From kb8nw at hotmail.com Sun Mar 1 12:29:05 2020 From: kb8nw at hotmail.com (Tedd Mirgliotta) Date: Sun, 1 Mar 2020 17:29:05 +0000 Subject: [DX] Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin #1454 Message-ID: SB DX @ WW < KB8NW $OPDX.1454 Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1454 The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster DX Bulletin No. 1454 BID: $OPDX.1454 March 2, 2020 Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW Provided by BARF80.ORG (Cleveland, Ohio) Written/Send 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, NY3B, W3UR & The Daily DX, WB6RSE, AF8C, K8YSE, KF8UN, KZ8Y, W8GEX & 60m DX News, W9ILY, DL1SBF, DL7UXG & The DX News Letter, DXNews.com, DX-World.Net, F4FET, F5NQL, F6AJA & Les Nouvelles DX, HP1AC, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, Pete Rayer & ISWL, RN3RQ, Sixitalia Weekly, and VA3RJ & ICPO for the following DX information. DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT: According to the AR-Cluster Network for the week of Sunday, 23rd/February, through Sunday, 1st/March there were 212 countries active. Countries available: 3B8, 3B9, 3D2, 3DA, 3V, 3W, 4J, 4L, 4O, 4S, 4U1U, 4W, 4X, 5A, 5B, 5H, 5R, 5T, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7X, 8P, 8Q, 9A, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9M2, 9M6, 9N, 9Q, 9V, 9Y, A4, A6, A7, A9, AP, BV, BY, C3, C5, C6, CE, CE9, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, D2, D4, DL, DU, E4, E6, E7, EA, EA6, EA8, EA9, EI, EK, EL, EP, 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, HZ, I, IS, J2, J3, J6, J7, JA, JD/o, JT, JW, JY, K, KG4, KH0, KH2, KH6, KL, KP2, KP4, LA, LU, LX, LY, LZ, OA, OD, OE, OH, OK, OM, ON, OX, OY, OZ, P2, PA, PJ2, PJ4, PJ7, PY, PY0F, PZ, S0, S2, S5, S7, SM, SP, ST, SU, SV, SV5, SV9, T7, TA, TF, TG, TI, TK, TN, TR, TU, TZ, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V3, V4, V5, V6, V7, V8, VE, VK, VK9N, VP2E, VP5, VP6, VP8, VP8/o, VP9, VR, VU, XE, XX9, XZ, YB, YI, YK, YL, YN, YO, YS, YU, YV, Z3, Z6, Z8, ZA, ZB, ZD7, 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". 4L & EK, GERORGIA AND ARMENIA. Byron, KF8UN, will be in Armenia in mid-May for five days and in Georgia as 4L/KF8UN for five days on a bird watching tour. No other details provided. 6O, SOMALIA. Ali, EP3CQ, will once again be active as 6O1OO as of February 25th, and will stay until March 25th. Activity will be limited to his spare time because he works for the UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) in Mogadishu. Operations are on 160/80/40/30/20/17/15/10/6 meters (mostly on 40/20 meters FT8) using CW, SSB and FT8. The 6O1OO station, currently is the only active and licensed Amateur Radio Station in Somalia. Ali informs OPDX that he posts updates on his QRZ.com page and is looking for some equipment donations. He posted the following on his QRZ.com page: "Due to the harsh weather conditions super (hot, humid, windy and, salty) there is a necessity to change the equipment antennas, wires, UPS and defect RF units (due to overheat), I need and rely on your donations to keep the station running. Sponsors and equipment donors, please contact me (EP3CQ) directly." REMINDER: Effective as of February 11, 2019, the callsign, 6O1OO, has been accepted for DXCC credit. QSL direct to: Ali Solhjoo, Schnacken- burgstr. 3, Berlin 12159, Germany. QSL cards will be replied to on a bi-monthly basis. IRC's are not accepted. See QRZ.com for more info and picture of his station. Flash news will be posted via Twitter: @ep3cq 9J2LA ZAMBIA DXPEDITION NEWS (Reminder). Just a reminder that the 9J2LA team will be active from Zambia between March 5-15th. Activity will be on 160-6 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8. For more details see OPDX.1452. QSOs will be uploaded to ClubLog if internet access is available. QSL via M0OXO QSL service. The 9J2LA Web page is available at: https://9j2la.com Facebook and Twitter will be used for ?Breaking News? the weeks before departure and during the Expedition. The media Web pages are: FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/9j2la Twitter: https://twitter.com/9J2LA 9X, RWANDA. Harald, DF2WO, will once again be active as 9X2AW from Kigali (with a new Grid KI48xe) between March 4-22nd. He is currently preparing his 160m antenna and will build a Hexbeam with Bamboo Sticks for working on 20/17/15/12/10 meters using mainly Digital modes (FT8, PSK31, JT65 and RTTY), CW and SSB. QSL via M0OXO or his OQRS. See QRZ.com for pictures. BV120, TAIWAN (Special Event). Look for special event station BV120SU to be active between now and August 4th. Activity is to celebrates the 120th anniversary of Soochow University in Taiwan. Operations will be on various HF bands and modes (FT8 was mentioned). QSL via BU2EQ or eQSL. DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME (DST). Next weekend it will be time to change your clocks again. Countries in the Northern Hemisphere (most of N. American and some of the Caribbean) who observe Daylight Saving Time should change their clocks on Sunday, March 8th at 2:00 AM, and should move their "local clocks" forward 1 hour to 3:00:00 AM local time. Daylight Saving Time will end on Sunday, November 1st at 2:00 AM. European countries will switch to DST on March 29th. For the history and details about DST, as well as an interesting map of the world (showing the countries who observe DST), see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time http://www.timeanddate.com/time/dst/2020.html ADDED NOTES: Hopefully, all amateur radio operators know not to change their GMT/UTC/ZULU clocks. However, since most operators usually set their computers to local time, some may have to change their settings on "some" ham radio software (ex. logging, propagation, DXTelnet, etc..) programs. DXCC'S MOST WANTED (ClubLog). The "DXCC Most Wanted" entities list has been updated on ClubLog as of February 27th. The list contains 340 entities. The following are the top 26 entities: 1. P5 DPRK (North Korea) 14. KH4 Midway Island 2. 3Y/B Bouvet Island 15. ZS8 Prince Edward & Marion Islands 3. FT5/W Crozet Island 16. VP8O South Orkney Islands 4. BS7H Scarborough Reef 17. PY0S Saint Peter and Paul Rocks 5. CE0X San Felix Islands 18. PY0T Trindade & Martim Vaz Islands 6. BV9P Pratas Island 19. KP5 Desecheo Island 7. KH7K Kure Island 20. SV/A Mount Athos 8. KH3 Johnston Island 21. VP8S South Sandwich Islands 9. 3Y/P Peter 1 Island 22. EZ Turkmenistan 10. FT5/X Kerguelen Island 23. KH5 Palmyra & Jarvis Islands 11. FT/G Glorioso Island 24. JD/M Minami Torishima 12. VK0M Macquarie Island 25. YK Syria 13. YV0 Aves Island 26. ZL9 New Zealand Subantarctic Islands The complete "DXCC Most Wanted" entities list (340) is available at: https://secure.clublog.org/mostwanted.php E44CC PALESTINE DXPEDITION VIDEO. A video of the recent 2020 February E44CC DXpedition to Palestine by F6KOP team is now available online at: E44CC Web site: https://palestine2020.wordpress.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/E44CC IOTA NEWS.............. EU-107. Gil, F4FET, will once again be active as TM7P from Petite Island during the RSGB IOTA Contest (July 25-26th). QSL via F4FET. EU-116. Fred, ON6QR, will once again be active as GD/ON6QR from Man Island during the RSGB IOTA Contest (July 25-26th). QSL via his home callsign. EU-159. Thierry "Terry", F6CUK, will be active as TM8C from the light- house on Cordouan Island (AT-032, FFF-2820, DPLF PB018, WLOTA 0271 and ARLHS FR007) between March 13-15th. Activity will mainly be on 40/20 meters, possibly 30m, using CW and SSB, with K3 and 300 watts into dipole antennas and delta loop. QSL via his home callsign. NA-069. Member(s) of the Black Mountain Radio Group will be active as W1JXN/4 from Gasparilla Island between now and March 4th. Activity will be holiday style on 40/30/20 meters using mainly CW. QSL via info on QRZ.com. IOTA DXPEDITIONS. Gil, F4FET, reports that he plans to come back to IOTAs EU014-EU100-EU104-EU164 in Corsica, like he did as TK0INT, TK1INT and TK2INT in 2013, during the periods of autumn 2020 or at end of winter in 2021. He plans to stay a 2 full weeks in Corsica. He states that he has changed his job recently and will have to accumulate leave days. Look for more info to be forthcoming. 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 March 2020). The following ISWL club callsigns will be used throughout the month of March 2020: GX4BJC/A - Operated /A, from Great Sutton, in Cheshire, by Geof, M0BAU (WAB Square - SJ37 - England, IOTA EU-005, WLOTA 1841). GX4BJC/P - Operated /P By Geof. His /P location and WAB details upon request. MX1SWL/A - Operated /A, from Eastbourne, in Sussex, by Peter, G0NQZ (WAB Square - TQ50 - England, IOTA EU-005, WLOTA 1841). MX1SWL/P - Operated /P By Peter. His /P location and WAB details upon request. 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. J6, ST. LUCIA. Steve, NY3B, will be active as J68SS from St. Lucia (NA-108, WLOTA L-1336), between March 4-11th. Activity will be on the HF bands including FT4/8. This includes being a Multi-Single entry in the upcoming ARRL International DX SSB contest. QSL via LoTW K5, UNITED STATES (Satellite Grid Op). Operators Josh/W3ARD, Doug/N6UA and Ron/AD0DX are planning to activate DL88 in Big Bend National Park in Texas on March 16th and 17th, using the special event callsign K5Z. They will be operating on the FM and Linears satellites, and plan to operate through the night. You can find more details on their QRZ.com page for K5Z. KH4, MIDWAY ISLANDS (Update). Ron, KH6DV, from Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, announced on February 22nd, that a KH6VV/KH4 DXpedition will take place during the first two weeks in October. He states, "The changes we are working on will make for a much better and more exciting expedition and are well worth waiting for." Watch QRZ.com for updates. KH7, HAWAII. Jim, N6TJ, will once again be active as KH7M (the Pu'u O'o Radio Club callsign/station) from Volcano during the CQWW WPX SSB (March 28-29th) and CQWW WPX CW Contests (May 25-26th) as a Single-Op/All-Band entries. QSL via KH6ZM (USA/Canada) or to I0MWI (the rest of the world). NP2, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS. Yuriy, N2TTA, will once again be active from here as NP2P during the ARRL International DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Single-Op entry. QSL via LoTW. PACIFIC TOUR (Reminder). Operators Will/AA4NC and Ron/AA4VK who are now active as P29NC and P29VK until March 1st, will be moving on to their next operation which is Solomon Islands Their updated schedule is as follows: Solomon Islands --- As H44NC and H44VK between March 1-3rd Vanuatu ----------- As YJ0NC and YJ0VK between March 3-6th Fiji -------------- As 3D2AA and 3D2VK (callsign tentative); Look for Will to be active as 3D2AA during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Single-Op-Low-Power entry. Activity on most islands will be holiday style on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB and FT8/FT4, with 100 watts and wire antennas. QSL routes have been changed. QSL all callsigns via EA5GL. PJ4, BONAIRE. George, K5KG, will once again be active as PJ4/K5KG from Bonaire (SA-006, WLOTA LH-1279) between March 2-9th. His activity will be primarily CW. All QSOs will be posted to LogBook of the World (LoTW) after his trip. If you want a QSL card, please send your request directly to K5KG along with a SASE with sufficient postage. His main purpose there is to join the PJ4G team (David/N2NG and Martin/W1MD) in the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Multi-Two entry. QSL PJ4G via WA2NHA. PROPAGATION FORECAST/REPORT (March 2-8th)....... Mar 02nd AN Mar/05th HN Mar/07th AN Mar/03rd AN Mar/06th AN Mar/08th AN Mar/04th HN SOLAR REFERENCE KEYS/INDEXES AND GEOMAGNETIC REFERENCE ------------------------------------------------------ NORMALITY GEOMAG K Values Alpha ----------------- ------ -------- ------ AN - Above Normal Quiet K=0-1 0-7 HN - High Normal Unsettled K=2 8-15 LN - Low Normal Active K=3 16-29 BN - Below Normal Minor Storm K=4 30-49 DIS - Disturbed Major Storm K=5 50-99 VRY DIS - Very Disturbed Severe Storm K=6-9 100-400 Meanwhile, check out the following Web sites for propagation: * VOACAP predication Web page at: http://www.voacap.com/hf and http://www.voacap.com/prediction.html * DX.QSL.NET Propagation page: https://dx.qsl.net/propagation * A daily HF radio wave propagation forecast can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/thomasfranklingiellaw4hm * SolarHam Web page: http://www.solarham.net * Radio Propagation/Space Weather/Sunspot Cycle Information at: http://sunspotwatch.com * News and Information About The Sun-Earth Environment: https://www.spaceweather.com * Monthly propagation charts between four USA regions and twelve overseas locations are at: http://arrl.org/propagation * Information and tutorials on propagation are at: http://k9la.us * Graphic propagation tool by DR2W: http://www.dr2w.de/dx-propagation * Point to point propagation at: http://www.predtest.uk/p2p.html * 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) (March 1st) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- G3U via G3UJE (L) LY30LY via LY5A OT5Q via ON4KNP G3V via G3VER (N) LZ6E via LZ1GU OU2I via OZ1BII (L) KL7RST via K7ICE OG1A via OH1JP S79VU via VU2IIX LX/DL2JRM via DL2JRM OG60IPA via OH4MDY SZ3PC20 via SZ3PC20 (L/e) TU5PCT via OK6DJ (O/L) (e) eQSL only (d) direct only (B) Bureau only (*-B) DX's- Bureau (O) OQRS only (C) ClubLog only (L) LoTW only (N) No QSL needed (I) No IRC (P) PayPal (NB) No Bureau LOGS ONLINE AT CLUBLOG.ORG THIS WEEK...... https://clublog.org/logsearch/3D2AG/P https://clublog.org/logsearch/EX0QR https://clublog.org/logsearch/TU5PCT (Updated) https://clublog.org/logsearch/VU4R QSLS RECEIVED VIA LoTW: 4U1UN, 5U9AMO, 6W1/EA4ATI, 9A9A, E44CC, OX3LX, PJ5/KG9N, TI9A, V31MA and VP8PJ QSLS RECEIVED VIA MAIL: EI7M, FK/DB1RUL (OC-033), OH0W, OJ0O, XZ2D and YW5F (SA-058) QSLS RECEIVED VIA THE BUREAU: 3Z2012EFC, 3Z85PZK, 4K8YL, 4W/JH2EUV, 9H3EG, 9M2MRS, A65BG, B4R/5 (AS-138), B5/BA4TB (AS-141), B7/BA4TB (AS-094), BA4TB (AS-150), BA4TB/4 (AS-135), BA4TB/5 (AS-137), BA7CK (AS-143), BY1RX/4 (AS-160), BY1WXD/5 (AS-138), C6AXK, CE0Y/JA0JHO, CP4DL, HK4EI, HS0ZJK, HS0ZNV, KL7YK, OH0C, OX90EDR, PJ5Z, SQ65HSC, T88PB, T88UW, TA2K, VK5CE, WP4JLU, XU7MDY, XV2RZ and ZL7X --- We would like to see more QSL Bureaus (such as AS/US/SA/AF.. etc) to send in their info.... T30, WEST KIRIBATI (Postponed). Alex, 5B4ALX, has postponed his T30ET operation that was scheduled between March 18th and April 2nd, due to the Tarawa's Ministry of Health of Kiribati announcement/communication. He was informed that he would "need to undergo the 14 days quarantine in Honiara and to obtain a medical clearance before traveling to Kiribati." Alex states, "Therefore T30ET is currently postponed ? NOT DELETED ? indicatively to October 2020, ever if the COVID-19 situation will be resolved." You can read the bulletin received from Kiribati MINISTRY of HEALTH & MEDICAL SERVICES at: http://www.5b4alx.cloud/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Revised-Health-Travel-Advisory-180220-1-2.pdf TC4, TURKEY. Tev, TA1HZ, will be active as TC4PLH and operating from the historical Patara Lighthouse area (home to the oldest lighthouse unearthed) during the CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 28-29th) as a Single-Op entry. QSL via LoTW. TO0, ST. MARTIN. Operators Marco/FS4WBS, Pier/W1NA, Pasquale/I8QLS, Steven/N7QLS and Phalier/FS5PL will be active as TO0A from Pic Paradis, Saint Martin Island (NA-105), in memory of Morton Bardfield/W1UQ/FS5UQ/SK during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Multi-Single entry. QSL via LoTW or IZ1MHY. TO7, REUNION (Update). The DL7DF, Team that was expected to be active from Djibouti between March 4-16th, has cancelled their operation, and has now announced that they will be active as TO7DL from Reunion Island (AF-016) between March 4-16th. Operators mentioned are Manfred/DK1BT, Wolf/DL4WK, Annette/DL6SAK, Sigi/DL7DF and Frank/DL7UFR. Pilot station for this DXpedition is Bernd, DF3CB. Activity will be on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB and the Digital modes. After the recent permission of the 5 MHz band in France and the French territories, the team will also acti- vate 60m. Please check our "News Page" during the DXpedition: http://www.dl7df.com/fr/news.php 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/fr TX3, CHESTERFIELD ISLANDS. "The Daily DX" reported on February 28th [edited]: An experienced multi-nation team plans to operate from Chester- field Island in October of 2020. The team of 12 operators will depart from Noumea, New Caledonia, and will be on Chesterfield Island for 14 days, and operating for 12 days on 160 -10 meters with a strong focus on the low bands. Additional information will be released detailing the operation as plans continue to solidify. TX8, NEW CALEDONIA. Moto, JA1GZV, will be active as TX8A from Noumea, Grand Terre Island (OC-032),between March 10-18th. Activity will be on 40-15 meters using CW. Suggested frequencies are: 7010, 10120, 14010, 18080 and 21010 kHz. QSL via JA1GZV, by the Bureau, direct or eQSL. V3, BELIZE (Reminder). Iain, G4SGX, will once again be active as V31GX from Ambergris Caye (NA-073) sometime in March. Activity will be holiday style on 160-6 meters using mainly CW, and possibly some Digital modes (FT8). Iain will also participate in the Commonwealth Contest (Beru) [March 14-15th]. Also, he will be very active on 160m after the contest. He will run 100 watts into 1/4 verticals over seawater and inverted-L over seawater for 80m. QSL via his home callsign, ClubLog or LoTW. V4, ST. KITTS & NEVIS. Operators Matt/K0BBC and Paul/W6PNG will be active as V4/K0BBC and V4/W6PNG, respectively, from Calypso Bay, Saint Kitts Island (NA-104), QTH of John/W5JON/V47JA, between March 5-11th. Activity will be on various HF bands (80-6m) using SSB and FT8, including the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-th) as a Multi-Single entry signing as V47P. QSL V4/K0BBC via M0OXO. QSL V4/W6PNG via direct. QSL V47P via LoTW or ClubLog's OQRS. V6, MICRONESIA (IOTA Op Postponed). Members of the Nara DX Association Japan (NDXA) who were planning an IOTA DXpedition to OC-253 (Murilo Island, Hall Islands) this year have announced the following: Thank you for your showing an interest in our next V6J IOTA trip. Although we received many mails asking about our trip to OC-253, we decided to postpone OC-253 until 2021 or later. We hope the propagation will be better then. We hope spreading of coronaviruses will be stopped right away. We pray for the people who got infected with coronaviruses.... We look forward to meeting you on the air in 2021 or later..... Best regards, V6J Team, 28 February 2020 VP8PJ SOUTH ORKNEY DXPEDITION NEWS (Update). The VP8PJ team is now on the air as of Sunday, February 23rd. The team reported the following important items throughout the week [edited]: * Sunday, FEB 23rd, 11:47 (EST): We are aware of our bandplan. In the coming days more activity will be focused for the USA folks inside the General Class License portions of the bands..... Team VP8PJ * Tuesday, FEB 25th, 1600Z (Update): An attempt to upload the log will be done later today. QSO count is over well 11,000 at this point. The island team is working hard to hand out as many QSO's as possible. The team remains upbeat given the miserable cold and damp conditions. The team appreciates your patience regarding the log uploads and the difficulty they have encountered with this aspect of the operation. * Tuesday, 25th, 4:06 PM (EST): We found a path to the satellite from the ship, where I am at the moment and hope we can find it tonight.. We will try a log update later today. The team was installing the 60m antenna when I left the island 2 hours ago, and doing maintenance on other antennas. It's very cold and windy, with snow last night, team is doing well, staffing the stations, as planned for their shifts. More later...... 73, GS K5GS * Tuesday, 25th, 4:06 PM (EST) From K5GS (Update): We are having spotty success getting an adequate signal from the satellite, even from the ship. We've been in contact with the service provider and we all agree that the problem is the terrain and the satellite's low angle in the sky. That said, we're here to work DX and will deal with the usual challenges all DX-peditions to the Southern Ocean tend to experience. One of the ship's crew asked "they make a contact on the radio and need to Internet to confirm they made the contact?". Interesting observation from a fellow that knows little about ham radio. We ask that people do not send us or the pilots e-mails asking about logs, if we can get uploads done, we will. If not you'll have to do your best to get a contact. This is an experienced DX-pedition and Contest team, if you hear them repeat your call you're in the log. The pileups have been what we expected, always energetic, sometimes chaotic but no surprises. The team is working under very cold and windy weather con- ditions, with snow at night. Doing any work outside is challenging any- time and can not be done at night..... Have patience. * Thursday, 27th, 7:05 AM (EST): "The team is currently dealing with significant winds and snow. It remains cold!" * Norman, G4AYU, informs: The RRS James Clark Ross is off the coast of Signy just for today. The ship webcam is updated every 15 minutes, but haven't spotted any aerials yet :) https://legacy.bas.ac.uk/webcams/rrs_james_clark_ross/webcam.jpg * Saturday, 29th, 9:20 AM (EST): After a storm blew through we're cur- rently experiencing the weather conditions we expected. The antennas are staying up, with only some challenges with the larger verticals. The WeatherPort buildings have performed as expected, even with occa- sional wind gusts that we estimate at 75 - 80 kph, or higher. We have reports of missing FT8 QSOs, we can not fix that on the island, Tim, M0URX, will handle the missing contacts once he has all the FT8 files. Schedule: We must depart the island by the afternoon of Thursday, March 6th. Depending on the weather, we expect to begin tearing down the camp on Weds, March 4th. We estimate (with reasonable weather) March 4-5th for the tear down, load the ship and be ready to sail on Thursday. Estimated time at sea is 5 full days, and arrive at the entrance to the harbor on the evening of March 11th. We will unload the ship on March 13th and turn to equipment over to our Customs Broker. Braveheart will leave Punta Arenas on March 15th. 73, VP8PJ Team * Saturday, 29th,Pre DXpedition Donors: QSL Manager Tim Beaumont, M0URX, reports: I have received the updated excel file from Doris with the PreDXpedition Donors List. This has now been uploaded to LoTW. If there are any issues please contact me privately with a receipt of your donation so that I can get it updated. The file will be uploaded after each log update..... Thank you EDITOR NOTES: VP8PJ will be active from the South Orkney Islands (AN-008) until March 4-5th. South Orkney Island is currently #16 most wanted on ClubLog. QSL via M0URX, direct or OQRS (direct and Bureau). LoTW will be uploaded 6 months after DX-pedition. Online log is available at: https://www.m0urx.com/oqrs/logsearch.php?dxcallsign=VP8PJ Current statistics show (as this is being written), as of 0018z February 29th, VP8PJ work 38276 total QSOs with 12853 Unique callsigns. QSO Modes: 21868/CW, 6911/SSB, 8679/FT8 and 818/RTTY. By Continent: 382/AS, 0/AN, 2455/AS, 19693/EU, 13346/NA, 293/OC and 2100/SA. The following are VP8PJ media pages to watch: The VP8PJ Web page is at: https://sorkney.com The VP8PJ Twitter page is at: https://twitter.com/SouthOrkneyDX The VP8PJ Groups.io group is at: https://groups.io/g/VP8PJ VP9, BERMUDA. Steve, K3SW, will be active as VP9/K3SW from Ed/VP9GE's Hamilton Parish QTH (NA-005, WLOTA 0201) between March 5-10th. Activity will be CW only. However, he will be in the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Single-Op entry signing as VP9I. QSL VP9/K3SW via K3SW direct. QSL VP9I via WW3S or LoTW. VU4R ANDAMAN ISLANDS DXPEDITION NEWS (Press Release #1, dated February 24th) [edited]. VU4R Team will be active from 20th March 2020 to 31st March 2020 in Neil Islands, Andamans. Thanks to the Government officials for support to grant the license. The operation will mainly focus on low bands 160M,80M,40M. We propose to activate 60M for the first time from VU4R Dxpediton. We will also be operating during the CQ WPX SSB Contest, giving the contest?s yet another Rare prefix! We do have concern band limitation on 160M due to the recent changes in our WPC which we are working on to resolve the Frequency Spectrum issue. Based on that we will also announce later final frequency and operating schedule. The location will be the Northern tip of the Neil Island with clear opening to Europe / USA and All the antennas will be on the beach. Our Team has decided that Charles, M0OXO, of great repute will be the QSL Manager, ClubLog and Online Log will be uploaded during or after the Expedition as the network permits. We will also be active on Eshail satellite for one day. A minimum of three stations will be active, more will be operation depending on propagation and resources. We will be using SteppIR / Hex beam for the high bands. Verticals for the low bands. We need to hire the boat from Portblair to Neil Islands. The Island has intermittent power supply. We have to hire generators and many other items needed to procure for this activity in addition to Station Rooms in Resort for 11 days. We will be operating over 150m from the beach. A large QTY of Low Loss LMR cables, poles and many items are required. Your contribution to this DXpedition is "welcome" and every contri- bution will acknowledge and updated in our website. All individual supporters 25$+ will receive direct QSL. All individual supporters 50$ + will receive direct QSL + VU4 Pin All individual supporters 100$ + will receive direct QSL + VU4 Pin + Custom T-Shirt. Our Website is (http://vu4r.vu3rsb.org) for more information ? Please support via paypal or international bank.... 73s and CU, from VU4R XV, VIETNAM. Sven, HB9DXB, will once again be active as XV9DXB from his second home in Nha Trang starting March 10th, possibly for a few weeks (no date was mentioned). Look for activity possibly in contests, and usually on 80/40/20/10 meters (mostly on 20m) using CW and SSB. QSL via EB7DX direct or LoTW. YJ, VANUATU (Reminder). By the time you read this, operators Will/AA4NC and Ron/AA4VK will be active as YJ0NC and YJ0VK, respectively, from the New Hebrides Island (OC-035) between March 3-6th. Activity will be holiday style on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB and FT8/FT4, with 100 watts and wire antennas. QSL routes have been changed. QSL all callsigns via EA5GL. YJ, VANUATU. Chris, VK2NYA/VK2YUS, will once again be active as YJ0CA from Port Vila, Efate Island (OC-035), between March 22nd and April 1st. Activity will be on 40/20/15 meters (possibly 10m) SSB only. He also plans to be in the CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 28-29th) as a Single-Op entry. QSL via his home callsign direct. YN3, NICARAGUA. Gerhard, OE3GEA, is once again active as YN3GEA from Leon and Esteli, Nicaragua, until March 6th. Activity will be mainly on 30 and 20 meters using CW, but can operate 40-10m. During March 7-8th, he will be on Corn Island (NA-013). QSL via OE3GEA, by the Bureau or direct. Logs will not be uploaded to LoTW or ClubLog. ZC4, U. K. SOVEREIGN BASE AREAS ON CYPRUS. Adrian, G0KOM, will be active as ZC4MK from Melanda Beach, Avdimou, SBA, Cyprus, between March 26th and April 1st. Activity will probably be on 40-10 meters using CW and SSB, with an IC-7000 (on load from Tony/G4LDL), portable hexbeam, and doublet wire antenna. He also plans to be in the CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 28-29th) as a Single-Op/Low-Power entry. QSL via his home callsign, ClubLog or LoTW. ADDED NOTE: If you miss him on this trip, he plans to return in June/July, depending on the finances. For updates, watch his QRZ.com page. *********************************************************************** 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 Fri Mar 6 11:29:00 2020 From: kb8nw at hotmail.com (Tedd Mirgliotta) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2020 16:29:00 +0000 Subject: [DX] Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin #1455 Message-ID: SB DX @ WW < KB8NW $OPDX.1455 Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1455 The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster DX Bulletin No. 1455 BID: $OPDX.1455 March 9, 2020 Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW Provided by BARF80.ORG (Cleveland, Ohio) Written/Send 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, W9ILY, DL1SBF, DL7UXG & The DX News Letter, DXNews.com, DX-World.Net, F5NQL, F6AJA & Les Nouvelles DX, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, OH2BH, RN3RQ, S50U, Sixitalia Weekly, and VA3RJ & ICPO for the following DX information. ** EDITOR'S COMMENT: Remember to change your clocks this weekend? See below "Daylight Saving Time". ** EDITOR'S SPECIAL NOTICES: This week's bulletin was sent out earlier than normal to accommodate the late ARRL International DX SSB Contest announcements. Also, we wanted to provide the readers with a consolidated listing of the ARRL DX SSB Contest participants. DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT: According to the AR-Cluster Network for the week of Friday, 28th/February, through Friday, 6th/March there were 215 countries active. Countries available: 3A, 3B8, 3D2, 3V, 3W, 4J, 4L, 4O, 4S, 4U1U, 4W, 4X, 5A, 5B, 5H, 5R, 5T, 5U, 5W, 5X, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7X, 8P, 8Q, 9A, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9L, 9M2, 9M6, 9N, 9Q, 9V, 9Y, A3, A4, A6, A7, A9, AP, BV, BY, C3, C5, C6, CE, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, D2, D4, DL, DU, E5/s, E7, EA, EA6, EA8, EA9, EI, EK, EP, 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, J2, J3, J6, J7, JA, JD/o, JT, JW, JY, K, KG4, KH0, KH2, KH6, KL, KP2, KP4, LA, LU, LX, LY, LZ, OA, OD, OE, OH, OK, OM, ON, OX, OY, OZ, P2, P4, PA, PJ2, PJ4, PJ5, PJ7, PY, PY0F, PZ, S0, S5, S7, SM, SP, SU, SV, SV5, SV9, T7, TA, TF, TG, TI, TK, TR, TU, TZ, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V2, V3, V4, V5, V7, V8, VE, VK, VK9N, VP2E, VP2M, VP5, VP6, VP8, VP8/o, VP9, VR, VU, XE, XU, YA, YB, YJ, YK, 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". 3B8, MAURITIUS. Nigel, G3TXF, will once again be active as 3B8XF from Mauritius (AF-049) during the 2020 Commonwealth Contest (BERU) [March 14-15th]. This is Nigel's 14th DX-trip made specifically to take part in the RSGB's Commonweath Contest, and the 4th time from Mauritius. He will be active March 27th, and will operate mostly on 80m/160m after the BERU Contest. QSL via G3TXF or ClubLog's OQRS (for both Bureau or direct QSLs). DO NOT SEND QSLS THROUGH THE BUREAU. For more details and possible updates, see: http://www.g3txf.com/dxtrip/3B8XF-2020/3B8-Mar-20.html 4W TIMOR-LESTE DXPEDITION NEWS (Press Release #2, dated March 2nd). The following was written by Christian Janssen, DL1MGB [edited]: The prepar- ations are on the move. A team, including Peter/DB6JG, Gerd/DJ5IW, Markus/ DJ7EO, Heye/DJ9RR, Chris/DL1MGB, Dietmar/DL3DXX, Ulf/DL5AXX, Paul/DL5CW, Tom/DL5LYM, Ben/DL6FBL, Dieter/DL8OH, Robert/SP5XVY and Bernd/VK2IA will operate from Timor-Leste from October 11th until November 8th. This includes the participation as Multi-Multi entry in the CQWW SSB. First payments have been made to the two lodges that will host our 10 stations. For most bands we will have at least two antennas with us to work in two modes on these bands simultaneously. Many thanks to our first corporate sponsors: * Spiderbeam for supporting us and our wildest ideas on antennas * WiMo for providing hardware like rotators and antennas * b.o.c. for providing computer and network infrastructure The Web site of our DXpedition is online now: http://timor-leste-dx.de Learn more about the Lagunaria DX Group and visit our website at: http://lagunaria-dx-group.org 8P, BARBADOS. Tom, W2SC, will once again be active as 8P5A during the ARRL International DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as Single-Op/All-Band/ High-Power entry. QSL via LoTW or direct to HA1AG. 9G, GHANA. Alan, G3XAQ, will once again be active as 9G5XA from Accra. His length of stay is unknown at this time. Activity will be CW only on 160-10 meters and during the 2020 Commonwealth Contest (BERU) [March 14-15th]. QSL via G3SWH. The log will be uploaded to G3SWH's Web site upon Alan's return at: http://www.g3swh.org.uk 9J2LA ZAMBIA DXPEDITION NEWS (Update). The 9J2LA team is now active from Zambia until March 15th. Activity will be on 160-6 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8. For more details see OPDX.1452. Look for 9J2LA to be in the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th). QSOs will be uploaded to ClubLog if internet access is available. QSL via M0OXO QSL service. The 9J2LA Web page is available at: https://9j2la.com Facebook and Twitter will be used for ?Breaking News? the weeks before departure and during the Expedition. The media Web pages are: FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/9j2la Twitter: https://twitter.com/9J2LA A4, OMAN. Khalid, A41CK, will activate the contest station, A44A, in Muscat during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Single-Op entry. QSL via LoTW. C6, BAHAMAS. Operators Rob/K4OV and Lee/N1BA will be active as C6ATF from Eleuthera Island (NA-001, WW Loc. FL15oj) during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Multi-Single entry. QSL via K4OV, LoTW or eQSL. CQ NEWS RELEASE (CQ Magazine Awards Editor Eddie De Young, KS4AA, is Silent Key -- Jim Houser, WA8JIM, Named to Succeed Him). The following was sent out on March 3rd, by Rich Moseson, W2VU: Just a few weeks after stepping down due to health issues, CQ Amateur Radio magazine Awards Editor Eddie De Young, KS4AA, became a Silent Key on February 25. DeYoung had held the