From news.cs.tut.fi!news.funet.fi!news.tele.fi!uunet!gumby!wupost!cs.utexas.edu!not-for-mail Fri Jun 4 19:32:21 EET DST 1993 Article: 20557 of rec.radio.shortwave Path: news.cs.tut.fi!news.funet.fi!news.tele.fi!uunet!gumby!wupost!cs.utexas.edu!not-for-mail From: MOORE@tmu1.mcrest.edu ("Don Moore" ) Newsgroups: rec.radio.shortwave Subject: DX Humor - DX Championships Interview Date: 4 Jun 1993 09:36:36 -0500 Organization: Teikyo Marycrest University Lines: 184 Sender: daemon@cs.utexas.edu Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu DXER'S QUOROUM AN INTERVIEW WITH THE DX WORLD'S NEW HEROES IN THE WORLDWIDE INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSAL DX CHAMPIONSHIP By Bill Dernoff Quorum: All BLANDXers can be proud of you gentleman for capturing the top 5 slots in the championship. Grand prize winner BLANDX ace DXer Bill Rumbley, Runner-Up QSL editor Ray Framus, Listener's Trashbag Sven Gonzalez took third place, fourth place went to new member Don Badger, and our beloved Maximum Leader Bill Kyle came in fifth. Have you ever entered any other DX competitions, and if you did, how did you do? Rumbley: Yes, I have entered 23 contests have won them all! Framus: No, I'm usually too embarassed by my inability to ID stations correctly to enter contests. This contest apparently didn't care about IDs. Gonzalez: This is my first and last contest. I wanted to prove that a "Harmonic DXer" could sucessfully compete. Also, I realized that I could get half the points I needed simply by tuning in my DX program broadcasts on stations around the world. I get a big kick out of hearing my voice on the radio. Badger: This is my first contest. Actually I was just sending my usual logs to the SASWA editors and accidentally copied the wrong address on the envelope. Then I discovered I came in fourth. I am really quite embarassed by all the fuss, and especially the live TV coverage. Kyle: I've entered many contests over the years. I usually win. Something is wrong when I finish fifth. ----------------------------- Quorum: How did you prepare for this year's championship? Rumbley: I read every DX publication. I set up a master computer file packed with sunrise/sunset times, sign-on/sign-off times, rare DX catches, and solar information. I bribed other DXers to listen and fill out log forms for me. To be a champion, you have to think like a champion. Framus: I spent two weeks in the Caribbean, but I forgot my radio. Gonzalez: I wrote to every medium wave station in North America asking them to adjust their transmitters to emit a harmonic. A very cooperative lot! Badger: Prepare? Kyle: I bought an extra keg of beer. ---------------------------- Quorum: Did you use any special equipment or antennas? Rumbley: I set up 423 new antennas on my antenna farm. I bought a second DXMate-10, and a cold shower to cool off between sessions. I took the old Bleene gasoline-powered RM7-F out of storage. Also, I read the instruction manuals for these receivers and the shower nozzle. Framus: Suntan lotion and my gold card. Gonzalez: I used my mis-aligned, image-prone, homebrew, mobile and portable shortwave receiver. Badger: Equipment? Kyle: A fertile imagination, paper, and a pen. --------------------------- Quorum: The contest had a 48 hour listening period. How much time did you utilize? Rumbley: About 130 hours. Framus: Not enough. Gonzalez: Was there a time limit? I left my radio on until I used up all of my paper. Badger: Time? Kyle: Obviously not as much as certain individuals in first through fourth. Remember, I work for a living. What do those other guys do? -------------------------- Did you have any special loggings or new countries heard? Rumbley: Naw. I logged the usual easy 300 countries, the easiest 250 Peruvians and 130 Bolivians, and about 75 rare Asian clandestines. Nothing special. Framus: I haven't logged a new country in fifteen years. Why should I start now? Gonzalez: I don't recognize the SASWA/BLANDX countries list per se. Instead I use the International Whole Wheat Federation Landlist, which recognizes only countries that have health food stores located within a three mile radius of te US embassy in that country. Apparently health food and shortwave broadcasting don't mix, because my list has only 16 possible countries. Badger: Loggings? Countries? Kyle: Obviously not as many as certain individuals who finished first through fourth. ----------------------------- Quorum: Were you surprised by the results? Rumbley: When your best friends judge the contest, and you're the best DXer around, why should you be surprised. Framus: Yeah, Rumbley hasn't owned a shortwave receiver in years. Gonzalez: I'm never surprised. Badger: Surprised? Kyle: I'm surprised by the amount of free time the other contestants had to devote to the championships. Don't any of these guys work for a living? ---------------------------- Quorum: Do you have any advice to offer next year's contestants? Rumbley: No, I plan to enter and win again next year. Framus: Sure, but it's not free. Gonzalez: Please do not ask sg for advice. Badger: Advice? Kyle: Yeah, list log. -------------------------- Quorum: I want to thank this year's Top 5 for graciously answering DXer's Quorum's many uninteresting questions. Special congratulations for Bill Rumbley, this year's winner of the Grand Prize - a winter's vacation in northern Siberia. Enjoy! ************************************************************** The above item was excerpted from the 1989 edition of BLANDX, the annual DX humor magazine. Contributions are currently being accepted for the 1993 edition of BLANDX. This file and other DX humor files from BLANDX posted to rec.radio.shortwave may be reposted electronically in their entirety and without changes anywhere provided a message is sent to me informing me where it is being posted to and by whom. Anyone wishing to use this material in a publication should contact me first, although permission will normally be freely given. ************************************************************ * * Don Moore * What were once vices * MOORE@tmu1.mcrest.edu * are now * 11434 140th St. * good DXing habits. * Davenport, IA * * 52804-9538 USA * BLANDX 1990 * * * ************************************************************