OPDX Bulletin 1543 December 6, 2021
The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 1543
BID: $OPDX.1543
December 6, 2021
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, W4DTA/YV5DTA, W4VQ, WB6RSE, K8YSE, W8GEX & 60m DX News, W8HC, W9ILY, DL1SBF, DL7UXG & The DX News Letter, DXNews.com, DX-World.Net, F6AJA & Les Nouvelles DX, F6EXV, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, JG7PSJ, OH2BH, Sixitalia Weekly and VA3RJ & ICPO for the following DX information. "Celebrating 30+ years (March 1991) of FREE DX News" "Could this be the final year???" ..Tick..Tick..Tick..Tick..Tick..Tick..Tick..Tick..Tick..Tick ..Tick..Tick..Tick..Tick..Tick..Tick..Tick..Tick..Tick ..Tick..Tick..Tick DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT: According to the AR-Cluster Network for the week of Sunday, 28th/Novenber, through Sunday, 5th/December there were 226 countries active. Countries available: 3A, 3B8, 3B9, 3D2, 3DA, 3V, 3W, 4J, 4L, 4O, 4S, 4U1U, 4X, 5B, 5H, 5R, 5T, 5V, 5W, 5X, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7Q, 7X, 8P, 8Q, 9A, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9M2, 9M6, 9N, 9Q, 9V, 9X, 9Y, A2, A3, A4, A6, A7, A9, AP, BV, BY, C3, C5, C6, C9, CE, CE0Y, CE9, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, D4, DL, DU, E4, E5/s, E7, EA, EA6, EA8, EA9, EI, EK, EL, EP, ER, ES, EU, EX, EY, F, FG, FJ, FK, FM, FO, FP, FR, FS, FY, G, GD, GI, GJ, GM, GU, GW, HA, HB, HB0, HC, HC8, HH, HI, HK, HL, HP, HR, HS, HV, HZ, I, IS, J3, J6, 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, P4, PA, PJ2, PJ4, PJ7, PY, PZ, S0, S2, S5, S7, S9, SM, SP, ST, SU, SV, SV5, SV9, T2, T7, TA, TF, TG, TI, TJ, TK, TN, TR, TT, TZ, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V2, V3, V4, V5, V6, V7, V8, VE, VK, VK9L, VK9N, VP2E, VP2M, VP8, VP8/h, VP9, VR, VU, XE, XT, XU, YA, YB, YI, YJ, YK, YL, YO, YS, YU, YV, Z2, Z3, Z6, Z8, ZA, ZB, ZC4, ZD7, 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". 1B, TURKISH REP. OF NORTH CYPRUS (Update). Simon, XW0LP, who was expected to be active as 1B/XW0LP, reports on November 29th (on eHAM.net) the following [edited]: It looks like my plans for 1B/ will come to nothing! The licensing authorities in north Cyprus have failed so far to issue me with a license (failed, not refused). I'm in Istanbul right now and can't hang around waiting for them! So it's off to the sunny Turkish coast of Fethiye and operation initially as TA+homecall (Turkey is a CEPT country), and then a TA callsign in a few months after I get my resident's visa. 3B8, MAURITIUS. Ray, HB9DNG/F5UKV (ex-9Q5RP), will be active as 3B8HH from the small village of Pereybčrein the north part of Mauritius some- time mid-January around the 20th in 2022. He states on his QRZ.com page that he enjoys CW and DXing with QRP and low power equipment (usually output PWR is 1-5 watts). However, he does mention that he will operate from time to time on PHONE as well as Digital modes. Operations will be on 160-2 meters. QSL via direct, by the Bureau or ClubLog's OQRS. No eQSL. 3Y0I BOUVET ISLAND NEWS. The following was posted on the "Rebel DX Group's" FaceBook page (https://www.facebook.com/rebeldxgroup) on December 1st [edited]: "December 1 finally borders are open in Fiji. We are free to go out / in after so many months. Due the current ban travel to/from South Africa (omicron covid variant) we are monitoring situation regarding our Cape Town to Bouvet trip. As soon as situation will be more clear we will update our schedule for 3Y0." 4U/4Y, AUSTRIA (Special Event). Members of the International Amateur Radio Contest DX Club (ARCDXC) [4U1A; https://4u1a.club/] will once again activate the special callsigns 4Y1A between December 7-11th from the Inter- national Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Amateur Radio Club celebrating the International Civil Aviation Day (December 7th), and 4U1XMAS during the Christmas season (between December 12-31st) from the 4U1A station at the United Nations Vienna International Center. Just a reminder that both these activities count for Austria for DXCC purposes. QSL both callsigns via UA3DX, direct or by the Bureau. 5Z, KENYA (Postponed!). Ferdy, HB9DSP, who was expected to be active as 5Z4/HB9DSP from Malindi, Kenya, between December 2-16th, has now post- poned his operation until mid-January 2022. He states, "Last weekend I was one day in Belgium and when I returned to Switzerland by plane, the Swiss health authorities force me to do a 10-day quarantine!" 