OPDX Bulletin 1256 March 7, 2016

The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 1256
BID: $OPDX.1256
March 7, 2016
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, KK6EK, K8GG, K8GI, K8YSE, N8RO, W8GEX & 60m DX News, W0GJ, DL1SBF, DL7UXG & The DX News Letter, DxCoffee.com, DXNews.com, DX-World.Net, EA5GL, ES1CW, F5NQL, F6AJA & Les Nouvelles DX, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, I2MQP & DX Italia News, JI1LET, OH2BH, OZ6OM & 50 MHz DX News, RSGB IOTA Web Site, Sixitalia Weekly, VA3RJ & ICPO, and VHF-DX-Portal (MMMonVHF) for the following DX information.

EDITOR'S SPECIAL NOTICE
This week's bulletin was sent out earlier than normal to accommodate the late ARRL International DX SSB Contest announcements. Also, we wanted to provide the readers with a consolidated listing of the ARRL DX SSB Contest participants.

DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT
According to the AR-Cluster Network for the week of Friday, 26th/February, through Friday, 4th/March there were 227 countries active. Countries available: 3A, 3B8, 3B9, 3D2, 3DA, 3V, 3W, 3X, 4J, 4L, 4O, 4S, 4W, 4X, 5A, 5B, 5R, 5T, 5W, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7P, 7X, 8P, 8Q, 8R, 9A, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9L, 9M2, 9M6, 9N, 9Q, 9V, 9Y, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A9, AP, BV, BY, C2, C3, C6, C9, CE, CE9, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, 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, FJ, FK, FM, FO, FO/m, FP, FR, FS, FW, FY, G, GD, GI, GJ, GM, GU, GW, H4, HA, HB, HB0, HC, HH, HI, HK, HL, HP, HR, HS, HZ, I, IS, J6, J8, JA, JT, JW, JX, JY, K, KG4, KH0, 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, PJ4, PJ5, PJ7, PY, PZ, S0, S2, S5, S7, S9, SM, SP, ST, SU, SV, SV5, SV9, T32, T7, T8, TA, TF, TG, TI, TK, TN, TR, TT, TY, TZ, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V2, V3, V4, V5, V7, V8, VE, VK, VP2E, VP2M, VP2V, VP5, VP8, VP8/h, VP9, VR, VU, XE, YA, YB, YI, YJ, YK, YL, YN, YO, YS, YU, YV, Z2, Z3, ZA, ZB, ZD7, 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".

4S, SRI LANKA
Czech operators Jiri/OK1RI, Petr/OK1FFU, Jiri/OK1DO, Vladimir/OK1NY, Karel/OK1JKT, Vaclav/OK1VVT and Vit/OK5MM are now active as 4S7BBG from Sri Lanka (AS-003, NJ06AJ) until March 9th. Activity will be on 80-10 meters as well as EME activity on 2m and 70cm. QSL via OM2FY.

4S, SRI LANKA (Reminder)
A German team is now active as 4S7GWG and 4S7RTG from Amal Villa, Bentota, Sri Lanka (AS-003, NJ06AJ), in the southwest part of the island until March 18th. Operators mentioned are YL Heidi/DK1MA, Sid/DM2AYO, Rolf/DL7VEE, Dietmar/DL2HWA, Werner/DJ9KH, Georg/DL4SVA, Norbert/DL2RNS, Guenter/DL2AWG, Klaus/DK1AX and Juergen/DL3HRH. Activity will be holiday style on 40-6 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY with two stations on the air. Equipment will be 2x K3, KPA 500 and Expert 1k3. Antennas will be Spiderbeams and Verticals. Suggested frequencies are:
CW - 7026, 10119, 14026, 18086, 21026, 24906 and 28026 kHz
SSB - 7095/7182, 14210, 21275, 24955 and 28465 kHz
RTTY - 7046, 10137, 14090, 18099, 21090, 24918 and 28090 kHz
6m - 50120/CW and 50120/SSB

QSL via the OQRS on ClubLog (preferred). QSLs via the Bureau (takes much longer) or direct (NO IRCs) go to the following: 4S7GWG via DL2AWG only and 4S7RTG via DL7VEE only. For more details and updates, see:

http://4s.mydx.de

5J, SAN ANDRES (Reminder)
The Polish Team of operators announced that they would be active as 5J0P from San Luis, San Andres Island (NA-033), between March 6-21st. See OPDX.1247/1248. Activity will be on 160-6 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. They mention that they don’t collect QSL cards, so they strongly recommend using the Clublog's OQRS tools for Bureau and direct requests. QSL Manager is SP6IXF. For more details, updates, and to donate funds, see:

http://www.5j0p.com/en/home

7P, LESOTHO
Mathias, DJ2HD, is once again active as 7P8DJ from Lesotho until March 15th. This is part of his African 4x4 trip. Activity will be holiday style on CW, SSB and RTTY, on the HF bands. QSL via his home callsign, direct or by the Bureau.

8P, BARBADOS
Richard "Dick", G3RWL, will once again be active as 8P6DR from Barbados (NA-021) between March 29th and April 22nd. Activity will be holiday style on 80-10 meters using CW and some RTTY. QSL via his home callsign, direct or by the Bureau using ClubLog's OQRS. See QRZ.com for more QSL info.

9H, MALTA
Rene, DL2JRM, will once again be active as 9H3YY from Malta (EU-023) between March 6-9th. Activity will be on 80-10 meters using CW and SSB with 100 watts into a Vertical antenna. QSL via his home call- sign, direct or by the Bureau.

A3, TONGA
Hiro, JA6WFM, who will be in Tonga for the next two years, will be active as A31MM during the CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 26-27th) as a Single-Op/All-Band/Low-Power entry. QSL via EA5GL or LoTW.

BIRD NEWS (Texas Grids)
Ron, N8RO, states, that he will be on a short road trip next week, and he will activate the following grids in west Texas:
Tuesday March 8, Ft. Davis, TX DM80, FO-29 at ~1951 UTC
Wednesday March 9, Marfa, TX DM70, FO-29 at ~1857 UTC
Wednesday March 9, Presidio, TX DL79, FO-29 at ~2042 UTC
Thursday March 10, Terlingua, TX DL89, FO-29 at ~1946 UTC
Saturday March 12, Iraan, TX DM91, FO-29 at ~1942 UTC

If you need any of these grids or just want to say hello please give him a call.

C5, THE GAMBIA
Bogdan, SP2FUD, will be active as C5FUD from Brufut sometime between March and April. Activity will be in the HF bands using CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL via SP2FUD. Look for possible updates and more details at:

http://www.dxpeditions.org

C6, BAHAMAS
Bill, K1CN, is now active as C6AMM from Spanish Wells on Harbour Island (NA-01), just off the northern tip of Eleuthera, until April 3rd. Activity is holiday style on 40-6 meter using SSB (w/CW upon requests). QSL via K1CN direct or via EA5GL direct or by the Bureau.

COWS OVER THE WORLD (Update to OPDX.1249)
"The Daily DX" reported that Tom, KC0W, has moved his all-CW "Cows Over the World" DXpeditions for 2016 schedule up a little. Looks like Tom may start it next month with an operation from American Samoa. Daily DX states, "Tom will be operating as KH8/KC0W starting around April 11th, or possibly sooner. In the begin- ning of his stay on Tutuila Island (OC-045) he'll be operating from near Pago Pago on the east side of the island." He is expected to move around the island to accommodate different regions (EU/AS, NA/SA and EU/JA).

CR2, AZORES (Last CR2X Op)
Members of the Radio Arcala team will be active as CR2X during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 5-6th) as a Multi- Multi entry. QSL via OH2BH.

PRESS RELEASE BY MARTTI, OH2BH:
RADIO ARCALA FAREWELL PARTY IN THE AZORES -- CR2X IN THE 2016 ARRL DX SSB CONTEST -- Radio Arcala, OH8X, is an alliance of serious Finnish hams and their partners. They work on a novel set of concepts by utilizing the latest telecommunication technology for innovative Amateur Radio approaches by using contesting as a demonstration test bed and to push the envelope. By targeting youth, the group also hopes to attract newcomers into our fascinating science.

CR2X, the Radio Arcala station in the Azores, was established to serve those aims. It uses the advanced radio technology to push the European contesting bar to heights never before witnessed. They once did the same in the Canary Islands, some twenty-five years ago. Many of those EA8 records still stand. The CR2X project was to last 5 years, eventually being extended for some time to accommodate the strange behavior of sunspots in the present cycle. The project has taken all major EU contest records to a level that may last for some time. The CQWW/ARRL SOAB records were captured as the main target, further flanked by all single-band CW/SSB records in the ARRL DX contests.

