From kb8nw at hotmail.com Sun Dec 1 11:05:00 2019 From: kb8nw at hotmail.com (Tedd Mirgliotta (KB8NW)) Date: Sun, 01 Dec 2019 11:05:00 -0500 Subject: [DX] Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin #1442 Message-ID: SB DX @ WW < KB8NW $OPDX.1442 Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1442 The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster DX Bulletin No. 1442 BID: $OPDX.1442 December 2, 2019 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, WB6RSE, K7BHM, K8GI, K8YSE, W8GEX & 60m DX News, W9ILY, CO2AME, DL1SBF, DL7UXG & The DX News Letter, DxCoffee.com, DXNews.com, DX-World.Net, F5NQL, F6AJA & Les Nouvelles DX, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, PA2P, Pete Rayer & ISWL, RN3RQ, RW6HS, 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, 24th/November, through Sunday, 1st/December there were 225 countries active. Countries available: 3A, 3B8, 3D2, 3DA, 3V, 3W, 4J, 4L, 4O, 4S, 4U1U, 4X, 5A, 5B, 5H, 5N, 5R, 5T, 5U, 5W, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7X, 8P, 8Q, 8R, 9A, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9L, 9M2, 9M6, 9V, 9Y, A3, A4, A6, A7, A9, AP, BV, BY, C3, C5, C6, C9, CE, CE9, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, D2, D4, DL, DU, 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, FW, FY, G, GD, GI, GJ, GM, GU, GW, H40, HA, HB, HB0, HC, HH, HI, HK, HK0/a, HL, HP, HR, HS, HZ, I, IS, J3, J6, J7, J8, JA, JD/o, JT, 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, PJ5, PJ7, PY, PY0F, PZ, S0, S5, S7, S9, SM, SP, ST, SU, SV, SV5, SV9, T2, T30, T7, T8, TA, TF, TG, TI, TK, TR, TU, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V2, V3, V4, V5, V6, V7, V8, VE, VK, VK9C, VK9L, VK9N, VP2E, VP2M, VP2V, VP5, VP8, VP9, VR, VU, XE, XU, XW, XZ, YA, YB, YI, YL, YN, YO, YS, YU, YV, Z3, Z6, Z8, ZA, ZB, ZD7, ZD8, ZF, ZL, ZP, ZS * PLEASE NOTE: The report "could" contain "Pirate/SLIM" operations or more likely a "BUSTED CALLSIGN". As always, you never know - "Work First Worry Later". 3D2AG/P ROTUMA DXPEDITION NEWS. Antoine, 3D2AG, reports on November 29th the following on QRZ.com: "Sailing to Rotuma is now confirmed for the 14th of December, with start of operations around the 17th of December. Because of the need to take drums of diesel fuel, a heavy-duty generator, and other equipment flying is not an option. Focus will be on low bands including 160m, 80m and 60m, with QRO when required. There will be NO internet access during the expedition; FT8 logs will be uploaded to Club- Log AFTER the expedition and CW/SSB/RTTY contacts will be recorded on paper logs as customary for this OP. Efforts are being made now to source a backup generator, fuel and pack antennas / gear ready for the end of the month. Please note that as this is a one-op expedition, the station may not be QRV all the time. Efforts will be made to be active at local SR/SS and known opening times to EU, NA, SA, OC and AS. The Southern Es 6m season has officially begun, and there will be much 6m activation as well from Rotuma. Beware of pirates impersonating the Rotuma expedition, especially in EU! QSL Information: Via 3D2AG, using PayPal to email address (nyeurt at gmail.com) (preferred, safer)/ direct for CW/SSB/RTTY and ClubLog's OQRS (FT8/Digimodes only). No LoTW unless OQRS made first and ADIF file sent (expedition uses paper logs for CW). Donations welcome to assist with generator and fuel procurement for low bands QRO operation." EDITOR'S NOTES: For more details, updates, and operating schedule and frequencies, watch the QRZ.com at: https://www.qrz.com/lookup/3D2AG/P 3Y0I BOUVET ISLAND DXPEDITION. It was reported on November 27th, on the 3Y0I Bouvet Island Web page (https://bouvetoya.org/3yoi-receives-25k-grant) and the Rebel DX Group's FacBook page (https://www.facebook.com/rebeldxgroup) that the team received "a donation of 25,000 USDs from one of the well- known DX club. They didn't ask any monkey business questions and decided to support our project based on our preparations and the first attempt to activate Bouvet Island." They also mentioned, "Since we have already collected more than 10,000 USDs at our GoFundMe page, it put us at 35,000+ USDs out of 85 thousand of our missing budged and gives us further moti- vation to continue and develop the 3YOI DXpedition project." On November 30th, they reported on FaceBook: "Following the generous grant of 25,000 USDs today we received an donation from amateur radio enthusiast who donate PayPal of 10,000 USDs shrinking our missing budget to 40 thousands USD. We're are very grateful for supporting and believing in our project. We strongly encourage to donate via our GoFundMe page ( https://www.gofundme.com/f/3y0i-bouvet-island-expedition ) where it's possible to place donor's callsign and list your name among other donors who have been backing the 3Y0I DXpedition." ----------------------------------------------------- For more details and updates on the Bouvet Island DXpedition, watch the following Web page and Media sites at: This is the main site where you can find more details on the project and news: https://bouvetoya.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bouvetoya.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/Bouvetoyaorg Rebel DX Group: https://www.facebook.com/rebeldxgroup 4S, SRI LANKA. Bernd, DK7TF, will once again be active as 4S7DLG from Ambalangoda. His length of stay unknown at this time. Activity should be on all HF bands mainly on SSB and FT8, using a TS-480 into a Hexbeam and GP. QSL via M0OXO or his OQRS. 4X0, ISRAEL. Members of the Israel Amateur Radio Club (I.A.R.C) are pleased to announce the 2019 XMAS activity for its national award program: Holy-land Christianity On The Air (HOCOTA). The program includes numerous sites with major significance to Christianity - well-known to every Christian and based by the language and citation from the holy books, Christian tradition, beliefs and heritage, as well documented archeology and other researches. This is the third year of the program and the activity will be commenced during the 2019 Christmas season (December 26-29th) by 5 special event multi-operators stations. The current sub-program includes Christian sites from various sectors of the program including Kar Nachum, Caesarea, Jerusalem, Latrun and Massada. Look for the following to be active: 1. Callsign 4X2XMAS; Mount Tabor SV, GREECE, Church of the Holy Apostles; Ref. No. (WW. Loc. KM72SV, HOLYLAND Loc. K-07-YZ, HOLYLAND N05KN and 4XFF-0064); Operators 4Z1DZ, 4Z5SL, 4X1ON, 4X6ZM, 4Z1KD and 4X1KW; QSL ONLY via LoTW and eQSL.CC; NO BUREAU - DO NOT WASTE YOUR CARD or YOUR TIME 2. Callsign 4X3XMAS; CAESAREA - Crusader Fortress; Ref. No. (Category F-01, WW. Loc. KM72KM, F-09-FD and 4XFF0161); Operators 4Z1NB, 4X1OM, 4Z1KM, 4X6UT, 4X1ST, 4X6AG and 4Z1NH; QSL ONLY via LoTW and eQSL.CC; NO BUREAU - DO NOT WASTE YOUR CARD or YOUR TIME 3. Callsign 4X19HNY; JERUSALEM; Ref. No. (WW. Loc. KM72 and J-18-JS); Operators 4X1KS, 4X1ZZ, 4X5MG and 4X5OT; QSL ONLY via LoTW and eQSL.CC; NO BUREAU - DO NOT WASTE YOUR CARD or YOUR TIME 4. Callsign 4X9XMAS; LATRUN; Ref. No. (WW. Loc. KM71LU and G-17-RM); Operators 4X6HU, 4Z4UO, 4Z1AR, 4X5ZS, 4X4KX and 4X5DL; QSL ONLY via LoTW and eQSL.CC; NO BUREAU - DO NOT WASTE YOUR CARD or YOUR TIME 5. Callsign 4X7XMAS; Stella Maris Monastery and LIFHTHOUS ISR-004; Ref. No. (WW. Loc. KM72MR and G16-HF); Operators 4X5HF, 4X6RE, 4X5DL, 4Z4DX and 4X4MF; QSL ONLY via LoTW and eQSL.CC; NO BUREAU - DO NOT WASTE YOUR CARD or YOUR TIME For more details, see QRZ.com for each callsign..... 