The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 1046
BID: $OPDX.1046
January 23, 2012
Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW
Provided by BARF80.ORG (Cleveland, Ohio)

Thanks to the Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society, Northern Ohio DX Association, Ohio/Penn PacketCluster Network, AB5K & the AR TelNet Clusters Network, K1XN & GoList, NJ1Q & ARRL DX, W1HEO, NG3K & ADXO, W3UR & The Daily DX, N4AA & QRZ DX, N4JF, AI6V, KH6BZF, W6SZN, K8GI, K8YSE, W8GEX (60m News), W9OL, AT International, CO6CBF, CO8ZZ, CT1FKN, DK8JB & The DX News Letter, DK8ZZ, DL1SBF, DxCoffee.com, DX-World.Net, ES1CW, F5NQL, F6AJA & Les Nouvelles DX, HB9IAJ, HP1AC, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, IK7JWX, OH2BU, ON5NT, OZ6OM & 50 MHz DX News, RSGB IOTA Web Site, RSGB News, VA3RJ & ICPO, VHF-DX-Portal and for the following DX information.

DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT
According to the AR-Cluster Network for the week of Sunday, 15th-January, through Sunday, 22nd-January there were 217 countries active. Countries available: 3A, 3B8, 3DA, 3V, 3W, 4J, 4L, 4O, 4S, 4W, 4X, 5B, 5H, 5N, 5R, 5W, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7Q, 7X, 8P, 8R, 9A, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9L, 9M2, 9M6, 9N, 9Q, 9V, 9Y, A2, A3, A4, A6, A7, A9, AP, BV, BY, C2, C3, C5, C6, C9, CE, CE0Y, CE9, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, D2, DL, DU, E5/s, E7, EA, EA6, EA8, EA9, EI, EK, EP, ER, ES, ET, EU, EX, EY, F, FG, FK, FM, FO, FR, FY, G, GD, GI, GJ, GM, GU, GW, HA, HB, HB0, HC, HH, HI, HK, HK0/m, HL, HP, HR, HS, HZ, I, IS, J2, J6, J7, J8, JA, JD/o, JT, JY, K, KG4, KH0, KH2, KH6, KL, KP2, KP4, LA, LU, LX, LY, LZ, OA, OD, OE, OH, OH0, OK, OM, ON, OX, OY, OZ, P2, P4, PA, PJ2, PJ4, PJ5, PJ7, PY, PZ, R1FJ, S2, S5, SM, SP, ST, SU, SV, SV5, SV9, T2, T32, T5, T7, T8, TA, TF, TG, TI, TJ, TK, TR, TT, TU, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V2, V3, V5, V8, VE, VK, VK0M, VP2E, VP2V, VP5, VP6, VP8, VP8/h, VP9, VQ9, VR, VU, XE, XT, XU, XX9, YA, YB, YI, YL, YN, YO, YS, YU, YV, Z2, Z3, ZA, ZB, ZC4, 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" (WFWL).

4U1, ITU HQ (Special Activity)
The International Amateur Radio Club, 4U1ITU, will be operating with the special callsign 4U1WRC between January 23rd and February 17th. Activity will take place during the ITU World Radio Conference 2012 (WRC-12) from Geneva, Switzerland. Operations will be from 160-6 meters, eventually higher, all modes. All QSOs will be confirmed with a special QSL available via 4U1ITU. Short updates of the operation will be posted on twitter at:

4W, TIMOR-LESTE
Vlad, UA4WHX, still continues to be active as 4W0VB from Timor-Leste (OC-148) and his length of stay is still not known. "The Daily DX" and other sources report that Vlad is operating in the mountains of Ermera, and activity is almost exclusively on CW with very little SSB. As posted on (QRZ.com) by Vlad [edited], "If you need 160 or 80, please note I am making an effort to be there every day at around 1500-2100 UTC. I have no Internet at the radio place. So, check 1815.0 or 1831.5 and 3503.0 at these times or any other time you think we may have an opening. Additionally, I will try to be at the same frequencies at 1100-1145 UTC for US LP and 1200-1245 UTC for US SP. Hence, the probability of your having a QSO is directly related to the amout of time you spend looking for 4W0VB." QSL via UA4WHX.

