The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 945
BID: $OPDX.945
February 1, 2010
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, AD1C, K1XN & GoList, NJ1Q, K3TEJ, NG3K & ADXO, N4AA & QRZ DX, N4RR, KH6BZF, N6JRL, N6RV, W6SJ, W6VNR, WB6RSE, K8GI, K8YSE, NE8Z, 9M6XRO, AT International, DK8JB, DL7MAE & The DX News Letter, DX World.Net, F5NQL & UFT, HP1AC, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, JT1CD, OZ6OM & 50 MHz DX News, ON5NT, ON7PP, Pete's-DX-Newsdesk, PY7ZY, RSGB IOTA Web Site, VA3RJ & ICPO and VHF-DX-Portal(MMMonVHF) for the following DX information.

DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT
According to the AR-Cluster Network for the week of Sunday, 24th-January, through Sunday, 31st-January there were 209 countries active. Countries available: 3A, 3B8, 3D2, 3DA, 3V, 3W, 4J, 4L, 4S, 4X, 5B, 5H, 5N, 5R, 5V, 5X, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7Q, 7X, 8P, 8Q, 9A, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9M2, 9M6, 9V, 9Y, A4, A6, A7, A9, BV, BY, C3, C6, CE, CE0Y, CE9, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, D2, DL, DU, E5/s, E7, EA, EA6, EA8, EA9, EI, EK, EL, EP, ER, ES, ET, EU, EX, EY, EZ, F, FG, FH, FK, FM, FO, FO/a, FR, FY, G, GD, GI, GJ, GM, GU, GW, H4, HA, HB, HB0, HC, HH, HI, HK, HL, HP, HR, HS, HZ, I, IS, J2, J6, J7, J8, JA, JD/m, JD/o, JT, JY, K, KG4, 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, PJ7, PY, PY0F, PZ, R1FJ, S2, S5, SM, SP, ST, SU, SV, SV/a, SV5, SV9, T32, T7, TA, TF, TG, TI, TK, TL, TR, TT, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V2, V3, V4, V5, V8, VE, VK, VP2M, VP2V, VP6, VP8, VP8/h, VP9, VQ9, VR, VU, XE, XU, XW, YA, YB, YI, YJ, YK, 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).

2010 VISALIA IDXC
The 61st Annual International DX Convention sponsored by the Southern California DX Club will be held at The Holiday Inn Hotel & Conference Center, in Visalia, CA, April 16, 17, 18, 2010. Preregistration began December 1st, 2009. The International DX Convention is the world's foremost DX convention. If you are a DXer or interested in any aspect of ham radio you need to be at Visalia. Top DX operators from around the world will be there. Meet the big guns from the US, Asia, Europe, Africa and Oceania. Meet the people on the other side of the mic or key. Shake hands with the person you have had that sked with for the past 10 years Renew friendships. Don't forget your YL! We will have something special for them as well.

Top DXpeditioners from every continent tell you how they did it. Learn the secrets for big signals on the top band, how to have fun and adventures chasing IOTA, contest forum, antenna forum, DX forum, seminars for everyone from the seasoned pro to the beginning DXer. Attend the traditional Saturday night banquet where great friends and good food are met with lively presentations. The Sunday breakfast buffet has terrific selection and variety. Enjoy more presentations and the parody, "Are You Smarter Than a DXer." This year there is a twist! Visit the manufacturers' midway where you can talk to the people who design and use the latest and best equipment. Don't forget the raffle prizes which top even the famed Dayton Hamvention! For the early arrivers NCCC will be hosting the Contest Academy on Friday! Stop by their Web site for more details at:

2010 VISALIA TOP BAND DINNER AT IDXC
The Top Band Dinner at the 2010 Visalia DX Convention will be held Friday, April 16th, at the Convention Hotel - Holiday Inn Visalia CA - Birch Room. Bruce Butler, W6OSP, will present "The Low Bands from K4M, Midway." Miner 49er BBQ buffet dinner at 36 USDs/person, Door Prize eligibility included.

To check on availability, send an email to Steve, WB6RSE, at his QRZ.com address with the number of reservations you wish along with CALL, FIRST & LAST NAME, and contact EMAIL address for each person.You will receive a return email confirming availability along with payment information.

Advance paid reservations are absolutely required! Another sell out is anticipated. First come, first served.

