I was writing a little thing about my first night DXing for a little webpage I'm setting up and I thought I would also post it here. Maybe some others also have some stories...

I'll always remember my first night with a SSB 27 Mhz CB radio and my first night of DX. It was back in the 80's when a friend of mine offered me a Pearce Simpson Super Tomcat. I already had an 18 channel AM CB (used different Crystals for each channel) and I also had my Dad's marine CB setup in my room and one of his spare VHF work radios (this is "homebase calling Dad over" .. lol).

The CB my friend had for sale however was the first SSB radio I had experience with and the first chance I would have to work "DX". DX for me meant interstate. He offered to let me trial it out for a night or so and then let him know if I wanted it or not.

I took it home, hooked it up to my old 12 volt battery (that needed charging continuously) connected it to a 1/4 wave vertical antenna I had 'borrowed' off my Dad's boat (while he wasn't using it) and proceeded to tune in the SWR using a technique I discovered which involved using 2 radials off the earth of the coax running down the side of the house and screwing up the ends in a big ball of wire and adjusting the size of the screwed up ball to get a match.

Well, that night was the best night of DX I've ever had. The whole night there were S9 stations from the U.S, Hawaii and all over the world. I made many international contacts. I stayed up almost the entire night learning very quickly about DX communications. I'd never even answered a CQ before or made one, although I had heard it done by a school teacher who use to bring in his rigs to demo to us. (Indeed he was the one who got me into radio in the first place). Anyway I was hooked, I went back to my friend and told him that I had been talking to people all over the world all night ... 'really" he questioned, I don't think he believed me!

I made an arrangement to pay him off over a few weeks for the radio and that little rig that lasted me for years, although I made many more international contacts with it, I never had another night like that first one. Maybe cycle 24 will top it!

Cheers,
Steve
43SW001