
The DX Mentor
The DX Mentor podcast is directed towards any amateur radio operator (Ham) or Short Wave Listener (SWL) who has an interest in listening to or communicating with stations that are not in your country, or DX.
Latest episodes

Sep 28, 2024 • 44min
Episode 50 - C21MM - Nauru
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 today are Rolf, DL7VEE, Christian, DL6KAC, and Joe, W8GEX. We are going to be discussing the upcoming DXPedition to C21MM, Nauru with Rolf and Christian.
The DXpedition to Nauru, C21MM, will run from October 10th, 2024 to October 29th, 2024. I normally don’t do this, but from the Daily DX, I can share the following information, which is essentially what we discussed in the first 12 minutes:
With less than 4 weeks to go, the team of 14 German operators are ready. We follow our main principles being light-weight and cost effective. As always, only transceivers from Elecraft will be used. All equipment including antennas will be transported by the team members using “traditional luggage” partly oversized. However, this does not mean that we compromise on the antennas. For the high bands we are going to use our 2-element full size wire beam from LZ Antennas. That provides us with some dB more gain compared to a vertical. By using the LBS Pentaplexer we can operate 3 high bands together at the same time on this antenna.
As always, we follow our strategy to use resonant and full-size single band antennas on all bands (except 160 m). No grounded verticals will be used. Verticals with an elevated radial are even better for reception, also known as Up & Outer. This time we will carry two 22 m (72 feet) Spiderbeam fiberglass poles for 160 m & 80 m (compared to 18 m poles on our last DXpeditions). That is perfect for 80 m and an improvement for the top band as well. We will also bring the brand new 14-m-HD-fiberglass pole from Spiderbeam which gives us 2 m more height compared to the 12-m-HD-pole. This one is perfect for bands from 60 m and up. For low band receiving we plan BOGs. Jan, OK2ZAW (QRO.CZ), supported us with RX band filter boards for splitting one BOG to different receivers on different bands. For 40 & 30 m we try loops this time. We always use small band pass filters for each band between transceiver and amplifier and additional bigger band pass filters to the antennas.
We will run our proven shift system with radio and free time slots 24/7, ensuring that our experienced operators will have full concentration in their shift. 5 stations between 160 and 6 m in CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8 are planned. Starting with a first group of 6 men from October 10th only on high bands for few days. Second part of the group will arrive October 15.
Here are some of the links that we mention during the discussion:
https://c21mm.mydx.de
http://www.dl7vee.de
https://c21mm.mydx.de/?Welcome
https://c21mm.mydx.de/?Donate_here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFh_EW64gDo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1KrGZRzVGY
Southwest Ohio DX Assoc. https://www.swodxa.org
DX 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/

Sep 13, 2024 • 1h 15min
Episode 49 - T32VU Recap
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
DF4GV, DL4SVA, DK2AMM, DJ7TO, DL1KWK and DL2AWG went to Kiritimati (OC 024) from the 13th of March to the 27th of March, 2024.
We ran 3 Stations, 24 hours per day.
Our main modes were CW, SSB, RTTY, and some FT8.
Members of our team had also participated (amongst others) in the following past DXpeditions: 3D2AW, 3D2EU, S7GWG, 4S7RTG, 5B/DJ7TO, 5R8MM, 5R8WG, 5WØGW, 5WØM, 8Q7IO, 9H3O, 9N7AN, A35WG, C21EU, H44WG, HU1DL, J48IO, J48M, J79WG, KH8/DL2AWG, MD/DL4SVA, P29RO, S79GG, TX7EU, T2C, T3ØD, T31EU, V6EU, V73D, VP6EU, XRØYD, XX9D, YJØAWG, ZBØ/DJ7TO, ZK1AWG, ZK3N, ZL/DJ7TO, ZM4T.
The Guest for this episode is DF4GV Elmar : (https://www.qrz.com/db/DF4GV)
Resources mentioned include:
DX Code of Conduct : https://www.dx-code.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/

Sep 6, 2024 • 2h 10min
Episode 48 - DXLabs
Welcome to 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
In this episode of The DX Mentor, our guest is Dave, AA6YQ, and we will be discussing his groundbreaking suite of software products known as the DX Suite.
Here are some of the links that we mention during the discussion:
DX Suite Home: https://www.dxlabsuite.com/
CQ Article on DX Lab https://www.dxlabsuite.com/Presentations/Creating%20the%20DXLab%20Suite%202002-08-05.pdf
Slides we are discussing: https://www.aj8b.com/the-dx-mentor-podcast/
W9KNI "The Complete DXer" https://ham-supply.myshopify.com/products/the-complete-dxer
NCDXF Prop beacon page https://www.ncdxf.org/beacon/
Southwest Ohio DX Assoc. https://www.swodxa.org
DX 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/

