The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
DX Special Bulletin No. 1559.1
BID: $OPDX.1559.1
April 4, 2022
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 Clusters
Network, K4ZW, AJ8B, K8CX, K9EL, LB1QI, I2YSB and ON4CAS for the following
DX information.
"Celebrating 31 years (March 1991) of FREE DX News"
"Could this be the final year???"
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** EDITOR'S SPECIAL NOTICE: Here are some press releases sent while
your editor was on holiday/vacation. Things should be back to normal
next week.... 73 de Tedd KB8NW
3Y0J BOUVET ISLAND DXPEDITION NEWS (Press Release #9, dated April 3rd).
[edited] Today it is 9 months until the operators travel to South America
to board Marama and go to Bouvet. We're getting closer!
We can announce the last operator on the team that will be Pete, N0FW.
We're extremely happy to have Pete on the team with his experience and
knowledge. Pete is a well know DXpeditioner, he has been on more than 16+
DXpeditions, some quite rare ones, and he is a lowband enthusiast for a
long time with 322 confirmed current DXCC on 160m - so he has great ears!
In 3 weeks' time we will perform a 4-day vessel inspection in Itajai in
Brazil. Marama that has completed several trips to Antarctica this winter
season will undertake some maintenance during her stay in Brazil. At the
same time this allows us to do a detailed inspection of the vessel. An-
other purpose of the trip to Brazil is for us to complete the vessel
loading plan. The team have worked hard to detail out all the equipment
we will bring to Bouvet, and amongst other during this trip each equip-
ment will be allocated a space in the vessel. The purpose of creating
this plan is to make sure we have a smooth loading of the zodiac once
we go ashore Bouvet. We have at this stage planned how to sequence all
the equipment in a specific predetermined order from vessel to zodiac,
and how to build the camp slowly. The detailed plan to build up the camp
indicates that we will be able to setup a camp on Bouvet even with short
weather windows down to 80-120 min that will take only 4 zodiac trips.
We're quite determined to go ashore when the first opportunity arise!
April will be a busy month for us as all team members gather in Oslo
April 28th. For 4 days the team will perform a system integration test
where we will do a thorough test of the radios, amplifiers and antennas
in a real environment like what we can expect at Bouvet. During this
event team members will practice on the installation and familiarize
with it. A lot of equipment will undergo it's final testing and packing
and be stored until the container leaves Oslo in September 2022.
Going to Bouvet is a huge undertaking financially and it would simply
not be possibly without the support from the vendors, clubs, foundations
and individual sponsors. We're currently missing 120,000 USDs out of our
690,000 USDs budget to be able to go to Bouvet. As we now prepare for the
next vessel deposit, we need your support to close the gap.
If you want to have the opportunity to work the rare #2 DXCC Bouvet
Island, please consider supporting us by donating upfront.
You can follow our plans from our website and the 3Y0J Facebook pages:
http://www.3y0j.no
https://www.facebook.com/groups/3093983840726129
Thank you, Oslo April 2022
Ken Opskar, ?LA7GIA, Co-Leader
Rune Oye, LA7THA, Co-Leader?
Erwann Merrien, ?LB1QI, Co-Leader??
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CQ DX MARATHON (Help plan for the future! Dated April 4th). In 2005, W9KNI
and CQ Magazine asked me if I was interested in managing a new contest for
CQ Magazine - the CQ DX Marathon. This new contest/DX program sounded very
interesting, and I thought it would be a great program to keep old timers
interested in working DX. As it was a new contest, there was nothing avail-
able in terms of tools, scoring software, web site, etc. Over the years the
DX Marathon has grown significantly and has become an annual event with a
tremendous following.
But the DX Marathon would never have reached its current level of activity
without the dedicated help from many people. Alex, VE3NEA, was one of the
first to jump in with his idea of software to score the contest. It is
still in use today. Jim, AD1C, has created many DX Marathon tools and a
dedicated DX Marathon web page. Dave, AA6YQ, was the first logging program
author to build DX Marathon support directly into his excellent software.
