Packet Cluster Secrets
One of the Local QRPers came up the hill last week and as soon as we saw him hopping from foot to foot, we knew something had happened

Winners and Losers
We had a confused QRPer up the hill last week, this one burdened with a problem. "You know the sunspots are declining", he said, "and I guess we just have to accept the fact we're going to have to work DX on the lower bands." We couldn't argue with this so we listened a bit longer

Whistling Dixie
One of the local QRPers was by the other day, this one with a troubled look on his face. He sat down in the chair and we could tell by the way he was squirming around that something was up

Where is That Call?
One of the Local QRPers was up the hill the other day, this one carrying a list of callsigns he'd copied from his QSLs. "It's useless!", he exclaimed, thumping his list on the table. "What's the problem?", we asked in a rather concerned voice

Where's the P5?
Last week one of the Local QRPers was up the hill, this one to throw himself in a chair and weakly complain that he was tired

We Lost It!
The flux had been down for a few months and we were not in the best of spirits when Sunspot Louie gave us a call. He told us the Flat Days of DXing were likely to continue well into the fall. And all the high Ap activity he'd been reporting the last few weeks hadn't done a lot to improve our temper, either

UP UP UP
One of the local QRPers came by, absolutely exhausted. "It's that ZK3RW Dxpedition and his 20-meter operation today.", the QRPer said, getting right to the point

Too Much Spare Time!
One of the Local QRPers was up the hill the other day, this one clearly on a mission. He sat down at the table and looked at us for a few seconds, then burst out "There will be no more DXing! The ARRL is going to do away with the DXCC program."

Unified Field Theory
Although Sunspot Louie was predicting a bit more doom and gloom before the sunspots returned, we were sitting in the autumn sun musing about the Great Days of DXing that were not far around the corner

The Old Timer's Birthday
One of the local QRPers was up the hill the other day, this one looking a bit bent out of shape. "It's the Old Timer", the QRPer said, "he getting cranky these days. Really cranky." We were a bit surprised at this for we had known the Old Timer for years and this seemed out of character. "Tell us more", we urged the QRPer...

Top Band DXing
Last week we came across one of the local QRPers and we just had to ask him how he was doing on Top Band. We had seen his early evening spots on the packet cluster and knew he was looking for grey-line propagation. Maybe we should have talked of other things. For it was not joy that crossed the face of the QRPer as he glared at us with his beady little eyes

The Meaning of DX IS! (Maybe)
One of the Local QRPers was up the hill the other day, this one looking for enlightenment. "I've been through almost a full solar cycle", he said, "and I've worked a lot of DX. I've got almost 200 countries worked. Now that we're at the bottom of the cycle, I'm concentrating on the lower bands. Even with all this on-air experience, I'm still not sure of the true meaning of DX IS!

The Cost of QSLing!
One of the Legion of Handwringers stopped by the other day. "DXers and QSL managers sure aren't what they used to be.", he said, "Not at all."
"Why do you say that?", we said, hoping this was something we could duck out of in short order

Slim gets a QSL Manager
We were sitting in the August sunshine, watching the dog days of summer drift by, when Slim came by and sat down beside us

Propagation
One of the local QRPers was up the hill the other day and he was not smiling. "You know, there are a lot of know-it-alls around these days.", the QRPer glowered. "An awful lot."

Rocky Road to the Cluster
Last week we were relaxing in the sun, this being one of the last nice days before winter set in for good. One of the local QRPers hove into sight, beating his way up the hill. This one was bearing a problem

RTTY DX IS!
Last week we were relaxing in front of the house when one of the QRPers rolled into sight and beat his way up the hill. "Why can't they leave me alone", he asked, "I just get things figured out and they're at me again. I thought I was doing a good job and they want me to do more!"

Romeo in P5
Last week one of the Local QRPers was up the hill, this one to throw himself in our chair and complain that he was tired. "I've had it", he advised us, "I've had it with DXing and and with all this rushing to catch something just beyond reach. I'm tired of DXing. I've worked them all and there is nothing left in it for me. Just nothing at all."

Palos Verdes Sundancers
We decided it was time to pay a visit to the Leader of the Palos Verdes Sundancers. Conditions had not been the best during the 5A1A operation and we were curious why

QRZ on 6-Metres?
One of the Local QRPers beat his way up the hill the other day, this one completely bent out of shape and ready for a fight!

Packet Clusters
One of the local QRPers came up the hill last week and he was not happy. "DX sure is scarce these days", the QRPer said, "and what little there is has everyone in there screaming and clawing whether they need it or not. It's all these packet clusters."

New Theory on Propagation
One of the Local QRPers was up the hill the other day, this one with a sly grin that was close to a smirk. We'd seen this look before and we were beginning to wish we'd ducked out the back door

Missed It!
One of the Local QRPers came up the hill last week and as soon as we saw him hopping from foot to foot in exasperation, we knew something had happened

Only the Deserving
One of the Local QRPers came by the other day, carrying a large envelope and a heavy burden. "What have you got in the envelope?", we asked. "My DXCC certificate", the QRPer replied sadly, "with all my endorsement stickers up to 175. Got it a few days ago from the league."

