OPDX Bulletin 1200 February 2, 2015

The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 1200
BID: $OPDX.1200
February 2, 2015
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 & W1AW, NG3K & ADXO, W3UR & The Daily DX, N4AA & QRZ DX, W4VQ, WW4LL, N5PG, WB6RSE, K8GI, K8PGJ, K8YSE, W8GEX & 60m News, DL7UXG & The DX News Letter, DL1SBF, DxCoffee.com, DXNews.com, DX-World.Net, ES1CW, F5NQL, F6AJA & Les Nouvelles DX, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, I2MQP & DX Italia News, IK7JWY, OH2YY, OZ6OM & 50 MHz DX News, Pete Rayer (ISWL), PT7WA, RSGB IOTA Web Site, Sixitalia Weekly, VA3RJ & ICPO, the VHF-DX-Portal (MMMonVHF) and VK2HV for the following DX information.

DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT
According to the AR-Cluster Network for the week of Monday, 26th/January, through Monday, 2nd/February there were 220 countries active. Countries available: 3A, 3B8, 3B9, 3V, 3W, 4J, 4L, 4O, 4S, 4U1I, 4X, 5B, 5H, 5R, 5W, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7Q, 7X, 8P, 9A, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9M2, 9M6, 9N, 9V, 9Y, A3, A4, A6, A7, A9, AP, BV, BV9P, BY, C3, C5, C6, CE, CE9, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, CY0, D2, D4, DL, DU, E4, E5/s, E7, EA, EA6, EA8, EA9, EI, EK, EL, EP, ER, ES, ET, EU, EX, EY, EZ, F, FG, FK, FM, FO, FR, FS, FW, 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, J5, J6, J7, JA, JT, JW, JX, JY, K, KG4, KH0, KH2, KH6, KL, KP2, KP4, LA, LU, LX, LY, LZ, OA, OD, OE, OH, OJ0, OK, OM, ON, OX, OY, OZ, P2, P4, PA, PJ2, PJ4, PJ5, PJ7, PY, PZ, S0, S5, S7, S9, SM, SP, SU, SV, SV/a, SV5, SV9, T32, T33, T7, TA, TF, TG, TI, TJ, TK, TR, TT, TY, TZ, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V2, V3, V4, V5, V6, V8, VE, VK, VP2E, VP2V, VP5, VP8, VP8/h, VP9, VR, VU, XE, XU, XW, YA, YB, YI, YL, YN, YO, YS, YU, YV, Z2, Z3, 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".

5Z, KENYA
Nick, G3RWF, will once again be active as 5Z4LS from Nairobi between March 5-18th. Activity will be on 80-10 meters using mostly CW. His operations will also include the ARRL International DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) and Commonwealth Contest [BERU - British Empire Radio Union] (March 14-15th). Nick states,

"I first hit the airwaves with the call in September 1968, but unfortunately I have been unable to trace either my quad or the linear I left behind when I left. I shall however be taking both my KPA500 and hexbeam this trip."

QSL via his home callsign.

6Y, JAMAICA
Yuri, VE3DZ, is once again active as 6Y2T from Jamaica (NA-097) between February 17-24th. Activity will include the ARRL Inter- national DX CW Contest (February 21-22nd) as a Single-Op/All-Band entry. Operations outside of the contest will be on 160-10 meters, including the 30/17/12 meter bands and using CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL via VE3DZ.

9Q, DEM. REP. OF CONGO (Update to OPDX.1193)
The "Radioamateur Association of the Democratic Republic of Congo" (ARAC) has invited the "Italian DX- pedition Team" for a short stay in Kinshasa during March 2015. The IDT will be active as 9Q0AR and the dates have now been announced - March 10-25th. QSL via I2YSB only direct. A OQRS is available via their Web page. As usual, the official Web site is: http://www.i2ysb.com/idt A dedicated 9Q0HQ Survey form has been added to the Web page. The results will be used in the planning of activity on the various bands.

A35, TONGA (Early Announcement)
Tom, KC0W, will be active from the Island of Tonga between January 15th and February 15th, 2016. He has applied for the callsign A35COW. Activity will be on 160/80/40 meters CW only using 500 watts and beverages. His focus will be on 160m for Europe. QSL via KC0W.
ADDED NOTE: Tom is now active as HH5/KC0W until February 3rd.