For one final time, the Radio Arcala group is getting together in the Azores. They will modify the single-op station to run in a multi-multi setting, using the latest power splitting techniques with which three bands are served simultaneously by one antenna, both receive and transmit.

http://www.force12inc.com/products/complete-hf-20-15-10-meter-14-21-28-mhz-triplexer-system-by-4o3a.html
The CR2X operation in the 2016 ARRL SSB contest marks the inaugural use of such a slick station concept within a serious multi-multi operator contest effort. The group additionally plans on using the latest in RF power, sporting multiple Italian SPE 1.3 light weight amps. The farewell activity involves three (3) Azoreans: CU2BV, CU2CE and CU2DX, along with seven (7) Finns: OH2BH, OH2PM, OH2UA, OH6KN, OH6KZP, OH7EA and OH8NC.

The farewell activity is supported by Azorean hams: the recipients of thirty (30) hard-cover, 60-page books about their beautiful islands, Europe’s best radio location, will be drawn among the stations that contact CR2X on all six bands during this weekend’s ARRL DX SSB Contest. Special CR2X QSLs will be sent automatically from Radio Arcala's regular QSL address: via OH2BH.

DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME (DST)
Remember to change your clocks next weekend. Countries in the Northern Hemisphere (most of N. American and some of the Caribbean) who observe Daylight Saving Time, should change their clocks on Sunday, March 13th at 2:00 AM, and should move their "local clocks" forward 1 hour to 3:00:00 AM local time. Daylight Saving Time will end on Sunday, November 6th at 2:00 AM. European countries will switch to DST on March 27th. For the history and details about DST, as well as an interesting map of the world (showing the countries who observe DST), see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time
http://www.timeanddate.com/time/dst/2016.html
ADDED NOTES: Hopefully, all amateur radio operators know not to change their GMT/UTC/ZULU clocks. However, since most operators usually set their computers to local time, some may have to change their settings on "some" ham radio software (ex. logging, propagation, DXTelnet, etc..) programs.

DAYTON HAMVENTION NEWS (SWODXA Press Release). SWODXA DX DINNER ANNOUNCE- MENT
Dated March 1st, by Bill Salyers, AJ8B [edited] --
The SouthWest Ohio DX Association (SWODXA) has announced that "The Early Days of MFJ" will be the keynote topic for their 31st annual DX dinner. The dinner, held in conjunction with the 2016 Dayton Hamvention, will be on Friday, May 20th, 2016, at the Marriott Hotel in Dayton. Martin, K5FLU, will be the keynote speaker. With all of the activity surrounding the inter- national "Maker’s Faire", Martins' talk with be very timely! Martin F. Jue is founder, owner and president of MFJ Enterprises Inc. and owner of HyGain Antennas and Rotators, Cushcraft Amateur Antennas, Ameritron HF Amplifiers, and Mirage VHF/UHF Amplifiers and Vectronics. In 1972, he began his startup company, MFJ, which now manufactures more amateur radio products than any other company in the world. In 2007 and 2012, the company was named the Oktibbeha Industry of the Year. The com- pany began operations in a small rented hotel room in the old Stark Hotel in downtown Starkville, Mississippi. The company began marketing its products in October of 1972. The first product was a high selectivity audio filter that would enable a receiver to separate one Morse code signal from scores of other signals that were being transmitted over the radio airwaves.

For more information and to order dinner tickets, visit http://www.swodxaevents.org and follow us on Twitter (@SWODXA).

EF8, CANARY ISLANDS
Juan, EA8RM (ex-EA8CAC), will be active as EF8R during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 5-6th) as a Single-Op/All-Band/ Low-Power entry. QSL via LoTW or EB7DX.

FH, MAYOTTE
Mike, IK5ZUI, will be active as FH/IK5ZUI from Mayotte between now and March 10th. Activity will be on 40-10 meters using CW and SSB. QSL via IZ8CCW. Watch QRZ.com for possible updates.

