The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 596 BID: $OPDX.596 January 27, 2003 Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW
Provided by BARF-80 BBS Cleveland, Ohio
Online at 440-237-8208 28.8k-1200 Baud 8/N/1
Thanks to the Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society, Northern
Ohio DX Association, Ohio/Penn PacketCluster Network, AB5K &
the AR TelNet Clusters Network, ARRL Letter, WB2YQH, N3ZOM, NG3K,
W3CF, W3UR & The Daily DX, N4AA & QRZ DX/The DX Magazine,
W4WX, WB6RSE, K8YSE, W8TTS, K9RZ, W9DX, A35RK, DJ7AA, DJ7ZG,
DL1EK/DL7VOA & DX Newsletter, F5NQL & UFT, FJ5DX & La
Gazette du DX, F5LEN, G0IAS, HK3JJH, I1JQJ & IK1ADH - 425 DX
NEWS, JF6DEA, OE 1002419, OH5DX, OK1JR, ONANT, OZ7C, OZ6OM/OZ7M
& OZ 50 MHz DX Bulletin, SM7AED, SP5EWY, VA3RJ & ICPO,
ZL4HU and ZS4BS for the following DX information.
DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT: According to the
AR-Cluster Network for the week of Sunday, 19/January, through
Sunday, 26/January there were 234 countries active. Countries
available: 3A, 3B8, 3B9, 3C, 3D2, 3DA, 3V, 3W, 3X, 4J, 4L, 4S,
4U1I, 4X, 5B, 5H, 5N, 5R, 5U, 5V, 5W, 5Z, 6Y, 7P, 7Q, 7X, 8P, 8R,
9A, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9L, 9M2, 9M6, 9N, 9V, 9Y, A2, A3, A4, A6, A7,
A9, AP, BV, BY, C3, C6, CE, CE0Z, CE9, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU,
CX, D2, D4, DL, DU, EA, EA6, EA8, EA9, EI, EK, EL, EP, ER, ES,
ET, EU, EX, EY, EZ, F, FG, FJ, FK, FM, FO, FP, FR, FY, G, GD, GI,
GJ, GM, GU, GW, H4, HA, HB, HB0, HC, HI, HK, HK0/a, HL, HP, HR,
HS, HV, HZ, I, IS, J6, J7, JA, JD/m, JD/o, JT, JW, JY, K, KG4,
KH0, KH6, KH8, KH9, KL, KP2, KP4, LA, LU, LX, LY, LZ, OA, OD, OE,
OH, OH0, OK, OM, ON, OX, OY, OZ, P2, P4, PA, PJ2, PJ7, PY, PY0F,
PZ, S2, S5, S7, S9, SM, SP, ST, SU, SV, SV/a, SV5, SV9, T30, T31,
T7, T9, TA, TF, TG, TI, TJ, TK, TL, TR, TT, TU, TY, UA, UA2, UA9,
UK, UN, UR, V2, V3, V4, V5, V7, V8, VE, VK, VK0M, VK9L, VK9N,
VP2E, VP2V, VP5, VP8/h, VP8/o, VQ9, VR, VU, XE, XT, XU, XW, XZ,
YA, YB, YI, YJ, YK, YL, YN, YO, YS, YU, YV, Z2, Z3, ZA, ZB, ZC4,
ZD7, ZD9, ZF, ZK1/s, ZK2, ZL, ZP, ZS.
* PLEASE NOTE: The report "could" contain
"Pirate/SLIM" operations. As always, you never know -
"Work First Worry Later" (WFWL).
2002 WRTC VIDEO RELEASED. Ari, OH5DX, informs
OPDX that the official video of the Amateur Radio Olympics (WRTC
2002) is now available on DVD and VHS. Unlike previous ham radio
videos, this one is produced from a 100% "pro-sports"
perspective. Watching the extreme effort Finnish hams put into
making WRTC 2002 as successful and professional as it was, it is
only fitting that the official video reflect these achievements.
