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