The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 1145
BID: $OPDX.1145
January 13, 2014
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, NJ1Q & W1AW, NG3K & ADXO, W3UR & The Daily DX, N4AA & QRZ DX, N6MW, K7CO, K8GI, K8YSE, W8GEX & 60m News, WB8RFB, W9ILY, AT International, DK8JB & The DX News Letter, DL1SBF, DxCoffee.com, DX-World.Net, F5NQL, F6AJA & Les Nouvelles DX, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, I2MQP & DX Italia News, IK7JWX, OX5T/OZ5BD, OZ6OM & 50 MHz DX News, Pete's DX-Newsdesk, PP1CZ, RSGB IOTA Web Site, Sixitalia Weekly, VA3RJ & ICPO, and the VHF-DX-Portal (MMMonVHF) for the following DX information.

DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT
According to the AR-Cluster Network for the week of Sunday, 5th-January, through Sunday, 12th-January there were 216 countries active. Countries available: 1A, 3A, 3B8, 3V, 3W, 4J, 4L, 4O, 4S, 4U1I, 4X, 5A, 5B, 5H, 5R, 5V, 5W, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7X, 8P, 8Q, 8R, 9A, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9L, 9M2, 9M6, 9Q, 9V, 9X, 9Y, A4, A6, A7, A9, AP, BV, BY, C2, C3, C5, C6, C9, CE, CE0Y, CE9, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, D2, D4, DL, DU, E5/s, E7, EA, EA6, EA8, EA9, EI, EK, ER, ES, EU, EX, EY, EZ, F, FG, FH, FJ, FK, FM, FO, FP, FR, FW, FY, G, GD, GI, GJ, GM, GU, GW, H4, H40, HA, HB, HB0, HC, HI, HK, HL, HP, HR, HS, HV, HZ, I, IS, J2, J6, J7, J8, JA, JD/o, JT, JW, JY, K, KG4, KH0, KH2, KH6, KL, KP2, KP4, LA, LU, LX, LY, LZ, OA, OD, OE, OH, OH0, OK, OM, ON, OX, OY, OZ, P2, P4, PA, PJ2, PJ4, PJ7, PY, PY0F, PZ, S2, S5, S7, SM, SP, ST, SV, SV5, SV9, T7, T8, TA, TF, TG, TI, TJ, TK, TL, TR, TU, TY, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V3, V4, V5, V6, V7, V8, VE, VK, VP2E, VP8, VP8/h, VP9, VQ9, VR, VU, XE, XU, XW, XX9, YA, YB, YI, YL, YN, YO, YS, YU, YV, Z3, ZA, ZB, ZD7, ZD8, ZF, ZL, ZP, ZS, ZS8

PLEASE NOTE: The report "could" contain "Pirate/SLIM" operations or more likely a "BUSTED CALLSIGN". As always, you never know - "Work First Worry Later".

3B8, MAURITIUS
A few sources are reporting that Robert, M0RCX, will be active as 3B8/M0RCX from Mauritius sometime around May 2-28th. Activity will be on 40/20/15/10/6 meters using some CW and mainly Digital (JT65, PSK31, ROS and maybe FSK441). QSL via M0RCX, direct, by the Bureau or eQSL.

9M2, WEST MALAYSIA
Members of the North of Peninsular Malaysia ARA Boys Contest n' DXers will be active as 9M2SM during the CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 29-30th) as a Multi-1 entry on 80-10 meters. QSL via 9M2GET. Operators mentioned are Hairil/9M2GET, Han/9W2SBD, Mohamad/9W2SBL, Ahmad/9M2AGC, Syed/9M8SYA, Zam/9M2KRZ. Rizal/9M2RDX and Weerut/9W2RUT.

C2, NAURU
Operators Guenter/DL2AWG, Hans/DL6JGN and San/K5YY will be active from Nauru between April 3-16th. Callsigns have not been announced yet. They are searching for operators to join them to operate CW, SSB and the Digital modes. QSL via DL2AWG. More details should be forthcoming.

