Dear contesters
The race is on to complete final preparations prior to the Oceania DX contest
at the start of next month (08:00z 1st October to 08:00z 2nd of October on
phone; same times the following weekend for CW).
We are running out of time to check antennas, tidy up the shack, practice
computer logging and get familiar with HF propagation.
While QSO points are important, multipliers are the key to winning contests
which means you need to exploit the propagation. In OCDX, Oceania prefixes are
multipliers on each band: for instance working a VK7 on both 20M and 40M is
worth two multipliers. 5W1 and 5W2 stations are distinct multipliers, as are
ZL2 and ZM2. Trust us, if you are in the running for one of the impressive OCDX
awards, you really don’t want to miss any H4, T3, YJ, E5 or other rare Oceania
stations that are spotted on DXcluster or appear on your band map, provided
there is a path to your part of the world of course. Knowing whether to change
bands in the hope of catching a valuable multiplier, or staying put to rack up
the QSO points (and maybe bag the odd multiplier too) is one of the things that
makes top contesters the tops. There’s more to it than running flat out!
Talking of awards, we are delighted to announce the support of two further OCDX
sponsors: thanks to the South Pacific Contest Club (SPCC, VK3HF) for sponsoring
SOAB (single-op all-band) plaques for North America CW and Europe Phone, and to
ZL2iFB for sponsoring the DX SWL phone trophy.
Read about the announced Oceania DXpeditions on our new website at
http://www.OceaniaDXcontest.com and catch up with results, soapbox comments and
records from previous events. Most importantly, take a moment this month to
check the OCDX 2016 rules. Have you decided which section to enter yet?
About the contest: originally known as the VK/ZL Contest, “OCDX” the Oceania DX
contest has been running since the 1930s. Participation is strong and growing.
With promotion by the joint Australian and New Zealand contest committee,
activity levels have increased both within Oceania and beyond: more than a
thousand logs were received last year including over 300 entrants from most
parts of Oceania (3D2, 9M6, DU, KH2, KH6, KH8, NH0, NH2, P29, TX3, V73, V85,
VK, YB and ZL). Some 23 new continental records were set in 2015.
Gary ZL2iFB is our Oceania DX Contest news contact. You can contact Gary at
news@oceaniaDXcontest.com
73 and see you in the pileups
Oceania DX Contest Committee
ZL2IFB, ZL3GA, VK2HN, VK3MI/ZL1AZE, VK3TZ, VK7GN
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