The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 888
BID: $OPDX.888
December 15, 2008
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, KF2TI, W2VU, NG3K, N4AA & QRZ DX, KH6BZF, K8YSE, DX-IS News Site, Pete's-DX-Newsdesk, A35RK, DK8JB, DL7MAE & The DX News Letter, EA5RM, F5NQL & UFT, F6AJA & Les Nouvelles DX, G3SWH, I1HYW, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, IZ7DOK, RA4HT, RSGB IOTA Web Site, RW6HS, VA3RJ & ICPO, and XE1KK for the following DX information.

DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT
According to the AR-Cluster Network for the week of Sunday, 7th-December, through Sunday, 14th-December there were 214 countries active. Countries available: 3A, 3B8, 3DA, 3V, 3W, 4J, 4L, 4O, 4S, 4X, 5B, 5H, 5N, 5R, 5V, 5W, 5X, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7Q, 7X, 8P, 8Q, 8R, 9A, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9L, 9M2, 9M6, 9Q, 9V, 9Y, A3, A4, A6, A7, A9, AP, BV, BY, C3, C6, CE, CE0Y, CE9, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, DL, DU, E5/s, E7, EA, EA6, EA8, EA9, EI, EK, EL, EP, ER, ES, ET, EU, EX, EY, EZ, F, FG, FK, FM, FO, FP, FR, FY, G, GD, GI, GJ, GM, GU, GW, HA, HB, HB0, HC, HI, HK, HK0/a, HL, HP, HR, HS, HV, HZ, I, IS, J2, J3, J5, J6, JA, JT, JX, JY, K, KG4, KH0, KH2, KH6, KH8, KL, KP2, KP4, LA, LU, LX, LY, LZ, OA, OD, OE, OH, OH0, OJ0, OK, OM, ON, OX, OY, OZ, P2, P4, PA, PJ2, PJ7, PY, PY0F, PZ, S5, SM, SP, ST, SU, SV, SV9, T31, T7, T8, TA, TF, TG, TI, TJ, TK, TL, TN, TR, TT, TU, TY, TZ, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V2, V4, V5, V8, VE, VK, VK9N, VP2E, VP2V, VP5, VP8, VP8/h, VP8/o, VP9, VQ9, VR, VU, XE, XT, XU, YA, YB, YI, YK, YL, YN, YO, YS, YU, YV, Z2, Z3, ZA, ZB, ZC4, 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).

2008 WINNERS 5TH SRE
The 2008 winners of 5th Strange Radio Event were announced this past week. They are:
IK8WSQ - 1st European (SSB)
WK3N - 1st Station Outside Europe (CW/SSB)
IU8SRE (Operator IK8WEJ) - 1st S.R.T. Special Callsign (SSB)
IU3SRT (Operator IZ3DBA) - 1st S.R.T. Special Callsign (CW)
I1 GE 0844 - 1st SWL
Award plaques will be presented during the 6th International DX Convention in Paestum, Italy. Congrats to the winners!

2009 CQ DX MARATHON
The fourth running of the CQ DX Marathon begins at 0000 UTC on January 1, 2009, and runs through 2359 UTC on December 31, 2009. The goal, as always, is to work as many countries and CQ zones as possible at least once during the calendar year. The only change from the 2008 rules is that the prohibition on assistance, such as lists and passes, for the Unlimited Class is deleted (the limitation remains in effect for the Formula Class). Once again they will use a downloadable Microsoft Excel template which may be filled in and e-mailed to a special address as your log entry. For complete details, please visit the following Web page at:

2009 MEXICO RTTY INTERNATIONAL CONTEST
The Federacion Mexicana de Radioexperimentadores (FMRE) would like to invite everyone to participate in the 2009 Mexico RTTY International Contest, February 7-8th, 2009. Please take note that the new contest manager for this event is Dani, XE3RR, xe3rr@prodigy.net.mx and logs should be sent to him as the rules now indicate. Details/Rules of the contest are available at:

3 STEVE'S TO BE ACTIVE AGAIN!
Yes, it is that time again. The 3 Steve's (Steve/KF2TI, Steve/N2IFA, Steve/KB2ENF and Kurt/W2MW [aka Steve]), along with "those two laughing young men", Andrew/N2IFB and Eric/K2EMZ, will be guest operating at the ARRL station, W1AW, Tuesday, December 30th, from 1700-2045z. This is their 16th annual WAS (Worked All Steve's) DXpedition to Newington, and they will be operating on the following bands:
30m CW - Kurt/W2MW [aka Steve]
40/20/15m SSB - Steve/KF2TI, Steve/N2IFA and Steve/KB2ENF
17/10m (possibly 80m) - Andrew/N2IFB and Eric-K2EMZ will also be operating as "Steves"
They hope conditions will improve and will try to listen for outside the U.S.; packet spots will be posted. If you work any 3 operators, they will send you a beautiful, full color WAS (Worked All Steve's) certificate (suitable for framing). No QSL is needed as they will have copies of the log and send out a certificate to all those who qualify. QSL cards to them are not necessary for the WAS. If you want a W1AW QSL card, please send to them direct or via the bureau. The logs will be posted (hopefully) after January 1st on their Web site at:

14th CCF/OHDXF CONTEST/DX MEETING
The 14th International Contest/DX Meeting will take place on January 16-18th (2009). Join their traditional round-trip cruise on the Baltic Sea crossing 3 DXCC countries: From Helsinki (OH) via Aland Islands (OH0) to Stockholm (SM), and back to Helsinki. On their preliminary agenda:
* New DXCC Countries by Dutch Caribbean 2009 - Hans, PB2T, President of IARU R1 and President of EUDXF
* Azores, CU2X & CU2CE and CU2DX (Winning Formula) - Martti, OH2BH and Toni, OH2UA
* Arcala Extremes extreme antenna - 3 element Yagi for 160m; Juha, OH8NC
* SAC Contest forum - change or not to change; Jouko, OH1RX, Panel and discussions
* CW and SSB pileup contests
* ......etc
For the latest updates of agenda, please check:

Kari, OH2XX, "It's time to act! Our special prices for the 'coolest' Contest & DX meeting in 2009 are still valid for one more week! Please book your trip Now!" Information packages are available at:

A3, TONGA
Paul, A35RK/KK6H, is back home in Ha'apai as of December 12th, as he says "to a rousing welcome of thunder, lightning, and torrential rain, which is forecsat to continue for awhile. I'll be QRV as soon as the bad weather breaks and I can get my antennas back up." Paul reports that as KH8/KK6H he made "about 600 QSOs from American Samoa, on both CW and SSB, on 80, 30, 20, 17 and 15 meters, including a few Europeans on 20M long path. Conditions were generally lousy." The log has been sent to W7TSQ and posted on LoTW. QSL via W7TSQ or LoTW.

A3, TONGA
Just a reminder that Dave "Kawe", W6ZL, will return as A35KL from FOA Island (OC-169) in the Ha'apai Island Group, for a brief period possibly around 0000z, December 17th until 1800z, December 19th. QSL via W6ZL, SASE or new style IRC, or via the LOTW (may not be able to post log until after his return to U.S. around Christmas time).

ASIAN TRIP
Frank, I2DMI, announces on (QRZ.com) that he will be visiting Thimphu, Bhutan, between December 22-31st and Nepal between December 31st and January 5th. He states that he has received his callsign for Bhutan and will be signing A52RY but will only be active during his spare time. Activity will only be RTTY. He thinks his operating periods will likely be in the ranges of 0100-0300z and 1200-1900z. Suggested target frequencies will be 3582, 7040, 10142, 14082, 18102, 21082, 24922 and 28082 kHz, listening up 2 or spread 2-10 kHz depending on the pileup. He will concentrate his activity on the opened bands. His activity from Nepal will be the same. However, he will get his callsign after his arrival (possibly 9N7RY or 9N7DMI which one available). QSOs will be put on LoTW and e-QSL the second week of January. Bureau cards will go out the fourth week of March. You can QSL direct to I2DMI: P.O. Box 55 - 22063 CANTU, Italy. Include a self addressed envelope (SAE) and sufficient return postage. Please QSL only to his P.O. Box # 55 - 22063 Cantu (not his home address).

CHU TO QSY JANUARY 1ST
The CQ Newsroom reports: "Canadian time/frequency standard station CHU -- a fixture for decades on 7335 kHz -- will change frequency to 7850 kHz at 0000 UTC on January 1, 2009. The move comes as a result of the International Telecommunication Union's decision in 2007 to expand the 40-meter ham band in Europe and Africa (Region I) to 7000-7200 kHz. It was previously 7000-7100 kHz, with -- as every 40-meter DXer knows -- international broadcasting allocated from 7100-7300 kHz.