Sep 1, 2024 • 1h 30min
Episode 33 - 3D Printing
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 guest was Bob, wv7w@arrl.net
Here are some of the YouTube 3D printing channels:
House of Ham
Maker's Muse
Uncle Jessy
3D Printing Nerd
Here are some of the questions that were asked and answered:
What is 3D printing?
How does it work?
What costs are associated with 3D printing?
Printer?
Filament?
How long does something take to print?
What colors?
What size can I print?
Where can I get items to print?
Can I design my own?
{Ham Radio Questions)
How is it used in ham radio applications?
Are designs shared among ham radio folks?
Resources mentioned include:
Top 3D Slicer Applications
https://www.3dsourced.com/3d-software/best-3d-slicer-printer-software/
https://www.printables.com/
https://www.thingiverse.com/
https://us.store.bambulab.com/products/p1s?variant=41516337070216
https://us.store.bambulab.com/products/a1
https://www.onshape.com/en/
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/

Aug 18, 2024 • 1h 32min
Episode 38 - Improving Your DX Experience Part2
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
In this episode of The DX Mentor, our Ralph, K9ZO, will share many ways that he has improved his DXing. Ralph is very accomplished as his bio states "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."
Here are some of the links that we mention during the discussion:
QRZ https://www.qrz.com/
DX Summit http://www.dxsummit.fi/#/
DXCC Country List https://www.arrl.org/files/file/DXCC/2020%20DXCC%20Current%20.pdf
Clublog Most Wanted https://clublog.org/mostwanted.php
N1MM https://n1mmwp.hamdocs.com/
DXLabs https://dxlabsuite.com/
Southwest Ohio DX Assoc. https://www.swodxa.org
DX 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/

Aug 4, 2024 • 1h 8min
Episode 37 - Improving Your DX Experience - Part 1
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
In this episode of The DX Mentor, our Ralph, K9ZO, will share many ways that he has improved his DXing. Ralph is very accomplished as his bio states "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."
Here are some of the links that we mention during the discussion:
QRZ https://www.qrz.com/
DX Summit http://www.dxsummit.fi/#/
DXCC Country List https://www.arrl.org/files/file/DXCC/2020%20DXCC%20Current%20.pdf
Clublog Most Wanted https://clublog.org/mostwanted.php
N1MM https://n1mmwp.hamdocs.com/
DXLabs https://dxlabsuite.com/
Southwest Ohio DX Assoc. https://www.swodxa.org
DX 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/

Jul 21, 2024 • 1h 3min
Episode 44 - 5H3DX
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 guest is NK8O – Charles Powell
Intros
How did you get into Ham Radio?
Why start chasing DX?
Why decide to BE the DX?
What other DXPeditions have you been on?
What is the Zuzu Medical Center?
What is the International Health Partners?
What is life like in Tanzania?
We always think about Jungle/Animals - what is the real story?
In reviewing your webpage, it would seem that you are into QRP. How often do you get to work QRP?
What is the "Top Activator?"
Sites Referenced:
www.Ihptz.org
Hilltopper QRP Rig
https://www.4sqrp.com/Hilltopper-30.php
K1SWL : https://www.qrz.com/db/K1SWL
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/

Jul 15, 2024 • 53min
Episode 40 - Jarvis Island
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
This week will be discussing the upcoming N5J DXPedition to Jarvis Island. It has been 34 years since Jarvis has been activated.
N1DG, Don, is our guest today. The dates of the DXPedition are approximately 8/5 through 8/16.
We will discuss the operators on the trip including the local ones and the remote ones. Also, Don will explain the compromise that was worked out between the DXpedition and the IOTA group.
Here are links to topics that were mentioned
Jarvis Island https://www.jarvisisland2024.com
Baker Island https://www.baker2018.net/
Rig in a Box https://ncdxf.org/newsletters/2023-WINTER.pdf
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/

Jul 7, 2024 • 1h 47min
Episode 46 - FT8 and Super Fox
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 guest today is Ned Stearns, AA7A. Along with Joe, W8GEX, we will be discussing FT8. Ned was one of the early influencers of FT8, even coining the phrase
“Fox/Hound”. In addition to answering some questions from our followers about FT8, Ned will delve into the new Super Fox mode and tell us all about it.
Ned is an accomplished DXer, sitting at the top of the Honor Roll and a competitive contester. He is also well travelled being a member of the Voodoo contest club.
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/

Jul 1, 2024 • 1h 42min
Episode 45 - Chasing POTA & DX
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 guest is Thomas, K4SWL.
The topics and question that were discussed included:
#1 - How to pick a destination
#2 - Approval to make it official (DXCC Desk/POTA equiv?)
#3 - Get the word out
#4 - Preparation
Travel
Where to stay/eat (may not be applicable)
Equipment testing
Spares (lessons learned on previous trips)
#5 - Operating
Expected propagation
Expected QSO volume
Modes to use
QRP
Logging
Pileups
#6 - Confirming the QSOs
LoTW? Other?
QSL cards?
Resources mentioned include:
Thomas QRP Blog https://www.qrper.com
Thomas SWL Blog: https://swling.com/blog/
Mission RG01 Rig: https://swling.com/blog/2020/01/mission-rgo-one-impressions-availability-pricing-and-upgrades/
SOTA Home page: https://www.sota.org.uk/
Summit Info page : https://www.sotl.as
SOTA Spot Page: https://sotawatch.sota.org.uk/en/
Parks on the Air Info: https://www.pota.app
Mountain Topper Radios: https://www.lnrprecision.com/mountain-toppers/
Pactenna Antennas: https://www.packtenna.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/