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Author Topic: 5B-WAZ achieved!  (Read 1051 times)

WO7R

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Re: 5B-WAZ achieved!
« Reply #45 on: February 12, 2023, 07:05:17 AM »

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However, the point of my dialog is that by using FT8, you are in fact doing the equivalent of adding the amp to the QRP award.

We are?  Says who?

So, you are the enemy of all progress.

FT8 was designed by hams and for hams. That is not true of CW or SSB.

If it extends our capabilities, that's part of its design.  To do more with less.

I can think of few things that are more in the amateur spirit than that.  Why are you complaining about it?

For a while, we had this thing called High Speed CW.  People would actually record signals on cassette and slow them down.  It was done to take advantage of the limited window of meteor burns.  I never did that one, but it was described to me by those that did.

We have always found ways around the power limits, antenna gain limits, and much else.

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W1VT

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Re: 5B-WAZ achieved!
« Reply #46 on: February 12, 2023, 07:17:48 AM »

Every attempt at a ham radio award is different.  Not only are conditions constantly changing, but we all have different opportunities to operate and resources to build stations.
10M is wide open this morning to seemingly everywhere except China.  I still need China on 10M even though I have lots of entities around China, including VS6, BV, and XX9!
A few years ago 10M was dead.  Europe wasn't even making it across the pond to New England.  Not even France and Germany.  Now I can hear the little pistol European DXers!

Sometimes technology changes so fast that what was possible becomes impossible.
 I tried to work DXCC using JT9 in a calendar year.  Got up to 78 before FT8 took over! 
 Everyone abandoned JT9 for FT8!  The 1 minute sequencing  for JT9 was just too slow.

Zak W1VT
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N1UR

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Re: 5B-WAZ achieved!
« Reply #47 on: February 12, 2023, 07:18:11 AM »

You guys can just go on believing your own BS.  If you want to think that obtaining 5BWAZ is the same now as it was 5 or 10 or 15 years ago.  Go ahead.  Its not.  The fact that you can't admit it, speaks volumes honestly.

I will repeat.  I have congratulated W2IRT and will do the same for you on the 5BWAZ achievement.  But to skip the "and it took FT8 for the last hardest few zones on 80" while some of us sit at 195 - 199 is disingenuous.  Us that are sitting there are not lesser than you.  We are just more convicted in why we are sitting there.  Simple as that.

Hopefully, when P5 comes on, the op will use SSTV.  Then we can see the mad scramble to make that the mode of choice....

Some of the crowd here has no tolerance for those of us that want the traditional to survive.  Yet expect us to be tolerant of your trashing of it.  Respect of the traditional would be a great consideration going forward.

Ed  N1UR
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WO7R

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Re: 5B-WAZ achieved!
« Reply #48 on: February 12, 2023, 11:42:58 PM »

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If you want to think that obtaining 5BWAZ is the same now as it was 5 or 10 or 15 years ago.

I don't remember arguing that.

I don't know what you're getting on about.

Things in ham radio are always changing.  Somethings make it easier, some harder, but it is always different.

The FT8 part may, on balance, make it easier for some.  But in my personal quest, JT65 was the actual difference maker, not FT8, really.

Meanwhile, expeditions to some places are rarer.  That has less of an effect on 5BWAZ as it does DXCC, but it still has its effects.  Fewer stations to critical zones means "harder".

The thing is, some of us forget that we did CW not out of some virtue or other.  Not for 5BWAZ.  No, for 5BWAZ, it was to get the most QSOs out of the same station.  FT8 is just the next version of that.

Meanwhile, if the stations move off of CW, whatcha gonna do?  If you are really interested in 5BWAZ, you work them where they actually are.
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AF5CC

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Re: 5B-WAZ achieved!
« Reply #49 on: February 13, 2023, 01:34:11 PM »

Getting most awards today might be harder to get them than 15, 20, or 40 years ago.  The noise floor is so high today with all of the crummy consumer electronics with their switching power supplies.

I remember when I was first upgraded to general in 1982.  You could work most DX stations on 20 meter SSB with 100 watts and a non-directional antenna.  And I did.  Now getting DX on SSB is much more difficult due to their lack of hearing weaker stations.

73 John AF5CC
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WO7R

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Re: 5B-WAZ achieved!
« Reply #50 on: February 13, 2023, 11:52:11 PM »

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Now getting DX on SSB is much more difficult due to their lack of hearing weaker stations.

Excellent point.  Many expeditions, if you read their write ups, talk about high noise levels generally or on some particular bands.

Some of these guys rent a location with no way of knowing ahead of time if it is radio quiet or not.

Zorro led an expedition to E3 a while back after his usual suave and successful negotiations with the government there.

I knew one of the guys that went -- they ended up in a specific hotel.  I don't know whether Zorro had a chance to vet the place out ahead of time for its radio qualities.  But, that's  the sort of thing that can produce a noisy setup.  If it didn't happen to that operation, then surely others.  I seem to recall a 6O operation of a couple years back claiming they had terrible noise (and not a lot of choice as to where to set up).  Sometimes, you have no real proof that the place you're going to will be suitable.
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W1VT

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Re: 5B-WAZ achieved!
« Reply #51 on: February 14, 2023, 06:21:54 AM »

We knew about the limited space situation in our hotel, but we didn’t know about the ‘improved’ illumination- and machinery situation with a dramatically increase of man-made noise there.