8Q, MALDIVES (False Info Being Sent Out!)
Bert, CX3AN, informs OPDX that someone is sending false info out about Mario/CX4CR and him, and their activity as 8Q7HU from Maafushi Island, Kaafu Atoll (AS-013). Their operation will still take place between January 25th and February 5th, and not February 6-15th, as the fake E-mail states. Activity will be on 80-6 meters using CW, SSB and the Digital modes. There will be a special emphasis on South America.

C6, BAHAMAS
Look for C6ANM to be active from Nassau (NA-001, FL15) during the following contests with the following operators:

CQ 160-Meter CW Contest (January 27-29th) - Multi-Single entry; operators Tom/N1GN and William/NE1B; QSL via LoTW.
ARRL DX CW Contest (February 18-19th) - Multi-Single entry; operators Tom/N1GN and William/NE1B; QSL via LoTW.
CQ 160-Meter SSB Contest (February 24-26th) - Multi-Single entry; operators Tom/N1GN, William/NE1B and Karney/W2AFC; QSL via LoTW.
ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 3-4th) - Multi-2 entry; operators Tom/N1GN, William/NE1B, Mike/N1IW and Karney/W2AFC; QSL via LoTW.

By the way, the CL prefix holders do not need to pass a CW Morse Code radiotelegraphy test, but they do have to take a 5 words per minute receiving and also transmitting test in order to upgrade towards a second class operators certificate. This opens the way to obtain a CM prefix callsign that provides access to many more operating privileges... So, if you start hearing stations on the 40 meters band from 7100 to 7125 kiloHertz using a CL prefix, be aware that they are a new generation of Cuban radio amateurs that for the first time ever are having access to working DX on 40 meters...

The segment assigned to the CL stations on 80 meters span from 3550 to 3750 kiloHertz, but very probably you will hear them much more often on 40 meters because the seven Mega-Hertz ham band is open for long distance contacts much more frequently than the 80 meters band. The maximum power allowed to the CL prefix stations, the Cuban beginners license has been set at 10 watts that they can use on CW, Single-Side Band and Double-Side Band voice."

DAYTON HAMVENTION EVENT (160m Dinner)
Tim, K3LR, reports:

"We are carrying on the great TopBand dinner tradition that George/K8GG and George/W8UVZ put together for so many years at Dayton. Dinner reserva- tions and tickets are now available for the 23rd Annual Dayton TopBand dinner on Friday evening, May 18th, at the Crowne Plaza - downtown Dayton, Ohio. Frank Donovan, W3LPL, will be the main speaker. Reserva- tions are available online with credit cards and PayPal. Also, use the online to contact us for information if you need to make other arrange- ments. All of the updated details are here: http://topbanddinner.com Scroll down to make your reservations. Hope to see you at the 2012 Dayton TopBand Dinner."

"North Coast Contesters are happy to announce that 'Tree' Tyree, N6TR, will be the featured speaker at the 20th Annual Dayton Contest Dinner to be held on Saturday, May 19th, in Dayton, Ohio. http://contestdinner.com N6TR has an extensive and distinguished contesting resume that goes beyond his many top ten finishes in domestic CW contests. He was one of the founders of the popular Stew Perry Topband Distance Challenge and ARRL Kids Day operating events. Tree wrote the TRLOG contest logging software and he is responsible for log checking packages that are used to adjudicate many of the major radio contests. He was the log checker for the WRTC-2006 event and will be again in 2014. N6TR was honored as Amateur of the Year in 2003 by the Dayton Amateur Radio Association.

Tree recently operated as a single operator from KL7RA in the 2011 Sweepstakes Phone contest and as part of the KL7RA multi op team in the CQ WW CW contest. This past August N6TR helped team USA win the gold medal in the HF on-air contest from RG20CF as part of the Tenth Friend- ship Radiosport Games in Khabarovsk, Russia.

Outside of contests, Tree spends most of his time chasing new countries on 160 meters."

GJ/MJ0, JERSEY
Richard, K2WR, will be active as GJ2A during the CQ 160- Meter CW Contest (January 27-29th) as a Single-Op/High-Power entry. QSL via K2WR or GJ3DVC. Look for him outside of the contest signing MJ0AWR. He will be there starting around January 24th or 25th.

