The DX Mentor

This is The DX Mentor podcast. I hope to help those hams trying to move up the DXCC ladder as well as those that at on the DXCC Honor Roll. As fast as technology is moving, no one can keep up on it all. I am here to help. #DX #HamradioOur guest was Michael Walker, VA3MW, and Joe, W8GEXAmongst other things like working for NORAD, we discussed How did you get started?Why chasing DX?How has your experience with 6M been?Let's talk Node Red for a minuteHow did Flex get started?How did you get on with Flex?From 30,000 feet, what is different about SDRs?What do you want our listeners to know about the 8000 series?Anything else or any tangent you want to go  on is great with us!Resources mentioned include:Sales email sales@flexradio.comAN/FSQ7 Computer https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?entryid=964RM Noise https://ournetplace.com/rm-noise/Q5 Signal Transverters http://www.q5signal.com/Pactenna https://www.packtenna.com/#/W9GR https://www.w9gr.com/Controlled Envelope SSB https://www.arrl.org/files/file/QEX_Next_Issue/2016/January_February_2016/Hershberger_QEX_1_16.pdfFree DV https://freedv.org/FLEX : The Accidental Company https://www.flexradio.com/videos/flexradio-systems-the-accidental-company/Southwest Ohio DX Assoc. https://www.swodxa.orgDaily DX https://www.dailydx.com/DX Engineering https://www.dxengineering.com/Icom https://www.icomamerica.com/ IC-905 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-905/ IC-9700 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-9700/ IC-7610 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7610/ IC-7300 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7300/ IC-7760 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7760 IC-PW2 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-PW2

This is The DX Mentor podcast. I hope to help those hams trying to move up the DXCC ladder as well as those that at on the DXCC Honor Roll. As fast as technology is moving, no one can keep up on it all. I am here to help. #DX #HamradioIn this episode of The DX Mentor, our #DX gurus, will discuss:The 2024 DX Year in Review document that was published by W3UR and W1JR. This is an excellent source of reference material and has been around for quite some time.I hope you enjoy this discussion of how the material is collected, edited, and then made available to hams.Resources mentioned include:K8CX Ham Gallery : http://hamgallery.com/W1JR/Southwest Ohio DX Assoc. https://www.swodxa.orgDX Code of Conduct : https://www.dx-code.com/Daily DX https://www.dailydx.com/DX Engineering https://www.dxengineering.com/Icom https://www.icomamerica.com/IC-905 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-905/IC-9700 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-9700/IC-7610 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7610/IC-7300 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7300/

This is The DX Mentor podcast. I hope to help those hams trying to move up the DXCC ladder as well as those that at on the DXCC Honor Roll. As fast as technology is moving, no one can keep up on it all. I am here to help. #DX #Hamradio Intro: A Russian Robinson Team consisting Alex RW3RN, Hal W8HC, Mike K5MSK, Slava OK8AU, Raisa R1BIG, Tim NL8F, Vlad R9LR and Yuri N3QQ will be active from Central American DXCC entities (covering IOTA and POTA) during February 11 to March 7, 2025. As follows: YN6RRC – (Feb 11-16) Complejo volcánico San Cristóbal, POTA NI-0055 (Nicaragua) H7RRC – (Feb 11-16) Isla Del Cardon, NA-212 (Nicaragua) TI1RRC – (Feb 19-25) Isla Cano, NA-117 & POTA CR-0018 (Costa Rica) 3F3RRC – (Feb 26 to Mar 3) Chirique, POTA PA-0033 (Panama) All calls are currently pending. QSL via LoTW or via M0OXO and RW3RN (RU/EW only). How did each of you get in to Ham Radio? How did you get interested in DX? How did you decide to BE the exotic DX? What other trips have you been on? For starters: What is the Russian Robinson Team? Tell us about your team: N3QQ, W89HC, OK8AU, RW3RN, K5MSK, NL8F, R1BIG, and R8LR How did you choose these locations? As far as Costa Rica is concerned, how will you split up the operation between el Cano Island (10-40M) and the Park position (10-160) Tell us about your antennas. The website lists the following: 10/12/15/17/20/30/40m/60/80m Fan dipoles and OCFD 80-10m in vertical configuration. 22m Vertical for 160m and pair of RX beverages (EU/JA directions), high-power filters What are your expectations? (What criteria will you use to consider this a success?) How can folks provide financial support? Expectations on conditions, # of QSOs What about YN6RRC, H7RRC (Nicaragua), and 3F3RRC (Panama) operations - any updates? R1BIG Social Media handles https://www.youtube.com/ylraisa https://www.facebook.com/YLRaisa/ https://www.instagram.com/ylraisa/ W1DED : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo08QEywohY&t=126s QRZ: https://www.qrz.com/db/TI1RRC Kitka DXPedition Site: https://www.qrz.com/db/K7K Russian Robinson Club: https://na-234.com/ Southwest Ohio DX Assoc. https://www.swodxa.org Daily DX https://www.dailydx.com/ DX Engineering https://www.dxengineering.com/ Icom https://www.icomamerica.com/ IC-905 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-905/ IC-9700 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-9700/ IC-7610 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7610/ IC-7300 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7300/ IC-7760 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7760 IC-PW2 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-PW2

