CQ Communications, Inc. / 25 Newbridge Rd. / Hicksville, NY 11801 / 516-681-2922 / www.cq-amateur-radio.com / w2vu@cq-amateur-radio.com NEWS RELEASE For Release: Immediate For more information, contact: Richard Moseson, W2VU Editor, CQ Amateur Radio 516-681-2922 / 973-680-1585 w2vu@cq-amateur-radio.com JOHN SWEENEY, K9EL, TO DIRECT "CQ DX MARATHON" (Hicksville, New York - January 5, 2006) - CQ magazine Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU, today announced the appointment of John Sweeney, K9EL, of Schaumburg, Illinois, as Manager of the new CQ DX Marathon program. The Marathon is part of CQ's three-pronged "Waking Up DXing" program announced in the magazine last year. The year-long DXing competition began on January 1. John is an accomplished DXer, with some 30 years of experience both in chasing DX and being DX, operating from a variety of rare locations during the course of a nearly 30-year career with Motorola. He is now a telecommunications consultant. He has worked more than 300 countries on each of the major HF ham bands except 80 and 160 meters, and he's closing in on 80, with 280 confirmed. He needs only North Korea on CW to have "worked them all" on both phone and CW. "We are very pleased to have K9EL at the helm of the Marathon program," said Moseson, "and we are very confident that he will get it off to a solid start, both in terms of logistics and promotion." "I am very excited to have the opportunity to participate in this program and I look forward to working with the DX community," added Sweeney. "CQ has given me so much over the years. Here is my chance to give something back." The CQ DX Marathon is a cross between an award and a contest. It runs for a full year at a time, with competitors trying to contact as many countries and CQ zones as possible within the year. There are no carryovers from year to year, however, and everyone starts fresh each New Year's Day. The original CQ DX Marathon was run in 1947, as an effort to promote DXing activity as ham radio came back to life after World War II. After one year, the program "morphed" into the highly successful CQ World Wide DX Contest. The decision to bring it back was part of a three-pronged response by CQ to perceptions that DXing activity outside of contests was dropping off. The other two new programs are the CQ DX Field Award and the CQ iDX Award. Information on all three programs is available on the CQ website at .