HK0NA DXPEDITION (Update)
By the time you read this, the whole HK0NA team should be on the island and operating immediately for 17 days. The team left on January 18th for Malpelo island and is not expected to return until February 10th. For more details and updates, visit:

HR, HONDURAS
Gérard, F2JD, will be once again be active as HR5/F2JD from Copan. He will leave on February 2nd and be back on May 6th. Activity will be on all bands and modes. QSL via F6AJA. The online log will be available at:

IOTA NEWS
SA-024/
SA-071. A team consisting of Italian and Brazilian operators will activate the Brazilian Islands - Comprida (SA-024) and Peruhibe (SA-071) between January 30th and February 9th. The callsign to be used will be PR2I. Operators mentioned are Leopoldo/I8LWL, Paki/IZ8GDO, Vespe/IW8EZV, Angelo/PY2VA and Toni/PY2YW. QSL via IK7JWX.

KH6BZF PROPAGATION FORECAST/REPORT (January 23-29th)

 Jan/23rd  HN-LN   Jan/26th  HN-AN   Jan/28th  AN
 Jan/24th  LN-BN   Jan/27th  AN      Jan/29th  AN
 Jan/25th  LN-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

NCDXF PRESS RELEASE
Kip, W6SZN, NCDXF Secretary, sent out the following press release on January 16th:

"NCDXF ANNOUNCES GRANT TO VP6T PITCAIRN ISLAND DXPEDITION
The Northern California DX Foundation is pleased to announce a contribution of 6,000 USDs to the VP6T Pitcairn Island DX- pedition. The operation will take place from January 20th to February 4th, 2012. Pitcairn Island is No. 41 on the DX Magazine's Most Wanted List for 2011.

Five veteran DXpeditioners anticipate more than 30,000 QSOs and plan to have three stations on the air around the clock on nine bands. A special effort will be made to work Europe and the U.S. East Coast. The group and the HK0NA DXpedition have coordinated operating frequencies to avoid mutual interference.

For the past 40 years the NCDXF has funded major DXpeditions to many Most Wanted countries. The credit for these large grants goes to the NCDXF contributors who make DX like this possible. Have you contributed yet? www.ncdxf.org"

 QSL-INFO from DB0SDX (dated January 22nd)
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  3A2MG via F9JS          DP0GVN via DL5EBE          PI9SRS via PD9RAY
  4J9M via DL7EDH (d)     DQ0STRATEX via DK4REX      SX1912K via SZ2RCP
  9A0V via 9A6DR          EH1ILB via EA1UU           TT8FC via EA3GWK
  A31IO via DK7AO         EK85DX via EK7DX           VP6T via G3TXF
  A31YL via DK7AO         EW6DX via EB7DX            VP8/EA1CYK via EA7LS
  A61K via EA7FTR         EX8AS via EX2A             XU7ARJ via JA3ARJ
  A61R via EA7FTR         HB0/HB9LCW via HB9LCW      XU7AVO via JA3AVO
  BA5HAM via IK2DUW       JR7ISY/JD1 via JR7ISY      XU7CJA via JA1CJA
  CT9/CT5KAO via CT5KAO   KP4LH via KP4UNO           XU7UJR via JA3UJR
  DL0SLITISA via DK4FB    N2Y via K1NIU              ZL3FRI via JA3FRI
  DN0UKW via DO9PL        OG30OJ via OH3OJ

    (b) - Bureau only    (L) - LoTW only
    (d) - Direct only

IRC-GS POSTAGE CHART. Bill, W9OL, has once again updated his IRC-GS Chart. It can be found at:

QSL RECEIVED VIA LoTW: 3B8MM, C6ANM, CN8NK, CR6K, IK2CLB, JH4CPC, KP2TM, M4A, OK3RKA, PJ2/N6EE, RD3BZ, SO8A, V5/DJ4SO, VE6WQ, VE9DX, XE2AUD and YB1AR

QSLS RECEIVED VIA MAIL: 3D2R, 3X3X1D, 3YX1D, 4L1MA, 5N7Q, 5A1A, 8P0P, 9M6XRO, A45XR, C31CT, CN8KD, DL8GP, E4X, FP/G4EAG, HK4CZE, HK0GU, OJ0X, OH1VR/VP9, SU9VB, TI8AA, TR8CA, TU2T, V51AS, VK0TH, VP2ETN and XV2RZ

