The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 1201
BID: $OPDX.1201
February 9, 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, K2PF, NG3K & ADXO, W3UR & The Daily DX, WK3N, AA4NC, N4AA & QRZ DX, W4DN, WB5CRG, K8YSE, W8GEX & 60m News, DL7UXG & The DX News Letter, DL1SBF, DxCoffee.com, DXNews.com, DX-World.Net, ES1CW, F5NQL, F6AJA & Les Nouvelles DX, HA0HW, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, I2MQP & DX Italia News, IZ4AKS, OZ6OM & 50 MHz DX News, PT7WA, RSGB IOTA Web Site, Sixitalia Weekly, VA3RJ & ICPO, and the VHF-DX-Portal (MMMonVHF) for the following DX information.

DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT
According to the AR-Cluster Network for the week of Sunday, 1st/February, through Sunday, 8th/February there were 222 countries active. Countries available: 3A, 3B8, 3B9, 3D2, 3DA, 3V, 3W, 3X, 4J, 4L, 4O, 4S, 4U1I, 4X, 5B, 5H, 5R, 5W, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7Q, 7X, 8P, 8R, 9A, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9M2, 9M6, 9Q, 9V, 9Y, A3, A4, A6, A7, A9, AP, BV, BY, C3, C5, C6, CE, CE0Y, CE9, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, CY0, D2, D4, DL, DU, E4, E5/s, E6, E7, EA, EA6, EA8, EA9, EI, EK, EP, ER, ES, EU, EX, EY, EZ, F, FG, FJ, FK, FM, FO, FR, FS, FW, 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, J8, JA, JT, JW, JY, K, KG4, KH0, KH2, KH6, KH8, KL, KP1, KP2, KP4, LA, LU, LX, LY, LZ, OA, OD, OE, OH, OH0, OJ0, OK, OM, ON, OX, OY, OZ, P2, P4, PA, PJ2, PJ4, PJ5, PJ7, PY, PZ, S0, S5, S7, SM, SP, ST, SU, SV, SV5, SV9, T7, T8, TA, TF, TG, TI, TJ, TK, TR, TT, TU, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V2, V3, V4, V5, V7, V8, VE, VK, VP2E, VP2V, VP5, VP8, VP8/h, VP9, VR, VU, XE, XU, XW, YA, YB, YI, YL, YN, YO, YS, YU, YV, 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".

3G0, JUAN FERNANDEZ ISLAND (Update to OPDX.1193/1197/1199)
Members of the Provins ARC (F6KOP) will activate Robinson Crusoë Island (SA-005, aka Juan Fernandez Archipelago) as 3G0ZC between February 24th and March 4th (not February 20th and March 8th). A team of 23 operators plan to be active with 8 stations on the air on 160-6 meters, using SSB, CW and the Digital modes.

Operators mentioned are Alain/F5JTV (Team Leader), Tony/ F8ATS (Co-Leader), Jean-Luc/F1ULQ (Co-Leader), Norbert/DJ7JC, Heye/DJ9RR, Mark/EI6JK, Dave/EI9FBB, Ark/EI9KC, Patrick/F2DX, Jimi/F4DLM, Michel/F5EOT, Raymond/F5MFV, Xavier/F5NTZ, Antoine/F5RAB, Stéphane/F5UOW, John/F5VHQ, Gilles/F6IRA, Jack/M0PLX, Günther/OE3GCU, Karl/OE3JAG, François/ON4LO, Eric/ON7RN and Kenneth/OZ1IKY. Their off-island team includes Roberto/CE3CT, and Pedro/CE3FZ. Pilot stations are Col/MM0NDX (EU), John/K6MM (NA/SA) and André/V51B (AS/AF).

QSL via F1ULQ, direct or by the Bureau. Also QSL via LoTW and ClubLog's OQRS (direct/Bureau). The 3G0ZC Web site is now available online at:

5J, SAN ANDRES ISLAND
Joe, LU1FM, will be active as 5J0B from San Andres Island between March 21st and April 4th. Activity will be on 160-6 meters using SSB and the Digital modes. He also plans to participate in CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 28-29th). QSL via his home callsign.

