The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 639 BID: $OPDX.639 December 15, 2003 Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW
Provided by BARF80.ORG (Cleveland, Ohio)
Thanks to the Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society, Northern
Ohio DX Association, Ohio/Penn PacketCluster Network, AB5K &
the AR TelNet Clusters Network, ARRL Letter, K1XN & GoList,
NG3K, W3UR & The Daily DX, N4AA & QRZ DX, N4GN, KB5NJD,
N5FG, N7OU, K8YC, K8YSE, WZ8D, AK0A, WD0M, 6Y5/4S7RO, 9V1DX,
CE6TBN, DL/VE3ZIK & www.contesting.info, DL1EK/DL7VOA & DX
Newsletter, E21EIC, F5CQ, F5CWU & La Gazette du DX, F5OGL,
F5NQL & UFT, HG4I, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, JJ1BDX,
JI6KVR & JA-IOTA Islands News, OH2BH, PA9JJ, RW3RN, RW6HS,
UA9XC, VA3RJ & ICPO, VK4APG and ZL2HU for the following DX
information.
DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT: According to the
AR-Cluster Network for the week of Sunday, 7th/December, through
Sunday, 14th/December there were 231 countries active. Countries
available: 3A, 3B8, 3B9, 3D2, 3DA, 3V, 3W, 3X, 4J, 4L, 4S, 4U1I,
4W, 4X, 5A, 5B, 5H, 5N, 5R, 5T, 5U, 5V, 5X, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7Q, 7X,
8P, 8Q, 8R, 9A, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9L, 9M2, 9M6, 9U, 9V, 9X, 9Y, A2,
A4, A5, A6, A7, A9, AP, BV, BY, C3, C6, CE, 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, FH, FJ, FK, FM, FO, FP, FR,
FR/j, FY, G, GD, GI, GJ, GM, GU, GW, HA, HB, HB0, HC, HH, HI, HK,
HK0/a, HL, HP, HR, HS, HZ, I, IS, J2, J3, J6, J8, JA, JD/m, JT,
JW, JY, K, KG4, KH2, KH6, KH8, 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, PY0S, PZ, R1FJ, S2, S5, S9, SM, SP, ST, SU, SV,
SV5, SV9, T2, T30, T32, T33, T7, T9, TA, TF, TG, TI, TK, TR, TT,
TU, TY, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V2, V3, V4, V5, V7, VE, VK,
VK9C, VK9N, VP2E, VP6, VP8, VP8/h, VP8/o, VP9, VQ9, VR, VU, XE,
XU, YA, YB, YI, YK, YL, YN, YO, YS, YU, YV, Z2, Z3, ZA, ZB, ZC4,
ZD7, 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).
IMPORTANT NOTICE/REMINDER. The Ohio/Penn DX
Bulletin now has a new FAX number. Contributors can now send/fax
their DX information to the following number: 1-419-828-7791 ( F
A X only! )
6Y, JAMAICA. Ron, 4S7RO, is active as
6Y5/4S7RO and states that he is on 40 meters CW most evenings
(between 2300-0500z). Before that time he can be found on 20
meters SSB or CW. QSL via G0IAS.
ARCTIC GRID EXPEDITION. Jeffrey/KG0VL and
Justin/K9MU will depart St. Paul, MN, at 11:30 am on January 1st.
Beginning January 3rd, the two operators will activate Grids EO16
and EO26 for the next couple of weeks. Operators will sign
VE4/K9MU (from EO16) and VE4/KG0VL (from EO26). Their activity
will be on HF, 50, 144 and 903 MHz. Liaison frequency is 7268 kHz
(Days) and 3958 kHz (Evenings). Because of increased traffic on
7268, they will also monitor 7265 kHz (+/-). Their interesting
travel plans and planned operation details can be read on the
following Web page at: http://www.qsl.net/k9mu/ArcticGridExpedition.html.