QSLS RECEIVED VIA THE BUREAU: 4K9W, 4L5O, 4U1VIC, 5W0OU, 8P9NX, 9M8Z, 9X0TL, 9Y4W, C36VM, C6AGN, CT9/DL3KWF, CU8AS, D44TOI, FH/DJ7RJ, FK/DJ7RJ, FK/AI5P, FR/DJ7RJ, HB75A, HK0GU, HK0GU/1, HS0ZEA, HS0ZJS, J45RDS, J48O, J48S, JW7QIA, KG4CN, KH6CW, KP2/AG1LE, KP4DJ, KP4ED, KP4KE, KP4RV, OX/DF9TM, P40D, PZ5YV, SU1KM, SV2FPU/8, SV5CJQ, SX5A, SY75NW, SY8WT, TI5N, TK/DH8SL, TO4X, TO7RJ, V21ZG, V73QQ, VK9NW, VP2MXO, VP5/WA2VYA, XV4D, YB9/DL5CO, YJ0PX, YK1BA, YW6YL, ZF2XP, ZK3OU and ZL8X

R1MVI, MALYJ VYSOTSKI ISLAND (Deletion of MVI Coming!)
Jari, OH2BU, reports:

"The day of deletion has now been confirmed: Finnish and Russian ambassadors met today, January 17th, and exchanged the documents signed by the presidents of both countries. The new agreement of the lease of Saimaa Channel will be in force one month from today - February 17th. As the new agreement does not include Malyj Vysotskij (R1MV ...), the island will be deleted from the DXCC-list the day before, February 16th, 2012. This is, of course, subject to the decision of ARRL DXCC Committee. It's unlikely that any DXpedition will come on from the island before the deletion, although our Russian friends would have a possibility to do it."

T6, AFGHANISTAN
Look for Kurt, KE7KUS, to be active as T6KK from Bagram until mid-February. He states that after much waiting (over 5 months!), Kurt received his Afghanistan Amateur Radio License which was issued by the Afghanistan Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (ATRA). Kurt primarily spends his time on the HF bands working CW and the Digital modes. QSL via LoTW (preferred), eQSL or direct to his home callsign.

T6, AFGHANISTAN
Jose, CT1FKN, is now active as T6JM from Kaul until June 13th. He tells OPDX that he has been there since January 14th and is a member of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) based inside a military compound where there are restrictions to what size antenna can be installed, so he will only use a small horizontal loop wire. Activity is expected to be mainly on 20 meters using SSB and the Digital modes. QSL via CT1FKN, direct or by the Bureau.

TI8, COSTA RICA
Operators Keith/W4KTR, Eddie/K4UN, Bob/W4BW, Lex/W4XO, Carlos/TI2KAC, Juan Carlos/TI2JCY and TI2ZM will be active as TI8M from Costa de Pajaros, during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 3-4th) as a Multi-2 entry. QSL via TI2KAC, direct preferred but bureau "OK". Their operations will be on 160-10 meters. Look for operations before the contest.

TN, CONGO (Reminder)
By the time you read this, six operators should be active as TN2T from the Republic of the Congo until January 31st, Using three stations. The DXpedition will be active on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. Their suggested frequencies are available on the TN2T Web page. Operators mentioned are Patrick/ON4HIL/OT2A, Marc/ON6CC/OR3A, Luc/ON4IA/OR2M, Ronald/PA3EWP, Carlo/ON4BR/OO4T and Stefaan/ON4FG/OP4T. QSL Manager is M0URX. More details and updates are available on the TN2T Web page at:

TX5Q CLIPPERTON DXPEDITION (Postponed!)
It was announced on January 19th: "We regret to announce that this operation had to be cancelled due to unforeseen problems with logistics and costs. We will plan to carry out a major DXpedition to Clipperton in early 2013. If you are interested in the project, please contact KK6EK at cordell.org." For more details, see:

UK STATIONS TO USE SPECIAL CALLSIGN
The Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) and Ofcom have reached agreement on the optional use of special callsigns for two significant events during 2012:

  1) For the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, all UK amateur stations will have
     the option of applying for a variation to their licence if they wish
     to use a special prefix for a five week period. This will add or
     substitute the letter "Q" in the place of the Regional identifier
     in the callsign. Examples of callsign prefixes: 
        M3aaa becomes MQ3aaa        2E0aaa becomes 2Q0aaa
        G3aaa becomes GQ3aaa        2M0aaa becomes 2Q0aaa
        GM3aaa becomes GQ3aaa       GX3aaa becomes GQ3aaa
     Activity for the special prefixes will take place between 0000 BST,
     May 5th and 2359 BST, June 10th.


