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A few weeks ago, I reported about AXETTY. This time I’m looking at another program by WA6AXE. It’s a modification of the original DxbPSK that comes with DXBase 2007. The difference between this version and the original, is that it is now capable of PSK63 and PSK125 as well, not only PSK31. You also have the option to select a third or fourth soundcard so that users who have the microHAM devices, or RigExpert Standard with a soundcard etc, can use this program.

The latest version (2.27) was released a few weeks ago. Grab the program here: http://www.navycthistory.com/wa6axe/selection.html

February 6, 2009
Desecheo 2009 Press Release # 5
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Today several team members leave their homes and start their journey to Desecheo via Puerto Rico. The entire fifteen-man team will assemble by Saturday evening in San Juan. Sunday morning will be devoted to the required UXO (unexploded ordnance) training and afterward the team will travel to Rincon, Puerto Rico, the closest landfall to Desecheo. The Lazy Parrot Hotel will be the team headquarters for the following four days.

All equipment and antennas that we shipped have arrived and are in storage. Most of our infrastructure supplies and equipment have been purchased locally and are also in our storage facility.

The team will spend Monday through Wednesday completing team training, finalizing assignments, testing generators and pre-assembling antennas. The remaining shopping will also be completed.

The SUP (Special Use Permit) will be presented to us in a special ceremony scheduled for Monday night. With that in hand, we will finally be ready to activate the #6th "most-wanted" DXCC entity from February 12th-26th. We hope to be QRV late in the day on the 12th, weather depending.

Visit the new K5D Store (the button is about 2/3 down on every page) on our website: www.kp5.us There is a good selection of memorabilia including nice polo shirts, t-shirts, caps, mouse pads, and mugs.

Financial support is being sought and is very welcome. The "How you can help" button on the website makes it easy. Larger contributions can be made tax-deductible (consult your tax advisor) if directed through the Northern California DX Foundation. Details are found on our website.

CU in the pileups,

Bob Allphin, K4UEE
Glenn Johnson W0GJ

This will be a summary for the last weeks. Not much radio lately except the 160M CQWW Contest. January 13th I worked TS7C on 30M CW. January 18th I worked H44MS on 40M SSB for a new one on 40M (#224). He was quite easy to work, because he showed up above 7100KHz. Last weekend I visited LA8W to run the 160M contest from there. That resulted in 21 new ones on 160M and 1 new on 80M with A71AN. January 26th I worked VQ9JC on 40M CW (#225) and BD8AIB on 40M CW also. January 30th I worked FW5RE on 40M CW (#226). January 27th I worked VK3FY/DU8 on 40M CW.

Soundclips:

• H44MS 40M SSB – a new one on 40M
• VQ9JC 40M CW – a new one on 40M, very nice signal
• FW5RE 40M CW– no id on this one, and trouble with amp-relay cutting either the first dit or cuts the dah in half
• FW5RE 40M CW– id here, but slightly weaker than the previous day
• TS7C 30M CW – iota AF-073
• VK3FY/DU8 40M CW – a new one on 40M CW

LoTW confirmations are coming in. I’m up to 206 now with OE2S as the latest new one.

Many years ago I stumbled upon DX Stories. The original old stories were written by WA6AUD. Later VE1DX picked up where he left and continued to write stories. These stories have a humorous twist on the life of DX’ers. In the stories, you have the local QRPers who wonder about everything that has to do with DX and DX’ing. The old Timer knows everything about DX and DX’ing, but aren’t always that eager to share the answers. You have The Palos Verdes Sundancers who were the ones who brought on the solar cycles.. Terms such as The Great Days of DXing, Only The Deserving, Be a Believer, and of course DX IS! all came from the wit and wisdom of Hugh Cassidy and the WCDXB. We still hear these phrases today being used by seasoned DXers and newcomers alike, some perhaps not even aware of their origin. Nevertheless, they have become part of the DX experience, jargon exchanged by true-blue DXers in their quest for just one more new one!
 

Find the stories here: http://www.geocities.com/k2cddx/dxstories.html 

and here: http://www.ve1dx.net/Stories/stories.html

I participated in this contest mainly to get new countries, so the effort could always have been better. But as I have realized several years ago, I’ll always be a casual contester. I did work 21 new countries on 160M and many new states. The conditions were excellent, but big pile-ups made it very difficult to get through to many of them. An overcrowded band also made it very difficult to find "free" frequencies.

On both mornings, I was hearing lots of DX in broad daylight, several hours after sunrise. Most of the US, KH6 and KL7 were quite strong, but I just couldn’t make myself heard. On Sunday morning, XE was also strong, but it was still a no-go. The operation was made from the excellent station at LA8W. An inverted-l with elevated radials and 4 beverage listening antennas is a real pleasure to operate.

Total: QSOs = 1066 State/Prov = 42 Countries = 67 Total Score = 666,644

My country score is now 88 on 160M. The log has been uploaded to LoTW. Lots of confirmations are ticking in, and 5 new countries, now totalling 205. The new ones are MD4K, HS0ZEE, E77CFG, YT2U, YL2PP.