9N, NEPAL
Three Polish operators will activate Kathmandu, Nepal between March 18-30th. The callsign will be announced later. Operators mentioned are Bogdan/SP2FUD, Janusz/SP9FIH and Rafal/SQ9CNN. More details will be forthcoming. Watch:

9X, RWANDA
Carl, SM6CPY, will be active as 9X0PY from Kigali between February 10th and March 2nd. Activity will be on 20-10 meters, possibly 160-40 meters. QSL via his home callsign, by the Bureau or direct (w/3 USDs and SAE).

A6, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Andy, DK5ON, will be active as A6/DK5ON between March 18-27th. Activity will be on 40-10 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY and PSK31. QSL via his home callsign, direct or by the Bureau.

AAW NEWS (Get Ready To Join The Fun)
The 12th annual Antarctic Activity Week (AAW) begins Monday, February 16th, and runs to 2400 UTC Sunday, February 22nd. Look for 25 special event stations world-wide to be available for you to work. Each has its own super special QSL card available. Check www.wapon.it for the list of stations, QSL routes and attractive awards. The real purpose of the event is to foster interest in the Antarctic region and its matters.

Team WK3N/AAW will once again be participating from WAP #192. Team members this year include K0ZP, KA3LUN, KE3JP, KM3P, K8ME and WK3N. Modes will be CW, SSB and RTTY. The WK3N/AAW special QSL depicts a rare photo of the South Pole Station being built in 1956. A copy of the QSL is proudly on display at KC4AAA. For more info, see:

AH0, MARIANA ISLANDS
Kazu, JH8PHT, will once again be active as AH0KT from the Saipan Rental Shack on Saipan Island, Northern Mariana Island (OC-086, USI NI002S, WLOTA 1333) between March 11-15th. Activity will be on the HF bands and 6 meters (WW Loc QK25uf), using CW, SSB, the Digital modes and 10m AM & FM (29.600 MHz only). QSL via his home callsign.

C5, THE GAMBIA
Luc, F5RAV, will once again be active as as C5LT from Kololi between October 20-27th. Activity will be on 40-10 meters using SSB, RTTY and possibly CW. Operations will also include the CQWW DX SSB Contest (October 24-25th) possibly with a shorter callsign. QSL direct only via F5RAV.

DU, PHILIPPINES
Hannes, OE3SGU, will once again be active as DU1/OE3SGU from Luzon Island (OC-042) and possibly from other Philippine IOTAs between March 25th and April 20th. Activity will be holiday style on 40-6 meters using mainly CW, SSB and some Digital modes. QSL via LoTW, by ClubLog's OQRS or by the Bureau.

E6, NIUE
Operators Kanno/JA2AAU, Iku/JA2ATE, Iwao/JA2LSS and Mori/JA2ZS will be active as E6NK, E6TE, E6SS and E6ZS, respectively, from Namukulu between May 15-25th. Activity will be on 160-6 meters using CW, SSB and the Digital modes. QSL via JA2ZS.

EE8, CANARY ISLANDS
Operator Felipe, NP4Z, will once again be active as EE8Z from the Los Chachos Contest Club during the ARRL International DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as Single-Op/All-Band entry. QSL via N4AO or LoTW.

FT5X, KERGUELEN ISLAND
Word has it that a major DXpedition to Kerguelen Island (AF-048) will take place sometime November/December this year. More details will be forthcoming.

HB0, LIECHTENSTEIN
Laci, HA7JTR, is planning to be active again from Masescha (1240 meters above sea level), Liechtenstein, as HB0/HA7JTR between February 24th and March 2nd. Activity will include participation in the CQWW 160m SSB Contest (February 27th-March 1st). Outside the contest, Laci will be operating "holiday style" on 160-10 meters using an Inverted-L and GP. His activity depends on the weather circumstances. QSL via HA7JTR (see QRZ.com for address).

HC, ECAUDOR
Bill, W0OR, will be active as HC1WDT from Cotacachi during the ARRL International DX CW Contest (February 21-22nd) as a Single-Op/ All-Band (160-10m) entry. See QRZ.com for QSL details.

HR, HONDURAS
Will, AA4NC, will be active as HR5/AA4NC from Honduras between February 17-25th. He will be operating as a Single-Operator entry in the ARRL International DX CW Contest (February 21-22nd). Outside of the contest, operations will be focused on RTTY, CW, and SSB on 160-6 meters. QSL via AI4U for direct cards. Logs will be uploaded to LoTW.

