CADX meetings, conventions & DX expeditions
Compiled by Christos Rigas
Being a regional club, Chicago Area DX Club from the beginning promoted and encouraged regular meetings between its members. These get-togethers date all the way back to the beginning of the club and continue even now.
Throughout the years many meetings have been held at members houses, restaurants, banquet halls and in outdoor settings.
Below are accounts of some of the get-togethers taken from the CADX bulletins throughout the years.
We start with a report on the first ever CADX meeting…
CADXers meet – April 7, 1973 – Eric Draut’s Shack - reports by attendees
On April 7th, from 6:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., the first CADX meeting was held at Eric Draut’s “shack”. Among the CADXers in attendance were: Karl Forth, Steve Wayman, Bruce Gladstone, Roger Burgos, Gary Skubal, Jim McMeekin, Richard Evans, and new member John Hanley. In addition to meeting everyone, we also saw QSL’s Steve Wayman’s TRF, and Eric’s Zenith R-7000-1. Had reception been better, we might have been able to give both rigs a good test. We did have on Zaire and Tahiti for a while. The meeting was great. Say, who is hosting the next one? (Mike Nikolich, Wheeling, IL)
Hi. Went to Eric’s “convention” and was really great. While writing this I am DXing WBBM-FM, hi. I don’t have very great veries for SW-RFE. Oh yes, by the way – any members who don’t know – just thought I’d say on the 5th Thursday of every month that has one EDXC Broadcast over Radio Nederland 73’s. (Jim McMeekin, Oak Lawn, IL)
Hi. I just started DXing at the end of March, so I don’t know too much about it. Everything I do know about DXing I learned from Jim McMeekin. As of today I have 15 countries logged and hope to have a lot more soon. My receiver is a Majestic Continental, if anyone ever heard of it, and a Star Roamer. 73’s. (John Hanley, Oak Lawn, IL)
Hi to all fellow CADXers. Right now I am at Eric’s DX-in, and Steve Wayman is passing around a paper for Member’s Musings, so I’ll say something. I’ve just seen the other side of the paper, and Gary Skubal logged Alaska. I’m just about to pass out so I’ll say 73’s & good DX. (Bruce Gladstone, Elk Grove Village, IL)
This is being written during the DX-Get together at my QTH. Can’t think of much to write except that I have now started a new phase of DXing. I verified my first ute. It was PTT French Guyana. Will write more next issue when I’ll have time to think of something to say. 73’s. (Eric Draut, Wheeling, IL)
It was nice meeting Mike Nikolich, Eric Draut, Bruce Gladstone, Jim McMeekin, Gary Skubal, John Hanley, Roger Burgos, and seeing Rick Evans again at the CADX get-together. Even though the majority of DXers were of the SW variety, BCB got a fair shake, hi. The static level has risen considerably on BCB but I got my 900th station not long ago. The last two Monday mornings in March were fantastic, but so far in April the static/general cx are too poor to log anything respectful. Some recent BCB veries: KHOS-940, KGGO-600, YSS-655, WCOA-1370, ZNS relay-1060 (new), WFBL-1390, WIL-1430, CBR-1010, WNOX-990, to bring total to 485. AR veries from KZ5JF-Canal Zone, WR2FP-Honduras, OA4OS-Peru, K4VMA/VF7-Bahamas, KH6KH-Hawaii. Does anyone know the address for KG4CB-Guantanamo Bay?? What some of you members think of CADX becoming an associate member of ANARC? Good spring DX and see you in June. (Karl Forth, Villa Park, IL)
Holiday Get-Together – Robert Kramer’s QTH – December 26 – 29, 1973
It has come to my attention that some weird freaky event took place, right after St. Nick made his usual ride with Dancer, Prancer, Comet, Flasher ….