CARIBBEAN TOUR (Reminder)
By the time you read this, operators Mek/SP7VC, Ted/SP3IPB and YL Kate/SQ7OYL have begun their Caribbean tour to activate several islands between January 11-30th. Currently, the team is on Martin- ique as FM/SP7VC, FM/SP3IPB and FM/SQ7OYL until January 12th. The tentative schedule and callsigns for the rest of the tour are as follows:

Janaury 13-14th - St. Lucia (J6); No activity planned.
January 15-16th - Dominica; callsigns J79VC and J79PB.
January 17-18th - Guadeloupe; callsigns FG/SP7VC, FG/SP3IPB and FG/SQ7OYL.
January 18-22nd - Montserrat; callsigns VP2MPG and VP2MTK.
January 21st - Antigua; callsigns V26/SP7VC and V26/SP3IPB

DAYTON HAMVENTION NEWS

"The SouthWest Ohio DX Association (SWODXA) is pleased to announce that we will again sponsor the DX Dinner, held in conjunction with the 2014 Dayton Hamvention®. This, our 29th annual dinner, will be on Friday, May 16th, 2014, at the Dayton Marriott, 1414 S. Patterson Blvd., Dayton, OH 45409. There will be a cash bar starting at 5:30 p.m., with dinner served at 7:00. Following the meal, there will be a separate room and cash bar available for more fellowship. This is an excellent opportunity to meet new hams and to renew old acquaintances as well as to learn about past DXpeditions and those in the planning stages. The Marriott is very accommodating to a group our size. The dining room is on the ground floor so there are no steps, the dining room is very large, and there is ample free, on-site parking. This dinner is always well attended by some of the most avid DXers in the world. As in the past, there will be some major door prizes, and there is always great anticipation as to who will be named the 'DXpedition of the Year'.

The Marriott is a large hotel with many room choices. Should you need accommodations, their website is

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/dayoh-dayton-marriott and their phone number is 937 223-1000.

Program details and a list of the prizes will be on the website as they become available and updates will be sent out regularly via Twitter. Check out our Facebook page at 'Southwest Ohio DX Association', or follow us on Twitter – @SWODXA "

FR/T, TROMELIN (Press Release)[edited]

"Hi friends -- The interest generated by the announcement of our project a few weeks ago is extremely important. We expect you to live this adventure with us and its organi- zation throughout the year and to share with you our passion for these remote lands. In due course, we will give some details about the different aspects of the project, but you will find below some answers to questions related to the size of the team, the logistics and the organization required.

Of all the islands that form the 'Scattered Islands', Tromelin is the smallest. This one-square kilometer piece of land was classified as a natural reserve back in 1975. The fauna and flora, almost intact, offer a great environment for scientific research. Each year, there are only a few scientists who are allowed to study turtle and seabird colonies. Each research program is the subject of a joint validation from TAAF (Antarctic and Australs territories authority) and CNRS (National In- stitute of Sciences of the Universe and the National Institute of Ecology and Environment).

Tromelin is the only one of the Scattered Islands to hold only a per- manent population of 3 technicians belonging to TAAF. The other islands are homed to military detachments (Armed Forces in the South Zone of the Indian Ocean (FAZSOI) and one policeman. Each mission on Tromelin sub- stantially increases temporarily its population and induces a potential environmental impact.

The ham radio Dxpedition in 2000 incorporated this concern for preserving the environment with a staff of four operators. During our preliminary discussions with the authorities in charge of Tromelin, the compromise on the size of the team became obvious. It is inconceivable to lead an expedition with 24 operators on such a small and fragile territory. Besides the ecological impact, difficulties in gaining access as well as logistics would not allow it.

For our project in November 2014 there will be 6 operators who have been authorized for a period of 10 days. While this may reveal a gap with the standard big amateur expeditions that we are getting used to these days, do not forget that once our local team gets there, the population of the island will have already tripled.

In order to maximize our time during these 10 days, it is important to be supportive, organized and know each other very well. It is with this objective that an experienced group, with a real team spirit was formed. This solution was preferred to recruiting an international 'patchwork' of operators without a common experience. F6KDF, the Lyon DX Gang and F6KOP Team have proven many times to be up to it.

The presence of French forces on Europa, Juan de Nova and Glorioso facilitated logistical issues for amateur military Dxpeditions conducted in 2003 on Europa and in 2009 on Glorioso.

For Tromelin, the situation is different because the transport of the operators and the equipment will be made by means of a small private plane. This induces a significant cost due to multiple trips, but it is our only way to rally the island.

The primary objective will not be for a handful of 'big guns' to complete their umpteenth award but rather to give all the opportunity to contact us, whatever the geographical constraints or propagation.