3C0, ANNOBON ISLAND
Operators Elmo/EA5BYP and Javier/EA5KM will be active as 3C0C from Annobon Island (AF-039) for 15 days in April (the specific dates will be forthcoming). Activity will be on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY with an emphasis on the lower bands and CW. They will try to have two stations active (on the outskirts of the city), but remember that they are only two operators, so please be patient. During their operation, they will not have an InterNet connection, so the logs will not be available until after their DXpedition. QSL Manager for 3C0C is EA7FTR: Francisco Lianez Suero, Asturias #23, 21110 Aljaraque, HUELVA, SPAIN. For all direct requests, please send a self addressed envelope (SAE) with:
   1 IRC or 2 USDs or 1 Euro for European Union
   1 IRC or 2 USDs for other destinations
All direct requests that do not have a SAE and/or sufficient IRC/USDs required to cover postal fee will be returned via the Bureau. All requests received via Bureau will be answered after one year. A survey for "Wanted Bands and Modes" is available on the 3C0C Web page at:

6V7, SENEGAL (Correction)
Luc, F5RAV, will be active from La Somone between February 18th and March 1st. He will operate from Jean-Francois, 6W7RV, QTH as 6V7T (not 6W7RV as mentioned last week). QSL via only direct to his home callsign.

8Q, MALDIVES
Joerg, OE6VHF, will be active as 8Q7JK from Thulhagiri Island (AS-013), North Male Atoll, Maldives, between February 23rd and March 5th. Activity will be on 40-10 meters using mostly SSB (on 40/17m) since previous DXpeditions have been on CW. He will be using dipoles for antennas. QSL via his home callsign. QSLs will be sent out via GlobalQSL.

9U, BURUNDI
Operators Helmut/DL3KBQ (9UXEV), Henry/DL2RSI (9U1RSI), Peter/DH2KI (9U1KI) and Jurgen/DJ2VO (9U1VO) will be active between February 22nd and March 6th. Activity will be on CW, SSB and the Digital modes using only 100 watts into vertical antennas. QSL via their home callsign, by the DARC Bureau or direct.

BX5, TAIWAN
Jimmy, BX5AA, will be active during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 6-7th) as a Single-Op/Single-Band (20m)/High-Power entry. He will also be active in the CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 27-28th) as a Single- Op/All-Band/High-Power entry. Jimmy states that BX5 is a rare prefix for Taiwan (CQ 24). QSL via BX5AA. Visit his Web page at:

C6, THE BAHAMAS
Randy, W6SJ, will once again head to Grand Bahama Island in February. He expects to be on the air as C6AWS between February 5-10th. Activity will be holiday style CW only. QSL via LoTW or to W6SJ, direct or by the Bureau.

HC, ECUADOR
Dr. Rick, NE8Z, tells OPDX that he will once again be heading south to Ecuador and plans to be active between February 8-24th, with the following callsigns from various locations as follows:
HC1MD - Tumbaco, Pichincha Province
HC1MD/HC1 - Mt. Pichincha
HC1MD/HC4 - Punta Blanca, Manabi Province
Activity will be on 80-10 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY and PSK31. QSL via K8LJG.

IOTA NEWS
AS-133. See XU7 below.

NA-167. Yahir, XE2JA, and possibly others will activate Alcatraz Island in the Sonora State North Group between February 11-14th. The planned callsign will be XE2JA/XF1. Activity will be on 80-15 meters using SSB, RTTY and the Satellites. Suggested frequencies are:

              RTTY - 3790, 7060, 10104, 14260, 18140 and 21260
              SSB  - 3585, 7044, 14085, 18104 and 21085 kHz
              Satellites:   AO 51        AO 27          SO 50
                           -------      -------     --------------
                      UP   145.300      145.850     145.850 (PL 67)
                    DOWN   435.300 +/-  436.795 +/- 436.795 +/-

SA-041. (Update) Members of the Araucaria DX Group will activate the 2nd most wanted IOTA group (Maranhao State West Group) in South America as PW8J between June 9-15th (See OPDX.943). Permission to operate from Lencois Island has been granted by the Environ- ment Ministry to the PW8J team. Transportation services for operators, luggage and equipment from Sao Luis to Lencois Island have also been hired. Operators have also purchased their air ticket from their QTH to Sao Luiz. For more details, visit their Web page at:

J3, GRENADA
Harry, AC8G, will once again be active as J37K in March. Activity will include the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 6-7th) as a Single- Op/High-Power entry. QSL to AC8G, Stateside direct with SASE. For others sending by the bureau, please clearly mark for QSLs to go to AC8G.

