Steve, K9ZW recently summarized his visit to the W9DXCC convention near Chicago. I think he did an excellent job detailing the experience and what he took away from the event. When it comes to ham radio blogging, Steve has been hitting it out of the park lately, and it comes at a good time given the general malaise that has settled over the blogosphere. Perhaps other ham bloggers have grown weary in the work, others have given up altogether. The half-life of a ham radio blog has always been incredibly short; Steve’s has been a notable exception.

I’ve been to many DX conventions and Contest University. I’ve been to W9DXCC convention twice in years past. Steve’s summary is spot-on similar to what I experienced. You walk away having learned a few things and having heard some of the inside baseball chatter about the hobby. You meet a few of the big dawgs and share friendly banter with other muggles. If there is even one good speaker in the bunch you walk away motivated to dig a little deeper into these unique facets of the hobby. It’s a proven, successful formula!

But I doubt I will ever attend another such event. Today’s methods of contesting and chasing DX hold little appeal to me and my rapidly growing aversion to the modernity required to succeed in either endeavor.

I’ve frequently joked I’m part of the Electric Amish. I want to enjoy the hobby using simple means, while still being a fan of electricity. I get it, my message isn’t consistent. I’m not trying to be a cult-leader here, no manifesto is forthcoming, I just want to pursue the art and skill of amateur radio my own way.

Enter a new term, new to me anyway: friction-maxxing.

“Friction-maxxing is the practice of intentionally choosing less convenient options in daily life to build tolerance for discomfort and reduce reliance on technology-driven ease. It’s often described as adding small bits of effort back into your routines to help you stop autopilot and improve focus.”

Hot Damn! An actual description for what I seek.

When it comes to contesting in the 21st century, there is a LOT of automation. Computer power and software do all the heavy lifting. Software permits you to F-key your way to ever higher scores. The software will decode the call signs, determine which you need for a higher score, then you push an F-key and your transmitter automatically calls that station. Contact complete? Push another button and it’s logged while you scan for more, not by listening to the bands, but by watching the action on a screen that’s fed live data from the internet. When it’s over you push another key and your log has been submitted.

It’s all very 21st century, space-age, and high tech. And there are a lot of people who view this as futuristic and highly desirable. I don’t. You sit a radio operator down in front of a hundred watt transmitter with a straight key and paper log and win a contest. That’s the whole friction-maxxing bargain — and it would impress me. I’d say that person was an excellent contest radio operator. The fellow who wins using all the computing power on earth isn’t necessarily an excellent radio operator, let’s call him what he is, a highly competent computer jockey. All the contest sponsors should amend their printed certificates and plaques to reflect that reality.

When it comes to chasing DX consider the fellow who has fully automated his home station. While stuck in traffic his phone trills with a message that one of the entities he needs has just appeared on 15 meters. He switches apps on his phone and activates his station that’s already tuned to the needed contact. One press and he is calling that station using FT8. Too bad the rare station isn’t hearing him. Another few taps and he has activated his high-power amplifier and moved his directional antennas ever so slightly. Bingo! He bags the contact and it’s sent off to LoTW for confirmation before the traffic on the 405 has resumed moving.

Shall we call that fellow a crack DXer?

I’m not trying to start a luddite religion here, I really don’t care how you approach the hobby. I’m an old codger and the way we play radio these days has simply become too much tech for me. But that’s me - you do you and we’ll all get along.