At the end of 2013 we launched the website and communicated to the Amateur Radio community throughout the world. These last two weeks have been used to solicit amateur clubs and associations inviting them to take part in our project. Some have already committed to our DXpedition. We hope that many more will join them. The support of all is a prerequisite for the return of Tromelin on the air after so many years of silence. The work will continue throughout the year. Soon we will designate our pilot stations with whom we will closely work while pursuing substantive work on the entire organization.

We are only a few hours ahead of another major Dxpedition, FT5ZM. Our Tromelin 2014 team wishes them good luck for a long journey to Amsterdam Island.

Thank you in advance for your support, have a great year 2014.
73's - The Tromelin island 2014 DXPedition Team.
Forwarded with 88/73, by Maurice, F5NQL, F6KOP member"

HI7, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Manu, ZP9MCE, will be active as HI7/ZP9MCE from Punta Cana Beach between April 7-14th. Activity will be holiday style and QRP on 40/30/20 meters CW only. QSL via EA5ZD.

IOTA NEWS
AF-032. (Latest Info) A group of Italian operators will be active as 5I0DX from an Italian village at the Kiwengwa Beach Resort on Zanzibar Island (WWF 5HFF-003) between February 2-13th. The European DXpedition Zanzibar 2014 Team wants to thank the sponsors, individual contributors, clubs and associations. Special thanks to the Tanzania Communication Regulatory Author- ity (TCRA), the Tanzania Amateur Radio Club (TARC) and their secretary Hidan, 5H3HO, for the collaboration and help. Activity will be on all HF bands 160-10 meters, including the 30/17/12 meter bands, using CW, SSB, PSK (31/63/125) and RTTY. Also, look for special SSB and Digital activity using the callsigns during this operation: 5I0AM (op. IS0AGY), 5I0WL (op. I8LWL) and 5H3AN (ops IK7JWX and IV3FSG).

Current operators mentioned are Fred/IK7JWX, Leo/I8LWL, Ampelio/IS0AGY, Vincenzo/IZ8LFI, Elvira/IV3FSG (YL) and Fulvio/HB9DHG (CW op). Look for 5I0DX to participate in the CQ WPX RTTY Contest (February 8-9th). It was announced earlier that this DXpedition will also be a humanitarian operation with donations of medicines to the "Italy Day Hospital".

Italy QSL Manager is via IK7JWX. World QSL Manager is via IS0AGY, direct (3USD or 3 IRCs) or by the Bureau. All logs will be uploaded to LoTW and NetLog. They are looking for sponsors for donations to Radio Club of Dar Es Salaam and Italy Day Hospital of Zanzibar (See QRZ.com for details.). Currently, updates are available on QRZ.com . Also, checkout the following FaceBook page:

AS-153. Members of the West Bengal Radio Club are now active as AU2MQT from Sagar Island until January 16th. Their activity coincides with the Ganga Sagar Mela pilgrimage:
http://s24pgs.gov.in/orig/GM2014/index.html
For more details, see QRZ.com. Operations will be on the HF bands. QSL via VU2NRO.

EU-008. Members of the Black Country DX and Contest Group will be active as MS0OXE from Isle Of Tiree between March 25-31st. Activity will be on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. Operations will include the CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 29-30th). QSL via M0URX's OQRS http://m0urx.com/oqrs/ Logs will be uploaded to ClubLog and LoTW upon their return home. For more details and updates, visit the following Web pages and Media feed:

OC-033. Freddy, F5IRO, will be active as FK/F5IRO/p from Mare Island sometime during the second week in February. Activity will be on 40-10 meters CW only. QSL via F5IRO, by the REF Bureau or direct. For updates, visit Freddy's Blog page at:

OC-219. Operators YL Teti/YB2TET, Adhi/YB3MM and Budi/YF1AR are expected to activate Wangiwangi Island sometime in March. No other details were provided. Look for more info to be forthcoming.

SA-044. Members of the Grupo DX Caracas are planning to be active as YW5D from Isla la Tortuga sometime in July. QSL via DM4TI. More details should be forthcoming.

SA-055. Carlos, LU8DCH, will be active as LU8DCH/D from Martin Garcia Island between February 21-23rd. Activity will be on the HF bands. QSL via his home callsign direct.