post for less than a year, according to CQ Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU, who also announced the appointment of Jim Houser, WA8JIM, of Bartlett, Illinois, as the new Awards Editor. Houser's first column will appear in the May 2020 issue. "Eddie had let us know in late January that he would be unable to continue," Moseson explained, "so we were already looking for a successor and were about to announce WA8JIM's appointment when we learned of Eddie's passing. We extend our condolences to Eddie's wife and family." Jim Houser has been licensed since 1998 and has held an Extra Class license since 1999. His main interests are award-hunting, county-hunting, state QSO parties, rag-chewing, home-brewing, collecting QSL cards and attending the Dayton Hamvention. Professionally, Jim is the lead radio technician for Amtrak's Chicago Radio Department. "Jim's perspective is likely to be a little different from that of his predecessors," noted Moseson, "since he is still actively in the hunt for new 'wallpaper,' holding Worked All Continents (WAC) and Worked All States (WAS), but still chasing other major awards, including DXCC/CQ DX and the USA-Counties Award. So he will bring to these pages a first-hand understanding of the challenges of award-chasing in today's ham radio." Houser says he plans to highlight some lesser-known awards that keep the hunt fun while chasing the major awards, along with tips and sug- gestions for successful award-chasing. DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME (DST). This weekend it will be time to change your clocks again. Countries in the Northern Hemisphere (most of N. American and some of the Caribbean) who observe Daylight Saving Time should change their clocks on Sunday, March 8th at 2:00 AM, and should move their "local clocks" forward 1 hour to 3:00:00 AM local time. Daylight Saving Time will end on Sunday, November 1st at 2:00 AM. European countries will switch to DST on March 29th. For the history and details about DST, as well as an interesting map of the world (showing the countries who observe DST), see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time http://www.timeanddate.com/time/dst/2020.html ADDED NOTES: Hopefully, all amateur radio operators know not to change their GMT/UTC/ZULU clocks. However, since most operators usually set their computers to local time, some may have to change their settings on "some" ham radio software (ex. logging, propagation, DXTelnet, etc..) programs. DAY-XENIA NEWS (Hamvention Names 2020 Award Winners). Dayton Hamvention has named five radio amateurs and one ham radio club as the recipients of its 2020 awards. Each year, Hamvention honors award winners in several categories: Amateur of the Year -- Yasuo "Zorro" Miyazawa, JH1AJT Special Achievement Award -- Jordan Sherer, KN4CRD Technical Achievement Award -- Steve Franke/K9AN, Bill Somerville/G4WJS and Nobel Laureate Joe Taylor/K1JT Club of the Year -- The South Canadian Amateur Radio Society (SCARS) For complete details, see the "ARRL Letter" for March 4th, or the ARRL Web page at: http://www.arrl.org/news/view/dayton-hamvention-names-2020-award-winners EX0, KYRGYSTAN (Reminder). By the time you read this, operators Yuri/R2DY, Pavel/R2DX and Eugeni RW3FB will be active as EX0QR from the south shore of Issyk Kul Lake, Kyrgyzstan, until March 17th. Activity will be on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB and the Digital modes. Equipment will be 2x Kenwood TS-590, Ameritron ALS-500M and antennas are: SteppIr BigIr (vertical) + 80m, SteppIr 2 Element Yagi antenna (20-6m), 4 element Fix Yagi (30m) and vertical (160/80m). QSL via R2DX, direct, by the Bureau or ClubLog's OQRS. FM, MARTINIQUE. Marius, ON4RU/OQ3R, will be active as FM/OQ3R from Mar- tinique (NA-107) between May 25th and June 6th. Activity will be on 160-10 meters using CW only. He also plans to be in the CQWW WPX CW Contest (May 30-31st) as a Single-Op entry signing TO3F. QSL both call- signs direct to ON4RU only (not Bureau member). HB0, LIECHTENSTEIN. Operators Sivio/HB9LCW, Haaf/PA3FGA, YL Claudia/PA5CT, Aurelio/PC5A and Daniel/VE7SO will be active as HB0A (AFVL - Amateurfunk Verein Liechtenstein callsign) during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Multi-Single entry. QSL via LoTW. HC, ECUADOR. Members of the Quito Radio Club will participate in the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Multi-Multi entry signing HC0E. QSL via HC1QRC or by the Bureau. HV, VATICAN. Francesco, IK0FVC, will be active as HV0A from the Vatican City during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Single-Op entry. QSL via LoTW or direct to IK0FVC. IOTA NEWS.............. EU-010/ (Cancelled/Update) Fraser, G4BJM, was expected to be active EU-012. as GM4BJM from Yell Island (EU-012) for the RSGB IOTA Contest (July 25-26th), but had to cancel because "their accommodation had fallen through and was unable to find an alternative that was acceptable to his XYL." (LAST MINUTE UPDATE): Fraser has found an alternative, and has booked the QTH and ferry to near North Uist, Outer Hebrides Islands. His activity will be CW only. EU-127. Ralf, DK8FA, reports that 30 operators will be active as DA0HEL from Helgoland Island between March 19-29th. Activity will be on all bands/modes and activity on the QO100 satellite. There will be a side trip to Helgoland Dune signing as DL0IH. For safety reasons, activity from the Dune will only be between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. QSL via Bureau. NA-249. By the time you read this, David, KN4ZKT, will be active as KP4/KN4ZKT from Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, until March 13th. Activity will be holiday style on the 40/20 meters, and possibly the 17/15 meters, mostly in the late afternoons (3-6pm local time) and sometimes in the morning (8-10am local time). David states, "I'll have a linked dipole for both bands (40/20m) and a vertical for 20m running QRP on SSB mode with a Yaesu FT-817. Please spot me (I may or may not have internet/cell service), or look for self-spots on http://dxsummit.fi " QSL via his home callsign. Check QRZ.com in the future for schedule updates. OC-129. Lenny, N7MOT, is now active as DU6/N7MOT from Panay Island, which is part of the Visayan Islands, Philippines. He retired here (his XYL's homeland, DV6/N5CMG) in April 2019. Activity will be on 80-6 meters using SSB and FT8. It is suggested to listen for him on 20 meters between 2300-0300z and 80/40 meters between 1200-1600z. QSL via ClubLog, eQSL or LoTW. No direct (Postal mail doesn't work in the Philippines). 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...... LX, LUXEMBOURG. Simon-Philipp, DL3SPS, will be active as LX7I during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Single-Op/Single-Band (20m) entry. QSL via LX2A. LX20, LUXEMBOURG. Tom, F4HWS, will be active as LX20I (with YOTA friends) from Eschdorf (WW Loc. JN29XV) during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Single-Op/Single-Band (40m) entry. The special callsign is for the 20th anniversary of the LX7Icontest station. QSL via LX2A. In celebration, they will issue a special LX20I Award for those who work them on many Band/Mode slots in 2020. For more details, see: http://lx7i.com/lx20i Tom states that he will possibly warm-up as LX/F4HWS before the contest! OPDX MAILING LIST (Just A Reminder). Details on how to subscribe and unsubscribe from the "OPDX Mailing List" are at the bottom of this bulletin. PLEASE pass the word around.... Thanks and 73 de Tedd KB8NW PACIFIC TOUR (Update/Reminder). By the time you read this, operators Will/AA4NC and Ron/AA4VK should be finishing up their YJ0NC and YJ0VK Vanuatu operation and heading to Fiji. Look for them to sign 3D2AA and 3D2VK (callsign tentative). Look for Will to be active as 3D2AA during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Single-Op-Low-Power entry. They will be there until March 11th. Activity will be holiday style on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB and FT8/FT4, with 100 watts and wire antennas. QSL routes have been changed. QSL all callsigns via EA5GL. PROPAGATION FORECAST/REPORT (March 9-15th)....... Mar 09th AN Mar/12th AN Mar/14th AN Mar/10th AN Mar/13th AN Mar/15th AN Mar/11th 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 * News and Information About The Sun-Earth Environment: https://www.spaceweather.com * Monthly propagation charts between four USA regions and twelve overseas locations are at: http://arrl.org/propagation * Information and tutorials on propagation are at: http://k9la.us * Graphic propagation tool by DR2W: http://www.dr2w.de/dx-propagation * Point to point propagation at: http://www.predtest.uk/p2p.html * 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) (March 6th) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4O4T via YU1FW & (L) JW/PA7MDJ via PA7MDJ & (L) OL700DKA via OL700DKA (O) 4W/JH2EUV via JH2EUV & (L) KH6/KY7M via KY7M OS8A via ON8VK 5B0EME via 5B4ALX (d) LZ250KD via LZ1KCP PC20MC via PA0FAW & (e) 9G5AR via N4GNR (d/L) N4F via K2BHQ (d) PJ7AA via AA9A (O/d/L) EA/SM7EDO via SM7EDO OE25BKC via OE3BKC S500E via S50O GB200FN via M0XIG (d) OE25XKJ via OE7MPI SX1DI via SV1AHH (d/e) HB0/HB9LCW via HB9LCW & (L) OH/HB9GNP via HB9GNP TO0A via IZ1MHY & (L) J68SS via NY3B (L) OL700CO via OL700CO (O) W4NC/90 via W4NC (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 (New/Updated) AVAILABLE ON CLUBLOG.ORG THIS WEEK...... https://clublog.org/logsearch/9J2LA https://clublog.org/logsearch/HZ1FI (Updated) https://clublog.org/logsearch/J68HZ (Updated) https://clublog.org/logsearch/PJ7AA (Updated) https://clublog.org/logsearch/TU5PCT (Updated) NEW QSL MANAGER. Pedro, EA5GL, is now the QSL Manager for Ujodha, 3B8BAL, in Port Louis, Mauritius. OLD QSL COLLECTION (Update). Jean Michel, F6AJA, wants to remind every- one to visit the Les Nouvelles DX (LNDX) Web page to see more than 17,600 old QSL cards in several different albums/galleries. This site contains: - The ten most wanted DXCC entities (2009 to 2018) with more than 600 QSLs - At least one card for each 62 deleted DXCC countries (more than 2000+ QSLs) - Nearest the totality of current prefixes, disappeared now (more than 5800+ QSLs) - Album for stations from North Africa 1945-1962 (500+ QSLs) - More than 1000 QSLs from the Antarctic bases. - With 280 QSLs from the TAAF (Terres Australes and Antarctiques Francaises). - More than 100 cards from Eparses Islands such as FR/B/E/G/J/T - More than 500 QSLs for the rare French Pacific Islands such as FK, FK/C, FO/C, FO/A, FO/M, FO/C and FW - The FG, FM, FP, FS, FY stations from 1945 to 1969 - Commemoratives stations for ITU and IARU with more than 800 QSL. - More than 3000 cards for the old timer with more than 150 countries before 1945. - Cards from the French Department before 1945. - At least one card from each of the states in the U.S. before 1945. The URL address for the Web site is: http://LesNouvellesDX.free.fr Some cards are still needed for the collection, and your particip- ation is welcome. Only a ".jpg" file (both sides of the card) is required. Please visit the site and give them your comments by sending an E-mail to: LesNouvellesDX at free.fr V47JA LOG. John, W5JON/V47JA, reports: All V47JA logs through March 4, 2020, are now uploaded to LoTW. YP0H QSLS (Paper). Adrian, KO8SCA, announced: All YP0H direct QSL requests have been mailed out March 2nd, 2020. They should be delivered in a week or two to all recipients. QSLS RECEIVED VIA LoTW: 4U1UN, 4W/JH2EUV, 5H4WZ, 9A5Y, BG2AUE, CE2MVF, CE2SV, FG8OJ, HB0/HB9LCW, HS5NMF, KG4NW, S79OWZ, SV5DKL, TU5PCT, V47JA, VK5GR, VP2ETE, VP5/WA2BOT, VP8PJ, VU2OT and ZA/IK2RLM QSLS RECEIVED VIA MAIL: BI4Q (AS-135), OM3EY, YB8V (OC-157) and YJ0RRC (OC-111) QSLS RECEIVED VIA THE BUREAU: 4M1K, 6O0X, 9M2CLN, 9M2JKL, 9M2SE (AS-046), 9M2SE (AS-074), 9M4LHM, 9M8RC (OC-165), 9W6EZ, 9W8DEN, A71GO, CE7/DL2OE (SA-018), CU2KG, D44EE, DA0DFF (EU-042), DP0POL (AN-016), E20HHK/P (AS-107), EF9Z, HS10KING, JW6VDA, LU/DL2OE (SA-008), OX3LX (NA-220), OX3LX (NA-151), OX3LX (NA-134), OX7A, OX7AKT, OZ/DL6JZ/P (EU-172), T88KK, T88PB and ZD8JR --- We would like to see more QSL Bureaus (such as AS/US/SA/AF.. etc) send in their info.... S500, SLOVENIA (Special Event). Members of the Radio Club Cerkno will activate special event callsign S500E throughout 2020. Activity is to mark half a million QSOs made from the S50E (WW Loc. JN76AD) station. A special QSL will confirm each contact via the Bureau in early 2021. The Log will be uploaded to the ARRL LoTW and ClubLog on a regular basis. For those who want to send QSL cards direct, please request a QSL via Clublog's OQRS (preferred) or send SASE with 3 USDs or equivalent in EUR to cover return postage for their QSL Manager Miran Voncina (S50O), Cvetkova 35, 5282 Cerkno, Slovenija. Cards with insufficient postage or no return envelope will be returned via the QSL Bureau. Special S500E T-shirt will be awarded to a station with the highest number of QSOs (band/mode) from each continent and Slovenija. For more information and updates, please visit the Radio Club Cerkno S50E Web site at: http://www.s50e.si TO5, MARTINIQUE. Uwe, DL8UD, will be active as TO5O from Martinique (NA-107) during the RSGB IOTA Contest (July 25-26th) as a Single-Op/ All-Band/High-Power entry. Look for activity before and after the contest between July 22-30th, signing as FM/DL8UD. QSL via DL8UD, by the Bureau, direct or Clublog's OQRS. TO7DL REUNION ISLAND DXPEDITION NEWS (Update). The DL7DF Team is now active as TO7DL from Reunion Island (AF-016) until March 16th. Activity will be on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB and the Digital modes. After the recent permission of the 5 MHz band in France and the French territories, the team will also activate 60m. Please check their "News Page" during the DXpedition: http://www.dl7df.com/fr/news.php 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/fr 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 between September 29th and October 12th. 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. Operators mentioned are Alfeo/I1HJT, Franco/I1FQH, Antonio/I2PJA, Silvano/I2YSB, Vinicio/IK2CIO, Angelo/IK2CKR, Marcello/ IK2DIA, Stefano/IK2HKT, Angelo/IK2RZP and Mac/JA3USA. Activity will be on 160-10 meters using 4 stations. Look for more details to be forth- coming and also watch: http://www.i2ysb.com/idt V5, NAMIBIA. Ulrich, ZR2A (DM5EE), will be active as V55A from Namibia during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Single-Op/All-Band entry. QSL via LoTW or M0OXO's OQRS. V5, NAMIBIA. Pat, KI4SVM, will be active as V5/KI4SVM from Namibia between March 14-28th. Activity will be holiday style, primarily in the evenings (GMT+2). He states, "With any luck I might get in a Summits on the Air activation or two. Equipment in use will be an Elecraft KX2, Hardrock-50 Amp with either a 20/40 meter vertical or 88' doublet depending on con- ditions, running 50W on SSB and CW (please be kind and QRS ). [wink] Spots are much appreciated if you hear me and look for me on DXSummit and the ReverseBeaconNetwork." QSL via his home callsign, direct (NO SASE REQUIRED), LoTW or eQSL. V8, BRUNEI. Hajime, JO1RUR, will be active as V85RH during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Single-Op/All-Band/High-Power entry. QSL via LoTW or V85RH direct: Rahman Hassan, P.O. Box 73, Gadong BE3919, Brunei. VP8PJ SOUTH ORKNEY DXPEDITION NEWS (Update). Reported by Pilot Glenn, KE4KY on March 6th, 6:25am (EST) [edited]: "VP8PJ is now QRT! (as 0100z, March 6th) The pileups were enthusiastic, fun, & at times never ending. We appreciate all of you that participated! The weather forecast for tomorrow is that of wind and rain. It will make our chore of tearing down the camp wet and very slow. We look forward to our return trip home.... 73! VP8PJ Team" By the time you read this, the VP8PJ team should be tearing down their camp and will be departing Signy Island (scheduled for March 7th) after battling with blowing snow and damaging high wind. Weather depending, Thursday, March 5th, was expected to be their last full day of operations. EDITOR NOTES: At 03:17 am Thursday, March 5th, the team was pleased to report that they are nearing 70,000 QSOs in the log. Their plan is to remain active on the bands throughout the day. They anticipate ending radio operations and going QRT at or near 2359z (later that day they stated, "We will try and stretch our operating time until about 0100 UTC tonite. :-)". Their attention overnight and tomorrow will be devoted to the large chore of packing the gear and then dismantling the camp. As stated previously, they will attempt an upload of the log once aboard the Braveheart as they prepare for departure from Signy Island. Also on Thursday, the team stated, "We will soon begin the process of staging equipment and supplies on the beach for transfer to the Braveheart. A number of antennas are being removed as we evaluate our 'on air' activ- ities for the remaining hours on the island. Slowly, throughout the day, we will take operating positions off-line as we prepare to end our radio