The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 978.1
BID: $OPDX.978.1
September 27, 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 and Jim Linton/VK3PC for the following DX information.

For immediate release...
Countdown to The Spratlys - 27 September 2010

With 100 days to go before DX0DX hits the ham bands there is mounting interest in making contact with the DX Special Entity, The Spratlys, over three weeks 6-24 January 2011.

DXpedition Team Leader, Chris Dimitrijevic VK3FY - DU8/VK3FY said "With equipment starting to arrive in the Philippines including the Titanex V160E vertical the excitement is mounting.

"Currently 31 operators are confirmed while a number of positions are still available should any DX operator wish to join the team.

"The authority given to the DXpedition permits a maximum of 30 operators on the island at the same time. With the DXpeditioners assigned to three separate groups on the island for different durations, the total numbers can exceed 30."

While set to maximise the QSOs the DXpedition includes medical doctors who are also making a humanitarian contribution to the island.

This is acknowledged in a 'Certificate of prior approval and consent' from the Municipality of Kalayaan, dated 14 September setting out the duration and nature of the DX0DX operation.

It is signed by the Mayor Eugenio B. Bito-Onon Jr, who is very welcoming of the DXpedition and states on the Certificate "The Municipality of Kalayaan is also in favor of the humanitarian medical mission, to provide medical checkup of all the island's inhabitants."

In other news, ICOM has announced that DX0DX will have the new IC-9100 available for the VHF/UHF station. It will be fitted with a UX-9100 23cm module. This transceiver is to be coupled to M2inc yagi's on 6m, 2m, 70cm & 23cm.

For the sought after 6m band the antenna is the 6m7 while the 2m radiator is the 2m9ssb. These two bands will supported by the OM2006 6m amplifier and 2m with a Commander 1kW amplifier.

Also there will be beverage complete systems supplied by HiZ Antennas, which Chris VK3FY - DU8/VK3FY said, "Should provide great ears for the low bands, which is an area DX0DX will be concentrating on."

An interesting development is that some of the DXpeditioners have been downsizing through weight loss, their destination has also gotten smaller in recent years under the ravages of sea erosion.

The team, and in particular the DX0DX Station Layout Coordinator David Collingham K3LP, is awaiting the results of a new photographic high-tide survey of the latest beach conditions where the various operating camps are to be relocated.

Chris VK3FY - DU8/VK3FY said a dozen operators are tasked as an advance crew with setting up four camps on the island to enable DX0DX to have a big presence on the bands.

The CW camp is at the northern edge of the island while SSB operating will be in the south, with the other two being dedicated for RTTY/Digital and VHF/UHF.

The DX0DX.Net website online survey, after 4,600 votes, currently has 160m as the most desired band for this top forty wanted DX entity. A TITANEX V160E vertical with a minimum of 32 radials will be erected for that band right on the beach. The intended frequencies are 1824 (CW) and 1840 (SSB).

The 80m band is also highly sought and CW (3504) and SSB (3790) signals on that band will radiated from two independent 4-square antenna arrays.

The other HF bands, including the WARC '79 allocations, are fairly even in the online survey. The 6m band has a relatively strong demand and a 7-element beam is to be used for contacts on the magic band.

In relation to the preferred modes, the survey has CW remaining in the highest demand. This is of no surprise to the operators assigned to the CW camp.

With 1,400 votes cast so far, SSB and RTTY a steady in second and third place respectively, with PSK31 attracting 7% of the votes which although low will still yield thousands of contacts.

The recently announced addition of moon bounce to DX0DX also has the EME exponents thinking about the possibilities.

Funding support and individual contributions towards this major DXpedition continue to arrive and are gratefully acknowledged on the website.

Jim Linton VK3PC
Public Affairs DX0DX
http://www.dx0dx.net.au

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