6W, SENEGAL (Update). Dani, EA4ATI, is now active with his new callsign 6W1TG from Dakar. Activity will be on 80-10 meters using mainly SSB. He was heard this past week on 40/20 meters SSB around 1330-1430z and again around 2215-2400z. QSL via EA4R. Dani will try to upload his log to LoTW and eQSL. 7P, LESOTHO. Chris, ZS1CDG, will once again be active as 7P8GOZ from Lesotho between December 20-26th. Activity will be holiday style on 40/20/15/10 meters using FT8 and a long wire. QSL via his home callsign or LoTW. 8Q, MALDIVES (Reminder/Bird Op). Torsten "Tor", DG7RO, will be active as 8Q7RO from the Fihalhohi Island Resort on Kaafu-South-Male Atoll (AS-013) during the Christmas holiday between December 11-27th. Activity will only be on Oscar QO-100 satellite. QSL via DG7RO, direct, by the Bureau or LoTW. PLEASE NOTE: The 8Q7RO callsign is a reissued callsign that was used in January 2013 by RT4RO. 9J, ZAMBIA. Mario, IZ3KVD, is once again active as 9J2MYT from Lusaka (WW Loc. KH44DO), and will be there until June 2022. Activity will be on 40/20/17/15/10 meters SSB using a Yaesu 897D into a home made vertical and a long wire antenna. He was heard this past week on 20/15 meters SSB between 1500-1645z. QSL via IZ3KVD direct only. QSL will be printed after his return to Italy. AN5, SPAIN (Special Event). Pascual, EA5WO, will activate the special event callsign AN5OKW from Torrent (Valencia), Spain, (WW Loc. IM199) between December 6-20th, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Moscow. Activity will be on various HF bands using Digital modes. QSL via LoTW, eQSL or E-mail (certificate). CX100, URUGUAY (Special Event/Correction). Members of the Radio Club Uruguayo will activate special event station CX100B to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first Radio Broadcasting in Uruguay. Activity is scheduled for November 1-30th, 2022. QSL via CX1AA, direct, by the Bureau or LoTW. DR125, GERMANY (Special Event). Members of the DARC local association R14 will activate special event station DR125MB (special DOK 125MB) to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Muengsten Bridge, Germany's highest railway bridge. Activity will last until November 30th, 2022. The bridge connects the cities of Solingen and Remscheid, and stretches 107 meters above the Wupper valley. QSL via DD3JN direct, by the Bureau or LoTW. DXCC'S MOST WANTED (ClubLog). The "DXCC Most Wanted" entities list has been updated on ClubLog as of December 1st. The list contains 340 entities. The following are the top 26 entities: 1. P5 DPRK (North Korea) 14. KH4 Midway Island 2. 3Y/B Bouvet Island 15. ZS8 Prince Edward & Marion Islands 3. FT5/W Crozet Island 16. PY0S Saint Peter and Paul Rocks 4. BS7H Scarborough Reef 17. PY0T Trindade & Martim Vaz Islands 5. CE0X San Felix Islands 18. KP5 Desecheo Island 6. BV9P Pratas Island 19. SV/A Mount Athos 7. KH7K Kure Island 20. VP8S South Sandwich Islands 8. KH3 Johnston Island 21. KH5 Palmyra & Jarvis Islands 9. 3Y/P Peter 1 Island 22. ZL9 New Zealand Subantarctic Islands 10. FT5/X Kerguelen Island 23. EZ Turkmenistan 11. FT/G Glorioso Island 24. FK/C Chesterfield Island 12. VK0M Macquarie Island 25. YK Syria 13. YV0 Aves Island 26. JD/M Minami Torishima There have been no changes in the "Top 26" since we last reported back on November 7th. The complete "DXCC Most Wanted" entities list (340) is available at: https://secure.clublog.org/mostwanted.php FO/A, AUSTRAL ISLANDS. DX-World.net reports that Jacek, SP5EAQ (ex-3D2MJ, 5W0AF, A3EAQ, E51EAQ, T2AQ, T30AQ, VK9NE, ZA/SP5EAQ, ZK3Q and ZL7/SP5EAQ), is taking the necessary steps to activate the Rimatara Island (Australs, French Polynesia, IOTA OC-050) for the whole month of March 2022. This will be a SSB operation on the HF bands. If the circumstances of the pandemic do not allow for departure, he will try to postpone it to a later period, if it is financially and organizationally possible. FS, ST. MARTIN. Operators Pier/W1NA and Marco/KC9FFV will be active as FS/W1NA and FS/KC9FFV, respectively, from Saint Martin Island (NA-105) sometime this December and "on and off" for the entire year of 2022. Activity will be holiday style on 40-6 meters using SSB and the Digital modes. QSL both