CDXA ELECTS NEW OFFICERS. John Scott, K8YC,
and Editor for the Carolina DX Association, informs OPDX that at
its Annual Meeting/Christmas Party on Saturday, December 6th, the
Carolina DX Association elected its officers for 2004. Results of
the elections are:
President: Ted Goldthorpe, W4VHF
Vice President: Tom Wright, N4HN
Secretary/Treasurer: Jim Miller, K4SQR
Editor: John Scott, K8YC
Cluster Manager: Joe Simpkins, K4MD
Associate Cluster Mgr.: Paul Sturpe, W3GQ
Webmaster: Wayne Setzer, WB4BXW
Thanks was extended to Bob Burton, N4PQX, for serving as Vice
President in the past year and immediate Past President for the
preceding two years. The evening of fellowship concluded with
recognition of those members who participated in CDXA's annual
"Contest Within A Contest" (C Whack for short) which
provides a healthy intraclub competition for participation in the
CQ Worldwide Phone and CW contests.
HC8, GALAPAGOS ISLANDS. By the time you read
this, Mike, G4IUF, should be active from here again as G4IUF/HC8
until January 11th. Activity will be on 160-10 meters CW/SSB.
HG04, HUNGARY (Special Prefix). Tibor, HG4I,
informs OPDX that he will be using the special callsign HG04HNY
between December 10th and January 12th. The special event
callsign, HG04HNY, stands for: The 04 as a call area is the last
two numbers of newcoming year and the HNY suffix is the
abbreviation of the phrase "Happy New Year". Activity
will be on all HF bands (including the WARC bands) on the
following modes: CW, RTTY, BPSK, SSB, (FM on 29 MHz). He will try
to take a part in all HF contests during the activity period. The
stations are valid as a separate multiplier in the HA-HNY
activity contest. See the rules on SM3CER's contest sevice Web
site: http://www.sk3bg.se/contest/c2004jan.htm. QSL
via only direct (SASE) to HG4I: Mr Tibor Szabo, A.R.S. HG4I,
H-2465 Rackeresztur, Budai u. 6., Hungary. ADDED NOTE: The
special QSLs are ready to send. Please send the QSLs for former
HG01HNY, HG02HNY and HG03HNY to the same address above.
HI8,DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (Update from OPDX.635).
Hiro, JA6WFM, who will be working in the Dominican Republic for
the next year, has been authorized to operate as JA6WFM/HI8. He
did not receive the requested callsign HI8J. More details and QSL
route will be announced later.
HI9, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (Update from OPDX.638).
Bill, N7OU, informs OPDX that he will be in HI9-land from
February 17-26th. Bill will be active on 160-10 meters before and
after the contest, CW only. QSL via N7OU.
IOTA NEWS...
EU-047. Juergen "Jo", DL1AB,
will be active as DL1AB/p from Baltrum Island (N-06 for
the German Island Award) between December 25th and
January 2nd. Activity will be on 80 and 40 meters SSB.
QSL via his homecall to the bureau.
OC-137. Steve, G0UIH, is expected to be
active again this week as VK2IAY/4 from Lamb Island
between December 16-18th. QSL via G0UIH either direct or
through the bureau.
OC-265. Operators David/VK4GL and
Peter/VK4APG have announced a possible activation of Cato
Island using the callsign VK4GL/P between December
14-17th. Activity will be on 20 meters SSB. This is a low
key single antenna station operation. Fishing may take
precedence. QSL to VK4APG.
SA-032 & SA-091. Marco, CE6TBN, will
be active from Riesco Island (SA-091) January 12-15th and
Wellington Island (SA-032) January 17-20th. Activity will
be on 40/20/17/15/12/10 meters SSB. QSL via N1IBM. For
more info, visit the Web page at: http://www.mdxc.org/ce6tbn/tour2004.
LIGHTHOUSE ACTIVITY...
