True Blue DXers Autumn News Letter 2020

 A major new initiative for 2021!
Dear fellow True Blue DXers,

As the membership of our Club continues to grow (we are now close to 1,300), we have decided to launch a major, unprecedented initiative for 2021 with the aim of supporting activity in CW and SSB on the HF bands.

Rather than giving you details here, I warmly invite you to visit www.tbdxc.net/marathon and to watch the 5-minute introductory video which will explain to you what this initiative is all about and why it is indeed unprecedented.

You will also find a document with the full rules, and you will have the possibility of pre-registering for this event, which will start on January 1st, 2021. During the first three days since the page went live on the website as many as 70 people have already pre-registered. If things continue like this, this year-long event has the potential of changing amateur radio, by hopefully re-populating the often deserted CW and SSB sub-bands.

Amid such enthusiasm, a word of caution. We know full well that the format of what we call "Ultra-Marathon" is far from perfect. Please remember that we went for simplicity and for something that is realistically doable right now, with the currently very limited means at our disposal. We did NOT go for perfection or for the best possible format. Please embrace this initiative, and take it as a first shot as something that, as I said, may become very big in ham radio. If indeed this first, trial attempt will be a success, in 2022 we can go for much better format, rules and hopefully a fully dedicated software.

Lastly, we would like to ask your cooperation in spreading the word as wide as possible. This may include:
- Translating the rules into other languages and posting them on non-English-speaking forums
- Approaching your local club and give a short presentation about the initiative
- Write to and/or tell your friends - point everybody to www.tbdxc.net/marathon

Let's make this a success! Let's live by the mission of the TBDXC: promote, support, expand amateur radio activity using human-to-human modes of communication! Let's put the fun back into DXing!

We count on your help.

73 Pete MM0TWX
TBDXC Founder and CEO