callsigns via IZ1MHY or LoTW. FR/W CROZET ISLAND 2022 DXPEDITION NEWS (Update to OPDX.1538/1539). Paul, F6EXV, informs OPDX that the official Crozet 2022 Web site is online, but still under construction. He mentions, "Some pages are still incomplete, but will be updated soon. The French and English pages are there." The Web page is at: http://crozet2022.r-e-f.org [possibly (http://www.crozet2022.fr/) Dec.6th] Paul also mentions that Thierry, F6CUK, (future operator at Crozet) is in touch with Arthur, FT4XW, (operator at Kerguelen; see FT4/X below) by E-mail. He is 100% legitimate, but is not QRV yet (too busy because of work). More info to follow later. FT4/X, KERGUELEN ISLAND. The following was posted (in French and English), December 3rd, on QRZ.com: "Hello -- I'm Arthur, FT4XW, I'm a total newbie at ham radio. Currently I am working on the Kerguelen Islands for a scien- tific mission which will last between October 2021 and December 2022. I do not know if I will succeed to establish radio contacts, but I remain optimistic. I got a XIEGU G90 and a DX Commander SOTA / POTA vertical antenna." QSL via direct. There has been NO QSNs reported yet. HD8R GALAPAGOS ISLAND PRESENTATION/TALK. Steve, W4DTA, will host another Association of Amateur Radio of Venezuela, Santiago de Leon de Caracas Chapter (YV5ARV), during their weekly "Hablemos de Radio" ZOOM presentation. The live presentation/talk will be with Toni, EA5RM, on the recent HD8R Galapagos Island operation. All are invited for this scheduled Saturday, December 11th ZOOM meeting at 1400z. To join the ZOOM meeting, go to: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84960554535?pwd=dkQ2dVl3V210Sms2ZW9oa0YxbkU2UT09 Meeting ID: 849 6055 4535 Passcode: 73DX599 PLEASE NOTE: Participant must have their callsign in their user profile so that they can let them into the room. They will also be posting the talk after the session on the YV5ARV YouTube channel. HI, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. Operators Hrane/YT1AD and Milos/YT3M will be active as HI7/YT1AD from the Dominican Republic between December 4-14th. QSL via YT1AD. No other details are available. IOTA NEWS. The following are IOTA operations that were active this past week between November 29th-December 4th (as per the DXCluster): IOTA Callsign Island/GROUP Bands/Modes ------ ---------- ------------- ------------ AF-004 EA8CYL CANARY 12m; FT8 AF-004 EA8DAO CANARY 17m; SSB AF-004 EA8ED CANARY 40m; SSB AF-014 CT3IQ MADEIRA 20m; FT8 AF-014 CT3KN MADEIRA 12m; CW AF-014 CT9ABV MADEIRA 15/12m; CW AF-016 FR4OO Reunion 12m; FT8 AF-017 3B9FR RODRIGUES 12/10m; FT8 AF-024 S79KW MAHE 20m; SSB AF-032 5H3WX ZANZIBAR 20/15m; CW/SSB AF-049 3B8BAL MAURITIUS 15m; CW AN-010 DT8A SOUTH SHETLAND 20m; FT8 AS-004 5B4AIX Cyprus 17m; SSB AS-004 5B4VL Cyprus 15/12m; SSB AS-004 5B4YOTA Cyprus 20m; SSB AS-007 JA0GCI HONSHU 17m; FT8 AS-007 JH3NGD HONSHU 40m; SSB AS-007 JH7MQD HONSHU 40m; SSB AS-045 HL5FUA ULLEUNG 40m; SSB AS-078 JA7WTC HOKKAIDO 20m; SSB AS-078 JA8COE HOKKAIDO 17m; SSB AS-078 JH8RBY HOKKAIDO 17m; SSB AS-177 AT7SJ GOA STATE 20/17/15m; SSB/FT8 EU-004 EA6ANA BALEARIC 40m; SSB EU-004 EA6KB BALEARIC 40/20m; SSB EU-004 EB6ADS BALEARIC 17m; SSB EU-004 EC6FK BALEARIC 40m; SSB EU-005 G6UT GREAT BRITAIN 40m; SSB EU-005 M0DXT/P GREAT BRITAIN 40m; SSB EU-005 M0GQC/P GREAT BRITAIN 40m; SSB EU-005 M0IYE GREAT BRITAIN 20m; SSB EU-005 M0XXT GREAT BRITAIN 20m; SSB EU-005 MW0YVK GREAT BRITAIN 20m; SSB EU-015 SV9RKU Crete 17m; SSB EU-016 9A4W DALMATIA SOUTH 20m; SSB EU-021 TF3XO ICELAND 20m; SSB EU-026 JW7QIA Spitsbergen 160/80m; CW EU-046 LA6KOA TROMS COUNTY 17m; SSB EU-054 IF9ZWA EGADI 160m; FT8 EU-115 EI4IB IRELAND 17m; SSB EU-125 5P9SH JYLLAND WEST 17m; SSB EU-131 IK3PQH/P VENETO REGION 40/20m; SSB NA-021 8P5AA BARBADOS 17m; SSB NA-027 VO1IRA NEWFOUNDLAND 15m; FT8 NA-041 KL7NC ALEXANDER 12m; FT8 NA-096 HI3Y HISPANIOLA 40m; CW NA-096 HI8S HISPANIOLA 12m; FT8 NA-097 6Y6Y JAMAICA 17m; SSB NA-099 NP4TX PUERTO RICO 40m; FT8 NA-104 V48A ST KITTS AND NEVIS 30m; FT4 NA-105 PJ7/G4JEC ST MARTIN 12m; CW NA-105 TO9W ST MARTIN 40/30/20/15m; CW/SSB/FT8 NA-110 N4ULE SOUTH CAROLINA STATE 20m; FT8 NA-106 NP2X VIRGIN 160m; NA-144 W6DPM CAL STATE SOUTH (SAN BARBARA-LA COUNTY) 20m; FT8 NA-213 KJ4WKL ALABAMA STATE 20m; SSB OC-001 VK2FRBQ Australia 40m; FT8 OC-001 VK3CWB Australia 30m; CW OC-013 E51JD RAROTONGA 