6Y, JAMAICA. Neil, G0RNU, will once again be active as 6Y/G0RNU from the QTH of 6Y5NZ at St. Mary, Jamaica, between February 4-17th. Activity will be on most days, on 80-6 meters depending on propagation and other activ- ities. Look for more details on his operations/activities on his QRZ.com page. QSL via eQSL. C5, THE GAMBIA (Reminder). Paul, SA6PIS, will be active as C56PIS from the Ocean Bay Hotel, Bakau, The Gambia, between now and December 13th. Activity will be holiday style on various HF bands. QSL via his home callsign. C5, THE GAMBIA. Carlo, ON4BR, will be active as C56BR from The Gambia between now December 14th. Activity will be holiday style on various HF bands using CW, SSB and FT8. QSL via his home callsign direct. C5, THE GAMBIA. Andre, ON7YK, is once again active as C5YK from Bijilo until early March, 2020. Activity will be on 60/40/30/20/17/15/12/10/6 meters using mostly FT8 as well as CW, SSB, JT65, JT9 and RTTY. QSL via his home callsign, direct, LoTW or eQSL. Please NO QSL direct to his home address before March, 2020!!!! Visit his Web page at: http://www.on7yk.eu/index.html CO, CUBA (NA-015). Amed, CO2AME, will be active during the ARRL 10 Meter Contest (December 14-15th) as a Single-Op/Single-Band/SSB-Mode/Low-Power/ No Assisted. QSL via CO2AME. DXCC'S MOST WANTED (ClubLog). The "DXCC Most Wanted" entities list has been updated on ClubLog as of October 27th. The list contains 340 entities. The following are the top 10 entities: 1. P5 DPRK (North Korea) 6. BV9P Pratas Island 2. 3Y/B Bouvet Island 7. KH7K Kure Island 3. FT5/W Crozet Island 8. KH3 Johnston Island 4. BS7H Scarborough Reef 9. 3Y/P Peter 1 Island 5. CE0X San Felix Islands 10. FT5/X Kerguelen Island The only change this month is 3Y/P Peter 1 Island and FT5/X Kerguelen Island switch places. The complete "DXCC Most Wanted" entities list (340) is available at: https://secure.clublog.org/mostwanted.php E4, PALETINE. "Russian Robinson Club" operators Vasily/R7AL, Vasily/RA1ZZ, Leonid/RW9JZ and Nikolay/R5EC will be active as E44RU from Palestine (near Jericho) between January 5-14th, 2020. Their pilot is Victor, UA3AKO. Activity will be on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB and FT8 (F/H). QSL via R7AL, ClubLog's OQRS or LoTW. For more details and updates, see: https://dxpedition.wixsite.com/e44ru E4, PALETINE (Update). Members of the Radio Club de Provins (F6KOP) will be active as E44CC (not E44C as first announced) from Palestine between February 5-17th. This is the same group who activated 9LY1JM from Banana Island (AF-037), Sierra Leone, last year. Activity will be on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY, PSK, FT4 and FT8. QSL via F5GSJ, direct, by the Bureau, LoTW or their OQRS (preferred). For more details and updates, see: https://palestine2020.wordpress.com FP, ST. PIERRE & MIQUELON (Early Announcement). Eric, KV1J, will once again be operating from the Island of Miquelon (NA-032, DIFO FP-002 WLOTA 1417, Grid GN17) as FP/KV1J between June 30th and July 14th, 2020. This is his 14th trip to the island. Activity will be on 160-10 meters (no 60m - not authorized) using CW, SSB, RTTY, FT8/FT4 (but primarily SSB, RTTY and FT8/FT4) and the satellites. He will generally be on the highest frequency band that is open (favoring 12/10m). He will be active in the IARU HF World Championship (July 11-12th). ADDED NOTE: Eric will usually try to be on as many Satellite passes as he can when the WX is good, generally favoring the FO-29, XW-2x, AO-7, and possibly the FM birds. Weekends may be limited since he will be concentrating on the low(er) bands and contests. QSL via KV1J, direct or by the Bureau. Also eQSL and LoTW. For more details and updates, check out his Web page at: http://www.kv1j.com/fp/July20.html HR, HONDURAS. Gerard, F2JD, will once again be active as HR5/F2JD from Copan-Ruinas in Honduras between December 12th and April 4th. As usual he will be active on 160-6 meters using CW, SSB and the Digital modes. Paper QSL from F6AJA direct or via the REF Bureau. The logs will be posted on the LNDX Web site at: http://LesNouvellesDX.fr/voirlogs.php HS, THAILAND. Brad, VK2BY, will be active as HS0ZNR from Nam Yuen, in the Province of Ubon Ratchathani between December 14th, and January 8th, 2020. Activity will be on 80-10 meters using SSB and FT8, with IC-7300 w/200 watts in a Hex Beam. QSL via VK2BY. He will upload his log to Club- Log and LoTW. IOTA NEWS.............. NA-249. (Update) Members of the Radio Operadores del Este (RODE) will be active as KP3RE from Culebra Island between February 21-23rd, 2020. Operators mentioned are Rafael/KP4RV, Felix/KP4RD, Daniel/ KP3H, Carlos/WP4U, Carlos/WP4N, Jose/KP4VP, Luis/NP3V, Jose/ WP4PBS, Rafael/KP3S, Jose/NP3OT and Emmanuel/NP4D. QSL via EA5GL. SA-034. Jon, EA1VE, will be active as HC2/EA1VE from Puna Island, Ecuador, during sometime in January 2020. Activity will be on various HF bands. QSL via his home callsign. PLEASE NOTE: Since the Webmasters of the new have 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...... ISWL CALLSIGNS (For December 2019). The following ISWL club callsigns will be used throughout the month of December 2019: GX4BJC/A - Operated /A, Operated from Great Sutton, in Cheshire, by Geof, M0BAU, (WAB Square - SJ37 - England, IOTA EU-005, WLOTA 1841). MX1SWL/A - Operated /A, from Walton on the Naze, in Essex, by Herbie, G6XOU, (WAB Square - TM22 - England, IOTA EU-005, WLOTA 1841). ALL QSLs will be handled by Dick, M5DIK - The QSL Manager and NOT the individual operator. The I.S.W.L. is a member of the European PSK Club. All QSL info is on or or or via . NO LoTW. NEW OFFICERS FOR 2020. Members of the Central Arizona DX Association (CADXA) is very pleased to announce the newly elected officers for 2020: President - Larry Loen, WO7R Vice-President - Mike Fulcher, KC7V Treasurer - Mike Wright, N7MW Secretary - Bob Davies, K7BHM Members-at-Large: - Fred Hoffert, NA2U - John Jolly, WA7NWL Past President - Lee Finke, KY7M The Central Arizona DX Association is an ARRL affiliated Amateur Radio Club with primary membership from the greater Phoenix, Arizona. They specialize in DX communications and Contesting. They also support the managerial activities of the International DX Convention in Visalia, CA. Their club station callsign is K7UGA, in honor of the late Senator from Arizona; Senator Barry M. Goldwater - K7UGA. For more information, please contact Larry, WO7R, or go to their Web site at: http://cadxa.org PA75, THE NETHERLANDS (Special Event). In 2020, radio amateurs in the North Limburg region (The Netherlands), will be on the air with special event station PA75OV. Just like in 2015 with PA70OV, the station PA75OV is a special event and Memorial Station for the occasion to commemorate 75 years of freedom and the WW-II Operation Veritable. The special event station, PA75OV, will be active throughout 2020; the live event will take place during the Liberation weekend from Friday, February 14th, 2020, to Sunday, February 16th, 2020, in the old town hall of Gennep on the second floor, performed by more then 20 amateur radio team members. There are no particular band plans: HF, VHF and UHF activities will be announced on the DX-Clusters. QSL cards will be sent automatically by the end of 2020 after closing of the station. For more details, see: http://www.pa75ov.nl This website contains information from Operation Veritable and images from PA70OV and the preparations for PA75OV so far and lots more. PROPAGATION FORECAST/REPORT (December 2-8th)....... Dec/02nd AN Dec/05th AN Dec/07th AN Dec/03rd AN Dec/06th AN Dec/08th AN Dec/04th AN SOLAR REFERENCE KEYS/INDEXES AND GEOMAGNETIC REFERENCE ------------------------------------------------------ NORMALITY GEOMAG K Values Alpha ----------------- ------ -------- ------ AN - Above Normal Quiet K=0-1 0-7 HN - High Normal Unsettled K=2 8-15 LN - Low Normal Active K=3 16-29 BN - Below Normal Minor Storm K=4 30-49 DIS - Disturbed Major Storm K=5 50-99 VRY DIS - Very Disturbed Severe Storm K=6-9 100-400 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 * 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 * Realtime 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) (November 24th & December 1st) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3G1D via XQ1FM EA8/RU3XY via RU3XY OH/DK4ZC via DK4ZC 4U25B via 9A2AA EF8P via EA8DA OH5Z via OH5LIZ 5B4AJC via UA3DX & (L) EG5ANV via EA5ASU OH9SCL via OH9AB (2012...>>) 5R8KU via JA8VE EH2EUS via EA2TP (O) OR18WTO via ON4KNP 9A0YOTA via 9A0YOTA (O) EI0NMMI via EI6AL & (L) OR2F via ON8LDS 9M8YY via JR3WXA & (L) GB19YOTA via GB19YOTA (O) OR8AJ via ON8AJ 9N1AA via N4GNR & (L) HC5DX via W3HNK & (L) PJ2/K9DR via K9DR C31CT via EA3QS HK7AAG via EA5GL PJ7TM via K2GSJ C6AGU via HA7RY & (L) HS0ZFV via DL3DXX (O) PY7XC/PY0F via PY7XC (d) CR3DX via OM2VL & (L) IB9T via IT9TQH & (L) SF6F via SA6FOL (L) CR3S via G4IRN (L) II4VAL via IK4PKK TR8CR via F6AJA CR3X via K2PF (O/L) II9P via IT9CHU (L/d) UE29DX via RQ7L CR5O via CT7AJL & (L) KH0/KC0W via KC0W (d) V31CQ via K5PS & (L) CT9/OM7LW via OM7LW (L/e) KL7/N7CW via N7CW VP2ETE via W3HNK & (L) CT9/UZ5DX via UZ5DX(B);HG5DX(d) KP4RV via EA5GL (d/L) VP2MPS via K2PS & (L) D4Z via HB9DUR (d/L); IK2NCJ (B) LO5D via LU8EOT VP9I via WW3S & (L) DM4X via DK1MAX (L) LT1F via LU1FKR (d) VU2HBC via DL7BC DQ4Q via DJ5FI (L) LY0A via LY5A XV9D via EA5GL (d/L) EA6/EI6DX via RA3R OE3XMA via OE1DIA YW5F via YV5DTA EA8/IK1PMR via HB9FKK & (L) OG60IPA via OH4MDY ZA/IK2RLM via IK2RLM (e/L); EA8/RC5A via RC5A & (L) OH/DK4ZC via DK4ZC IZ2LSP (d) (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 AT CLUBLOG.ORG THIS WEEK...... https://clublog.org/logsearch/XZ2D NEW QSL MANAGER. QSL Manager Vasiliy, RW6HS, informs OPDX that he is now the QSL Manager for the following station: CN8NAY QSLS RECEIVED VIA LoTW: 4U1UN, 6V7A, 9G2HO, 9Z4Y, D4C, EI0R, FO/K5PI, FS/VA3DF, FW/M0JHQ , KH2L, KH8/K1TF, NP2X, OA1F, T6AA, TX7T, UX1UA, UX2X, VK2GR, VP2VWW and XP2I QSLS RECEIVED VIA MAIL: 5T2KW, 8R1/AH0G, A35JT, DS2GOO/3 (AS-080), EX0QP, YW6X and ZY6V (SA-019) QSLS RECEIVED VIA THE BUREAU: 4L1FP, 4L4LG, 9N1MM, 9N7EI, A25UK, A52JF, CR3W, CT9/DL5AXX, FJ/F6CUK, HP1/EA5XV, JT1XC, KP4/EI9FBB (NA-249), LA/OK2NAJ (EU-044), LA/OK2NAJ (EU-036), OZ/DK2AJ (EU-088), P40FY, PJ4/MW0ZJE, PS1S (SA-077), TF/DL6MHW, TL8AO, TN5E, TO6OK, TT8KO, V73MT and Z66D --- We would like to see more QSL Bureaus (such as AS/US/SA/AF.. etc) to send in their info.... V2, ANTIGUA. Flavio, IW2NEF, will be active as V26FP from Antigua (NA-100) between March 6-13th, 2020. Activity will be on various HF bands using SSB and the Digital modes. QSL via IK2DUW, direct, ClubLog's OQRS or LoTW. V6, MICRONESIA (Reminder). Haru, JA1XGI, will once again be active as V6K from Kosrae Island (OC-059) between December 2-9th. Activity will be on 160/80/40/30/20 meters using mainly CW with some RTTY and FT8. Focus will be on EU/NA/SA/Middle East of Asia. He will also be in the ARRL 160m CW Contest (December 6-8th). Suggested frequencies are: CW - 1815/1822.5, 3525, 7025, 10115 and 14040 kHz RTTY - 7035, 10140 and 14080 kHz FT8(N) - 1840*, 3573, 7074, 10136 and 14074 kHz FT8(F/H) - 7051, 10131 and 14085 kHz * QSX 1908 (JA) ** Frequency on the above will change by band condition. His equipment will be an Icom IC7300 with a DXV600L(Tiny PA) into two vertical antennas. QSL via his home callsign, direct, by the Bureau, Club- Log's OQRS or LoTW (available after 3 month). For more details and up- dates, watch: http://v6k.client.jp *********************************************************************** TO BE ADDED TO THE OPDX MAILING LIST -- Click or send requests to: Subscribe: (mailto:kb8nw at hotmail.com?subject=subscribe) Unsubscribe: (mailto:kb8nw at hotmail.com?subject=unsubscribe) Just a reminder, you can still obtain the OPDX Bulletins via the OPDX Web page (provided by John, K8YSE) [http://www.papays.com/opdx.html], QRZ.com (under Forums; News; Special Events, Contests.. etc.), several DX Mailing Lists, and two different UseNet Groups (rec.radio.info and rec.radio.amateur.dx). The weekly bulletin (issue # from the OPDX Web page URL) is also posted on the following Media pages: NODXA FaceBook -- https://www.facebook.com/NorthernOhioDxAssociation Twitter -- https://twitter.com/kb8nw_opdx ALSO VISIT THE NORTHERN OHIO DX ASSOCIATION'S WEB PAGES AT: http://www.nodxa.org/ http://www.facebook.com/NorthernOhioDxAssociation *********************************************************************** * All excerpts and distribution of "The OPDX Bulletin" are granted as long as KB8NW/OPDX/BARF80 receives credit. ** To contribute DX info, please send via InterNet Mail to: (kb8nw at arrl.net) or (kb8nw at hotmail.com) Information can now be faxed to the following phone line at: 1-419-828-7791 (F A X only!) ....... 73 de Tedd KB8NW /EXIT *********************************************************************** Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW - E-mail addresses: or Editor of the Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin (OPDX - DXer's Tool of Excellence) President of the "Northern Ohio DX Association" (NODXA) DX Chairman for the "Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society ARRL Assistant Director of the Great Lakes Division Sysop of the "Basic Amateur Radio Frequency BBS" (BARF80.ORG) From kb8nw at hotmail.com Sun Dec 15 10:59:00 2019 From: kb8nw at hotmail.com (Tedd Mirgliotta (KB8NW)) Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2019 10:59:00 -0500 Subject: [DX] Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin #1444 Message-ID: SB DX @ WW < KB8NW $OPDX.1444 Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1444 The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster DX Bulletin No. 1444 BID: $OPDX.1444 December 16, 2019 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, WB6RSE, K8GI, K8YSE, W8GEX & 60m DX News, 4X1VF, DL1SBF, DL7UXG & The DX News Letter, DxCoffee.com, DXNews.com, DX-World.Net, F5NQL, F6AJA & Les Nouvelles DX, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, I2YSB, IW4CLV, RN3RQ, RW6HS, 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, 8th/December, through Sunday, 15th/December there were 214 countries active. Countries available: 3B8, 3D2, 3DA, 3V, 4J, 4L, 4O, 4S, 4U1U, 4X, 5A, 5B, 5R, 5T, 5W, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7X, 8P, 8Q, 9A, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9M2, 9M6, 9Q, 9V, 9Y, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A9, AP, BV, BY, C3, C5, C6, CE, CE0X, CE9, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, D4, DL, DU, E5/s, E7, EA, EA6, EA8, EA9, EI, EK, EL, ER, ES, ET, EU, EX, EY, F, FG, FK, FM, FO, FP, FR, FS, FY, G, GD, GI, GJ, GM, GU, GW, H4, HA, HB, HB0, HC, HH, HI, HK, HL, HP, HR, HS, HV, HZ, I, IS, J3, J6, J7, J8, JA, JD/o, JT, JY, K, KG4, KH0, KH2, KH6, KL, KP2, KP4, LA, LU, LX, LY, LZ, OA, OD, OE, OH, OH0, OK, OM, ON, OX, OY, OZ, P2, P4, PA, PJ2, PJ4, PJ7, PY, PZ, S0, S5, S7, SM, SP, ST, SV, SV5, SV9, T2, T5, T7, T8, TA, TF, TG, TI, TK, TR, TT, TU, TZ, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V2, V3, V4, V5, V6, V7, V8, VE, VK, VP2E, VP2M, VP5, VP6, VP8, VP9, VR, VU, XE, XT, XU, XW, XX9, YA, YB, YL, YN, YO, YS, YU, YV, Z2, Z3, Z6, Z8, ZA, ZB, ZD7, ZD8, ZF, ZL, ZP, ZS * PLEASE NOTE: The report "could" contain "Pirate/SLIM" operations or more likely a "BUSTED CALLSIGN". As always, you never know - "Work First Worry Later". 3D2AG/P ROTUMA DXPEDITION NEWS (Update). By the time you read this, Antoine, 3D2AG, should arrive on Rotuma; around Monday 16th, 0600 UTC. He was expected to sail on the 14th, and it is a 48 hour trip to Rotuma. He mentions that unloading the boat might only happen during the morning of Tuesday, the 17th (local time). His 3D2AG/p activity may not start until the evening of 17th or morning of 18th. EDITOR'S NOTES: For more details, updates, and operating schedule and frequencies, watch the QRZ.com at: https://www.qrz.com/lookup/3D2AG/P 4U1, AUSTRIA (Special Event). As of December 12th, members of the Amateur Radio Contest DX Club (ARCDXC, http://www.cqdx.ru/4u1a ) are active using the special callsign 4U1XMAS during the Christmas season from the 4U1A station at the United Nations Vienna International Center. Activity will last until December 31st. They have been on 80/40/20/15 meters using CW and SSB. They state that there will be an International team of operators - Santa, Ded Moroz & (YL) Snegurochka. QSL via UA3DX, direct or by the Bureau. Just a reminder that this counts for Austria for DXCC purposes. 4X, ISRAEL (Update/Correction). Members of the "Holyland DX Group" will operate as 4X9R from the heart of Beith Shearim site between December 27-28th. The operators mentioned are Ruben/4Z5FI, Mark/4Z4KX, Alexander/ 4Z4AK, Ros/4Z5LA, Yuli/4X6HP, Vladimir/4Z5IW, Hilik/4X6YA, Arthur/4X4DZ, Jan/4X1VF and Hal/W8HC. Beith Shearim is a very attractive site for tour- ists from all over the world. The catacombs were declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in July 2015. (https://biblewalks.com/sites/BeitShearimCatacombs.html) They will start their activity on Friday, December 27th, at 0730 UTC, and close down on Saturday, December 28th, 1300 UTC. Activity will be on 80-10 meters using CW and SSB, with two stations. Reference numbers: Holy- land Square - H-07-YZ (not J-07-HF) and WFF 4XFF-063. QSL Manager is Ros, 4Z5LA. CE0Y, EASTER ISLAND. Oleh, KD7WPJ (UR5BCP), will be active as CE0Y/UR5BCP from Hanga Roa, Easter Island (SA-001) between December 26-31st. Activity will be on 60-6 meters using CW, SSB and FT8/FT4 with 100 watts. QSL via KD7WPJ, direct or by the Bureau. Digital mode contacts will be uploaded to LoTW. CE0Y, EASTER ISLAND. Mike, VE7ACN, will be active as CE0Y/VE7ACN from Easter Island between March 19-30th (2020). Activity will be on 80-10 meters (possibly 160m) using CW and SSB. QSL via VE7ACN, ClubLog's OQRS or LoTW. DXCC NEWS. The following operation has been reportedly approved by the ARRL for DXCC credit: VU7RI -- Lakshadweep Islands (2019) FJ, ST. BARTHELEMY. Col, MM0NDX, reports on Eham.net (dated December 10th): "Tentative plans to return to St Barts in early May 2020. I was last in St. Barts (for one day only) in 2014 after the PJ7PK NA-247 IOTA DX- pedition. Instead of FJ/MM0NDX, I may use FJ/OJ0Y, or even both! Couple more ops may join me. More info after the New Year." FS, ST. MARTIN. Mike, VE7ACN (aka RW0CN, VA7XW, AA7CH), will be active as FS/RW0CN from Saint Martin Island between February 9-16th (2020). There is a possibility (but not guaranteed) of a side trip to Tintamarre Island (NA-199) as FS/VE7ACN. Activity will be on 80-10 meters (possibly 160m, if there is room) using mainly CW and SSB (FT8 very unlikely). He also plans to be in the ARRL DX CW Contest (February 15-16th). Equipment is a K3 w/Expert 1.3K-FA (1300 W) into a vertical and/or Inverted V. QSL via ClubLog's OQRS (preferred), LoTW, direct or by the Bureau to VE7ACN. Mike also plans to go to Puerto Rico after this operation (see KP4 below). HC, ECUADOR (Update). Antonio "Toni", EA5RM, is now in Ecuador until January 5th. He is on the air during his spare time mainly as HC3ACT (not HC3/EA5RM as first announced) from Loja. He may also be active as HC2/EA5RM from Guayaquil. His activity will be on 40-10 meters using SSB and the Digital modes. QSL via his home callsign. IOTA NEWS.............. EU-125. Volker, DJ8VW, is once again active as 5P8VW from Romo Island (WWFF OZFF-0004) until December 21st. Activity will be on 160-6 meters, including the 30/17/12m bands, using CW, SSB and FT8. QSL via DJ8VW ONLY DIRECT, LoTW, eQSL or ClubLog's OQRS. PLEASE NOTE: Since the Webmasters of the new have 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...... J6, ST. LUCIA. John, AI6LY, will be active as J6/AI6LY from Soufriere, St. Lucia, between January 4-11th (2020). Activity will be holiday style on various HF bands. QSL via his home callsign. KP4, PUERTO RICO. Mike, VE7ACN (aka RW0CN, VA7XW, AA7CH), will be active as KP4/AA7CH from Vieques Island (NA-249) between January 31st and Feb- ruary 5th (2020). Activity will be on 80-10 meters (possibly 160m, if there is room) using mainly CW and SSB (FT8 very unlikely). Equipment is a K3 w/Expert 1.3K-FA (1300 W) into a vertical and/or Inverted V. QSL via Club- Log's OQRS (preferred), LoTW, direct or by the Bureau to VE7ACN. "MARCONI: GENIUS AND BRAINWAVE" 2020 (Award). Cristiano Cornini, IW4CLV, A.R.I. Fidenza Radio Club President, reports the following: ?MARCONI: GENIUS AND BRAINWAVE? is an international amateur radio award organized by A.R.I. Fidenza (www.arifidenza.it), a Radio Club affiliated to A.R.I., Associazione Radioamatori Italiani (Italian Amateur Radio League) with the sponsorship and the historical consultancy and supervision of "Guglielmo Marconi Foundation" (www.fgm.it) and "Marconi Museum" (www.museomarconi.it). The main objective of the award is to commemorate and honor some of the most important events and steps in the life of the great Italian scientist, spreading their knowledge as much as possible both at national level as well as internationally. The award period lasts the whole year 2020: every month of the year is dedicated to one specific event, and is associated to a different special callsign. Further details visiting our official website: www.arifidenza.it We believe that is mainly interest all Ham Radio operators, so please notify it to your associated OM and /or your webmaster/website. OPDX MAILING LIST (Just A Reminder). The "new" OPDX Mailing List is back up and running! Details on how to subscribe/unsubscribe are at the bottom of this bulletin. PLEASE pass the word around.... Thanks and 73 de Tedd KB8NW PACIFIC TOUR. Operators Will/AA4NC and Ron/AA4VK will be active from four islands during 2020. Their schedule is as follows: French Polynesia -- As TX4N between February 11-17th (2020). Look for Will to be active during the ARRL DX CW Contest (February 15-16th, 2020) as a Single-Op-Low-Power entry. Norfolk Island ---- As VK9NR between February 20-25th. Vanuatu ----------- As YJ0NC between March 3-6th. Fiji -------------- As 3D2AA during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Single-Op-Low-Power entry. Operator will be Will. Activity on most islands will be holiday style on various HF bands. No other details were provided. QSL all callsigns via EA5GL. POSSIBLE NEW DXCC ENTITY (Update). On November 23rd, more than 200,000 registered voters on the Islands of Bougainville, part of the Papua New Guinea (PNG), headed to the polls to cast their ballots to choose between "greater autonomy within PNG or full independence." Bougainville voted overwhelmingly (98%) for independence from Papua New Guinea. The govern- ment of Papua New Guinea has not yet announced what they are going to do next. For more details, see: https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/11/asia/bougainville-papua-new-guinea-intl-hnk/index.html https://www.euronews.com/2019/12/12/could-bougainville-be-the-world-s-newest-country https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/11/world/asia/bougainville-independence-papua-new-guinea.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/bloody-past-casts-long-shadow-over-pacific-islands-poised-to-become-worlds-newest-nation/2019/12/13/0c9472be-1d75-11ea-977a-15a6710ed6da_story.html PROPAGATION FORECAST/REPORT (December 16-21st)....... Dec/16th AN Dec/19th HN Dec/21st HN Dec/17th AN Dec/20th AN Dec/22nd AN Dec/18th 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 *** Solar Cycle 25 Forecast Update (date December 9th): The NOAA/NASA co-chaired, international panel to forecast Solar Cycle 25 released their latest forecast for Solar Cycle 25. The forecast consensus: a peak in July, 2025 (+/- 8 months), with a smoothed sunspot number (SSN) of 115. The panel agreed that Cycle 25 will be average in intensity and similar to Cycle 24. Additionally, the panel concurred that solar minimum between Cycles 24 and 25 will occur in April, 2020 (+/- 6 months). If the solar minimum prediction is correct, this would make Solar Cycle 24 the 7th longest on record (11.4 years). For more details, see: https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/solar-cycle-25-forecast-update 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 * 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 * Realtime 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)(December 15th) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4L8A via K1BV & (L) EG1HMT via EA1OK OQ4U via ON4AMX 4U1XMAS via UA3DX EG5ERC via EB5AG (e/L) OR18GTM via ON6UJ 5P3KP via DL3KP EH2WFF via EA2BV OR18NBT via ON4ANN 5P8VW via DJ8VW & (L) F/PB8DX via PB8DX OR4LAN via ON4LAN 5Q6EE via OZ1BII (O/L) HF2020HNY via SP2PBM (B/d/OL) R95WJV via RA9WJV 5Z4/G3AB via G3AB (L) K7BX/VP9 via K7BX SO5N via SP5BMU & (L) A75GR via M0OXO (O) LS2D via EC6DX & (L) YP1989TM via YO2KQT (e) AO2XMA via EA3RKF M6T via G4BWP (O/L) ZS3Y via N4GNR (d/L) DF0HSC via DJ1YFK ON/PA82AD via PA3EFR EE5T via EA5URT (d/L) OP75USA via ON4JM (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 AT CLUBLOG.ORG THIS WEEK...... https://clublog.org/logsearch/A50BOC https://clublog.org/logsearch/A50BPC RK3SWB/1 QSL STATUS. Vasily, RA1ZZ, states, "There is a delay with printing QSL.. Hope this question will be closed until the end of December. Nevertheless IOTA Clublog auto-confirmation is OK!" QSLS RECEIVED VIA LoTW: 3DA0AQ, 4O4T, 4U1UN, 9G2HO, 9X0T, 9X0Y, AH2R, CO2RQ, CT9/DL5AXX, DL7JAN, EA7KW, FM5BH, FS4WBS, HP3AK, J35X, KH6/KU1CW, OM2VL, OX7A, PJ4KY, T6AA, TK0C, TO9W, TR8CA, TT8SN and VE3IDS QSLS RECEIVED VIA MAIL: 4X4DK, 5K0K, C21WW (OC-031), GM4WJA, JH1AJT, K5P (NA-089), N5C (NA-082), RA1ALA/8 (AS-083) and T30L (OC-017) QSLS RECEIVED VIA THE BUREAU: 3B9FR, 4S7AYG, 5U9AMO, 6W1SU, 6Y3T, 7P8LB, 9X2AW, A70X (AS-088), C4II, EL2EL/4 (AF-111), GS0NWM (EU-010), HC5DBT, HK3C, J79TA, J79U, MD/OP2D, OY1OF, P29VCX (OC-025), PJ2/G4IRN, PJ4NX, PJ4V, PZ5V, TG9AJR, TO6OK, TO8FTDM, TX5T, V31FO, V31IT, V37DX, VP6D, VU4G, XT2AW, Z66DH, Z68UR and ZC4A --- We would like to see more QSL Bureaus (such as AS/US/SA/AF.. etc) to send in their info.... TT8, CHAD. After a delay in their planned early 2019 Chad DXpedition, the Italian Dxpedition Team is pleased to announce their next operation will be from Chad sometime in mid-2020. The team finally received the required security clearance, and will be active from the Capital City Ndjamena. Callsigns will be TT8RR on SSB/CW/RTTY and TT8XX on FT8 only. Look for more details to be forthcoming and also watch: http://www.i2ysb.com/idt V4, ST. KITTS. Fred, WB4M, will be active as V4/WB4M from St. Kitts between January 5-11th (2020). Activity will be limited on various HF bands and all modes including the Digital modes. QSL via his home callsign, direct, by the Bureau or LoTW. VP8, ANTARCTICA. Sebastian, SQ1SGB, has been active as VP8HAL occasionally from Halley VI British Antarctic Research Station. He will be there until February 8th. Activity has been mainly on 7170 kHz and 14305 kHz each day at 0100 UTC for one hour. Sometimes he can be active at 1000 and 1630 UTC. He states that he still can't link his IC706MkIIG by CAT so he can't make Digital QSOs. QSL via EB7DX. Z6, KOSOVO. Co-Leader Guenter, DL2AWG, reports that a group of 6 Germans want to go to Kosovo in October 2020. The team leader is Wolf, DM2AUJ. The team will be active as Z66DX for 14 days between October 9-28th, 2020. However, the exact dates may change due to flight availability. Activity will be on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB and FT8, with two stations on the air. Look for more details to be forthcoming. ZF, CAYMAN ISLANDS. Frank, KK5XX, will be active as ZF2FD from Grand Cayman Island (NA-016) between June 10-17th (2020). Activity will be holiday style on 80/40/20 meters using CW and SSB. QSL via his home callsign, LoTW or eQSL. *********************************************************************** TO BE ADDED TO THE OPDX MAILING LIST -- Click or send requests to: Subscribe: (mailto:kb8nw at hotmail.com?subject=subscribe) Unsubscribe: (mailto:kb8nw at hotmail.com?subject=unsubscribe) Just a reminder, you can still obtain the OPDX Bulletins via the OPDX Web page (provided by John, K8YSE) [http://www.papays.com/opdx.html], QRZ.com (under Forums; News; Special Events, Contests.. etc.), several DX Mailing Lists, and two different UseNet Groups (rec.radio.info and rec.radio.amateur.dx). The weekly bulletin (issue # from the OPDX Web page URL) is also posted on the following Media pages: NODXA FaceBook -- https://www.facebook.com/NorthernOhioDxAssociation Twitter -- https://twitter.com/kb8nw_opdx ALSO VISIT THE NORTHERN OHIO DX ASSOCIATION'S WEB PAGES AT: http://www.nodxa.org/ http://www.facebook.com/NorthernOhioDxAssociation *********************************************************************** * All excerpts and distribution of "The OPDX Bulletin" are granted as long as KB8NW/OPDX/BARF80 receives credit. ** To contribute DX info, please send via InterNet Mail to: (kb8nw at arrl.net) or (kb8nw at hotmail.com) Information can now be faxed to the following phone line at: 1-419-828-7791 (F A X only!) ....... 73 de Tedd KB8NW /EXIT *********************************************************************** Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW - E-mail addresses: or Editor of the Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin (OPDX - DXer's Tool of Excellence) President of the "Northern Ohio DX Association" (NODXA) DX Chairman for the "Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society ARRL Assistant Director of the Great Lakes Division Sysop of the "Basic Amateur Radio Frequency BBS" (BARF80.ORG) From kb8nw at hotmail.com Sun Dec 22 12:28:13 2019 From: kb8nw at hotmail.com (Tedd Mirgliotta (KB8NW)) Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2019 12:28:13 -0500 Subject: [DX] Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin #1445 Message-ID: SB DX @ WW < KB8NW $OPDX.1445 Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1445 The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster DX Bulletin No. 1445 BID: $OPDX.1445 December 23, 2019 Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW Provided by BARF80.ORG (Cleveland, Ohio) Written Mostly From Strongsville, Ohio Send from Murfreesboro, Tennessee Thanks to the Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society, Northern Ohio DX Association, Ohio/Penn PacketCluster Network, the AB5K's AR Cluster Networks, NJ1Q & W1AW, W2GB, WA2HZR, K3LR, NG3K & ADXO, W3UR & The Daily DX, K8YSE, W8GEX & 60m DX News, W9ILY, DL1SBF, DL7UXG & The DX News Letter, DxCoffee.com, DXNews.com, DX-World.Net, F5NQL, F6AJA & Les Nouvelles DX, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, MM0NDX, RN3RQ, Sixitalia Weekly, and VA3RJ & ICPO for the following DX information. *** SPECIAL NOTE FROM EDITOR (Tedd, KB8NW): My family (wife/OPDX's chief proof-reader Linda, son Teddy [TJ] and his wife Jessi, daughter Katie and her husband Kevin and son Lliam and daughter Lilly Grace), and I (KB8NW) would like to wish all DXers, Contesters and OPDX readers a very "Happy Holiday, Merry Christmas, Season's Greetings and Happy New Year". Thanks to the many individuals who have provided DX information over the past year. Without you there would not be an OPDX Bulletin. Also, thanks to the many individuals who sent holiday wishes to my family and me...... 73 and Have a Great Holiday de Tedd KB8NW P.S. Generally, this is the time of the year (Christmas/New Year holiday season) where the DX information reaches a low. So over the next two weeks there "may" not be a bulletin (especially on December 30th) or possibly a small content bulletin. During this time, I plan to spend my time with my daughter's family in Tennessee. However, I will send out any special announcements/bulletins. PLEASE keep sending your DX information to me. You never know what I may do.... Thanks and 73 de Tedd KB8NW DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT: According to the AR-Cluster Network for the week of Sunday, 15th/December, through Sunday, 22nd/December there were 203 countries active. Countries available: 3A, 3B8, 3D2, 3V, 3W, 4J, 4L, 4O, 4S, 4U1U, 4X, 5A, 5B, 5T, 5W, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7X, 8P, 8Q, 9A, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9M2, 9M6, 9Q, 9V, 9Y, A2, A4, A5, A6, A7, A9, AP, BV, BY, C3, C5, CE, CE0Y, CE9, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, D2, D4, D6, DL, DU, E5/s, E7, EA, EA6, EA8, EA9, EI, EK, ER, ES, ET, EU, EX, EY, EZ, F, FG, FK, FM, FO, FR, FS, FY, G, GD, GI, GJ, GM, GU, GW, H40, HA, HB, HB0, HC, HI, HK, HK0/a, HL, HP, HR, HS, HZ, I, IS, J3, J5, J6, J7, J8, JA, JT, JW, JY, K, KH0, KH2, KH6, KL, KP2, KP4, LA, LU, LX, LY, LZ, OA, OD, OE, OH, OK, OM, ON, OX, OY, OZ, P4, PA, PJ2, PJ4, PJ7, PY, PZ, S0, S5, S7, S9, SM, SP, ST, SV, SV5, SV9, T2, T7, T8, TA, TF, TG, TI, TK, TR, TT, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V3, V4, V5, V7, V8, VE, VK, VP2E, VP2M, VP5, VP8, VP9, VR, VU, XE, XT, XU, XW, YA, YB, YL, YO, YS, YU, YV, Z2, Z3, Z6, Z8, ZA, ZB, ZD7, ZD8, ZF, ZL, ZP, ZS * PLEASE NOTE: The report "could" contain "Pirate/SLIM" operations or more likely a "BUSTED CALLSIGN". As always, you never know - "Work First Worry Later". 3B9, RODRIGUES ISLAND. David, F8AAN, will be active as 3B9AN or 3B9/F8AAN from Rodrigues Island (AF-017) between March 9-18th (2020). Activity will be on 160/80/40/30/20/17/15 meters CW. QSL via his home callsign, direct or ClubLog's OQRS. 6W, SENEGAL. Willy, ON4AVT, will once again be active as 6W7/ON4AVT some time in February 2020. His main activity will be on 60 meters using mostly FT8, with some CW and SSB, with a FT-891 with 100 watts into a HyEndFed antenna. QSL via the Bureau. For more details and updates, watch: https://www.on4avt.be/trip_to_senegal.htm 7X, ALGERIA. Members of the "Association des Radio Amateurs Tunisiens" (ARAT) are traveling to Algeria to conduct a joint Low Bands DXpedition with five members of the "Amateurs Radio Algeriens" (ARA) between December 28th and January 2nd (2020). The team is led by Afif/7X2RO and Ash/3V8SS/ KF5EYY, and will also includes Ahmed/3V1B/KG5OUE (22 years), Marwa/3V8CB (24 years, YL), Mohamed/7X3TL (27 years), Mohamed/7X5FG, Redha/7X5QB and Abdelghani/7X2TT/M0NPT. The operators will be focusing on working as many stations as possible on 160 and 80 meters as well as the other HF bands and Satellites. Modes will be CW/SSB/FT8. QSL via 7X2RO and LoTW. There will be ClubLog Live Streaming. For more details on how to help and/or LF skeds, E-mail Ash at: ash.kf5eyy at gmail.com Your financial support will be used to cover youngsters' costs. 