Re: [HCDX]: Country List Debate

[Risto Vahakainu <vahakain@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Thu, 25 Nov 1999, Mauno Ritola wrote:

> For easier comparison it would be good if every club used the same list
> throughout the world. After all we are more and more international
> community nowadays.

The other problem in these comparisons is the QTH problem. Different
parts of the world are different QTHs and of course it is not sensible to 
compare with someone who travels everywhere and reports locally or nearly
locally. But some DXers also live during their hobby life in different
countries etc. In Finland this is pretty easy. We count the stations that
have been received in Finland, and many DXers travel to DXpeditions to
west Finland for Brits, North Finland from North Americans and East
Finland for Asian stations. But this rule doesn't work in all
countries. How would you define this?

> 	I personally would prefer the NASWA principle of old radio countries to be
> used, but it seems that the main principles of EDXC list can't even be
> discussed about. Anyway, I'd like to know if I am the only one in Europe
> with this opinion. In my mind any small detail that would keep a newcomer
> in the hobby would be good. There are already enough things which
> discourage newcomes to continue in the hobby (diminishing number of
> stations on SW, MW etc.). Old-timers have enough QSLs from stations not
> existing any more, and that's something that can't be changed. But counting
> DX countries is a different matter.

In general it is a worldwide problem to get youngsters to this hobby. I
don't think this making it a bit easier to hunt countries would really
mean much. Many countries have in practice disappeared, because they have
left shortwave and/or medium wave. And like I said I would feel strange to
be able to QSL old countries and "countries". If we would pick up the
NASWA system, we would then also need to modify the system to work on
medium waves and maybe FM, too, which would need a lot of history
work. This is the reason why I think a complete country list basing on
world politics and geography is better than a list where only radioactive
countries are listed.

>And anyway at least in Finland one can count two radio countries for
> Vietnam, if one has heard a station from North Vietnam before unification
> and now hears a station from ex-South Vietnam area. That's because they
> were independent states. How is that elsewhere and acc. to EDXC list?
> Couldn't that detail be widened to DX "countries", too?
> 
> 73, Mauno
>
This problem bases on the idea of whether countries have united or one
country has merged another to it. I discussed this Vietnam case about 10
years ago with the FDXA landlist committee, and those wise men told me
that one criteria of united countries is that the new country has a new
name. The basic example of this case is the unification of Tanganika and
Zanzibar (in the 60's) to a country called Tanzania. And according to the
committee North Vietnam, South Vietnam and Vietnam are different
names. But when east Timor was merged to Indonesia, it just meant that the
country Indonesia grew a bit bigger. Working in a landlist committee is
interesting; you sometimes have to decide on world politics! (I have never
been a member).

Anyway, counting radio countries can still be ruled, but counting radio
stations using clear principles is in practice impossible. 

73's

Risto Vahakainu
EDXC
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