CARIBBEAN TOUR. ZF2, CAYMAN ISLANDS
Jim, W8ERI, will once again be active from the Caribbean in early May. His schedule is as follows:

May 2-8th -- Jamaica (NA-097); callsign 6Y5/W8ERI
May 9-15th -- Grand Cayman (NA-016); callsign ZF2ZL

Activity will be on 80-10 meters mainly SSB. QSL via his home callsign.

D4, CAPE VERDE
Henning, OZ1BII, will be active as D44EE from Praia Santa Maria - Santiago between February 19-24th. Activity will be on 160-10 meters CW only using a Elecraft K3 w/100 watts into a TA-33 (30/17/12m), 2 element 40m beam and 110 ft Long Wire. He plans to be in the ARRL International DX CW Contest. QSL via his home callsign, direct or by the Bureau, also, via LoTW, eQSL and ClubLog's OQRS. For more details and updates, watch:

http://www.oz1bii.dk/dx-d44ee.htm

FJ, ST. BARTHELEMY
Operators Lori/KB2HZI, Pat/N2IEN, Ray/W2RE and Lee/ WW2DX will be active as FJ/homecall from a villa on St. Barthelemy (NA-146, DIFO FJ-001, WLOTA 0377) between February 11-17th. Activity will be on 160-6 meters. QSL via the operator's instructions.

FS, ST. MARTIN
John, K9EL, will once again be active as FS/K9EL from St. Martin (NA-105, DIFO FS-001, WLOTA 0383, WW Loc. FK88) between May 28th and June 16th. Activity will probably be on 160-6 meters. He will be running 500 watts into a 3 element yagi on 6m, dipoles for 10-30m and a vertical for 40-80m. John will operate on 60m if there is interest. Usually there are daily uploads to ClubLog and LoTW. QSL via his home callsign or on ClubLog's OQRS. His operating frequencies (except during contests) will be announced in real time via Twitter at:

H4, SOLOMON ISLANDS (Reminder)
Bernhard, DL2GAC, will once again be active as H44MS on a DX vacation to Honiara, Guadalcanal (WLOTA 0086), Solomon Islands (OC-047), between February 1st and April 30th (2015). Activity will be on 80-6 meters SSB only. QSL via his home callsign, by the Bureau or direct.

HI, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Operators Tino/HI3CC, Lorenzo/HI3LFE, Edwin/HI3K, Franky/HI3TT, Alfredo/HI8K, Marcos/NP2KM and Jamie/WP3A will be active as HI3K from Loma del Toro in the CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 28-29th) as a Multi-Single/Low-Power entry. QSL via KB2MS. NO Bureau QSLs.

HR, HONDURAS
Gerard, F2JD, will be back to Copan between February 20th and May 14th. He will be active, as usual, HR5/F2JD on the all HF bands on CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL via F6AJA, direct or by the REF Bureau. The logs will be uploaded on the http://lesnouvellesdx.fr/voirlogs.php Web page.

IOTA NEWS
AF-032. Carlo, IK6CAC will, be active as 5H1OC from Zanzibar Island between February 19th and March 11th. Activity will be holiday style on the HF bands using CW and SSB. He is there as a voluntary operator of the Informatici Senza Frontiere, so his activity will be limited to his free time. QSL via his home callsign. Depending of the possibily to have Internet, his log will be online at www.ik6cac.com in realtime or when Interet is reachable. Log will be uploaded also to LoTW, eQSL, ClubLog and HamQTH.

AS-074. Members of the Melaka DX Club and KL DX Team (total of 16 ops) will be active as 9M4SI from Indah Island between February 7-9th. Activity will be on 40-10 meters using CW, SSB and the Digital modes. QSL via 9M2YOT direct only. An OQRS by ClubLog will be available.

EU-038. Operators Frank/PA3GWN (PC2D) and friends Monique/DO3MKT, William/DO3WKS, Rudi/PA4UNX, Gerard/PA7CW and Arnold/PD2C will be active as PC2D from Ameland Islands during the Dutch PACC Contest (February 14-15th) with callsign PC2D. The group will be on the island between February 13-16th. Outside of the contest, operators will use their own callsigns and activity on all bands, 160-10 meters using CW and SSB. Contest QSOs made with PC2D will be confirmed via LoTW and via the Bureau. QSOs with individual callsigns will be answered according to the QSL information detailed on QRZ.com. For updates, watch the PC2D QRZ.com page or follow Frank on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Pa3gwn

OC-195. Operators Christian/EA3NT, Chris/VK3FY and Tim/VK4HFO will be active as VK7FG from Flinders Island between March 6-9th. Activity will be on 80-10 meters, depending on the propagation, running three stations with yagi beams and amps. It’s possible they will also try 160 or 6m depending on propagation. QSL via M0OXO.

