The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 1126
BID: $OPDX.1126
September 2, 2013
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, K1XN & GoList, NC1L, NJ1Q & W1AW, NG3K & ADXO, W3UR & The Daily DX, N4AA & QRZ DX, W5UE, K8GI, K8YSE, NL8F, W8GEX & 60m News, W9ILY, AT International, DK8JB & The DX News Letter, DL1SBF, DxCoffee.com, DX-World.Net, E21EIC, ES1CW, F5NQL, F6AJA & Les Nouvelles DX, H44RK, HA0HW , I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, I2MQP & DX Italia News, JA1TRC, OZ6OM & 50 MHz DX News, Pete's DX-Newsdesk, RSGB IOTA Web Site, Sixitalia Weekly, VA3RJ & ICPO, the VHF-DX-Portal (MMMonVHF), VK4WR, XV4Y and YB5NOF for the following DX information.

DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT
According to the AR-Cluster Network for the week of Sunday, 25th-August, through Sunday, 1st-September there were 229 countries active. Countries available: 3A, 3B8, 3B9, 3D2, 3DA, 3V, 3W, 3X, 4J, 4L, 4O, 4S, 4W, 4X, 5A, 5B, 5N, 5R, 5T, 5W, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7P, 7X, 8P, 8Q, 8R, 9A, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9M2, 9M6, 9N, 9V, 9X, 9Y, A4, A5, A6, A7, A9, AP, BV, BY, C3, C5, C9, CE, CE0Y, CE9, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, D2, D4, DL, DU, E5/s, E7, EA, EA6, EA8, EA9, EI, EK, EL, EP, ER, ES, ET, EU, EX, EY, F, FG, FH, FK, FM, FO, FR, FS, FY, G, GD, GI, GJ, GM, GU, GW, H4, H40, HA, HB, HB0, HC, HC8, HI, HK, HL, HP, HR, HS, HV, HZ, I, IS, J2, J3, J6, J8, JA, JD/o, JT, JW, JY, K, KG4, KH0, KH2, 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, PJ4, PY, PZ, S2, S5, S7, S9, SM, SP, ST, SU, SV, SV/a, SV5, SV9, T5, T7, TA, TF, TG, TI, TJ, TK, TL, TN, TR, TT, TU, TZ, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V2, V3, V4, V5, V7, V8, VE, VK, VK9N, VP2E, VP8, VP8/h, VP9, VQ9, VR, VU, XE, XU, XW, XX9, YA, YB, YI, YL, YN, YO, YS, YU, YV, Z2, Z3, Z8, ZA, ZB, ZD7, ZD8, ZD9, ZF, ZL, ZL7, 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" (WFWL).

3B9, RODRIGUEZ ISLAND (Just A Reminder)
By the time you read this, members of the Verona DX Team will be active as 3B9EME from Rodriguez Island (AF-017) until September 13th. They will have 2 stations on at the same time on the HF bands, with an emphasis on 160/80/40/30/17/12 meters, using CW, SSB, RTTY, JT65hf and PSK31. Also, some EME activity on 144 and 432 MHz. See OPDX.1122 for suggested frequencies. For more details and the QSL route, visit the 3B9EME Web site at:

8Q, MALDIVES
Operators Christian/DL2MDU and his XYL Heike/DO3HDA will be active as 8Q7CF from Biyadhoo Island Resort between September 15-27th. Activity will be holiday style on 80-10 meters, possibly 160 meters if they can use a long wire, and they will use an Elecraft K3. Christian will operate mainly CW, while Heike will operate on SSB and the Digital modes. QSL via DL2MDU.

A2, BOTSWANA
Operators Arnold/WB6OJB and Frosty/K5LBU will be active as A25JK and A25CF, respectively, from the Lotsane Gameand Safari Lodge in the extreme eastern part of Botswana between September 5-12th. They plan on having two stations set up and running, but the A25JK will be the main station. Look for A25JK to operate SSB on 20/17/15/12/10 meters and possibly 40 and 75 meters. K5LBU will be operating some PSK on whatever bands might be open and A25JK is not on. QSL via their home callsigns.

