The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 1460
BID: $OPDX.1460
April 13, 2020
Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW
Provided by BARF80.ORG (Cleveland, Ohio)
Written/Sent from Strongsville, Ohio
Thanks to the Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society, Northern Ohio DX Association, Ohio/Penn PacketCluster Network, the AB5K's AR Cluster Networks, NJ1Q & W1AW, NG3K & ADXO, W3UR & The Daily DX, K5GS, KK6H/A35A, WB6RSE, K8YSE, W8GEX & 60m DX News, W9ILY, DL1SBF, DL7UXG & The DX News Letter, DXNews.com, DX-World.Net, E73Y, F6AJA & Les Nouvelles DX, I1JQJ/ IK1ADH & 425 DX News, LA4LN, OH2BH, ON4CAS, RN3RQ, Sixitalia Weekly, and VA3RJ & ICPO for the following DX information. DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT: According to the AR-Cluster Network for the week of Sunday, 5th/April, through Sunday, 12th/April there were 213 countries active. Countries available: 3A, 3B8, 3B9, 3D2, 3V, 3W, 4J, 4L, 4O, 4S, 4U1U, 4X, 5A, 5B, 5H, 5R, 5T, 5W, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7X, 8P, 8Q, 9A, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9L, 9M2, 9M6, 9Q, 9V, 9Y, A3, A4, A6, A7, A9, AP, BV, BY, C3, C5, C9, CE, CE9, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, D2, D4, DL, DU, E4, E5/s, E7, EA, EA6, EA8, EA9, EI, EK, EL, EP, ER, ES, ET, EU, EX, EY, F, FG, FK, FM, FO, FR, FS, FY, G, GD, GI, GJ, GM, GU, GW, H4, HA, HB, HB0, HC, HH, HI, HK, HK0/a, HL, HP, HR, HS, HV, HZ, I, IS, J6, J7, 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, S0, S2, S5, S7, SM, SP, SU, SV, SV5, SV9, T7, TA, TF, TG, TI, TK, TR, TT, TU, TZ, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V2, V3, V4, V5, V7, V8, VE, VK, VK9N, VP2E, VP2M, VP8, VP9, VR, VU, XE, XU, XW, XX9, YA, YB, YI, YL, YN, YO, YS, YU, YV, Z3, Z8, ZA, ZB, ZD7, ZD8, 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". 4U1UN NEWS. The following was posted on April 11th, on the United Nations Amateur Radio Club (4U1UN) FaceBook page [edited]: James, K2QI, President of United Nations Radio Club 4U1UN reports that as part of the STAY HOME movement, during the UN HQ building lockdown, UNARC was granted special permission to utilize a very limited remote operation possibility. Con- sidering the demand for DIGI modes for 4U1UN - operation will be limited to FT8 mode only. Please be advised that there is only low power operation possible at this point. Therefore no Fox/Hound is possible as channel power division will not allow any long-distance stations to be worked. The operator at the keyboard is James K2QI. 5X, UGANDA. Shabu, M0KRI (ex-9U4RI), will be going back to Uganda (second home) after 15 years and be active as 5X1RI sometime during the end of July to mid-August. He is calling it "The Pearl of Africa - DXpedition Part 2." Look for more details to be forthcoming. 8Q, MALDIVES. Yusuke, JJ1DQR, is planning to be active as 8Q7QR from Male Island (AS-013) between September 4-8th. Activity will be on various HF bands using SSB and FT8. He will also be in the All Asian DX SSB Contest (September 5-6th). QSL via JJ1DQR, direct or by the Bureau. A2, BOTSWANA (Rescheduled). David, VE7VR, will be active as A25VR from Botswana between April 28th and May 24th, 2021. Activity will be holiday style on 40-20 meters. Operations will be low power using an Elecraft KX2 transceiver (10 watts) with a 40/20 meters inverted V in a baobab