The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 707
BID: $OPDX.707
April 25, 2005
Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW
Provided by BARF-80 BBS 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, W2VU, N3SL, NG3K, W3UR & The Daily DX, K4ZLE, N4AA & QRZ DX, NA5U, K8IW, K8YSE, NE8Z, DL1EK & The DX News Letter, F5CWU & La Gazette du DX, F5NQL & UFT, I1HYW, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, IK7JWX, IK0DWN, IZ8BRI, IZ8CCW, JI6KVR & JA-IOTA Islands News, ON5NT, PA7FM, ST2BF, UN5PR and VA3RJ & ICPO for the following DX information.

DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT
According to the AR-Cluster Network for the week of Sunday, 17th/April, through Sunday, 24th/April there were 216 countries active. Countries available: 3A, 3B8, 3B9, 3D2, 3DA, 3V, 3W, 3X, 4J, 4L, 4S, 4X, 5B, 5H, 5N, 5R, 5T, 5U, 5V, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7P, 7Q, 7X, 8P, 8Q, 8R, 9A, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9L, 9M2, 9M6, 9N, 9V, 9Y, A2, A4, A6, A7, A9, AP, BV, BY, C2, C3, C6, C9, CE, CE9, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, D2, DL, DU, EA, EA6, EA8, EA9, EI, EK, EL, EP, ER, ES, ET, EU, EX, EY, EZ, F, FG, FK, FM, FO, FP, FR, FY, G, GD, GI, GJ, GM, GU, GW, HA, HB, HB0, HC, HI, HK, HL, HP, HR, HS, HV, HZ, I, IS, J3, J6, JA, JT, JW, JY, K, KG4, KH0, KH2, KH6, KH8, KL, KP2, KP4, LA, LU, LX, LY, LZ, OA, OD, OE, OH, OH0, OK, OM, ON, OX, OY, OZ, P2, P4, PA, PJ2, PJ7, PY, PZ, R1FJ, S5, S7, S9, SM, SP, ST, SU, SV, SV9, T7, T9, TA, TF, TG, TI, TK, TL, TN, TR, TT, TU, TY, TZ, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V3, V4, V5, V7, V8, VE, VK, VK9L, VK9N, VP5, VP8, VP8/h, VP9, VQ9, VR, VU, XE, YA, YB, YI, YK, YL, YN, YO, YS, YU, YV, Z2, Z3, ZA, ZB, ZC4, ZD7, ZD8, ZF, ZK1/s, ZK2, 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" (WFWL).

8Q, MALDIVES (ZD8 Op Cancelled!)
The four Spain operators who were planning a DXpedition to Ascension Island as ZD8C (see OPDX.703) have announced that they aborted their travel plans due to their work and schedules. However, the team will be active from Maldivas Islands next October to participate in 2005 CQ WW DX Contest with activity prior to the contest. The operators for this activity are:

          * EA1DGZ      Carlos Garcia Esquivias
          * EC1KW       Oscar Luis Fernandez Lanza
          * EA1DBC      Roberto Lucas Munoz
          * EA1AAW      Joaquin Diego Alonso
          * EA1CNF      Fernando Gavela Saiz

Activity will be on 80-10 meters, including the WARC bands. Their callsign has not been assigned yet, but possibly 8Q7C. More details are forthcoming. QSL Manager is EC1KW. QSL will be confirmed via direct (QRZ.com), or by the bureau.

A6, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Ghis, ON5NT, who has been in UAE since March 2005, is using his own callsign/license A6/ON5NT. He informs OPDX that he will be here until the end of June 2005 (time permitting), with an interruption during the last 2 weeks of May (holidays at home). He was heard this past week on 12 and 17 meters SSB. Watch 18145 kHz and 24945 kHz possibly between 1200-1430z. There has also been some CW/SSB/RTTY activity on 20/15/10 meters during the same time (20 meters, possibly later). QSL via ON5NT: Ghis Penny, P.O.Box 93, BE-9700 Oudenaarde, Belgium. Ghis states,

"Multi-color picture cards for A6/ON5NT will be ready in August. Incoming direct cards for 5U7JB, A61AV/p (AS-124) and A61Q/p (AS-021) are being answered during my absence. Former callsigns I manage are being taken care of when I am on leave from home."