A3, TONGA
Masato "Masa", JA0RQV, will once again be active from Tonga, but this time as A35JP/N and from Niuatoputapu Island (OC-191) between September 19-24th. This operation will be depending on weather and flight to the island, and on the air will be limited because of limited supply of electric power. Operations will be on 80-6 meters using CW and SSB. His rig is an IC-7000 (100w) and GP Full-size. In case his flight is cancelled, Masa might be active from Tongatapu Island (OC-049) or Haapai Island (OC-169) or Vavau Island (OC-064) instead. QSL via his home callsign, by the Bureau, direct or LoTW. For more info, visit Masa's Web page from his last trip at:

ASIAN TOUR
Pekka, OH2YY, will activate Nepal (9N) between October 2-5th. He has applied for the callsign 9N2YY, but the final confirmation will take place upon arrival in Nepal. After Nepal, between October 6-10th, Pekka will be visiting the Kingdom of Bhutan (A5). He has been assigned a Bhutanese license with a callsign A52YY. Both in Nepal and Bhutan, Pekka will be traveling mainly during the daytime hours, but during his evenings and nights, he will be active on 20-10 meters using SSB. He cannot take any amplifier or yagis with him, so the operations will be basically with a 100w transceiver and dipoles. QSL via OH2YY, by the SRAL Bureau or direct to: Pekka Ahlqvist, Vapaalanpolku 8B, 01650 Vantaa, Finland. or via SRAL QSL bureau. Also, he will use LoTW.

CE0Y, EASTER ISLAND
Operators Jose/CE0HYO, Gustavo/CX2AM, Humberto/CX3AN, Gustavo/CX3CE, Mario/CX4CR, Gen/EA5HPX and Francisco/EA7FTR will be active from Hanga Roa, Easter Island, between November 1-7th. Callsign has not yet been announced. Activity will be on 160-6 meters using CW, SSB and the Digital modes. They will have 3 stations operating simultaneously. QSL via EB7DX. They have a Web site available at:

D4, CAPE VERDE
Operators Babs/DL7AFS and Lot/DJ7ZG will be active as D44TXT from Santiago Island (AF-005) between October 19th and November 7th. Activity will be on 80-6 meters using SSB, RTTY and PSK31. QSL via DL7AFS.

DXCC NEWS
Bill Moore, NC1L, ARRL Awards Branch Manager, reports that the following operations are approved for DXCC credit:
TX5K ­ Clipperton Island; 2013 Operation
XZ1Z ­ Myanmar; 2013 Operation

NOTE: If you've had this rejected in a prior application, send a note to bmoore@arrl.org to be placed on the list for an update to your record. Also, please note the submission date and/or reference number where the rejection was noted to help expedite the search for any rejected QSOs.

E6, NIUE
Operators Alan/VK4WR and Graeme/VK4FI will once again be active as E6RQ and E6SG, respectively, from the Coral Gardens Motel, Alofi, Niue (OC-040), between December 7-17th. Activity will be on the HF bands. Alan informs OPDX [edited],

"Our operation is primarily for 6 meters as we are going in the middle of the southern hemisphere sporadic E season. Hopefully, there will also be TEP into Asia and who knows what else on the magic band. We will have some HF, am taking an OCF dipole for 40 through 10 meters and plan to have a play in the ARRL 10meter Contest. 100 Watts only."

FO, FRENCH POLYNESIA (IOTA Tour)
Yoshi, JJ8DEN, will once again be active as FO/KH0PR between September 3-25th. He will activate the following French Polynesian Tuamotu Islands as follows:

September 3-8th - Ahe Atoll (OC-131)
September 9-16th - Napuka Atoll (OC-094)
September 18-25th - Reao Atoll (OC-238)

HP0, PANAMA (IOTA Tour)
Operators Christian/EA3NT, Raul/EA5KA, Vincent/ F4BKV and Col/MM0NDX, from the Invoker Team, will activate six Panamanian island groups as HP0INT(/1,2,3,4 or 9) between September 5-19th. Activity will be on 40-10 meters using CW and SSB. The team tentative schedule is as follows:

September 5-8th - Naos Island (NA-072); callsign HP0INT/1; evening only September 6-8th - Boca Brava Island (NA-071); callsign HP0INT/3 September 9-11th - Ogobsibu (San Blas) Island (NA-170); callsign HP0INT/2 September 11-13th - Grande Island (NA-202); callsign HP0INT/2 September 13-15th - Iguana Island (NA-203); callsign HP0INT/9 September 16-18th - Colon [Bocas del Toro] (NA-088); callsign HP0INT/4

IOTA NEWS
NA-124. Operators Manuel/XE2HUQ, Saul/XE2HQI, Craig/XE2HWJ and Jose/ XE2I will be active as XF1P from Partida Island between December 7-14th. More details to be forthcoming.

OC-109/ (POSTPONED) Operators John/YB5NOF, Anton/YB5QZ, Joni/YB9WZJ
OC-122. and YE5WM planned to activate Tambelan (OC-122) as YE5T between August 28th and September 1st, and Natuna Selatan (OC-109) as YE5S between September 4-9th. John, YB5NOF, informs OPDX that this has been postponed. They hope to do all they can to try to activate the IOTAs at the end of September or early October, but is depends on the weather, transport and the renewal of their licences.

IOTA PACIFIC TOUR CONTINUES (Update)
By the time you read this, Ralph, H44RK, is expected to be active as H40IOTA from Vanikolo Island (OC-163) for only 2-3 days. Activity will probably be on 40/20/15 meters SSB. Ralph informs OPDX that he will head to Vanuatu (YJ) and operate as YJ0RK as well as activate a few more IOTAs. He states that he will activate Torres Island (OC-110) first and then Banks Island (OC-104). No set dates are known at this time. Ralph states, "We will be cruising Vanuatu waters (on the "SV Hafskip") for about 2 months before we continue via New Caledonia back to VK4-land. QSL H40IOTA and YJ0RK via NR6M.

ISWL CALLSIGNS (For September)
The following ISWL club callsigns will be used throughout the month of September 2013:

GX4BJC/A - Operated from Ivybridge, in Devon, by Peter, G4VFG (ISWL Honorary Secretary). (WAB Square SX65, England; IOTA EU-005 and WLOTA LH-1841).

MX1SWL/A - Operated from Hove, in Sussex, by George, G3VBE. (WAB Square TQ20, England; IOTA EU-005 and WLOTA LH-1841).

KH9, WAKE ISLAND (Update)
Tentative dates (Wake Time-Zone Dates) have been posted on the K9W Web page www.wake2013.org. The team expects to arrive on October 5th, set up on October 6th, operate on October 7th, stop/teardown on October 18th and depart on October 19th. Also suggested frequencies are:

CW - 1826.5, 3523, 5405, 7023, 10103, 14023, 18079, 21023, 24894 and 28023
SSB - 3790, 5403.5, 7082, 14185, 18140, 21285, 24955 and 28485
RTTY - 3580, 7035, 10142, 14080,18099, 21080, 24912 and 28080 kHz
6M - 50107/CW and 50107/SSB

ADDED NOTE. A YL Mirja (not Pasi's YL) will be there on the Reef with him and was very interested in HAM radio in Sept. 2012. When they were there last time, she made some QSOs. Pasi states, "I will give her a possibility to make QSOs as a second operator on SSB. It has been a long time since OJ0 was QRV by any YL-operator. We'll see what happens."

ONLINE HAM RADIO LOG STATISTICS WEB SITE
Yan, XV4Y, runs as Web page called "QScope"

- Number of QSOs, Operating Time
- Unique callsigns worked, unique DXCCs entities, CQ and ITU Zones
- Average and Maximum QSO Rates over periods of 10, 30 and 60 minutes
- Activity Map showing which band, mode, operating position was more productive during a contest
- Charts with number of QSOs per unique callsign, band, mode or operator
- Charts with number of Points per unique callsign, band, mode or operator
- Charts with number of QSOs per CQ and ITU Zones
- Charts showing hour by hour, the Number of QSOs and Points, Number of new CQ and new ITU Zones worked, Number of new DXCC entities and new Prefixes worked
- Charts with Operating Time per band, mode or operator with parameter for pause duration
- Charts showing minute by minute how much was your QSO Rate for your whole log, per operator or per band, with parameter for the sample duration from 5 minutes to 60 minutes
- Charts with Maximum QSO Rates per band, mode or operator with parameter for the sample duration from 5 minutes to 60 minutes

More features and statistics are planned to be included in future versions. Suggestions are welcome. Registration and access to the website are free.