There was no way for us to run out of the given situation, we had to cope with a noise-level of 9+ during the night time and 10 dB less through daylight time on 160 m to 30 m. We knew that we had solid signals on those bands and it made us more than sad to be able picking up only a small percentage of the stations calling us.

https://www.dx-world.net/xx9d-macao/
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AF5CC

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Re: 5B-WAZ achieved!
« Reply #52 on: February 21, 2023, 07:25:55 PM »

If you really want a challenge, try getting the AM WAZ.  Working all 40 zones on AM would probably be pretty difficult today.  Too bad they don't have a FM WAZ.  That is possible on a combination of 10 and 6 meters.

73 John AF5CC
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N1UR

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Re: 5B-WAZ achieved!
« Reply #53 on: February 22, 2023, 03:56:22 AM »

Except all the Dxing on 6 is now 99% FT8 so good luck with that.  Just because its possible doesn't mean its doable anymore when the lazy factor has kicked in globally.

Ed  N1UR
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W1VT

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Re: 5B-WAZ achieved!
« Reply #54 on: February 22, 2023, 05:20:36 AM »

If you moved to a rare entity like KH9 I'm sure folks would be delighted to make schedules with you on any mode you choose!

If I recall correctly when Jack KH6CC built his 160M station way way out in the sticks away from any powerlines it took him a ridiculously short amount of time to get his 160M WAS.  Could someone still do that today?  Build a really big station that hears well and get on 160M CW to make tons of contacts?
« Last Edit: February 22, 2023, 05:23:22 AM by W1VT »
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W2IRT

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Re: 5B-WAZ achieved!
« Reply #55 on: February 22, 2023, 09:44:26 AM »

If I recall correctly when Jack KH6CC built his 160M station way way out in the sticks away from any powerlines it took him a ridiculously short amount of time to get his 160M WAS.  Could someone still do that today?  Build a really big station that hears well and get on 160M CW to make tons of contacts?
You could very likely do a 160 WAS in a couple of contests, and just one if you're lucky. Getting all the lower-48 is quite easy in ARRL-160 and CQWW-160 CW. I do it regularly, assuming MT, SD, and WY are active. Hawaii has a ton of high power stations and they're also not difficult. AK is the hard one, at least from the east coast. In 22 years I've only worked two, both on CW.

But a 160 WAZ, now that will be a challenge for sure. A couple of guys from my contest club have over 320 confirmed on 160 and yeah, the lack of electrical noise makes all the difference. That and infinite space for RX Antennas.
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Night gathers and now my watch begins. It shall not end until I reach Top of the Honor Roll

Great times are at hand, and soon there will be DX for all—although more for some than for others.

WO7R

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Re: 5B-WAZ achieved!
« Reply #56 on: February 24, 2023, 04:56:17 PM »

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But a 160 WAZ, now that will be a challenge for sure.

A full 40 zones?  Very much so.  So much so, in fact, that you can get a WAZ certificate for 25 zones on 160. 

(This will confuse the "but, but it says ALL zones" crowd, however it is past time for folks to get realize WAZ is a brand, and not to read too much into magic words.  It's been this way for decades.  I know folks similarly go crazy when they hear the 5BWAZ certificate can be had with "only" 150 zones).

Less that 700 stations, since forever, have gotten a 160 WAZ certificate of any kind and of those, maybe 1/4 to 1/3 actually have the whole thing.  It is excruciatingly difficult.

Similarly, less that 200 stations, since forever, have gotten a 6m WAZ certificate of any kind and a quick count suggest that less than five (maybe 3 or fewer) have actually gotten all forty zones on 6.

You want something really hard? Shoot for all forty on one of those.
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W1VT

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Re: 5B-WAZ achieved!
« Reply #57 on: February 24, 2023, 05:05:36 PM »

It is 30 zones for 160 and 25 zones for 6M.  There is a prerequisite that you get any 40 zone award for 5BWAZ with 150 zones.
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AF5CC

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Re: 5B-WAZ achieved!
« Reply #58 on: February 25, 2023, 08:32:53 AM »

And remember, today you can get the Worked ALL States by working 49 states.

73 John AF5CC
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W2IRT

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Re: 5B-WAZ achieved!
« Reply #59 on: February 25, 2023, 09:14:10 AM »

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But a 160 WAZ, now that will be a challenge for sure.
A full 40 zones?  Very much so.  So much so, in fact, that you can get a WAZ certificate for 25 zones on 160. 
(This will confuse the "but, but it says ALL zones" crowd, however it is past time for folks to get realize WAZ is a brand, and not to read too much into magic words. It's been this way for decades.  I know folks similarly go crazy when they hear the 5BWAZ certificate can be had with "only" 150 zones).
Just a slight correction; the threshold for 160m is 30 Zones (I just got my 30th last year), and 25 for 6m (I'm at 26). I initially applied for my 5B at 172. I have to admit that it's a bit confusing to have these lower thresholds but I guess this was CQ's answer to Basic Honor Roll versus #1 Honor Roll. i.e. a remarkable achievement that's very far along the path. If that's the case I'd have bumped the level up to 190 or even 195. In reality, for any skilled DXer with a slightly above-average station, getting to 195 Zones is not excruciatingly difficult within one solar cycle. But those last few on 80 are the "life's goals" level of luck.
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Night gathers and now my watch begins. It shall not end until I reach Top of the Honor Roll

Great times are at hand, and soon there will be DX for all—although more for some than for others.
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