In order to capture as much of the action as possible, three
different camera crews were sent out to film as many teams and
events as they could during the actual 24 hour competition. And
supporting all this great footage are high-end 3D graphics,
intra-competition scoreboards, top-ten boxes, team profiles, and
lots of other things that you might expect when watching a
professional sports event on television. The entire production is
even narrated by one of ESPN's top announcers. Animation,
graphics and sound were all posted at some of the best studios in
the Asia-Pacific region, and the DVDs were mastered in the same
facilities used by Paramount and Sony Entertainment. Total
running time is 60 minutes. The DVD version also contains lots of
extra features like full score breakdowns for each team,
continental line-ups, competitor rulebook, and even all the past
WRTC scores dating back to 1990. Copies are now shipping
worldwide, and all information on how to obtain one can be found
at the following web site: http://home1.pacific.net.sg/~jamesb/.
3B8, MAURITIUS. Herman, ON4AME, is expected
to be active as 3B8/ON4AME from Mauritius (grid square LG89) from
March 9-22nd. Activity will be on CW/SSB and digimodes
(SSTV-RTTY-PSK31-JT44... anything that is soundblaster
compatible) using a TS2000X fitted with 160m-23cm. The antennas
will be verticals and beams. More details will be forthcoming.
5X, UGANDA. QSL Manager Bob, WB2YQH, informs
OPDX that Graham, 5X1GS, has been semi-active this month due to
work related travels away from Kampala to the north part of the
country. He is now traveling to 5Z4 (no operation there) and back
to 5X for a day before departing for the UK on January 30th. He
will return to Uganda February 15th. He is looking into a WARC
beam for a better signal. Bob also mentions that the logs are
up-to-date. QSL via WB2YQH.
6W, SENEGAL. Norbert/F6AXX and Anne Marie
will be vacationing here now through February 7th, in the Saly
Area. The callsign to be used will be 6W7/F6AXX. Look for Norbert
every morning and evening mainly on CW around the following
suggested frequencies: 14035, 18090, 21035, 24105 and 28035 kHz
(+/- QRM). QSL via F6AXX, either direct (SASE) or via the French
REF Bureau. Some more information about Saly and amateur radio in
Senegal can be found (in French) at: http://www.pleinsud.online.fr/ra.htm.
6Y, JAMAICA. John, K3TEJ, plans to be active
in the ARRL DX CW Contest (February 15-16th) as 6Y0T. During
activity outside of the contest, he will operate as 6Y5/K3TEJ. He
will be active from here between February 11-18th. Operations
will be on 160-10 meters CW ONLY. QSL both callsigns via K3TEJ.
7Q, MALAWI. QSL Manager, Allan, G0IAS,
informs OPDX that Les, 7Q7LA, has landed in Malawi, but a week
late. He also states that by the time the OPDX readers read this,
Harry/7Q7HB and Les/7Q7LA should be active and providing some
"new ones" from the Lake shore (of Malawi) for plenty
of people this time around. Allan states not to hesitate to ASK
the guys if they can QSY to other modes or bands if you need
them, but please not in the middle of a pile up..! QSL info is as
usual via DIRECT only to G0IAS. NO BUREAU cards via RSGB (They
will NEVER be answered.) Also, there is NO 7Q7 BUREAU.
8P, BARBADOS. Tom, W2SC, will be active as
8P5A in the ARRL International DX SSB Contest (March 1-2nd) as a
Single-Op/High Power entry. QSL via NT1N.
9L, SIERRA LEONE (Top Band!). Zbig, SP7BTB,
has returned from a holiday in Poland and is now back and active
as 9L1BTB. He has been heard on 160 meters lately, so watch
between 1828-1831 kHz after 2130z. His activity depends mainly on
whether there is power (electricity) in the town. He is using a
dipole 13 meters above the ground, an IC-706 and a Emtron DX-1b.
Also, look for him to be active on 6 meters with a 5 element
Yagi.
