The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 1344
BID: $OPDX.1344
Dece,ber 18, 2017
Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW
Provided by BARF80.ORG (Cleveland, Ohio)
Written/Sent From Strongsville, Oh
Thanks to the Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society, Northern Ohio DX Association, Ohio/Penn PacketCluster Network, AB5K & the AR TelNet Clusters Network, N1DG, NJ1Q & W1AW, NG3K & ADXO, W3UR & The Daily DX, WB6RSE, W7GJ, K8GI, K8YSE, W8GEX & 60m DX News, DL1SBF, DL7UXG & The DX News Letter, DxCoffee.com, DXNews.com, DX-World.Net, ES1CW, F6AJA & Les Nouvelles DX, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, I2MQP & DX Italia News, OZ6OM & 50 MHz DX News, Sixitalia Weekly, and VA3RJ & ICPO for the following DX information.
DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT
According to the AR-Cluster Network for the
week of Sunday, 10th/December, through Sunday, 17th/December there were
217 countries active. Countries available: 3B8, 3D2, 3DA, 3V, 3W, 4J, 4L,
4O, 4S, 4U1I, 4X, 5A, 5B, 5R, 5T, 5V, 5W, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7X, 8P, 8Q, 9A, 9G,
9H, 9J, 9K, 9L, 9M2, 9M6, 9Q, 9V, 9X, 9Y, A3, A4, A6, A7, A9, AP, BV, BY,
C2, C3, C5, C6, C9, CE, CE0Y, CE9, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, D2, DL,
DU, E3, E4, E5/s, E7, EA, EA6, EA8, EA9, EI, EK, EL, EP, ER, ES, ET, EU,
EX, EY, F, FG, FJ, FK, FM, FO, FR, FS, FY, G, GD, GI, GJ, GM, GU, GW, H4,
HA, HB, HB0, HC, HH, HI, HK, HK0/a, HL, HP, HR, HS, HZ, I, IS, J2, J5, J6,
J7, J8, JA, JD/o, JT, JW, JY, K, KG4, KH2, KH6, KL, KP2, KP4, LA, LU, LX,
LY, LZ, OA, OD, OE, OH, OH0, OJ0, OK, OM, ON, OX, OY, OZ, P2, P4, PA, PJ2,
PJ4, PJ5, PY, PZ, S0, S5, SM, SP, ST, SU, SV, SV5, SV9, T2, T7, TA, TF,
TG, TI, TK, TR, TY, TZ, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V3, V4, V5, V7, V8, VE,
VK, VK9L, VK9N, VP2E, VP2M, VP2V, VP8, VP8/h, VP9, VQ9, VR, VU, XE, XX9,
YA, YB, YK, YL, YN, YO, YS, YU, YV, Z2, Z3, ZA, ZB, ZD7, ZF, ZL, ZL9, ZP,
ZS
PLEASE NOTE: The report "could" contain "Pirate/SLIM" operations or more likely a "BUSTED CALLSIGN". As always, you never know - "Work First Worry Later".
3Y0X BOUVET DXPEDITION NEWS. The QSLs for the 3Y0Z Bouvet DXpedition will
be handled by Bob, N2OO, and he will again serve as their QSL manager.
He and his South Jersey DX Association team members will assure accurate
and efficient handling of 3Y0Z QSL cards.
WEB PAGE UPDATE (Dec. 16, 2017): "The Bouvet Island DXpedition team has
been very busy. In the last week, we�ve had Skype conference calls with
the CEO of our transportation company and with the captain of our ship.
We can report that everything we can control is under control.
Our sea container is in Punta Arenas, and should be moving out of customs
bond or may have already done so. We are gathering some additional last
minute supplies to take as extra baggage, including ice screws, should we
find ourselves camping on re-frozen melt areas on the glacier. We have
finalized our shelter layouts, fuel calculations, maritime mobile antenna
plans, and have assigned some duties relating to flight and cargo staging.
The team members will all be taking a formal marine safety course before
embarking.
Neither our transportation company nor the ship�s captain expressed any
worries or concerns over the recent seismic activity near Bouvet.
And, yes, we are still struggling with the helicopter flying hours issue."
See their Web page at: https://www.bouvetdx.org/news-and-updates
4B4, REVILLAGIGEDO. Mark, XE1B, will be active as 4B4B from Socorro Island
(NA-030, WW Loc. DK48mr), in the Revillagigedo Islands, between March
1-15th, 2018. Activity will be on 160-6 meters (no 30m) using SSB. Sug-
gested frequencies are: 1850, 3790, 7065/7165, 7165, 14195, 18140, 21295,
24940, 28475 and 50140 kHz. Equipment will be an Icom IC-7600 transceiver
with an ACOM 1010 amp into a Spiderbeam (20-10m), vertical for 40/80m,
160m long wire and a 4 element yagi for 6m. QSL via XE1B direct or Club-
Log's OQRS. PLEASE support this DXpedition, it has been 7 years since
the last operation by Mark, XE1B. Check out QRZ.com for more details and
possible updates.
4X, ISRAEL. Larry, K2LS, will once again be active as 4X/K2LS from Ramat
Bet Shemesh (Holyland Grid G18JS) between January 10th and February 6th.
Activity will be mainly on CW. QSL via K2LS, direct, by the Bureau or
LoTW.
BEST EME DAYS. Lance, W7GJ, informs OPDX of the following: "I have just
updated my web page to show the optimum 6m EME days for the next 3 years:
http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj/BestEMEDays.txt
Although these days were selected when the 50 MHz Degradation was at
or below 3 dB, these periods of course should also be most favorable for
2m EME. Please share this link with anyone you know planning a VHF EME
DXpedition, including any HF people interested in including EME activities
during their operations.
MNI TNX and Happy Holidays! Best wishes for great 6m and 2m DXing in
the coming year!..... GL and VY 73, Lance"
E5, SOUTH COOK ISLANDS. Mauri, AG1LE, is once again active as E51DXX on
a holiday/DXpedition from Rarotonga (OC-013) until December 29th. Activity
will be on various HF bands using SSB, PSK31 and FT8. QSL via his home
callsign.
EA8, CANARY ISLANDS. Mauro, IV3HAX, will once again be active as EA8/IV3HAX
from Fuerteventura Island (AF-004) between December 24th and January 5th,
2018. Activity will be on various HF bands with a focus on 160/80m using
CW, RTTY and FT8. QSL via IV3HAX direct, LoTW and ClubLog's OQRS.
ET, ETHIOPIA. You may catch Masa, AJ3M, in Addis Ababa, before he leaves
on Monday, December 18th. During his spare time he is active from the
ET3AA radio club. QSL via N2OO.
H44, SOLOMON ISLANDS. Shane, VK4KHZ, will once again be active as H44DA
from his holiday home in Busuone, Guadalcanal Island (OC-047), until
sometime early January 2018. His main focus is on 6 meters, but he will
also be active on various HF bands (80/40/20/15/10m) using SSB and also
on the SO-50 satellite. Suggested 6m frequencies are: calling on 50.110
MHz, Shane will always QSY to 50.125 as his primary frequency and 50.135
as his secondary frequency (secondary frequency will only be used if
primary is in use or too much QRM). QSL via his home callsign direct.
NO Bureau. PLEASE NOTE: This is not a DXpedition, but Shane's annual
holiday - he will be operating the radio only as time permits and when
doing so, training the locals in the operation of the equipment so please
be patient and courteous.
IOTA NEWS..............
AS-088. Members of Qatar Amateur Radio Society (QARS) will be active
as A70X from Al Safliyah Island between January 1-6th, 2018.
Activity will be on various HF bands using CW, SSB and the
Digital modes. QSL via M0OXO or OQRS.
OC-016. Jim, WB2TJO, will once again be active as 3D2JS from Taveuni
Island, Fiji, between early January and the middle of March,
2018. Activity will be on 40-15 meters using CW, SSB and the
Digital modes. The rig will be an ICOM 706 MK IIG with an MFJ
971 manual tuner. QSL via his home callsign.
OC-105/ Dindo, DU1UD, will be active as DU1UD/8 from the very rare
OC-174. Mapun Island (OC-105) [also called Cagayan Sulu], part of the
Cagayan De Sulu IOTA Group, in the Philippines, during the
first or second quarter of 2018. Activity will probably be
on the IOTA frequencies using an Elecraft K3 with a KPA500
amplifier into a VDA and vertical antennas. The length of his
stay is dependent on local/safety conditions. During this
time Dindo will make a return visit to the Tawi Tawi Group
(OC-174). QSL both operations via M0OXO, direct or by his OQRS.
Look for more information to be forthcoming. Also, watch the
M0OXO Web page at: https://www.m0oxo.com
PLEASE NOTE: Since the Webmasters of the new have
decided NOT to post or dedicate a Web page to announce upcoming IOTA
operations, PLEASE send your IOTA operations information to the OPDX
and we will post it here in an upcoming bulletin......
J5, GUINEA BISSAU. Livio, IZ3BUR, will be active as J52EC from the Cumura
High School in Guinea Bissau between January 24th and February 21st, 2018.