Low Band Asia DXers' Guild
We were sitting in the shack, looking out the window for any sign of snow, for it was getting close to Christmas and the ground was still bare. We spied a local QRPer heading up the hill. We thought about heading out the back door, but the QRPer had seen us looking wistfully for snow and there was no escape

Lists and QSLs
One of the local QRPers came by last evening... the same QRPer who has been bragging about his 9V1XQ QSO for weeks

Local QRPer on Scarborough
One of the Local QRPers was by the other day, this one quite upset. "Those guys at the ARRL don't seem to have a lot on the ball these days," the QRPer said, "not a lot at all."

F-18 Hornets
One of the Local QRPers was up the hill the other day, this one puffing and bent out of shape. 'What's the problem?' , we asked, 'you don't look very happy.' The QRPer sat down and stared at us with his beady little eyes

Computerized Logging!
We were sitting on the veranda in the late afternoon sun, thinking about the Great Days of DXing during cycle 22, when we noticed one of the local QRPers making his way up the hill

East Coast Bob
We were sitting with the Old Timer down in the park the other day, enjoying one of the last days of fall, when one of the Local QRPers came along and sat down beside us..

DX IS! If You Worked It
Last week we came across one of the local QRPers and we just had to ask him what was new in the world of DX. "It's the DXCC rules that I've been thinking about.", the QRPer replied, "You know, for once they are very logical and straight forward in their thinking."

DXCC Was!
One of the local QRPers was up the hill the other day, this one obviously on a serious mission. "Tell me," the QRPer asked, "don't you think that it's a bit unfair that all of you guys who have beenaround for years have most everything worked and us new-comers still need a lot of the rare ones?"

DXCC Rules!
There are still problems of this age that defy either solution or explanation. And one of the local QRPers came up the hill last week to ask yet another question

Don't Work That Last One!
One of the Local QRPers came up the hill last week and as soon as we saw him hopping from foot to foot in exasperation, we knew something had happened. We opted for the sympathetic approach even though we were not sure what the QRPer was troubled about

Burma Road
One of the Local QRPers came by the other day, this one with an obvious problem. 'It's the Burma operation.', he began, 'I had it and now I'm not so sure.'

Cycle Minimum Blues
One of the local QRPers was up the hill the other day, this one to slouch down in a chair and heave a heavy sigh of despair. "It's the sunspot cycle", he said, "this minimum is terrible." We were a bit surprised for this particular QRPer was always optimistic

Be Prepared!
One of the local QRPers came by the other day, this one with a look of concern on his face and a lack of joy in his stride. "What's up?", we asked. The QRPer sat down and started right off with his concerns

Alternative to DXCC?
We were sitting on the veranda looking down toward Palos Verdes country, listening to the chorus and the beat of the bass bongos of the Sundancers. During these troubled times, it was comforting to know they were hard at it, doing their best to bring on the next cycle. One of the Local QRPers came strolling up the hill. This one had a contented look on his face. It was in sharp contrast to the usual frenzy we'd often noticed with the Locals, scampering around trying to understand the Mysteries of the Ages and the Eternal Enigmas of DXing

Ask the Old Timer!
One of the Local QRPers came by today, this one clearly upset and on a mission. He didn't waste a second and got right to the point. "Did you hear the stories going around about the DXCC? There's talk the program might be abolished!", he sputtered at us, his beady little eyes blazing and sweat dripping from his brow

One of the Eternal Enigmas
Down in the village the other day we ran across one of the local QRPers, joy in his stride and happiness everywhere. 'I did it!', the QRPer was shouting, 'I did it! I did it!' So we calmed him down a bit and tried to get the story

Sometimes It Doesn’t Sink In
It happens to all DXers at times. We were hit with a bit of skepticism last week, and perhaps took some action that may not have been in keeping with the Amateur's Code

VU4 is Not in the Log!
One of the Local QRPers beat his way up the hill yet again. This fellow, in previous years, was typically out of breath when he made it, but we could see he had been on an exercise program or maybe even a diet. He flopped down in the chair, not sweating as profusely as usual, and he just sighed. “What’s new?” we asked, not really sure we wanted to know

Information Overload
One of the Local QRPers came around the bend, holding on to his hat to stop it from being blown away in the wind. He came up to the door and started banging, and a lot harder than usual. We could have avoided a long discussion by ducking out the back door, but when it comes to DX and QRPers, usually there is something interesting to be learned. So we opened the door and said, “Come in before the wind blows the door off of its hinges!”

Not in the Log!
One of the Local QRPers was by the other day, and he made his way up the hill. This one was, at the same time, looking down in the dumps and also showing the characteristic all knowing look. He was huffing and puffing a bit, and he sat down and looked at us without speaking. "What's new?", we asked in an upbeat tone, not wanting to ruin such a nice spring morning

The State of DXing
Often when one collects a reasonable number of DXCC counters, possibly a bare minimum of three hundred or so, the time is right for some contemplation of the State of DXing and the parlous future of it. Last week one of the local QRPers came steaming up the hill to demonstrate, placards and commotion and everything else, all this being one of our fine old California traditions

The Good Old Days
One of the local QRPers was up the hill last week. We talked of things important. Such as the conditions of the bands, the price of gas, and the unusually warm winter in some parts of the world, although lately it seemed the deep freeze had returned to many

The Young and the Restless
Yesterday, one of the local QRPers came up the hill, walking the road that winds across the ridge, through the wooded area to avoid the wind and open spaces that were covered with a light dusting of snow. He made his way up the steps and into the shack, where the air was considerably warmer, mostly due to the orange DXing glow of the 811As
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