operations later tonight. We cannot thank the crew of the Braveheart enough for their hard work and assistance throughout this entire DX- pedition." QSL via M0URX, direct or OQRS (direct and Bureau). LoTW will be uploaded 6 months after DXpedition. Online log is available at: https://www.m0urx.com/oqrs/logsearch.php?dxcallsign=VP8PJ The following are VP8PJ media pages to watch: The VP8PJ Web page is at: https://sorkney.com The VP8PJ Twitter page is at: https://twitter.com/SouthOrkneyDX The VP8PJ Groups.io group is at: https://groups.io/g/VP8PJ VX3, CANADA. Pete, VE3IKV, will be active as VX3X from Canada during the CQWW WPX CW Contest (May 30-31st) as a Single-Op/All-Band/Low-Power/ Non-Assisted. QSL via VE3IKV direct. Outside of the contest, Pete will be active on various HF bands and 6 meters until June 30th. W8S SWAINS ISLAND DXPEDITION NEWS (Update). The following was from the W8S Web page (https://swains2020.lldxt.eu/), date March 6th [edited]: Postponed but..... The fact that we had to postpone the DXpedition so shortly before the initially planned date does not mean that Swains2020 is no longer alive. The opposite is true.... A new planning brings many new logistical challenges with which the team is busy to resolve. Not all equipment can wait for half a year in a box for shipping and the team members also have to adjust their travel plans to the new goals. This all sounds simple, but for sure it is not. The new date also means a different season and therefore different circumstances on the island and a change in expected propagation. This means that the operating manual needs some adjustment as might the planning. The team is happy that their sponsors and supporters show so much under- standing for the situation and continue to support the team in the real- ization of this great project. It is this trust and support that gives extra motivation to the team to make the postponed DXpedition a success. Without this support a project like Swains2020 is not possible. THANK YOU XM3, CANADA. Yuri, VE3DZ, will be active as XM3T from Canada during the CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 28-29th) as a Single-Op/All-Band entry. QSL via VE3DZ. Activity with the special callsign (until April) is to celebrate 200 years of the discovering the Antarctica. YASME NEWS (Press Release; by Martti, OH2BH, dated March 3rd). YASME FOUNDATION IS RECOGNIZING THE KEY PEOPLE BEHIND RE-ACTIVATING 4U1UN [edited] -- The project took over four years to complete; James Sarte, K2QI, and Adrian Ciuperca, KO8SCA, are the key amateur operators who worked on the project and as such they will be the recipients of the Yasme Excellence Award 2020. The team used a slick in-house remote concept, whereby the station is located at the 42nd floor while the control head is located on the ground floor of the UN Headquarters in New York City. ARRL Hudson Divisions Director Ria Jairam, N2RJ, and Yasme Director Martti Laine, OH2BH, will be jointly presenting the Yasme award at the UN Headquarters in New York City on Friday, March 6, 2020. This ceremony will be topped with the first-ever FT8 QSO from 4U1UN ? with its inventor Joe Taylor, K1JT, at the controls. First twenty-five QSOs will be awarded by U.N special certificate signed by Joe. What perfect timing! ? following the ceremony the group of K2QI, G6CBR, N2RJ, OH2BH, KO8SCA and VE7NY will activate 4U1UN in the ARRL DX SSB Contest. By the way, this will be a much more complex exercise than you might imagine, since, for security reasons, the operators will need to be escorted at all times by the UN security officers. See you in the air! QSL via HB9BOU. ZD7, ST. HELENA ISLAND. Oliver, W6NV, will once again be active as ZD7W from Jamestown on Saint Helena Island (AF-022) during the CQWW DX SSB Contest (November 28-29th) as a Single-Op/All-Band entry. QSL via W6NV or LoTW. His length of stay was not provided. ZF, CAYMAN ISLANDS. William, KO7SS, will be active as ZF2SS from Cayman Brac Island (NA-016) during the CQWW WPX CW Contest (May 30-31st) as a Single-Op/All-Band/High-Power entry. QSL via LoTW only. ZL, NEW ZEALAND. Operators Frank/ZL2BR, Geoff/ZL3GA, Phil/ZL3PAH and Paul/ZL4TT will use the "Quake Contesters" callsign ZL3X during the 2020 Commonwealth Contest (BERU) [March 14-15th]. QSL via LoTW, Club- Log or direct to ZL3PAH. No Bureau. ZW, BRAZIL. Rodrigo, PY2KC, (member of the Araucaria DX Group) will be active as ZW5B from Curitiba during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Single-Op/All-Band/High-Power entry. QSL via K3IRV. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following stations are expected to be active in the ARRL International DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th, 2020) Complete details on the rules for the contest: http://www.arrl.org/arrl-dx -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to Bill, NG3K, for providing OPDX readers with the following consolidated listing of the participants in the 2020 ARRL International DX SSB Contest. For a more detailed listing (and up-to-date changes/corrections) in HTML format, please visit Bill's Web page at: http://www.ng3k.com/Misc/adxs2020.html (By callsign) http://www.ng3k.com/Misc/adxsd2020.html (By entity) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Contest DXCC Class QSL Callsign Entity Route ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3D2AA Fiji SO LP EA5GL 4U1UN UN HQ M/? LoTW; QSL via HB9BOU 8P5A Barbados SOAB HP LoTW; QSL via HA1AG A44A Oman SO LoTW C6ATF Bahamas M/? H33K Panama M/? HP1DAV HB0A Liechtenstein M/S LoTW HC0E Ecuador M/M HC1QRC HV0A Vatican City SO LoTW; QSL via IK0FVC J68HZ St. Lucia M/? LoTW J68SS St. Lucia M/S NY3B KH6LC Hawaii SOAB LoTW NP2P U.S. Virgin Islands SO LoTW P40A Aruba SO WD9DZV PJ4/N2HX Bonaire SO LP N2HX PJ4G Bonaire M/? WA2NHA PJ7AA Sint Maarten SO AA9A PY0F Fernando de Noronha SO PY7RP T32AZ East Kiribati SO LoTW; QSL via KH6QJ (B/d) TO3Z Guadeloupe M/? F6HMQ TO5A Martinique SOAB LoTW; QSL (REF-B); USA QSL via WA6WPG, others F5VHJ direct TO0A St. Martin M/S LoTW; QSL via IZ1MHY V26M Antigua & Barbuda SOA W3HNK V47P St. Kitts & Nevis M/? LoTW V47T St. Kitts & Nevis SOAB HP LoTW V55A Namibia SOAB LoTW; QSL via M0OXO OQRS V85RH Brunei SOAB HP LoTW; QSL via V85RH direct: Rahman Hassan, PO Box 73, Gadong BE3919 Brunei VP2MMF Montserrat SO LoTW; QSL via KU9C VP5M Turks & Caicos M/S LoTW; QSL via K4QPL VP9I Bermuda SO LoTW; QSL via WW3S YJ0CA Vanuatu SO VK2YUS (d) ZF1A Cayman Islands M/S LoTW; QSL via K6AM (B/d) ZF2RJ Cayman Islands SO LoTW; (C) ZF5T Cayman Islands SO LoTW; QSL via K5GO (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 *********************************************************************** 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 Sat Mar 7 16:25:02 2020 From: kb8nw at hotmail.com (Tedd Mirgliotta) Date: Sat, 7 Mar 2020 21:25:02 +0000 Subject: [DX] Ohio/Penn DX Special Bulletin #1455.1 Message-ID: SB DX @ WW < KB8NW $OPDX.1455.1 Ohio/Penn DX Special Bulletin No. 1455.1 The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster DX Special Bulletin No. 1455.1 BID: $OPDX.1455.1 March 7, 2020 Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW Provided by BARF80.ORG (Cleveland, Ohio) Written/Sent From Strongsville, OH Thanks to the Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society, Northern Ohio DX Association, Ohio/Penn PacketCluster Network, the AB5K's AR Clusters Network, KE4KY, WA4DAN and YASME for the following DX information. VP8PJ SOUTH ORKNEY DXPEDITION NEWS (Update). Reported by Pilot Glenn, KE4KY on March 7th, 2:12am (EST), that the VP8PJ team has left Signy Island. During the mid day, logs for the VP8PJ operation were uploaded to: https://www.m0urx.com/oqrs/logsearch.php?dxcallsign=VP8PJ The team went QRT on March 6th, at 0100z. Current statistics show (as this is being written), as of 1708z March 7th, VP8PJ work 82232 total QSOs with 20657 Unique callsigns. QSO Modes: 40222/CW, 13979/SSB, 27128/FT8, 1/PSK and 2440/RTTY. By Continent: 766/AF, 1/AN, 5393/AS, 44110/EU, 29133/NA, 601/OC and 3754/SA. The following are VP8PJ media pages to watch: The VP8PJ Web page is at: https://sorkney.com The VP8PJ Twitter page is at: https://twitter.com/SouthOrkneyDX The VP8PJ Groups.io group is at: https://groups.io/g/VP8PJ VK9W WILLIS ISLANDS DXPEDITION NEWS (New DXpedition). Murray Adams, WA4DAN, informs OPDX of the following: The 2016/2019 CY9C team, and the upcoming Sable Island DXpedition CY0C team, is pleased to announce our next DXpedition. After the Sable CY0C DXpedition, we will be going to Willis Island VK9W in 2021. Eight operators from those two teams will comprise the 2021 Willis Island DXpedition team. Boat arrangements have already been made. We are currently working with the Australian government for the necessary permits. Much more information will be released in the coming months. YASME NEWS (Press Release, dated March 7th, contact Martti Laine, OH2BH). [edited] VP2VB AND YASME SAILS AGAIN ? AS IT WAS 60 YEARS AGO -- Starting on Tuesday March 10, 2020, an International group now in New York will set sail to the British Virgin Islands and activate the VP2VB call sign for 6 days focusing on low-bands with two stations. The team roster is KO8SCA, Adrian; OH2BH, Martti; OH2GEK, Niko; and VE7NY, Sandro. Their pilot stations are Don, K8MFO; Steve, N2AJ; Ken K4ZW; and Pertti, OG2M. QSL via OH2BH. Danny Weil, VP2VB, was a British watchmaker with a sense of adventure. His initial sailing voyage was to the British Virgin Islands on a sail- boat named YASME. (Yasme is derived from ?yasume?, Japanese for ?to make tranquil.?) Legendary DXer Dick Spencely, KV4AA, became aware of Danny?s aspirations, and suggested that he combine amateur radio with his ambitious travel itinerary. Spencely taught Danny CW and helped him secure the call VP2VB. During the period 1955 ? 1962, Danny operated from several locations in the Caribbean, as well as the Pacific. The Don Chesser (W4KVX) DX Magazine chronicled all of those operations. All was not ?smooth sailing.? There were at least three YASME sailing vessels. One blew up in a British harbor before ever going to sea. Another sank in the Caribbean near St. Vincent, and another went down near Papua ? New Guinea. Not to be deterred, Danny was always able to raise funds and find sponsors for securing a new vessel. The Hallicrafters Company supplied him with ham radio equipment. Other companies did the same. Danny?s last expedition into the Pacific included stops at HC8 and FO8 ? Clipperton. The latter was a particularly harrowing experience and life threatening. Danny?s new wife, Naomi, was with him at the time. The Mexican Navy had to rescue Danny and tow YASME to California. Danny went solo to several more stops in the Pacific before retiring from DXpeditioning. He eventually settled in Texas, where he opened a small shop. There was no more ham radio activity from Danny, although he listened frequently on a Collins receiver. Don, K8MFO, remembers Danny?s distinctive operating style. In spite of starting from scratch and developing his skills in massive pileups, Danny became a very good CW operator. He didn?t waste much time, usually termi- nating his QSOs with a snappy ?DIT DIT.? Danny?s activities provided the reason to create the YASME Foundation with Dick Spencely ? KV4AA conducting aggressive fund raising. Of course, later on, Lloyd, W6KG, and Iris, W6QL Colvin were the most prominent faces of YASME, continuing their travel under the original spirit of Danny Weil and his sailboat, YASME. The VP2VB call sign for this DXpedition will, of course, count for the Yasme Award, the first activation of VP2VB in more than 60 years. The upcoming VP2VB DXpedition will return to the first historical traces of Danny Weil in the British Virgin Islands under a special authorization of the local Telecom authority to pay homage for those early years of DXing that should not be forgotten. Danny was a true adventurer and the spirit continues. Ken Claerbout, K4ZW Director, Vice-President and Secretary The Yasme Foundation Board of Directors: Ward Silver, N?AX, President Ken Claerbout, K4ZW, Director, Vice-President and Secretary Rusty Epps, W6OAT, Director and Treasurer Fred Laun, K3ZO, Director Martti Laine, OH2BH, Director Robert Vallio, W6RGG, Director Hans Blondeel Timmerman, PB2T, Director Marty Woll, N6VI, Director James Brooks, 9V1YC, Director ----------------------------------------------------------------------- * 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 Mar 15 11:36:00 2020 From: kb8nw at hotmail.com (Tedd Mirgliotta (KB8NW)) Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2020 11:36:00 -0400 Subject: [DX] Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin #1456 Message-ID: SB DX @ WW < KB8NW $OPDX.1456 Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1456 The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster DX Bulletin No. 1456 BID: $OPDX.1456 March 16, 2020 Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW Provided by BARF80.ORG (Cleveland, Ohio) Written/Send 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, K3IRV, NG3K & ADXO, W3UR & The Daily DX, WA4DAN, WB6RSE, K8YSE, KZ8Y, W8GEX & 60m DX News, W9ILY, N0TG, CO2AME, DL1SBF, DL7UXG & The DX News Letter, DXNews.com, DX-World.Net, EA5GL, F6AJA & Les Nouvelles DX, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, RN3RQ, Sixitalia Weekly, and VA3RJ & ICPO for the following DX information. *** EDITOR'S NOTES: WOW! It was a bad week for upcoming hamfests, conventions, sports and DXpeditions. Stay healthy.... DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT: According to the AR-Cluster Network for the week of Sunday, 8th/March, through Sunday, 15th/March there were 228 countries active. Countries available: 3A, 3B8, 3B9, 3D2, 3V, 3W, 4J, 4L, 4O, 4S, 4U1U, 4W, 4X, 5A, 5B, 5H, 5R, 5T, 5W, 5X, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7X, 8P, 8Q, 9A, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9L, 9M2, 9M6, 9N, 9Q, 9V, 9X, 9Y, A2, 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, EZ, F, FG, FJ, 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, J2, J3, J6, J7, J8, JA, JD/o, JT, JX, 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, SM, SP, ST, SU, SV, SV5, SV9, T30, T32, T5, T7, TA, TF, TG, TI, TK, TR, TT, TZ, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V2, V3, V4, V5, V6, V8, VE, VK, VK9N, VP2E, VP2M, VP2V, VP5, VP8, VP8/h, VP9, VR, VU, XE, XU, YA, YB, YI, YK, YL, YN, YO, YS, YU, YV, Z2, Z3, Z6, Z8, ZA, ZB, ZD7, ZF, ZL, ZL7, ZP, ZS * PLEASE NOTE: The report "could" contain "Pirate/SLIM" operations or more likely a "BUSTED CALLSIGN". As always, you never know - "Work First Worry Later". 