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QST de W1AW
DX Bulletin 16 ARLD016 From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT April 14, 2000
To all radio amateurs
SB DX ARL ARLD016
ARLD016 Chesterfield Islands Added to
ARRL DXCC List
The ARRL DX Advisory Committee and the ARRL Awards Committee
have voted to add the Chesterfield Islands of New Caledonia to
the DXCC List. For DXCC credit, contacts made on or after March
23, 2000 will be accepted. Cards for this new entity may be
submitted after October 1, 2000.
With the admission of New Caledonia to IARU membership, the
Chesterfield Islands qualify by reason of separation from New
Caledonia. The Chesterfields are more than 350 km from the
closest point of New Caledonia.
The recent Chesterfield Islands TX0DX DXpedition team racked
up 72,654 contacts before it shut down March 29 after six days of
operation.
On its way to the Chesterfields, the TX0DX group made a slight
detour to the area where intervening reefs are indicated on some
older maps. The team reports it was able to confirm the French
Navy's documentation that the claimed islands simply do not
exist, and that there is a 350-kilometer open-water separation
between New Caledonia and the Chesterfields.