ANTARCTIC NEWS
Victor "Vic" Karassev, RD1AL, who was active last year from the North Pole 32 drifting station (NP-32) as R0PA, is currently active as RD1AL/0, but not from the new North Pole 33 drifting station as first announced. The NP-2005 drifting station he is currently on is a multi- national expedition camp consisting of two tents very close to one another. The other camp is where tourists are currently trying to reach the North Pole by ski. The 7 member team of NP-2005 consists of a Russian, Ukrainian and Belorussian oceanographers, biologists and glaciologists. The actual temperature is about -21°C at a windspeed of 11 mtrs/sec. Vic's activity was expected to last until April 22nd, but now has been extended 2-3 more days due to a delay with their flight. His favorite frequency on CW is 14010 kHz. QSL via his homecall either via the bureau or via direct to: Victor Karassev, P.O.Box 73, St. Petersburg, 191126 RUSSIA.

For WAP information and the current WAP bulletin, visit the following Web page at:

CQ ANNOUNCES ANNUAL "DX MARATHON"
Richard Moseson, W2VU, Editor, CQ Amateur Radio, provides the following press release: (Visalia, California, 4/16/05) - CQ magazine today announced the revival of the long-dormant CQ DX Marathon last run in 1948. The new CQ DX Marathon will essentially be a year-long DX contest with stations competing to contact as many different countries ("entities") and CQ Zones of the World as possible over a full-year period, then starting again at zero at the beginning of the next year. The new CQ DX Marathon is part of CQ's broader "Waking Up DXing" program whose goal is to reinvigorate DXing, or contacting hams in faraway places. The program was outlined for the first time at the International DX Convention in Visalia, California, on April 16.

"DXing has always been the heart of ham radio," says CQ Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU, "and it continues to be the biggest thing that sets us apart from other forms of electronic communication. Healthy DXing activity is vital to the long-term health of amateur radio." Bob Locher, W9KNI, of Idiom Press, provided the inspiration for the new activity and joined in the announcement at Visalia. "Many active DXers have noticed a drop-off in general DXing activity outside of contests and DXpeditions," notes Locher. "I suggested that CQ start up an event that would promote activity all year long, would minimize geographic advantages and provide for simple scoring. It turns out that the CQ DX Marathon, which evolved after 1948 into the CQ World Wide DX Contest, was already based on the same concepts."

Scoring will be very simple, consisting of the total number of DX entities and CQ zones contacted over the course of a year. There will be no multipliers and each country and zone will count only once. In the case of a tie, the station whose last qualifying contact came earliest in the year will be the winner.

Complete details and rules for the new CQ DX Marathon will be published in the May issue of CQ magazine and will be posted on the CQ website

D4, CAPE VERDE
Alex, 4L5A, will be active as D4B in the CQ WW WPX CW Contest (May 28-29th) as a Single-Op/All-Band/High-Power entry. QSL via K1BV. Visit the following Web page at:

DAYTON HAMVENTION (DX Forum)
Jay Slough, K4ZLE, announced this past week the programs for the 2005 HamVention(r) DX Forum have been set as follows:

       VU4RBI  - probably by VU2RBI
       KP1-KP5 - Video of a past KP5 activation by AC8G
               -  Status on new operations by W8OI
       3Y0X    -  Not this year, but next?
       K9LA    -  propagation for the low bands and low sunspots
       N7NG    -  DXCC program updates from the ARRL
       Q&A     -  all presenters

Jay, states, "The DX Forum for the HamVention(r) is sponsored by the SW OHio DX Association. Every year we attempt to inform, entertain and educate the DX community through the DX Forum. We think the program this year will have something of interest for all DXers. The speakers certainly are qualified for their areas of discussion. Those who attended the forum last year will remember that we were crowded into a much smaller room than we were used to in previous years. It appears we may be in the same room this year. If you attended last year and felt the room size to be inadaquate, you may consider contacting HamVention's decision makers to let them know how you feel. I have. The DX Forum is currently scheduled for Room 4 at HARA Arena on Saturday, 21 May, 2005, from 9:30 AM until 12:15 PM. I hope to see you there."

HC, ECUADOR (Update to OPDX.706)
Dr. Rick, NE8Z, who will be here between April 25th and May 11th, states that he in addition to his HC1MD operation from Tumbaco, will also be operating from various portable QTHs as follows:

HC1MD/HC1 - Mt. Pichincha (Santa Maria family hacienda at 13,000 feet ASL): http://www.summitpost.org/show/mountain_link.pl/mountain_id/131

HC1MD/HC6 - Banos or Mt. Cotopaxi

http://www.summitpost.org/show/mountain_link.pl/mountain_id/131

HC1MD/HC7 - Sierrazul near Baeza (Amazon jungle)

His rig will be a Yaesu Ft-857 w/Outbacker vertical (12 vdc battery). QSL via K8LJG.

HZ, SAUDI ARABIA (Update to OPDX.706)
Thomas, HZ1EX, continues to be active on 40/17 meters CW with some 20 meters activity. His QSL Manager, SM0BYD, wants people to hold the cards for HZ1EX and send them in May as he will be away from home until then. NO IRCs, only 2 USDs. See details on (QRZ.com).

IOTA NEWS
AF-NEW. Just a reminder that Hossam/SU1HM, Said/SU1SK, Tarek/SU2TA and Sayed/SU1SA were expected to activate SU8IOTA from Disuqi Island (aka Nelson) in the Nile Delta and Sinai Region Group this past weekend. As this was being typed early Sunday morning, no QSNs were reported. Activity is to last until May 1st. QSL direct to SU1SK: Said Kamel, P.O. Box 190, New Ramsis Center, Cairo 11794, Egypt.

AS-017. Operator JR2RKK plans to be active from Izena Island (JIIA AS-017-016, Okinawa prefecture) as homecall/6, May 28-29th. QSL via his home callsign, direct or via the bureau.

AS-076. Operators JR5DPB and JE5HXL plan to be active from Teshima Island (Kagawa prefecture) as homecall/5 on May 8th. After their operation a new reference number will be assigned for the JIIA Award:

AS-105. Members of the Pyongtaek DX Club (D90HE) will be active from Kukhwa Island (KDN C027), May 20-22nd. Operators mentioned are: Han/DS2GOO, Lee/6K2CEW, Chae/DS5BSX and Young/6K2ABX. Operators will be active as D90HE/2, and their homecall/p on 80-10 meters SSB and RTTY. QSL D90HE/2 via DS2GOO and operator's homecall/p via their home callsign, by the bureau or direct. Visit the Web page at:

EU-NEW. Everything is reportedly a go for this rare, expensive and high risk operation (See Web below). Operators Jim/MM0CWJ and David/MM0ALM will activate Rockall from around June 14th to about June 21st. Hopefully more details will be forthcoming.

EU-052. Operators IK7JWX, IZ8EZP, IZ7AVU and IZ7ATN will be active as SV8/homecall/p from Corfu Island and several Lighthouses (GRE-117, GRE-156, GRE-159, GRE-170 and GRE-179), between May 6-9th. Activity will be on HF, the WARC bands on modes SSB/RTTY/PSK31. They will also particate in the ARI Contest (May 7-8th). QSL via the operator's instructions.

NA-062. Dave, N2NL, will be active as NK4AA from Key West (USI FL-040S, Monroe County), Florida, May 24-31st. He will also participate in the CQ WPX CW Contest (May 28-29th). QSL via N2NL (QRZ.com)

KP1-5 PROJECT NEWS (Update from Mike, NA5U). DX Organization Leadership:

"I am writing to ask for your assistance in an important matter affecting the pastime of DXing. It has been over ten years since Navassa Island (KP1) and Desecheo Island (KP5) have been on the air. This is because the islands are national wildlife refuges under the control of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), which banned Amateur Radio from the islands in the early 1990s.

Despite many requests for permits to visit the islands for Amateur Radio operations, the FWS has stated unequivocally that Amateur Radio is permanently banned from the islands. The FWS asserts that Desecheo is closed for safety reasons because of unexploded bombs, illegal aliens and drug smugglers on the island; Navassa is closed to protect sensitive habitat. Yet the review of over a thousand pages of internal FWS records and reports conducted by Brad Farrell, K4RT reveals that these claims are baseless. FWS records reveal that it considers Navassa a healthy and highly pristine habitat. Yet the agency turns a blind eye to the many Haitian fishermen who live there and start fires -- while refusing to issue permits to American Amateur Radio operators and other U.S. citizens for lawful use of the islands. In fact, the FWS recently considered encouraging more illegal alien fishermen to go to Navassa under a federal permit program!

Since 1994 the FWS has relied on this charade to deny applications for special use permits for Amateur Radio on Desecheo or Navassa no fewer than sixteen times. To top it off, the FWS has wholly misrepresented the facts to several Congressmen who have inquired on behalf of Amateur Radio operators whose requests for permits for Desecheo and Navassa were turned down, and certainly did not disclose to these Congressmen the information they have kept hidden in their internal reports and records.

This is alarming and just plain wrong, and it is why I am asking for your help. The KP1-5 Project, www.kp1-5.com, was launched to right these wrongs and we need your help. As a result of the efforts of hams across the nation, H.R. 1183 has been introduced in Congress. H.R. 1183 would require the FWS to open Desecheo and Navassa to limited public use. It is not Ham-Radio specific. It is critical that legislators hear from their constituents telling them to support and cosponsor H.R. 1183.

The KP1-5 Team met in Washington, DC on April 8th to present information to Congressional staff and other interested parties. The presentation was successful. We learned while we were there that this must be a 'grass-roots' effort. So, if the bill is going to pass, it is up to the DX community to make this happen.

Here is how your organization can help:
1. At your next meeting, or as appropriate for your group, please share the content of this letter.
2. Encourage your membership to individually contact their Congressman asking them to support and cosponsor H.R. 1183. The details on how to do this can be found at www.kp1-5.com. Urge them to follow up with phone calls!
3. Utilize your e-mail reflectors to get the word out to your members and other DXers.
4. As the leadership of your organization, write each Congressman whose constituents are members of your club urging them to support H.R. 1183.
5. Please consider a donation of any amount to the KP1-5 Project. The Lone Star DX Association has agreed to oversee this fund. Details on donations can be found on the website www.kp1-5.com . Any donation will offset direct costs associated with moving this effort forward. None of the considerable personal expenses of the KP1-5 Team will be reimburse by these donations. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions."

MU, GUERNSEY
Johannes, DF5AU, will be active as MU/DF5AU from May 14-15th. Activity will be on 160-10 meters (no WARC) on CW/SSB. QSL via his home callsign, by the bureau or direct.

QSL INFO AND NEWS
As of April 19th, Kim Larson, daughter of N3SL, is the QSL Manager for Stephen Clark, V73CS. Cards already are on hand, and logs are in route. Standard QSLing practices: direct with postage/green-stamps, or bureau. Details can be found at: http://www.qsl.net/n3sl/manager.htm The logs will also be posted (when received) on the same Web page. Stephen also will be using LoTW.

To celebrate the election of the new Pope Benedict XVI, there was activity this past week by Francesco, IK0FVC, from the Vatican as HV0A. QSL via IK0FVC.

SPECIAL EVENT (Enigma Machine To Be Reactivated After 60 Yrs)

In September 1939, the radio receivers of all radio amateurs were ordered to be confiscated, but many amateurs volunteered to become "Voluntary Interceptors" (V.I.'s) in their own homes. These V.I.'s intercepted encrypted Enigma messages transmitted in Morse Code which were passed to the code breakers at Bletchley Park. Accuracy was crucial in order to assist decoding of the message, but many of the intercepted signals were weak or fading and atmospheric conditions were often poor with QRM from loud local stations. Searching through the bands was very painstaking, but it was a task that was carried out with great skill and dedication, providing a most valuable service to the Allies.

As a tribute to the work of the V.I.'s sixty years ago, the Scarborough Special Events Group (SSEG) will be on the air as GB2HQ from GCHQ Scarborough over the weekend of May 7-8th. A souvenir QSL card showing an Enigma cipher machine and an HRO receiver will be issued to commemorate the occasion. GCHQ have provided a working Enigma machine for use by the SSEG and Ofcom and have given permission for transmission of an enciphered Enigma message to be sent in Morse Code on the amateur radio bands for this event only.

The group will be active on SSB, PSK and CW. The CW station will operate around 7015 or 3515 KHz and the Enigma message will be transmitted in Morse Code at 1100z on Saturday, May 7th, at a speed of 15 wpm. The message will consist of a few five letter groups which will be repeated at 1300 and 1900z.

GCHQ invites all licenced amateurs and listeners to submit a copy of this Enigma message and will award a certificate for a 100% accurate intercept. A copy of this message should be sent via club call G0OOO (Scarborough Special Events Group, 9 Green Island, Irton, Scarborough YO12 4RN) and can be enclosed with a QSL card. The cost of the certificate is =C2=A33.00 sterling, 5 Euro's, 5 USD, or 6 IRCs. (UK cheques should be made out to "SSEG"). All profits will be donated to GCHQ Scarborough Charities Fund. Full details will be published on their Web site at:

http://www.sseg.co.uk Depending on your location, conditions may not be favorable for reception on the day. However, in this respect, listeners will be experiencing the same problems faced by the V.I.'s some sixty years ago. FISTS members are invited to take part in a practical demonstration of history brought to life through amateur radio. For more information about the Enigma machine, please visit the following Web pages: http://www.codesandciphers.org.uk/enigma/ http://www.enigmahistory.org/enigma.html

SPECIAL EVENT
The European Space Research Institute's Radio Club will be operating until May 15th, using the special callsign II0ESA to celebrate mission ENEIDE. The operations are linked to a certificate autographed by the Italian astronaut Roberto Vittori, IZ6ERU, who is participating in the ESA mission and is onboard the International Space Station. QSL is via the bureau, and details about the certificate are available on the following Web page:

http://www.qsl.net/i0wtd/ii0esa.html

SPECIAL EVENT
A group of hams from Temirtau, Kazakhstan (UN6P, UN5PR, UN7PBY, UN4PG, UN8PO, UN8PIM, UN7PYL and UN9P), will be active as UP60P between May 5-12th to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. Activity will be on all bands and modes. QSL via UN5PR: Romeo Y. Loparev, P.O. Box 73, Temirtau, 472300, Rep. of Kazakhstan.

ST, SUDAN
Fernando, ST2BF, informs OPDX readers he is finally settled in his QTH in Sudan, and is "enjoying excellent propagation, low noise and a pile up now and then, HI." He has setup his Kenwood TS50, a modem for the digital modes and a 3 element tribander yagi, which is not very high up but is working quite well. Fernando also mentions, "I have not put up yet antennas for anything other than 10, 15 and 20m. I have been told by some amateurs that they worked ST2BF on 40m CW. That is certainly someone just having fun with my callsign, but not me. I wish I could put up an antenna for 40. Maybe some of these days, but I will keep you timely posted." Fernando was heard this past week mainly on 20/15 meters CW, and some 20 meters SSB. Watch 15/20 meters between 1300-1400z (maybe after 0530z on 20m). QSL is via Joe, W3HNK.

TT8, CHAD
QSL Manager Dennis, PA7FM, informs OPDX that there is good news for those who need Chad on a few bands. The working DXpedition to Chad has been extended to at least 2 more months. Originally, the operation was going to end around the 12th of May. The new final date has not been set, but it will be sometime in August, maybe even later. This will effect the whole operation off course. So far activity was mainly on 160-10 meters. As announced before, the 160 and 80 meters operations have been finished, and the very limited 6 meters operation will improve after the holidays. On May 12th, Michael, TT8M, will be off work for a period of about one month. Pierre, TT8AMO, will remain in Chad during that time. His operation will probably be even more limited due too the work load. After about a month (possibly mid-June), Michael will return to Chad bringing a 6 meter yagi, sponsored by the UKSMG

( http://www.uksmg.org ).

This will be just in the middle of the Sporadic E season, and it should be a good time to work into Europe easily. At that moment, Pierre is expected to be off work for about one month (mid-June to mid-July). Michael will also try to change his licence to be able to work some digital modes (now only CW and SSB on the licence). Currently, TT8AMO will only do CW, and TT8M will be on all modes plus 6 meters. According to PA7M, so far TT8M and TT8AMO made about 9000 QSOs on all bands (including 228 on 160m and 1171 on 80m). The QSL cards will be printed as soon as possible now, and not as originally planned after the operation. QSLs for both TT8M and TT8AMO should go to PA7FM. Remember, 1 USD does NOT cover postage outside EU.

ZA2, ALBANIA
Alfredo, IK7JWX, will be active as ZA2/IK7JWX/p from Fier and Cape Durres Lighthouse (ALB-002), May 1-4th. Activity will be on HF, the WARC bands on modes SSB/RTTY/PSK31. QSL via his home callsign, by the bureau or direct (QRZ.com).

ZK2, NIUE
Aki, JA1KAJ, is now active as ZK2QQ until May 8th. Activity will be on 80-10 meters CW/SSB/RTTY/SSTV. He was heard this past weekend on 17/15 meters SSB, 20 meters RTTY and 40/30 meters CW. QSL via JA1KAJ.

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