DXpeditions

The DX trip, or "DXpedition", is a great opportunity for radio hobbyists to
meet socially and enjoy the hobby together. DXpeditions sometimes involve
trips to remote locations where there is room for larger antenna systems. I
have anjoyed many trips to the Suffolk coast over the years, well in excess
of 20 for FM DXing and five to the north-west of Scotland for medium wave
DXing, plus countless trips into the Derbyshire Peak District National Park.

Wikipedia has an excellent article about DXpeditions here which explains
how they started as early as the 1920s as simple exploratory and
geographical excursions where radio amateurs took part to provide long
distance radio communications. DXpeditions don't just involve radio
amateurs, but radio enthusiasts of all kinds.

There are smaller DX trips, sometimes called "Hilltopping", basically
smaller or trips to the coast or to the top of a hill or mountain where
enthusiasts may spend shorter durations, perhaps a day or a few hours,
searching out weak and rare signals to boost their log totals. It can
be very competitive and there are various clubs and societies which offer
certificates and awards, some of which are even financial!

There is also "The Brendan Trophies" award in which £20,000 will be given to the operators of the first two Amateur Radio stations to establish
two-way communication between Europe and North or South America on 2 meters. As far as I know, this award still stands as there has not been a
confirmed communication of this kind so far, though one claim has already been submitted. Apparently there was insufficient evidence to support
the 2002 claim between Alexander Dutkewych, N2PIG, and Debra Dutkewych, K2PIG/VA3PIG. The applicants claimed a WSJT-mode contact on
March 19th 2002, between N2PIG in Newfoundland and K2PIG in County Kerry, Ireland. According to the RSGB, the Awards Panel decided that the
application did not comply with the provisions of its Rule 6, which states that the Awards Panel has sole discretion in deciding on the validity
of a contact. The RSGB report said the level of proof provided for the contact was insufficient.. I think there's no doubt that this feat will
be achieved one day and wouldn't we all like to be the recipient of this?