The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 1312
BID: $OPDX.1312
April 10, 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, ARRL Web Page, NJ1Q & W1AW, N2OO, NG3K & ADXO, W3UR & The Daily DX, N4AA & QRZ DX, WB6RSE, W7GJ, K8GI, K8YSE, W8GEX & 60m DX News, W9ILY, 4F1OZ, DL1SBF, DL7UXG & The DX News Letter, DxCoffee.com, DXNews.com, DX-World.Net, F6AJA & Les Nouvelles DX, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, I2MQP & DX Italia News, JA1NRH, Mediterraneo Dx Club, OZ6OM & 50 MHz DX News, RSGB IOTA Web Site, Sixitalia Weekly, VA3RJ & ICPO, VHF-DX-Portal (MMMonVHF) and YT3W for the following DX information.

DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT
According to the AR-Cluster Network for the week of Sunday, 2nd/April, through Sunday, 9th/April there were 221 countries active. Countries available: 3A, 3B8, 3B9, 3D2, 3V, 3W, 4J, 4L, 4O, 4S, 4U1I, 4W, 4X, 5A, 5B, 5H, 5R, 5T, 5W, 5X, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7X, 8P, 8R, 9A, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9M2, 9M6, 9Q, 9V, 9Y, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A9, AP, BV, BY, C3, C5, C6, CE, CE0Y, CE9, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, D2, DL, DU, E4, E5/n, E5/s, E7, EA, EA6, EA8, EA9, EI, EK, EL, EP, ER, ES, ET, EU, EX, EY, EZ, F, FG, FJ, FK, FM, FO, FR, FS, FY, G, GD, GI, GJ, GM, GU, GW, H4, HA, HB, HB0, HC, HC8, HH, HI, HK, HK0/a, HL, HP, HR, HS, HZ, I, IS, J2, J5, J6, J8, JA, 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, PZ, S0, S2, S5, S7, SM, SP, ST, SU, SV, SV5, SV9, T2, T5, T7, TA, TF, TG, TI, TK, TU, TY, TZ, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V3, V5, V6, V7, V8, VE, VK, VK9N, VK9X, VP2M, VP2V, VP5, VP8, VP8/h, VP9, VQ9, VR, VU, XE, XU, XX9, YA, YB, YI, YJ, YL, YN, YO, YU, YV, Z2, Z3, ZA, ZB, ZD7, 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".

4W, TIMOR LESTE. Operators Wilbert/PE7T and James/9V1YC/N1YC are once
again active from Liquica Province as 4W/PE7T and 4W/N1YC until April
11th. Activity will be on 80-6 meters using CW and SSB. QSL 4W/PE7T
via PE7T, by the Bureau or LoTW (No direct QSL cards PLEASE). QSL 4W/N1YC
via W5UE or LoTW.


5V, TOGO. Operators David/OK6DJ and Petr/OK1FCJ will be active as 5V7P
from Lome between April 21-28th. Activity will be on 160-10 meters using
CW, SSB and the Digital modes. Their equipment consist of 2x Electaft K3
with amps into vertical antennas (160/80/40/30m), a Hexbeam and a Spider-
beam. QSL via OK6DJ, ClubLog's OQRS or LoTW. For more details, see:
                           http://www.cdxp.cz


9M0, SPRATLY ISLANDS. The international amateur radio team has postponed
their December 2017 DXpedition and will be active from Layang Layang
Island (Swallow Reef), Spratly Islands (AS-051), in March of 2018. Look
for 9M0W to be active for 8-10 days between March 10-20th. Operators
mentioned are Hrane/YT1AD, Choi/HL5FUA, Dave/WD5COV, Dave/K3LP, Jim/K9JM,
Dragan/YT3W, Dusko/ZL3WW, Mike/K6MKF, Alan/K6SRZ, Douglas/N6TQS, Chris/
VK3FY, Lee/VK3GK, Fred/PY2XB, and also 3-5 local amateurs from Kota
Konibalu (9M6). The team has two vacant positions. Activity will be 
160-6 meters using CW, SSB and the Digital modes. The reason for the 
delay of activity is because the Layang Layang resort is closed during 
the period between December-February 2018.