  2) For the period of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, a similar
     facility will exist for a seven week period, using the letter "O"
     to substitute the letter "O" in the place of the Regional identifier
     in the callsign. Examples of callsign prefixes:
        M3aaa becomes MO3aaa     2E0aaa becomes 2O0aaa (Two Oscar zero aaa)
        G3aaa becomes GO3aaa     2M0aaa becomes 2O0aaa (Two Oscar zero aaa)
        GM3aaa becomes GO3aaa    GX3aaa becomes GO3aaa
     Activity for the special prefixes will take place between 0000 BST,
     July 21st and 2359 BST, September 9th.

V5, NAMIBIA (Update)
Operators David/GI4FUM and XYL Gillian/GI8MIV, along with Richard/GI4DOH, Kalle/DM3BJ, Andre/V51B and possibly others will be active from Oranjemund for the CQ WPX SSB Contest (March 24-25th) as a Multi-Op entry. Callsign has not been announced yet. The week before the contest, operators will be active on the HF bands using CW, RTTY and PSK31. QSL via GI4FUM.

VK9L, LORD HOWE ISLAND
Chris, VK5CP, will be operating in the "holiday mode" from Lord Howe Island (OC-004) as VK5CP/9, and as of January 19th (his birthday), through January 24th, he will be focusing on 30 meters (data), 20 meters and 6 meters depending on conditions. Chris will be using a IC-7000, LDG Z2Pro Tuner and a Buddistick vertical antenna. He also has a SignaLink USB interface and Mix W software which he plans to use the data modes PSK31 and RTTY. He expects to have InterNet access and should be logged into Skype as VK5CP. Chris plans to post his log on LoTW and eQSL upon his return to VK5. Please QSL via VK5CP (and be patient as he will have to print some cards).

VK0/AX0, MACQUARIE ISLAND (Special Event/Update)
Look for Trevor, VK0TH, to be active as AX0TH on January 26th, to celebrate "Australia Day". QSL via JE1LET. UPDATE FROM TREVOR (on (QRZ.com)): "Thank You - Pile Ups have been much more controlled of late and I thank you for the efforts. I continue to try to do at least an hour or two of radio a day after my working day has finished on Macquarie. Operating hours are typically 0700-1200 UTC. Current Modes are SSB, CW, RTTY, PSK and Hell. Occasionally, I will visit the ON4KST chat room. I won't take individual requests in the chat room or via E-mail, however, am happy to work the bands when they are open and let you know where I am."

VP6, PITCAIN ISLAND
After a three day sail, the team of five operators are now active as VP6T from Pitcain Island (IOTA OC-044, WFF GFF-053) until February 4th. They arrived on the island on Friday, around 1700z, January 20th. Their activity will be on 160-10 meters CW, SSB and RTTY, and giving this extremely rare entity to deserving DXers on as many bands as possible, especially on the lower bands. QSL via G3XF, direct or by the Bureau, LoTW and OQRS. More details are available on their Web site at:

PLEASE NOTICE (as of February 12, 2007), NEW ADDRESS CHANGES FOR THE OPDX INTERNET HELP/SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE REQUEST:

Help: opdx-request@barf80.org Subject:help
Subscribe: opdx-request@barf80.org Subject:subscribe
Unsubscribe: opdx-request@barf80.org Subject:unsubscribe

OPDX WORLD-WIDE WEB HOME (provided by John, K8YSE (k8yse@papays.com):
http://www.papays.com/opdx.html

ALSO VISIT THE NORTERN OHIO DX ASSOCIATION'S WEB HOME PAGE:
http://www.papays.com/nodxa.html