DXER'S MOST WANTED COUNTRIES (ENTITIES). Over
the past week, DXers (new and old) got to see where their most
wanted entities are listed/ranked thanks to "The DX
Magazine's" release of the results of its "2002 Most
Wanted Conuntries" survey. Also released this past week were
the results of the "425 DX News 2003 Most Wanted
Survey". This is actually interesting because DXers from the
Americas can compare what the rest of world (Asia, Africa, Europe
and the Pacific) needs. The top 10 mosted wanted are:
"The DX Magazine" "425 DX News"
----------------- -------------
1) VU4 - Andaman 1) VU4 - Andaman
2) BS7 - Scarborough 2) BS7 - Scarborough
3) VU7 - Lakshadweep 3) VU7 - Lakshadweep
4) P5 - North Korea 4) 3Y/P - Peter I Island
5) 7O - Yemen 5) FR/J - Juan de Nova & Europa
6) FR/J - Juan de Nova & Europa 6) KP5 - Desecheo Island
7) 3Y/P - Peter I Island 7) KP1 - Navassa Island
8) KP5 - Desecheo Island 8) YV0 - Aves Island
9) KP1 - Navassa Island 9) 7O - Yemen
10) YV0 - Aves Island 10) FT8X - Kerguelen Islands
As you can see, the top three entities are the same, however,
the other seven are very different. OPDX would like to thank both
DX publications for providing the DX Community for these results.
For more details and complete results on these surveys, please
visit the following Web pages at: http://www.dxpub.com/dx_news.html
(The DX Magazine) and http://www.425dxn.org/surv2003/ (425 DX
News).
IOTA NEWS...
AF-064. Dennis, ZS4BS, reports, "A
DXpedition to Robben Island is on the books." Robben
Island is listed amongst the top 500 most wanted IOTA
groups in the latest IOTA Directory. There have been
several fairly low-key operations in recent years, mainly
on SSB only. The team, consisting of Phil/G3SWH,
David/G3UNA, Vidi/ZS1EL, Kosie/ZS1SR, Malcolm/ZS1MC,
Andrew/ZS1AN and Hester/ZS1ESU, has been allocated the
special callsign ZS1RBN. The team plans to activate the
island between April 4-7th, and, propagation permitting,
have two stations on the air on a 24 hours a day basis.
One station will operate SSB and one will operate CW on
all bands 40-10 meters. QSLs will be handled by G3SWH,
either direct to his CBA with SAE and return postage or
via the RSGB bureau.
NA-073. Wil, DJ7AA, informs OPDX that he
is planning another trip to Contadora Island, Panama, and
will be active February 4-19th. His main activities are
the WPX-RTTY Contest and the ARRL CW Contest. Outside of
the contests, his activity will be mostly CW on 160/80
meters. Please look for him on 1826.5 and 3560.0 kHz
always listening split, so please look for his QSX
frequencies. There may be some activity on the WARC bands
and some SSB if someone needs it and if there is some
time. The callsign is not known yet. QSLs for this
activity are going via DL6MYL.
OC-098. Ken Holdom, ZL4HU, is in the
process of planning a small DXpedition to Pukapuka, North
Cook Islands, and he would appreciate receiving any
information on past activities from this island. Ken has
already been provided with the following list of past
operations (kindly donated by Neville G3NUG): KH6MG/ZK1,
W0PBW/ZK1, ZK1AF, ZK1DP, ZK1KH, ZK1MB, ZK1TW and ZK1XP.
Apart from his own activities as ZK1KH, Ken would
appreciate the names of the operators of the above
activities and the dates they were operational from
Pukapuka, North Cooks. If possible, he would also like to
know the number of QSOs each operator made on these
visits. If these operators are still active, he would
also appreciate their current E-mail addresses. Also, if
anyone knows of any other activity from Pukapuka, North
Cooks, he would appreciate hearing from you. Ken's E-mail
address is: zl2hu@clear.net.nz.
LIMITED "LOGBOOK OF THE WORLD" TESTING IS A
HIT, states the ARRL Letter (Vol. 22, No. 04) dated
January 24, 2003. An excerpt from the "ARRL Letter"
states: "The long-anticipated "Logbook of the
World" (LoTW)--the ARRL's secure electronic
contact-confirmation system--took a major leap toward public
release this month with several weeks of limited-- or
"alpha" -- testing. Dozens of Amateur Radio operators
checked out a preliminary version of the LoTW software, which is
still under development. Once it's ready, LoTW will provide a
means for participants to qualify for awards such as DXCC or WAS
without having to first collect hard-copy QSL cards. LoTW beta
testing for the general Amateur Radio public is expected to begin
soon. The ARRL has not announced a specific inauguration date for
Logbook of the World. To read the complete press release, go to
the ARRL Web page at: http://www.arrl.org.