Activity will be mainly on 20/15/10 meters. QSL via IZ3BUR. PLEASE NOTE:
This project is part of "Books for the high school of Cumura" by Father
Gianfranco, J52OFM. For info see: http://www.padregianfranco.org
Any donation will be greatly appreciated, it'll be donated to the Cumura
Mission.
KH1 BAKER ISLAND DXPEDITION (Press Release #3, dated December 15th).
The Dateline DX Association is pleased to announce the callsign for its
DXpedition to Baker Island in June 2018.
The Association already has the callsign KH7Z so we will identify our
location and call as KH1/KH7Z.
Visiting a remote DX location like Baker Island is an expensive under-
taking. Our budget is over $400,000 and 50% of this cost is being under-
written by the team members. That still leaves a large amount of fund-
raising. Do you need KH1 for an ATNO? This is the first DXpedition to
Baker and Howland Islands since 2002. The FWS ruling that allowed this
trip prevents another DXpedition for 10 years. Please help make this
happen by donating at our website . A 50% deposit on our
vessel is due December 31, 2017, so we have an immediate need for our
2017 fundraising. Please remember that NCDXF members may direct donations
above $250 through the Northern California DX Foundation to qualify for
a tax deduction. The specific details as well as general donation in-
structions are on our website at
Thanks for helping make this happen.
The Dateline DX Association
Don Greenbaum, N1DG, Tom Harrell, N4XP, and Kevin Rowett, K6TD co-leaders
LOTW TO ADD SUPPORT FOR CQ WAZ AWARD. The ARRL Web page reports: Partic-
ipants in CQ magazine's Worked All Zones (WAZ) award program will soon
be able to use the Logbook of the World (LoTW) system of ARRL, the national
association for Amateur Radio, to apply for the WAZ award and its endorse-
ments, both ARRL and CQ announced on December 14th. Read the complete
announcement at: http://ow.ly/q4TV30hecZ9
http://www.arrl.org/news/view/logbook-of-the-world-to-add-support-for-cq-waz-award
http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2017/12/arrls-logbook-of-world-to-add-support.html
PJ7, ST. MAARTEN. Vadym, UT6UD, will be active as PJ7/UT6UD from Sint
Maarten (NA-105) between December 30th and January 13th, 2018. Activity
will be on 160-17 meters. There will be a special focus on JA stations.
QSL via his home callsign or LoTW. NO Bureau.
PROPAGATION FORECAST/REPORT (December 18-24th).......
Dec/18th LN Dec/21st AN Dec/23rd AN
Dec/19th AN Dec/22nd AN Dec/24th AN
Dec/20th AN
SOLAR REFERENCE KEYS/INDEXES AND GEOMAGNETIC REFERENCE
======================================================
NORMALITY GEOMAG K Values Alpha
----------------- ------ -------- ------
AN - Above Normal Quiet K=0-1 0-7
HN - High Normal Unsettled K=2 8-15
LN - Low Normal Active K=3 16-29
BN - Below Normal Minor Storm K=4 30-49
DIS - Disturbed Major Storm K=5 50-99
VRY DIS - Very Disturbed Severe Storm K=6-9 100-400
REALTIME BAND CONDITIONS WEB SITE :
The purpose of this experimental Web site is to provide 24-7-365 actual
(REALTIME) band condition information to CW QRPp, QRPe and CW/SSB for
Contesters interested in increasing their scores. It can also be of
benefit to other Radio Amateurs to determine band conditions for Nets
and casual QSO's. This information is NOT based on any software pre-
dictions or any kind of satellite based readings. It is based on a
new Ionospheric sounding method called "HF Ionospheric Interferometry"
which operates very similarly to the PolSAR system used by NASA.
Also, check out the VOACAP predication Web page at:
http://www.voacap.com/prediction.html
A daily HF radio wave propagation forecast can be found at:
https://www.facebook.com/thomasfranklingiellaw4hm
Also on Twitter: https://twitter.com/@GiellaW4hm
QSL INFO AND NEWS...................
