The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 1182
BID: $OPDX.1182
September 29, 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, N4JF, K5GS, W5KUB, KK6EK, K8GI, K8YSE, KT8D, W8GEX & 60m News, W9ILY, AT International, DL7UXG & The DX News Letter, DL1SBF, DxCoffee.com, DX-World.Net, ES1CW, F6AJA & Les Nouvelles DX, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, I2MQP & DX Italia News, JA1HGY, JA1TRC, OK1OM, OZ6OM & 50 MHz DX News, Pete Rayer (ISWL), PS7AB, RSGB IOTA Web Site, Sixitalia Weekly, VA3RJ & ICPO, and the VHF-DX-Portal (MMMonVHF) for the following DX information.

**** EDITOR'S SPECIAL NOTE
Since OPDX Webmaster, John, K8YSE, is currently on a "WESTERN GRID EXPEDITION" (Satellite - see OPDX.1178), the bulletin will only be posted to the OPDX Web page as a "TXT" file. Those who like reading the OPDX in HTML format will have to wait until John returns or updates the Web page. Thanks for your under- standing.

EDITOR'S SPECIAL NOTICE
This week's bulletin was sent out earlier than normal to accommodate the late CQWW DX RTTY Contest announcements. Also, we wanted to provide the OPDX readers with a consolidated listing of the CQWW DX RTTY Contest participants.

DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT
According to the AR-Cluster Network for the week of Friday, 19th/September, through Friday, 26th/September there were 222 countries active. Countries available: 3A, 3B8, 3B9, 3D2, 3DA, 3V, 3W, 4J, 4L, 4O, 4S, 4W, 4X, 5A, 5B, 5N, 5R, 5T, 5W, 6Y, 7Q, 7X, 8P, 8R, 9A, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9M2, 9M6, 9N, 9V, 9Y, A2, A3, A4, A6, A7, A9, AP, BV, BY, C2, C3, C5, C6, C9, CE, CE0Y, CE9, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, CY0, D2, DL, DU, E3, E4, E5/s, E7, EA, EA6, EA8, EA9, EI, EK, EL, EP, ER, ES, EU, EX, EY, F, FG, FK, FM, FO, FP, FR, FY, G, GD, GI, GJ, GM, GU, GW, H4, HA, HB, HB0, HC, HH, HI, HK, HL, HP, HR, HS, HZ, I, IS, J3, J6, J8, JA, JT, JW, JX, JY, K, KH0, 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, PJ7, PY, PY0F, PZ, S0, S5, S7, SM, SP, ST, SU, SV, SV/a, SV5, SV9, T32, T7, T8, TA, TF, TG, TI, TJ, TK, TN, TR, TT, TU, TY, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V3, V4, V5, V7, V8, VE, VK, VK9N, VK9X, VP2E, VP8, VP9, VQ9, VR, VU, XE, XT, XU, XX9, YA, YB, YI, YJ, YL, YN, YO, YS, YU, YV, Z2, Z3, ZA, ZB, ZD7, ZD8, ZD9, ZF, ZL, 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".

3W, VIETNAM
Bruce, 3W3B (AA4XR, HS0ZCY), from Da Nang, Vietnam, will be active during the CQWW DX RTTY Contest (September 27-28th) as a Single-Op/ High-Power entry. QSL via E21EIC or LoTW.

5W, SAMOA
Cliff, KD6XH, will be active as 5W0XH from Samoa between October 23-28th. Activity will take place before, during and after the CQWW DX SSB Contest (October 25-26th). QSL via his home callsign.

8R, GUYANA (Special Event)
Operators Peter/8R1WD (President of Guyana Amateur Radio Association) and Isao/JH1ROJ/KG8XV have been active as 8R1AE from Georgetown since September 8th. Activity will last until October 7th. Operations are to commemorate "Amerindian Heritage Month" in Republic of Guyana. On September 10th, 1995, Guyana's Prime Minister, Cheddi Jagan officially designated the month of September as "Amerindian Heritage Month" to commemorate Stephen Campbell becoming Guyana's first Amerindian Member of Parliament on September 10th, 1957. Please see article at:

C6, BAHAMAS (Update/Reminder)
Just a reminder that operators Georg/DK7LX and Phil/G3SWH, will be active as C6AYS from New Providence Island (NA-001) between September 30th and October 10th, while en route to and from Grand Turk Island (NA-003) in the Turks and Caicos Islands (see OPDX.1166/1181). There will be a log search facility on the following Web page which is subject to a decent Internet connection, and it will be updated daily at:

CR3/CT9, MADEIRA ISLANDS
The CR3L contest station in Santana on Madeira Island (AF-014) will be active during the CQWW DX RTTY Contest (September 27-28th) as a Multi-Multi entry. Operators mentioned are Walter/DJ6QT, Tom/DL6TK, David/DL1DN, Hans/DL8NBE, Juergen/DG7JB and Dieter/DK4QT. QSL CR3L via DJ6QT. Activity by operators outside of the contest will sign as CT9/homecall. QSL via their home callsign. Visit the CR3L Santana, Madeira Island, Web page at:

E3, ERITREA (Update/Dated September 23rd)
Jay, JA1TRC, from the FGC Radio Team reports: "Zorro shut down the station around 18:00 UTC on 22nd September for this trip. He reported that he made 4,200+ QSOs, with his pleasure of giving ATNOs. He said it was the toughest QRV from DX he had ever experienced and exhausted himself by his official duties. However, he was healed whenever he heard 'Thank you Zorro for your hard work.'

He is on his way back to JA land and expected to arrive Tokyo around noon on 24th September local time. We will start arranging DXCC and LoTW documentations and register the LoTW account. We also will provide ClubLog online check and OQRS for convenient QSLing, after he returns to SEISA/FGC office."

E4, PALESTINE
Mai, E41MT, was heard this past week on 10 meters SSB. She lives in Gaza with her husband Walaa, E41WT. QSL via KB9GSY.

IOTA NEWS
OC-213. Operators Din/YB8RW and Syafyuddin/YB8OUN will be active as homecall/p from Batudaka Island between September 27th and October 2nd. Activity will be on the HF bands. QSL via their home callsigns direct.

SA-061. Operators Mark/LU7CAW and Martin/LU9EFO will be active as CE5/homecall from Mocha Island between November 4-10th. Their activity will depend on good weather conditions. Operations will be on various HF bands.

IOTA NEWS (Press Release From RSGB)
An additional bulletin (very long) will be added at the end from the RSGB containing an announcement by the RSGB President, John Gould, G3WKL, concerning an exciting way forward for IOTA.

ISWL CALLSIGNS (For October)
The following ISWL club callsigns will be used throughout the month of September 2014:
GX4BJC/A - Operated from Clacton-on-Sea, in Essex, by George/G1IPU. (/A WAB Square TM11 - England, IOTA EU-005, WLOTA 1841). George will also operate as GX4BJC/P throughout the month. If required, he will give his current WAB Square during the QSO.

MX1SWL/A - Operated from Walton-on-the-Naze, in Essex, by Herbie/G6XOU. (/A WAB Square TM22 - England, IOTA EU-005, WLOTA 1841). Herbie will also operate as MX1SWL/P throughout the month. If required, he will give his current WAB Square during the QSO.

ALL QSLs will be handled by Herbie, G6XOU, and NOT the individual operator. The I.S.W.L. is a member of the European PSK Club. All QSL info is on

IT9, ITALY
Members of the Italian Contest Club (II9K Team) will be active as IT9GNG from Sicily during the CQWW DX RTTY Contest (September 27-28th) as a Multi-2 entry. QSL via IT9GNG.

PROPAGATION FORECAST/REPORT (September 29th-October 5th)

Sep/29th AN Oct/02nd AN Oct/04th AN
Sep/30th AN Oct/03rd AN Oct/05th AN
Oct/01st 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 from DB0SDX (September 26th)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3B8BAE via K5XK HB0/DL5YL via DL5YL TC3AFT via TA3GO
4A1LM via XE1LM HB0/DL5YM via DL5YM TM80GW via F5INJ
4O/LB9N via LB9N HG15SPORT via HA7PL TM89IARU via F6KMF
8R1AE via JA1HGY IA5/OK2BOB via OK2BOB UE16CT via RX3F
AO2014RWC via EA1URB II1ENG via I1ANP UE16MM via RN3RQ
CO6LC via IZ1GDB IY1GMS via IK1SPR UE16MP via RY2S
CO8JY via KU9C LJ6BG via LB6BG UE16MT and UE16HQ via *
DX8DX via M0OXO LZ14IARU via LZ-(B) UE16SA via UA6ABE
EA6/G3SZU via M0OXO OJ0AM via OH2BH UE16SF via UA3RF
EA6/MW0LUK/P via MW0LUK P49X via W0YK VP9/WW3S via WW3S
EG1RSO via EA1AST PA/DL5ASE via DL5ASE XT2CML via LZ1CLM
EG4ATB via EA4TX PA175RR via PI4KST YB0AZ via W4JS (new Manager)
EG7SFC via EC7AKV PJ5/OL8R via OK6DJ 
FO/DF1YP via DF1YP SV9/DJ9XB via DJ9XB 
HA/DL1EKO/P via DL1EKO SX7AMF via SZ7SER (d) 
(e) eQSL only (d) direct only (B) Bureau only (L) LoTW only
(O) OQRS only (C) ClubLog only
(*) R4AAS (no Bureau) - OQRS on f1award.ru

