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    True Blue DXers Club

    Are you a True Blue DXer?


    If watching a computer make contacts for you is not your idea of DX...
    If you are decoding by human ears and brain power... ... then you are a True Blue DXer!

    LET US TELL YOU RIGHT AWAY: WE ARE NOT AGAINST ANYTHING, OR ANYBODY


    Digital modes, particularly FT8, have literally taken Ham Radio by storm.
    We at True Blue DXers Club (TBDXC) applaud technical innovation, and we are glad that so many people have found a new avenue for their amateur radio passion.
    We wish digital operators every success and lots of enjoyment.
    HOWEVER


    We are somehow saddened that such explosion of activity has come to the detriment of traditional, person-to-person modes of communication.
    Experience tells us that, even with poor propagation and rising noise, both high-level, competitive DX activity and leisurely rag-chewing on CW and SSB are possible and highly enjoyable, even for stations with modest means.
    Yet, the CW and SSB sub-bands are often nearly deserted, whilst the FT8 "watering holes" literally explode with signals which would be perfectly copyable by ear.

    WE RECLAIM THE PRIDE AND JOY OF DXing AS A DIFFICULT, CHALLENGING PURSUIT



    DXing means pushing the limits - one's own and the station's.
    DXing requires skills, knowledge, determination, patience, endurance, investment - it's a constant pursuit of excellence, one that, for some, has lasted a lifetime.
    It is that spirit that makes a DXer, and not the results he or she has achieved.
    The Old Timer waiting for the last DXCC country to complete the #1 Honor Roll and the newcomer struggling to push beyond 100 from a noisy city lot belong together - they are True Blue DXers.


    WE LOVE THE PLEASURE AND WARMTH OF PERSON-TO-PERSON COMMUNICATION



    There is more to DXing that competing in furious pileups, waiting for that elusive 6m opening or spending sleepless nights trying to dig a signal out of the noise on Top Band.
    Simply communicating with a fellow ham thousands of miles away remains, for most of us, an exquisite pleasure.
    True Blue DXers love the sound of DX - the auroral flutter on Polar paths, the slow fading over the oceans, the slap-back delay on multi-paths.
    They like to hear that there is a fellow ham behind the key or the microphone, in a faraway place.


    IF THESE SIMPLE IDEAS SPEAK TO YOU, YOU ARE A TRUE BLUE DXer


    Then, why not joining the Club? Apart from your personal commitment to pursuing and promoting more traditional forms of DX activity, there are no requirements.
    And, there are no membership fees.
    Belonging to the True Blue DXers Club is essentially a proud statement: this is what we do, this is what we are.
    TBDXC link: http://www.tbdxc.net
    73 - Petr, OK1RP TBDXC #12
    http://ok1rp.blogspot.com/


    True Blue DXers Club Logo

    73 Al 4L5A
  •  

    #2
    New DX Club attracts over 250 members during first week On Friday, June 1st, the website www.tbdxc.net went online; since then, over 250 people have taken up membership in the newly created True Blue DXers Club (TBDXC).
    This, by any standard, can be seen as an almost extraordinary success.
    The Club was created to bring together like-minded Amateurs who may feel that their ethos and approach to DX communication is dying off in the wake of the “digital revolution” brought about by FT8.
    Given the level of enthusiasm the Club has triggered in only its first week of existence, this is obviously not the case.
    Practically, the aim of the Club is to a) to promote the use of radiotelegraphy (CW) and radiotelephony (SSB) in long-distance communications on the amateur bands; and b) to encourage the continuous improvement and refinement of the human, personal skills needed to do so.
    Together with such warm reception by DX enthusiasts, this initiative has triggered some controversy. This is somewhat puzzling, as the “about” section of the website states, right at the beginning, that: “We are not against anything, or anybody.
    We at True Blue DXers Club (TBDXC) applaud technical innovation, and we are glad that so many people have found a new avenue for their amateur radio passion.
    We wish digital operators every success and lots of enjoyment.”
    It would seem difficult to misinterpret such a clear statement, and yet, in some public comments this initiative has been labelled as a campaign against digital operators and – even more incredibly – a personal attack on FT8 creator Joe Taylor. In this respect, the TBDXC reaffirms that: “This is not some sort of “crusade” against digital modes, their developers and users.
    We simply express support for a certain type of ham radio activity.” What kind of activity?
    Essentially, long-distance communication on the Ham bands that relies on people – rather that machines – exchanging information.
    This, obviously, applies to the competitive side of DXing, which the Club intends as pushing the limits, both the operators’ and the station’s.
    People who have spent a lifetime improving their skills and knowledge, people who have shown incredible determination, patience and endurance in the pursuit of their hobby do not recognise themselves in a modality of communication that essentially involves watching a computer making contacts for them.
    However, there is more to DXing that competing in furious pileups, waiting for that elusive 6m opening or spending sleepless nights trying to dig a signal out of the noise on Top Band.
    Simply communicating with a fellow ham thousands of miles away remains, for many people, an exquisite pleasure.
    They love the sound of DX - the auroral flutter on Polar paths, the slow fading over the oceans, the slapback delay on multipaths.
    They like to hear that there is a fellow ham behind the key or the microphone, in a faraway place.
    To learn more about the TBDXC and possibly consider the – entirely free – membership, visit http://www.tbdxc.net
    73 Al 4L5A