QSL-INFO from DB0SDX by Lothar, DL1SBF (December 17th)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
3G2M via CE2MVF EA8/ON4LBI/P via ON4LBI SC90SM via SK5SM
4E1ADW via 9V1KG EM25IWW via UR7IWW SH9YOTA via SH9YOTA (O/N)
5B4XMAS via IZ4AMS HF2018HNY via SP2PBM TC630MECCA via TA3X
7X5FG via F6FZG (d) HF3T via SP3FYX & (L) TI5/N3KS via W4FS (d)
9H3CW via DL5SE HG1A via HA1ZN UN9GD via DL8KAC
9H3YY via DL2JRM N8S via K8UO (d) UP0L via DL8KAC
CE2AWW via N7RO (d) OT4A via ON4AEK (L/e) VR20CO via VR2CO (d)
CS2017RCL via CS0RCL OU5U via OZ3FD W2S via W2CCW
CU5/CU3AK/P via CU3AK OZ/DJ1AA/M via DJ1AA YO13IPA via YO3AS
DL/UA1PBA via UA1PBA PF44FF via PH0NO (O) ZW5T via PY5ZD (d/I)
DM500RT via M0SDV (O/d/L) PI40BOZ via PD3JAG
(e) eQSL only (d) direct only (B) Bureau only (*-B) DX's- Bureau
(O) OQRS only (C) ClubLog only (L) LoTW only (N) No QSL needed
(I) No IRC
WX3MAS VIA W3OK: Delaware Lehigh ARC, 14 Gracedale Ave, Greystone
Building, Nazareth, PA 18064-9211 USA. Send a QSL and a 9x12 SASE
(Self Addressed Stamped Envelope) for a colorful commemorative cer-
tificate! ADDED NOTES: WX3MAS was the first special callsign issued
in 1969 by the FCC for special event stations in the country and is
active each year around 2 weeks before Christmas (This year December
16-17th). The station is sponsored by the Christmas City Amateur Radio
Club and the Delaware/Lehigh Amateur Radio Club.
QSLS RECEIVED VIA LoTW: 3C0L (AF-039), 3C1L (AF-010), 4O4A, 4X1QQ,
5X8C, 9L/KW4XJ, A71AM, CE3FZ, CM2XN, CT1EKD, LU6ETB, HH2AA, HL5IVL,
J5T, LX1HD, MM3LLU, OK1FRG, ON8DM, SP9FUY, V31MA, VA3TO, VK9CI,
VK9MA (OC-072), VP9NM, XE2S, VK9XI and YL3GDM
QSLS RECEIVED VIA MAIL: 5T5OK, AL3/AA7CH (NA-062), C21JY, C93PA, E44WE,
NL6/AA7CH (NA-157), PZ5V and S21ZAS
QSLS RECEIVED VIA THE BUREAU: 5P2I, 5P5Q, 5P6Q, 5Q2T, 5Q5T, JW/OX5M,
OU2I, OX3LX, OX3MC, OX5M, OX5T, OX90EDR, OZ90IARU, TF3WK, VR2EH, VR2UBC,
VR2ZQZ/P, VR20ZQZ, YC2/KC5VFV, XP1A and ZA/OU2I
VP6D DUCIE ISLAND DXPEDITION NEWS. It was announced on December 13th,
that Vadym, UT6UD, has joined the VP6D team. Many of you may know Vadym
from the Top Band. He was a member of the 2016 Heard Island DXpedition
team. You can read his bio on the following URL:
http://vp6d.com/index.php/team-members/24-operators/137-ut6ud-vadym
YP2018, ROMANIA (Special Event). Look for special event station, YP2018HNY,
to be active through January 15th, 2018. Activity is to celebrate Christmas
and the New Year. They will try to be on all HF bands. QSL via YO3KPA,
direct or by the Bureau or ClubLog. There will be a limited number of
1000 paper QSL cards.
YP[2-9], ROMANIA (Special Event). Look for the following special event
Santa Claus stations to be active during December. Activity will be on
various HF bands using CW, SSB and the Digital modes. An electronic award
will be issued for working stations on at least 3 different bands upon
request. QSL via YO9FNP or see QRZ.com (under YP2XMAS) for more details.
Here are the special event stations and their locations:
YP2XMAS - Timisoara YP7XMAS - Arges
YP3XMAS - Bucuresti YP8XMAS - Suceava
YP4XMAS - Cernavoda YP9XMAS - Buzau
YP5XMAS - Transilvania YP0XMAS - Giurgiu
YP6XMAS - Brasov
ZC4, UK SOV. BASE AREAS ON CYPRUS (Postponed). Adrian, G0KOM, was expected
to be active as ZC4MK from the UK Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus between
December 5-12th, but had to postpone again due to his father-in-law being
hospitalizes. His father-in-law is now out of the hospital, and Adrian
states that he has his gear still packed and he is now looking at dates in
January 2018.
ZC4, UK SOV. BASE AREAS ON CYPRUS. Bob, 5B4AGN, and a team of operators
will be active as ZC4A from the UK Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus between
January 24-31st, 2018. They plan to have 2-3 stations on the air on all
HF bands, 160-10 meters, with a focus on CW, but with some SSB and Digital
modes. Activity will include the CQ 160m CW Contest (January 26-28th).
QSL via M0URX's OQRS system. Your QSL is not required.
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