20m; SSB OC-016 3D2TS VITI LEVU AND VANUA LEVU 40m; FT8 OC-016 3D2USU VITI LEVU AND VANUA LEVU 20m; CW OC-019 AH6T HAWAIIAN 40m; FT8 OC-021 YB1BZV JAVA 12m; FT8 OC-021 YB2BOB JAVA 80m; FT8 OC-021 YB2NDC JAVA 40m; SSB OC-032 FK4RD NEW CALEDONIA 17m; SSB OC-032 FK8IK NEW CALEDONIA 30/20m; CW OC-035 YJ8RN NEW HEBRIDES 20m; FT8 OC-036 ZL2JBR NORTH 20m; SSB OC-046 FO5QB WINDWARD 30m; FT8 OC-166 YC7RV KALIMANTAN'S COASTAL EAST 15m; FT8 SA-006 PJ4/KU8E BONAIRE 12m; CW SA-011 9Z4Y TRINIDAD 17m; SSB SA-026 PP5AMP SANTA CATARINA STATE CENTRE 10m; FT8 SA-099 PJ2/KO8SCA CURACAO 30m; CW SA-099 PJ2/VE4GV CURACAO 20m; SSB ** Thanks to the individuals who put the island/group and mode (which is very important) on their QSNs on their PacketCluster reports. The format we suggest is "Mode/IOTA#/Island or Group" (ex. FT8/OC-146/Celebes). AS-104. Igor, UA9KDF, reports on Twitter that the RT9K team is planning to activate Rykacheva Island (RRA-06-100; New One) in the Kara Sea as R150WS sometime between March 1st and April 30th, 2022. Specific dates are not known yet. Activity is to celebrate the 150th anniversary Russia Weather Service on the island. QSL via UA9KDF. Look for more details to be forthcoming. AS-140. (Update/Change) Operators Manju/S21AM, Fazlay/S21IRC and possibly Aminul/S21D will be active as S21DX from one of the IOTA islands in AS-140 (possibly Manpura Island) between December 10-16th (not 16-22nd). The following was reported on the S21DX Web page (https://s21dx.org/) on November 27th and 29th: * Two 80Ah maintenance free battery and one small gasoline generator have been procured. Thanks to Clipperton DX Club for supporting. * An internal meeting has been conducted and decided to run only one HF station (multiband fan dipole and multiband 1/4 vertical) and one QO-100 station. Second station can not be run due to not getting any BPF. Voice and FT8 will be done in turns. Frequency and Schedule will be published in few days. * Received callsign S21DX and operating permission from Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission. DX- pedition date and location has been changed to 10-16th December to be inline with the permission. Exact coor- dinate/Grid locator will be published soon. We are still AS-140. Activity will be mainly SSB on 10m, 15m, 20m and some 40m if propagation permits. They have also decided to use FT8/FT4. QSL via ED7DX, direct, by the Bureau or LoTW. They are looking for support. For more details and updates, see: https://s21dx.org AS-177. (Update to OPDX.1541/1542) Members of the "VU Manic Monkeys" have received official permission to operate from St. Georges Islands (aka Grandi) in Goa state between December 3-6th. The team will be using the special callsign AT7SJ. Activity will be on 40-10 meters using CW, SSB and FT8, with 100 watts. QSL information will be announced later. NA-096/ (Reminder) By the time you read this, Kasimir, DL2SBY, will be NA-122. active as HI7/DL2SBY from Punta Cana and/or Bayahibe (NA-096) until December 14th. Activity will be holiday style using TS480SAT, IC-705, Juma1000 and different dipoles including for 160m. Modes will be CW, FT8 and possibly some SSB when conditions are good enough. He will also try a one day oper- ation during the second week from Saona Island (NA-122) signing as HI2/DL2SBY. QSL via his home callsign or ClubLog's OQRS. NO Bureau. Logs will be uploaded to LoTW after his return home. OC-166. Operators Husaini/YB7KE, Muhammad/YD7MHZ and Muhamad/YB7NUS were active as homecall/p from Laut Island between December 4-5th. QSL via EA5GL. PLEASE NOTE: Since the Webmasters of thehave 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...... INDEXA NEWS (Fall Newsletter). The Fall 2021 Issue of the INDEXA News- letter (Issue 134) is now available. Steve Molo, KI4KWR, Editor, reports [edited]: With there still being no active DXpeditions, we have a special article from Yuris, YL2GM, on his 3DA0WW operation from the Kingdom of Eswatini back in October. There is a list of members we have lost contact with and if you can help us find them...THANK YOU!! Also, some DXpedition in the works updates and an INDEXA Director in the Spot- light with Adrian Ciuperca, KO8SCA. The INDEXA Newsletter can be view at: https://indexa.org/documents/newsletters/Newsletter-Issue-134-Fall%202021.pdf INTREPID DX GROUP NEWS (Press Release, dated December 