QSLS RECEIVED VIA MAIL: 3Y0BYP, A71BO, FT5ZM, HC6EP, JT5DX, JX9JKA, JW9JKA, N7ET/DU7, RK9UN, S79D, T88CL, YF1AR/5 and ZD8N

QSLS RECEIVED VIA THE BUREAU: NONE REPORTED THIS WEEK!!

SPECIAL EVENT WEBCAST (It's time for the K6H Special Events Webcast from the TV set of "Last Man Standing" in Hollywood)
Tom Medlin, W5KUB, reports [edited]:

"Please join us during our very special webcast of the Special Events Station K6H Sept 27th and 28th. Hosts for the event will be Amateur Radio crew members of the ABC television series 'Last Man Standing'. On the show, actor Tim Allen plays Mike Baxter, KA0XTT. The show's producer is our friend, John Amodeo, NN6JA.

To join the webcast go to http://W5KUB.com where the fun begins! During the special event W5KUB.COM will interview many special guests, give tours of the famous Stage 9 Hollywood set, and also show the California Papa Systems group operating the station. This is will be one or our best web- casts as it is packed with activity and possibly some surprises! During the live webcast, viewers can meet and chat with us at the event or chat with other ham radio operators from around the world.

You could win one of a number of prizes, including KA0XTT (Mike Baxter) or KF0XIE (Mandy Baxter) QSL cards autographed by Tim Allen and Molly Ephraim, which will be awarded during the webcast! To be eligible for prizes, please be sure you have a registered login account on W5KUB.COM. If you don’t already have a login there is a link on the login screen to create a new account. This year over $10,000 in prizes have been awarded to viewers of our webcast! Of course, no purchase is necessary to win a prize because we don't sell anything!! W5KUB is not affiliated with any products or companies.

Sunday, September 28, 1430 UTC - 2200 UTC (7:30 AM - 3:00 PM PDT):
K6H Special Event, interview special guests, tours, prizes, and much more.

Frequencies: 10 Meters 28.420 SSB, 20 Meters 14.250 SSB and 40 Meters 7.260 SSB. There will also be a CW station but the frequency has not been determined at this time. DSTAR will be on Reflector 12A. EchoLink connections will be through WD4WDW-R and WB5EKU-R.

Please join our group on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/w5kub for more details and to keep up with our webcasts year-round. Also, please help spread the word by posting this announcement in Facebook and forwarding this message to your ham radio friends that may not have received this message!"

SV5, DODECANESE
Wolfgang "Wolf", DL3DRN, will once again be active as SV5/DL3DRN Rhodos Island (EU-001 and WLOTA L-0045), (QTH Kolymbia) between September 26th and October 9th. Activity will be holiday style, mostly on the HF bands using CW, SSB and RTTY, with a FT-857 and a FD4. QSL via his home callsign, direct or by the Bureau.

TX5, CHESTERFIELD ISLAND (Press Release dated September 21st)
Gene, K5GS, sent out the following:

"Chesterfield Islands 2015 DX-pedition (OC-176)
The Perseverance DX Group (pdxg.net) is pleased to announce their intention to conduct a DX-pedition to the Chesterfield Islands, currently number 25 most wanted on Clublog. Initial planning has begun for an expedition later in 2015.

The expedition yacht Evohe will provide transportation to the island. Subject to licensing and landing formalities, it is expected a team of up to 12 operators will be on the island for up to 12 days. The team will sail from Noumea, New Caledonia.