J6, ST. LUCIA (NA-108)
Just a reminder that 9 operators from the "Buddies in the Caribbean" DX association which specialized in "ultralite" DX- peditions with 100 watts or less power, will be active as J6/homecall between February 2-11th. Operators mentioned are: Budd/W3FF, Chris/W6HFP, Scott/NE1RD, Dan/WZ1P, Guy/N7UN, Steve/WG0AT, Mike/KC4VG, Paul/KB9AVO and Wey/K8EAB. The operators will use three radios powered from batteries and Buddipole portable antennas. Activity will be mostly on 160-15 meters using CW, SSB and the Digital modes. If conditions allow, they may also be on 10 and 6 meters. QSL via LoTW or eQSL. Also QSL direct or by the Bureau via the operator's home callsign. For more information, visit the following Web pages:

J7, DOMINICA (NA-101)
John, K3TEJ, will once again be active as J7N between February 24th and March 11th. Activity will be on all bands mainly using CW and RTTY. He plans to participate in the CQ 160m SSB Contest (February 26-28th) and also the ARRL International DX SSB Contest (March 6-7th) as a Single-Op/All-Band entry. QSL via his home callsign.

JT, MONGOLIA
OPDX was informed that YL Munkhmend "Mend", JT1JC, is active on RTTY and PSK31. She is the XYL of Gankhuyag, JT1CJ. Watch 20 meters on PSK between 2245-0030z or RTTY between 0700-0800z QSL via: P.O.Box 73, Ulaanbaatar-35, Mongolia.

KH6BZF PROPAGATION FORECAST/REPORT (For February 1-7th)

 Feb   1    AN         SOLAR REFERENCE
 Feb   2    AN         ---------------
 Feb   3    AN          AN - Above Normal/Geomagnetic Level is QUIET
 Feb   4    AN          HN - High Normal/Geomagnetic Level is UNSETTLED
 Feb   5    AN          LN - Low Normal
 Feb   6    AN
 Feb   7    AN         GEOMAGNETIC REFERENCE
                       ---------------------
                        QUIET - The "A" index is expected to be between
                                0-7 and the "K" index will be 2 or less
                    UNSETTLED - The "A" index is expected to be between
                                7-16 and "K" index will be 3 or less

LX, LUXEMBOURG
Operators Joel/LX1ER, Filip/ON4AEO, Kath/ON7BK, Jose/ON4CJK, Ronny/ON4RK, Gert/ZS6GC, Lucas/ZS6ACT, Sid/ZS6AYC, Adele/ZR6APT and Dennis (callsign not provided) will be active as LX9FC from Luxembourg in early April (starting on the 5th). Activity will be on 80-10 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY and PSK. QSL via ON4CJK. The LX9FC Web page is available at:

MDF IN NOVA SCOTIA
The Halifax Amateur Radio Club (HARC) is pleased to invite all DXers, contesters and HF enthusiasts to the 2010 MDF. This year the Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) also will hold its AGM on Friday, August 6th, at 2:30 pm as part of the MDF weekend. Following the AGM, there will be a reception, BBQ dinner and bluegrass concert beginning at 5:30 pm. The MDF program on Saturday, August 7th, will run from 8:30 am - 4:45 pm, it will be followed by a reception and the MDF banquet. The speakers (active and outstanding members of our ham radio community) will include:

MARTTI LAINE, OH2BH: Turning New Stones - Building Passion for Amateur Radio
TIM DUFFY, K3LR : How World Class Contesting Advances Amateur Radio
DICK FREY, K4XU : What You Need to Know About Solid State Amplifiers
TIM ELLAM, VE6SH : Governance of Amateur Radio ­ the Role of the IARU
A MEMBER OF A MAJOR, RECENT DXPEDITION (TBA)

The costs of the various events are: BBQ and bluegrass social - $25; Maritime DX Forum - $60; and the MDF banquet - $35. Registration materials can be downloaded from the HARC website (www.harc-arc.org), or requested directly from the MDF Chair, K. Scott Wood ,VE1QD, who also will gladly answer any questions. He can be contacted via E-mail at ve1qd@rac.ca or by phone at (902) 823-2761.

OA4, PERU
Fred, DL1NL, currently active as OA4/DL1NL from Lima, will be leaving Peru in the middle of February. Activity is mostly CW and Fred operates from Radio Club Peruano (OA4O) when time permits. His recent activity shows he can be found on 20/17/15 meters between 1530-1730z. QSL via his home callsign.

OX, GREENLAND
Reid, N0RC, will be active as OX3/K0KU from Thule, Greenland (NA-018), between March 22nd and April 8th. Activity will be limited as work permits, but Reid plans to be on every other day and try to get on the air for contest weekends, but he cannot guarantee this. Look for the log to be uploaded to LoTW and EQSL. QSL direct to N0RC or by the Bureau.

