MDXA Home
 

It is almost midnight local time. The shack is almost dark. The soft glow of a small desk lamp reveals an old brass key and bug on the op table. Through the open curtain, a perfect crescent moon dangles from a bare branch of the cherry tree. The silhouette of an old inverted vee is back dropped by millions of stars in a crystal clear sky. The light from the meters, dials, and controls of the old 6146 rig beckon adventure.

Hawaii is calling CQ as twilight overtakes the mid-Pacific. Soon Fiji can be heard. A few minutes go by and the band is full of ZL's as darkness overtakes the North and South Islands. We are in the tunnel !! What's this ?? There is OD5KJ calling CQ. The Mid-East welcomes another day. A 9H3 and a 5B4 are soon added to the log with visions of far away islands in blue azure waters. Suddenly the band explodes with Europeans. Did they all finish their morning tea at the same time ?? A soft hand on the tuning dial finds OD5KJ again. He is not as strong as before, but still good copy. He is in QSO with Hawaii, the NH7K. Still in the tunnel, and connected to both ends of the terminator line. Connected to sunrise and sunset, all at the same time. Magic !!

The only sound in the shack is the muffled melody of 800 Hz notes from the headphones and the rythmetic clicking of the brass key, yet a great symphony is playing. Thousands of invisible radio signals are riding the star studded sky connecting tropical isle to Alpine chalet, African talalog to Welsh castle, and Antartic wasteland to Manhattan highrise. All the instruments are in perfect tune. The Sun is connected to the Moon, the earth is connected to the sky, and mankind is connected to the universe.

Suddenly, as if a great switch is opened, the symphony ceases. There are no more signals. The band is dead. The clock on the wall says 0330, but only seconds have seeminly gone by. We are in the Dead Zone, and no signals can enter or leave the tunnel. Time for a break, a snack and a fresh pot of coffee. Need to finish reading the article in QST as well. Soon it will be almost sunrise, and we will be able to access the magic tunnel again. This time we will be on the easternmost end of the terminator line, and at sunrise DX stations from the westernmost end will appear to leap from the dial with great copy providing the best DX of all !! It will be near sunset or just past in their part of the world.

It is almost sunrise, and there is a signal on 7008 KHz. He is calling CQ, but too weak to copy the call. As a new day lightens the sky through the open window, the signal rapidly climbs to S7. It is YB1A calling CQ...

Ah Yes, there is nothing quite so romantic and nostalgic as low-band DX'ing. It seems to connect you to the past where spark-gap transmitters filled dimly lit attics, and RF Ammeters on the wall linked open-wire feeders to lofty Windoms. Try 40M CW one winter night with a soft glow desk lamp when conditions are good. You will see what I mean !!

Log Notes: I was able to retell this story with the aid of 4 paragraphs of log notes from the morning of 11 OCT 01. Log notes make a great journal and enable many fond memories. They also provide a living legacy of Connection from the Past to the Future.
VY 73 ES GUD DX !! Larry, K4WLS