This event took place at the home of the person I was disguised as (I tied up Bob Kramer and locked him in a closet. This was the annual CADX Holiday get-Together. In the past years it was an IRCA affair, but not this year (we figured a little change never hurt anyone). CADX members were the most obvious of all, mainly because there were of them there, than any other club. Only Karl Forth, Al Mayer, and the guy tied up in the closet represented IRCA, but all 3 also are members of other clubs. When Mike Nikolich, Eric Draut, and some guy named Bruce (of ya Gladstone) arrived I let Mr. Kramer out of the closet , and he very quickly made the rest present ill by lighting up one of them cigars, and smoking up the room. Occasionally when the smoke permitted veries were examined (and possibly stolen by Gremlins disguised as Buck Owens’ guitar pick). By the time Karl Forth arrived the Gremlins were gone so we decided to go on Panchos Grand Taco Ride to Jack-in-the-Box. The trip was remarkably successful with a good supply of tacos, grossburgers, and moldy Jacks. The trip was hilited by us getting lost 11 times, and running over 73 middle to old aged persons of various sexes, all before we left our parking place. When we got back we waited for the arrival of Al Mayer, Steve Handler, and Richard Pistek. Richard couldn’t make it that night, but a surprise, brief visit by Dave Alphert filled his place. The evening was spent mostly discussing DX and looking at veries, with a small game of poker also finding it’s way in. By 11:00 that night all were gone except Karl Forth (he crawled under my bed when Eric Draut showed him a Radio Paradise verie, and when leaving time came, he couldn’t get out). The night was a long one with some good SRS DX and one of Pancho’s Grand Taco marches. Once again I must say the trip was highly successful. We finally went to bed around 8:00 a.m. and slept until 4:00 or so about. When we awoken we once again hit the dials, this time at SSS looking for more rare DX. I don’t remember if we found any. Then we went out and bought the most sickening frozen pizza anybody could have ever tasted. It settled in my stomach like a cement block. At around 8:15 Ken Onyschuk arrived. After he arrived Karl and myself were treated (?) to the amazing phase of BCB DX called daytime DX. Ken stayed until Sunday. Richard Pistek and Jim McMeekin showed up around 9:00. I almost didn’t let them in because I didn’t hear the doorbell. Actually it was intentional, I thought they were anti-Dutch conspirators attempting to infiltrate the Dutch Liberation Front strategy meeting in progress at the time. Once again the evening was spent talking DX. After Richard and Jim left, we went to DXing, and contrary to the previous night we got some rare DX before sunrise. I have to admit that we kind of tired, so we stayed awake by drawing directional patterns of AM stations in the same city , and on the same frequency. There was another Panchos Grand Taco march, this time we even dragged Ken along. When we got back Ken went to bed, and we hit the dials. The best DX was around sunrise. We got to bed around 8:40 a.m., but the stupid part was that Joe Gannon from SWL International was arriving at 11:00, so that means we got 2 hours and 20 minutes of sleep. When Joe arrived he brought with him some guy named Bob. They stayed for a while and left. Joe came back later. About that time Karl decided he was no longer welcome (he wasn’t) so he went home. Right after Karl left a guy from the Calumet region of Indiana dropped over for a while. His first name slips my mind, but his last name was Houdak. Now the only DXers present were BCB DXers, so that is where the discussions visited. At about 3:00 Joe Gannon returned. I learned that he DXes some BCB and if he can scrap up the bread will join CADX. We can always use another Chicago member. While I slept, Joe and Ken talked DX I presume, so I don’t know much about what happened on Saturday. The DX on the Sunday morning of the 30th was fantastic, including traces (and an ID heard) of KOFI-1180. Sunrise was really great to the north with one of best catches ever (CFOB-800 Fort Frances, Ontario) being heard, with only 500 watts of power from Northern Ontario. The GT ended peacefully Sunday afternoon at around 3:00p.m., and I fell asleep until 8:00. Hope to see you in February at either Karl Forth’s or my shack for the next GT. (Eric Draut – DX Probe –February 1974)
CADXers Meet at Karl Forth’s – Karl Forth’s QTH – March 16, 1974
On March 16, CADXers and other DXers once again met. BCB was the main theme of this meeting, although some thought otherwise. (HI). Those members in attendance were: Karl Forth, Mike Nikolich, Bruce Gladstone, Bob Alvard, Mark Lathrop, Dave Peterson, and the DXers from the IRCA – Don Schoural and George Bertonan. Both Don and George expressed interest in joining CADX, and each received a sample bulletin. The meeting started off with the CADX Short Wave basketball big three trouncing the little BCB boys. When George and Don arrived, the meeting went inside, where DX talk was soon to begin. Time out was taken for a meal of pizza and coke, and a ping pong tourney in Karl’s basement. (It seems that that everyone who played claimed to hold the crown). A big war with Kung Fu rings was also featured. After few snapshots, the meeting was closed, and members retired for home. But not until Eric Draut managed to lose a hub cap and the way home. Thanks go out to Karl for a fine meeting. (Eric Draut, DX Probe – March 1974)
CADXers at NASWA Convention – July 19-21, 1974
For CADXers Karl Forth, Eric Draut, and myself, the NASWA convention started on Tuesday, July 16th when we left for Columbus. Nothing too exciting happened during the grueling ten-hour bus ride from Chicago, except for an obnoxious drunk, who bunked out in back of us from Indianapolis on … Once we did arrive in Columbus, we were greeted by Ken Lazear (of Hammond Havoc Committee fame), and after waiting, for Eric to find his lost luggage, we set out for Ken’s home and something to eat. DX wasn’t anything spectacular that night, but Ghana was logged on 3305 kHz around 0630 in English. We bunked out around 2:00 a.m.