9U BURUNDI. Members of the Mediterraneo Dx Club (MDXC) are planning to be
on the road again but this time to Africa to reach their next operation.
They will be active from the banks of the Tanganyika Lake, Bujumbura.
The leader of the group will be Antonio, IZ8CCW, and the co-leader Gabriele,
I2VGW. Both are happy to announce to the DXer Community their new adventure
with the international MDXC team to Burundi 2017. The license is already
in the leaders’s hands, and they will be active as 9U4M between November
6-17th. According to the evaluations that they have done, they are confident
to give to a lot of DXers the possibility to work this Country on the lower
bands, the WARC bands and especially on the Digital modes. At the moment,
the team is already built with experienced operators: 20 people coming
from 8 (eight) countries. They will be on the air with five stations, on
any mode, around the clock. For any further news and updates, please stay
tuned: the official web site of this new great adventure is coming soon. Of
course any donation and sponsorship will be very very appreciated by the
entire team!


A2, BOTSWANA. A Russia team will be active from Botswana sometime in
mid-September. Operators mentioned are Yuri/RM0F (A25BI), Pavel/R2AD
(A25SP) and YL Elena/RC5A (A25BE). Activity will be on 160-6 meters
using CW and SSB. QSL all operators via ClubLog's OQRS (direct and Bureau)
or LoTW (except R2AD).


DXCC NEWS. The 2016 ARRL DXCC Yearbook is now available for viewing and
downloading at the following URL. The DXCC Yearbook includes the 2016
Annual List, as well as the 2016 Clinton B. DeSoto Challenge top scorers.
http://www.arrl.org/files/file/DXCC/DXCCYearbook/DXCC%20YEARBOOK%202016.pdf


E3, ERITREA. Zorro, JH1AJT, will once again visit Eritrea to participate
in Eritrean Independence Ceremony in May. The dates will between May
19-29th. On this trip the following operators will be with him: Franz/
DJ9ZB, Champ/E21EIC and Dima/RA9USU. Activity will be on 160-10 meters
using CW, SSB and RTTY. Callsigns to be used are E31AA and E39DI. During
this time Zorro will also be active from Dahlak Island (AF-038) using
the callsign E39DI for a few days mainly on 160-40 meters. QSL both
callsigns via JH1AJT. ADDED NOTE: At this time, Zorro will visit Eritrea
to discuss topics such as:
  * Coordinate Pre-game training camp for Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic
    in Japan.
  * Select students for scholarship program for Junior-high school, high
    school and university to study at schools of SEISA in Japan.
  * Additionally, students of SEISA Kokusai High School will present a 
    performance of Japanese traditional drum known as DAKOHON.


E4, PALESTINE. Janusz, SP9FIH, will be active as E44WE sometime in April
from Bethlehem. He states that this is a "reconnaissance" operation and
his license is good for a year -- with more operations to happen during
the year. Activity will only be on 17/10/6 meters using only 100 watts.
QSL via SP9FIH or by ClubLog's OQRS (preferred). For more details, updates
and a online log-search, see:      http://www.e4.dxpeditions.org


ED9/EG9, CEUTA AND MELILLA. Look for a team of 10 operators from the
"Tortugas CW Group" to be active as EG9TOR from Melilla between May
18-22nd. The team will also be active as ED9T during the King Of Spain
CW 2017 Contest (May 21-22nd). Activity will be mainly on CW, between
May 18-19th, before the contest, but they will also be on SSB and the
Digital modes, on all HF bands. QSL via EA4PN, ClubLog OQRS (direct and
Bureau), LoTW or eQSL. More details available at QRZ.com.


FJ, ST. BARTHEMELY. By the time you read this, operators Pat/N2IEN,
Lee/WW2DX, YL Lori/KB2HZI and Ray/W2RE will be active as FJ/N2IEN from
from St. Barthemely. The length of their stay is unknown. Activity will
be holiday style on various HF (160-6m)/VHF/UHF bands using CW, SSB,
RTTY and satellites. QSL via NR6M. Updates will be available on Twitter
at:                      https://twitter.com/ww2dx


FO, FRENCH POLYNESIA. Jean-Pierre, F6CTF, will be active as FO/F6CTF from
Taravao, Tahiti, and FO/F6CTF/MM between June and September. Activity
will be on 40/20/17/15 meters. QSL via his home callsign direct or eQSL.