PACIFIC TOUR (EME Op)
Hermann, DL2NUD, will once again be active from the Pacific, this time as H44HP from Solomon Islands and YJ9HP from Vanuatu sometime in October and November (dates and specific islands not provided). Activity will be focused on VHF Bands for EME QSOs. QSL via his home call- sign, direct or by the Bureau.

PROPAGATION FORECAST/REPORT (September 2-8th)

 Sep/02nd AN      Sep/05th  AN      Sep/07th  AN
 Sep/03rd AN      Sep/06th  AN      Sep/08th  AN
 Sep/04th 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

QSL INFO AND NEWS
HS4AK via E20YLM
HS5AM via HS5IGY

Randy, W5UE, reports [edited],

"I now have an online log search and OQRS Web application for many of the stations I manage. Logs currently online: 9V1YC, 9V9HQ, AK6W, EY3M, EY8ZE, HC8GR, HC8N, NA5NN and ZP5YW. 9V1YC's upcoming DXpedition to Laos (XW1YC) will also be supported. Daily updates from James is anticipated while he is QRV from XW. The Web link is http://w5ue.net/qsl-w5ue-logsrch.html."

QSLS RECEIVED VIA MAIL: 6O3A, FH5EJ, J28AA and UT1FG/MM

QSLS RECEIVED VIA THE BUREAU: 4O8A, 5B/DG6MFA, 9K2/SP4R, 9M6/N6MUF, 9N7CB, A65BB, CT7/DL5MFW, H40FN, H44MS, LX0RL, HS0ZGQ, MJ/DL2SBY, PJ2/DB5IJ, VP2MXF, SU/DJ5IW, TA4/DL2DXA, Z21LS and ZD8XF

SATELLITE ACHIEVEMENT
Congratulations to John, K8YSE, for working and confirming all 488 USA lower 48 States grids. John states,

"Satellite operators come and go and grids come and go with them. A grid might have a very active operator in it and then it is off the air when that person goes away for whatever reason. Interestingly, about half of the 488 grids that were worked were from those operating portable, not in the sense of using a radio with batteries, but in the traditional sense of operating away from their home station location. Once you have experienced being on the other end of a small pileup, you will want to do it again." He also states, "I started with satellites in June 2006 and only had 47 USA grids by August 2008. From August 2008 till Jan 2009 I worked another 109. In 2009 199 were worked. 2010 was 76 and 2011 was 44. Only 4 new grids were worked in 2012 and 9 were snagged in 2013."

SOUTHEAST TOUR
The "DX-World.net" reports that operators Fusa/JR3CNQ and Take/JS6RRR will be active from Singapore (9V1 - IOTA AS-019) and West Malaysia (9M2) on the following dates:

September 20-21st and 23rd - Callsigns 9V1/JR3CNQ and 9V1/JS6RRR
September 21-23rd - Callsigns 9M2/JR3CNA & 9M2/JS6RRR

T10, TRANSNISTRIA
Vladimir, UA4WHX, is now active as T10VB from the breakaway territory between the River Dniester and the eastern Moldovan border with Ukraine called "Transnistria". They declare independence in 1990 from the Republic of Moldova. You can read more about Transnistria at:

T32, EAST KIRIBATI (Update)
Tim, NL8F, will be active as T32TM from East Kiribati between November 26th and December 11th. He states that he is bringing an IC-7000 with an ALS600, and is working on getting a CrankIR vertical (if this does not work, it will be Butternut HFV9 vertical on the beach). Activity during the first week Tim will be using T32TM. QSL via K8NA. During the second week, he will join up with the T32RRC team (4-5 guys) on Kiritimati Island (OC-024), and they will be bringing more radios and antennas. A Web site is still under construction.

T8, PALAU
Madison, W5MJ, will be "on another sole DX adventure" to Palau as T88TV between September 10-16th. Activity will be CW only on all bands with an emphasis on 80 and 160 meters. He will use an inverted L, with 500 watts and a tuner. He mentions, "Palau is nine hours ahead of GMT". QSL via W5MJ.

V5, NAMIBIA
David, BA4DW, is now active as V5/BA4DW from Windhoek until September 6th. Reports indicate that his activity will be holiday style with a focus on Asia on 20 meters using CW and SSB. However, QSNs show that he has been mainly on 15 meters CW. QSL via his home callsign.

VQ9, CHAGOS ISLAND
By the time you read this, Kazeno, JO1GWT/KJ6ZHM, will be active as VQ9KA near Diego Garcia until September 8th. Look for his activity to be on the following specific days: September 1st, 2nd, 7th and 8th, starting at 0300z. He states that if it rains there will be no operation. Operations will be on 40-10 meters using CW and SSB. QSL via JO1GWT, direct or by the Bureau.

YO, ROMANIA (WFF Op)
A Hungarian group along with YO5AJR, will operate from the Muntii Maramuresului (Maramarosi NP.) [YOFF-023] between September 6-8th. The members of the group are: Istvan/HA0KA (team leader), Pista/ HA0DI, Mate/HA0MT and Miki/YO5AJR (and possibly laci/HA0HW Laci). Activity will be on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB and the Digital modes. QSL via their home callsigns, by the Bureau or direct.

XW, LAOS
Just a reminder that operators Steve/9M6DXX and James/9V1YC will operate as XW8XZ and XW1YC, respectively, from Vientiane between September 5-10th. They plan to have two stations on the air. XW8XZ activity will be on SSB and XW1YC will mainly be CW with some SSB. QSL XW8XZ via M0URX and XW1YC via W5UE.
ADDED NOTE: It has been reported that operators George/EA2TA, Christian/EA3NT, Raul/EA5KA, Vincent/F4BKV, Don/G3XTT and Col/MM0NDX are joining Steve and James and now plan to operate five stations on 160-6 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. OPDX has not verified this yet.

XW, LAOS (And JARL Ham Fair Wrap-Up!!)
Champ, E21EIC, informs OPDX [edited],

"I had very great time at the JARL Ham Fair 2013, and it was very nice to attend the Japan DX meeting 2013 which had many famous hams attending: OH2BH, NN1N, W6VNR/ZF2AH, KK6EK, DS4EOI, DF2OO and JAs hams. All Story and pictures will show up on RAST website http://www.qsl.net/rast and I operated as JH1TEQ from the best station in the world from JH1AJT Zorro's station. I made about 400 QSOs, and QSL will be sent automatically via the Bureau."

XZ, MYANMAR (Update)
Zorro, JH1AJT, will be in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, between September 18-23rd, signing XZ1Z again. He has spotted a better location on top of a 1557 ft. hill, and expects to have better signals. He will bring a 10-15-20m tri-band Yagi in addition to the GPs used last month. The operation will be mainly CW this time and focus on NA/SA. In mid November, the Foundation for Global Children (FGC) will have a multi-national team DXpedition to Myanmar for about 10 days with three to four stations, 24 hours, 160­10 meters using CW, SSB and the Digital modes. Stay tuned! QSL via ClubLog OQRS (preferred) or JH1AJT.

PLEASE NOTICE (as of February 12, 2007), NEW ADDRESS CHANGES FOR THE OPDX INTERNET HELP/SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE REQUEST:

Help: opdx-request@barf80.org Subject:help
Subscribe: opdx-request@barf80.org Subject:subscribe
Unsubscribe: opdx-request@barf80.org Subject:unsubscribe

OPDX WORLD-WIDE WEB HOME (provided by John, K8YSE (k8yse@papays.com):
http://www.papays.com/opdx.html

ALSO VISIT THE NORTHERN OHIO DX ASSOCIATION'S WEB HOME PAGE:
http://www.nodxa.org

http://www.facebook.com/NorthernOhioDxAssociation