Mike, W9MR, has built our online submission tools. John, W9ILY, prepares
the 100+ certificates every year. VK3AMA has fully supported the DX Marathon
in his JT Alert software. W9KNI and PY5EG not only provide significant
financial support but have also provided many great ideas and emotional
support. Bernie, W3UR, has been very supportive of the Marathon in his
Daily and Weekly DX Bulletins. Our many plaque sponsors have provided
incentives for participants to strive for the top positions.
However, the Marathon is now at a turning point. Participation has grown
significantly the last two years and many of the processes are still done
manually. I am not a software person by education or trade, so I am not
able to automate more of the work without asking for additional external
support. In addition, the introduction of FT8 has changed the face of the
Marathon. On the positive side, the weak signal capabilities of FT8 have
allowed low power and compromised antenna participants to submit some
amazing scores. On the downside, 79% of all submitted QSOs are now FT8
and combined with the Internet, cheating among a few participants has
increased. In summary, the DX Marathon needs a fresh look, some updated
tools, and some serious work on evaluating submitted logs.
After 17 years and watching my advancing age, I told CQ Magazine late
last year that 2022 would be my last year to manage the DX Marathon. To
date, they have not been able to find a replacement for me to manage the
Marathon. Each of you on this letter has had a significant impact on the
Marathon, so I am turning to all of you with the request to find a person,
persons, or organization to assume leadership of the DX Marathon. I have
approached the WWROF, but there has been little interest in the DX Marathon.
Perhaps I did not handle the requests properly.
If you or any of your contacts has an interest in managing the DX
Marathon, please contact me directly. Finding a replacement person or
organization now would provide a lot of overlap time as there is plenty
to learn.
Thank you for your support of the DX Marathon and reading this note.
I will surely miss many aspects of managing the program, but it is time
for me to step down.
Sincerely, John K9EL
-------------------------------------------------------------
DAY-ZENIA HAMVENTION (SouthWest Ohio DX Dinner Press Release #3, dated
April 1st)[edited]: There are only about 6 weeks left until the 35th annual
DX Dinner. The dinner, held in conjunction with the 2022 Dayton Hamvention,
will be on Friday, May 20th, at the Marriott Hotel in Dayton.
Dr. Scott Wright, K0MD, will be the keynote speaker. Scott will present
the "High C's of DXing - Operating in The Caribbean, Chile, and China"
Icom has graciously donated an IC-7610 as the DX Dinner grand prize.
Icom has also donated an Icom IC-705 as the raffle prize to be awarded
at the DX Forum on Saturday. There are also many other great DX Dinner
prizes. You can see a list of prizes at:
https://swodxaevents.org/2022-dayton-dx-dinner
As always, SWODXA will have a much-anticipated award announcement!
We anticipate brisk ticket sales in April, so don't wait any longer.
For more information and to order dinner tickets, visit WWW.SWODXAEVENTS.ORG
and follow us on Twitter (@SWODXA).
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INDEXA NEWS (Press Release, dated March 29th). The INDEXA Humanitarian
Aid Fund -- "The Zorro Miyazawa, JH1AJT, Hams with Hearts Fund" --
INDEXA is proud to announce a new epitaph for our Humanitarian Aid
Fund. The addition will be "The Zorro Miyazawa, JH1AJT, Hams with Hearts
Fund" in honor of its founder who recently became a silent key.
Before his death in March of 2022, Mr. Zorro Miyazawa, JH1AJT, estab-
lished and endowed the INDEXA Humanitarian Aid Fund which specifically
supports humanitarian aid projects carried out by DXpeditions. His gener-
osity enabled INDEXA to begin these grants in January of 2016. The tag
for this fund is "Hams with Hearts," reflecting Zorro's character and
values. INDEXA is proud and grateful to be able to sustain Zorro's legacy
through this fund.
To learn more about this fund, please visit INDEXA.ORG (indexa.org/)
select the "Humanitarian Fund" tab. (https://indexa.org/hamswithaheart.html)
There is also a short video on this page that shows how "Hams with Hearts"
has helped spread goodwill through DXpeditions.
73, Bob Schenck, N2OO, President INDEXA
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TRIBUTE TO JH1AJT. Tom, K8CX, has just added a tribute page for Zorro,
JH1AJT, on his famous "HAMGALLERY" Web site at:
http://hamgallery.com/Tribute/JH1AJT
If anyone want to add any comments or photos, they can send to Tom at
his E-mail address: k8cx@hamgallery.com
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STATEMENT FROM THE BELGIAN IARU SOCIETY UBA. The following was sent by
Egbert Hertsen, ON4CAS, UBA Treasurer & HF Manager on April 3rd [edited]:
The Belgian IARU Society UBA follows the actions of the mainstream
sporting bodies with regard to all activities of a competitive nature
such as contests, awards and ARDF. Russian and Belarusian radio amateurs
are therefore currently ineligible to participate in any event that is
organized/sponsored by the UBA.
73, Egbert Hertsen, ON4CAS
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TL, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC (Update). Members of the Italian DX Team
(IDT), who were expected to be active from Central African Republic as
TL8AA (CW-SSB-RTTY) and TL8ZZ (FT8) between March 27th and April 9th,
sent out the following statement on April 1st: "The IDT Dxpedition to
RCA has been rescheduled to November 2022, at the end of the rainy season.
Special thanks to all our Sponsors for their trust in the Team."
Their official Web site is at: http://www.i2ysb.com/idt
Official forum at: http://www.hamradioweb.net
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YASME FOUNDATION NEWS (Press Release, dated March 31st). (edited) YASME
FOUNDATION EXCELLENCE AWARD -- The Yasme Excellence Award is presented to
individuals and groups who, through their own service, creativity, effort
and dedication, have made a significant contribution to amateur radio.
The contribution may be in recognition of technical, operating or organi-
zational achievement, as all three are necessary for amateur radio to
grow and prosper. The Yasme Excellence Award is in the form of a cash
grant and an individually-engraved crystal globe.
The Board of Directors of The Yasme Foundation is pleased to announce
the latest recipients of the Yasme Excellence Award:
Dan Marler, K7REX -- When the COVID pandemic led to cessation of in-person
meetings, training sessions and gatherings, Dan converted a small limited-
membership Zoom platform to the open presentation forum known as RATPAC.
In the subsequent two years, RATPAC has hosted over two hundred online
presentations that have been viewed by thousands of radio amateurs. Among
the wide-ranging topics, half focus on public-service communications, while
the rest address technical, operating, scientific and general-interest
topics offered by a host of presenters. The recordings of these sessions
are available for public viewing and constitute a valuable resource for
the amateur radio community.
Dr. Gordon Gibby, KX4Z -- Gordon is a retired emergency-room physician
turned high school science teacher who demonstrates how amateur radio
can benefit our communities in a wide variety of ways. As an ARES leader
in Northern Florida, Gordon promotes and teaches all aspects of prepar-
edness for disasters, from planning and exercises to building and repairing
communication hardware to understanding official responders' needs, methods
and organization. He advocates cognizance of the amateur's role and its
limits, building trust and relationships, and constantly improving our
individual skills. He is known around the country for his informative and
carefully thought out responses to the many questions from other amateurs
seeking to improve their local disaster-response capabilities.
* * * * *
The Yasme Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation organized to support
scientific and educational projects related to amateur radio, including
DXing (long distance communication) and the introduction and promotion
of amateur radio in developing countries. For additional information
about The Yasme Foundation, visit our website at www.yasme.org.
Ward Silver, N0AX, President Of The Yasme Foundation
Board of Directors:
Ward Silver, N0AX, President and Director
Ken Claerbout, K4ZW, Vice-President, Secretary and Director
Rusty Epps, W6OAT, Treasurer and Director
Hans Blondeel Timmerman, PB2T, Director
Martti Laine, OH2BH, Director
Fred Laun, K3ZO, Director
Robert Vallio, W6RGG, Director
Marty Woll, N6VI, Director
James Brooks, 9V1YC, Director
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