This is The DX Mentor podcast. I hope to help those hams trying to move up the DXCC ladder as well as those that at on the DXCC Honor Roll. As fast as technology is moving, no one can keep up on it all. I am here to help. #DX #Hamradio Our guests were Ed, W0YK, and Joe, W8GEX The topics that we covered included: Intros - Joe, W8GEX, and then you How did you get in to Ham Radio? How did you get in to chasing DX? You have operated from Japan, Syria, Jamaica, and the Galapagos. Can you give us highlights of those operations? How did you get in to contesting? RTTY: Describe it a bit Seems to be your favorite mode, what do you like about it? Are there still DX stations using RTTY? Describe the various RTTY contests It would seem to me to be as popular as ever, correct? Let's talk about the RTTY sprint - seems daunting to me Resources mentioned include: RTTY Contesting : https://www.rttycontesting.com/ AA5AU Page : https://www.aa5au.com/ Weekly RTTY Sprint : https://radiosport.world/wrt.html NCCC Weekly Sprint : https://www.ncccsprint.com/rttyns.html MMTTY RTTY Decoder : https://hamsoft.ca/pages/mmtty.php 2Tone RTTY Decoder : https://www.rttycontesting.com/downloads/2tone/ North American Sprint : https://www.contestcalendar.com/contestdetails.php?ref=155 CQWW RTTY DX Contest : https://www.contestcalendar.com/contestdetails.php?ref=130 Southwest Ohio DX Assoc. https://www.swodxa.org Daily DX https://www.dailydx.com/ DX Engineering https://www.dxengineering.com/ Icom https://www.icomamerica.com/ IC-905 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-905/ IC-9700 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-9700/ IC-7610 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7610/ IC-7300 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7300/ IC-7760 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7760 IC-PW2 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-PW2

This is The DX Mentor podcast. I hope to help those hams trying to move up the DXCC ladder as well as those that at on the DXCC Honor Roll. As fast as technology is moving, no one can keep up on it all. I am here to help. #DX #Hamradio Resources mentioned include: Southwest Ohio DX Assoc. https://www.swodxa.org Daily DX https://www.dailydx.com/ DX Engineering https://www.dxengineering.com/ Icom https://www.icomamerica.com/ IC-905 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-905/ IC-9700 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-9700/ IC-7610 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7610/ IC-7300 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7300/