3Y0I BOUVET ISLAND DXPEDITION NEWS (and PACIFIC TOUR). The Rebel DX Group (RDXG) team reports/posted the following (https://bouvetoya.org/) on March 11th [edited]: A bunch of fresh news from the 3Y0I - Bouvet Island camp. Although we're still $25k short of our required budget, we arrange and follow things up according to our plans. A have already paid down-payment for our vessel. We also analyzed all conclusions collected during the 1st attempt. We have already verified, prepared and stored our expedition and radio gear. Actually we're just waiting for the coming Southern hemisphere's summer to "set sails" again. Our 2nd attempt to "conquer" the remotest island in the world - Bouvet Island - will take place by end of 2020. We strongly encourage to support our project via our GoFundMe page at (https://www.gofundme.com/f/3y0i-bouvet-island-expedition). The website constantly updates and displays names and callsigns of each donor who decide to back up our plans. We are very very thankful for all donations sent by all of our current supporters! As announced before, we're up to our next project and about to leave for the Pacific IOTA tour by end of March. As a local tropical cyclone season withdraws, once arrived at Fiji we will check our Rebel's catamaran and prepare it for a long 1 month+ oceanic voyage. Expect the launch of the T33T Banaba and T22T Tuvalu project by late April/beginning of May 2020. We welcome our new gear supporter - The Adjustiwave Antennas. Their antennas' sector is simplicity and durability and we're going to use their verticals as additional and backup aerials during our Pacific tour. Take a look at their website to learn more about these self-erected ver- tical multibanders: https://adjustiwave.com 73 and fingers crossed! The RDXG Team ----------------------------------------------------- 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 6O0, SOMALIA. Janusz, AK4JK (aka 5H0JK, SP7GWF, ST/ZS5ADU, T6EU, V6JBVS, ZS5ADU), announced that he is now active as 6O0/AK4JK from Somalia. The length of his stay is not known. Activity will be CW only everyday at 1700 GMT on 14007 or 7007 kHz. QSL via his home callsign direct. NO IRCs. 8Q, MALDIVES (Reminder). Noel, F6BGC, is now active as 8Q7NC from Veligandu Island, Rashdoo Atoll, in the Maldives Islands (WW Loc. MJ64MH, IOTA AS-013) until March 21st. Activity will be holiday style (Suitcase Expedition) on 80-10 meters (depending on conditions) with 100w and a vertical, using all modes CW, SSB, and the Digital modes. QSL via F6BGC, direct or LotW. More information at: https://www.qrz.com/db/8Q7NC ARRL HAMFEST/COVENTION CLOSINGS. The ARRL has created a Web page that lists all hamfests and conventions that have advised the League that they are canceling scheduled events due to the concerns over the corona- virus (currently there are 17 listed): http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/search/page:1/keywords:Canceled/model:Event ADDED NOTE: ARRL Suspending Tours and Guest Visits to Headquarters, W1AW: http://www.arrl.org/news/view/arrl-suspending-tours-and-guest-visits-to-headquarters-w1aw CE0Y, EASTER ISLAND (Reminder). Mike, VE7ACN, will be active as CE0Y/VE7ACN from Easter Island between March 19-30th. Activity will be on 80-10 meters (possibly 160m) using CW and SSB. QSL via VE7ACN, ClubLog's OQRS (pre- ferred)or LoTW. CP, BOLIVIA. After the Russian Robinson Club's (RRC) activities as XR8RRC from Wellington Island (SA-032), look for the operators to be active as CP6/R7AL, CP6/RW9JZ, CP6/RK8A & CP6/RZ3K from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, for up to 13 days. Activity will be on various HF bands (depends on propa- gation) using CW, SSB and FT8. QSL via ClubLog's OQRS (strictly prefer- able!), or direct via EU7A. For more details and updates, see: https://rv6ali.wixsite.com/bolivia2020 CQ NEWS RELEASE (Visalia, HamSCI, Conferences Canceled ?Due to Coronavirus). [edited] From the CQ Newsroom (dated March 11th): Concerns over coronavirus and various advisories regarding travel and large group gatherings have prompted cancellations of two upcoming ham meetings - the Visalia Inter- national DX Convention in California and the HamSCI workshop in Penn- sylvania. In a March 10th letter to speakers and participants, the co-chairs of the International DX Convention wrote: "Due to concerns (for the) health and well-being of our amateur radio family, our age group and possible compromised health issues; we are taking the side of safety and canceling the convention. Even though the percentage of COVID-19 is low, there are person(s) who have the illness but mild form and have not seen a physician. It only takes 1 person to pass the virus to a person with a compromised illness. We will be in close proximity of each other. Yes, the timing is bad, but all of your lives and families are more important." On March 11th, HamSCI Coordinator Nathaniel Frissell, W2NAF, announced that "it is no longer feasible to hold an in-person HamSCI workshop this year...The Science/Program Committee is discussing over the next few days the best alternative plans for the HamSCI workshop. This may mean a form all-electronic meeting using teleconference/webinar services." Updates will be posted at . As of now, the Dayton Hamvention is still expected to be held on schedule. However, Ohio now has at least three confirmed cases of the disease and many of the state's universities are temporarily moving to online-only classes. Hamvention officials say they are in close contact with state and federal health officials. Monitor for updates. CQ Amateur Radio, 17 West John St., Hicksville, NY 11801 (www.cq-amateur-radio.com) EDITOR'S NOTE: Also, check out the ARRL's Web page (Visalia Inter- national DX Convention, Other Events Canceled Due to Coronavirus Worries) at: http://www.arrl.org/news/view/visalia-international-dx-convention-other-events-cancelled-due-to-coronavirus-worries CY0 SABLE ISLAND DXPEDITION NEWS (Press Release by Randy, N0TG, dated March 6th)[edited]. The team is busy planning for October. We invite you to visit the WEB SITE (http://www.CY0dxpedition.net) and participate in the SURVEY. We would like to hear from you as to details for your "Need" for CY0. Also, donations early on for upfront expenses during the pre- paration phase are very helpful. Keep in touch with the Web page for updates on the DXpedition details.... Tnx, Randy N0TG DAY-XENIA NEWS (COVID19 Update). The following was posted on the HamVention Web site March 12th: The Hamvention Executive Committee wants to update the Amateur Radio Community our current status in regards to COVID19. The health and welfare of all attending this event is very important to us all. As most of you know the COVID19 pandemic is a very fluid situation and the Hamvention Executive Committee is constantly in touch with the Greene County Department of Health and in turn they have daily meetings with the Ohio Department of Health. As of now we plan on holding Hamvention unless otherwise directed. It is our intention to follow the orders of the State of Ohio and the Greene County Health Dept. We will update as required. Thank you for your support and understanding. Vy 73, Executive Committee Hamvention 2020 DAY-XENIA NEWS (SWODXA Press Release for the DX Dinner, dated March 9th). [edited] Mike Suhar, W8RKO, (msuhar at woh.rr.com) reports: The SouthWest Ohio DX Association (SWODXA) has announced that Debbie Anderson will be the keynote speaker at the 35th annual DX Dinner. The dinner, held in conjunction with the 2020 Dayton Hamvention, will be on Friday, May 15th, at the Marriott Hotel in Dayton. Debbie Anderson, only child of Joseph and Dorothy Desch, grew up feeling that her family was unusual. Her father, engineer at NCR for 34 years, often mentioned events during WW2, before she was born. When asked about WW2, however, Mr. Desch would stall or quickly change the topic. After his death in 1987 Debbie began a slow but steady search for information about her father's wartime work. Slowly the story of wartime code-breaking was uncovered-specifically, reading German communications hidden in the Enigma cipher. She's been speaking on this topic since 1990. She also maintains a web site [http://daytoncodebreakers.org] on the Dayton codebreaking story and was associate producer of a documentary Dayton Codebreakers which has played on American Public Television since 2006. For more information and to order dinner tickets, visit: https://swodxaevents.org FK CHESTERFIELD ISLAND DXPEDITION NEWS (Update/Postponed). In light of the current COVID-19 virus pandemic, global travel restriction uncertainties as well as obvious concerns for our team's safety and welfare, the pre- viously announced DXpedition to Chesterfield Reefs (TK/C) is being post- poned until 2021. Further details will be released as our revised plans are solidified..... Gregg W6IZT and Hal W8HC FS, ST. MARTIN. David, F8AAN, will once again be active as FS/F8AAN from St. Martin Island (NA-105) between November 18th and December 4th. Activity will be holiday style on 40-10 meters using CW only. He will also be in the CQWW DX CW Contest (November 28-29th), and will apply for a special callsign. David normally uses a FT-897 into a portable antenna. QSL via his home callsign, direct, LoTW, ClubLog and eQSL. GB0/GB2/GB4, NORTHERN IRELAND. Members of the "County Antrim DX Group" and operators John/MI0LPO and Martin/2I0WAI will be using the special callsigns GB0SPD, GB2SPD and GB4SPD, to celebrate St Patrick's Day. The St. Patrick's Day On The Air event will run from 1200 UTC on March 16th, until 1200 UTC on March 18th. Activity will be on all HF bands including 2m and 70cm using SSB and possibly FT8. QSL via info on QRZ.com. For more details, see: http://stpatrickaward.webs.com GT0, ISLE OF MAN. Operators Billy/GM6DX, Iain/GM5YTT and Stevie/GM2TT will be active as GT0SP from the Scarlett Point Tower on the Isle of Man (EU-115) between March 27-30th. Activity will include the CQWW WPX DX SSB Contest (March 28-29th). QSL via LoTW. View the Scarlett Point Tower Camera(s) at: http://scarlett.no-ip.org:8081/live/index.html?Language=0 IOTA NEWS.............. AS-118. (Postponed) Neil, G0JHC, reports that the Kuwait Amateur Radio Society's 9K2F Failaka Island IOTA DXpedition has been post- poned. Operation was to take place between March 11-15th. EU-107. Operators Gil/F4FET, Antoine/F5RAB and friends will be active as TM7P from Petite Island during the RSGB IOTA Contest (July 25-26th) as a Multi-2 entry. They plan to be active some days before and after the contest weekend. QSL via F4FET. EU-118. Col, MM0NDX, reported this past week, "There's been no activity from there (Flannan Isles) since 2010 when the MS0INT crew made about 8K QSOs. I recently contacted the boat operator who took us out there 10 years ago and they now say all landing areas have been eroded away and only recommend 'fit' people attempt to go there nowadays as 'it's very difficult to land'. So unless it's reactivated soon I guess this could become a real rare one in the years ahead." NA-034. Lou, W0FK, who was expected to once again be operating as W0FK/4 on Longboat Key between from March 1-14th, had to postponed his operation until later this year. NA-092. Markus, DJ4EL, is planning to be active as PZ5G from Papegaaien Island, Suriname, sometime during Easter (April 12th). Activity will be on various HF bands. QSL via ClubLog's OQRS or LoTW. Look for more details to be forthcoming. OC-092. (Cancelled) Jacek, SP5APW, who was expected to be active as DU2/SP5APW from Calayan Island in April, has canceled his operation due to possible travel issues because of the Corona- virus. SA-029. Members of the CabreuvaDX Team will once again be active as ZV1C from Cedro Island between May 1-3rd. Activity will be on 160/80/40/20/17/15/10 meters using CW, SSB and FT8. There will also be activity on 2 meters satellite. QSL via PU2VCP. For more details and updates, see QRZ.com. SA-032/ By the time you read this, members of the Russian Robinson SA-091. Club will be finishing their activity as XR8RRC from Wellington Island (SA-032, which is located in a heart of Chilean Patagonia) possibly on March 16th. Activity is planned to be on various HF bands (depends on propagation) using CW, SSB and FT8 modes. Once XR8RRC goes QRT, the team will then head to Puerto-Natales, and then possibly activate Riesco Island (SA-091), weather and transport permitting. Activity will be up to 48 hours. QSL via ClubLog's OQRS (strictly preferable!), or direct via EU7A: Andrey N. Teterukov, P.O. Box 13, Mogilev-30, 212030, Belarus. For more details and possible updates, watch: https://rv6ali.wixsite.com/patagonia2020 IOTA TOUR (V6, MICRONESIA). Jonathan, XE2BRX, will be on a "Micro DXpedition" to the islands: 1) Namoluk OC-254 5) Piherarh (Pisaris) OC-155 2) Losap OC-011 6) Nomwin OC-253 3) Houk (Pulusuk) OC-155 7) Weno OC-11 4) Polowat OC-155 He states, "This will be a work related travel, my operation time will be limited to my free time and schedule of affairs. Please don't expect much, as this won't be a full time DXpedition. When I have more info it will be posted on QRZ.com." 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...... KH4, MIDWAY ISLAND (Update). Ron, KH6DV, posted on March 14th, the following on QRZ.com: "We all know that one of the easiest ways to catch a respiratory infection is to travel by airline, visit a hospital or clinic waiting room, or pass through an airport. Expedition operators aren't going to want to travel while this pandemic is active, then get on a boat with cramped quarters and undertake a 6+ day voyage with others who have also traveled. I've been looking for Coronavirus forecasts, and have finally found what looks like a reliable one. An expert who has accurately predicted other pandemic time-lines stated on February 11th that the Coronavirus would burn itself out in 6 months. He didn't state if that was 6 months from discovery or 6 months from the date of his statement. Using 6 months from the date of his statement, travel should be safe by the end of the first week in August. We are assuming that, because travel for our expedition will be almost two months later, THE EXPEDITION WILL BE UNAFFECTED." LX20, LUXEMBOURG. A group of operators will be active as LX20I from Eschdorf (WW Loc. JN29XV) during the CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 28-29th) as a Multi-Op entry. The special callsign is for the 20th anniversary of the LX7I contest station. QSL via LX2A. In celebration, they will issue a special LX20I Award for those who work them on as many Band/Mode slots in 2020. For more details, see: http://lx7i.com/lx20i OPDX MAILING LIST (Just A Reminder). Details on how to subscribe and unsubscribe from the "OPDX Mailing List" are at the bottom of this bulletin. PLEASE pass the word around.... Thanks and 73 de Tedd KB8NW PD2020, THE NETHERLANDS (Special Event). Friso, PD1JFD, will use the special callsign PD2020GP during the Dutch F1 Grand Prix 2020 Zandvoort between April 3rd and May 3rd. QSL via the Bureau. PJ2, CURACAO (Update/Postponed). Andy, DK5ON, who was expected to be active again as PJ2/DK5ON from Curacao (SA-099, WLOTA 0942) between March 15-31st, has announced the following on QRZ.com: :Because of the Corona- virus, the airport in Curacao was blocked for incoming flights from Europe. The expedition is canceled and will be postponed to March 2021." PROPAGATION FORECAST/REPORT (March 16-22nd)....... Mar/16th HN Mar/19th HN Mar/21st AN Mar/17th HN Mar/20th AN Mar/22nd AN Mar/18th 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 * News and Information About The Sun-Earth Environment: https://www.spaceweather.com * Monthly propagation charts between four USA regions and twelve overseas locations are at: http://arrl.org/propagation * Information and tutorials on propagation are at: http://k9la.us * Graphic propagation tool by DR2W: http://www.dr2w.de/dx-propagation * Point to point propagation at: http://www.predtest.uk/p2p.html * Real-time propagation at: http://www.predtest.uk * Also on Twitter: https://twitter.com/@GiellaW4hm PY0F, FERNANDO DE NORONHA. Philippe, PT2FM, will be active as PY0F from Fernando de Noronha Island (SA-003) during the CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 28-29th) as a Single-Op/All-Band entry. QSL via PY7RP. For more info about the station, see: https://py0f.wordpress.com QSL INFO AND NEWS................... QSL-INFO from DB0SDX by Lothar, DL1SBF (www.qslinfo.eu) (March 8th & 15th) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4A7S via XE2S HQ9X via KQ1F & (L) PT5J via PP5JR 5P1KZX via OZ1KZX & (L) II7ICT via IZ7AUH (O) S5400J via S57WJ 8P5A via HA1AG (B/d/L) IO5O via IK5RLP SN1T via SP1NQN (L) C6ATF via K4OV IR4M via I4IFL & (L) SN750MY via SP1PMY CQ8M via EA5GL J68HZ via K9HZ (d/L) SN8K via SQ8ERS & (L) CS5CT via CT1REP L1D via LU1DX SX1DI via SV1AHH (d/e) CT8/S51TA via S58N (d) LY11LY via LY2QT T30LY via DL4KQ CV7S via CX7SS & (L) M6T via G4BWP (O/L) TC18GL via TC18GL (e) DL0VR via DL6ED MP7DX via G4DIY TM8C via F6CUK DR4W via DJ9MH OE4XBH via OE4RGC TO3Z via F6HMQ ED8M via EA8DIG (L) OL6D via OK1DWQ VP2VB via OH2BH EE7P via EA7ATX OL7C via OK1FIK XR8RRC via EU7A (O/L) EX0QR via R2DX (O) OP4K via ON4JZ & (L) GB5HAM via M0IRU PA75PKZ via PA2PKZ (e) eQSL only (d) direct only (B) Bureau only (*-B) DX's- Bureau (O) OQRS only (C) ClubLog only (L) LoTW only (N) No QSL needed (I) No IRC (P) PayPal (NB) No Bureau LOGS ONLINE (New/Updated) AVAILABLE ON CLUBLOG.ORG THIS WEEK...... https://clublog.org/logsearch/3B8XF (Updated) https://clublog.org/logsearch/9J2LA (Updated) https://clublog.org/logsearch/EX0QR (Updated) https://clublog.org/logsearch/PJ7AA (Updated) https://clublog.org/logsearch/VP2VB (Updated) https://clublog.org/logsearch/XR8RRC BUREAU SERVICES. QSL Manager Pedro, EA5GL, informs OPDX, "If you have made any expedition, no matter how long ago, and you have not been able to answer the QSLs by the Bureau for any reason, contact me. I can take care of sending them at no cost to you. I take care of the QSLs and the the sending part. All I need is your log. For any inquiry, please E-mail me at: ea5gl at hotmail.com NEW QSL MANAGER. Irv, K3IRV, informs OPDX that he is now the QSL Manager for Patrice (Pat), FK8HA. QSLS RECEIVED VIA LoTW: 3B8XF, 4F3OM, 4O4T, 4U1UN, 6Y5HN, 9K2HM, 9M8DEN, A45XR, BG4QNE, BH4IGO, FO5QB, HU1DL, HV0A, HZ1BO, HZ1TT, JA8ISU, JD1BON, PJ7AA, T6AA, TT8SN, V47JA, V85RH, VK3FGNT, VP2MSS, VP8PJ, VU2DED, YB2TX, YS1RS, ZM1A and ZS6NL QSLS RECEIVED VIA MAIL: 3D2AG/p, 5H3UA (AF-032), 9M2SAF/P (AS-072), T6AA, YP0H (EU-183), ZC4UW and ZW6C (SA-080) QSLS RECEIVED VIA THE BUREAU: 5X8C, 6O0X, 9A8VI/P (EU-136), 9H3EG, 9N7TB, AN1WHS (EU-077), EA6FB, EA8DHH, HB0/DK3RED, HB0/DL4APJ, HB0/DL8ECA, HC5EG, HL1/LZ4AX, HZ1HZ, LA/DL2VF (EU-076), OH8/DL7UXG (EU-184), OY/DL3UB, P40XM, PJ4H, PJ5/SP6EQZ, PJ6N, PY6/PY1JR (SA-023), SA6G/7 (EU-137), SD3G/2 (EU-139), SK0HS/0 (EU-084), VK9LQ and YV5OIE --- We would like to see more QSL Bureaus (such as AS/US/SA/AF.. etc) send in their info.... S7, SEYCHELLES. Nick, G7EQM, is now active as S79EQM from Praslin Island (AF-024). , Seychelles, until March 29th. Activity will be holiday style on 20 meters using SSB and FT8, with an FT-891 into Quarter Wave Vertical. QSL via eQSL. SU, EGYPT. Thomas, DL2RMC, is now active as SU9TH from Egypt. The length of his stay is unknown at this time. Activity has been mainly on 20/15 meters FT8. QSL via his home callsign, direct or by the Bureau. T42, CLUB. Members of the SMP DX Club (Sam Miguel del Padr?n), in a region of Havana, plan to be on the air for the next CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 28-29th). The operators also plan to be active between March 25-30th. Activity will be on 80-10 meters usings CW, SSB, FT8/FT4 and RTTY. Operators mentioned are Amed/CO2AME/W0BHK (Team Leader), CO2EAP, Danilo/CM2DOY, Dayron/CL2DPC, CL2ARZ, CL2SSS, CL2ETT, CL2PUP and Alejandro/CL2CAS. QSL via CO2AME. TC18, TURKEY (Special Event). Burhan, TA1BX, reports that the special event callsign TC18GL will be active in accordance of the March 18th anniversary of the Gallipoli Naval Victory and the memorial of those who lost their lives. Members of some Turkism ham radio clubs [ATRO (YM1KTR), TANGO ALFA (YM1KE) and TAMAD (YM1KAD)] will be on the air between March 13-22nd, on all HF bands. QSL via eQSL. See QRZ.com for more details. TU, C?TE D'IVOIRE (Postponed). The TU2R C?te d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) DX- pedition between March 23rd and April 3rd, has been postponed. The fol- lowing was posted March 14th: "Nine days before leaving for C?te d'Ivoire, the TU2R Team members have decided to postpone the expedition to a later date in 2020. Due to the current pandemic situation, we took the decision in the interest of health and safety. We will keep you informed of our new plans. Thank you for your understanding.... 