tree. Should a tree not be available, he will have a 40' SpiderBeam fiberglass pole to elevate the antenna. QSL via his home callsign. A3, TONGA (Storm Damage). Paul, KK6H/A35A, informs: Tropical Cyclone Harold has done some severe damage to many of Tonga's beach resorts. I hope that this does not adversely effect any upcoming DXpedition plans. Most of the damage occurred on Tongatapu and Eua Islands (OC-049). None of the resorts in Ha'apai (OC-169) or Vava'u (OC-064) were badly damaged. (https://matangitonga.to/) A6, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E.). Members of the Emirates Amateur Radio Society (EARS), will activate the following special event station to pro- mote the World-Wide "Stay-at-Home" campaign: A60SH/1 -- Operator Obaid, A61M; QSL via A61BK A60SH/2 -- Operator Abdullah, A61Q; QSL via EA7FTR A60SH/3 -- Operator Khalid, A61NN; QSL via A61NN A60SH/4 -- Operator Khalid, A61BK; QSL via A61BK A60SH/5 -- Operator Ali, A61DD; QSL via A92AA A60SH/6 -- Operator Obaid, A61QQ; QSL via A61BK A60SH/7 -- Operator Faisal, A61FJ; QSL via LZ1YE A60SH/8 -- Operator Khalifa, A61K; QSL via A61BK A60SH/9 -- Operator Ali, A61AY; QSL via A61AY A60SH/10 -- Operator Fahed, A61FK; QSL via A61BK A60SH/11 -- Operator Talal, A65MM; QSL DIRECT A60SH/12 -- Operator Hassan, A61HA; QSL via A61BK ARMED FORCES DAY CROSSBAND TEST (Postponed). Due to the ongoing COVID-19 response and mitigation actions, the 2020 Armed Forces Day (AFD) Cross- band Test scheduled for Saturday, May 9th, has been postponed. For complete details, see the ARRL Web page at: http://www.arrl.org/news/view/annual-armed-forces-day-crossband-test-postponed CQ MMDX CONTEST 2020. Just a reminder that the CWJF Group's CQ MMDX CONTEST 2020 is next weekend, April 18-19th, between 0900 UTC Saturday to 2359 UTC Sunday. Complete details are available at: http://www.cwjf.com.br E6 & A3, NUIE AND TONGA (Update). Operators Stan/LZ1GC and Ivan/LZ1PM will be active as E6AM from Niue between September 28th and October 17th. After their operations in Niue, look for Stan, LZ1GC, (by himself) to be active as A35GC from Tongatapu Island (OC-049), Tonga, between October 19th and November 2nd. Activity from both islands will be on 160-6 meters, including 60m and 30/17/12m bands, using CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8. They suggest the following on their operating frequencies: * Their transmitting frequency on 160m will be 1822.5 kHz !!! * Their transmitting frequencies on 6m will be 50100 kHz (CW) and 50313 kHz (FT8). * They will be working on all bands in the SPLIT MODE as following: CW : QSX UP 1-5 kHz SSB : QSX UP 5-15 kHz RTTY : QSX UP 2-5 kHz * Please, listen for operator's instructions also!!! Their equipment which will be using during their E6AM and A35GC activ ities is as follows: - Transceivers: 1. Kenwood TS 480 SAT 2. Kenwood TS 590 SG 3. RGO ONE - a NEW all HF bands transceiver, by LZ2JR - Linear Amplifiers: 1. ACOM 1200S - 1.2 KW 2. ACOM 700S - 700 Watts - Antennas: 1. Multiband GP (40-10m), incl. WARC bands 2. Vertical on 160/80/60/40m - 2 pieces 3. Hexbeam from 20-10m + WARC bands * All Fiberglass poles for their vertical antennas are donated by Spiderbeam! Their goal as A35GC is to make 15,000 QSOs. Their goal as E6AM is to make 25,000 QSOs. QSL via LZ1GC, ClubLog's OQRS, direct or by the Bureau. Look for the logs to be uploaded to ClubLog during their operation. Uploads