FS, St. MARTIN ISLAND
Paul, W7NZJ, will once again be active as FS/W7NZJ from Orient Beach, St. Martin (NA-105, DIFO FS-001, WLOTA 0383) between March 18-28th. Activity will be on 20-10 meters on the Digital modes only, using an Icom 706 with 100w into a 20m dipole and Buddistick. QSL via eQSL.

FY, FRENCH GUIANA. Marc, F1HAR, will be active as FY5KE during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 5-6th) as a Single-Op/Single-Band (15m) entry. QSL via LoTW or direct to FY1FL. NO MORE QSLs by the Bureau. H40 & H44, TEMOTU PROVINCE AND SOLOMON ISLANDS (Update to OPDX.1255)
Stan, LZ1GC, who will be active from Temotu Province as H40GC and the Solomon Islands as H44GC between September 24th and October 21st, will now be joined by Emil, DL8JJ (LZ2EN).

IOTA NEWS
AS-142. Operators Vasily/R7AL and XYL Anastasia, Vasily/RA1ZZ, Alexandr/ RA3AV and Yury/UD0XAA will be active as UE23RRC from Kambalnyy Island (Toporkov) [RR-13-14] between August 9-14th. The special callsign, UE23RRC, is being used to celebrate the 23rd anni- versary of the Russian Robinson Club (RRC). They will have two stations on the HF Bands. QSL via ClubLog. For more details, see:

http://www.as142.org

EU-038. Marcel, PD5MVH, will once again be active as PD5MVH/p from Ameland Island (ARLHS NET-001) between now and March 19th. Activity will include the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 5-6th). QSL via PD5MVH, direct or by the Bureau.

EU-085. (Update/Reminder) Operators Mike/UA1QV and Mike/RW3FS will be active as RI1PA from the Russian Kolguyev Island between March 5-19th. Activity will be on the HF bands. QSL via UA1QV, direct or by the Bureau.

NA-057. Dave, VE3VSM, is now active as VE3VSM/HR9 from Roatan Island until March 6th. Activity will be QRP on 40/20/15 meters using CW. Also, look for him in the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 5-6th). QSL via his home callsign or LoTW.

SA-071. Members of the Curva do Rio Group (CDR) will be active as PR2DX from As Ilhas Island between March 17-19th. Operators mentioned are Tony/PY2DX, Billy/PY2LCD, Raimundo/PU2VJI and Paco/PU2UAF. Activity will be on 80-10 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL via PY2LCD or ClubLog's OQRS.

J7, DOMINICA
Nigel, G3TXF, will be active as J79XF from Dominica (NA-101) between March 10-13th. Activity will be on the HF bands and also include the RSGB Commonwealth Contest (March 12-13th). QSL via ClubLog's OQRS.

JD1, OGASAWARA
Koji, JI1LET, will once again be active as JD1BOI from Komagari, Chichijima Island (AS-031) between April 26th and May 6th. Activity will be on 80/40/30/20/17/15/12/10/6 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL via JI1LET, direct or by the Bureau. See QRZ.com.

KH0, MARIANA ISLANDS
Yutaka, JH1MLO, will be active as KH0/JH1MLO from the Mariana Resort & Spa on Saipan Island (OC-086) between March 7-11th. Activity will be holiday style on the HF bands. QSL via his home callsign, direct or by the Bureau.

KH0, MARIANA ISLANDS
Chusuke, JR1FKR, will be active as KH0/JR1FKR from the Mariana Resort & Spa on Saipan Island (OC-086) between March 7-11th. Activity will be holiday style on 80/40/20/17/15 meters using SSB and the Digital modes. Equipment is a Icom IC-706 Mk2G with 100w into 80/40m dipole, 20/17m Buddi-Dipole and 15m Delta-Loop. QSL via JR1FKR, direct or by the Bureau.

KH2, GUAM
Tetsuya "Ted", JA7XBG, will be active as KH2X from Guam (OC-064) during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 5-6th) as a Single-Op/ All-Band/High-Power entry. QSL via EA5GL. Look for activity before and after the contest.

NCDXF PRESS RELEASE (March 3rd)
It is with great pleasure that the Northern California DX Foundation announces a scholarship grant to the Falkland Island Elementary and Middle schools to complete the acquisition of amateur radio equipment and antennas, electronics kits, and science curriculum materials.

