One of the Local QRPers came up the up the hill last week, this one seeking enlightenment and direction. "Why the perplexed look," we asked, "we heard you work 5A1A on 20-metres a couple of days ago. It not often a new one shows up at this point in the cycle." The QRPer sat down and began to explain. "Well, I have to admit the adrenaline was pumping when I heard him come back to my call," he explained, "and I was pretty excited about the contact." It was clear that the QRPer was not happy in spite of his conquest. We'd seen this look before and decided to pursue it a bit further.
"Why are you down in the dumps?", we asked in a properly sympathetic tone. "Well," the QRPer replied, "it's all those guys at the DX club. They were all saying last night how they'd worked them on three or four bands. Why, one of the Big Guns has them on 160, 80, 40, 30, 20, 17 and 15-metres! And both modes on some bands too." We were beginning to understand the problem. "And you're worried because you just have a 20-metre CW QSO, right?", we asked. "Yes, and they are supposed to go QRT in a day or so. There isn't much chance of working them anywhere else now. I had to pound away for five days just to get them on one band!", he replied, looking more forlorn than before. "And the guys at the club were saying he was really easy to work on the other bands, too. How am I ever going to get 5BDXCC if I keep missing the rare stuff like this? And what about the WARC bands?"
"Just a few days ago you were worried the 5A would come and go and you would work him at all.", we said, "isn't one QSO enough? It's a brand new one for a lot of us." The QRPer replied, "I thought it was great, but now that I see how the other guys are doing, I'm not so sure. I thought I understood the meaning of DX IS! and the Mysteries of the Ages. As soon as I get it figured out, it seems to slip beyond my grasp, on to another level of understanding. How can I become one of the Deserving if I don't understand all this?" We were not sure how to handle this one. This QRPer was still not understanding the Eternal Enigmas. "Look at it this way," we explained, "everyone sets their own goals in this world of DX. And a thing is important only if someone thinks it's important. Set your own goals. Work the DX that IS! Don't worry about the band countries that you missed. No one is top hog in the DX stye on every band. Be a believer!"
The QRPer glanced up at us with a confused look. "I don't follow you," he said, "if band countries aren't important, why don't they just work 20-metres? And why the massive pileups on the other bands? Why does the league offer 5-Band DXCC with endorsements for 160, 17 and 12-metres? I don't think I'll ever understand the true meaning of DX IS!" And with that, he was off down the hill, still confused and a bit suspicious that we weren't telling him the full story. And he was right! The QRPer's timing was impeccable . . . we'd glanced over at the packet cluster screen just as he was going out the door.
Son of a Gun! The last band we needed Toly on! We flipped on the linear and tuned for full smoke. With any luck we'd work him while this particular QRPer was pondering the Mysteries of the Ages! We were looking forward to joining the Big Guns at the club next month. Especially if there were a few Locals milling about! DX is war! Take no prisoners!
Best Regards, Paul
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