to LoTW will be one month later for sponsors, and six months for everyone else after their activity. A Web page is currently under constructions at: http://www.c21gc.com E7, BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA. Radio amateur operators in Bosnia and Herzegovina are joining STAY HOME campaign, and between 2200 UTC, April 7th, and 2200 UTC, May 31st, will be operating with the special callsign E7STAYHOME. Activity will include operators from all parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina and will be on all bands and modes. Operators Robert/E77E and Boris/E73Y will handle the QSL cards, and will send them via the Bureau to everybody in the LOG. Also, you can expect LoTW upload after the operation is com- pleted and all LOGs are collected. STAY HOME - STAY SAFE! EE1, SPAIN (Special Event). During the month of April, look for the special event station EE1MGY to be aired in commemoration of the inauguration and subsequent sinking of the legendary ship R.M.S. Titanic in the cold waters of the North Atlantic. Activity will only take place on the 160 meters band. Operations will be on CW, FT8 and WSPR. QSL via the Bureau, direct or to EB1LO. GB4, ENGLAND (Special Event). Peter, G4XEX, will be active as GB4SAH (Stay-At-Home) between now and April 30th. Peter states that this oper- ation is "to help Radio Hams pass the time during the lockdown." QSL via G4XEX by the Bureau, eQSL or LoTW. IOTA NEWS.............. AS-023. Kenji, JA4GXS, will be active as JA4GXS/6 from Amami Oshima Island between May 9-11th. Activity will be on 40-17 meters using CW, SSB and FT8. QSL via JA4GXS, by the Bureau or direct. AS-207. R270RRC is now history; and they went QRT at 2000 UTC and are now on their way to Vankarem. EU-012. Euan, MM0VIK, is now active as GB1COR from Shetland Islands until the end of April. He states, "In activating GB1COR, please spare a thought for the health professionals and es- sential key workers of the world who are selflessly keeping the front-line services functioning during these unsettling times. Please! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay indoors... (play radio!) Note: I am currently not QSL'ing with this callsign, I would rather be working stations than admin duties (with no unessential trips to the post office!)." NO QSLS PLEASE. PLEASE NOTE: Since the Webmasters of the newhave decided NOT to post or dedicate a Web page to announce upcoming IOTA operations, PLEASE send your IOTA operations information to the OPDX, and we will post it here in an upcoming bulletin...... KH7, HAWAII (Canceled). Jim, N6TJ, who was to be active as KH7M (the Pu'u O'o Radio Club callsign/station) from Volcano during the CQWW WPX CW Contests (May 25-26th), has canceled his operation due to the corona- virus situation. LN1, NORWAY. The Norwegian National Guard's Radio Amateur Club (LA1V) has been given permission to operate with the special callsign LN1V («Liberation Norway One Victory») during all of the year 2020 to mark the 75th anniversary for the liberation of Norway at the end of WW2 (all of Norway was liberated from WW2, May 8th, 1945). Most of the LN1V activity will therefore be mainly during the month of May. Operations will be mostly on the bands between 160 meters to 70 centimeters (including 60m and 4m) using CW, SSB and the Digital modes. Also, LN1V will participate in some contests during the year. QSL via the