IOTA NEWS
AF-032. (Update) Operators YL Elvira/IV3FSG ad Carlo/IK6CAC will be active as 5H1ES and 5H1OC, respectively, from Zanzibar Island between February 18th and March 11th. Activity will be holiday style on the HF bands using CW, SSB and the Digital modes. They are there as a voluntary operators of the Informatici Senza Frontiere, so their activity will be limited to their free time (A Humanitarian DXpedition). QSL 5H1OC via IK6CAC and 5H1ES via IK3GES. Depending of their access to have Internet, their logs will be online, either at www.ik6cac.com and ClubLog's OQRS in realtime or when Interet is reachable. Logs will be uploaded also to LoTW, eQSL, ClubLog and HamQTH.

EU-047. Robert, DK2RO, will be active from Spiekeroog Island (DID/GIA N-08) between February 15-20th. Activity will be on 40-10 meters CW using IC-7200 w/100w into a homemade dipole and a symmetrical tuner. Operation will be as time permits. The island is part of the Wadden Sea World Heritage Site by the UNESCO and the Wittbülten National Park. Robert also plans to activate the National Park and Nature Reserve Lower Saxony Wadden Sea (WWFF DLFF-010) as DK2RO/p. QSL via DK2RO, by the Bureau or direct. All QSOs will be uploaded to LOTW. For update, see:

NA-072. Members of the Colon DX Group will be active as H91T from Taboga Island between February 27th and March 1st. Activity will be on 40-10 meters. QSL via HP2BWJ. For updates, watch: http://colondxgroup.webs.com

OC-274. (New IOTA) Starting sometime mid-February, three Indonesian operators will be active from Lucipara Island which has never been activated before. Callsign has not yet been announced. Activity will be on the HF bands. More details will be forth- coming.

OC-296. (NEW IOTA) Operators Claudio/I1SNW, Nando/IT9YRE and Mike/K9AJ will activate Tobi Island, Palau, as T88GI, T88TI and T88XX, respectively, between March 11-13th. They plan to have 3 stations on the air operating CW and SSB. Pilot station is Alfio, IT9EJW. QSL T88TI via IT9YRE. QSL T88GI via I1SNW. QSL T88XX via K9AJ. QSLs are preferred through ClubLog's OQRS. Look for logs to be uploaded after the DXpedition. For more details and updates, watch: http://www.it9yre.it/t88

SA-027. (Update to OPDX.1200) CW operator PY2XB (PR5X) can not go with the group that will activate Paz Island between February 19-23rd. Operations will be limited to SSB and Digital modes by PR5P (PT2OP) and ZW5WIM (PU5IKE). QSL via their home callsigns.

2015 IOTA ACTIVATIONS
Imam, YB4IR, announced that he plans to activate the following island groups this year:

         OC-241 - Rote Island          OC-252 - Temajo Island
         OC-250 - Masalembu Island     OC-274 - Lucipara islands

IOTA TOUR
Christian, EA3NT, who will be one of the operators of VK7FG from Flinders Island (OC-195) between March 6-9th (see OPDX.1200), now plans to activate some of Solomon Islands IOTAs as H44NT on his own after the OC-195 operation. His tentative schedule is as follows:

March 11-14th — His target is Russell Islands (OC-168), not activated since 2001, if not then Florida Islands (OC-158).
March 15-16th - Bellona Island (OC-127), not activated since 2009.
ADDED NOTE - Christian will carry 2 batteries and solar panels to run his 100w radio in case there is no power available at any time of the day on any of the islands, especially on the Russell islands.
March 17-18th - Heading back to Sydney to fly home, Christian will stop over in Brisbane and try to activate one of the islands in the OC-137 IOTA group signing as VK4/EA3NT.

J64, ST. LUCIA (Special Event)
Look for members of the J6DX Group to activate special event station J64SLI/36 between February 21-23rd. The special callsign is to celebrate St. Lucia 36th anniversary of Independ- ence. Activity will be on the HF bands using CW, SSB and the Digital bands. The team will be running QRP with 5 watts, using Buddipoles in a variety of configurations, all directly on the beach. QSL via WB5Q.

