NASWA Awards, February 1998
Howdy! I hope you Holidays were everything you wanted them to be and hope you managed to get some time at the dials. DX season started slowly for me this year-just too much work stuff interfering with the radio stuff-but got a major boost when I was part of the HATDX team at the DX Palace in Buxton, on the outer banks of North Carolina. The DX and the tuning oil flowed and a great experience was had by all. From this prime location we were able to log all the Indian transmitters as well as a buncha other really good catches. If you have not gone on a DXpedition you owe it to yourself to do it: not only is the radioing fun but so is the conversation and the occasion.
The new NASWA Country List is now available from the Company Store. This is the most user friendly list we have ever produced and is pre-punched and ready for a notebook. But you might know that already. What you might not know is that we will soon be offering enhancements for the list: a map set and a logging system that can be put in the same notebook to help you form a system of your own. News about these materials will be coming your way in the next several months.
The 11th (!!) Annual Winter SWL Fest will be held in Kulpsville 12-14 March and I hope you plan to attend. The program, which I will feature in this column next month, is nearly complete and will feature updated versions of some of our old classics as well as some brand new topics. At this point we have: Easy Listening with John Figliozzi and Richard Cuff; Antennas with Joe Buch; Pirates with George Zeller and Andy Yoder; Utilities with Mike Wolfson; Scanners with the Scanner Scum; Mediumwave with Dave Schmidt; a beginners forum, and a new product review, being coordinated by Alan Johnson. Plan to bring along your Drake R8 or R8A for the Drake R8/R8A technical clinic. You will have the chance to learn how to get the most out of your classic receiver, plus the tech boys will perform several measurements (free) for you. There might also be a few international broadcasters about, if one were to know. If you have never been, ask someone who has.
And March is also the month for the North American DX Championships, to be held 20-22 March this year. It should prove to be an interesting challenge this time and will feature a new point multiplier as well as hollow state category.
The coveted NASWA greens this month go to the hardy bunch below. The awards business continues to go slow-the list below represents four months of applications-but some of the awards presented are real dandies. Among them are a new DX Centurion and a Master DX Centurion, both major plateaus in the hobby. Also you will find a recipient of one of our most elusive awards, the Master Indonesian DXer. To get this jewel, John had to hear and verify “one Indonesian shortwave broadcast station in 13 or more provinces or special districts, including one from at least 7 of the Indonesian broadcast countries.” Just hearing one or two Indos is a major effort for many, so you can imagine the amount of time and work that went into this one. Then he followed it with the Master Sub Continental DXer, another really tough one. With any of the Sub Continental awards, the hearing of the station is sometimes the easy part-waiting nine months to a year for the QSL (if it ever comes) is always the hard part. I just received my Port Blair QSL for a reception made at the last HATDX in April.
- Don Dankert
- Antarctica DXer
- European Senior DXer
- DX Centurion
- Ecclesiastic DXer
- All American DXer
- Richard Davis
- 210 endorsement, Master DX Centurion
- 40 endorsement, Master European
- 24 endorsement, All VOA
- 65 endorsement, Master British Commonwealth
- 35 endorsement, All American DXer
- Jill Dybka
- Australian DXer
- Richard Hankison
- Antarctica DXer
- Gary Neal
- All Continental QRP-50kW
- 30 endorsement/Senior Ecclesiastic
- Jan Peterson
- World Wide DXer
- European Senior DXer
- Barry Riddiford
- Master DX Centurion/210 endorsement
- Stokes Schwartz
- European Senior DXer
- John Sgrulletta
- Senior Indonesian DXer
- Master Indonesian DXer
- Master Subcontinental DXer
- 20 endorsement, Master PNG
- 60 endorsement, Asian Continental DXpert
- 60 endorsement, African Continental DXpert
- Harry Smith
- 65 endorsement, Senior Ecclesiastic
- 125 endorsement, Pirate DXer
- Edward Stroh
- All VOA Dxer
- Senior Ecclesiastic DXer
- Robert Weiss
- All Continental QRP-50kW
- John Wilkins
- Senior Venezuelan DXer
- Darren White
- World Wide DXer
- DX Centurion
- Antarctica DXer
- European Senior DXer
- North American Continental Dxer
- Ecclesiastic DXer
- Senior Ecclesiastic DXer
- All American DXer
So long for this time. Better get ready for the fest and the NADXC in March. Look for the fest schedule and rules for the NADXC in next month’s Journal. Happy Hunting!