1st)[edited]. "Winners of the 2nd Annual Intrepid DX Group Youth 'Dream Rig' Essay Contest -- It brings us great pleasure to announce the winners of the 2nd Annual Youth "Dream Rig" Essay Contest. We received essays from U.S. licensed young amateurs from all over the world. The essays were all unique in thought and very well-articulated. Extra points were given for correct grammar, punctuation and spelling. Most of the essays gave unique perspectives on how to reach out and connect with the youth of today. We will be sharing those ideas in subsequent postings. First Place winner, and recipient of the ICOM IC-7300 is Silas Davis, W3SED. Silas will receive the ICOM IC-7300 as the first-place prize. Second Place winner, and recipient of the Yaesu FT-65R radio, is Olivia Lee, KD2UYX. Third Place winner, and recipient of a Yaesu FT-65R radio, is Isaac Schmidt, K6IAS. Having read your many essays this week, we can tell you that our youth are full of great ideas, and they are brimming with enthusiasm to keep our hobby alive well into the future. Thank you to our sponsor, ARDC (ampr.org) for supporting this year's prizes. Thank you to all of the youth participants for helping us make our second annual Youth Essay Contest a success. Let's do this again next year! 73 everyone, Paul N6PSE President, The Intrepid-DX Group The Intrepid DX Group is a 501 C-3 non-profit organization devoted to promoting amateur radio and providing STEM education in developing countries. ----------------------------------------------------------- JD1, OGASAWARA. Harry, JG7PSJ (JD1BMH/KW2X/WH0RU), will once again be active as JD1BMH from Chichijima Island (AS-031) between December 18th and January 1st, 2022. This will be his 26th visit. Activity will be on 80-10 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL via the Bureau to JD1BMH or direct to JG7PSJ. Visit his Web page for more details at: http://jg7psj.starfree.jp/jd1bmh Also, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jd1bmh JX, JAN MAYEN. Stian, LB5SH, reports, December 3rd, on QRZ.com that he is planning activity from Jan Mayen, as JX/LB5SH, late June 2022, est- imated to last around 4-5 days. He states, "I'm catching a ride with a sail boat from Longyearbyen, Svalbard, on June 17th. If everything goes as planned, we'll set foot on Jan Mayen the 22nd of June, give or take depending on the weather conditions. Primarily SSB and FT8 operations. Bands, antennas, and equipment TBA. Please see (lb5sh.no) for more updates. Your help is needed to make this come true, so please consider supporting me -- it is truly appreciated." KH7, HAWAII. Jim, N6TJ, will once again use the callsign KH7Q (OAHU CQ Contesting Club callsign) during the ARRL DX CW Contest (February 19-20th) as a Single-Op/All-Band entry. QSL via KH7U. KP2, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS. Jaime, WP3A, will be active as KP2B from Chris- tiansted, VI, during the ARRL International DX CW Contest (February 19-20th) as a Single-Op/All-Band entry. QSL via EB7DX. OH FINLAND NEWS (Press Releases; by Martti, OH2BH, dated December 2nd). For immediate release -- From Arctic Circle of Finland [edited].... CHRISTMAS MESSAGE FROM THE LAND OF SANTA CLAUS - FINLAND * OF9X, OF2YOTA & OI3AX ARE NOW RIDING THE AIRWAVES TO THE WIDE WORLD -- The Finnish Amateur Radio League (SRAL) is finishing their centennial year at the end of 2021 and once again will launch the Santa (OF9X) and his elves (OF2YOTA) to greet the world on HF radio spectrum on CW, SSB and FT8. If SRAL is 100 years old so is Santa Claus and it is expected that the SRAL youngster team (OF2YOTA) will soon take over and provide younger version of the Santa and his contingent. OF9X and OF2YOTA are commencing their operations full steam on December 3rd and the teams will show up quite frequently during the month of December. MESSAGE EXCHANGE: These special stations greet you with 59(9)SRAL message and you can greet them back with 59(9) MX - Merry Christmas. The OF9X operation is organized by the Radio Club of Pusula, OH9W, and supported by Radio Arcala, OH8X, while the OF2YOTA is organized by the Youngster Team of SRAL and supported by Radio Team Mustila, OH5Z. As an addition, OI3AX will be activated on Dec. 3-7th by the Finnish Signal Corps with experienced servicemen but also permanent operators from their own ranks. Please note that these callsigns OF9X, OF2YOTA and OI3AX will count for SRAL Jubilee award and would complete the list of special cen- tennial activations. QSL OF9X via OH2BH, OF2YOTA via OH5CZ and OI3AX via OH2LGW. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ * EARN THE HIGHEST RECOGNITION FROM YOUR OH FRIENDS -- Just contact 100 (one hundred) of your OH friends during 2021 and 10 (ten) specially featured Finnish stations to earn the OH Northern Light 100-year cer- tificate (OH-NL-100) and the featured story, explaining the magic of the OH-land and the Northern Lights. Your 100 contact should include 50 "OH" stations and 50 "OF" stations, a total of 100. A special "OF" prefix will be activated by most of the "OH" station until the end of 2021. Your maximum point value can be 100. The number of your "OF/OH" contacts. TEN SPECIAL ACTIVITY MULTIPLIERS -- SRAL and its members are active in a wide range of Amateur Radio activities and each of the ten multi- pliers represent some of those activities. The multiplying stations are: OH100SRAL, OH2A, OH0W, OJ0C, OF2HQ, OF2YOTA, OG2B, OH6SRAL, OI3AX and OF9X. Multiplying your QSO points (maximum 100) by your multiplier value (max 10) will give you your score - maximum of 1000 points. OH Boy! All who score 1000 points and the top-ten continental highest scorers will receive their OH-NL-100 certificate signed by Santa Claus. A special lottery will feature additional special prizes. Your log extract should be sent to Santa Claus office at: (of9x@sral.fi) during January 2022. The same address will answer all questions relating to this centennial activity. Enjoy the month of December and Yuletide season for contacting the Christmas treasury. OF9X: Old-Father-Nine-Xmas, has excited the little radio operators and their families for many years from the land of Christmas. Once Santa Claus was pushed to the North Pole but these Santa transmissions from Finland have finally proved that Finland is close enough to the North Pole. OF2YOTA: The Finnish youth are the movers and shakers in the YOTA movement and hosted one of the early ones in Finland. At the core of SRAL activities the theme in Finland is that only youth can communicate with youth. OH Boy! Also, only youth would know what makes them tick!! OI3AX: Amateur Radio activity in the Finnish Signal Corps (OI prefix) have a brilliant history of cooperation with SRAL. Many well- known OHs have caught the bug while doing their service to their country. OI3AX will represent the country-wide network of 35 OI-locations. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ON75, BELGIUM (Special Event). The Belgian IARU society UBA is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2022. To celebrate this event, 64 different special event stations will be active from January 1st through February 28th, 2022. Each special event station will be using the prefix ON75 followed by a three letter suffix. The stations participating in the event are: ON75AAA, ON75ACC, ON75ALT, ON75ARA, ON75AST, ON75ATH, ON75ATO, ON75BDX, ON75BTS, ON75BXE, ON75CDZ, ON75CLR, ON75CRD, ON75DST, ON75EKO, ON75GBN, ON75GBX, ON75GDV, ON75GNT, ON75GTM, ON75HCC, ON75IPR, ON75KSD, ON75KTK, ON75LGE, ON75LIR, ON75LLV, ON75LUS, ON75LVN, ON75MCL, ON75MLB, ON75MWV, ON75NBT, ON75NNV, ON75NOK, ON75NOL, ON75ODE, ON75ONZ, ON75ORA, ON75OSA, ON75OSB, ON75OST, ON75PHI, ON75RAF, ON75RAM, ON75RAT, ON75RCA, ON75RCN, ON75REM, ON75RST, ON75RSX, ON75SNW, ON75TLS, ON75TRA, ON75TRC, ON75TWS, ON75WLD, ON75WRA, ON75WRC, ON75WTO and ON75ZTM. Also mentioned are: ON75DIG = UBA Award Friends DIG station ON75UBA = National UBA station ON75YLC = Club Station YL UBA Awards for working both a specific number of different ON75 stations and/or working ON75 stations in various band/mode slots are available via this link: (link will be published at the start of the event). Paper QSL cards will only be sent exclusively using OQRS (Online QSL request) via Clublog, either via Bureau or direct. For more details and updates, see: https://www.qrz.com/db/ON75LGE https://www.qrz.com/db/ON75RAT PACIFIC DXPEDITIONS TOUR. William "BJ", WA7WJR, plans to activate the following islands in 2022: Guam as KH2/WA7WJR/P during March 2022 and Tinian/Saipan as KH0/WA7WJR/P during April/May 2022. Activity depends on COVID protocols in 2022 for arrival by private yacht (arriving by private boat has different