KH0, MARIANA ISLANDS. Looks like this one
will be active over the next few months by a few JA operators:
Look for JN1MYM and JO1UTG to operate from Saipan as
KH0/JN1MYM and KH2DI/KH0, respectively, between January
31st and February 3rd. Activity will be on HF and 6
meters. QSL via their home callsigns.
Takeshi, JA5AUC, will operate from Saipan as KH0/JA5AUC
from February 7-12th. Activity will be on HF and 6
meters. QSL via his home callsign.
JR1KGF will be active as KH0/JR1KGF from Saipan between
March 11-13th. His activity will be on HF and 6 meters.
QSL via his home callsign.
Ikuko, JA5GSG, will operate from Saipan between June
5-11th. His callsign was not provided. Activity will be
on HF and 6 meters. QSL via his home callsign.
NEW OFFICERS FOR 2003. The Texas DX Society
(TDXS) is pleased to announce its officers for 2003:
President Madison Jones - W5MJ
Vice President Charles Frost - K5LBU
Secretary Ed Gerber - W5GCX
Treasurer Dave Topp - W5BXX
P4, ARUBA. Bob, W6FRH, is once again active
as P40RH through January 29th. Activity will be on 160-6 meters,
SSB and some CW. Over the past weekend Bob has been heard on
80/40/20/15 meters as well as plenty of 10 meter activity. QSL
via W6FRH.
PIRATE ALERT. Bill, K9RZ, reports that Roger,
WA0ETE, QSL Manager for V31KQ, informs him that the callsign
V31KQ is not presently active and recent operations on 15m CW are
the work of a PIRATE. The only valid dates for operation from
V31KQ in 2002 were from April 24th through May 2nd. At present,
there are no firm plans to return to V31 in 2003, but that is
subject to change. He will inform Bill if that happens.
PJ5, ST. EUSTATIUS. Jim, K1NA, will be active
as PJ5/K1NA (or possibly PJ5NA) in the ARRL International DX SSB
Contest (March 1-2nd) as a Single-Op/All Band entry (This will be
a casual effort). QSL via his home callsign.
PY0F, FERNANDO DE NORONHA. Bill, W9VA, will
be active as PY0ZFO from February 12-18th. His activity will
include the ARRL CW DX Contest using a special callsign. Contest
category and callsign will be announced later. QSL via W9VA.
QSL INFO AND NEWS...
CO6XN QSL CHANGES. After much discussion
with Abel, CO6XN, his QSL Manager Oscar/HK6DOS and
Frank/N3ZOM have come to this conclusion. Because it is
no longer cost effective for him, given the current
unstable mail situation and increase in cost of the
bureau service in Colombia, it is with much regret that
Oscar will cease to handle Abel's cards effective June 1,
2003, via the bureau. The last date to accept via the
bureau will be January 31, 2003. Frank will continue to
handle all of Abel's cards for all past contacts DIRECT
ONLY with sufficient post included with the contact
request. Please be patient if sending a card since all
contacts have to be confirmed over the air with Abel.
Pavel, OD5/OK1MU, was active in the CQWW
160 CW Contest (this past weekend) as a Single-Op/Hign
Power entry from the Czech Embassy. QSL via OKDX
Foundation or OK1TN. Visit his Web page at: http://www.qsl.net/ok1mu.
Kurt, OE 1002419, has announced that he
just uploaded the newest version of the OE callsign
directory as zipped PDF file to his homepage at: http://www.swl.net/oe1002419.
After entering the page, you can find the file under
"Downloads -> OE-Callbook". The file size is
about 580 kB (zipped). The PDF file contains all OE
callsigns with their names and addresses (SW and VHF/UHF
hams = class 1 and class 2 hams) that were licenced at
the 3rd of January 2003.