This is The DX Mentor podcast. I hope to help those hams trying to move up the DXCC ladder as well as those that at on the DXCC Honor Roll. As fast as technology is moving, no one can keep up on it all. I am here to help. #DX #Hamradio Hello and welcome to episode 55 of The DX Mentor and our discussion of Geography and DX. Thank you for joining us. I’m Bill, AJ8B.     If this is the first time you are with us, Welcome! We have a back catalog of over 50 episodes covering many aspects of DX in both podcast and YouTube format. Please check us out. If you are new to DXing, I would really recommend episode 1 as it was recorded with several world class DXers. You will get a feel of the excitement that goes with chasing DX!     Remember, if you like what you find, please subscribe, like, and share!  Our guest today is Ralph Bellas, K9ZO. Here is a bit of bio on Ralph “My interests include technology, entrepreneurship, contesting, DXing, CW, VHF, propagation, and being very active on the HF bands. DXpeditions really excite me!  I'm an Assistant Director, 50 Year Member, and Life Member with the ARRL. I'm a past President, State Coordinator, and former Board member of the Society of Midwest Contesters (SMC) - W9SMC.  I am the former "Contesting on a Budget" column editor for the National Contest Journal, NCJ.  I'm a former member of the Metro DX club. I have earned 10BDXCC, 10 Band WAS, and the Triple Play Award.  I am active with DXCC Challenge with 2911 slots.  For DXCC Honor Roll I have 358 Mixed, 353 CW, 358 Phone, and 319 Digital countries.  I earned 5BWAZ.  I've been fortunate to have been part of DX teams which were awarded "DXpedition of the Year." Joe, W8GEX, an accomplished DXer in his own right will also be with us.  Resources mentioned include: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bir_Tawil https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morokulien https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baikonur_Cosmodrome Southwest Ohio DX Assoc. https://www.swodxa.org Daily DX https://www.dailydx.com/ DX Engineering https://www.dxengineering.com/ Icom https://www.icomamerica.com/ IC-905 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-905/ IC-9700 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-9700/ IC-7610 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7610/ IC-7300 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7300/

Hello and welcome to episode 54 of The DX Mentor Discussion with 9M8HAZ. Thank you for joining us. I’m Bill, AJ8B. If this is the first time you are joining us, Welcome! We have a back catalog of over 50 episodes covering many aspects of DX in both podcast and YouTube format. Please check us out. If you are new to DXing, I would really recommend episode 1 as it was recorded with several world class DXers. You will get a feel of the excitement that goes with chasing DX!       If you like what you find, please subscribe, like, and share!   If you have questions or comments, please email me directly using thedxmentor@gmail.com. Our guest today is 9M8HAZ, Marz, W3UR, Bernie, and W8GEX, Joe.   From the 9M1Z website, I found this: This DXpedition serves as a critical training exercise, laying the groundwork for a successful “Pre-DXPEDITION OF 9M0-SPRATLY ISLAND” in 2025 or 2026. As you know, Spratly Island is currently closed for maintenance, but we’re hopeful it will reopen to the public by then. Our primary goal for this Borneo DXpedition is to gather valuable experience and knowledge to ensure a smooth operation when we set up our future DXpedition from 9M0 using the 9M0 callsign (assuming all goes well and the island is operational).   A huge congratulations to all the stations who managed to contact us during the DXpedition. We are incredibly impressed to announce a total of 36,169 QSOs logged! This is a fantastic testament to the dedication and skill of both our team and all the participating stations.”   Without any further delay, let’s get started.                

This is The DX Mentor podcast. I hope to help those hams trying to move up the DXCC ladder as well as those that at on the DXCC Honor Roll. As fast as technology is moving, no one can keep up on it all. I am here to help. #DX #Hamradio Instead of my explanation, lets check out what the Rotuma2024.com website has to say: "The Pacific Islands DXpedition Group (PIDXG) is pleased to announce that Gregg, W6IZT; Dean, W2FQ; Nathan, K4NHW; Jamie, MØSDV, Connor, KD9LSV and Lukas, LY7J will operate from Rotuma as 3D2Y from November 15 to December 4, 2024. In addition, they will be taking part in the CQWW CW Contest using another (TBA) callsign. The 6 member team will operate locally with three 500w stations on 6m-160m. Additionally, the DXpedition will include two of W6IZT’s NexGenRiBs. One of the primary goals of this DXpedition is to “Enable DXpeditioning for the Next Generation of Amateur Radio Operators.” Having young operators like 23-year old Jamie, 23-year old Connor, and 22-year old Lukas, participate on this DXpedition team goes a long way in fulfilling this mission. Moreover, the DXpedition organizers and Youth on the Air (YOTA) have entered into a unique partnership with this DXpedition by actually applying YOTA’s goal of building skills, fostering lasting friendships and mentoring younger operators. To this end, the NexGenRiBs will be operated by a team of young amateur radio operators who will get to experience the excitement that comes with being part of this DXpedition and what goes into making this type of activity a success. We are also fortunate to have 19-year old YOTA member Kees (pronounced Case), WØAAE, play an important role in the 3D2Y DXpedition. He has volunteered to coordinate and schedule the YOTA operation of the remote stations." My guests are Joe, W8GEX, Greg, W6IZT, Dean, W2FQ, Connor, KD9LSV, and Greg’s better half, Wendy. Resources mentioned include: https://rotuma2024.com/ Southwest Ohio DX Assoc. https://www.swodxa.org Daily DX https://www.dailydx.com/ DX Engineering https://www.dxengineering.com/ Icom https://www.icomamerica.com/ IC-905 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-905/ IC-9700 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-9700/ IC-7610 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7610/ IC-7300 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7300/