protocols than arrival by plane). He states, "If CNMI (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) still requires a 7-day quarantine this DXpedition will be postponed or canceled)." BJ also mentions that his operation will be "CW (primarily), FT8 and RTTY. (Sorry no phone at this time.)" Operations will primarily be on 40 meters, 20 meters, occasionally 17 meters and 15 meters. QSL via his home callsign or LoTW. PJ7, ST. MAARTEN ISLAND. Tom, AA9A, will once again be active as PJ7AA from Sint Maarten (NA-105) between February 26th and March 26th, 2022. Activity will be on 80-10 meters using CW, SSB and FT8. QSL via his home callsign, direct, LoTW or ClubLog's OQRS. PROPAGATION FORECAST/REPORT (December 6-12th)....... Dec/06th LN Dec/09th HN Dec/11th HN Dec/07th BN Dec/10th AN Dec/12th AN Dec/08th LN 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 * Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) & National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): https://www.swpc.noaa.gov https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/solar-cycle-progression * 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 Lothar, DL1SBF (www.qslinfo.eu) (Nov. 28th & Dec. 5th) QSL-INFO from various sources provided by OPDX --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3B8M via M0OXO (O/L) EA8RM via EB7DX & (L) PA375KL via PC2F 3D2TS via M0OXO EE5H via EA5HRT PA5150EVH via PF1SCT 4O7CC via UA4CC EG3PCD via EG3PCD (L) PC19VACCIN via PA7HPH (B) 4U9A via 9A2AA EG4RAM via EB4AVN (d/L/e) PI4DX via PD1DX & (L) 5B/UT8UU/P via UT8UU EH5MM via EA5GVZ PJ2/K1EP via (L) 5P9SH via DK9SH (e) EM60KTS via IK2DUW PJ2/KO8SCA via KO8SCA 6Y6Y via W8YCM (d) ER0DX via (L/d) PJ2/VE4GV via VE4GV 7Q7CT via JH1AJT FJ/K2LIO via K2LIO PJ2/YO8WW via YO8WW 9A/KM4SII via KM4SII (L) FS/KC9FFV via IZ1MHY PS2T via K3IRV 9K9UAE via EC6DX G8X via G4FJK & (L) PV2K via EA5GL & (L) A650ND via EA7FTR HB1BCG via HB9ACA PX2A via PY2VM & (L) AM1111I via EA1URL HF0YOTA via SP1EG R3FX via RX3DBH AT7SJ via VU3NPI HG0IDPD via HA5MA (d/O/N) S0S via EA2JG B1Z via EA7FTR HG5PLANET via HA5BA (e) S522PMC via S59DCD (B) C6A/ND3F via ND3F HO2T via HP1XT ST0HQ via ST2M C6AGU via HA7RY & (L) HZ1UAE via HZ1SAR SV2RSG/A via SV1RP C6AQQ via EA5GL & (L) J42CPMV via SV2HXV (d/L) SZ1A via SV1CIB (d/O/L) C92R via IK2DUW (d/L) J42L via SV2DCD (d/L) TK/S53F via S53F & (L) CR2X via OH2BH KP4/KA1R via KA1R & (L) TM57STN via F-11734 (d/B) CR3DX via OM2VL & (L) LO5D via LU8EOT & (L) TM8AB via F4KJQ CR3W via DL5AXX & (L) LT6M via LU8MHL TO7A via UT5UGR & (L) CS2C via OK1RF LZ14MP via LZ1KCP TO9W via W9ILY CT9/DJ2YA via DJ2YA MD2C via MD0CCE (O/L) VD1M via VO1IDX CT9/DK7YY via DK7YY OG1XMAS via OG1XMAS (O/L/e) VL2A via VK2IM CT9/DL5CW via DL5CW OL0W via OK1DSZ & (L) Z64EEF via Z62FB CT9/OM2VL via OM2VL & (L) OS8ON via ON8ON ZP6/N3BNA via KA2AEV CT9ABO via OM3GI (d/L) OT1A via ON4CCP & (L) ZY5T via PP5KR (L) CT9ABP via OM3BH P3AA via RW3RN CT9ABV via DL5AXX PA21SANTA via PA1AW (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 (n) no printed QSLs (P) Please send no QSL (**) QSL automatically via Bureau - do not send QSLs LOGS ONLINE AT CLUBLOG.ORG THIS WEEK...... https://secure.clublog.org/logsearch/3D2USU (Updated) https://secure.clublog.org/logsearch/9G5FI (Updated) https://secure.clublog.org/logsearch/9X4X (Updated) https://secure.clublog.org/logsearch/SV2RSG/A (** - Updated) https://secure.clublog.org/logsearch/TO9W ** PLEASE NOTE: There have been reports of PIRATE activity on 160 meters FT8. NEW QSL ROUTE. QSL Manager Pedro, EA5GL, reports that he now has the logs and QSLs for the 2015 November YV6YV/4 operation from Alcatraz Island (SA-058). NEW QSL ROUTE. QSL Manager Pedro, EA5GL, reports that he is the QSL Manager for Elmer, NP4EB, on the Island of Puerto Rico. QSLS RECEIVED VIA LoTW: 7C1B, 9N7AA, C31CT, DT8A, FO5QB, HL2WA, HQ9X, KH0W, MJ5A, TF3SG, TK0C, TL7M and V26K QSLS RECEIVED VIA MAIL: EZ0/UT3UV, OX7AM and XV1X QSLS RECEIVED VIA THE BUREAU: 3C0W, 3C3W, 9G5W, C8T, E2E, GA5CX, GK3MPD, HD2RRC, LI3C, RC70YC, XR0YD, Z66D and ZD9CW --- We would like to see more QSL Bureaus (such as AS/US/SA/AF.. etc) send in their info.... R200, EUROPEAN RUSSIA (Special Event). Look for special event station R200NN from the Yaroslavl region to be active until December 12th. Activity is to celebrate the 200th birthday anniversary of poet