On the Newfie DXpeditions we usually just did lunch around noon (after
catching some minimal amount of sleep in the 6-11 a.m. stretch). By 2 p.m.
local, TA DX was already rumbling in on the Beverages even though it may
have been 2+ hours pre-sunset. By the time it was dark for an hour or so
and we were getting blase about the initial rush of DX from Europe, Africa,
the Mideast, and sometimes India, then the Brazilians, Argentinians, and
many other southerly goodies started rolling in. Depending on conditions,
these could persist well into the wee hours of the morning. Additionally,
as westerly-progressing sunrise knocked out one group of TA's after
another, lower powered British and other stations on the western flanks of
Europe and Africa, signals previously buried by Mideast megawatters, would
come into their own.
In essence, maybe only about 6 hours out of 24 could be considered non-DX
time.
There were some decent fish places in the area the first few times I went
up to Cappahayden (e.g. 1991, 1993). The poor economy caused by the
decline of the fishing industry around there resulted in one restaurant
after the other "going dark" as the years passed.
Typically the communal DX shack room had snack material (chips with dip or
salsa, pretzels, nuts, crackers, cookies) of dubious nutritional merit. At
least once in a while, oranges or other fresh fruit showed up. No matter
how you looked at it, however, there was nothing distinguished from a
culinary standpoint.
Drinks? When actually DXing, it was usually about the caffeine: tea,
coffee, hot chocolate, and cola prevailed. Beer, wine, and that
distinctive local "hooch" known as "Newfie Screech" weren't usually trotted
out until the last DXpedition night as a celebration of the "job well done"
and as a sort of farewell send-off. DX efficiency typically declined a few
notches at that point. Some of us had very early flights out the next day
so we couldn't get too blasted. On the subject of diminished DX
efficiency, of course nowadays with SDR's, most of the serious DX analysis
goes on weeks or even months after the actual reception times. So as long
as you're not so inebriated that you delete (or fail to save) the capture
files, you can still make a go at some good DX as long as the alertness is
there when you finally do get to dig through all those captures. Even with
the benefit of an eventually-bigger logbook, the after-the-fact nature of
DXing with SDR's does take away some !
of the old-school "fun factor" of immediate gratification and in-person
real-time success-sharing with your DXpedition comrades ... stuff that the
late John Bryant celebrated so well in his kid-in-a-candy-shop-enthusiasm
writings from the ol' knob-twisting and cassette-recording "dark ages".
After-the-fact DX also tends to take useful tools such as shortwave
parallel checking, webstreams, and remote web receivers out of the game.
I guess what I advocate is a 50/50 blend of SDR-band-capture modernity and
Bryantesque "waist-gunner onna NRD-525" (or was it SX-28?) "live" DXing.
Back on the food topic ... local group DXpeditions here on the
Massachusetts coast, not surprisingly, sometimes have a seafood restaurant
get-together meal prior to the set-up of mobile DX gear / antennas at a
suitable shore site in time for high-productivity listening starting 15-30
minutes before sunset. See "DX Clams" reports such as <
http://www.qsl.net/wa1ion/dx_clams_2005.htm> for an example.
Mark Connelly, WA1ION
South Yarmouth, MA
<<
The only 'big meal' we normally have at the LBI DXpeditions is breakfast,
when
there's little to no DX.
Lunches and dinner are usually nearby takeout pizza, subs, etc. Of course
there's also beer, soda
and various munchies in stock.
?
Russ Edmunds
15 mi NNW of Philadelphia
Grid FN20id
<wb2bjh@xxxxxxxxx>
________________________________
From: Walter Salmaniw <canswl@xxxxxxxxx>
To: Mailing list for the International Radio Club of America
<irca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, September 12, 2013 12:48 AM
Subject: Re: [IRCA] Worldwide, DXpeditions Hunt Elusive Radio Signals
Seems that the culinary and beverage side of DXpeditions on this coast has
been sadly lacking.? Although we did go for some nice meals in Grayland,
once in a while!? We must take DXing much more seriously.? Who has time to
eat, when the DX is so good!? 73,....Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC
On Thu, Sep 12, 2013 at 4:29 AM, Nick Hall-Patch <nhp@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
What are these "beverages (often of alcoholic origin) " of which the
author speaks?? All these years, I thought they were antennas, hi.
Some years ago I think the Nagoya DX Circle provided a link to photos of
Japanese DXpeditions which looked as if there was a strong culinary
streak,
not to mention, ah, beverages.
Nice link, capturing the international flavor of DXpeditioning.
best wishes,
Nick
_______________________________________________
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