8Q, MALDIVES. Roman, RN5M, is now active as 8Q7MA from Mathiveri Island (AS-013) until December 24th. Activity will be holiday style on 80/40/30/20 meters using CW, SSB and FT8. QSL via LY5W direct only and ClubLog. 8Q, MALDIVES. Sergey, RX3AMY, will be active as 8Q7BS from Mahibadhoo and Maafushi Islands, Maldives (AS-013), January 3-23rd (2020). Activity will be holiday style and with periodical work, operating mainly on 40 and 20 meters SSB (possibly CW), using a Yaesu FT-897 transceiver with dipoles. QSL via his home callsign. 9Q, THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO. Fernando, EA4BB (ex-9Q5BB, D2BB, ST2BF, TU5JL, TZ6BB, Z21BB), who has been active as 9Q6BB from "The Democratic Republic of the Congo" for nearly 4 years, is now QRT. He dismantled his Goma station on December 18th, after making 26,000 QSOs. QSL via W3HNK, LoTW or eQSL. C5, GAMBIA. Przemyslaw, SP3PS, who became a resident of Gambia in 2017, will once again be active as C5SP from Sanyang between December 27th and January 17th. Activity will be on 20-6 meters using SSB and FT8/FT4. He will mainly call on 20m, but will also try to run on other bands, including LF in SSB. QSL via SP3PS, direct, LoTW or eQSL. DAY-ZENIA NEWS. Tim, K3LR, reports [edited]: I am proud to announce that student registration is now open for the 2020 Dayton ConTest University ("CTU") to be held all day on Thursday May 14th, 2020, at the Crowne Plaza in Dayton, Ohio. (http://contestuniversity.com) This is the day before Hamvention opens in Xenia, Ohio. Registration opened on December 16, 2019, and already 50 contesters have signed up!. Last year (2019 was a sell out with 350 attending). Eight different countries have hosted CTUs over the past thirteen years. USA, Australia, Russia, Germany, Italy, England, Brazil and Finland. Over 8500 students have attended these CTUs with more than 100 CTU Professors sharing their contesting experiences. 2020 will be the 14th year in a row for CTU Dayton. To give you an idea of the quality of the CTU content and activities you can see videos and PDFs from past CTUs on the CTU web site at: http://contestuniversity.com The 2020 CTU Professor line up will be posted on the CTU website very soon. Thanks to our returning professors NC0B, W0YK, K3LR, W3LPL, N6TV, W3YQ, N0AX and K1DG. You will notice additional NEW professors for 2020 once the posting is complete and posted. CTU professor stalwart Frank, W3LPL, is back for CTU 2020 after his sabbatical in 2019. Frank has taught many many sessions at CTU over the past 13 years. The 2020 CTU Dayton course outline will be posted soon. Check the CTU website for updates. Each presentation is carefully prepared with up to date information. There are scholarships (registration fee paid) available for CTU through a grant from the Northern California DX Foundation (NCDXF) for those students 25 years old and younger. Please use the "contact us" button on the CTU website to get more information. 2020 Student registration information is on the CTU web site at: http://contestuniversity.com CTU registration makes a great Christmas gift! Important - as we did last year - if you want to sign up for CTU 2020 Dayton and you have given (or will give one by Hamvention 2020) a talk about Amateur Radio to any club, Hamfest or group since May 14, 2019 - you qualify for a 10.00 USDs registration fee discount. Please choose the "Registration with Club talk discount" option to get the 10.00 USDs discount. Spreading the word about amateur radio is lots of fun and can save you money at CTU! Thanks to all of the CTU sponsors including Icom America, DX Engineering, the Northern California DX Foundation, YASME, the Radio Club of America and CQ Magazine for making CTU possible. Thanks to K8MNJ and K1SO for all of their help with CTU. Special thanks to Scott, KA9FOX from QTH.com for hosting and constructing the CTU headquarters web site. CU in Dayton at CTU 2020 and Merry Christmas, Tim, K3LR, Contest University Chairman" FJ, ST. BARTHELEMY. Col, MM0NDX, from DX-World.net, reports the following update: "A team has now been formed and will be QRV from St. Barts during early May 2020. Since FJ is very wanted in Asia, focus will be given to that region. Our QTH is a hilltop villa with good take-off to difficult to work areas. Full info and callsigns after the New Year." FM/TO7, MARTINIQUE. Miguel, EA1BP, will be active as TO7BP from Martinique during the CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 28-29th, 2020). Outside of contest Miguel will be signing FM/EA1BP and will be on various HF bands. QSL via his home callsign by the Bureau. HR, HONDURAS. Dirk, WA4DT, will once again be active as HR9/WA4DT from West Bay, Roatan Island (NA-057), between January 19th and February 2nd (2020). Activity will be on the same bands as last time (40/30 meters) using CW and FT8. QSL via his home callsign direct only. IOTA NEWS.............. SA-029. Members of the UBRO DX Team will be active as ZZ1R from Rats Island (Ilha dos Ratos) between December 26-29th. Activity will be on 80-10 meters using CW, SSB, FT8 and FT4. SA-034. (Update) Jon, EA1VE, will be active as HC2JKT (not HC2/EA1VE as first announced) from Puna Island, Ecuador, between January 10-30th (2020). Activity will be on 40-6 meters SSB only. QSL via his home callsign. THE STORY BEHIND THE K5P (NA-089) & N5C (NA-082) OPERATIONS. Read the story about the N5C Cat Island (NA-082) and K5P Isle Au Pitre (NA-089) activation at: https://dx-world.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/PitreandCatIsland.pdf PLEASE NOTE: Since the Webmasters of the new have 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...... J2, DJIBOUTI. Operators Tom/DJ6TF, Manfred/DK1BT, Wolf/DL4WK, Annette/ DL6SAK, Tom/DL7BO, Sigi/DL7DF, Frank/DL7UFR and Leszek/SP3DOI will be active from Djibouti between March 4-16th (2020). Their callsign is pending. They will have three stations on the air from 160-10 meters using CW, SSB and the Digital modes. Their equipment consists of a trans- ceiver Elecraft K2, three transceivers Icom IC7300, four power amplifiers, bandpass filters, a vertical for 160 and 80m, a 40m loop, a 30m loop, a Spiderbeam for 20-10m, loop antennas for 20/15/10m and a beverage. Pilot station for this DXpedition is Bernd, DF3CB. QSL via DL7DF, direct or by the DARC Bureau. They will upload the full logs of the DXpedition to LoTW within 6 months after the DXpedition. For more details and updates, see: http://www.dl7df.com/j2 OPDX MAILING LIST (Just A Reminder). The "new" OPDX Mailing List is back up and running! Details on how to subscribe/unsubscribe are at the bottom of this bulletin. PLEASE pass the word around.... Thanks and 73 de Tedd KB8NW P4, ARUBA. Ben, DL6RAI, is once again active as P4/DL6RAI from Aruba until December 26th. Activity has been on CW and focused on