Jim, K9BIG, will be activating a few
lighthouses for the ARLHS Christmas Lights QSO party that
runs from December 20th to January 5th. Look for Jim to
sign K9BIG/p on 40-10 meters on or around the following
suggested frequencies: 7270, 14270, 21370 and 28370 (+/-
depending on QRM, nets, other activations etc.). He is
also going to bring his portable 6-meter beam just for
fun. Jim plans to activate the following lighthouses:
December 20th - Kenosha Southport Light, Kenosha, WI (ARLHS USA-912)
December 21st - Kenosha Pierhead, Kenosha, WI (ARLHS
USA-416)
January 3rd - Windpoint Light, Racine WI (ARLHS USA-894)
January 4th - North Breakwater Racine, WI (ARLHS USA-682)
QSL via his home callsign (QRZ.com).
Deacon Dave, W1MCE, will be activating
the Portsmouth Harbor New Hampshire Lighthouse (ARLHS
USA-662) during the Lighthouse Christmas Lights QSO
Party. Specific date is unknown, but he will be on 40
then 20 meters from the mobile. So, look for him to sign
W1MCE/m. His total operating schedule is hoped to be 3
hours each day on 2 different days. He has a 1 1/2 hour
commute to get there. All QSOs will be QSLed
automatically. Please don't send Deacon Dave any QSL
cards.
Jim, K5JIM, is expected or has plans to
activate two Louisiana lighthouses located in the New
Orleans area on the opening day of Lighthouse Christmas
Lights QSO Party. The pair includes New Canal Lighthouse
(ARLHS USA-536) and Port Ponchartrain (ARLHS USA-650).
These will mark the 13th and 14th activations of 2003 for
Jim. The tentative time of operation for New Canal is
1500z on Saturday, December 20th for two hours. This
means his activity from Port Ponchartrain will start
about 1800z. Both lighthouses are on Lake Ponchartrain.
QSL cards will be available via K5JIM (QRZ.com address)
with a SASE.
QSL INFO AND NEWS...
Zik, DL/VE3ZIK (4N1DX), reports that the
latest ARRL 10m Contest QSL routes will be published on
Thursday, December 18th on the Web page at: http://www.contesting.info.
The logs for the November 3G2D
DXpedition to Damas Island (IOTA SA-086, DICE-201) are
now available on the Mediterraneo DX Club Web site at: http://www.mdxc.org/logsearch.asp.
The correct QSL route for A7/G0MKT is
NM7H. You can send QSL cards either via the RSGB or ARRL
bureau.
Champ, E21EIC/XW1IC, reports that he is
no longer the QSL Manager for E20NTS. Champ was his
manager for long time, but now E20NTS wants to handle his
QSL cards by himself. So, send all direct QSLs for
E20NTS, E20NTS/8 and E20NTS/P to E20NTS's address (Supote
Saripan, 19/65 Moo 5, Soi Thensoun, Klong Thanon, Saimai,
Bangkok, 10220 THAILAND) or via the Bureau. Champ also
states that many people have been sending QSLs for
HS9IFG/P and HS1CKC/P to him, but he is not the QSL
Manager for them.
Vasil, RW6HS, states to QSL I1XJP to:
Pietro Corradi, via Dante Alighieri 18, Ventimiglia, IM
18039 ITALY.
POSTAGE INCREASE FOR JA. Joe, JJ1BDX,
informs OPDX that the postage for a letter or a card in
an envelope up to 25-grams in weight costs 110 Japanese
Yen for US/Canada, Europe, and Oceania (90 Yen for Asia,
130 Yen for Africa). Due to the recent exchange rate
change, 1 U.S. Dollar or a Greenstamp is no longer
sufficient to compensate the postage. (As of December 8,
2003, 1 U.S. dollar has a little bit lower rate than 108
Japanese Yen.) If you send a SASE from abroad, 1 IRC is
strongly suggested rather than 1 U.S. dollar since it
covers the highest price for a letter, namely 130 Yen. If
you have no choice but to send U.S. dollars, include TWO
Greenstamps instead of one.
Ken, K6LA, was active in the ARRL 10
Meter Contest this past weekend as VY2TT from Prince
Edward Island. QSL via K6LA.
