Here's something I didn't think I'd ever say: "I prefer broadcast DXing to amateur radio ... and by a mile!" It's a personal thing of course and I am not suggesting one is better then the other, but I find certain aspects of amateur radio irritating and unnecessarily challenging.
I decided to rekindle my interest in amateur radio a few days ago by erecting a dipole for 10m. It only took me a minute or two before I worked St Vincent and the US state of Georgia, both personal firsts. Then I heard a station in Sudan calling CQ, operating on a split basis - that's calling on one frequency but listening on another. Or, on this case, several others! All my attempts to work him failed due to an insane pile-up. The calling frequencies occupied 28.500 to 28.525! - a sizeable part of the most commonly used SSB DXing frequencies. Why so many? It was a joke! There was very little chance of getting through, despite me calling for about half an hour. How did I know which frequency he would be listening on? Frankly, I was getting fed up with the number of irate stations asking me to move frequency. Yes, I did the decent thing and checked the frequency TWICE to see if it was in use before I called. You'd think there would be plenty of room available for all those calling with that amount of frequencies. I ignored them in the end. They were asking lots of other people to move too. I won't allow bullying to dictate what I do on the air.
But looking back at my amateur radio activities over the last few years I have to say it's all been good fun, though it has never come close to the excitement I have had from broadcast band DXing. BCB DXing is where I began and it still wins me over today. But why?
Familiarity may be the main reason. I know where I am with medium wave and the FM broadcast band. I know what to expect regarding propagation. I have been lucky enough to keep up with the technology surrounding this side of the hobby, progressing from drifty old valve radios and analogue tuners (I still have a great fondness for them) to modern broadband IF devices with computer control. So many years of happy association with these things makes you feel like you've been in the driving seat, steering the hobby to your own advantage, helping to shape it with active involvement on internet forums.
These days BCB DXing, like amateur radio, has its own communities: DX clubs and societies; Global online logbooks; Online discussion and chat; DX maps and clusters. So there are a lot of similarities and they all add to the fun. The main difference is of course the fact that you can talk to people on amateur radio, you can only 'listen' with BCB DX, but they are basically the same DX radio hobby.
When I first actively became involved with amateur radio, I would take to the hills of Derbyshire and DX! I miss that. It's something I briefly dabbled in when I moved to Lincolnshire, but the BCB side of DXing takes precedence once again. If I were to conduct any mobile radio exercises these days it would be BCB, in nearby open countryside and with beverage antennas. That would certainly be the case in winter. Perhaps I will try 2m again in the summer although I suspect band 2 will take over once the Es start flying in.
If I was blessed with a large garden and didn't have so many ridiculous planning regulations regarding antennas, I would have several antennas up for the amateur bands too, but the emphasis would be on DXing and probably digital modes like WSPR and JT65, etc. Call it laziness, but my aim would have to be to automate as much of my amateur radio exercises as possible as I really don't see the point in spending an hour or two trying to break through a pile-up and ultimately failing. Each to their own though. Not knocking any of it, but I know which bands I would rather be listening to.
Good DX!
John
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