DXpedition Checkoff List
From the National Contest Journal Web Site www.ncjweb.com
Joe Pontek, K8JP k8jp@arrl.net

Contents
• Travel and Documents
• Equipment
• Cables and Adapters
• Tools
• Miscellaneous
• Personal Items
• Things To Do

Travel and Documents
• Airline ticket(s) and copies
• Appointment book
• Beam heading chart(s) or great circle bearing map
• Camera, film, extra batteries and lens cleaner
• Checkbook
• Compass
• Copies of past scores and records
• Credit card(s)
• Dive C-card
• Health insurance information
• Itinerary
• Labels, white stick-on
• License from home country and copies
• License from visiting country
• License, drivers
• List for customs
• List of other DXpeditions
• Logging materials (paper), small or large spiral notebooks, pencils, highlighter
• Luggage tags
• Manuals for everything, including software
• Maps and copies
• Money
• Passport
• Passport, copy of info page left at home with someone
• Passport, copy of info page with you
• Pertinent telephone, FAX and e-mail addresses of family reliable friends, travel agent, airline(s), hotel, doctor, bank, lawyer and pet sitter
• Phone numbers for other local hams
• Post card mailing list
• Post-Its
• Propagation, software/charts
• Reading material
• Schedule list
• Serial number list
• Sign with call letters for pictures
• Telephone credit card (recommend AT&T)
• This list
• Travel pillow
• Travelers checks and copies
• Video camera
• Writing devices, ballpoint pens, pencils and permanent marker

Equipment • Amplifier
• Antenna insulators
• Antenna switch(es)
• Antenna tuner
• Baluns and line isolators
• Beverage transformers and termination resistors
• Coax
• Digital voice keyer
• Dipole(s)
• DSP
• Ferrite cores for RFI
• Fold up fan (small muffin)
• Fuses for everything, including internal
• Headphones and adapters
• HTs
• Hy-Gain reel dipole
• Insulators, center and end
• Keyer
• Keyer paddles
• Microphone(s)
• Mobile whips and mount
• Nylon cord (several rolls)
• Power supply and power cord
• Preamp for beverages
• Roll of antenna wire (200')
• Roll of multi-conductor cable
• Roll of RG8X w/connectors on both ends
• RTTY/packet TNC
• Tower, push-up masts
• Transceiver
• Wire for beverages
• Wire for dipoles and inverted-L antennas
• Wire for ground systems
• Yagis
• Computer
• Computer interface
• CW interface and cable
• Digital voice keyer interface cable
• Disks w/software
• Disks, blank
• Grayline software or DX Edge
• Keyboard overlay
• Laptop computer
• Software updates, i.e. currenty .CTY file
• 1/4" plugs, 2 each
• 1/4" stereo extension cable
• 1/4" stereo jack to 1/8"
• 1/4" to phono
• 1/8" plugs, 2 each
• 1/8" stereo jack to 1/4"
• 1/8" to phono
• 2 phono to phono cords
• 25-pin and 9-pin solder-type D-connectors, etc.
• 4-pin mic connector
• 5 coax patch cords w/PL-259s. 100', 25', 12', 4', 3'
• 5-pin DIN to pigtails
• 8-pin mic connector
• AC wall adapter
• Amplifier keying line
• BNC female to PL-259
• Coax jumpers
• Coaxial power plug to pigtails
• Double barrel SO-239 (at least 3)
• Extension cord
• Extra 12V power cord for transceiver
• Extra phono to 1/4" cord
• Grounding strap for transceiver with clips at ends
• Keyer output cord
• Line voltage adapters
• Phono plus, 4 each
• Phono to 1/4"
• Phono to phono barrel
• PL-259 push-on adapters
• PL-259 reducers for RG58
• PL-259 reducers for RG8X
• PL259s (6 each)
• Power cord for transceiver
• Powerstrip(s) w/surge protection
• RS232 cable for computer to PK232 (9 pin to 25 pin)
• Serial cable, 25-pin to 25-pin, shielded
• Serial cable, 25-pin to 9-pin
• SO-239 to BNC male
• Transceiver to TNC cables
• UHF barrel connectors
• Y-cord for keyer and CT-keying line into transceiver (two phono to 1/4") Tools
• 125-watt soldering gun
• Climbing belt and buck strap
• Clip leads
• Cork tape (similar to Coax-Seal)
• Duct tape
• Extra packing tape
• Flashlight and extra batteries
• Flat and Phillips head screw drivers
• Knife, pocket
• Mini screwdriver set
• Pliers, needle nose
• Pliers, regular
• Pliers, Visegrip
• Resistors, small variety pack
• Rolls of electrical tape
• Sandpaper (fine)
• Soldering pencil, small
• Socket wrench with 7/16, 1/2 and 9/16 deep sockets
• Solder, small and large
• Tape measure, 100-foot
• Tape, Scotch
• Tywraps, black
• VOM and leads
• Wire cutters/strippers
• Work gloves (and extras)
• Wrenches, box/open end set
• Wrench, crescent

Miscellaneous
• 2-wheel dolly
• Batteries, 9-volt
• Batteries, AA
• Batteries, AAA
• Batteries, C/D for flashlight
• Club flag or banner
• Light, reading/operating
• Light bulbs, yellow bug type
• Scratch pad and pens
• Wire ties
• Wire, ground w/clips
• Wire, hookup
• Wire, multiconductor
• Wire, shielded
• Ziplock bags, large/small, heavy duty freezer type

Personal Items
• Alarm clock
• Anti-fog drops
• Backpack(s)
• Beach towels
• Beverages
• Bug repellent (skin-so-soft and Off)
• Candles and holders, incense
• Cap, safari hat, pith helmet
• Car window shades
• Cassette, CD players, tapes, CDs and earphones
• Clippers, nail file
• Cold gel-pak
• Croakies for glasses
• Decongestant
• Dive booties
• Dive fins
• Dive gloves
• Dive knife
• Dive mask
• Dive silicon
• Divelog/wheel PADI
• Drybox
• Electric shaver and trimmer
• Eyeglasses, spare
• Fanny pack(s)
• First aid kit
• Food - groceries
• Handheld mixer
• Hydrogen peroxide
• Jeans and Dockers
• Light jacket
• Lightweight long sleeve shirt
• Medicines, over the counter
• Medicines, prescribed
• Paper towels
• Pillow, neck for traveling
• Plastic garbage bags
• Playing cards
• Popcorn
• Reading material
• Rubber bands
• Safety pins, large (hold bed sheets in place on hot sticky nights)
• Shampoo
• Shorts
• Small bottles
• Snacks
• Snorkels
• Soap and dish
• Socks
• Souvenirs
• Sundries
• Sunglasses
• Sunscreen
• Sweater
• Swimsuits
• T-shirts
• Tissues
• Toiletries
• Toothbrush and paste
• Tylenol
• Underwater camera and silic.gel
• Underwear
• VCR
• VCR cassettes (trop.rainforest...)
• Wash-up towellettes
• Water bottle/canteen

Things To Do
• Answering machine, setup
• Design, buy PVC, make 6-meter yagi
• Do laundry
• E-mail, stop
• Give itinerary/telephone numbers to relatives
• Home, prepare for absence
• Mail, put on hold
• Newspaper, stop delivery
• Notify DX bulletins of operation and QSL information
• Practice with logging program
• Pre-tan
• Print QSLs