73 TU2R team" For more details and updates, watch: https://tu2r.wordpress.com UR4, UKRAINE (Special Event/Award). Look for special event station UR4NWW to be active between March 20-23rd, during the activity days called "The Warriors of Vinnitsa" 2020, from the Club WW Radioamateurs in Vinnitsa, a region of Ukraine. A special memorial award (The Warriors of Vinnitsa) is available making 3 QSOs (SWL) with radio amateur stations in the Vinnitsa region (UR#N, UT#N, US#N e.t.c.), and with QSOs with the club station of UR4NWW which gives you a 2 point QSO. "The Warriors of Vinnitsa" (???? ????? ?????????) is an amateur radio diploma in honor of the 76th anni- versary of the Vinnitsa liberation from the Nazi invaders in 1944. Send your request with log info to their E-mail box (ur4nww at gmail.com) until March 31st, 2020. For more info, see: http://ur4nww.qrz.ru/memorial V2, ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA. Fred, ND4DX, will be active as V26FK from Mamora Bay, Antigua Island (NA-100), between now and March 20th. Activity will be holiday style on 40-10 meters using mostly SSB with some CW. QSL via his home callsign. VK9W WILLIS ISLANDS DXPEDITION NEWS (New DXpedition). Murray Adams, WA4DAN, informs OPDX of the following: The 2016/2019 CY9C team, and the upcoming Sable Island DXpedition CY0C team, is pleased to announce our next DXpedition. After the Sable CY0C DXpedition, we will be going to Willis Island VK9W in 2021. Eight operators from those two teams will comprise the 2021 Willis Island DXpedition team. Boat arrangements have already been made. We are currently working with the Australian government for the necessary permits. Much more information will be released in the coming months. VP2V, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS. By the time you read this, operators Adrian/ KO8SCA, Martti/OH2BH, Niko/OH2GEK and Sandro/VE7NY will be finishing up their VP2VB operation (QRT on March 16th) from Anegada Island (NA-023), British Virgin Islands. Activity will be focused on the low bands. QSL via OH2BH. VP2V, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS. Operators Bob/K0NR, YL Joyce/K0JJW and Denny/KB9DPF will be active as VP2V/K0NR, VP2V/K0JJW and VP2V/KB9DPF from British Virgin Islands later this month. Activity will be on various HF bands. QSL via their home callsigns or LoTW. VP8PJ SOUTH ORKNEY DXPEDITION NEWS (Update). Gene, K5GS (ZL1NA, VK2IXC), reported on Thursday, March 12th, 10:06 am (EDT): "The team is leaving the Braveheart about now, assuming their transportation arrived on time. They will be taken to the hotel, where I am waiting for them, but unfor- tunately we all must wait for rooms to be available, in about 3 hours. The ride back from Signy was relatively smooth. I think we'll all appre- ciate a good night's sleep without the noise of the engines and the ship rolling. Over the next few days team members will depart for their home." EDITOR NOTES: The team went QRT on March 6th, at 0100z. Several team members were to begin their travels home on the 13th. Current statistics show (as this is being written), as of 1325z March 14th, VP8PJ work 83778 total QSOs with 20595 Unique callsigns. QSO Modes: 40151/CW, 14046/SSB, 27140/FT8, 1/PSK and 2440/RTTY. By Continent: 766/AF, 1/AN, 5393/AS, 44118/EU, 29133/NA, 601/OC and 3754/SA. QSL via M0URX, direct or OQRS (direct and Bureau). LoTW will be uploaded 6 months after DXpedition. Online log is available at: https://www.m0urx.com/oqrs/logsearch.php?dxcallsign=VP8PJ Also, details about the log, "Not In Log", LoTW, QSL Request questions can be answered here: https://sorkney.com/qsl The OQRS has now been activated. The following are VP8PJ media pages to watch: The VP8PJ Web page is at: https://sorkney.com The VP8PJ Twitter page is at: https://twitter.com/SouthOrkneyDX The VP8PJ Groups.io group is at: https://groups.io/g/VP8PJ VU4R ANDAMAN ISLANDS DXPEDITION NEWS (Postponted). The VU4R DXpedition (March 20-31st) has been postponed until further notice due to the coronavirus pandemic. XR0, EASTER ISLAND. A Polish team will be active as XR0YSP from Easter Island (SA-001) between September 15-30th. Operators mentioned are Jan/ SP3CYY, Jurek/SP3GEM, Wlodek/SP6EQZ, Janusz/SP6IXF, Roman/SP9FOW and Piotr/SP9RCL. Activity will be on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB and FT8. QSL via SP6IXF, OQRS, LoTW or by the Bureau. Look for more information and Web page to be forthcoming. XW, LAOS. Bruce, 3W3B (HS0ZCY/XU7ADF/XW1B/AA4XR), who lives in Da Nang, will once again be active as XW4XR from Vientiane between March 30th and April 12th. Activity will be on 60-6 meters (60m included) using CW, RTTY, JT65 and FT8/FT4. QSL via E21EIC and LoTW (preferred method). YB, INDONESIA. Hans, YB2DX, will once again be active during the CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 28-29th) as a Single-Op/All-Band entry. QSL via LoTW or direct to his home callsign. YOUNGSTERS ON THE AIR NEWS (YCP [9A1A] AND NOTA 2020 Canceled). Philipp, DK6SP, reports on March 11th: Unfortunately, we have to announce the can- cellation of the upcoming Youth Contest Program at 9A1A contest station in Croatia and to the Nordics On The Air Sub-regional camp in Norway due to COVID-19 virus. Both events might be postponed to fall if spreading of the virus calms down. Participants will be directly contacted by the organizers. *********************************************************************** 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 Mar 15 20:11:00 2020 From: kb8nw at hotmail.com (Tedd Mirgliotta (KB8NW)) Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2020 20:11:00 -0400 Subject: [DX] Ohio/Penn DX Special Bulletin #1456.1 Message-ID: SB DX @ WW < KB8NW $OPDX.1456.1 Ohio/Penn DX Special Bulletin No. 1456.1 The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster DX Special Bulletin No. 1456.1 BID: $OPDX.1456.1 March 15, 2020 Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW Provided by BARF80.ORG (Cleveland, Ohio) Written/Sent From Strongsville, OH Thanks to the Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society, Northern Ohio DX Association, Ohio/Penn PacketCluster Network, the AB5K's AR Clusters Network, and W8HJR for the following DX information. COMMITTEE CANCELS HAMVENTION 2020 (By W8HJR, Media Chairman, dated March 15th). The Hamvention Executive Committee has been monitoring the COVID19 pandemic. We have worked very closely with our local and state health Departments. It is with a very heavy heart the Hamvention Executive Committee has decided to cancel Hamvention for this year. This decision is extremely difficult for us but with around two months until the Great Gathering we felt this action necessary. More specific details regarding the closure will soon be posted here*. Thank you for your understanding in this time of International Crisis. Jack Gerbs General Chairman HV2020 JackWB8SCT at gmail.com * https://hamvention.org/committee-cancels-hamvention-2020/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- * 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 Mar 22 09:30:00 2020 From: kb8nw at hotmail.com (Tedd Mirgliotta (KB8NW)) Date: Sun, 22 Mar 2020 09:30:00 -0400 Subject: [DX] Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin #1457 Message-ID: SB DX @ WW < KB8NW $OPDX.1457 Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1457 The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster DX Bulletin No. 1457 BID: $OPDX.1457 March 23, 2020 Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW Provided by BARF80.ORG (Cleveland, Ohio) Written/Send 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, W3OA, W3UR & The Daily DX, WB6RSE, K8YSE, W8GEX & 60m DX News, W9ILY, DL1SBF, DL7UXG & The DX News Letter, DXNews.com, DX-World.Net, F6AJA & Les Nouvelles DX, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, RN3RQ, Sixitalia Weekly, and VA3RJ & ICPO for the following DX information. DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT: According to the AR-Cluster Network for the week of Sunday, 15th/March, through Sunday, 22nd/March there were 222 countries active. Countries available: 3A, 3B8, 3B9, 3D2, 3V, 3W, 4J, 4L, 4O, 4S, 4X, 5A, 5B, 5H, 5N, 5R, 5T, 5W, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7X, 8P, 8Q, 9A, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9M2, 9M6, 9Q, 9V, 9X, 9Y, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A9, AP, BV, BY, C3, C6, C9, CE, CE0X, CE0Y, CE9, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, D2, D4, DL, DU, E4, E5/s, E7, EA, EA6, EA8, EA9, EI, EK, EL, EP, ER, ES, ET, EU, EX, EY, F, FG, FK, FM, FO, FP, FR, FS, FY, G, GD, GI, GJ, GM, GU, GW, H4, HA, HB, HB0, HC, HH, HI, HK, HL, HP, HR, HS, HZ, I, IS, J3, J6, J7, JA, JD/o, JT, JW, JX, JY, K, KG4, KH0, KH2, KH4, 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, S2, S5, S7, SM, SP, ST, SU, SV, SV5, SV9, T33, T5, T7, TA, TF, TG, TI, TK, TN, TR, TT, TU, TZ, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V2, V3, V5, V7, V8, VE, VK, VK9N, VP2E, VP2V, VP8, VP8/h, VP9, VR, VU, XE, YA, YB, YI, YL, YO, YS, YU, YV, Z2, Z3, Z6, Z8, ZA, ZB, ZD7, ZD8, ZF, ZL, ZL7, ZP, ZS * PLEASE NOTE: The report "could" contain "Pirate/SLIM" operations or more likely a "BUSTED CALLSIGN". As always, you never know - "Work First Worry Later". 6E, MEXICO (Special Event). A group of Ham Radio operators from Southern Mexico will once again be operating from some Mayan archaeological sites from the Mexican States of Merida/Yucatan, Champoton/Campeche, Museo de Antropologia Regional/Tabasco, Chiapas and Quintana Roo using the callsign 6E3MAYA between March 19-23rd. Activity is to commemorate the Mayan Equinox which was so important for the Mayan culture. Activity will be on 80-6 meters on CW, SSB, the satellites and the Digital modes. QSL via the FMRE Bureau. CQ NEWS (View FREE March & April Issues!). On March 19th, CQ Magazine announced the following: In view of the "stay at home and flatten the curve" recommendations from the health experts during this worldwide pandemic, CQ would like to give everyone the opportunity to escape the news alerts for a brief period and enjoy the hobby they love through the pages of CQ! View the March and April issues of CQ magazine at no charge! It's easy, simply send an E-mail to (FreeIssues at cq-amateur-radio.com) and we'll send you the March issue now and the April issue on April 1st! Take advantage of this opportunity to read CQ - free of charge - and keep connected with the latest trends and activities in amateur radio! Stay home . . stay well! D4, CAPE VERDE. Massimo "Max", IZ4DPV, is now active as D4F from Sao Vicente Island (AF-086) until March 31st. Activity has been on the lower bands using SSB and in the Russian DX Contest this past weekend. Look for him in the CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 28-29th). QSL via his home callsign. DXPEDITIONS (Cancellations). Over the last few weeks there has been many present and upcoming cancellations of DXpeditions due to the coronavirus or travel restrictions caused by it. Many of the DXpedition have post- poned, rescheduled for later in the year or planned to be active next year in 2021. The current list of cancellations is as follows (as of print time): 3B8XF Mauritius (cut short) T30ET West Kiribati 4V5H Haiti T88HS Palau 9A1A Croatia T88SM Palau 9K2F Failaka Island (AS-118) T88UW Palau CE0Y/VE7ACN Easter Island TG9BBV Guatemala CP6/R7AL Bolivia TO7BP Martinique CP6/RW9JZ Bolivia TU2R C?te d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) CP6/RK8A Bolivia V62P Polap Atoll (OC-155), Micronesia CP6/RZ3K Bolivia V62S Satawal Atoll (OC-299), Micronesia CQ3W Madeira Island VP2V/KB9DPF British Virgin Islands CT9/DF7EE Madeira Island VP2V/K0NR British Virgin Islands D4C Cape Verde VP5/AF3K Turks and Caicos Islands DU2/SP5APW Calayan Island (OC-092) VP5/W2TT Turks and Caicos Islands FK/C Chesterfield Island VP5P Turks and Caicos Islands HS0ZME (cut short) W8S Swains Island JW/DF3TS Svalbard XR8RRC/p Riesco Island (SA-091) JW/DC8TM Svalbard XW4XR Laos KH7M Hawaii ZA/HG2DX Albania NH7A Hawaii ZC4MK U.K. Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus PJ2/DK5ON Curacao ZD7VJ St. Helena Island PJ7AA Sint Maarten (cut short) ZF2PG Cayman Islands PZ5G Papegaaien Island (NA-092) DAY-XENIA HAMVENTION NEWS AND OTHER HAMFEST/CONVENTION CANCELLATIONS...... * DAY-XENIA HAMVENTION. If you have not heard by now or read OPDX.1456.1 (http://papays.com/opdx1456.1.html), the HAMVENTION COMMITTEE CANCELED HAMVENTION 2020. In a press release posted by Henry, W8HJR, the Media Chairman, dated March 15th, it states: The Hamvention Executive Committee has been monitoring the COVID19 pandemic. We have worked very closely with our local and state health Departments. It is with a very heavy heart the Hamvention Executive Committee has decided to cancel Hamvention for this year. This decision is extremely difficult for us but with around two months until the Great Gathering we felt this action necessary. More specific details regarding the closure will soon be posted here**. Thank you for your understanding in this time of International Crisis. Jack Gerbs General Chairman HV2020 JackWB8SCT at gmail.com ** https://hamvention.org/committee-cancels-hamvention-2020/ ADDED NOTE: Also read: http://www.arrl.org/news/view/dayton-hamvention-announces-cancelation-of-2020-show * The Contest University, Dayton Contest Dinner and Dayton Top Band Dinner are canceled. Tim Duffy, K3LR, Chairman of Contest/Top-Band Dinners and Contest University, reports that the refund procedure is now live on the following three Web sites: http://contestuniversity.com http://contestdinner.com http://topbanddinner.com * ARRL HAMFEST/CONVENTION CANCELLATIONS. The ARRL has created a Web page that lists all hamfests and conventions that have advised the League that they are canceling scheduled events due to the concerns over the coronavirus (currently there are 31 listed; up from 17 last week): http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/search/page:1/keywords:Canceled/model:Event * ADDED NOTE: ARRL Suspending Tours and Guest Visits to Headquarters, W1AW: http://www.arrl.org/news/view/arrl-suspending-tours-and-guest-visits-to-headquarters-w1aw ET, ETHIOPIA. Ken, K4ZW, will be active as ET3AA again from Ethiopia starting March 27th for a week; if all the flights are maintained at the present... FM/TO7, MARTINIQUE. Miguel, EA1BP/TO7BP, had to cancel his trip to Martin- ique because of COVID-19. Instead, Laurent, FM5BH, will replace him in the CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 28-29th) as a Single-Op/All-Band/High-Power entry. QSL via W3HNK or LoTW. FM/TO7, MARTINIQUE (Reminder). 