SA-027. Operators Orlando/PT2OP, Fred/PY2XB and Jose/PU5IKE will be active as PR5P, PR5X, and ZW5WIM, respectively, from Paz Island (DIB SC-07, ARLHS BRA-137, WLOTA L-1983 and DFB SC-01) between February 19-23rd. Activity will be on all HF bands, depending on the propagation, using CW, SSB and Digital modes. QSL PR5P via PT2OP, direct preferred. QSL PR5X via PT7WA. QSL ZW5WIM via PU5IKE, direct or Bureau and LoTW.

ISWL CALLSIGNS (For February)
The following ISWL club callsigns will be used throughout the month of February 2015:

GX4BJC/A - Operated from Walton-on-the-Naze, in Essex, by Herbie, G6XOU. (/A WAB Square TM22 - England, IOTA EU-005, WLOTA 1841). Herbie will also operate as GX4BJC/P during the month and will give his WAB square if requested.
MS1SWL/A - Operated from Falkirk, in Stirlingshire, by Brian, GM4XQJ. (/A WAB Square NS97 - Scotland, IOTA EU-005, WLOTA 1234).

ALL QSLs will be handled by Herbie, G6XOU, and NOT the individual operator. The I.S.W.L. is a member of the European PSK Club. All QSL info is on www.iswl.org.uk or QRZ.com or via www.eQSL.cc. NO LoTW. I.S.W.L. Awards are available to all Hams and SWLs, see www.iswl.org.uk for full details. The eQSL.cc cards ARE welcomed for their awards.

J3, GRENADA
Operators YL Anna/W6NN and Rich/KE1B will be active as J38NN and J38MM, respectively, from Grenada (NA-024, WLOTA 0718) between May 23-31st. Activity will probably be "holiday-style" using a single station with 100w and a Buddipole antenna system. Operations will be on all bands 40-10 meters (including 30/17/12m), and all modes (CW/SSB/RTTY). If they have Internet access, they will probably upload logs to ClubLog daily. You can check your QSO status and request a QSL card via the Online QSL Request System (OQRS). Direct QSLs are via their home callsign (see QRZ.com for details). Also, by the Bureau, LoTW and eQSL.

K1N NAVASSA DXPEDITION NEWS
Probably by the time you read this, the K1N DXpedition should be on the air. A team of three operators (George/N4GRN, Glenn/W0GJ and Jerry WB9Z) landed on the island during their afternoon January 31st. This was the only flight for that day. Flights were expected to resume on Sunday at first light, and they felt that they should get most of the material and men ashore on February 1st. Building the camp will be time-consuming and labor-intensive, but they hope be able to get one or two stations on the air Sunday evening. It will be another day or so before they are fully operational on all bands. All of the K1N spots posted on Saturday were PIRATES! For updated news, watch . If any serious news is reported, OPDX will issue a special bulletin. The team should be there until February 14th.

KH2, GUAM
Take, JI3DST/JS6RRR, will once again be active as KH2/JS6RRR from Guam (OC-026, USI GU003S, WLOTA L-0064) between March 19-23rd. Activity will be on 160-6 meters using CW, SSB, FM, RTTY and PSK31. QSL via JS6RRR via the Bureau.

KH9, WAKE ISLAND (Special Callsign/Event)
Mike, AG6IP, will be active as K6W on Wake Island (OC-053) between September 4-19th. His operation is to celebrate the 70th anniversary/memorial of the "End Battle of Wake Island"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wake_Island Activity will be on 80-6 meters SSB. Look for more details to be forth- coming.

PJ4, BONAIRE
Chas, NK8O/VE3ISD, will be active as PJ4/NK8O from Bonaire (SA-006, WLOTA LH-1279) between March 17th and April 13th. His activity will be with 5 watts and on 20-10 meters (maybe 40m) CW. QSL via LoTW and eQSL.

