Interest Groups
Collecting, Contesting, & DXpeditions
For some amateurs - though not nearly all of them - part of the fun in our hobby is in "collecting" contacts from around the world, and sometimes in competing with each other to collect them.
Like Stamp Collecting... Sort Of
This facet of the hobby may in some ways be like collecting stamps or coins. Satisfaction can come from making contacts in unusual parts of the world where radio operators are very rare. It can come from completing a set, such as contacts in all 50 U.S. states, or contacts in 100 countries, or contacts in all "grid squares" on a continent.
Collecting Lighthouses?
As an example, some amateurs "collect" lighthouses. They rely on each other to set up temporary radio stations at or in lighthouses around the world and communicate from there, usually for a day or a weekend, and log as many contacts as possible from the location. They try to log contacts from as many lighthouses as possible over a period of months or years. Others "collect" islands in the same way.
These pursuits are not for everyone in amateur radio. Many amateurs don't understand the attraction at all, but then not everyone understands the attraction of stamp collecting either.
Contesting
Contesting is perhaps a little easier to understand. Dozens of times per year, usually over a weekend, the airwaves crackle with activity as contesters compete with others around the country or around the world to log the most contacts in a fixed period.
Sometimes, groups of amateurs share a sophisticated multi-radio station and work together to maximize their score, making thousands of contacts around the world by working non-stop at it for 24 or 48 hours.
The attraction in winning or scoring well in these contests isn't big money, or other prizes. It's just recognition in the amateur world of the achievement, as well as affirmation of the excellence of the operator's radio station.
DXpeditions
DXpeditions are arguably the highest form of "collecting" in the hobby, and even amateurs not interested in other forms of collecting are often interested in these.
Sometimes the result of years of planning and preparation by an international group of amateurs, a DXpedition is a multi-person, multi-station expedition to a remote or rarely-heard part of the earth.
Leading DXpeditions in recent years have been very sophisticated logistical operations. Tens of amateurs have been involved in planning and/or operating. Container-loads of equipment have been transported around the world. Large camps have been set up to support the operations for a week or weeks. Antennas have been erected and tuned. Generators and radios and amplifiers have been lit up. And the furious activity has begun.
Amateurs from all over the world have responded to the new stations, eager to have their rare - sometimes once in a lifetime - contacts and unusual call signs in their logs.
From locations such as Peter Island in the Antarctic (photo above), the Kure Atoll in the Pacific, and Burkina Faso in Africa, tens of thousands of international contacts have been logged. After each DXpedition, no doubt hundreds of amateurs around the world were poring over world maps looking for other rarely-heard places, and thinking about organizing their own DXpedition one day.
There are many facets to the amateur radio hobby, and this is but one of them. Some members of our club are active in collecting and/or contesting, and are happy to share their experiences and advice. For more information come out to one of our meetings (no invitation required) or contact us via our Contact Us page.