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    •  

      #3
      True Blue DXers Club News
      21 January 2023



      It is with great sadness that I have to announce my decision to bring the TBDXC experience to a close.

      This follows the resignation of our President and Marathon Manager Peter DL3NAA, triggered by yet another “scandal” about TBDXC members massively engaging in FT8 activity.

      This problem emerged already more than one year ago. Under pressure from more “purist” members, and in order to maintain the Club’s credibility, I wrote to the membership reminding what the Club stands for and asking those members who do engage in FT8 DXing to consider resigning. Many did, but this letter of mine generated heated and at times vicious debate on various forums, and a lot of feedback – some positive and some very negative - to me personally.

      Problem solved?

      No. A check on Clublog in November 2022 showed that the situation hadn’t changed. As a result, you will remember receiving another email making the same points as the previous one. More expressions of support and a little criticism, on the one hand, and more resignations.

      Problem solved?

      No. A check of the recent TN8K leaderboards shows that as much as one third of the TBDXC members who worked the excellent DXpedition did so on FT8, with quite a few members ONLY working TN8K on FT8 - no CW or SSB!

      At this stage, it is abundantly clear to me that I have failed. My initial idea of an organised push back against the exploding digital activity may have been good in theory, but in reality:

      a) The TBDXC has failed to make the slightest difference in levels of activity. The recent and very welcome return of CW and SSB traffic appears due to improved propagation conditions and in no way linked to our promotional activity.

      b) The TBDXC has been largely ignored by its own members. Only two awards, for instance, were issued during a four-year period. Out of a membership of nearly 2,000, in another example, only about 350 submitted logs for the Marathon during two years, despite numerous, repeated calls to do so even if one doesn’t participate competitively – just to show support. And,

      c) What I find most extraordinary, many DXers evidently signed up just to be in a Club. They have not read, or not understood, they don’t care or they just plainly ignore the very foundation, the reason for the Club to exist, and happily work DX with automated digital modes. How is that possible, I honestly do not know. The Club is the laughing stock of anybody who cares to check who works what on what mode.

      This is a sign of personal failure for me, and a betrayal to the majority of members who are passionate about the cause and feel good to be in the company of like-minded people.

      I did not create the TBDXC to be a police organisation and never had any intention to singling out “offenders” or taking actions like issuing warnings or terminating membership. This is odious, extremely time consuming, and, for an informal association without even a formal membership, not even legal.

      I am therefore left with no alternative but to close down the True Blue DXers Club.

      A further reason of intense pain is that the demise of the Club will bring an end to the DX Ultra-Marathon – an initiative very much enjoyed by hundreds of DXers for the last two years. 2023 looked promising already, but I don’t see how this initiative could go ahead separate from the existence of the Club. This was indeed a good idea, with plenty of upscale potential, and perhaps someone will want to run it independently in the future.

      In signing off, I would like to express my gratitude to those few souls who, during these four years, offered time, work, ideas and enthusiasm and helped me keeping the Club alive, in particular Petr OK1RP, Thomas DK3DUA and Peter DL3NAA.

      But especially, I want to say a sincere THANK YOU to all of you – and you are many more than you think after reading this - who truly understood and believed in the ideas behind the True Blue DXers Club.

      Long live CW and SSB, long live True Blue DXing!


      73 Pete MM0TWX
      73 Al 4L5A

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