Wednesday was nothing too exciting either. We checked into room 772 at the Neil house in the afternoon complete with luggage, wire and receiver (a Hallicrafters SX-130). Approximately 117 feet of copper wire was thrown out of our 7th story window, and was led into the bathroom area where a nice desk-type drawer was set up. It made a rather comfortable DX shack (looked like a “shack: when we finished with it”, HI), and in reality, was quite roomy. Karl, Ken, and myself vowed not to be as rowdy as we were in Hammond the previous year. Eric didn’t vow anything since this was his first convention! DX wasn’t very good, partially attributed to the rather clumsy antenna (it was external, but surrounded by three walls) and even the local BCB station had considerable static. While I DXed, Karl and Eric checked out the hotel and made a major discovery – the hotel apparently didn’t have a pool! If a Holiday Inn hadn’t been nearby, I don’t know what we would have done … One DXer showed up that night. He was from Virginia, and went by the name of Hadley Creas. We conversed with him for about an hour, until Ken showed up with sleeping bag, suitcase, and five friends! Looks like we were going to have a little party that night. Hmmm… The party ended around 1:30 a.m., and sack out time was pretty early: about 4:30 a.m.
Thursday brought a few surprises. One was the disappearance of Karl and Eric. Turned out they went to Cincinnati to see the Reds – Cubs game. That meant I had the room to myself (Ken was at work). So, I talked with Hadley, and tried out the receiver he just bought. It was a Drake R-4C. Unbelievable selectivity and just fantastic overall features really impressed me. Tunisia and Romania came in with fine signals on 11970 and 9690 kHz respectively. Since I hadn’t eaten anything in 24 hours, a meal seemed like a good idea. Jax Roast Beef was the cure. Afterwards, I purchased some ham, cheese, and bread. Coupled with doughnuts, I was never hungry again! I also checked out a really fine radio store (the name slips my mind), and there I tried out a Collins R-390, and an R-388 URR. Wow!! Also there were several Drakes (R-4B, 2-C, etc.) and a Hammarlund Super Pro. Needless to say, I appreciated the owners letting me try out the receivers. I arrived back in 772 around 5:00 p.m. and DXed some. RTVM Moroco and Radio Tunisia on 11970 kHz were the results of my efforts, but at night, the real fun began … Ken came back around (from work) 9:00 p.m., and together, we spent the better part of two hours DXing. Ken also tried Hadley’s R-4C and got a real catch, the Saudi Arabian PTT on 9867 kHz. I just had to hear them too, so with Dave Williams (from Oregon) headed back to my room. After what seemed like hours, I managed to get a rather decent signal out of them, and copied the text of the transmission, which was in English and Arabic. Baseball fans Eric and Karl arrived back around 12:30 a.m. and almost died when informed of our catch. Not to be outdone, Karl promptly went to the SX-130 and quickly heard another utility station, the Australian Overseas Telecommunications from Sydney on 9230 kHz around 0645. They were running an English vice marker on USB. We sacked out around 5:30 a.m.
Friday meant convention time and most of the fifty or so DXers showed up there. Since we didn’t wake up until about 2:00 p.m., we missed the arrival of some of them. After a meal we set out for the meeting room. There were receivers set up; including Ed Shaw’s souped up SX-190, Hadley’s R-40, Alan Courtney’s SX-190, a DX-150A, and a Hammarlund HQ-180A. In the meeting room, we became acquainted with three New York dudes, Chuck Kahan, Mike Collier, and Nick Koret. Chuck and Mike came to Columbus with George Schnalbe, and Rick flew in from Washington D.C. Other DXers included Dan Ferguson (NASWA Executive Editor), Dan Henderson, Larry Yamron, and Randy Minnehan. Two fellows there, Mark Brown and Brandon Lovett were representing the Miami valley DX Club. One way or another, I got into a conversation with them concerning CADX and the MVDXC. It was there that we agreed to swap bulletins. The MVDXC is a very fine club, and if any CADXers are interested in joining up with them, the address should appear somewhere. CADXer Jerry Lineback was there with his Barlow Wadley XCR-30 portable. We talked for a few minutes, but during the banquet would become better acquainted. The three new Yorkers joined us later on for a small party in our room. Around 10:00 p.m., Virginia DXers Russ Lay and Chuck Rippel ventured into our room. So, all nine of us had a round robin discussion concerning DXing, and some of the people involved in it. A nice thing happened to 772 that night, Chuck left his Hammarlund HQ-180A set up in our room. However, reception reached an all-time low for that night. New York’s DXers hit the hay about 2:30 a.m. and for us, it was about 4:30 a.m. once again.