Nikolay Nekrasov. An award and plaque are available. Details on: https://www.radioclub76.ru QSL via RC3M. S0, WESTERN SAHARA. The Sahrawi Amateur Radio Union special callsign S0S from Tifariti is once again being used. Activity has been on 40/17/10 meters SSB. Length of activity is not known. QSL via EA2JG direct or ClubLog's OQRS. NO LoTW or Bureau. SV/A, MOUNT ATHOS. Several reports state that Monk Iakovos, SV2RSG, will be active as SV2RSG/A from Mount Athos until December 7th. There will be some activity on 160m. There has been some activity on 160, 40 and 20 meters on CW and FT8 this past week. QSL SV2RSG/A via SV1RP. TO9, ST. MARTIN (Reminder). Operators Paul/K9NU, Mike/W9MK, Guy/VE2BWL, Marco/FS4WBS and John/K9EL (Team Leader) are now active as TO9W from Saint Martin Island (NA-105) until December 10th. They will concentrate on the 160, 80 and 40 meter bands, with special emphasis on Asia on those bands. New this year will be some activity on 60 meters. Full details are available on their website at: http://www.k9el.com/TO9W/TO9W.htm Activity will be on CW, SSB, FT8/4 and limited RTTY. Pilot stations are Tom/AA9A, Nick/K9NB and John/W9ILY. QSL via W9ILY. ClubLog's OQRS is preferred for Bureau or direct cards. They plan real time logging on ClubLog and daily updates to LoTW. QSL cards will be available for those who wish a card. Bureau card requests are always accepted by the TO9W team, but please use ClubLog's OQRS - they do not need your QSL card. VIRTUAL VISALIA DX CONVENTION IOTA DINNER (Press Release). Will, WC6DX, IOTA Dinner Coordinator, Visalia International DX Convention, sent out the following on December 3rd: Greetings IOTA enthusiasts -- As the 2021 Visalia (California) International DX Convention was virtual, we did not have our annual IOTA Dinner Banquet in person. To maintain our legacy as the longest running annual IOTA get-together, I am planning to host an online Zoom virtual meeting on Saturday, December 11th, from 1900-1940 UTC, similar to last year. My Zoom account is limited in time and number of participants, and I sincerely regret not being able to open it up to everyone in the IOTA community who may be interested. I will be sending a Zoom invitation in a few days to those persons who attended or presented at a live dinner at Visalia in the recent years prior to the pandemic quarantine. Members of the IOTA Committee will also be invited as a courtesy. For now, the 2022 Visalia International DX Convention is expected to resume live, and I look forward to breaking bread once again with our IOTA friends in person. XT2, BURKINA FASO (Reminder). By the time you read this, Harald, DF2WO, will once again be active as XT2AW from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, until December 20th. Activity is usually holiday style on 160-6 meters using CW, SSB and the Digital modes. He states that he works mostly on the Digital modes (FT8, PSK31, JT65 and RTTY) and CW. He also mentioned that SSB will be used but only when propagation conditions allow. He usually will concentrate on 160/80/60 meters. He will also be active on the Satellites. Harald states that a big storm destroyed his vertical and Hex beam, so he will be using a multi-band dipole with Matchbox. See QRZ.com for more possible details. QSL via M0OXO, direct or by M0OXO's OQRS (www.m0oxo.com/oqrs/). Bureau QSL cards are not required and any sent to him via the Bureau will not arrive there. Z2, ZIMBABWE (Rescheduled). Operators Tom/DL7BO and Tom/DJ6TF who were scheduled to be active as Z22O and Z21A, respectively, from Harare, Zimbabwe, between December 2-15th, have rescheduled their operation for February 3-20th, 2022. Activity will be on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB and FT8/FT4. Their equipment are two Icom IC-7300 transceivers and 1kw amplifier using 18m GP for low bands. QSL both callsigns via DJ6TF, for Ukraine stations via UY5ZZ or LoTW.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE OPDX MAILING LIST::
kb8nw@hotmail.com?subject=subscribe
** PLEASE NOTE FOR OUTLOOK USERS: PLEASE put your E-mail address also in the body of the message.
UNSUBSCRIBE TO THE OPDX MAILING LIST:
kb8nw@hotmail.com?subject=unsubscribe
OPDX WORLD-WIDE WEB HOME PAGE (provided by John, K8YSE):
NOW ON TWITTER: https://twitter.com/kb8nw_opdx
ALSO VISIT THE NORTHERN OHIO DX ASSOCIATION'S WEB PAGES AT: