Re: [HCDX]: Unfair DX ???

[ARNOLDEVNS@xxxxxxx]

I've been on both ends of radio dx-ing. I've loved making some very obscure
catches from home and logging them.  I also dx while I'm on the road and try
to catch some of my hometown stations and other stations I've never heard
before.  I'll even make note of every station I've heard and where I heard
them.  However, it has never ever occured to me to send a reception report to
a station that's in the same town I'm in if I heard them while in town.
What's the challenge in that?  It's like celebrating a 100 yard kickoff return
in football when the other team left the field... 

While working at a radio station in Dallas, I had two reception reports that I
think serve as good examples of "fair" and "unfair" dxing.  

One reception report was from a Japanese tourist who happend to be changing
planes at DFW airport and took the time to listen and type out a recption
report.  It was very simple with minimal documentation.  All he put down was
that he heard the station and he quoted our station slogan.  He noted that he
heard the station on a walkman in the terminal at DFW airport.  He wanted me
to acknowledge this reception and mail a QSL card to his home in Japan.  It
went in the trash.

The other was a reception report from New Zealand.  It came in a thick
envelope with several pages of documentation.  The person reporting the
reception had listened to the station crackling in and out over a several hour
time span and had made numerous notes and created a transcript of what he
heard.  It had very detailed technical descriptions of the equipment he used
and the conditions under which he heard the station.  It was a work of art!  I
typed up a reply the afternoon I got the report. (there's a longer story about
a certain delay in responding to the report that that has nothing to do with
the report itself) 

It seems to me that dx-ing should be about verifying reception reports from
stations if you are way outside of their normal service area, no matter where
you are.  I don't think that it's fair to try to get a verification if you
were only 2 miles from a 50kw AM transmitter while you're passing through the
terminal at the local airport.  By the same token, I don't really see too much
of a problem with getting a verification of a reception of a local station if
you happend to hear them while you were 3,000 miles away on a business trip.
(I personally haven't done that and wouldn't do it...primarily because I'd
rather spend my money on stamps for obscure catches in locations I've never
visited)

>From the station perspective, they really like to know how far away they can
be heard.  It's an ego boost for the engineer and the talent.  So, if a local
resident hears a station I'm working at in a far away place and wishes to
report it (in good detail), I wouldn't have a problem responding to them. (not
to mention the fact that it has a tendency to create a better bond between the
station and a local listener)  

That's my take on the issue.  I think it's a very important topic of
discussion.  Maybe we can come up with some rules that "real" dx-ers can agree
to abide by.  

Happy hunting!

Arnold Evans
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