Since we overslept Saturday, we missed a seminar, but did attend two others. One was talk on propagation, and the other concerned NASWA club affairs with CADX member Jerry Lineback on both panels. Nothing else too exciting happened during the day, but there was an excellent receiver display that included a drake DSR-2 (digital readout) which Eric was lucky enough to try out. Also set up was Jerry’s Barlow Wadley XCR-30 which I gave a test. No one heard anything that I couldn’t hear, but conditions were very poor. Mike Collier set up his Drake R-4B, and it seemed like an excellent SW receiver. About 5:00 p.m. I went swimming at the Holiday Inn pool, and Eric went shopping for some beverages and food with Karl. Ken also brought some tasty stuff to drink, we were set for the evening. But, the banquet had to come first! So, it did … Everyone feasted on swiss steak (my first solid meal in four days). I sat next to Eric, Rick Keret, George Schnabel, and Jerry Lineback. For the most part, jerry and I discussed CADX dits and dats while we ate. After the meal, guest speaker Ian McFarland of Radio Canada did his thing. Besides keeping out attention through witty remarks, Ian also informed us that the RCI transmission on 4905 kHz was from a transmitter of the Canadian Overseas Telecommunications Commission, and was directed to Canadian forces. To finish his talk, we were informed that RCI is going to use the new relay in conjunction with Deutsche Welle. Everyone wanted to know the sked for it … We also received an LP from the RCI SW Club, as well as two color post cards of Canada. The talk ended around 9:00 p.m. and another party started up again in our room. This one had many of ken’s friends (DXers?) as well as our NY chums Keret, Hahn, and Collier. This one seemed to go all-night, and it was rumored that Neil House was never the same afterwards!
I don’t remember too much more about Saturday, but when Sunday came along, it was time for everyone to leave. By the time we woke up, everyone was gone! We decided to ship out of the Neil House into the Holiday Inn. An invigorating four block walk complete with luggage and receiver nearly did us in, but at least we made it to our new home. Somehow my antenna was thrown away, and the next hour was spent hunting for an electronics store that was open. Finally, we obtained some stereo speaker wire and dumped it out the window. It worked surprisingly well … We only had a couple of things worth mentioning that would be considered real DX. One was All India Radio in English around 2200 with rock music on 9912 kHz. One of the tunes they played was entitled “The Streak.” Incidentally, it was rumored that two hitherto unknown DXers did just that. New Caledonia ended the DXing for us because a movie entitled, “The Swinging Summer” took over. TV DX finished up the convention for us, which was a most memorable occasion. (Mike Nikolich, DX Probe – September 1974)
CADX Emergency meeting – Mike Nikolich’s QTH – November 24, 1974
Karl Forth, Robert Kramer, Dave Petersen, Mark Lathrop, Robert Alvard, Richard Evans, and Eric Draut were the CADX members who showed a concern in club affairs by attending the emergency meeting at the home of Mike Nikolich. The meeting commenced at 7:00 p.m. and broke up sometimes around 9:30 p.m.
It is no secret to tell you that CADX is not progressing as smoothly as it did during the summer months. Much of the blame falls on myself for not being able to send out the bulletins in time due to pressures from school and my job. Another reason to blame is the dying support of the shortwave section, once one of the strongest and most supported columns in the club. What has happened is that most of the supporters who were regular contributors have either lost interest, decided not to send their reports, or have completely left the hobby. Nothing can be done about these DXers, but something must be done about the club. After a vote of the eight members present, it was decided that the club would fold if enough support and new shortwave members who would contribute would be obtained for membership.
The club is to be on trial until December 29, 1974 when club members will decide at Robert Kramer’s QTH what will take place. All members are urged to attend. Until December 29th, all members are urged to correspond with DXers who might be interested in joining the club. (DX Probe – November 1974)
It Was a Gas – Mike Nikolich’s QTH – December 6, 1980
Mix 15 DXers, beer, red-hot chili, a couple bottles of Coke, and you have all the makings of a CADX get-together!
Those were the ingredients for a bash at Mike Nikolich’s QTH on December 6. Were you there? Well, the following CADXers and non-CADXers were: Tom Haskett, Steve Shaffer, Steve Cziki, Milton Gardner, Robert Kramer, Sholom Gliksman, Mike Nikolich Mike Jeziorski, Earl Higgins, Adam Bernstein, Clif Brown, Jay Golden, famous disc jockey and occasional CADXer Brock Whaley, Karl Forth, and Mark Strickert.
The festivities got underway about 6:30 p.m., when Tom and Steve arrived. Tom was carting more pennants, tee-shirts and promotional items than I ever saw! Matter of fact, by the end of the evening, I easily had doubled my pennant collection! Steve Cziki brought his Sony ICF-2001 – it’s a little rx; and Adam Bernstein set a record of sorts by bringing 3 GE Super-Radios!
The GTG broke up around 3:30 a.m. As for DXing … Well, at least we had a good time! (DX Probe – December 1980)
CADX Banquet – Fanny’s Restaurant, Evanston, IL – June 12, 1982
June 12th was the date for the first annual CADX Banquet … and it was a rousing success. CADXers attending included Paul Kowalski and his girlfriend Jenny, Mike Piering, Gerry Dexter, John Longstreet and his wife, Karl Forth, Robert Kramer, Mike Jeziorski, Earl Higgins, Kevin Mikell, Rich Eckman, Wilder Pickard and guest Dick Hill, Austin Kelly, Sholom Gliksman, and Jay Golden. The festivities got underway around 5:00 p.m. when everyone relaxed with drinks. Dinner began somewhat late, around 6:30 p.m., but the meal was delicious, with salad, spaghetti, fried chicken, and garlic bread … all served up hot and spicy at Fanny’s World Famous Restaurant in Evanston, Illinois. Following the meal, the “business portion” of the banquet began. Mike Nikolich did a quickie wrap-up of the sights and sounds he absorbed at the summer Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago, and discussed several new shortwave products from Sony and Panasonic.