NOT THE QSL MANAGER. Roger, W3SZ, has
been receiving a bunch of inquiries and even some QSLs
for C6ALZ (who was active in the CQWW SSB DX Contest),
and he states that he IS NOT the QSL Manager for this
station. He has no idea where that information came from.
He doesn't even operate HF and has never been out of the
country. OPDX has tried to find the manager, but NO LUCK!
Alex, RW3RN, informs OPDX that he is now
the QSL Manager for C4M (in the CQ WW DX Contest 2003).
He is also now the new QSL Manager for R3ARC/1 (July
26-29th, 2000) and R1NWS (July 29-31st, 2000) for
activity from Vorony Island and Nemetsky Kuzov Island
(both EU-147). Alex has received the logs from former QSL
Manager (UA3BZ) and about 2500 QSLs (from bureau) + 200
envelopes. QSL via RW3RN, Alex Kuznetsov, Box 57,
Tambov-23,392023 Russia. His E-mail address is: rw3rn@tmb.ru. Alex's
(RW3RN-QSL-Service) Web page is at: http://www.tmb.ru/~i011f/service.html.
TI9M QSL STATUS. Bill, AK0A, reports
that all cards received via direct and from the Bureau
have been answered as of December 10th and mailed. So, if
you're looking for a card, please resend to AK0A direct
only. Stations who have sent via the Bureau wait a while
and U.S. stations who have sent via the Bureau will have
to resend direct.
NEW BUREAU QSL ROUTE FOR TX4PG. Silvano,
I2YSB, reports that there is a new Bureau QSL for the
TX4PG operation (and the next DXpedition to Tokelau ZK3).
The QSL Managers of these two DXpeditions are now: I2YSB,
directed QSL ONLY and M5AAV, QSL Bureau ONLY.
Photos of the recent V8AQZ DXpedition to
Brunei are now available online at: http://www.mdxc.org/v8aqz.
QSL MANAGER/ROUTE CHANGE. Please QSL
WL7M via WD0M. Joe, WD0M (ex-WL7M), has moved from Alaska
to Colorado, and will be happy to provide a QSL for all
the fine folks who need one. Address is OK on QRZ.com.
QSL YA1BV via JA1PBV: Sadao Ito, 3-8-12
Baraki, Ishioka-city, Ibaraki, 315-0042 JAPAN
ZL7C QSL STATUS. Ken Holdom, ZL2HU
(ZL4HU), Group Organizer/Team Leader/QSL Manager,
provides an update on the processing of QSL cards for the
ZL7C Chatham Islands DXpedition in October 2002: "We
began processing cards approximately one year ago and to
date there have been 23384 QSOs replied to directly with
a further 9267 via the bureau. This gives us a total of
32651 QSOs which have been replied to out of a total of
72,213. A 45% QSL rate in the first year. As of this
coming Monday, December 15th, 2003, there will be NO
unanswered QSLs on hand. Please do not flood me with
E-mails about QSL cards sent via the bureau as we are all
only too well aware that this system takes considerably
longer than the direct method. If you have any questions
regarding direct QSL'ing, I am only too willing to answer
these. At the pesent time there is a 24 hour turn-around
for direct QSLs for all of our three DXpeditions, ZL8RI
in May 1996 (not for the pirate operations at later
dates), ZL9CI in January 1999 and ZL7C in October 2002.
Any other enquiries, comments etc. are most welcome. The
Kermadec DX Association would like to take this
opportunity of wishing you all a very merry Christmas and
a very happy and enjoyable DXing 2004. Regards to all.
Ken Holdom ZL2HU and ZL4HU
S9, SAO TOME. Charles, S9SS, also Station
Manager for Voice of America's IBB Sao Tome transmitting station,
has been trying to work North American stations on topband
(160m). He states that this band is just too noisy. However, he
will try again this coming Friday night (starting possibly around
1900z), conditions permitting. If you need him on the other
bands, try 20 meters CW (after 0030z) or 10 meters SSB between
1900-2100z. Also, visit the following Web page at: http://groups.msn.com/s9ss/s9ss.msnw.
