|
WA6AUD was a member and past president of the Northern California DX Club, former Section Communications Manager (previous title of a Section Manager) for the San Francisco section of the ARRL, as well as a former Vice-Director of the Pacific Division. If you were a subscriber to the WCDXB you can now re-read the West Coast DX Bulletin from the very first to the very last issue. If you didn't subscribe here is your chance to read some history of DXing in particular and Amateur Radio in general. Reading through the series of West Coast DX Bulletins will give you a sense of what it was like to chase DX during the last portion of sun spot cycle 20 and the first portion of cycle 21. Take time to enjoy the West Coast DX Bulletin and always remember that "DX IS"! |
The West Coast DX Bulletin (WCDXB) was published weekly from 1968 to 1979 by Hugh Cassidy, WA6AUD, and his wife Virginia. The WCDXB had the latest information on current active DX stations, along with rumors about up and coming DXpeditions. Cass reported what was happening in the world of DX and frequently provided lengthy quotes from his sources. He also reported issues affecting DX including recent ARRL and FCC actions. As the WCDXB evolved, Cass included characters like "the Old Timer", "the QRP'er", Red Eyed Louie, his cousin Sun Spot Louie and the Palos Verde Sun dancers. The final paragraph on the last page of each issue became one of the most popular sections readers always read.
By 1979, the West Coast DX Bulletin had become so successful; it was taking too much time, so Cass decided to stop publishing. Cass explained his decision in the last published issue. While the bulletin was published, Cass kept a copy of every issue sent out. Later, Cass shipped his entire collection to Paul Dunphy, VE1DX, for safe keeping. Paul honored Cass' request to protect the collection until Paul felt there was a solution to make the collection available for all DX’ers to enjoy. In January 2014, Paul returned Cass’ personal copies of the WCDXB to the West Coast where everything began. The Northern California DX Club agreed to scan each issue and make them available on the web. After the collection is available on line, WA6AUD’s entire WCDXB collection will be moved to the W6CF historical library at the California Historical Radio Society (Alameda, CA).