the low bands. QSL via DL6RAI, direct, by the Bureau, ClubLog or LoTW. PROPAGATION FORECAST/REPORT (December 23-29th)....... Dec/23rd AN Dec/26th AN Dec/28th AN Dec/24th AN Dec/27th AN Dec/29th AN Dec/25th AN SOLAR REFERENCE KEYS/INDEXES AND GEOMAGNETIC REFERENCE ------------------------------------------------------ NORMALITY GEOMAG K Values Alpha ----------------- ------ -------- ------ AN - Above Normal Quiet K=0-1 0-7 HN - High Normal Unsettled K=2 8-15 LN - Low Normal Active K=3 16-29 BN - Below Normal Minor Storm K=4 30-49 DIS - Disturbed Major Storm K=5 50-99 VRY DIS - Very Disturbed Severe Storm K=6-9 100-400 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 * 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 * Realtime propagation at: http://www.predtest.uk * Also on Twitter: https://twitter.com/@GiellaW4hm PZ, SURINAME. Arie, PA4ARI, is now active as PZ/PA4ARI close to the city of Paramaribo until January 7th (2020). Activity will be on 80/40/20 meters using SSB, FT4 and FT8. Some suggested frequencies are 7080, 7090, 7150, 7160, 14160 and 14240 kHz. QSL via PA4ARI, direct or by the Bureau. QSL INFO AND NEWS................... QSL-INFO from DB0SDX by Lothar, DL1SBF (www.qslinfo.eu)(December 22nd) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9K91BND via 9K2RA IQ1OD via 9A8MDC PZ/PA4ARI via PA4ARI C4XMAS via IZ4AMS & (L) KH0/WB6Z via JF1OCQ SF0Z via SM0HEV (L/B) DA0FONTANE via DK6AN OA4/YV6CW via YV6CW (e) SV1AHH/AM via SV1AHH (d/L) DL/KU1CW via KU1CW (L) OE4XLC via OE4RGC SV9/KC8JNV via KC8JNV & (L) DL250BTHVN via DL7DSW OE50NOE via OE6XMF TR8CR via F6AJA EA8/HB9EIZ/P via HB9EIZ (N) OO9A via ON8YB & (L) Z68MA via Z32ZM (O) HB30YDL via HB3YDL OR18OST via ON4OS II8FT via II8FT (e) OR18WRA via ON4WRA (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 AT CLUBLOG.ORG THIS WEEK...... https://clublog.org/logsearch/A5A https://clublog.org/logsearch/A5B https://clublog.org/logsearch/A50BOC QSLS RECEIVED VIA LoTW: 3B8/W6XD, 3D2A, 4U1UN, 5B4AMX, 8R1/AG6UT, 9X0Y, 9Y0T, C21WW, C56XA, D68CCC, DS3EXX, HK0RMR, HR5/F2JD, IS0GQX, KA1ERL, PJ4K, RU3GF, TI7W, UA4HBW, V55A, VK9NC and WH0RU QSLS RECEIVED VIA MAIL: 8R1/AH0G, 9H1XT, C21WW, ON7PQ, RV1CC/0 (AS-025), RW0IM/p (AS-059) and YE0M QSLS RECEIVED VIA THE BUREAU: 3W2MAE, 8J50IARU, 8Q7PE, AM870DA, CE3/DL5DSM, CT9/UZ5DX, DK200MARX, DL3SEM, DL65TRS, DQ1200ASP, EA5BY, EA8/OK2BUJ, EG25JRA, F5PRH, F8AAB, HS90IARU, IZ2DPX, J34G, J400EG, JD1BON, LZ117ML, LZ1809PNS, LZ391MW, LZ497OM, LZ815NI, LZ818PT, OF3077F, OH0V, OK7K, OY/DL1ZBO, P4/OK7MT, P4/S50M, PJ2/DL1RNT, PJ2/KF4DX, PJ4KY, PJ4Y, PP7DX, R27EKB, RO75NN, RW1AI, SF50CG, SP7VG, SV130PAP, SV5/DL3DRN, UK8AR, UN7AM, US7IID, UW7LL, V34AO, V5/DJ8VC, VK9X/PE7T, Z21LS, Z60A, ZP9MCE, ZR2A, ZS1SBW, ZS2/DL5DSM and ZS4AZ --- We would like to see more QSL Bureaus (such as AS/US/SA/AF.. etc) to send in their info.... T46, CUBA (Special Event). Members of the Radio Club of Caibarien will once again activate special event station T46W from "The Heights of San Felipe" in the northeast Province from Villa Clara on the Republic of Cuba between December 29-31st. Activity is to to celebrate the 128th anniversary of Manuel Antonio ?lvarez ?lvarez (Manol?n CO6MA). Operations will be on 80-10 meters using CW, SSB and FT8. QSL via LoTW. A certificate is available. For more info, see QRZ.com. TK0C 2019 CQWW DX CW CONTEST (Video Released). The "Team Charlie" (S5 Team) that was active as TK0C from Sant Ambroggio, Corsica, during the CQWW DX CW Contest (November 23-24th) as a Multi-Single entry, has released an interesting video of their operation. To view it, see: https://vimeo.com/379807649 V3, BELIZE. Robert, W0YBS, will be active as V31CO from Caye Caulker Island (NA-105) starting February 1st (2020), for 3 weeks. Activity will be on various HF bands using CW, RTTY and FT8. Robert bought a condo on the Island of Caye Caulker in October of 2019. He plans on being active on a fairly regular basis throughout the coming years. QSL via his home callsign, direct, by the Bureau or LoTW. He will upload LoTW logs on a regular basis, but will not send QSL cards until returning to his home in Colorado. For more details and updates, see: http://w0ybs.com VO2, CANADA (Zone 2). Operators Chris/VE3FU (VO2AC), Frank/VO1HP and Dave/VE9CB (VO2AAA) will be active as VO2AC during the 2020 CQWW 160M CW Contest (January 24-26th) from the Point Amour Lighthouse, the tallest lighthouse in Atlantic Canada, on the south coast of the rare Labrador (LB) multiplier. Point Amour is located in the southeast part of CQ Zone 2, and has a salt water path from NE clockwise through SW. The team will be putting in a serious Multi-Op/High-Power effort as VO2AC. Expect some pre contest activity as VO2AC, VO1HP/VO2 and VO2AAA on 160m as they get their wire vertical array and beverage working; they will especially be looking for JA/Asia on CW and FT8. If time permits, they may also be active before the contest on 80m, 60m, 40m and the FM satellites (AO-85, AO-91 and AO-92)from Grid GO11. Z8, SOUTH SUDAN. Diya, YI1DZ, continues to be active as Z81D from Juba for at least another 6 months. Activity has been on 80-10 meters (possibly 60m) using SSB, FT8 and possibly FT4. QSL via OM3JW. *********************************************************************** TO BE ADDED TO THE OPDX MAILING LIST -- Click or send requests to: Subscribe: (mailto:kb8nw at hotmail.com?subject=subscribe) Unsubscribe: (mailto:kb8nw at hotmail.com?subject=unsubscribe) Just a reminder, you can still obtain the OPDX Bulletins via the OPDX Web page (provided by John, K8YSE) [http://www.papays.com/opdx.html], QRZ.com (under Forums; News; Special Events, Contests.. etc.), several DX Mailing Lists, and two different UseNet Groups (rec.radio.info and rec.radio.amateur.dx). The weekly bulletin (issue # from the OPDX Web page URL) is also posted on the following Media pages: NODXA FaceBook -- https://www.facebook.com/NorthernOhioDxAssociation Twitter -- https://twitter.com/kb8nw_opdx ALSO VISIT THE NORTHERN OHIO DX ASSOCIATION'S WEB PAGES AT: http://www.nodxa.org/ http://www.facebook.com/NorthernOhioDxAssociation *********************************************************************** * All excerpts and distribution of "The OPDX Bulletin" are granted as long as KB8NW/OPDX/BARF80 receives credit. ** To contribute DX info, please send via InterNet Mail to: (kb8nw at arrl.net) or (kb8nw at hotmail.com) Information can now be faxed to the following phone line at: 1-419-828-7791 (F A X only!) ....... 73 de Tedd KB8NW /EXIT *********************************************************************** Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW - E-mail addresses: or Editor of the Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin (OPDX - DXer's Tool of Excellence) President of the "Northern Ohio DX Association" (NODXA) DX Chairman for the "Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society ARRL Assistant Director of the Great Lakes Division Sysop of the "Basic Amateur Radio Frequency BBS" (BARF80.ORG)