HC8, GALAPAGOS ISLANDS (Update). Tim, LW9EOC, will be active as HC8/LW9EOC
from Isabela island, Galapagos Islands (SA-004), between May 15-29th.
Activity will be on 160-6 meters, with a focus on 30/17/12m, using CW,
SSB and RTTY. QSL via his home callsign, direct or LoTW.


INDIAN OCEAN 6M EME DXPEDITIONS (Update). Lance, W7GJ, will once again
be active from the Indian Ocean to focus on 6 meters EME QSOs. This time
Lance is planning a 6 Meter EME DXpedition (for the first time) to West
Island/Cocos Island as VK9CGJ between September 12-28th, and Christmas
Island as VK9XGJ between October 2-18th. All airline tickets have been
purchased and lodging reservations have been made. He informs OPDX this
week that his operating schedules are now posted on his Web page at:
     http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj/Indian%20Ocean%202017.htm
He also mentioned, "I am very excited by all the new stations on 6m digital
due to the widespread use of MSK144 on random meteor scatter! All these
stations also have the capability to run JT65A mode, and many probably
have the capability to operate 6m EME during their moonset or moonrise.
Please spread the word to any newcomers to 6m digital about my upcoming
6m EME DXpedition, and invite them to try practicing with some big stations
before next September. Since my last update, I have been busy finalizing
plans for the upcoming DXpedition, as well as checking out my equipment.
A separate PTT was added to the FT-857 I am taking to VK9:
                 http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj/FT857ptt.htm
  I also have been finishing a plan for the operating schedules at VK9.
New EXCEL and PDF links to the planned operating schedules at VK9C and
VK9X are on my webpage: 
     http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj/Indian%20Ocean%202017.htm
  Because I am so far away, the only possibility for eastern NA is during
my moonset, and the only possibility for western NA is on my moonrise.
Please refer to the posted planned operating schedules for details. If you
think that you will not be able to be QRV for any of the times shown on the
operating schedule, or are concerned that you think I may not be QRV during
your only moon windows, please send me an email and I will try to make a
special effort to watch for you.  However, remember that I will have trouble
elevating over 60 degrees elevation, so please try to work me when my moon
is lower than that. I know there also are a number of new stations planning
to come onto 6m EME in the coming months - please make sure that I have your
callsigns and grid squares in my CALL3.txt file so I don't disregard your
call as a false decode!
  Please note that the above planned operating schedules are subject to
change. However, I am planning to operate from moonrise to moonset for
3 days from each DXCC during the 3 days of lowest Degradation each month.
This hopefully will provide enough opportunity even for stations who are
not in EU or NA.  Please note that the days of lowest Degradation will
also be over a weekend while I am in both DXCC, so I am providing activity
at a time when I hope most stations can be active. Even though 6m EME
conditions are not ideal, I also plan to be QRV from moonrise to moonset
from VK9XGJ during the first weekend of the ARRL EME Contest, October 7-8.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Good luck and I hope to see
you from VK9 in just 5 months from now! Best wishes for success during the
upcoming Es season!.... VY 73, Lance"


IOTA NEWS..............
  EU-008.  Members of the Camb-Hams will once again be active as GS3PYE/P,
           but this time from Islay Island between May 6-12th. The Camb-
           Hams have been activating the Scottish Isles each year since
           2008. As in the past, ten or more operators will be active on
           all bands and many modes from 4m to 80m, 2m & 70cm for Satellites
           and 2m & 23cm for EME. The HF bands will be covered by four
           simultaneous stations while the 6m & 4m stations will have a
           great take-off towards the UK and Europe. All stations will be
           able to run at the full UK power limit. EME operations will use
           150W to 55 elements on 23cm and 400W to 17 elements on 2m,
           primarily on JT65, but also available for CW skeds - if your
           station is big enough. Satellite operations on 2m & 70cm will
           use X-Quad antennas and a fully automatic Az/El tracking system.
           Activity is planned on AO-7 (mode B), VO-52, FO-29, SO-50 &
           AO-73. All the up-to-date plans and progress will be on
           . Most importantly, this is a group of good
           friends doing what they enjoy, so please give them a call and
           enjoy the trip with them. Active on the major social networks
           before, during and after the trip, you can check on progress and
           interact with the operators via their blog  or
           through Twitter, Facebook and YouTube [links below]. Please check
           their Web page for details on how to arrange skeds on the more
           challenging bands, modes, VHF and EME. All links are available
           via:                  http://dx.camb-hams.com
           QSL via OQRS (info on QRZ.com) or M0VFC direct or via bureau.
                          