SPECIAL EVENT. Andrey, UA9XC, informs OPDX
that several stations will be active between 2100z, December 18th
to 2100z December 21st, to celebrate 100th anniversary of Soviet
Polar Explorer/Radio Operator Ernest Krenkel (RAEM). The
following memorial stations will be active:
R1AEM - QTH Murmansk
R3AEM - QTH Kolomna, nr Moscow
R4AEM - QTH Votkinsk, nr Izhevsk
For all callsigns, QSL Manager is UA9XC: A.Pervacov, P.O.Box
73, Syktyvkar, 167023 Russia. QSL via the bureau, E-mail is OK (ua9xc@parma.ru). Also, look for
station RAEM (QTH Sankt-Petersburg). QSL via RV1AQ. For details
about Ernest Krenkel, visit the Web page at: http://qsl.net/vu2msy/ernest.htm.
TA1, TURKEY. Martin, PA4WM, is now active as
TA1/PA4WM. His temporary work QTH is near Istanbul. Look for his
activity to be mainly on the WARC bands and 40/80 meters on CW,
RTTY and SSB. There is no operating schedule (due to his work),
but look for him on most days in the early morning (0430z) and in
the afternoon around 1500z (ed. We spotted him as early as
1330z). His equipment is a FT-100 and a G5RV antenna. QSL info
can be found at QRZ.com.
TO4, EUROPA (Update). An announcement on
Sunday states that the T04E Europa team will not be shutting down
on December 15th, but will be active until December 18th. The
team will continue to have four stations on the air as much as
possible working the low bands and modes that is needed. The team
does have a concern. A tropical depression is moving their way
and may hit the island on Wednesday or Thursday. It was reported
on December 10th that the TO4E team had logged 21851 QSOs (50% on
CW, 39% on SSB and 11% on RTTY). The band totals are as follows:
3264 on 10m, 2239 on 12m, 6584 on 15m, 3203 on 17m, 2847 on 20m,
1825 on 30m, 1412 on 40m, 351 on 80m and 126 on 160m. They also
mentioned that 4108 QSOs were made by TO4WW during the CQWW DX CW
Contest. The Europa Web site is: http://europa2003.free.fr.
VK0, HEARD ISLAND (Update/Disappointing News).
Last week we mentioned that Jim, VK9NS, is reporting that a
"scientific multi-interest team of fifteen
expeditioners" is preparing to leave for Heard Island in the
coming days. However, Jim did not know if there was an amateur
radio operator with this team. Alan, 9V1DX (aka VK0LD and
ex-VK0MM Macquarie Island 2000), informs OPDX that he is on the
Australian Govt. "permanent pool" of Communcation
Engineers for expeditions to Antarctica. He has confirmed that he
was originally slated to be the Communication Guy on the upcoming
Heard Island short expedition; however, he could not make the
start date this time around due to other commitments. The
Communication Guy going to Heard Island instead does not hold a
radio amateur licence and is NOT interested in Amateur Radio.
None of the other people on the expedition are licenced amateurs
either, and nobody going to Heard knows Morse Code. They are due
to depart for Heard Island just about around the time this was
written. Allan states that there are only 3 VK0 licences active
at the moment (himself, Rob. Sutton - who is not on the
expedition and Finn Olsen - who is the Communication Guy going to
Davis Station on the Antarctic mainland for 2004). If there is
any "VK0 Heard Island" station on the air over the
period of the expedition, it is almost certainly going to be a
pirate, especially if it is operating CW. Allan states you can
obtain info on the Heard Expedition and info on Australian Govt.
Antarctic activities at: http://www.aad.gov.au. OPDX visited the Web
site and found it very interesting.
