The stories are based on the characters and writing style developed by Hugh Cassidy, WA6AUD (SK) Four hours is Plenty of Time One of the Local QRPers came by the other day and he had a plan to even out the DXCC standings. We weren't sure they needed any evening out, but we decided to listen to what he had in mind. "You see" he began, "the problem with the DXCC program is that not everyone has a fair chance at working the DX. Some are retired, others can afford to take extended vacations when DXpeditions are on, and other folks just seem to get by on less sleep. Now, as you know, I work all week and I need eight or nine hours sleep every night. I just don't have the same amount of time as some of the Big Guns. And this really isn't fair. How can I compete with someone who has 16-18 hours a day to tune the bands when I only have a few hours in the evening and maybe a morning or two? And I'm not the only one in this situation either, Buster!" This didn't seem unfair to us, for every activity in life has its ups and downs, but we looked the QRPer straight in his beady little eyes and asked, "So what should be done about it?" "Simple!" he replied, "the DXCC desk should modify the rules to set forth 'DXCC counter hours.' All QSLs submitted for DXCC must be within these hours or the QSO doesn't count. I figured out that, for the East Coast, the morning between 6:00 AM and 8:00 AM local time would be best, and for the Suffering Sixes, the afternoon time slot would be the best . . . say between 04:00 PM and 06:00 PM during their local time." "But what about DXers in the middle of the country?" we asked, "or those that need something that can only be worked after dark or on the polar path at mid-day? What about them? And, further to the point, what about DXers in Europe and Asia and all the other parts of the world?" The QRPer was not to be deterred. "They'll just have to convert the two DX time windows I've proposed to their local time and make sure that they're either home from work or that they get out of bed during these times. And think of the load this will take off the DXpeditions. Those guys go to these obscure places like South Sandwich and Heard Island, for example. They are expected to be on the air for 24-hours a day! Sometimes they are there for a week or 10 days. Think of the energy they'd save if they only had to operate four hours a day. Sometimes I wonder why you guys with the big totals didn't figure this out a long time ago!" And with that he was off to write a letter outlining his proposal to his director. We sat there for a moment and watched him stroll off and down around the corner. Don't ask us to explain it, we only report what we hear! A man should keep his friendship in constant repair (Samuel Johnson (1755).