This is The DX Mentor podcast. I hope to help those hams trying to move up the DXCC ladder as well as those that at on the DXCC Honor Roll. As fast as technology is moving, no one can keep up on it all. I am here to help. #DX #Hamradio Today we will be discussing the upcoming DXPedtion to Sao Tome & Principe, S9Z. The following is from their website: “The Dateline DX Association (DDXA), a world-wide DX organization, is pleased to announce to the amateur radio DX community the activation of Sao Tome & Principe, a small island nation off the coast of Gabon from November 11 through November 20, 2024. The license, issued by The General Regulatory Authority (AGER) in Sao Tome and Principe, authorized the call sign S9Z. The international team is comprised of all highly experienced DXers, DXPeditioners, Contesters and Activators. The team will activate all HF bands from 10 through 160m on SSB, CW and Digital modes using stations with amplifiers, hex beams, tall verticals and wires; Will also operate EME on VHF 6m and UHF 432. Our guests today are Ralph, K0IR, Kimo, KH7U, Max, I8AHJ/N5AHJ, and Joe, W8GEX. Resources mentioned include: S9Z Info https://www.qrz.com/db/S9Z S9Z Website https://s9z.org/ Southwest Ohio DX Assoc. https://www.swodxa.org Daily DX https://www.dailydx.com/ DX Engineering https://www.dxengineering.com/ Icom https://www.icomamerica.com/ IC-905 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-905/ IC-9700 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-9700/ IC-7610 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7610/ IC-7300 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7300/ 

This is The DX Mentor podcast. I hope to help those hams trying to move up the DXCC ladder as well as those that at on the DXCC Honor Roll. As fast as technology is moving, no one can keep up on it all. I am here to help. #DX #Hamradio Van, N4VGE, is the point of contact and organizer for a DXpedition to Vanuatu October 15th to the 30th, for the CQ WW SSB contest.  The Vanuatu call sign will be YJ0VV for the DXpedition. They will be staying at a luxury villa about 15km from Port Vila on Efate Island. Vanuatu is #83 on Phone (#115 overall) of Clublog's Most wanted DX countries. They will be taking a Flex 6700, Yaesu 891, Icom 7100 and 7300 radios, two amplifiers, a BuddiHex 6-20m antenna, four 40m verticals, DX Commander Expedition vertical (for POTA activations), 10-160 inverted V, and 160m loaded long wire. The QSL Manager is K4NHW, Nathan Wood.  They will be using N1MM+ logging software for the DXpedition and have a goal of 40,000 contacts during the contest using 1500w High Power M2.  Probably not enough for a top three spot but a decent showing.  There are four hams (N4VGE, K4QQG, K1NZ, and K2SAV) and two wives going along. Along with Joe, W8GEX, my guest today is Van, N4VGE.     Topics: Intros How did you get in to Ham Radio? How did you get interested in DX? How did you decide to BE the exotic DX? What other trips have you been on? Tell us about your team. How/Why did you choose Vanuatu? Describe the overall DXpedition (operators, days, equipment) What are your expectations? (What criteria will you use to consider this a success?) How can folks provide financial support? Links: POTA https://parksontheair.com/index.html SOTA https://www.sota.org.uk/ Clublog Country List https://clublog.org/mostwanted.php Southwest Ohio DX Assoc. https://www.swodxa.org Daily DX https://www.dailydx.com/ DX Engineering https://www.dxengineering.com/ Icom https://www.icomamerica.com/ IC-905 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-905/ IC-9700 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-9700/ IC-7610 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7610/ IC-7300 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7300/