ZA PRESS RELEASE (PROJECT GOODWILL ALBANIA 2003 - NEWS
FROM THE 5th WEEK). From Martti, OH2BH: Press Release,
December 12, 2003 -- Cold winter weather was approaching Albania
when this unique program reached its final day on December 12
amid numerous ceremonies and with warm memories from the past
weeks. The program was unique in many ways - taking amateur radio
to a university setting as another recognized subject while also
staging an international operating event with thousands of QSOs
on a variety of bands and modes providing university students,
those soon-to-be hams of Albania, with a remarkable experience of
seeing amateur radio in action and getting their hands on while
studying the subject of amateur radio. Indeed, Friday finally saw
these fine students of the Polytechnic University of Tirana
taking their full license (CEPT A) exam under the watchful eye of
the licensing authority ERT, Enti Regulatory I Telekomunikaciove
of Albania. With these extremely capable 4th and 5th year
students, the required CEPT passing grade of 65% was met and well
exceeded by 95% of the students resulting in 39 new licensees in
Albania and doubling the amateur radio population of this what
once was a much sought-after country on radio.
While participating in the graduation ceremony, Ole
Garpestadt, LA2RR, IARU Region 1 Chairman, congratulated the new
licensees, welcomed them to the bands and credited the University
and the program organizers with their success in conducting the
program at Albania's leading university and succeeding in
something that the IARU itself may have had only limited results
with in similar undertakings. LA2RR also participated in final
negotiations with Albanian authorities for their entry to CEPT
and for the integration of the Albanian licensing regime to bring
it into line with the rest of the CEPT world. This would provide
visiting amateurs in Albania and Albanians abroad with CEPT based
treatment, thus giving ZA operating privileges with no paperwork
at all. No one could have expected such a scenario ten years ago
when Albania stood at the top of all wanted lists the world over.
The Rector, Professor Perparim Hoxha, thanked the course
organizers for bringing this extraordinary experience to the
University and affirmed continuation of the program through
Professor Sonila Agago, a local teacher associated with this
program, who also passed the exam. The Dean of the faculty,
Professor Gezim Karapichi, was in tears with emotion while
assuring that the University Club station (ZA1UT) would have
their best facilities with a new Yaesu donated lineup of FT1000MP
Field and Quadra System. The lead teacher, Ulrich Weiss, DJ2YA,
presented a Yaesu FT847 to his best student, Eugelent Kola, with
a passing grade of 94, and described this course as a highlight
of his entire professional teaching career. With his final
remarks, the Project organizer, Martti Laine, OH2BH, thanked all
for their 5-week serious effort and warm friendships that had
affected him personally in his long journey of activating ZA-land
initially in 1970, breaking through with a full ZA1A combined
training course and DXpedition in 1991 and now establishing
amateur radio as another subject as part of the University
curriculum. Martti was awarded with a "Senior Fellow of
Polytechnic University of Tirana" honor at the graduation
ceremony.
On radio, a big bang event will be conducted this weekend to
say good-bye to those who followed the program during the past
weeks and now want to wish the program participants a safe
journey back home. The activity will be on many bands including
the ARRL 10M contest with four stations at multiple locations,
operated by DJ2YA, G3LQP, LA2RR, OH2BH, OH2PM, Z35M, Z36W, Z31GX
and several local ZA operators. The program is set to be closed
on Monday, December 15th, when all participants will be flying
home to their missed families and a well deserved Christmas
holiday. Albania is a Muslim country and Christmas decorations
now dominate the scene to bring the Yuletide message to ZA-land.
Merry Christmas to all the Deserving from downtown Tirana."
ZD8, ASCENSION ISLAND. Jim, N6TJ, will be
active as ZD8Z in the ARRL DX CW Contest as a Single-Op/ALL Band
entry. QSL via VE3HO.
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
long as KB8NW/OPDX/BARF80 receive credit. To contribute DX info,
please send via InterNet Mail to: kb8nw@barf80.nshore.org
- OR - kb8nw@arrl.net.
Information can now be faxed to the following "NEW"
phone line at: 1-419-828-7791 (F A X only!)
