DX Advisory Committee (DXAC) appointment

[w8hc]

WVDXA,

I have shared this information with a few of you already but last Friday, I was contacted by Dr. Jim Boehner, N2ZZ, our ARRL Roanoke Division Director.  Dr. Jim gave me some very bad news...  that Lou, N2TU had to resign as our Roanoke Division (NC, SC, VA and WV) DXAC representative due to a terminal illness.  I can confirm that Lou, who many of you possibly know from his work with FlexRadio and previously with Yaesu and seeing him at Hamvention and other venues, is now in Hospice. This is very sad news indeed and I am still in disbelief of his situation.  I had the privilege of being on 3 major Pacific DXpeditions going back to 2012 when I first met Lou on the NH8S Swains Island DXpedition. Lou was instrumental in bringing me into INDEXA as a director and officer and I am grateful to him for this.  BTW, Clark, W8TN was also on this DXpedition and he and Lou had a great time sharing ice cream bars together... :-)

You may recall that Lou joined our WVDXA email reflector here late last year and solicited the club for any ideas, recommendations or suggestions for the DXCC program.  I believe he asked that your input be emailed directly back to him rather than to the reflector.  This was just after ARRL CEO David Minster, NA2AA had written his very compelling editorial in the November 2024 issue of QST discussing the "Future of DXCC."  I am attaching a pdf copy of it if you are interested.... but the gist of his message was that in 2025, the ARRL Programs and Services Committee (PSC) working with the DXAC, were to examine the DXCC program and make changes to keep up with "changing technologies and environments."  This effort was dubbed "DXCC 2025."

The other part my phone call with Dr. Jim that I failed to mention was to tell me that he wanted to appoint me to the DXAC position in light of Lou's resignation.  I have agreed to accept this position.  The situation I find myself is that I am coming into the DXCC 2025 project and we are late into the year.  So I wanted to reach out to what is without doubt the premier DX Club in the Roanoke Division and see if any of you had already contacted Lou with ideas or suggestions. Unfortunately, I have no way of knowing who has reached out to Lou following his email back in December.

Or is everyone "happy" with how the program is going and so let's just "keep on keeping on" -- status quo?   I have my own ideas and recommendations that I want to share with you soon but REALLY would like to hear from any of you who wish to weigh in.

Finally, I want to ask you to keep Lou's wife Hilda and the Dietrich family in your thoughts and prayers...

73 es DX,

Hal W8HC

[Larry Fravel]

Hal -

Thank you for sharing.  That is terrible news about Lou.   I have never met him personally but have dealings with him via e-mail.  I will definitely keep him and his family in my prayers.  I'm sure that both you and Clark have fond memories of your DX-pedition's together.

Congratulations on your appointment.  They have made a wise selection and I know you will be up to the job and handle it with the same manner that you take on every endeavor you pursue.  

73 es GL

Larry K8YYY

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[Don Jordan]

Hal,

Very sad news to hear about Lou.

In terms of "weighing in on the current DXCC situation, it is my opinion that Scarborough Reef should be deleted as a country. It is problematic, I would think, to get the official approvals needed for ARRL to recognize a DX expedition to those pile of rocks, might be a challenge., It seems to me that it is putting a DX tem in peril to go there not only because of high tide but given the problem with sea pirates, they are taking some real risks. It may be a judgement call as to whether or not it is worth the risks just to give some hams a new country., In my judgement, it is not worth the risks. 

God forbid, but if a group managed to jump through all the hoops required to go there and be approved by the ARRL, the ARRL might be in some legal problems if some guys got killed all because the ARRL approved it as a legitimate DXpedition.

For what it is worth, that is my two cents worth.

Don, W8UZ

 

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[w8hc]

Don,

Thank you for your input... yes, I fully understand about the BS7 situation and can tell you, based on going through notes and minutes of DXAC meetings this year, Scarborough Reef has been discussed more than any other entity for the reasons you have indicated.  Honestly, I don't see the DXAC, based on what I have seen thus far, making a recommendation to delete BS7.  For the record, I would be in favor of deleting it. 

I will be sending a couple other ideas to our WVDXA reflector for input and comments. 

I have my first DXAC Zoom meeting this coming Thursday where the agenda topic is:  Section IV Field Checking of QSL Cards.

But I am sure there will be other items discussed...

QRX,

Hal W8HC

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[Anthony Simons]

Delete BS7 +1

73, de W8AF  ~  Anthony  

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[Don Jordan]

Hal, you are a scholar and a gentleman. Thanks for your thoughtful response.

Have a great day!!!