DX-ing, The pursuit of contacting
stations in distant places. This is the broadest
interpretation of the meaning of the term "chasing DX".
The DXCC award is sponsored by the ARRL and is the most
prestigious of the many DX awards. To earn the DX Century
Club (DXCC) award you must work and confirm at least 100 different
countries and then apply for the award. There are presently 339
entities (countries), and it is possible to work over 100 countries
in a single contest weekend with some dedication. Getting
the QSL cards may be more challenging however. Remember the
final courtesy of a DX QSO is the sending of a QSL card.
There are many
variants of the DXCC award, by mode, and by band. One of the
more coveted versions is the 5BDXCC award, working at least 100
countries on 5 different bands. Other DX type awards
are sponsored by CQ magazine and the most notable and challenging is the WAZ
award, for working all 40 radio zones. There is also a 5
band version of WAZ.
Other awards that can qualify as DX-ing are the ARRL WAC (Work
All Continents), WAS Work All States, which may not be considered DX by
some, but Alaska and Hawaii do count as separate entities for
DXCC credit. Another award gaining in popularity is the RSGB
(Radio Society of Great Britain) IOTA award where the challenge is
to work all of the Islands of the world. There are almost as
many DX contests of one type or another as there are weekends....... there is
an activity for every interest.
DX-ing combined with world wide DX contests (CQ WW, and ARRL DX
contests) can provide a tremendous amount of challenge in
equipment (mostly antennas), and operating skills. It is
great fun and the challenge of becoming a member of the coveted
ARRL DXCC Honor Roll which will put you among the elite of the DX
world.
Put up that beam, or vertical, and string that dipole and join in the
challenge of DX chasing!
Norm W4QN