Team members committed or considering their participation include: Pista/HA5AO, Les/W2LK, Heye/DJ9RR, Norbert/DJ7JC, Mike/WA6O and Gene/K5GS. Additional team members will be added throughout the planning phase. Our website is under construction. Watch the usual DX sources for infor- mation. We will announce additional details as they develop. Please direct questions to Gene/K5GS or Pista/HA5AO at their e-mail address listed on QRZ.com...... 73, Team Chesterfield - 2015"

"During the past several months, we have made considerable progress and some significant changes in the plan for the Heard Island Expedition. The most important change is the switch to the vessel Akademik Shokalskiy, operated by Heritage Expeditions. This switch brings numerous advantages, including:
* Departure from Fremantle, Australia, significantly more convenient to the numerous Australia team members.

* The vessel will stay with us for the duration at Heard Island, nominally 21 days. We are discussing the possiblity that the vessel will make a side-trip to Kerguelen during the stay on Heard Island, perhaps enabling additional activities form that location.

* Due to the higher vessel speed (14 kt, 16kt max) and the lower distance (2209 nm) of the Skokalskiy, the total trip duration is reduced to 35 days, rather than 45 days previously planned.

* Calculations by N6BV, K6TU and KY6R indicate that radio propagation is optimum in November, significantly better than the previously plan for January.

* Carrying out the expedition in 2015 enables us to apply for a major grant (up to $100k) from the Explorers Club, available only for 2015.

During this period we have also increased the team roster, which currently has 28 members, more than the minimum of 25 needed for the vessel charter. The roster will be updated on this website in the relatively near future. The budget for the entire expedition is $800k. Considering expected support, especially from the amateur radio community, we expect to be able to cap the participant expense at $18k. In addition, the team will be working on corporate in-kind donations that can reduce this to $15k. In summary, we believe we now have all the core elements in place for the expedition, and have moved from the planning phase into the preparation phase. We will welcome your contributions of any kind, and still have spaces for a few more participants.

We sincerely thank the sponsors and donors to this point, and future support in advance."

To see the complete press by Rich, KY6R, go to:

VK9L, LORD HOWE ISLAND
Mathias, DJ2HD, one of the team members of the Lagunaria DX Group going to Lord Howe (signing as VK9DLXVK9LM), announced that he received his VK9DJ callsign/license to use on Lord Howe between October 10-12th before the main team starts their big operation. Activity by Mathias will be on CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL via DJ2HD, direct or by the Bureau.

VP9, BERMUDA
Operators George/K3GP, Ray/ND8L and Jamie/WW3S will be active as VP9I from Ed/VP9GE's Hamilton Parish QTH (NA-005, WLOTA 0201) for the CQWW DX RTTY Contest (September 26-27th) as a Multi-Op/All-Band/ Low-Power entry. QSL VP9I via WW3S. Outside of the contest, look for operators to be active as VP9/homecall. QSL via their home callsigns.

Z3, MACEDONIA
Chris, Z39A, will be active during the CQWW DX RTTY Contest (September 27-28th) as a Single-Op/Single-Band (20m) entry. QSL via Z39A.

