Re: [IRCA] DXers signing off

[coffee_canuck <coffeecanuck@xxxxxxxxx>]

I could not possibly add anything to that eloquent offering from one of the Worlds greatest boosters of the hobby.

I am not a gun enthusiast but the quote comes to mind...

"From my cold dead hands...."

Only then will I give up on the radio hobby.

Sent from my iPhone

On 2013-07-01, at 12:49 PM, d1028gary@xxxxxxx wrote:

> 
> 
> Like everyone else, I'm sorry to read this morning's posts from Lee and John, and the additional comments about the general decline of the AM-DXing hobby. The domestic radio scene certainly isn't very inspiring, and pessimism seems to be the order of the day. Some giants of the hobby are passing judgment on our future, and calling it a day. Unlike almost everyone else, though, I'm convinced that the AM-DXing hobby still has plenty of excitement to offer those who are willing to take on new challenges-- and try out new styles of DXing.
> 
> At the peak of the IBOC-inspired pessimism in late 2007 DXers were all too eager to throw off the funereal mindset that was dominating both the IRCA and NRC lists, and take on an exciting new challenge. John Bryant and I formed the Ultralight Radio DXing community primarily to provide DXers an alternative to the gloom-and-doom atmosphere, and the new niche group caught on like wildfire. A positive, exciting message will drown out pessimism every time. Ultralight radio DXing is tough, challenging and completely different from relying on table receivers and large antennas for success-- but the challenge forces you to develop new skills and attitudes... something that you haven't needed to do for decades. The other side of the coin is that the new challenge provides you with DXing excitement that you haven't felt for decades, either!
> 
> The accidental loss of John Bryant in early 2010 was a shock to us all, and could have given the ULR community a legitimate reason to "throw in the towel." But guess what? John's organizational work had done had already laid a firm foundation of optimism and excitement in our community, and we continued to grow like wildfire. Today our Yahoo group has well over 1300 members, and I honestly can't remember when anyone on Ultralightdx has posted a gloom-and-doom message about the future of the AM-DXing hobby.
> 
> I was a teenage DXer in the IRCA in 1969, and can well remember how favorable DXing conditions were with clear channels, Monday morning sign-off periods and frequent DX tests. But I can honestly say that the past few years have been far more exciting, with new discoveries like the FSL antennas, enhanced ocean cliff transoceanic propagation and computer-based sharing of MP3 files. Recently two of the most vibrant segments of the AM-DXing community (Perseus-SDR DXers and the ULR community) have cooperated to develop the new Broadband FSL antenna, which has the potential to provide breakthrough spectrum-capture capability on ocean side cliffs. There will be other exciting AM-DXing challenges coming in the next few years, both in antenna development and transoceanic DXing... and I personally can't wait to see what the future will bring. I may sound like a voice in the wilderness, but I'm sure that noted DXers like Allen Willie, Rob Ross, Richard Allen, Gary Deacon and others w!
 il!
> l agree with me :-)
> 
> 73 and Good DX,
> Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA)
> Ultralight Radio Group Co-Founder
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Fred Schroyer <ibfreditor@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: irca <irca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Mon, Jul 1, 2013 11:14 am
> Subject: [IRCA] DXers signing off
> 
> 
> Reading the posts by Lee Freshwater and John Callarman left me feeling
> saddened and nostalgic. Saddened for the obvious decline of AM radio and
> our DXing hobby, and saddened to see two of our legendary DXers signing
> off. And nostalgic for those magical winter nights when I was a teen in the
> 1950s-60s, listening first with a little Zenith table radio, then with a
> Hallicrafters S-85, feeling the excitement of hearing 1 or 5 kw stations in
> California from my western PA QTH, or the OCs suddenly bursting into the
> SSB with the s/on of a 500 watter in the deep South, or the barely audible
> 1YZ on 800, or the amazing signals from daytimers doing Monday-AM FCs or
> ETs or DX tests on actual clear channels, or the evening parade of s/offs
> on 1580 progressing westward every 15 minutes, or the astonishing morning
> when HCJB-1310 faded up to top the channel after sunrise for a once-in-a
> lifetime clear ID, or typing my report to NRC's DX News and sending it
> off...
> 
> Well, as the song says, everything must change, nothing stays the
> same...but it's been a great ride, and I'm glad for all of us who got to be
> a part of it!
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