                         


  OC-136.  Chris, VK3FY, will once again be active as VK3FY/P from Phillip
           Island between April 13-17th. Activity will be on various HF
           bands. QSL via M0OXO or his OQRS.


  OC-165.  Operators Dennis/9W8DEN, Allpa/9M8ADX and Aldrin/9M8WAT will
           be active as 9M8RC from Satang Besar Island between 0400z,
           April 29th and 0200z, May 1st. Activity will be on 40/20/15/10
           meters. QSL via 9W8KIF.


  OC-202.  Operators/Members of the "CWPhilippines Inc." (Ed/4F1OZ,
           Andrew/4F1GNW, Gilbert/4F2KWT and Hernani/DU1COP will be
           active as DZ4C from Tinaga Island, Philippines, between April
           21-23rd. Activity will be on 40-15 meters using CW and SSB.
           QSL via VE7DP. DU stations QSL via 4F1OZ. The last activation
           of OC-202 was DX4CN in April of 2003.


JD1, MINAMI TORISHIMA. Take, JG8NQJ, will once again be active as JG8NQJ/JD1
from Marcus Island in the Minami Torishima (OC-073, JCG 10007) group between
mid-May and mid-July. He is usually there to work on the island's weather
station. Activity will be limited to his spare time. He will be mainly on
17 meters but will also on 20/15/12/10/6 meters using CW and RTTY. QSL
via JA8CJY or by the Bureau via JG8NQJ.


OJ0, MARKET REEF. Pasi, OH3WS, will once again be active as OJ0W from
Market Reef (EU-053) between May 6-7th. Activity will be on 20-6 meters
using CW and SSB. Pasi will try 60m on both CW and SSB, listen on 5354
kHz. QSL via his home callsign.


PROPAGATION FORECAST/REPORT (April 10-16th).......
 Apr/10th AN      Apr/13th  AN     Apr/15th  AN
 Apr/11th AN      Apr/14th  AN     Apr/16th  AN
 Apr/12th 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.. (April 9th) 
  -------------------------------------------------------------------------
  6W1SU via M0URX (O)        J5B via EA3BT        R1961AG via RA4DR
  9A8MDC via (9A-B)          J5W via EA3BT        SC90SM via SK5SM
  HB600NVF via HB9JOE & (L)  LZ38GI via LZ1NY     SN9C via SP9KAJ
  II2ARI via (I-B)           OE20XMF/4 via OE6NFK SP7N via SP7N (L)
  II8MDC via IZ1BZV          OR20MDC via IZ1BZV   SP9H via SP9H (LoTW/d)
  IO0MDC via IZ1BZV          P29VXG via JA1XGI    TI3/N8JAJ via K8EF (d)
  IQ5QO/IS0 via 9A8MDC       R1147M via RK3AW
   (e) eQSL only  (d) direct only   (B) Bureau only  (*-B) DX's- Bureau
   (O) OQRS only  (C) ClubLog only  (L) LoTW only    (*) No QSL Needed


  CLUBLOG IS NOW A LOTW TRUSTED PARTNER. It was announced on April 3rd,
  by the ARRL and ClubLog that "ClubLog has become the first logging
  service to achieve Trusted Partner™ status for Logbook of the World®
  (LoTW). Radio amateurs holding LoTW   "callsign certificates" who have 
  uploaded logs to ClubLog now can   readily cross-post them to the highly 
  secure LoTW — world's largest   repository for confirming Amateur Radio 
  contacts." Read the complete   details/news at:
  http://www.arrl.org/news/view/club-log-is-now-a-logbook-of-the-world-trusted-partner


  QSL ROUTE CHANGE. QSL Manager Bob Schenck, N2OO, informs OPDX he has
  just confirmed with Paul, MM0ZBH, that he will be his QSL Manager for
  his recent operation from Faroe Islands as OY/MM0ZBH. QSL via N2OO.
  Bob will have the logs after Paul goes QRT.