David Collingham, K3LP, has been instrumental in getting this off the ground during the recent Intrepid DXpedition travels through the Falkland Islands for the recent South Sandwich and South Georgia DXpeditions. Dave met with government and school officials and teachers. Besides providing grants to rare and expensive DXpeditions, the NCDXF charter provides for certain scholarship opportunities from a separate and established scholarship fund. For example, NCDXF currently provides tuition to Contest University for hams 25 years of age or under.

Contributions to both the NCDXF general Fund and the scholarship fund are welcomed. Contributions are tax deductible to the maximum extent provided by law.

Have you contributed to help make DX happen…and to encourage our younger hams in the hobby? Invite a young ham into your shack this weekend for the ARRL DX SSB Contest!

Glenn Johnson W0GJ, NCDXF Vice President

OJ0, MARKET REEF
Pasi, OH3WS, will once again be active as OJ0W from Market Reef (EU-053) between April 9-10th. He is there as a voluntary worker and will operate during his spare time. Activity will be on 40-10 meters mostly CW, but some SSB. QSL via his home callsign.

PROPAGATION FORECAST/REPORT (March 7-13th)

 Mar/07th AN      Mar/10th  HN     Mar/12th  AN
 Mar/08th AN      Mar/11th  AN     Mar/13th  HN
 Mar/09th 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.

Also, checkout the VOACAP predication Web page at:

http://www.voacap.com/prediction.html

QSL INFO AND NEWS

QSL-INFO from DB0SDX (March 4th) 
  -------------------------------------------------------------------------
  4S7RTG via DL7VEE         FG/IW5ELA via IW5ELA        T32FS via AC8JF
  4X429DS via N4GNR         GS8VL via GM4FDM            T32SB via AC8JF
  8R1/K9KX via DK9KX        H44MS via DL2GAC            T32WW via AC8JF
  9A/N4PN via N4PN          K7IL/KH6 via JF3PLF (d/L)   TX7EU via DK2AMM
  AO4HAG via EA4GKV         KG4HF via W6HGF & (L)       UN0LK via UN0LK (e)
  C6ANA via N5NHJ & (L)     P4/VE8DX via LY5W           V26M via W3HNK
  C91IJ via LY2IJ           R1961G via RV3LZ            YB9/DH6ICE via DK8ZZ
  C92CC via UA4CC           R85PAR via RZ5D             YB9/DK7TF via DK8ZZ
  EG2TOR via EA4PN (L)      RK55GG via RZ3LC            YT160TESLA via YU1MM
  EG5WAP via EA5DY          RT9K/6 via RT9K             YU0TESLA via YU1FJK
    (e) eQSL only  (d) direct only   (B) Bureau only  (*-B) DX's- Bureau
    (O) OQRS only  (C) ClubLog only  (L) LoTW only
A35T QSL STATUS. The final A35T log has been uploaded to LoTW and Club- Log, and the OQRS on ClubLog is now active.

NEED A QSL MANAGER. Pedro, EA5GL, states, "If you still have outstanding QSL to send of some past activations that you done (expedition, contest, etc) and you are busy, contact me. I can help you to send them." Pedro can be reached at: EA5GL QSL MANAGER pedro.ea5gl@gmail.com

QSLS RECEIVED VIA LoTW: 3Z0SJP, 6W1SR, 7N1GMK, A92GE, D4C, DD5MA, EA8BGO, EA5BYP, EA7ZY, F6GCI, FG/UT6UD, FO/UT6UD (OC-050), HC2AO, HC90IARU, HI0UD, HK3C, HK3JJH, HR5/F2JD, IS0XBS, JD1BOI, JH8EJA, JI1LET, JT1CO, KG4HF, KH2L, KP2M, LX7I, PJ4R, OL7M, ON3VS, ON4EB, PJ4X, PP5KC, RK4FF, V55DX, VA2LC, VE2MLS, VK5CE/6 (OC-243), VK6LC, VP2ETE, VP2MWA, VP5/AC0W, VP8DRC VY2ZM, XE1RCS, XE2X, YO3VU and YU1LA