ZY3, BRAZIL (Fort Op)
Operators Diego/PY3PDG, Luiz/PU3KTM and Sadi/PU3SSC will be active as ZY3WTS from Fortress Dom Pedro II, Cacapava South, between October 3-5th. Activity will be SSB only on 160/80/40/12/10 meters. QSL via PU3SSC.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following stations are expected to be active in the
CQ World Wide DX RTTY Contest (September 27-28th, 2014)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks to Bill, NG3K, for providing OPDX readers with the following
consolidated listing of the participants in the 2014 CQWW DX RTTY Contest.
For a more detailed listing (and up-to-date changes/corrections) in HTML
format, please visit Bill's Web page at:
http://www.ng3k.com/Misc/cqr2014.html (By call sign)
http://www.ng3k.com/Misc/cqrd2014.html (By entity)
http://www.ng3k.com/Misc/cqrz2014.html (By zone)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contest DXCC CQZ Class QSL
Callsign Entity Route
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3G1B Chile 12 M/? HA1AG
3W3B Vietnam 26 SO HP LoTW; QSL via E21EIC
C37NL Andorra 14 C37URA
CR3L Madeira 33 M/M DJ6QT
EA9LZ Ceuta & Melilla 33 SO LoTW; QSL via EA5KB
EE7X Spain 14 M/? EA7JX
EI4KI Ireland 14 SOAB HP M0OXO
EI6JK Ireland 14 SOAB LoTW
ES9C Estonia 15 M/? LoTW
IQ1RY Italy 15 M/M IW1FNW
IT9GNG Sicily 15 M/2 IT9GNG
LX7I Luxembourg 14 M/2 LX2A
MJ5Z Jersey 14 SOAB LP LoTW; QSL via M0CFW
OH2ET Finland 15 M/2 OH2ET
P40HF Aruba 08 M/? W6HGF
PJ5 Saba & Sint Eustatius 08 M/? OK6DJ
PJ7PL Sint Maarten 08 SO LP WA1ZAM
TM1A France 14 M/? F6KOP (B)
VE2CSI Canada 02 M/? LoTW; QSL via M0URX
VK6XX Australia 29 SOAB LoTW
VP9I Bermuda 05 M/S WW3S
WP3C Puerto Rico 08 SOAB LP W3HNK
YB9/HA3JB Indonesia 28 ClubLog
YB0NDT Indonesia 28 SOSB 15M LoTW; QSL via YB0NDT (d)
YE2C Indonesia 28 M/S LoTW
ZA/S56A Albania 15 SOAB LP LoTW; QSL via S56A
ZA/Z35T Albania 15 M/S Z35T
Z39A Macedonia 15 SOSB 20M Z39A
ZD8RH Ascension Island 36 SOSB LP G4DBW
ZF2AV Cayman Island 08 SOAB LP NR6M
(e) eQSL only (d) direct only (B) Bureau only (L) LoTW only
(O) OQRS only (C) ClubLog only

Radio Society of Great Britain -- Date: 24 September 2014

The way forward for Islands on the Air (IOTA)

Islands on the Air (IOTA) celebrated its 50th anniversary as a premier DX programme in July 2014, under the care of the RSGB and the IOTA manager, Roger Balister G3KMA. The last fifty years has seen the programme grow to 2,500 active island chasers and approximately 15,000 more casual partic- ipants. It is perhaps second in scale and scope to the DXCC award; indeed, many would argue it is a step beyond that programme. The 50th Anniversary event in Windsor was very successful, with enthusiasts travelling from the UK and overseas to celebrate this important milestone in DX history.

Those close to it have been anxious to ensure the sustainability of the IOTA programme over the next 50 years and have spent some time reviewing the challenges and opportunities it faces. A number of issues have been identified: firstly, the heavy reliance of the programme on just a few key people; secondly, the need to ensure that IT support for the programme is modern and robust and will include online island credit submission akin to LoTW; and thirdly, a requirement for a friendlier and more accessible website which will be of greater use to both newcomers and the more ex- perienced island chaser.

The review accepted without question that all island and participant databases should be preserved and that any changes should be backwards- compatible. In addition, it was important to seek ways to rejuvenate and ensure the sustainability of the programme. This vision we loosely called ‘New IOTA’.

Over the summer, one particular pathway began to emerge. It was that of partnership rather than a top-down approach which had characterised some aspects of the programme’s management in the past. The RSGB Board is agreed that the IOTA team should be invited to establish a group to develop and implement the “New IOTA” concept, with the RSGB providing seed-corn finance and other appropriate support. This approach acknowledges that the strength of the programme lies with its national and international participants whom, we are assured, have the motivation, skills and enthusiasm to develop the programme and to promote it to its full potential. This way forward has the full support of the IOTA team and has been welcomed by the wider IOTA com- munity both at home and abroad.

Our initial feedback is best summed up by Don Chamberlain MD, W9DC, who said:

“I am excited that the RSGB is combining with IOTA enthusiasts around the world to create a ‘New IOTA’ program. Their efforts will resolve most existing QSL and submission issues and will encourage IOTA chasers to participate in this very prestigious and challenging award.”

Over the next nine months the group will be asked, through a market/user-led approach, to develop a plan for the ‘New IOTA’ programme to embrace manage- ment and governance, IT, data management and security, and a review of partnering options and any other relevant topics. It is envisaged that this will lead to a devolved structure, with a Memorandum of Understanding to clearly delineate the responsibilities of all parties.

The Society and the programme’s Management believe that the resulting governance structure, management processes and IT framework will ensure the IOTA programme is not only sustainable into the next years of the 21st century, but continues to grow and play the prominent role that it has done in Amateur Radio DXing and contest activity for the last fifty years.

John Gould G3WKL
President, RSGB

- Ends
For further information:
Contact: Heather Parsons, Communications Manager
Email:

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