P4, ARUBA
John, KK9A, will be active as P40A during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 6-7th) as a Single-Op/All-Band entry. QSL via WD9DZV.

PA75, THE NETHERLANDS (Special Event)
Fred, PA0FAW (PA-11092), will activate special event station PA75HV between February 1-28th. Activity is to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the National Park "De Hoge Veluwe". He states that he will not actually transmit from the park but will activate this callsign probably 3 times this year from his QTH. QSLs are "OK" direct, by the Bureau and E-qsl; NO LoTW.

PJ4, NETHERLANDS ANTILLES
Roger, N4RR, will be in Bonaire (SA-006, WLOTA LH-1279) between February 10-15th. He plans to operate in the CQWW WPX RTTY Contest (February 13-14th) as a Single-Op/All-Band/Low-Power entry. He will be signing PJ4R during the contest and PJ4/N4RR before the contest operating on all bands on RTTY and CW. QSL to his home callsign N4RR.

QSL INFO AND NEWS
PIRATE ALERT (Update). Last week we reported that a station signing ZF2AS during the December 2009 160 meter contest was apparently PIRATE. Well, it seems this was not a PIRATE per-se, but a busted callsign of ZF2AH who was active in the contest. Operator was Joe, W6VNR.

QSL CARDS STATUS BY F5OGL. Didier, F5OGL, reports the following:
FT5GA - All the direct and bureau requests have been answered and mailed. Only 500 envelopes were expected to be sent out this past Friday to European Union countries.
T6YA - All the direct and bureau requests have been answered and mailed.
OD5/F5PTM - All the direct and bureau requests have been answered and mailed.
Please avoid renewing your requests for these callsigns if you have already sent them.

QSL XU7ACY via W2EN. Activity was in last weekend's CQ 160-Meter CW Contest.

QSL YE1C to: West Java DX Association, PO. Box 1042, Bandung, 40010 Indonesia. Activity was in last weekend's CQ 160-Meter CW Contest. Operators were: YB1ALL, YB1CCF, YB1KAR, YB1NWP, YC1KAF, YC1BTV, YC1HQQ, YD1GCL, YD1JZ and YD1ORZ.

QSLS VIA LoTW: DG6MM, DL0XM, HV50VR, J39BS, ON5PO, VK6HZ, VP8DMN, YV5ANF and ZS2EZ

QSLS RECEIVED VIA MAIL: 3D2KJ, 4W6AL, 5N0OCH, 5Z4/RW1AU, 8R1PY, 9L7NS, CT9L, EA7FTR, ET3JA, ET3SID, FH/DJ7RJ, FJ/WQ2N, FK/NA8O, FM/JE1JKL/P, FT5WO, J79WE, JD1BMH, KH7XS, ON7CD, PW2IO, PX8W, SV2ASP/A, T6YA, T88DX, TF4M, TO5T, TO7RJ, V73NF, VK6IOA, XV3RRC, XV7RRC and YJ0NA

QSLS RECEIVED VIA THE BUREAU: 3D20CR, 4O3DX, 5Z4/9A3A, EA4EER, EA8BMG, IK3JBP, IW0BCF, LA7G/P, NN5J, OH/DF9TM, R300SM, RU1A, SX2A, SX2004PA, SX3A, SX7A, SX9A, TX5SPA, TX5SPM and ZB3F

TF, ICELAND
Dervin, PD9DX, will once again be active as TF/PD9DX from April 8­17th. Activity will be on 80-10 meters using SSB. QSL via his home callsign.

V2, ANTIGUA
Operators Babs/DL7AFS and Lot/DJ7ZG will be going on another DXpedition, but this time to the Caribbean region. Look for them to be active as V21ZG from Antigua (NA-100) between March 16th and April 4th. Activity will be on 80-6 meters with operations mainly on RTTY, PSK and SSB. They plan to look for JA stations and QRP stations. QSL via DL7AFS.

VP5, TURKS & CAUCOS ISLANDS
Operator Alex/PY2WAS (and possibly Ivan/PY1YB) will be active as VP5/PY2WAS from the Hamlet on Providenciales Island (NA-002) between May 20­23rd. Activity will be on 80-10 meters using CW and SSB. QSL via PY2WAS, by the PY2 Bureau or direct.