After Mike’s song and dance, Karl Forth took over with a history of CADX, and then the meeting became a round robin discussion of what to do with the CADX DX-Probe in the future. Once we exhausted the DX-Probe topic, Paul Kowalski gave an excellent demonstration of the Kantronics RTTY mini-reader. Paul was kind enough to bring along his Kenwood R-1000 for the demo. About 7:30 p.m., a short film on how a group of scanner monitors used their scanners to fight crime in the neighborhood was presented. The banquet broke up around 8:00 p.m., and then it was over to the Nikolich household for beer, boasting, and even CADX hockey!
CADX at ANARC Convention – Washington D.C. – July 15-17, 1983
July 15, 1983
ANARC opened with the members being welcomed to the convention. Over 250 people were in attendance, the largest number to date. The associate and member clubs set up their display tables of club newsletters and membership information. A tour of Voice of America attracted a large group of people. Two tours were necessary to accommodate everyone. A third group went to the local police communications office. The ANARC representatives attended a meeting where the ANARC OTH-B Radar Committee, HAP-USA, ANARC evaluation, ANARC public relations program, and the ANARC computer information program were discussed.
The evening wine and cheese reception gave everyone a chance to get acquineted. There were representatives from VOA, BBC, RCI, WRNO, HCJB, Radio Nederland, Belgium Radio & Television, Swedish Broadcasting Corporation, Radio Beijing, and Zambia Broadcasting Service.
July 16, 1983
Several ANARC sessions offered the DXers an opportunity to sharpen their skills. “Publicizing Radio Listening” conducted by Randy Ericksson, Ian McFarland, John Trautschold, Chris Davis and Alphonso Montealegre was filled to overflowing. They discussed ways that radio clubs could publicize the DX hobby. “Trends in Broadcasting” by Kim Elliot and Larry Magne talked about problems in international broadcasting that caused low listenership (dull programming, poor frequency selection, bad time of broadcasts, propagation). Bob Grove told of future trends in equipment and demonstrated the new ICF-2002. “Commercial Shortwave Broadcasting” featured Joe Costello of WRNO, whop told of his station’s development. The Broadcaster’s Forum was conducted by the representatives of various shortwave stations.
The banquet and awards presentation was enhanced by a raffle. Prizes won ranged from record albums to shortwave receiver. After the banquet, a number of people went to Jeff White’s room, where we were the “studio audience” for his live broadcast to Radio Earth from the hotel room. Jeff interviewed Joe Costello and Ian McFarland on the air.
July 17, 1983
The general meeting was concluded. The delegates voted to have ANARC ’84 in Toronto next July. The HAP auction conducted by Sam Barto was the final event of the convention.
After the convention, a number of DXers went sightseeing to the Smithsonian, Washington mall, and other points of interest.
I was the raffle winner of two cassette tapes from BRT, After the HAP auction, karl Forth was spotted with a number of “Radio Forth” T-Shirts. Hmmm!
The ANARC Convention was attended on behalf of CADX by Evelyn Hampton, Kevin Mikell, Austin Kelly, and Karl Forth. (Evelyn Hampton, DX Chicago – September 1983)
CADX Banquet - Tatra’s Smorgasbord – Chicago, IL – March 25, 1984
If you were unable to attend the CADX banquet at Tatra’s Smorgastbord on Chicago’s South Side, March 25th, you missed a great time. Austin Kelly deserves our thanks for a job well done. Not only was the food great, but after the meal we headed to Austin’s QTH for some impromptu “rag-chewing.”
Among the CADX members attending the bash were Karl Forth, Robert Kramer, Gerry Dexter, Mike Nikolich and fiancée Susan Schuyler, Kevin Mikell, Richard Bloltuck, Austin Kelly and his girlfriend Nancy, Christos Rigas, Wilder Pickard, and new members David and Shannon Sieberling, Evelyn Hampton, and Joe Farley and his wife. At Austin’s we watched as Kevin Mikell demonstrated his homebrew digital readout for his Panasonic RF-2200. But the real star was Austin’s recently-conditioned National HRO-60. Talk about boat anchors! His receiver not only could anchor the Queen Mary, but it even requires changing coils to change frequencies. Actually, Austin like the rx so much he’s planning to add a digital readout to it.
MDXC/CADX DXpedition – Baraboo, WI – December 14-15, 1985
This historical event was held the weekend of 13-15 Dec 1985 just southwest of Baraboo, Wisconsin at an old farmhouse owned by CADX member Dave Siberling. The site is in the middle of beautiful rolling farmland – a truly scenic setting as well as one away from just about all QRM. The farmhouse itself offers plenty of room and is kept quite comfortable with a wood-burning stove.