Ted, W8TTS, has informed OPDX that he
has taken over the QSL Manager tasks for PJ2/N8LGP for
his operation during February 2002.
Pascal, F5PTM (aka TT8ZZ), informs OPDX
that he has begun (last week) to send out QSL cards for
his activities in Chad this past autumn. Direct QSL cards
that were received will be sent first. The remainder of
the callsigns in the log will automatically receive a QSL
via the bureau (about 14,000 QSL). For more info, a log
search and pictures, please visit the Web page at: http://f6kim.free.fr/trafic/tt8zz.
POSTAGE IS UP. Pedro, HK3JJH, informs
OPDX that the actual cost of regular mail in Colombia is
1.65 USD and IRC are not accepted at the post office
where he lives (so he can not use them). He states that
he will continue sending his QSLs via Bureau or direct
from an American post office when he visits the USA, or
send it to some friends there. Currently, Pedro states he
is up-to-date on his outgoing QSLs, but he will need to
make the above mentioned changes.
QSL/MGR SEARCH ENGINE AVAILABLE. Boye,
OZ7C, reports that his QSL and Manager search machine is
back after one year out of sevice. The URL address is: http://www.qsl.dk/oz7c.
The QSL database contains 336368 records and the MGR
database contains 17570 records, based on managers that
have more than 3 callsigns to their service. There will
be weekly updates, normaly on Monday.
V51AS QSLs. Steve, WB6RSE, recently
received a direct reply from Frank, V51AS, and enclosed
was an article from a local paper showing a picture of
pilfered mail discarded in the Windhoek riverbed.
"Some of the mail found was posted at least three
months ago, and includes both domestic and international
mail. Investigators said the culprits mainly targeted
international mail as Namibians living abroad sometimes
posted cash to friends and family." Frank's hand
written note included: "Nobody has an answer. I hope
it's over. Please let others know about the
problem." Frank chooses to QSL himself, which is his
prerogative, even though a stateside or European manager
would solve the problem. Bottom line: Frank does QSL.
Steve received his in a matter of weeks. If it's been
longer than that, you might consider trying again.
YI1BGD QSL CONFUSION. This one has had
many scratching their heads this past week. What we can
gather so far is to "LISTEN" to the operator's
instructions. From what we can tell, activity by:
Operator Mike, OM2DX, who has
finished his operation as YI9OM on December 12, 2002,
and is active (temporary) from the club station
YI1BGD, should be QSLed via his father Steve, OM3JW.
Steve informs OPDX that the YI1BGD QSLs are at the
printer's, and he will send them out as soon as
possible. By the way, Mike, OM2DX, is still waiting
for his own personal callsign YI9DX. Also, for more
info about the YI9OM and YI1BGD activity by Mike,
OM2DX, and the logs, visit the Web page at: http://www.qsl.net/om2dx.
Cliff, G0MMI, is the QSL Manager only
for contacts made with YI1BGD operated by Rodger,
G0TLC. These DO NOT include CW contacts, as Rodger
does not work CW.
Any other operator at YI1BGD (other
than Mike or Rodger as operators) should be QSLed via
YI1DZ: P.O. Box 7361, Baghdad 12216, IRAQ.
Stan, OK1JR/YB0AJR, was active this past
weekend during CQWW DX 160m CW Contest using the callsign
YE0X from Jawa Island, Indonesia. QSL via OK1JR to the YB
bureau. A special QSL card will made for CQ 160m Contest
only.
T31, CANTON ISLAND. Paul, A35RK, informed
OPDX that Mike Young, KM9D, got his new callsign, T31MY, on
January 24th. Over the past weekend, Mike has been heard on 17
meters CW (check 18094 kHz after 1700), 10 meters CW/SSB (check
28005 and 28450 kHz after 2000z) and on 12 meters CW (check 24916
kHz after 2300z). Activity was also reported on 40/30/20 meters.
Mike's length of stay may be three to four weeks. QSL via OM2SA.