XU7, CAMBODIA
John, 9M6XRO, informs OPDX that he will once again be active as XU7XRO from Sihanouk Ville (Kompong Som) between February 3-9th. Activity will be on 160-10 meters using CW, RTTY and SSB, with a beam at 22m for HF and Inverted-Vees on the same tower for the lower bands. QSL "ONLY" via M0URX, please. Bureau cards may be requested from M0URX via E-mail. For complete details, please see the info on:

XU7, CAMBODIA (IOTA Op)
Look for XU7KOH activity from Koh Russei Island (AS-133) during the following date and operators:
February 12-16th - Operators Wim/ON6NP, Wim/ON6TZ and Peter/XU7ACY (NO2R)
February 19-23rd - Operators Wim/ON6NP, Wim/ON6TZ, Peter/XU7ACY(NO2R) and Joel/F5PAC.
QSL via ON7PP. More details are forthcoming. Logs will be posted after the operation (ASAP) on the following Web page:

YOUTH DX ADVENTURE (Written By Don, N6JRL)
In October 2009 team TI5N came up with the idea of a youth DX adventure. The purpose being to foster an interest in Ham radio for deserving youth interested in the hobby. The plan is to take 6 youth operators age 11 to 17 from the ham community to TI5N in Costa Rica in July 2010 for a DX adventure for 5 days of partici- pating and learning DX operations. The team and leaders plan to travel in a group from Dayton, Ohio, to Costa Rica to the contest superstation TI5N owned by Carlos Diez, TI5KD/K2CE. During their stay the youth operators and their parents (also Hams) will participate in learning about pro- pagation, antenna's, tuning amplifiers, controlling pile ups and all the finer points of being DX and working DX.

While in Costa Rica the team will also experience traditional Costa Rican foods prepared by the lovely Sophia Diez XYL of Carlos and TI2IY. The team will have an opportunity to go on a sightseeing trip and experience some of the culture of the country and its people. A shopping trip for souvenirs is also in the schedule.

The 2 team leaders for this first of we hope many trips will be Don DuBon, N6JRL, and Dave Kalter, KB8OCP, both of who have been to TI5N for contesting in the CQWW contests. Don has also been on DX Peditions to Saint Lucia, Anguilla, and most notably Peter 1 Island in 2006 as well as operating from many countries during his military career in the Marine Corps. Dave is an avid DX'er and contester and is currently the chairman for the 2010 Hamvention Forums; Dave is also setting up a schedule with the International space station for school age kids with the Boonshoft Museum in Dayton. Both Don and Dave are members of DARA and SWODXA and the ARRL, QCWA and FISTS.

The youth team members will be accompanied by 1 parent each; this will eliminate the need for any legal releases. The youth operators will have fund raisers, and have a booth space at the 2011 Dayton Hamvention to display photo's, videos and speak with other youth interested in Ham radio. There are plans to have the theme of Hamvention 2011 geared toward "youth DX’ers". Story and photos will be submitted (as written by the youth operators) to popular monthly magazines.

We are hoping to have this first of many annual trips for youth to be a success. Each year a different set of team leaders will assume the organization of the youth operators and provide the leadership and guidance for a team of 12 to make the trip. Our hopes are to reach out and create interest and have youth from all over the country have a chance to participate each year.

We need assistance in making this happen. The Dayton Amateur Radio Association has provided a sizeable contribution to get things started and we are relying on the generosity of Clubs, organizations and individual Hams to make this happen. We have generated about 1/3 of our total $12,000 budget. Should we be able to generate more than needed it will be held for the following year's team. Should we fall short or have to cancel for any reason, all funds will be returned. We do have the assistance of the Dayton Amateur Radio Association as a 501C-3 organization, so donations may be tax deductable. Contributing donors may have their logo and or name/call on the QSL card.

We are trying to develop a website but until then more info may be obtained from the team leaders at the following e-mail addresses and phones. Thank you and we hope we can count on your support.

Don DuBon, N6JRL - n6jrl@aol.com 937-298-9052
Dave Kalter, KB8OCP - Kb8ocp@yahoo.com 937-603-9707

Z2, ZIMBABWE
Mirek, VK6DXI, will be active as Z21DXI between February 5­13th. He is in Bulawayo on a business trip, so activity will be limited to possibly his night time hours. QSL via SP5UAF.

ZA, ALBANIA
Franck, F4DTO, announced that he and one other newly licensed operator named Patrick (callsign pending) will be active as ZA/homecall from Elbasan between April 15­24th. Activity will be on 40­10m, mostly SSB with some CW, using 100 watts and monobander antennas. They also plan to be active from other locations and several summits using the the callsigns ZA/homecall/p. QSL via their home callsign, direct or by the French Bureau. For updates, watch (QRZ.com) (F4DTO) or Franck's Web page 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

Additional Bulletins for OPDX InterNet Subscribers

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