K1N NAVASSA DXPEDITION NEWS
The K1N DXpedition is now in full DXpedition mode after the team had to endure hot temperatures (116 F) and rain. There have been a few logging problems, but N2OO states that they will be corrected. Looks like you have about 5-6 days left to work them. The team worked over 70k QSOs on Sunday. As this was being written on Sunday, the log states as of February 8th at 0323z, they have made 68808 QSOs with 21689 Unique callsign (37440/CW, 26350/SSB and 5018/RTTY). Breakdown by Continents: 496/AF, 1/AN, 2884/AS, 17955/EU, 45248/NA, 603/OC and 1621/SA.

QSL via N2OO, direct (Navassa 2015 DXpedition, c/o Bob N2OO, PO Box 345, Tuckerton, NJ 08087) or by the Bureau (via N2OO c/o the W2 QSL Bureau). An OQRS is available via ClubLog for both direct and Bureau QSLs. Also, QSL via LoTW (Sooner rather than later). It was announced during the week- end that a 6 meter beacon is now up and running on 50.103 CW. For updated news, watch

KH8, AMERICAN SAMOA
Ethan, K8GU, will once again be active as KH8/K8GU from Tutuila between February 20-27th. Operation will be limited by work responsibilities and conducted on a non-interference basis to one or more experiments which run from local afternoon to several hours before local sunrise. He hopes to be active for Europe on 40 and 80 meters on the gray line. Ethan will only run 100 watts, but he has a great QTH by the sea with almost 270 degrees of open ocean. He also plans to enter the ARRL DX Contest, probably as a Single-Op/Single-Band (15m) entry. QSL via LoTW or direct, Bureau to his home callsign.

MJ, JERSEY
Richard, M5RIC, had to cancel his MJ5RIC operation between February 11-16th. Reason was not provided.

P4, ARUBA
Howard, WA2NHA, will once again be active as P4/WA2NHA from Aruba (SA-036) between March 1-15th. Activity will be on 80-10 meters mainly CW. QSL via his home callsign.

PJ2, CURACAO
A group of operators will activate PJ2T, the Caribbean Contesting Consortium's (CCC) Signal Point Station on Curacao (SA-099, WLOTA LH-0942) during the ARRL International DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Multi-Single entry. QSL PJ2T via LoTW or W3HNK. Operators mentioned are John/K6AM, Chad/WE9V and Geoff/W0CG/PJ2DX. Look for operators to possibly be active before and after the contest using their own PJ2 callsign or PJ2/homecall callsigns. QSL via their home callsigns unless where indicated.

PROPAGATION FORECAST/REPORT (February 9-15th)

 Feb/09th AN      Feb/12th  AN      Feb/14th  AN
 Feb/10th AN      Feb/13th  AN      Feb/15th  AN
 Feb/11th AN


   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

QSL INFO AND NEWS

  QSL-INFO from DB0SDX (February 8th)
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------
  3Z51S via SP7SEW       EA6UP via EA6SK         KG4HI via WB2REM (d)
  3A/LY2KW via LY2KW     EA8/G3XAQ via G3SWH     KH6/VE7AHA via VE7AHA (d)
  5W7A via YT1AD         EG5ANT via EA5DY        OZ/DK1AX via DK1AX
  CO8LY via EA7ADH (d)   EI150ITU via EI6AL      V5/DL4MFM via DL4MFM
  CT8/OK2ZI via OK2ZI    FR5DZ via FR5DZ         YR90IARU via YO3KAA
  DP7BVBG via DF7AA      HF2015MARI via SQ3BKH   ZL1WND via ZL1SLO (B/d)
  DQ40AIX via DJ9KR      HL2ZIK via JE1XUZ       ZL7/F8FUA via F8FUA
    (e) eQSL only  (d) direct only   (B) Bureau only  (L) LoTW only
    (O) OQRS only  (C) ClubLog only

VK9DLX/VK9LM QSL STATUS. Chris, DL1MGB, writes: "Finally the direct QSLs which were applied through the OQRS on our website were sent by our QSL manager Mario DJ2MX. The reason for the delay was a discussion with the German Post about bulk mail, holiday of the contact persons and so on. So those letters should arrive sometime next week. So if you did Direct OQRS and you haven't received your QSLs after around 1.5 weeks, just let us know through our contact form on http://www.lordhowe2014.org. Mario will now work on the direct QSL cards which were sent by standard mail."