As part of the 40-meter expansion, the international broadcast band was shifted to 7200-7350 kHz. As broadcasters began relocating, CHU on 7335 began experiencing significant interference. Thus, officials at Canada's National Research Council which operates CHU, decided to move the time/frequency standard station's transmissions to 7850 kHz as of the beginning of 2009. The complete NRC announcement (English version) is online at:

E44M DXPEDITION NEWS
The E44M team will use "Hamradioweb" as forum to share information about the DXpedition in Palestine directly with the community of the DXers. During the operations, feel free to put your questions or suggestions there. The Web link is:

FH, MAYOTTE
Operators Phil/G3SWH and Richard/G3RWL (Dick on CW) will be active from here between February 26th and March 5th (2009). Mayotte counts as AF-027 for IOTA purposes. The 2003 "Most Wanted" survey by the 425 DX News shows Mayotte ranks 121 for DXCC purposes. Both operators will use the single callsign of FH/G3SWH. Their activity will be mainly on CW on all bands 80-10 meters. Subject to QRN and site conditions, there may be some 160 meters CW activity. Richard may also operate some RTTY and/or PSK31. Propagation permitting, they plan to have two stations on the air for as many hours every day as is possible. Their main objective is to work as many European, North American and ROTW stations on as many bands as possible. QSL via G3SWH, either direct with SAE and adequate return postage (recommended), or via Phil's Web site for a bureau reply or by the bureau. For updates and more information, please visit the following Web page at:

FT5Y, ANTARCTICA (Update)
Hopefully you were lucky to work Nicolas, F4EGX, as FT5YI from the French scientific station "Dumont D' Urville" this past weekend. He is expected to go QRT this week on December 19th. According to Jean-Michel, F6AJA, Nicolas doesn't know if he will spend Christmas at the station or on the boat "Astrolabe". He will be back in France around the New Year. Take a look at some of the interesting photos he is putting on his Web page at:

FW, WALLIS & FUTUNA ISLANDS
Eli, HA9RE, and a team of operators will be active from Wallis Island as FW0RE. The group is expected to arrive on the island January 26th. Eli states, "Provided all our baggage arrives in due time then we can begin the operation on January 28-29th." They are expected to be there for about a month. Activity will be on 160-10 meters, including 30/17/12 meters, using CW, SSB and RTTY. Two stations will be on the air. Antennas to be used are: a 24m vertical on 160/80/40m, Spiderbeam for 20/17/15/10m, HB9CV for 20-15m and a 7-band Butternut. Eli and his team are now looking for sponsorship. To help, contact Eli via E-mail at: ha9re@freemail.hu A Web site dedicated to the FW operation will be set up on HA9RE's own Web pages after the expedition has taken place.

HAM IN NEED!
Mike, RX1AL, informs OPDX that Vladimir "Vlad", 4K9W, a DXer in Baku, Azerbaijan, is in a very difficult situation. Vlad, who is an invalid for over 30 years, has been bed ridden and constantly dependant on respite care. Vlad's mother recently passed away and Vlad is now alone without other relatives. At present, his friends and acquaintances from the neighborhood support him. However, it is necessary to find constant home care for him. If this is not possible from his own means, then the State will be compelled to move Vlad into a home for severely disabled persons in order to guarantee him minimum care to survive. This would mean that Vlad would no longer enjoy different facets of his life: Amateur radio (almost QRV daily and along with CW and SSB also on PSK and RTTY for over a year now), communicating with friends for many years on Amateur radio airwaves, participating in contesting, and also on the internet. If you would like to know more and would like to help him, please visit the Web page at:

HB, SWITZERLAND (6m News)
The Swiss authorities will allocate the 50 MHz band to amateur radio on a secondary basis on January 1, 2009. All Swiss and foreign CEPT class licensees may transmit with 100 watts PEP on 50-52 MHz without any antenna restrictions. Primary users may not be disturbed which includes the Ticino since there are still some TV stations active on the VHF band I in Northern Italy.

HE8, SWITZERLAND (Special Event/AAW)
Walter, HB9BHY, has announced that he will participate in the 6th Antarctic Activity Week (AAW, February 16-22nd [2009]). He will use the callsign HE8ICE (reference number WAP-81). QSL via HB9BHY. PLEASE NOTE: The HE8 prefix is special and was issued to celebrate the 80th anniversary of USKA (see OPDX.887), so HE8ICE will be used for the 2009 AAW instead of the old previous callsign HB9ICE. Also, a full list of callsigns already booked for the 6th AAW is available at the WAP Web site at:

HF0, SOUTH SHETLAND ISLANDS
Janusz, SP9YI, has been very active using the new callsign HF0APAS from the Polish Henryk Arctowski Station on King George Island (AN-010, WLOTA LH-0312). Watch around 14195 kHz between 2130-0200z. QSL via SP9YI.

