"the captain" wrote in message
om...
Guy,

How does one join in on one of your expeditions ?

The DXpeditions I go on are a lot like enjoyable family reunions; I've been
attending DXpeditions for about 26 years with basically the same group of
enthusiastic DXers. Not everyone is at each session, but we all know each
other and our expertise, personalities, backgrounds, etc. very well. Because
we're all good friends and get along well, and the space and shared
equipment is limited (and costs shared), we tend to keep the DXpeditions
"in-house" (invitation only). Like I mentioned, they have a family reunion
flavor and the special camaraderie is more important to us than the DX we
end up hearing & logging.

Sometimes I head out to the WA coast on my own for a "solo" DXpedition at a
favorite campsite, or occasionally with another DXer who's also setup for
camping. At these outings I run everything from DC power (deep-cycle RV
batteries). The advantage of camping DXpeditions is the lower noise levels
away from powerlines and other RFI sources, more so than DXpeditions held
where AC power is available.

However, I encourage anyone to get out of the city (or wherever a DXer's
located), get away from your local noise sources and antenna restrictions,
AND GO ON A DXPEDITION! Camping locations, cabins, or summer vacation homes
can all be good sites if you have permission to string long antennas. For
mediumwave DXpeditions, a seaside location can take advantage of the
"coastal effect" that helps bring in many stations impossible to hear
inland.

The Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts (MARE) published a great DXpedition
Guide some years ago that's an excellent introduction to the subject... what
to take along, what to expect, etc. I believe that the IRCA and NRC
mediumwave clubs also have article reprints available on the subject of
DXpeditions.

For anyone interested, I have a PowerPoint presentation about WA coastal
DXpeditions that's available at the dxing.info site:
http://www.dxing.info/dxpeditions/ Look under the "USA: Grayland, WA"
section for the ZIP file. There is also a version for Apple Mac computers
available. Besides photos of our DXpedition antics, there are MP3 sound
clips of interesting MW and SW DX catches.

73,

Guy