SA-086. A Chilean team will be active as XR2T from Damas Island between April 16-20th. Operators mentioned are:

CW - Nicolas/XQ1KZ, Carlos/XQ1CR, Dercel/CE3KHZ, Alfredo/XQ3WD and Danilo/XQ4CW
SSB/RTTY - Domingo/CE1DY, Claudio/XQ1FM, Mauricio/CE2WUI, Julio/CE3OP, Sergio/CE3WDH, Chris/CE3TAM, Juan/CE3RBJ and Rodrigo/CE4KCA

KG4, GUANTANAMO BAY
Operators Cliff/N4SIA and Stuart/K4MIL will once again be active as KG4AS and KG4SS, respectively, from Guantanamo Bay, between January 17-27th. Activity will be on 160-6 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL via their home callsigns. KG4SS is on LoTW.

NP2, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS
Yuriy, N2TTA, will once again be active from here as NP2P during the ARRL DX CW Contest (February 15-16th) as a Single-Op/All-Band/Low-Power entry. QSL via LoTW.

OX, GREENLAND
Bjorn, OZ5BD, who lives in Sisimiut, will travel to be active as OX5T from Kangerlussuaq, Greenland (NA-018, WWFF OZ-FF006), between January 31st and February 2nd. Activity will be on 160-10 meters, with an emphasis on 160/80/40m, using CW and SSB. QSL via OZ0J.

PROPAGATION FORECAST/REPORT (January 13-19th)

 Jan/13th AN      Jan/16th  AN      Jan/18th  AN
 Jan/14th AN      Jan/17th  AN      Jan/19th  AN
 Jan/15th 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

  QSL-INFO from DB0SDX (January 12th)
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------
  3Z120SMK via SP9BRP          LI5TFA via LA5TFA        SN22BWOSP via SQ4O
  7S400K via SM7BHM            OD5ZZ via NI5DX (d)      T6ZG via ON6ZG
  9V1YC via W5UE               OU5U via OZ3FD           T88SM via JA6EGL (d)
  A61CK via IZ8CLM             PH65PH via PA7HPH        TF1AM via TF3MHN
  AU2MQT via VU2NRO            PJ2/SM4KYN via SM4KYN    TF1IRA via TF3MHN
  C37SBX via C37AC             PJ4DX via M0URX          TF3HQ via TF3MHN
  CE2SQE via EA5KB             PU2RIO/PT8 via PU2RIO    TF3IRA via TF3MHN
  CT9/OK4MM via OK4MM          R11ALS via UA3RF         TF3W via TF3MHN
  DQ25GRENZE via DJ7AO (B/d/L) R22BIA via UA9LP         TF8IRA via TF3MHN
  EA8/DJ7SR via DJ7SR          R22SKE via R9AB          TM5AXG via F8KGN
  EA9/EC7DZZ via EC7DZZ        RA22XF via R8XF          YS1/NP3J via EA5GL
  EK3GM via IK2QPR (d/B)       RL22GM via RT5G          ZT1T via ZS1AFS
  EO90WF via US5WE             RM22AC via UA3AC
  HC4/AL4Q via DJ8QP           RM22MM via R3AA
  HI8/RU4LG via RU4LG          RO22AA via RM7C
  HK1T via EA5KB               RZ22WW via UA0WW
  HS0ZIQ via ZB2JK (d)         SB2014ECC via SK2AT
  HS0ZKG via F6AXX (B/d)       SI2014ECC via SK2AT
  KH7Y via EA5GL               SN0GKR via SP3PGR
    (e) eQSL only  (d) direct only   (B) Bureau only  (L) LoTW only

QSLS RECEIVED VIA MAIL: 9N7BM, C82DX, FO/JI1JKW, H7H, HP0INT/2, HP0INT/3, HP0INT/4, HP0INT/9, JT1AS, JX9JKA, OK/G3TXF/p, PJ7/G3TXF, T33A, TN2MS, TO4FM and YB4IR/8

QSLS RECEIVED VIA THE BUREAU: NONE REPORTED THIS WEEK!

T8, PALAU
Nob, JR3STX, will once again be active as T88ST from the Palau rental shack

TO3/FM, MARTINIQUE (Update)
A team team of operators will be active as TO3JA from Martinique (NA-107) between January 12-19th. Operators mentioned are: Phone - Tatsuo/JA3ARJ and YL Hiroko/JH3PBL; CW/Digital - Kunio/JA1CJA, Masumi/JA3AVO and Nakasako/JA3UJR. QSL via JA3AVO, direct, by the Bureau or LoTW. There will be an OQRS on ClubLog. Look for more details to be forthcoming.

