[IRCA] Geez, Another Fabulous Week of Firsts and Records

["John H. Bryant" <bjohnorcas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Since we have pushed the Ultralight distance records out so far so 
fast, and since even the UN and the ARRL run out of new countries at 
some point, I thought that this might be the first week with no 
changes in the records... or maybe only a minor one, or two. NOT SO, BUNKIE!

Kevin Schanilec, Bainbridge Is. WA checked in with a very nice catch 
of Biloxi on 1640 to boost his own previous record at 1000 watts 
(previous was Brownsville.)

   3433 km/2133 miles Kevin Schanilec, Bainbridge Is. WA, WTNI-1640, 
Biloxi, MS  2/1/2008 (Eton e100)

Note that the Eton e100 has joined a very short list of 
Record-setting Ultralight Radios.

And then Allen Willie checked in from the birthplace of DXing and 
blew a huge hole in several records, while setting a fist-full of new 
Firsts. I'm honestly not sure what is the biggest news is from 
Allen.... He set a new overall distance record, with a catch of Radio 
Sawa in Djibouti...

  9504 km/5906 miles Allen Willie, St. John's, NF  Radio Sawa-1431, 
Djibouti 2/2/2008 (SRF-37V)

Maybe even more impressive, he got very lucky and just destroyed the 
distance record at 5000 watts while setting a new country first:

   9035 km/ 5614 miles Allen Willie, St. John's, NF  Radio Buenas 
Nuevas-1610, Argentina 2/2/2008 (SRF-37V)

WOW!!!!  The distance of 9035/5614 is the most distant at any power 
below the Super Stations that modulate the entire ionosphere... The 
50 kw distance record is a very respectable 5477 km/3403 miles held 
by Colin Newell (RVC-530)... but the 5 kw Argentine just blows that 
away!  Congratulations, Allen!

After I wrote that, I got to thinking about our Western Hemisphere 
Records: those are records limited to DXers residing in North America 
and hearing stations anywhere in the Western Hemisphere (actually, in 
the Americas...)  Hummmm, I think that Allen's Argentine catch is 
going to stand for a looooong time as the longest DX catch in the 
Western Hemisphere!  So, Allen hit a trifecta, setting three Firsts 
and Records with one reception.

There have been several other changes in the Distance Records.  The 
most noticeable is that we are now expressing each record in both 
kilometers and miles.  Being politically only partly correct and 
thinking in miles, myself (Old Dog), we started out in 
miles.  However, we expect that Ultralighting will be starting up in 
Europe and possibly DownUnder at any moment... and the Canadians have 
swapped over to join the rest of the world some time ago. Obviously, 
the dual distance expression was long overdue. Its now in place.  If 
you do the hard work of establishing new records, you may still turn 
them in using the distance unit of your choice.  I'll do the easy 
work of conversion.

Secretly, I'm looking forward to March through September, when the 
Down Under stations may start to appear on the West Coast... that's 
our big chance to show those East Coast folks "How the Cow Ate The 
Cabbage!"  (Old Southern Expression from an Old Southerner.) Bangkok 
and VOA are about 11,900 km./7400miles from Grayland and its 12,500 
km/7750 miles to Sydney. Equinox is less than 2 months away!

The full current list of Firsts and Records, as of 2/2/08 is now in 
our files area at dxer.ca.

http://www.dxer.ca/component/option,com_docman/task,cat_view/gid,87/Itemid,77/

Hava a great Ultralight Week!



John B.
Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA
Rcvrs: WiNRADiO 313e, Eton e1, NRD-535(kiwa-mods)
Antennas: 700' NE/SW mini-Bev, Wellbrook Phased Array (pre-production version)

_______________________________________________
IRCA mailing list
IRCA@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca

Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers

For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org

To Post a message: irca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx