The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 1141.2
BID: $OPDX.1141.2
December 19, 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 OH2BH and W6SZN for the following DX information.

From the Offices of Santa Claus
Lapland - The North of Finland

December 19, 2013

SANTA RADIO OF9X AT CHRISTMAS 2013
Santa always appears on short notice every year, and so does OF9X from the Land of Santa Claus. There is one thing that we cannot skip and that is Christmas. It is because of all those wonderful children of the world who persuade us busy people to settle down and remember that Christmas is after all for children - for whose who truly believe. So, take a moment and join us - welcome your children or grandchildren on a trip to Christmas world with the dedication it deserves.

Last year Santa became a figure in Amateur Radio with thousands of followers, and more than 800 Santa Awards were issued throughout the world. Santa Radio (OF9X) established itself also through the pages of QST, DL-QTC and Japanese CQ Magazine. Santa is here to stay.

Starting yesterday, Santa has been loading up his sleigh and will soon begin his journey across the world. It all starts from Finnish Lapland and ends up on Christmas Day in the United States. The main activity will be over this coming weekend before Christmas and, as Santa is busy, his elves will be much of the time at the controls of Santa Radio, OF9X. Just stop by and say hello. Santa should be around 25KHz up the band edge (CW) and 14.225 KHz or thereabout.

But something new has happened since last year - Santa has become a pro on Morse code.

In addition to SSB QSOs from a year ago or this year, you should now contact Santa also on CW to qualify for the 2013 Santa Cold Winter (CW) Award. You should track your two (2) QSOs on ClubLog at www.qrz.com/db/OF9X and send your request by email to of9x@sral.fi. One of the QSOs should be from this year - 2013.

If you don't manage to work Santa on CW or SSB, or you only make one QSO this winter? No problem - not everything is lost as you have the option of compensating for the missing QSO by solving the Christmas Puzzle. Just send the details of your one 2013 QSO together with the two mystery words from the Puzzle, and you will qualify.

In case you need any assistance in filling in the puzzle, you may ask Santa for help - talk to OF9X and just point out the question line number and Santa will whisper to you the needed word. But only two lines at the most. On CW please just send "QSC NR". (Q-Santa-Claus)

While Santa Cold Winter Awards will be sent free of charge by email to those eligible, many have requested the Santa Award by post. Such a feature (OQRS)is now introduced as part of the log checking procedure on the OF9X QRZ.com page.

Santa's elves this year include Olli, OH0XX, Ville, OH1JD, Jaska, OH1TX, Rami, OH2BCI, Pertti, OH2BEE, Martti, OH2BH, Kati, OH2FKX (YL), Mari, OH2FPK (YL), Pekka, OH2TA, Pertti, OH2PM, Olli, OH6CT, Veijo, OH6KN, Kim, OH6KZP - and even the busy old man Santa himself with all the gifts he's got, now CW included.

Tap the Video and Audio button on the OF9X page at www.qrz.com/db/OF9X and you can occasionally see Santa and hear how your own signal sounds in the Land of Christmas.

Merry Christmas to all Amateur Radio operators and their children and grandchildren the world over. Enjoy your Christmas and share the joy of being together. Always!

Santa Claus, OF9X

YASME PRESS RELEASE (Dated December 18th) [edited].

"YASME FOUNDATION EXCELLENCE AWARDS -- The Yasme Excellence Award is awarded to individuals who, through their own service, creativity, effort and dedication, have made a significant contribution to amateur radio. The contribution may be in recognition of technical, operating or organizational achievement, as all three are necessary for amateur radio to grow and prosper. The Yasme Excellence Award is in the form of a cash grant and an individually- engraved crystal globe.

The Board of Directors of The Yasme Foundation is pleased to announce the award of the Yasme Excellence Awards for 2013 to the following individuals:

* Tom Roscoe, K8CX: Tom is recognized for his dedication to collecting and publishing current and historical photos and other documents on his Hamgallery Web site at . Hamgallery is an excellent amateur radio resource provided free of charge to the online community. Tom is also the manager of the W3 QSL Bureau, contributing many hours to ensuring cards are delivered properly and promptly.

* Lee Sawkins, VE7CC: Lee's software is widely used to manage and filter DX cluster spotting output. Without such filters, the output of the spotting network would be overwhelming and unusable. Lee's filtering software enables logging programs to integrate with the spotting network for contesting and general-purpose operation around the world. Lee supports the local DX and contesting community in British Columbia and will be representing Canada in WRTC 2014 as the Team Leader from the NA-12 region.

* John Devoldere, ON4UN: Along with building one of the premier amateur stations in the world, John's contributions to the DXing community have been extensive. Beginning with "80 Meter DXing," published in 1978, his book expanded to "Low-Band DXing," which in its fifth edition has become the most widely used handbook for operating and building antenna systems on the bands at 7 MHz and lower frequencies. The book contains important advances in HF amateur technology and encourages operation on these bands.

* Michael Carroll, N4MC; Eldon Lewis, K7LS; Dean Gibson, AE7Q; and Joseph Speroni, AH0A: These gentlemen have been instrumental in providing convenient access by amateurs to information maintained in FCC databases. In the case of N4MC, his Vanity HQ site became the single most popular resource for U.S. amateurs seeking to obtain a desired call sign, on-the-air identity being a fundamental element of amateur radio. He continues to maintain the National Silent Key Archive at www.silentkeyhq.com. K7LS and AE7Q have created similar online services that can be found at www.radioqth.net and www.ae7q.com.
AH0A was a pioneer in accessing the FCC databases and providing useful summaries of licensing information. The services made freely available by these four individuals have greatly enriched and educated U.S. amateurs.

* Ken Claerbout, K4ZW: Ken is recognized for his work in support of the series of video seminars and lectures produced in association with the Potomac Valley Radio Club. Initially focused on contesting, the scope has broadened to include a variety of operating and technical topics. More importantly, the videos have encouraged others to publish similar "webinars" and archive them for viewing at any time.

* Ashraf Chaabane, 3V/KF5EYY: Ashraf has become an energetic represent- ative on all fronts of amateur radio in Northern Africa and globally. He presents a positive role model for amateur radio across the entire Arab world with his enthusiasm and competitive spirit. His mission is to see the day when the administration in Tunisia issues him the first personal license in that country. Ashraf will also be representing Africa as the Team Leader for the African team in WRTC 2014.

The Yasme Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation organized to conduct scientific and educational projects related to Amateur Radio, including DXing (long distance communication) and the introduction and promotion of Amateur Radio in developing countries. For additional information about The Yasme Foundation, visit our website at www.yasme.org.

 Board of Directors: Fred Laun, K3ZO, Director and Vice-President
                     Rusty Epps, W6OAT, Director and Treasurer
                     Kip Edwards, W6SZN, Director and Secretary
                     Martti Laine, OH2BH, Director
                     Mac McHenry, W6BSY, Director
                     Robert Vallio, W6RGG, Director"

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ALSO VISIT THE NORTHERN OHIO DX ASSOCIATION'S WEB HOME PAGE:
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