TO4/FM, MARTINIQUE (Update)
Yves, F5GN, is now active as FM/F5GN from Martinique until sometime in February. His XYL Francoise, F4BMR, will join him and be active as TO4YL between February 8-24th. Activity will be on 160-10 meters. QSNs show that Yves has been on 20/10 meters SSB this past week. QSL via F5GN.

TO7, REUNION ISLAND
The following was posted on FaceBook by Frank, F4AJQ [edited]:

"The team of 'F6KOP TEAM' operators has many DXpeditions projects, many of our members take part to or have take part of many DXpeditions organized by great international teams ... Remember HP0 With Vincent, FT5 Michel, S21 with many F6KOP operators (Henri Michel, Eric, and Norbert Heye) , San Andres with Bernard and Tony etc ...

After considering various projects and shared with the group, taking into account work at radio club, future DX expeditions of F6KOP friends and our big project of the end of the 2014 year, we decided to go an easy access DXCC country: easily obtaining a licence, place to go with 20-24 operators team.

While searching the net, of course taking into account the ideas of each and looking at the ClubLog statistics, we decided to go to the Réunion Island.

The Réunion Island you may ask? ! This is not Most Wanted !

Yes, it is true that this IOTA is only on the 122nd DXCC Most Wanted rank, but looking at the ClubLog statistics, the island is highly needed by low band and digital mode DXers. This is why we decided to make a special effort on the low bands and the Digimode.

For this we will have 4 full stations probably equipped with Elecraft K3 , K2 and ACOM 1010 amplifier. A Vertical L for 160m and 2-3 beverages. A vertical for 80m and a and four-square on 40 and 30meters, and also a 3 elements Spiderbeam on 30 meters. Other antennas will be 5 and 3 bands Spiderbeams.

There will be a simultaneous SSB, CW and RTTY station. The fourth station will be a mixed mode station. We will make a special effort on the low bands and hopefully make happy most of you.

The TO7CC team consists of 17 experienced operators, 6 nationalities:
DJ7JC, DJ9RR, 9V1RM, OE3JAG, OZ1IKY, ON4LO, EI5GM, EI9FBB, F4DLM, F5NQL, F5EOT, F5UOW, F5JTV, F6IRA, F1ULQ and F4AJQ.

The QSL Manager will be our KOPain F1NGP, Yann. We are currently waiting for our pilot station. We hope you will find all the information on our following media pages:

Web site - http://www.to7cc.com Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TO7CC Twitter - https://twitter.com/@to7cc The whole team wishes to find you in the pile-up and welcomes you in this new F6KOP TEAM adventure..... Best 73, F4AJQ Frank, Team leader"

On-line log at ClubLog updated as internet connection (and $) allows. Would consider a second operator (see Web page below for E-mail address). QSL via LotW. QSL manager to be announced." Operations will be from the (north facing) beach on the lagoon at the Long Island Hotel. For more details and updates, see:

VK, AUSTRALIA
Tino, VK3EGN, will once again be active in the CQ 160-Meter CW Contest (January 24-26th) as a Single-Op/High-Power entry. He states that he will be using a 3 element vertical HW beam (kite lifted) antenna 120m (400ft) high from Ocean Grove Beach. QSL via VK3EGN to the Bureau.

VK9X, CHRISTMAS ISLAND
Operators Jon/K7CO and Christian/K7CXN will be active as VK9X/K7CO from Christmas Island (OC-002) between March 1-11th. They are looking for another CW operator to join them. A preferred ham that has pileup experience and also antenna installation experience. If interested, contact Jon at k7co@vk9x.com Activity will be on 80-10 meters using CW, SSB and PSK31. Christian will be the primary operator on PSK31 and will also do some SSB. QSL via K7CO, direct or via the OQRS on ClubLog. NO Bureau. For more details and updates, see:

ZM90, NEW ZEALAND
The Kiwi DX Group will use their special callsign ZM90DX during the ARRL DX CW Contest (February 15-16th) as a Multi- Single or Multi-2 entry. Current operators so far are Holger/ZL3IO and Wesley/ZL3TE (W3SE). QSL via M0OXO or LoTW.

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