QSL RECEIVED VIA LoTW: 5B4AIF, 6K5BFZ, E6XG, EA1ET, ED1ET, EA8DBM, EP6T, HV0A, HZ1FI, J79SB, LY2TS, MA5DWW, PJ7/VA3QSL, T32RL, TG9AJR, UA9MA, UR5MID, XE2CQ, XW4ZW and YB8RW/P

QSLS RECEIVED VIA MAIL: 3B9/F4HAU, 5B4ZI, AH2/AB2RF, CE0Y/PG5M, E51HDJ, E51XIW, E6XG, J48TSL, JA0JHQ/VK9N, HV0A, TO4R, VK9/G7VJR, VP2ERJ, VP8AIB/100, VP8LP/100 and ZS8Z

QSLS RECEIVED VIA THE BUREAU: D44TBE, ES0/OH7KA, GB2ELH, II1ITA, IM0P, MR5BFL, R9CAC, TM0O and UA9CDV

RC70, EUROPEAN RUSSIA
Look for special events station RC70YC to be operating between February 7-22nd. Activity is to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Yalta Conference which was held between February 4-11th, 1945. QSL via the OQRS on ClubLog or direct via K2PF. A special free award will be available. Details can be found at QRZ.com.

T7, SAN MARINO
After a quite long time of inactivity, a brand new call- sign will be on the air from the Republic of San Marino during major contests throughout the year. The ARRSM members will operate as T7DX starting with the next CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 28-29th). The callsign will be active only during this contest season, a special QSL card in limited edition will be printed, and it will be available via direct from: A.R.R.S.M. Radio Club, P.O. Box 77 - 47890 San Marino, Rep. San Marino (via ITALY).

TI9, COCOS ISLAND (Reminder)
The boat trip to Cocos Island will be on February 14th, it takes 30 hours from Costa Rica so activity will probably start sometime on the 15th for 7days. The current operators are Dom/3Z9DX, Jorge/TI2HMJ, Przemek/SP8SIW and Dmitri/RA9USU. Pilot stations are ZL2TZE (Pacific), SP5MXZ (Europe), ZS4TX (Africa) and NR6M (USA). Two stations will be on the air operating 160­10 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. There "may be" some 6 meter activity. QSL via 3Z9DX direct or the OQRS on ClubLog only; (no need to send a paper card) and NO IRCs anymore (no exceptions). A survey/vote for bands/modes needs is available at the following Web page, as well as more details and updates, see:

VK0EK HEARD ISLAND DXPEDITION NEWS
Some major donations have been announced for this November 10th-December 22nd DXpedition. Read about them at:

* Major Grant from the German DX Foundation!
http://vk0ek.org/2015/02/04/major-grant-from-the-german-dx-foundation
* Generous Matching Fund Grant from the Oceania AR DX Group.
http://vk0ek.org/2015/02/05/generous-matching-fund-grant-from-the-oceania-ar-dx-group
* Matching Fund Grant by Steve Hammer, K6SGH. http://vk0ek.org/2015/02/06/matching-fund-grant-by-steve-hammer-k6sgh
Other news mentioned:
* KK6EK Visits with Team and Friends in New Zealand!
http://vk0ek.org/2015/02/07/kk6ek-visits-with-team-and-friends-in-new-zealand
* KK6EK Meets with Chris, ZL2DX in New Zealand!
http://vk0ek.org/2015/02/08/kk6ek-meets-with-chris-zl2dx-in-new-zealand

ZF, CAYMAN ISLANDS
Operators John/K6AM, Dan/N6MJ and Kevin/N5DX will be active as ZF1A from Grand Cayman Island (NA-016, WLOTA LH-1042) during the ARRL INTERNATIONAL CW Contest (February 21-22nd) as a Multi-Single entry. QSL via K6AM, direct, by the W6 Bureau or LoTW.

TO BE ADDED TO THE OPDX MAILING LIST -- Click or send requests to:
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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 NORTHERN OHIO DX ASSOCIATION'S WEB HOME PAGE:
http://www.nodxa.org
http://www.facebook.com/NorthernOhioDxAssociation