The Chicago crew (Mike Nikolich, Austin Kelly and Kevin Mikell) arrived Friday night and so had all day Saturday to erect antennas, etc. The lone Minnesotan (Bob Gundersen) arrived Saturday evening , but was able to get up a ‘quick and dirty’ hank of about 100’ of wire while the others went out for dinner.
We set-up listening posts in the main second floor room as the heat stayed more even there. We each had our rigs next to our beds which proved very handy come the wee hours. The main receivers used were: NRD-515 (MN & KM), ICOM R-71A (AK) and Kenwood R-1000 (BG).
The first area to open up was Latin America – especially Ecuador and Brazil. Then some Africans were logged before the bands went to pot. Nothing exciting happening, it was decided that a game of Trivial Pursuit was in order and just to make it different we all tuned in Africa No.1 (which was putting out a signal to rival WGN) for yet another first: Trivial Pursuit played to Africa No. 1 in Quad! No need to mention who won.
Few comments on the equipment. The NRD-515 is the first receiver I have seen for which I would trade my Kenwood. It is simple to use and has a superb feel. The main difference in performance was due to the filters. I intend to get my Kenwood upgraded this next summer with the best possible and at that point the R-1000 will most likely give even the NRD a challenge. The NRD will still be superior in the ease of tuning and stability of its sideband mode as well as its having RIT and band-pass tuning. (Austin Kelly, DX Chicago – December 1985)
1st Annual CADX Convention – Holiday Inn, Gurnee, IL – January, 1986
The first CADX convention drew a substantial number of Illinois and Wisconsin DXers to the Gurnee Holiday Inn for a weekend of liquor, conversation, and DX activities. All of Saturday’s speakers were excellent, but the highlight of the weekend was Don Moore’s slide show of Central and South America radio stations. Getting the chance to see Argentine DXers, LV de Chile’s (unused) studios, and the announcers from LV de Nahuala was a great thrill. The show lasted for over an hour, and I think Don had a few more hours worth of slides if we had the time.
I also have to blow our horn for a moment, as my team won the DX Trivial Pursuit contest, thanks to heads-up thinking from 2/3 of CADX’s female membership, and Gerry Dexter’s prize-winning question, “What frequency did Brazzaville use for its N. American Service in the 1950’s?” That one really stumped the other side.
Jeff White put in an appearance to let us know that Radio Earth’s Curacao project is on schedule, but that Aruba is bidding against Curacao for the chance to be Radio Earth’s home. We all encouraged Jeff to go for Aruba as that would provide us with a new country for our totals. Jeff also said that Rudy Espinal was going to put a SW station on the air from the Dominican Republic, sometime in March. This project was independent of R. Earth. Those of you who don’t have the Dominican Republic QSL’d keep your ears glued for this one.
Perhaps the most incredible thing about the convention was that the banquet food was actually good. You won’t find many conventions that can make that statement. Thanks to Mike Nikolich for putting this together, and we are all looking forward to next year, when I am sure Mike will spare no effort to produce a mid-Winter convention that’s bigger and better. (Austin Kelly, DX Chicago – February 1986)
CADXers meet Larry Wayne of Deutsche Welle – Leona’s Pizza, Chicago, IL – Fall, 1986
The great GTG of fall ’86 met with mixed success. Turnout by the membership was spectacular, with Sheryl Paszkiewicz coming all the way from Manitowoc, and Rob Sobkoviak checking in by phone from Des Moines. The pizza from Leona’s was great, and the staff very helpful. The only problem was the guest of honor! First Larry was coming late, then he wasn’t coming, then he was. He actually arrived about desert time.
When he did finally show (trouble with delayed flight to O’Hare) we had only a short time to talk. He did tell CADX that he grew up on the near-north side, worked for WBEZ about 25 years ago, and bounced all around the Gulf from one radio station to another before being offered a job in Bonn. He hated it and came back to the US, but was soon asked to come back to Cologne and work for Deutsche Welle.
It seems that foreign-language services at DW are generally under budgeted, the English language department particularly so, and the North American Service is the step child of the whole station. However, they still manage to present quality programming by hijacking news and stories from other services. Apparently, the North American Service was briefly eliminated, and English in general is occasionally threatened by budget cutters, but so far that threat hasn’t gone very far.