  QSLS RECEIVED VIA LoTW: 5U5R, 5J0NA, 5U5R, 9H1XT, D66D, DL9WO, JA1BPA,
  JF1IWL, OK6DJ, ON7TK, PE1NCP, PY2KC, S9YY, TG9ANF, TU7C, TZ5XR, UT9FJ,
  XE2CQ (6M QSO w/o grid data), XT1SE and XT2SE


  QSLS RECEIVED VIA MAIL: 4O/KC0W, 4I7COW, 4X4WN, 5A1AL, J6/KI8IR and TX5T


  QSLS RECEIVED VIA THE BUREAU: 4S7GWG, 4X/SP7VC, 5B/DL2SWW, 9N7WE,
  A6/DL9WVM, C5FUD, CT9/SP7DPJ, E73FDE, E73KW, E74EBL, E74JS, E75NUR,
  E76ZZ, E77AW, E77CFG, EI9HQ, EI0MAR,  EI70U, SN200SG, V55HQ and Z3/SP7VC


S7, SEYCHELLES. Ivan, LZ1PJ, will be active as S79J from the  Lemongrass
Lodge on Mahe Island (AF-024) between May 2-10th. Activity will be holiday
style on various HF bands on CW only using an Icom IC-706, LDG ATU and
simple antennas (G5RV and/or DunaX multiband vertical). He will also
give out SKCC QSOs. QSL via his home callsign, direct, by the Bureau
and possibly LoTW.


T7, SAN MARINO. Mike, DF8AN, will be active as T7/DF8AN/P from San Marino
between April 14-18th. Activity will be VHF/UHF only using mainly JT65 and
CW/SSB. QSL via his home callsign, direct or by the Bureau. NO LoTW.


T8 PALAU (Reminder). Operators Toshio/JM1LRA (T88TA), Kazuhiro/JA7WFT
(T88FT), Shinichi/JI6IHG (T88IH) and Ichiro/JH7IPR (T88UW) will be active
from the VIP Guest Hotel (Free Radio Room) on Koror Island (OC-009),
between April 14-21st. Activity will be on 160-6 meters using CW, SSB,
JT65 and JT9. QSL T88IH via JI6IHG. QSL T88FT via JA7WFT. QSL T88TA via
JM1LRA. QSL T88UW via JH7IPR, direct, by the Bureau, eQSL, LoTW or Club-
Log. For more details about the VIP Guest Hotel (Free Radio Room), see:
           http://www.palau-radio.com/index.php?page=rr2014


TO2, ST. BARTHELEMY. A group of Polish operators will be active as TO2SP
from Saint Barthelemy Island (NA-146) between November 16-30th. Activity
will be on various HF bands including the CQWW DX CW Contest (November
25-26th). Operators mentioned are Jan/SP3CYY, Jurek/SP3GEM, Wlodek/SP6EQZ,
Janusz/SP6IXF, Kris/SP6JIU and Rich/K1CC. QSL via LoTW, ClubLog's OQRS
(preferred) and for Bureau via SP6IXF.


VK9C, COCOS-KEELING ISLANDS. Operators Chris/GM3WOJ and Keith/GM4YXI will
once again be active as VK9CZ (pending) from Cocos Keeling Islands (OC-003)
between October 23rd and November 6th. Activity will be on various HF
bands and the CQWW DX SSB Contest (October 28-29th) as a Multi-2 entry.
QSL via N3SL. Look for more details to be forthcoming and a Web page in
May.


XV9, VIETNAM. Jesus, JP7MBO, will be active as XV9G from Ho Chi Minh City
between April 19th and May 9th. He states that he will be active on 20
meters during the daytime and 40 meters during the night time and if the
band is open, 15 meters. Operations will be mostly CW and SSB occasionally.

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