V2, ANTIGUA. Doug, W3CF/V26DX, and a group of
Team Antigua operators will activate V26DX as a Multi-Two entry
for the 2003 ARRL International DX SSB Contest (March 1-2nd) from
the Royal Antiguan Hotel. The other operators include Jay/WX0B,
Jim/N2EA, Irwin/KD3TB and Sharon/N5CK. Doug states, "This is
a shake down of the new hotel station. This is more vacation for
some fun and sun in the sand than DXpedition. But will be on the
air a lot." They will be running a 100 watts into a
tribander and wires from the 8th story roof. They expect to have
something on the air by Wednesday, February 26th during the
evening. Activity on 6 meters will be possible but only with a
wire antenna. QSL V26DX via KU9C. QSL the other operators as
directed. Doug states he will also load the log into the eQSL
database upon his return.
V2, ANTIGUA. Members of the Florida
DXPedition Group, Bill/W4WX (V25WX) and Larry/W1LR (V2/W1LR -
applied for V26LR) are planning a trip to Antigua, February
17-25th. They will be traveling "Space A" via military
aircraft out of Patrick AFB, Cocoa, FL. They will be taking one
small Mini-beam for 10/15/20 meters, Force 12 Sigma 5 Vertical
for 10/12/15/17/20 meters, and a dipole for 6 meters. They will
be on SSB, MMTTY, PSK-31 (no brags please) and Flashing Light on
request for small ships. The pilot station will be Clarence,
W9AAZ (kx8nlaf@bellsouth.net).
QSL via home calls.
V31, BELIZE. Paul/K1XM and Charlotte/KQ1F
plan to be active from here in a "light" Multi-Single
effort in the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 1-2nd). The callsigns,
bands/modes and length of stay was not provided.
VK9, CHRISTMAS ISLAND. Steve, VK3OT
(ex-VE3SIX), informs OPDX that he will be active as VK9XI from
April 7-21st. The VK9XI licence will be granted on February 10th,
and it will be the first time that this callsign has been used on
6 meters since February 28, 1980. Activity will be on 160-6
meters using an Icom 706, Kenwood TS690SAT and Yaesu FT650. The
antennas will be a 5 element M2 for 6m, Mosley Tri-bander for HF,
Hidaka Vertical for 80/40/30 meters and a Sloper for 160 meters.
Look for him mainly on 50.115 MHz between 1000-1500z and at
2400z. Steve will listen to 28.885 MHZ during all daylight hours
(if propagation exisits or 21.205 MHz). He will also be active on
the Lower Bands; 2300z (sunrise) and 1000z (sunset). Pilot
stations announced so far are VK2QF and VK3AKK. QSL via VK3OT
(Direct ONLY) to: Steve Gregory, Post Office Box 622 Hamilton,
Victoria 3300, AUSTRALIA. For more up-to-date details and
information, please visit the Web site at: http://members.datafast.net.au/electronics/vk9x.htm.
VP8, FALKLAND ISLANDS. Mark, VP8CSA, will
once again be active from here between now and February 11th. QSL
via DL1SDN.
XY, MYANMAR (Late Update). Hiroo, JA2EZD,
continues to be active as XY2A until January 29th. Activity has
been on CW mostly with some SSB. Operations have been on 40/20/15
meters. He was expected to be joined by Kai/JH6VZS and
Shirow/JF6DEA/KE1EO over the past weekend for a short operation
(January 25-27th). The two operators were hoping to use the
callsigns XY5D and XY6J. They plan to operate mainly on the low
bands and 6m. As this was being written no QSNs (of XY5D and
XY6J) were reported. There is further infomation at Shirow's Web
site, "JA 6m Companion", at: http://www.ham-net.net/vu-dx/.
If callsigns XY5D and XY6J were permitted, both QSLs will be
handled by JH6QIL: Shin-Ichi KUSUMOTO, 1777-289, Nishi-Mochida,
Aira-cho, Aira-Gun, KAGOSHIMA, 899-5431 JAPAN (Direct only with
SASE).
SPECIAL NOTE BY EDITOR: If you are having a problem receiving
bounced mail by sending mail to me via kb8nw@barf80.nshore.org,
please send mail to me via kb8nw@arrl.net.
TNX de Tedd KB8NW
Excerpts and distribution of The OPDX Bulletin are granted as
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call BARF-80 BBS online at 440-237-8208
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