A week after the GTG I met Larry again to cut an interview about CADX. The original plan was to air it on October 18, but a letter I just got says it was aired on the 8th. Did anyone hear it? (Austin Kelly, DX Chicago – October 1986)
DX Convention – Wagon Wheel, Rockton, IL – March 31, 1989
Winter Convention GTG is now history, and I would like to extend my personal thanks to all of you who attended, participated, and helped. It was very much appreciated. Nineteen (19) DXers and DXer adjuncts had, I hope, a rewarding time. The presentation by the FMLN rep shed some new light onhow El Salvadoran clandestines operate. Joe Woodlock shed some light on how low frequency beacons and DXing operates. In my opinion, the real show stopper was Dave Copp’s presentation and insights into broadcasting in Southern Africa, Sri Lanka, and the Pacific. This was a class piece of work. Dave, I think we all owe you a tip of the hat! (Joe Farley)
Special thanks to everyone who helped make the 1989 CADX convention such a success. A great time was had by all. It was nice to finally to put faces to many of the names seen in the pages of DX Chicago and to meet some new friends as well. The presentations were excellent and I guess I’ll be forever eating my heart out over some of those QSL’s shown by Dave Copp. My personal thanks to Joe Farley and Mike Nikolich, and to Austin Kelly for the charts and also to Joe Woodlock for the time he spent explaining beacons to me and to Karl Forth for the tips on tuning the ICOM-R70. Sounds like Academy awards night! (Donna Robinson)
The Chicago DX Convention, which was sponsored by CADX was held the weekend of March 31, 1989 at the Wagon Wheel resort in Rockton, Illinois. The convention featured a cocktail reception on Friday night, Saturday banquet, and a wide range of seminars and special events. Joe Farley led a seminar on antennas. Dave Copp provided a travelogue on his adventures while visiting radio stations in Africa and Papua New Guinea. Clandestine buffs had a field day when a representative from Radio Farabundo Marti showed a video presentation and discussed the situation in El Salvador. Finally, the convention included an auction and the CADX Trivia. (Christos Rigas)
(From the March, 1989 edition of DX Chicago)
CADX Get-Together – Salernos - Berwyn, IL – January 15, 1993
If you missed the January 15th GTG at Salernos Restaurant then you missed out on a good time of DXers socializing and eating some good pizza and swapping some stories. Those in attendance were Joe Farley, Karl Forth, Evelyn Hampton, Koe Koval, Mike Nikolich, Tom Reiser, Christos Rigas, Allan Rosewarne, Tom Ross and his wife Micki, and yours truly Ed Stroh. If you weren’t there, then I hope you plan to attend the next GTG. Hopefully it will not be too long before our next one.
There is a possibility that the next GTG could be in Oak Lawn in a church. Ed Boe told me that maybe we could meet there some time as long as our schedule did not conflict with any schedule that the church might have. Ed Boe is the church director, so it would be easy to arrange. (Ed Stroh, DX Chicago - February, 1993)
CADX Get-Together – Salernos - Berwyn, IL – March, 1994
If you did not attend the March GTG at Salernos Restaurant you missed out on a nice time of camaraderie among fellow CADX members. Those in attendance were Ed Heyer and his wife whose name escapes me at the moment, Dan Carroll, Tim Miller and his wife Judi, Bob Rossler, Tom Reiser and myself. It was a small group but it was enjoyable just to get together and share information. I think several members benefited from that. (Ed Stroh, DX Cicago – April 1994)
CADX Get-Together – Cherry Hill Woods Forrest Preserve – June, 1994
Well, the outdoor GTG of the Chicago Area DX Club went very well, except for the fact that it would have been nice to see more members show up. The GTG took place at the Cherry Hill Forest Preserve in the Palos area. Those in attendance were Dan Carroll, Tim Miller, Judi Miller, Tom Minor, and my son Joshua and myself. It went without a hitch except for a few sprinkles here and there. That had little or no effect on us though since we were able to go under a shelter roof and use the picnic tables there to sit at and set up our radios. We had a nice time just talking about the hobby and getting to know each other and eating lunch. We strung a couple of long wire antennas out to some trees and proceeded to see what we could hear. It was quite surprising to me to see how clear the reception was out there since the nearest electric wires were over ½ mile away and the nearest house was about 1 mile away. To give an example of how quiet the reception was, I tuned in Vietnam on 10010 kHz, and the signal level on the ‘S’ meter was only about 2 or 3 ‘S’ units yet the signal was very readable. In comparison, if I had tuned that same broadcast in at home, I probably would not have been able to hear much of anything except noise. I think we had a good time and I am looking forward to doing that again sometime. Only next time I hope that a few more of you will be able to come out and meet your fellow CADX members. (Ed Stroh, DX Chicago – June 1994)
CADX Get-Together – Jim Hugunin’s QTH - Chicago, IL – September 24, 1994