PROPAGATION FORECAST/REPORT (February 2-8th)

 Feb/02nd HN      Feb/05th  AN      Feb/07th  AN
 Feb/03rd BN      Feb/06th  AN      Feb/08th  AN
 Feb/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

REALTIME BAND CONDITIONS WEB SITE http://www.bandconditions.com:
The purpose of this experimental Web site is to provide 24-7-365 actual (REALTIME) band condition information to CW QRPp, QRPe and CW/SSB for Contesters interested in increasing their scores. It can also be of benefit to other Radio Amateurs to determine band conditions for Nets and casual QSO's. This information is NOT based on any software pre- dictions or any kind of satellite based readings. It is based on a new Ionospheric sounding method called "HF Ionospheric Interferometry" which operates very similarly to the PolSAR system used by NASA.

PZ, SURINAME
Peter, PA1LP, will once again be active as PZ5LP from Nieuw Nickerie between March 5th and June 5th. Activity will be on 80-10 meters, mostly on SSB and the Digital modes. He will use a FT-857 w/100 watts into a G5RV, LDG Z100 antenna tuner and Signalink. QSL via eQSL.

QSL INFO AND NEWS

  QSL-INFO from DB0SDX (February 1st)
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------
  4L8A via K1BV (L)         FW5JJ via F5RXL (d)    PA90IARU via PA0RSM
  4L4ZA via DJ1CW           HK1MK via DL6IAK       PQ8/PY8WW via PY8WW
  5B/LA9BM via LA9BM        II8FC via IZ8XJJ       PY2/VA7UR via UR3LTE
  AX3CWB via VK3CWB         IY4FGM via I4KMW       S61PW via JH4PHW (d)
  AX5SFA via VK5SFA (d)     KH0/7N4SQJ via 7N4SQJ  TM39PVJ via F8GGZ
  CY0/VA1AXC via JE1LET (d) OA1/EA5NA (*)          VA3DYD/HR3 via VA3DYD
  DA0WCA via DL7RAG         OR1Z via ON6IX (d/e)   VP2V/N2IEN via N2IEN
    (e) eQSL only  (d) direct only   (B) Bureau only  (L) LoTW only
    (O) OQRS only  (C) ClubLog only
    (*) Jaime Camacho Marin,
        Ave. Guillermo Gullman
        898 Urb. San Jose
        Piura, Peru

QSL RECEIVED VIA LoTW: HV0A, P33W, VU4CB and VU4KV

QSLS RECEIVED VIA MAIL: 4W/N1YC, 5R8M, GJ8DX, HR9/WQ7R, KC4/K6REF, S01WS and SU0ERA

QSLS RECEIVED VIA THE BUREAU: 3D2ML, 3D2RX, 3DA0ET, 4L8A, 4N4CX, 4X/K2LS, 5B/KY7M, 5X4F, 6H6IRAU, 6W/AA1AC, 6Y6T, 6Y9X, 7Q7GM, 8Q7EJ, 9M2MRS, 9M2TO, 9X0NH, 9N7MD, A61Q/p, AL7CE, C6AAW, C6ATA, CX/N3NBA, D44TBE, E51NOU, EY8MM, GB75FOC, GC4FOC, GH4FOC, GN4FOC, GP4FOC, GS4FOC, GT4FOC, H44KW, J6/N7QT, FS/K9EL, K1T, KL7GS, KL7KK, KL7LT, KL7OH, KL7RHJ, KL7RMS, KL7VIC, KM1CC, K6VVA/KL7, MD/EB1BSV/P, N7ET/DU7, NH8S, P29NI, P29VPB, P29VPY, PJ4AA, PJ6/N7QT, PJ7/AF6WW, PP5BZ, PP5FO, RA/KE5JA, S79RR, T33A, TF/G3TXF, TX5D, TY1TT, VP2EAQ, VP2EAR, VP2MDG, VP9/AA1AC, VR1ONN, W1C, XP2I, YE30P, YO900ODT, YP10KQT, YR2WFF, Z81Z, ZD8X, ZD9XF, ZF2AH, ZF2LC, ZP5MAL, ZP6AA, ZP6VT and ZP6T

TI, COSTA RICA
Operators Eddie/K4UN, Juan/TI2JCY, Carlos/TI2KAC, Mauricio/ TI4ZM, Robert/W4BW, Keith/W4KTR and Alexis/W4XO will be active as TI5M from Poas Alajuela during the ARRL International DX SSB Contest (March 6-7th) as a Multi-? entry. QSL via TI2KAC. The TI5M callsign is the new callsign for the TI8M Contest Group due to a location change.

V5, NAMIBIA
Mario, DL4MFM, who was recently active as ZS6/DL4MFM from South Africa, is now active as V5/DL4MFM until February 4th. QSL via his home callsign. For updates, visit his FaceBook and Blog pages at:

https://www.facebook.com/dl4mfm http://www.adventureradio.de ADDED NOTE: The DX NewsLetter reports that after Mario's stay in Namibia, he will move back to South Africa and get on the air as ZS6/DL4MFM between February 7-8th. He hopes to activate Highest Point (SOTA ZT/GP-001) on the 7th and Magaliesberg (SOTA ZS/GP-008) on the 8th together with operators ZS8BNE, ZS6VL, ZU6BV, and ZU6M. QSL via DL4MFM, direct or by the Bureau.

V6, MICRONESIA
Operators Keith/GM4YXI (GM5X) and Chris/GM3WOJ (GM2V) will be active from Blue Lagoon Resort on Chuuk Island (OC-011) between March 27th and April 9th. Callsign has not been announced yet, but they applied for a short callsign. Flights and accommodation have been booked. Look for more details to be forthcoming.

VK9L, LORD HOWE ISLAND
Operators Pekka/OH1TV and Pekka/OH2YY will be active from Lord Howe Island (OC -004)between February 22-28th. Callsign has been applied for and will be announced later once it is confirmed. Activity will be mainly SSB, with some CW, using two K3 stations into 2 element yagis for 20-10m, dipoles for 40/30m and a 3 element yagi 6m. QSL via OH2YY or QSL Bureau of the SRAL.

VK9N, NORFOLK ISLAND
Operators Allen/VK7AN and David/VK7YUM will be active as homecall/VK9N from Norfolk Island (OC-005) between March 20-27th. Activity will be on 40-10 meters using SSB and the Digital modes. QSL via their home callsigns, by the Bureau or direct (see QRZ.comQRZ.com

VK0IR DXPEDITION BOOK (FREE!!!)
Rich, KY6R, reports on the VK0EK Web page: Imagine what it is like to go to Heard Island on a DX-pedition. With this FREE book, you can ride along with the team who activated Heard Island way back in 1997 - almost 20 years ago. Visit this link - and download your free book - and ride along on an adventure of a lifetime. Then get ready to ride along with the VK0EK Team - who will set sail for Heard Island in November, 2015!

http://www.heardisland.org/HD_documents/VK0IR/VK0IR_Book.PDF You can download this book to your Kindle or other PDF reading device or computer. The entire book is 100MB - so if you'd rather download chapters, please visit this page: http://www.heardisland.org/HD_pages/HD_book_VK%C3%98IR.html

VU4, ANDAMANS ISLANDS
Charly, HS0ZCW/K4VUD/VU3CHE, and a team are plan- ning to activate VU4 between between March 6-18th. This will be simple antennas and 100 watts operation. Their activity can be improved with loaned or donated gear if anyone wishes to help them. They are only looking for antennas and gear only, no cash for the operators. If you are interested to help, contact Charly at: hs0zcw@gmail.com
ADDED NOTE: The National Institute of Amateur Radio (NIAR), invites all radio amateurs to Port Blair (VU4) for the "Hamtech 2015", between March 6-7th. Special licenses are available for foreign visitors. All infor- mation is available at:

http://niar.org/downloads/niar-info.pdf

YB9, INDONESIA
Emmanuel, F5LIT, will be active as YB9/F5LIT from Bali between February 4-17th. Activity will be on 20-10 meters. QSL via F5LIT direct or LoTW. No QSLs via the Bureau.

ZL7, CHATHAM ISLANDS
Alain, F8FUA (ex-5U7NU, TZ6NU), will be active as ZL7/F8FUA from Chatham Islands (OC-038) between February 7-13th. Activity will be on HF bands using CW, SSB and RTTY. This will be a light operation using a K3 and a Buddipole. There will be NO Internet access in the "shack". He will upload log to LoTW and ClubLog whenever possible. Paper QSL cards are not printed yet! (expected in April 2015) No need to send your QSL card before April! QSL via F8FUA, direct (w/SAE + 2 USDs or 1 IRC [new one!]), by the Bureau or LoTW. NO eQSL!

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