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. GS0, SCOTLAND. Members of the Scarlett Point Club (GT0SP) from the Isle of Man are now active from Scotland (EU-005, WW Loc. IO77DT, WAB NG88) using the callsign GS0SP. The length of their stay is unknown at this time. QSL via LoTW ONLY. IARU NEWS (How is IARU adjusting to COVID-19?). On March 20th, the IARU posted the following at: https://www.iaru-r2.org/en/how-is-iaru-adjusting-to-covid-19 INDEXA NEWS (Special Announcement, dated March 20th -- JH1AJT Amateur of the Year). INDEXA is especially proud to have one of its members and principal donors named as the 2020 Amateur of the Year by the Dayton Hamvention. This honor was bestowed upon Yasu "Zorro" Miyazawa, JH1AJT, for his charitable work in education and his humanitarianism. Zorro began his mission in 1984 and has since quietly established and led multiple educational and humanitarian programs, especially focusing on dis- advantaged children. Through his work he has built educational bridges of hope stretching from kindergarten to post graduate programs and touched the lives of children in multiple countries and cultures. Many of his missions brought a taste of amateur radio and DXing to the lands he visited. Through his generous endowment, Zorro brought the INDEXA Humanitarian Aid Fund, "Hams With Hearts", into existence, and linked DXing and DXpeditions with service to humanity. Now DXpeditions visiting disadvantaged areas can use funds provided by INDEXA and carry with them Zorro's high-reaching optimism and faith and his ability to feel the needs of others and seek out solutions rather than fixate on problems. Through INDEXA's Humanitarian Aid Fund "Hams With Hearts", DXpeditions have helped schools, hospitals, villages and individuals by focusing on high impact low cost projects. People are empowered to overcome their adversities while respect and appreciation of amateur radio grows. Zorro, JH1AJT, was the catalyst who made this possible. Congratulations, Zorro. Your generosity, humanity and humility are an example for all of us. Bob Schenck, N2OO, President of INDEXA Ralph Fedor, K0IR, Chairman, BOD WWW.INDEXA.ORG https://indexa.org/documents/newsitems/JH1AJT%20Amateur%20of%20the%20Year.pdf --------------------------------------------- EDITOR'S NOTES: For a picture of Yasu "Zorro" Miyazawa, JH1AJT, see: https://hamvention.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/JH1AJT-1024x683.jpg For more details about JH1AJT, visit the HamVention Web page at: https://hamvention.org/event-details/awards IOTA NEWS.............. NA-070. Members of the Russian Robinson Club team will be active as KL7RRC from Kiska Island between June 10-15th. Operators mentioned are Vyacheslav/OK8AU, Yuri/N3QQ, Yuri/UA9OBA and possibly Tim/NL8F and Alexey/NW7M. Activity will be on 40/30/ 20/17/15/12/10/6 meters using CW, SSB and FT8(FH), with three stations. The frequencies will be published on their Web page at: https://www.na-234.com QSL via N7RO. All donors will receive QSL direct. NA-149. Col, MM0NDX, reports that the 4V5H team will not activate one of Haiti's IOTA coastal islands in May as planned, but will postpone their operation for sometime later this year. SA-091. Members of the Russian Robinson Club, who were active as XR8RRC from Wellington Island (SA-032), will not be active from Riesco Island (SA-091) nor Bolivia (CP) because Chile has closed all their airports due to the coronavirus. 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...... JW, SVALBARD. Operators Thomas/DC8TM and XYL Martina/DF3TS who were expected to be active as JW/DC8TM and JW/DF3TS, respectively, from Svalbard between April 10-13th, have canceled their Russian led scientific drift ice camp expedition due to the global Coronavirus pandemic. They hope to be active from JW and the North Pole next April 2021. K9, UNITED STATES (Special Event). Jonathan "Jon", K5DVT, announced that he "will be operating K9V, a special event station for 'awareness' of the Corona Virus. The point of this is not to make fun of the seriousness of the situation, but gives us all a little fun while we are cooped up in the shack!" Activity started March 20th through March 29th. Operations will be on 80/40/20 meters as well as Echolink/Allstar, as available. He will QSL on QRZ.com, but paper QSLs w/SASE will get you the K9V QSL card via K5DVT. NH7, HAWAII (Canceled). Al, F5VHJ, is stuck in London and cannot get to Hawaii for WPX (as NH7A) because of the virus restrictions. He hopes to be there next year for the contest. OPDX MAILING LIST (Just A Reminder). Details on how to subscribe and unsubscribe from the "OPDX Mailing List" are at the bottom of this bulletin. PLEASE pass the word around.... Thanks and 73 de Tedd KB8NW PA75, THE NETHERLANDS (Special Event). Operators Harm/PA0HPG, Michel/PA0VCC, Ad/PA2PCH, Nico/PA3ADU, Gerrie/PA7TT, Harm/PD0GIB, Bert/PD2B and Gerard/ PD2VW will activate special event station PA75ASN between April 1st and May 7th. Activity is to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Assen City. Operations will be on 80/60/40/30/20/17/15 meters using CW, SSB and FT8/FT4. QSL via PA0VCC, direct or by the Bureau. NO eQSL. PROPAGATION FORECAST/REPORT (March 23-29th)....... Mar/23rd AN Mar/26th AN Mar/28th AN Mar/24th AN Mar/27th HN Mar/29th AN Mar/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 * News and Information About The Sun-Earth Environment: https://www.spaceweather.com * Monthly propagation charts between four USA regions and twelve overseas locations are at: http://arrl.org/propagation * Information and tutorials on propagation are at: http://k9la.us * Graphic propagation tool by DR2W: http://www.dr2w.de/dx-propagation * Point to point propagation at: http://www.predtest.uk/p2p.html * Real-time propagation at: http://www.predtest.uk * Also on Twitter: https://twitter.com/@GiellaW4hm QSL INFO AND NEWS................... QSL-INFO from DB0SDX by Lothar, DL1SBF (www.qslinfo.eu) (March 23rd) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9A63AA via 9A2AA EM1754V via EM1754V (L/e) OP5T via ON4DS DA2X via DL3DXX II8ICN via 9A5URI OT4A via ON4AEK (L/e) DO70DARC via DG2FDE J42L via SV2DCD (d/L) PI75ZUT via PA2PKZ EA5/PA3FOC via PA3FOC MX0SNB via G3SVK & (L) SN25EBM via SQ5EBM & (L) ED8M via EA8DIG (L) OP2A via ON5CD & (L) VP5/W1BDH via W1BDH EE5O via EA5HOX OP4K via ON4JZ & (L) (e) eQSL only (d) direct only (B) Bureau only (*-B) DX's- Bureau (O) OQRS only (C) ClubLog only (L) LoTW only (N) No QSL needed (I) No IRC (P) PayPal (NB) No Bureau LOGS ONLINE (New/Updated) AVAILABLE ON CLUBLOG.ORG THIS WEEK...... https://clublog.org/logsearch/3B8XF (Updated) https://clublog.org/logsearch/9J2LA (Updated) https://clublog.org/logsearch/EX0QR (Updated) https://clublog.org/logsearch/HR5/F2JD (Updated) https://clublog.org/logsearch/PJ7AA (Updated) https://clublog.org/logsearch/VP2VB QSLS RECEIVED VIA LoTW: 4U1UN, 5B4AMM, 5B60AIF, 5H4WZ, 5R8UI, 9J2LA, 9Y4D, CX3DDO, CX7BBR, HB0/HB9LCW, HF100Z, HK3JJH, HK4GOO, I3PVE, IK5QCX, LU1MPK, LZ2WO, PU1JSV, PY2UG, SV6CZQ, V51YJ, VA3MJR, VE3YXO, YC1BIQ and ZS1C QSLS RECEIVED VIA MAIL: HU1DL, JI3DST/1 (AS-008), JI3DST/5 (AS-200), JI5RPT/8 (AS-147), TC0F (AS-099), TM5ACL, YP0H (EU-183) and ZK3A QSLS RECEIVED VIA THE BUREAU: NONE REPORTED THIS WEEK!!!! --- We would like to see more QSL Bureaus (such as AS/US/SA/AF.. etc) send in their info.... TC10, TURKEY (Special Event). Members of the Turkish Radio Amateur Club (TRAC)[YM3KB], have activated special event station TC105GL since March 1st and will be on the air until March 30th. Activity is to commemorate the Gallipoli (GELIBOLU) campaign (March 18, 1915) of World War I. Activity will be on various HF bands using CW and SSB. QSL via the info on QRZ.com. VP5, TURKS AND CAICOS. Operators John/AF3K and Ross/W2TT, who were expected to be active as VP5P, VP5/AF3K and VP5/W2TT, from Providenciales Island (NA-002) between March 26th and April 2nd, had to cancel their operation due to the coronavirus situation. VP8PJ SOUTH ORKNEY DXPEDITION NEWS (Update). Gene, K5GS (ZL1NA, VK2IXC), reported on Tuesday, March 17th [edited]: "Thanks for the pileups! We have all left Punta Arenas and are either home or another location of choice. Several of us left Punta Arenas sooner than planned because of the Coronavirus situation and possible airline chaos. Fortunately, of those I've heard from, we had no problem buying a new ticket and getting to our final destination. On Sunday when Rob and I arrived at LAX the Immigration and Customs area was empty, so no delays. All our flights were uneventful and on time. After being away for 5 weeks we need to get our personal affairs in order and will work on DX-pedition related tasks as time is available. So please be patient, we have all have other life responsibilities. If you have a Not in Log or suspected busted call, Do 'not' send e-mails, and please 'don't' send screenshots or log files unless requested. Follow the Not in Log procedure: https://sorkney.com/qsl/ Sending unsolicited e-mails slows the process, Tim works the Not in Log queue in the order received, unsolicited e-mails waste our time and will not be processed. I'll be posting some photographs on the website. We're disappointed that the major conventions have been canceled, and hope that the worst of Coronavisus comes to an end soon. We're still planning Friedrichshafen in late June, maybe that one will happen. Last I talked with Tim he's making good progress with Not in Log issues, and is regularly uploading LoTW, although I did see he had a computer failure and acquired a new machine. We appreciate the kind words from the Group and in personal e-mails from the community. Many of you have 'suggested' the next DX-pedition location, we've already had those discussions before and during VP8PJ. 73, GS K5GS" EDITOR NOTES: QSL VP8PJ via M0URX, direct or OQRS (direct and Bureau). LoTW will be uploaded 6 months after DXpedition. Online log is available at: https://www.m0urx.com/oqrs/logsearch.php?dxcallsign=VP8PJ Also, details about the log, "Not In Log", LoTW, QSL Request questions can be answered here: https://sorkney.com/qsl The OQRS has now been activated. The following are VP8PJ media pages to watch: The VP8PJ Web page is at: https://sorkney.com The VP8PJ Twitter page is at: https://twitter.com/SouthOrkneyDX The VP8PJ Groups.io group is at: https://groups.io/g/VP8PJ XR0, EASTER ISLAND (Update). A Polish team will be active as XR0YSP from Easter Island (SA-001, WW Loc. DG52GU) between September 15-30th. Operators mentioned are Jan/SP3CYY, Jurek/SP3GEM, Wlodek/SP6EQZ, Janusz/SP6IXF, Roman/SP9FOW and Piotr/SP9RCL. Activity will be on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB and FT8. Suggested frequencies are: CW - 1814.5, 3530, 7030, 10110, 14030, 18085, 21030, 24905 and 28030 kHz SSB - 1840, 3793, 7180, 14265, 18125, 21280, 24970 and 28445 kHz FT8 - 1840, 3573, 7074, 10136, 14074, 18100, 21074, 24915 and 28074 kHz FT8(F/H) - 1908 (JA), 3580, 7080, 10139, 14090, 18095, 21090, 24910 and 28090 kHz QSL via SP6IXF, ClubLog's OQRS (recommend), LoTW or by the Bureau. LoTW and e-QSL: All logs will be uploaded within 6 months after the DXpedition ends. There is now a Web page available at: http://xr0ysp.dxing.pl YJ, VANUATU (Reminder). Chris, VK2NYA/VK2YUS, will once again be active as YJ0CA from Port Vila, Efate Island (OC-035), between March 22nd and April 1st. Activity will be on 40/20/15 meters (possibly 10m) SSB only. He also plans to be in the CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 28-29th) as a Single-Op entry. QSL via his home callsign direct. Z6, KOSOVO. Operators Erik/ON4ANN and Erik/ON4CCV will be active as Z68AN and Z68EC (callsigns pending), respectively, from Kosovo between April 27-30th. They are there scouting out and making arrangements for a later trip between September 21-29th, with a much larger team of operators. During this trip, activity will be limited to 40/20 meters. The September trip will focus on the low bands. Look for more details and a Web site to be forthcoming. Z6, KOSOVO (Update). A German team will be active as Z66DX from the capital city of Prystina in Kosovo between October 15-28th. Operators mentioned are Werner/DJ9KH, Rainer/DL2AMD, G?nte/DL2AWG (Co-leader), Peter/DL3APO, Franz/DL9GFB and Wolf/DM2AUJ (Team Leader). Activity will be on 160/80/ 40/30/20/17/15/12/10 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8, with three IC-7300 stations on the air running 800 watts into Spider-Beams and vertical antennas. QSL via ClubLog's OQRS (direct or Bureau; recommended) or via DL2AWG, by the Bureau or direct. LoTW will be activated 6 months after DXpedition. No eQSL! QSL requests with insufficient return postage will be answered via the Bureau. For more details and updates, see: http://www.z66dx.de/?Welcome ZA, ALBANIA (Canceled). Joe, HG2DX, who was expected to be active as ZA/HG2DX from Orikum between June 21st and July 3rd, had to cancel due to the COVID-19. ZF, CAYMAN ISLANDS. Pete, K8PGJ, who was expected to be active as ZF2PG from the Sunny Isle of Grand Cayman (NA-016) between March 25-30th, has canceled his operation due to the coronavirus. He now plans to be active as KV8O (Oakland County Contest Club) in the CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 28-29th). LoTW will be utilized and direct QSLs go to his home callsign. ZZ4, BRAZIL. Members of the Serra Lopo DX Team will once again be active as ZZ4A during the CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 28-29th) as a Multi-Single entry. Possible operators are Fabio/PY2RMZ, Marcio/PU4MDO, Eger/PY2EX, Sandro/PY2SR and Tony/PY2DX (OA4DX). QSL via PY2RMZ. *********************************************************************** 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 Fri Mar 27 10:45:00 2020 From: kb8nw at hotmail.com (Tedd Mirgliotta (KB8NW)) Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2020 10:45:00 -0400 Subject: [DX] Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin #1458 Message-ID: SB DX @ WW < KB8NW $OPDX.1458 Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1458 The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster DX Bulletin No. 1458 BID: $OPDX.1458 March 30, 2020 Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW Provided by BARF80.ORG (Cleveland, Ohio) Written/Send 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, KD3CQ, NG3K & ADXO, W3UR & The Daily DX, N6PSE, WB6RSE, K8YSE, W8GEX & 60m DX News, W9ILY, DL1SBF, DL7UXG & The DX News Letter, DXNews.com, DX-World.Net, F6AJA & Les Nouvelles DX, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, OH2BH, Pete Rayer & ISWL, RN3RQ, Sixitalia Weekly, and VA3RJ & ICPO for the following DX information. ** EDITOR'S SPECIAL NOTICE: This week's bulletin was sent out earlier than normal to accommodate the late CQWW WPX SSB Contest announcements. Also, we wanted to provide the readers with a consolidated listing of the CQWW WPX SSB Contest participants. DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT: According to the AR-Cluster Network for the week of Friday, 20th/March, through Friday, 27th/March there were 219 countries active. Countries available: 3A, 3B8, 3D2, 3V, 3W, 4J, 4L, 4O, 4S, 4X, 5A, 5B, 5H, 5N, 5R, 5T, 5W, 5Z, 6Y, 7X, 8P, 8Q, 9A, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9M2, 9M6, 9Q, 9V, 9X, 9Y, A2, A3, A4, A6, A7, A9, AP, BV, BY, C3, C5, C9, CE, CE0Y, CE9, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, D2, D4, DL, DU, E4, E5/s, E7, EA, EA6, EA8, EA9, EI, EK, EL, EP, ER, ES, EU, EX, EY, EZ, F, FG, FK, FM, FO, FR, FS, FY, G, GD, GI, GJ, GM, GU, GW, H4, HA, HB, HB0, HC, HH, HI, HK, HK0/a, HL, HP, HR, HS, HZ, I, IS, J3, J5, J6, J7, JA, JD/o, JT, JW, JX, JY, K, KG4, KH0, KH2, KH6, KL, KP2, KP4, LA, LU, LX, LY, LZ, OA, OD, OE, OH, OH0, OK, OM, ON, OX, OY, OZ, P2, P4, PA, PJ2, PJ4, PJ7, PY, PY0F, PZ, S0, S2, S5, S7, S9, SM, SP, SU, SV, SV5, SV9, T33, T5, T7, TA, TF, TG, TI, TK, TN, TR, TT, TU, TZ, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V3, V4, V5, V7, V8, VE, VK, VK9N, VP2E, VP2M, VP8, VP9, VR, VU, XE, XX9, YA, YB, YI, YJ, YL, YN, YO, YS, YU, YV, Z2, Z3, Z6, Z8, ZA, ZB, ZD7, ZD8, ZF, ZL, ZL7, ZP, ZS * PLEASE NOTE: The report "could" contain "Pirate/SLIM" operations or more likely a "BUSTED CALLSIGN". As always, you never know - "Work First Worry Later". 4L, GEORGIA. Mamuka Kordzakhia, 4L2M, President of the National Associ- ation Radio Amateurs of Georgia (NARG), will be active during the CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 28-29th) as a Single-Op/Single-Band (??m) entry. QSL via 4L2M. 8Q, MALDIVES. Kasimir, DL2SBY, who was expected to be active as 8Q7KB from Meedhupparu Island (AS-013) between May 4-12th, has now canceled his activities due to the coronavirus situation, but "may" go later this year. He is currently making plans for a to trip to Seychelles (S7) next year in February. A4, OMAN. Khalid, A41CK, will be active as A42K in Muscat during the CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 28-29th) as a Single-Op entry (not a team due to COVID-19). QSL via LoTW. DXPEDITIONS (Updated/Cancellations). Over the last few weeks there has been many DXpeditions (some that were expected to be in the WPX SSB Contest) present and upcoming, have canceled their operations due to the coronavirus or travel restrictions caused by it. Many of the DXpedition have postponed, rescheduled for later in the year or planned to be active next year in 2021. The current list of cancellations is as follows (as of print time) [this week 54, up from 43 last week]: 3B8XF Mauritius (cut short) SP7D Poland 4V5H Haiti T30ET West Kiribati 8Q7KB Maldives T88HS Palau 9A1A Croatia T88SM Palau 9K2F Failaka Island (AS-118) T88UW Palau A25VR Botswana TC4PLH Turkey CE0Y/VE7ACN Easter Island TG9BBV Guatemala CP6/R7AL Bolivia TO7BP Martinique CP6/RW9JZ Bolivia TU2R C?te d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) CP6/RK8A Bolivia V62P Polap Atoll (OC-155), Micronesia CP6/RZ3K Bolivia V62S Satawal Atoll (OC-299), Micronesia CQ3W Madeira Island VK5KI Kangaroo Island (OC-139) CT9/DF7EE Madeira Island VP2V/KB9DPF British Virgin Islands D4C Cape Verde VP2V/K0NR British Virgin Islands DU2/SP5APW Calayan Island (OC-092) VP2V/W9DR British Virgin Islands FK/C Chesterfield Island VP5/AF3K Turks and Caicos Islands HS0ZME (cut short) VP5/W2TT Turks and Caicos Islands J88PI St. Vincent VP5P Turks and Caicos Islands JW/DF3TS Svalbard VU4R Neil Islands (AS-001) JW/DC8TM Svalbard W8S Swains Island KH2KY Guam XR8RRC/p Riesco Island (SA-091) KH7M Hawaii XW4XR Laos MM2U Scotland (EU-008) Z66Y Kosovo NH7A Hawaii ZA/HG2DX Albania PJ2/DK5ON Curacao ZC4MK U.K. Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus PJ7AA Sint Maarten (cut short) ZD7VJ St. Helena Island PZ5G Papegaaien Island (NA-092) ZF2PG Cayman Islands ARRL HAMFEST/CONVENTION CANCELLATIONS. The ARRL has created a Web page that lists all hamfests and conventions that have advised the League that they are canceling scheduled events due to the concerns over the corona- virus (currently there are 46 listed; up from 17 last week): http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/search/page:1/keywords:Canceled/model:Event ADDED NOTE: On March 23rd, the following was posted on the ARRL Web page: "ARRL Headquarters is Closing -- ARRL Headquarters will comply with an executive order from Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont that all non- essential businesses and not-for-profit entities reduce in-person workforces by 100% no later than March 23, 2020, at 8 PM. ARRL will equip as many Headquarters staffers as possible to work remotely. W1AW bulletin and code practice transmissions will continue." Read the complete press release at: http://www.arrl.org/news/view/arrl-headquarters-is-closing ARRL'S W1AW (To limit transmit schedule). In ARLB009, it states: In re- sponse to an executive order from Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont that all non-essential businesses and not-for-profit entities reduce in-person workforces because of COVID-19 pandemic concerns, W1AW has slightly altered its transmission schedule. W1AW has suspended its morning code practice and qualifying run trans- missions, beginning March 24, 2020. However, W1AW's evening transmissions, including qualifying runs, will be sent as usual -- there are no changes to the evening transmit schedule." SAFE CONTESTING SUGGESTIONS FROM CQ. On March 23rd, CQ Amateur Radio magazine has posted some safe operation suggestions, if you're "sheltering in place" or otherwise stuck at home to help prevent the spread of corona- virus, during the CQ World Wide WPX SSB Contest this coming weekend (March 28-29th), is the perfect way to have some fun and keep connected with the outside world. See the list of suggestions at: http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com GB5, ENGLAND (Special Event). Look for special event station GB5ST to be on the air to celebrate 54 years of the hit TV show Star Trek, spin off shows, many Star Trek movies and for the continuing new shows upcoming in the future. The GB5ST station will be on the air starting September 1st, and through the next 6 years. QSL via the RSGB Bureau or direct to the address on QRZ.com. Look for more details to be forthcoming. HAMVENTION QSO PARTY (Something New To Do!). The Dayton Hamvention for 2020 has been cancelled. The WWROF, in cooperation with the Hamvention organizers, wanted to create a fun way for people to celebrate the Ham- vention experience over the air - the Hamvention QSO Party. This is a 12 hour fun event on Saturday of Hamvention May 16, 2020. There are special bonus points for working W8BI, the club call of the Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA is the host of Hamvention) which will be activated by DARA members from their home stations. For complete details, see: https://wwrof.org/hamvention-qso-party ADDED NOTE: The event is in memory of Ron, W8ILC, who became a Silent Key just two days after the Hamvention 2020 cancellation announcement. Ron had attended every Hamvention since the beginning. HH, HAITI. Matt, K0BBC, will be active as HH2AA from Radio Club D'Ha?ti in Obleon during the CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 28-29th) as a Single-Op/ Low-Power entry. QSL via LoTW only. INTREPID-DX GROUP NEWS (Press Release, dated March 24th). The Annual Intrepid Spirit Award goes to the VP8PJ Team [edited]: The Intrepid-DX Group is pleased to announce the recipients of the annual "Intrepid Spirit Award". This year's award goes to the Perseverance DX Group's VP8PJ South Orkney Island team for their superb activation from Signy Island. This DXpedition was extremely well planned and executed from this very remote, cold and harsh Island. This award is to recognize the entire team's collective effort to act- ivate these challenging and much needed entities on behalf of a grateful Global DX Community. The team was comprised of Dave/K3EL, Les/W2LK, Gene/ K5GS, Arliss/W7XU, Heye/DJ9RR, Laci/HA0NAR, Vadym/UT6UD, Walt/N6XG, Rob/ N7QT, Steve/W1SRD, Mike/WA6O, Ken/NG2H, Hans-Peter/HB9BXE and Alan/VK6CQ. We acknowledge the team's pursuit of operating excellence in making these difficult activations. It is for these reasons that we are honoring them with our Intrepid Spirit Award. This award would normally be presented in front of their peers at the International DX Convention in Visalia, CA. This "Intrepid-Spirit Award" is made in memory of our fallen friend and member, James McLaughlin, T6AF, who was killed in Kabul, Afghanistan in April, 2011. The award is intended to recognize and honor those individuals or teams that boldly activate rare entities where their own personal safety is secondary to their pursuit of providing contacts to the DX Community. While we do not encourage DXers to go into harm's way, we recognize that circumstances sometimes require that, and we recognize those Intrepid DXers with the Intrepid Spirit Award. Thank you, The Intrepid-DX Group IOTA NEWS.............. AS-207. (Reminder/NEW) Members of the Russian Robinson Club (RRC) will be active as R207RRC from Kosa Dvukh Pilotov Island (RDA CK-05, WW Loc AP18gg, RRA RR-11-05) in the Chukchi Sea Coast Centre group for the first time ever between April 3-10th (estimated dates). Operators mentioned are Victor/UA3AKO, Yuri/UA0KBG and Alexander/RA3AV. Activity will be on 40/30/20/15 meters using CW, SSB and possibly FT8 (F/H). QSL via UA3AKO, direct, by the Bureau or ClubLog's OQRS. For more details and updates, watch QRZ.com or the Web page: http://r207rrc.ru They need your financial support because of the complex and expensive logistics. PayPal address is: r207rrc at gmail.com From RSGB HFCC (Posted March 24th, by the RSGB Communications Manager, Heather Parsons): IOTA Contest and additional contests -- We have reached a point with COVID-19 that it is inappropriate for us to run the IOTA Contest in July 2020 in its usual format. We cannot encourage our par- ticipants to operate in multi-operator groups nor to travel to island locations where visitors are not currently welcome. We would like your opinion on whether we should cancel outright or should retain a contest this year for single operator, home stations only. We are also conscious that a large number of our members are going to be spending more time at home than normal. Unable to enjoy many of our favorite outdoor contests we are proposing a series of home-based day-time contests to entertain and support one another. Both these issues are detailed in a survey which we invite you to complete. This is at (https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/RSGB_HFCC_2020). The survey is open until Friday 3 April after which the outcomes will be made public. 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 April 2020). The following ISWL club callsigns will be used throughout the month of April 2020: G4BJC and GX4BJC - Operated from Heathfield, in East Sussex, by Arthur, G0KOC (WAB Square - TQ62 - 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. J8, ST. VINCENT (Canceled). Brian, GW4DVB, who was expected to be active as J88PI from Palm Island (aka Prune Island, WW Loc. FK92HO, IOTA NA-025), in the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Island group, between April 6-15th, has canceled his activity. LY73, LITHUANIA. Rolandas, LY5AA, will be active as LY73A from Kaunas during the CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 28-29th) as a Single-Op/Single- Band (160m)/High-Power entry. QSL via LY5AA direct to: Rolandas Zakelis, Naujakuriu g.82-19, LT47131 Kaunas, LITHUANIA. MEETING DANNY WEIL, VP2VB, WAS A RICH EXPERIENCE (By Martti, OH2BH, dated March 24th)[edited]. Digging into the past of the first multi- hopping DXpeditioner Danny Weil, VP2VB, was another rich piece of history. Spending time in his home; Road Town of Tortola, British Virgin Islands, gave us a blend of history in its original setting. Together with Austrian DocuFunk archives, headed by Paulina, OE1YPP, and Wolf, OE1WHC, and meeting with Kenneth, VP2VK, and George, VP2VQ, and the local telecom authorities placed us straight back where it all once began. We have now collected most of the material, including Danny's only existing interview to: https://www.qrz.com/db/VP2VB We would like to thank our Webmaster Vlad, W7/UA6JD, for a super job all along, for keeping the web records fresh. Some 50.000 fellow hams have already viewed the material. So, join the party and get to know the history of our great passion for the DX hunt. We are currently reviewing the FT8 backup file for more QSOs and get- ting QSL card design ready for printing. It will be a 4-page, full color affair - for this special occasion. LoTW will soon follow. Regards and let's keep our planet together for more DX. Martti, OH2BH In 14-day quarantine, Finland ------------------------------------------- Also see the following URLs: https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.qrz.com/b/vp2vb/v1.jpg https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.qrz.com/b/vp2vb/v2.jpg NP2, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS. Yuriy, N2TTA, will once again be active from here as NP2P during the CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 28-29th) as a Single- Op entry. QSL via LoTW. OL30, CZECH REPUBLIC (Special Event). Members of the Czechoslovak DX Club [CSDXC](OK2KDX) will be active as OL30DXC until the end of the year. Activity is to celebrate CSDXC's 30th anniversary. Operations will be on various HF and VHF bands using CW, SSB, FM and the Digital modes. QSL via OK2PXJ. For more details about CSDXC, see QRZ.com or: https://www.dx.cz OL700, CZECH REPUBLIC (Special Event). Look for special event stations OL700CO, OL700LTV, and OL700DKO to be active throughout the year. Activity is to celebrate 700th anniversary of the town of Dobruska. A special award is available, and details can be found at: http://www.ok1kqi.com QSL only via ClubLog's OQRS. PROPAGATION FORECAST/REPORT (March 30th-April 5th)....... Mar/30th AN Apr/02nd AN Apr/04th AN Mar/31st HN Apr/03rd HN Apr/05th AN Apr/01st HN SOLAR REFERENCE KEYS/INDEXES AND GEOMAGNETIC REFERENCE ------------------------------------------------------ NORMALITY GEOMAG K Values Alpha ----------------- ------ -------- ------ AN - Above Normal Quiet K=0-1 0-7 HN - High Normal Unsettled K=2 8-15 LN - Low Normal Active K=3 16-29 BN - Below Normal Minor Storm K=4 30-49 DIS - Disturbed Major Storm K=5 50-99 VRY DIS - Very Disturbed Severe Storm K=6-9 100-400 Meanwhile, check out the following Web sites for propagation: * VOACAP predication Web page at: http://www.voacap.com/hf and http://www.voacap.com/prediction.html * DX.QSL.NET Propagation page: https://dx.qsl.net/propagation * A daily HF radio wave propagation forecast can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/thomasfranklingiellaw4hm * SolarHam Web page: http://www.solarham.net * Radio Propagation/Space Weather/Sunspot Cycle Information at: http://sunspotwatch.com * News and Information About The Sun-Earth Environment: https://www.spaceweather.com * Monthly propagation charts between four USA regions and twelve overseas locations are at: http://arrl.org/propagation * Information and tutorials on propagation are at: http://k9la.us * Graphic propagation tool by DR2W: http://www.dr2w.de/dx-propagation * Point to point propagation at: http://www.predtest.uk/p2p.html * Real-time propagation at: http://www.predtest.uk * Also on Twitter: https://twitter.com/@GiellaW4hm QSL INFO AND NEWS................... QSL-INFO from DB0SDX by Lothar, DL1SBF (www.qslinfo.eu) (March 27th) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4L1R via W3HNK DF0BGL via DD2KS OH0/R1BEV via R1BEV 5B60AIF via 5B4AIF (O/L) DM30RSV via DK5ON OP3A via ON8AJ & (L) CO8LY via EA7ADH (d/L) EO0U via UT7UT & (L) XP3A via PA3249 (d/L/e) DA0TOR via DL9WJM HF576KOC via SQ9PCO (e) eQSL only (d) direct only (B) Bureau only (*-B) DX's- Bureau (O) OQRS only (C) ClubLog only (L) LoTW only (N) No QSL needed (I) No IRC (P) PayPal (NB) No Bureau LOGS ONLINE (New/Updated) AVAILABLE ON CLUBLOG.ORG THIS WEEK...... https://clublog.org/logsearch/5Z4/G3AB (Updated) https://clublog.org/logsearch/RI0B/AS-68 QSLS RECEIVED VIA LoTW: 5Z4/G3AB, 9J2LA, FR4QT, HS0ZIV, HV5PUL, OY1R, TN/UA9FGR and XX9YTY QSLS RECEIVED VIA MAIL: 5I4ZZ (AF-032) ad YP0H (EU-183) QSLS RECEIVED VIA THE BUREAU: 5T2KW, J3/S50R, PJ7/K1XM, TX5EG, XX9D and ZL7X --- We would like to see more QSL Bureaus (such as AS/US/SA/AF.. etc) send in their info.... SILENT KEY. Well-known former Administrator of the DXCC Desk (for 15 yrs) and DXCC QSL Checker, Don Search, W3AZD, became a Silent Key (SK) on March 26th, as a hospice patient at Wilton Manors Rehab Center. Don had long struggled with health issues related to a fall where he hit his head on a table at a restaurant on December 17, 2019. OPDX and its readers would like to send out our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of W3AZD. T8 PALAU. Operators Hirotaka/JA6KYU, Munehiro/JR6DRH, Mike/JA6EGL and Toshiya/JH6HZH, will be active as T88HS, T88RH, T88SM and T88HZ, respec- tively, from the VIP Guest Hotel (Palau Radio Club) on Koror Island (OC-009) between October 14-21st. Activity will be holiday style on 160-6 meters using CW, SSB and the Digital modes. QSL T88HS via JA6KYU. QSL T88RH via JR6DRH. QSL T88SM via JA6EGL. QSL T88HZ via JH6HZH. For more details about the VIP Guest Hotel (Free Radio Room), see: https://palau-radio-club.jimdofree.com TC1, TURKEY (Special Event). Members of the Tango Alpha Ham Radio Club (YM1KE) will be active using the special event callsign TC1STAYHOME for the awareness of COVID-19 pandemic between March 27th and May 5th. They state, "For a couple of weeks; stay home, stay safe please. Let's hope this threat leaves our World before the date ends." QSL via info on QRZ.com. VK9N, NORFOLK ISLAND (Reminder/Update). Janusz, SP9FIH, continues to be active as VK9NK from Norfolk Island (OC-005) supposedly until April 12th. However, Janusz reported the following on March 25th: "All my flights are canceled and I have to stay on Norfolk for some time more. It gives chance to work me for those who need VK9N. On 10th April I will change QTH on the island for little cheaper - my resources are limited. I hope signals from new place will be also good enough to give few people ATNO." Remember that Janusz states (about this operation), "It is my tribute to Jim Smith, VK9NS, who lived and operated from there for years. According to last internet poll VK9N is 85th most wanted entity." Activity is on 160-10 meters using SSB, RTTY and FT8. Suggested frequencies are listed in OPDX.1441/1446 or on his Web page at: http://vk9nk.dxpeditions.org Also, look for VK9NK to be in the CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 28-29th). QSL via SP9FIH or ClubLog's OQRS. VP2V, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS. Dave, W9DR, who was expected to be active as VP2V/W9DR from the north shore of the Island of Anegada (NA-023) in the British Virgin Islands (FK78TR) between June 17-24th, has canceled his 6 meter operation. He hopes to try again in June 2021. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following stations are expected to be active in the CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 28-29th, 2020) Contest Rules: http://www.cqwpx.com/rules.htm -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to Bill, NG3K, for providing OPDX readers with the following consolidated listing of the participants in the 2020 CQWW WPX SSB Contest. For a more detailed listing (and up-to-date changes/corrections) in HTML format, please visit Bill's Web page at: http://www.ng3k.com/Misc/wpxs2020.html (By callsign) http://www.ng3k.com/Misc/wpxsd2020.html (By entity) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Contest DXCC Class QSL Callsign Entity Route ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4L2M Georgia SOSB 4L2M A42K Oman SO LoTW BP0P Taiwan M/2 LoTW; QSL via ART QSL Service FM5AN Martinique SO LoTW FM5BH Martinique SOAB LoTW; QSL via W3HNK HH2AA Haiti SO LP LoTW GT0SP Isle of Man M/? LoTW HC5 Ecuador SOAB HP QSL via B/d (direct w/2USDs + SAE) LX20I Luxembourg M/? LX2A NP2P U.S. Virgin Islands SO LoTW PY0F Fernando de Noronha SOAB PY7RP YB2DX Indonesia SOAB LoTW; QSL via h/c direct YJ0CA Vanuatu SO VK2YUS (d) *********************************************************************** 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)