Where were all you CADXers on September 24th? I was hoping to see a few more of you at the GTG which was held at Jim Hugunin’s house. We had a good time and some good food. Jim made his famous chili with the top secret ingredients. Actualy they are not too top secret because Jim revealed them to me, but I am sworn to secrecy. His chili was some of the best that I have ever tasted. The CADXers that did get to sample Jim’s recipe were Father Dan Carroll, Allan Rosewarne, Ray Kubiak and his son. It was a success, even though there was a small turnout. Anytime fellow CADX members can get together and share information and stories is asuccess as far as I am concerned. We also shared some books and QSL card collections as well as getting to check out Jim Hugunin’s shack. Jim does his listening on a Kenwood R-5000. A fine receiver. His antennas are 2 Eavesdroppers, one on the roof and one indoors. Jim also uses an IBM PS-1 computer for several hobby related tasks such as loggings and reception report writing. I am sure that that I can speak for all who came to the GTG, that it was a big success. (Ed Stroh, DX Chicago – October 1994)
CADX Get-Together – Salernos - Berwyn, IL – February 10, 1995
The GTG on Friday, February 10 at Salernos Restaurant in Berwyn was a success. We had one of the best turnouts of people that we have had in a long time. Those in attendance were Ed Boe, father Dan Carroll, Rex Fermier, Evelyn Hampton, Ed Heyer, Ray Kubiak, a potential new member David Lachman, Tim Miller and his wife Judi, Christos Rigas and his wife Vicki, Chris Rosso, and your truly ye olde president. I am sorry that the rest of you missed a good time. BTW, where were you Allan Rosewarne? We missed you. (Ed Stroh, DX Chicago – February 1995)
CADX Get-Together – Faith Lutheran Parish Hall – Oak Lawn, IL – May 19 1995
If you weren’t at the CADX Get-Together (GTG) in Oak Lawn on may 19, then you missed out on a good time of fellowship with other CADX members. Those in attendance were Ed Boe, Father Dan Carroll, Judi Miller, Tim Miller, Tom Minor, Christos Rigas, Allan Rosewarne, Justin Stroh, and yours truly. This time we had the meeting at the Faith Lutheran Parish hall, which is the church where Ed Boe is an Elder. As a matter of fact I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ed Boe for arranging for us to use the church hall. It worked out very nicely. Much better than when we met at Salernos Restaurant. Thank you very much Ed! It was much more relaxed there than at the restaurant and we had a lot of room to move around and not worry about who is sitting at the table next to us. We had more than enough table space which we utilized much of to set up various displays. We had many books and catalogs there which represented the radio listening hobby as well as several QSL collections, one which included a rather extensive collection belonging to Christos Rigas. Several members also brought in their portable radios along. Ed Boe had a Radio Shack scanner set up as well as a portable shortwave radio. Another comparison that really paid off was for Ed Boe. He was able to compare his Sony 2010 portable receiver to the same model brought to the meeting by Dan Carroll. Ed Boe determined with a side-by-side comparison that his 2010 was defective which was caused by a static charge while connected to an external antenna. We also listened to a tape of a beacon station brought by Tim Miller, and I broght a few old cassette recording that seemed to be of interest to some of the members too. One tape had several 15-20 year old interval signals on it so we played “name that interval signals” game. We also unanimously decided that we will have more meetings at this place since it seemed to have worked out so well there. (Ed Stroh, DX Chicago – June 1995)
From left: Justin Stroh, Ed Stroh and Ray Kubiak at CADX meeting in Oak Lawn.
Several more meetings were held at the Oak Lawn location between 1995 and 1998. (Christos Rigas)
CADX Get-Together – Tim & Judi Millers QTH – Indian Head Park, IL – February 20, 1998
Last month on February 20th we had our quarterly GTG. This time we strayed from the usual meeting place in Oak Lawn to a CADX member’s house. We went to the home of Tim and Judi Miller. I think it was kind of nice to have the meeting here because it was a more homey atmosphere as well as having the opportunity to hook up to an outside antenna. I want to thank Tim and Judi for their hospitality and for opening their home to the CADX membership. As I gathered from them when I left their house that night, they will be having the meeting there again. I am looking forward to it. Those in attendance were Father Dan Carroll, Judi Miller, Tim Miller, Christos Rigas, Allan Rosewarne, Justin Stroh and myself. We ordered out for our food from a local pizza type restaurant. (Ed Stroh, DX Chicago – March 1998)
Since 1998, the regular CADX meeting have been held at the residence of Tim and Judi Miller in Indian Head Park, Illinois. The meetings take place in a cozy atmosphere, with food being ordered from a local restaurant, and endless hours of DX and radio related discussion. Attendees also bring in DX and radio related items to show, such as QSLs, new radios and DX gadgets, latest publications and radio related magazines. Sometimes there is also DX being done. The meetings take place about once very 4 to 5 months. Attendees throughout the years included the regulars Tim and Judi Miller, Ed Stroh and sometimes his son Justin, Father Dan Carroll, and Christos Rigas. Others attending these meetings in the past were Karl Forth, Neil Kazaross, Allan Rosewarne (whatewer happened to Allan?), Gene Anderson (when he is back in town from his work in Taiwan), Joe Farley, and few others whose name escape me at the moment. If you would like to attend any future CADX meetings, keep an eye on the clubs web site as well as the regular e-mail updates for dates and times. Hope to see you at one of the next get-togethers. (Christos Rigas – October 2007)