IOTA NEWS
EU-066. Operators Andrey/UA9XC, Leonid/UA9XF, Ilya/UA9XLC and Nikolai/ UA9XTL will be active as RI1OTA from Solovetskiy Island between December 15-19th. QSL via UA9XC.

NA-057. Paolo, IK2QPR, will be active as HR9/IK2QPR from Roatan Island between January 4-12th. QSL via IK2QPR.

NA-086. Ed, CO7PH and possibily other operators will be active as T47C from Cayo Coco, December 16-21st. Activity will be mainly CW with some SSB on 160-10 meters. QSL via W3HNK.

SA-030. A large group of "Radio Grupo Sur" members will be on the air from Flores Island (ARLHS URU-001, TWLHD WLH CX-001, WLOTA LH-0528, Admiralty G 0690, WW Loc. GF25AB), Uruguay, using the CV5A callsign between January 22-26th. The team will use monoband beam antennas for all bands. They will work all modes and there will be a dedicated RTTY/PSK31 station. QSL via CX2ABC. Visit the club's Web page at:

KP2, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS (NA-106)
Masumi, JA3AVO, will be active as KP2/JA3AVO between January 17-22nd (2009). Activity will be holiday style. QSL via his home callsign.

QSL INFO AND NEWS
OL140PS via OK1DOL
PA30KST via PE9DX
RP3APR via RA3ATX
RP67MB sends automatically; RZ3FR (direct)

The A5100A log is now available online at:

IRC REMINDER! Vasilij, RW6HS, wants to remind everyone that some IRCs are dated and will expire on December 31st, 2008.

LOG RECOVERY HELP NEEDED! Al, VE1AL, reports: "Due to my own stupidity, I have lost the DXbase log I keep from October 11, 2008, through December 1, 2008. While I don't necessarily want to have QSLs, I would like to try to rebuild the log information. If it is possible, would those stations who worked me through that period please send me the log information including your call, the date and time of the QSO and the band on which we worked. I know it will be impossible to rebuild the log but any and all pertinent information would be appreciated. I would also appreciate it if the DX bulletin editors could pick up this request and publish it in an upcoming issue. Many thanks to all who might reply to VE1AL@rac.ca "

QSLS VIA LOTW: HT2N

QSLS RECEIVED VIA MAIL: 9L1X, BT1OH, BT1OJ, CE0Y/JJ2NYT, CN2IPA, ER4DX, F6DWQ/MM, GJ3YHU, H7/AJ9C, HC5WW/HC8, JY4NE, LU4DXU/MM, P29NI, PY0FF, PZ5Z, RA2FF, SU8BHI, TO5DX, V26B, VO2A, VP2ETN, VP6DX, VY2ZM, XU7ABN, YJ0AQY, YJ0AVE, ZK1EHH and ZP6/N3BNA

QSLS RECEIVED VIA THE BUREAU: None reported this week!

SILENT KEY
Alexander, RA4HT, informs OPDX that Joseph Raihstein, RD4HF (ex-4K6GF, UD6GF, UD6DLJ, 4K500GF, 4K70GF and 4KA6GF) became a Silent Key (SK) on December 7th. In recent years he was seriously ill, but every day if he was not in the hospital, his voice could be heard on the bands. Until recently, RD4HF participated in a round table of Russian Emergency Network (RAS). All his life was associated with amateur radio. Most of his life of Joseph - "Semen-Semenych" as he was affectionately called by his Baku friends, lived in Azerbaijan, where he became known as radiosportsmenom, deserved coach of Azerbaijan, a judge of the All-Union category, Honorary Radio USSR. OPDX and its readers would like to send out our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of RD4HF.

T32, EAST KIRIBATI
\Toshi, JA8BMK, has gone QRT as T31DX from Central Kiribati last week and is now headed back to Christmas Island. He should be there around by the end of the week. Look for him to be active as T32YY again for possibly 7 days. QSL direct to JA8BMK.

T8, PALAU
Operators Mike/JA6EGL, Yas/JA6UBY, Yu/JE6DND and Hiro/JA6KYU will be active as T88SM, T88CP, T88HK and T88HS, respectively, from Koror Island (OC-009), January 16-18th. Activity will be 80-10 meters CW/SSB. QSL via their home callsigns (direct only).

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
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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:
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