Other FB activity: Guantanamo Bay? We have some military personnel breaking the law? Really? Should not happen on a military base..I will see that the base Comm Officer is advised and hope that corrective measures are taken as required. 73 NormK1AA It's worth checking out, but it may not have happened. If these people are unscrupulous enough to perform illegal operations in such a brazen way, I wouldn't be surprised if some of these operations are Romeos. 73, Zack W9SZ 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
Re: [DX-CHAT] ham DXpeditions also operating 11m?
On Wed, 4 Dec 2002, John E Bastin, K8AJS wrote: At 11:16 AM -0600 12/4/02, Zack Widup wrote: I really hope they don't hurt our chances for an operation there. I still need that one! There's still hope. Don Miller has his license again. Keep the faith...:-) 73, I wonder when Don Miller will discover these internet DX reflectors? Maybe he already has ... :-) 73, Zack W9SZ 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