club's chairman LA4LN, either direct (preferably) or via the Bureau, but no electronic QSLs. More info about LN1V is available on the QRZ.com and QRZCQ.com web sites. ON4, BELGIUM (Special Event). Van, ON5UR, will activate special event callsign ON4HEROS Belgium hams for Heroes) from the Hagelandse Contest Club (HCC). Activity this past weekend was on 20 meters SSB. He states, "A big thank you to all heroes who fight worldwide against Corona & Covid-19. A big hug to all friends, who lost family or friends." QSL via ON5UR, direct or by the Bureau. OT2, BELGIUM (Special Event). Operators Egbert/ON4CAS and Marc/ON7SS/OO9O have activated the special event station OT20STAYHOME as of April 9th, until May 15th. Activity will be on all HF bands using CW, SSB and pro- bably some Digital modes. Egbert states, "This is yet another station in the #stayhome series to encourage all HAMs to stay home and protect themselves during the Corona outbreak." QSL via ON4CAS. PROPAGATION FORECAST/REPORT (April 13-19th)....... Apr/13th AN Apr/16th AN Apr/18th AN Apr/14th AN Apr/17th AN Apr/19th HN Apr/15th HN 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 Meanwhile, check out the following Web sites for propagation: * VOACAP predication Web page at: http://www.voacap.com/hf and http://www.voacap.com/prediction.html * DX.QSL.NET Propagation page: https://dx.qsl.net/propagation * A daily HF radio wave propagation forecast can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/thomasfranklingiellaw4hm * SolarHam Web page: http://www.solarham.net * Radio Propagation/Space Weather/Sunspot Cycle Information at: http://sunspotwatch.com * News and Information About The Sun-Earth Environment: https://www.spaceweather.com * Monthly propagation charts between four USA regions and twelve overseas locations are at: http://arrl.org/propagation * Information and tutorials on propagation are at: http://k9la.us * Graphic propagation tool by DR2W: http://www.dr2w.de/dx-propagation * Point to point propagation at: http://www.predtest.uk/p2p.html * Real-time propagation at: http://www.predtest.uk * Also on Twitter: https://twitter.com/@GiellaW4hm QSL INFO AND NEWS................... QSL-INFO from DB0SDX by Lothar, DL1SBF (www.qslinfo.eu) (April 12th) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3Z0WARD via SP6IEQ & (L) EO0U via UT7UT & (L) PA75ASN via PA0VCC 4A60O via XE2KJ HI8JSG via RW6HS (d/L) PA75HGV via PA3JD 4K6MAR via DC9RI II4FTX via IQ4FE PA800D via PI4DEC 4Z0GAON via LY2QT IY7GMB via IK7JVE (d) PI30COM via PA1AW 5B4STAYHOME (N) KH2L via W3HNK (LoTW/KH2-B) R195AM via RZ5D 5H3DX via NK8O (d/L) LT5V via EC6DX R3STAYHOME via R3KEE 8P6DR via G3RWL & (L) LX5WARD via LX1JH R50VAZ via R4IT A41CK via A61BK & (L) LY300GAON via LY2QT S79KW via S79KW(d)/N4GNR(d-NA only) A41KJ via N4GNR (d) LZ1958GU via LZ1GU SN1T via SP1NQN (L) BV120SU via BU2EQ (e) MI5K via MI0SLE SO9I via SQ9ORQ CR2STAYHOME via CR2STAYHOME (L) OH0Z via W0MM & (L) TC19MED via TA2BZ DM75MIR via DM1PL & (L) OH6STAYHOME via OH2BAD TM15DXXE via F4GVO (L) E76C via E77E (d/L) OL7P via OK1CRM TM35UFT via F5IF E7STAYHOME via E73Y ON4HEROES via ON5UR TM95WARD via F6BEE EA5/LA2PC via LA2PC OR2STAYHOME via OR2STAYHOME (e) V73NS via W3HNK & (L) EE5U via EB5TT OR4STAYHOME via ON3AR XM3T via VE3DZ EG1SSV via EA1URV OR8STAYHOME via ON4ATH Z30STAYHOME via Z37RSM (O) EG7ONU via EB7R OT6STAYSAFE via ON5YL Z39STAYHOME via Z39STAYHOME (O) EM0I via UT2IZ OX3XR via PA3249 (d/L/e) ZP5DNB via IK2DUW & (L) (e) eQSL only (d) direct only (B) Bureau only (*-B) DX's- Bureau (O) OQRS only (C) ClubLog only (L) LoTW only (N) No QSL needed (I) No IRC (P) PayPal (NB) No Bureau LOGS ONLINE (New/Updated) AVAILABLE ON CLUBLOG.ORG THIS WEEK...... https://clublog.org/logsearch/VI2020STAYHOME LoTW NEWS. The new TQSL Version 2.5.2 provides better LoTW Rover support and other improvements. For more details, see the ARRL Web page at: http://www.arrl.org/news/view/new-tqsl-version-2-5-2-provides-better-lotw-rover-support-other-improvements U.S. POSTAL STOPPAGE. The U.S. Postal Service has "Temporary Service Suspensions" outgoing mail to many countries, effective April 3rd. This will be "for the duration of the coronavirus issues." Here is a list of the countries the U.S. Postal system will not accept mail for (as of April 8th): ** Unless noted otherwise on International Service Alerts, service suspensions to a particular country do not affect delivery of military and diplomatic mail. Angola Kuwait* Samoa* Benin Kyrgyzstan Saudi Arabia* Bolivia Laos Senegal Bosnia & Herzegovina Lebanon Seychelles Botswana* Libya* Solomon Islands Cameroon Madagascar* South Africa* Cayman Islands* Malawi Sri Lanka* Chad* Maldives* Sudan Cook Islands Moldova Tajikistan Costa Rica Mongolia* Tanzania Ecuador* Mozambique Timor-Leste Fiji* New Caledonia* Tonga French Polynesia* Panama* Uganda Gambia Papua New Guinea Uruguay Guatemala Paraguay Vanuatu Honduras* Peru* Venezuela India* Republic of the Congo Zimbabwe* *denotes countries not accepting incoming mail Please do not attempt to send an item addressed to any of the affected countries. If you do, the item will be returned to you. https://www.usps.com/international/mail-shipping-services.htm#readmore VP8PJ QSL CARD UPDATE. Gene, K5GS, reports [edited]: On Friday, April 10th, the VP8PJ QSL card design was sent to Max (ON5UR QSL Print Service) for review and setup. After our final review is complete the cards will be printed and shipped to Tim, M0URX, for distribution. Thousands of QSOs and mailing labels have already been processed and are ready for place- ment on QSL cards and direct mail envelops. Bureau cards will be placed in the system in early 2021. Of the 83,783 QSOs in the log, 30,548 have been claimed and processed for placement on QSL cards. LoTW is current, and there are no busted call requests in the work queue - to date, all 731 have been investigated and answered by Tim, M0URX. Let's be realistic, the Covid-19 crisis has disrupted the world. Businesses are closed and every facet of our life has been upended. Please be patient, the cards will be mailed as soon as possible. OQRS and LoTW are processed daily. There is no need to send e-mails asking about the QSL cards.... 73, GS K5GS ADDED NOTE BY GENE: LoTW uploads for all donors and anyone that submitted an OQRS for a Direct Mail card have been processed. Requests that came in after the last upload (morning of April 12th) will process in the next cycle. The upload process is run daily. As stated on the website (sorkney.com) QSL page, the complete log will be uploaded to LoTW 6 months after the DX-pedition. QSLS RECEIVED VIA LoTW: 5T5PA, 5Z4/G3AB, 8R1/AH0G, A45XR, CE3SBQ, CT1AHU, EA9ACD, EM10CWO, EX0QR, FG8OJ, HC1DAZ, HR5/F2JD, LU1EFX, M0HQO, M0JBM, PU3IKE, PY0F, PY3DXM, PY4FD, S54OOJ, SV9MBH, TG9ADM, TG9CQM, TI2CC, TI3ATS, YD6MCE/9 (OC-151), ZK3A, ZW0S and ZW60DF QSLS RECEIVED VIA MAIL: 8R1/AH0G, AL7LO, KD7WPJ/6 and J73WA QSLS RECEIVED VIA THE BUREAU: NONE REPORTED THIS WEEK!!!! --- We would like to see more QSL Bureaus (such as AS/US/SA/AF.. etc) send in their info.... RI1, ANTARCTICA. Alexander, RX3ABI, will be active as RI1ANM from the Russian Mirny Station in Queen Mary Land, Antarctica (AN-016), on the Antarctic coast of the Davis Sea, until early 2021. This is the first Soviet Antarctic station and was established on February 13th, 1956. Activity will be on various HF bands during his spare time. QSL via his home callsign. SPECIAL STAY AT HOME STATIONS/ACTIVITIES (Update). Many more special event stations have hit the airwaves (or soon will be) to promote in- dividuals to "STAY-AT-HOME" and raise awareness for the restrictions necessary to fight the spread the coronavirus. Here is a checklist of stations announced to be active: 5B4STAYHOME (Cyprus) OH5PYSYKOTONA (Finland) 8A1HOME (Indonesia) OH6PYSYKOTONA (Finland) 8A1STAYHOME (Indonesia) OH7PYSYKOTONA (Finland) 9K9STAYHOME (Kuwait) OH8PYSYKOTONA (Finland) A60SH/1 [SH=StayHome] (U.A.E.) OH9PYSYKOTONA (Finland) A60SH/2 United Arab Emirates OH0STAYHOME (Finland) A60SH/3 United Arab Emirates OH1STAYHOME (Finland) A60SH/4 United Arab Emirates OH2STAYHOME (Finland) A60SH/5 United Arab Emirates OH3STAYHOME (Finland) A60SH/6 United Arab Emirates OH4STAYHOME (Finland) A60SH/7 United Arab Emirates OH5STAYHOME (Finland) A60SH/8 United Arab Emirates OH6STAYHOME (Finland) A60SH/9 United Arab Emirates OH7STAYHOME (Finland) A60SH/10 United Arab Emirates OH8STAYHOME (Finland) A60SH/11 United Arab Emirates OH9STAYHOME (Finland) A60SH/12 United Arab Emirates OR2STAYHOME (Belgium) AX2020STAYHOME (Australia) OR8STAYHOME (Belgium) CR2STAYHOME (Azores) OT2STAYHOME (Belgium) CT1STAYHOME (Portugal) OT20STAYHOME (Belgium) DX0STAYHOME (Philippine) OT6STAYSAFE (Belgium) E7STAYHOME (Bosnia & Herzegovina) R3STAYHOME (European Russia) GB4SAH [SAH=Stay-At-Home] (England) TC1STAYHOME (Turkey) GB5NHS [NHS=National Health Service] VC2STAYHOM (Canada) (England) VE9HOME (Canada) HZ1STAYHOME (Saudi Arabia) VI2020STAYHOME (Australia) IX1HPN/STAYHOME (Italy) XM2STAYHOM (Canada) KC1KUG/STAYH (United States) YS1STAYHOM1 (El Salvador) OH0PYSYKOTONA (Finland; "Pysy YS1STAYHOM4 (El Salvador) kotona" means StayHome in Finnish) YS1STAYHOM5 (El Salvador) OH1PYSYKOTONA (Finland) YS1STAYHOM# (El Salvador) OH2PYSYKOTONA (Finland) Z30STAYHOME (North Macedonia) OH3PYSYKOTONA (Finland) Z39STAYHOME (North Macedonia) OH4PYSYKOTONA (Finland) QSL via operator's instructions. ADDED NOTE: If you missed the special bulletin OPDX.1459.1 (http://papays.com/opdx1459.1.html), the Finnish Amateur Radio League (SRAL) is providing a number of special awards during these Stay-At-Home "OH" operations (as well as other countries signing STAYHOME that qualified) which runs through July 8th. Complete details can be found in OPDX.1459.1 or on the SRAL Web page at: https://www.sral.fi/2020/04/07/finland-stay-home TG9, GUATEMALA. After postponing his trip this month, Dwight, VE7BV, will once again be active as TG9BBV from Antigua, Sacatepéquez, Guatemala, between November 1-30th. Activity will be on holiday style on most bands. Operations will be mostly CW, but with some SSB and FT8. QSL via VE7BV, direct, by the Bureau or LoTW.
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