QSLS RECEIVED VIA MAIL: 4V1TL, 9M2SI (AS-074), 9Q6AL, BG2AUE, DW1OXL/P (OC-129), ER4A, FJ/N9SW, FS/K8EAB, H44NT (OC-047), HP3/VY2SS, HQ4W (NA-060), HS3NBR/p (AS-145), K5P, M0UKI/P (EU-109), PX8K (SA-042), R1KRG/P (EU-147), RW2F, S79C (AF-119), UA2F, VE7ACN/7 (NA-075), V55V, VK7FG/P (OC-195) and ZP6DYA

QSLS RECEIVED VIA THE BUREAU: 3Z0R, 9H3YY, C21EU, CT9/OM3RM, DL0WRTC, DS2GWM, DS4AOW, DS4GKF, DS4RHQ, EA8/DL2DXA, EA8/DJ9BN, EK/DL7UCX, EW6DX, FM/DL7VOG, HA8YOTA, HL2VA, HL4CJG, HL5UOG, HP1AVS, LU1EZ, LU5DQ, LU6DOT, LW3DG, LW4DWA, LW6EUR, OM08EPC, OM13SIAF, OM70SNP, OM150JM, P40BC, PJ6N, PJ6/DF8AN, PY2DX, PY2II, PY2JF, PY2MC, SO0EME, SN9SONDA, SP85PZK, SU9ZZ, TC7T, TO4GU, YI9X, Z81D, ZL2YL and ZM2IO

TX7, MARQUESAS (Reminder)
Operators Ernoe/DK2AMM, Hans/DL6JGN, Tom/GM4FDM and Ronald/PA3EWP are now active as TX7EU from Nuku Hiva, Marquesas (OC-027), until March 15th. Their QTH is the Hinako Nui Pension in Hatiheu on the northern side of the island. Activity will be on 40-10 meters using CW, SSB and the Digital modes. They will have two stations (2x K3, 1x Expert 1, 3k-FA and 1x 600 Watts homemade amplifier), a Hexbeam and vertical antennas. One station will be running 24/7. Their focus on the end of the sunspot cycle is on the high bands. Subject to a reliable Internet connection, they will upload the log to ClubLog on a daily basis. Otherwise the complete log will be uploaded upon their return. QSL via DK2AMM, ClubLog's OQRS, direct or by the Bureau. For more details and updates, watch:

http://www.marquesas2016.de

UA2, KALININGRAD
Dmitri, UA2FB, will be active as UA2F during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 5-6th) as a Single-Op/All-Band entry. QSL via UA2F.

V4, ST. KITTS
Eric, KB1EHE, will be active as V4/KB1EHE from St. Kitts (NA-104) between March 9-13th. Activity will be holiday style on 80-10 meters using SSB and wire antennas. QSL via his home callsign, direct or LoTW.

V7, MARSHALL ISLANDS (Update)
Jim, AH6OY, is now active as V73OY (and not V73I as some sources announced earlier) from Majuro Island (OC-029) between now and March 7th. He plans to participate in the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 5-6th). He'll be using an IC-7000, and maybe an amplifier. Two spiderpoles or a 5 band Spiderbeam will be used for activity on 40-10 meters and possibly 80 meters for operations on SSB, CW, RTTY and JT65. QSL via his home callsign.

VK0EK HEARD ISLAND DXPEDITION NEWS
* It was reported by Rich, KY6R, on February 29th [edited]: On March 1, 2016, the first of the Heard Island Expedition Team board flights for Cape Town, South Africa, the accumulation point for the expedition to Heard Island.

The first three to depart, Bob Schmieder/KK6EK, Ken Karr/NG2H, and Adam Brown/K2ARB, will arrive in Cape Town at 1:00 PM local time, to be met by members of the South Africa Support Team. They will be followed over the next four days by the other team members: Fred Belton/KM4MXD, Arliss Thompson/W7XU, Gavin Marshall/VK2BAX, Hans-Peter Blattler/HB9BXE, Alan Cheshire/VK6CQ, Bill Mitchell/AE0EE, Dave Lloyd/K3EL, Jim Colletto/ N6TQ, Vadym Ivliev/UT6UD, Dave Farnsworth/WJ2O, and Carlos Nascimento/ NP4IW. The Cape Town Support Team has been interfacing with the vessel (also due to arrive in Cape Town March 3rd), and the local agency for inspecting the vessel and cargo for biological threats. We will be shopping, cleaning the tents, and loading the Braveheart, preparing for the scheduled sailing on March 10th. All news while the team is en route and at Heard will be posted here:

http://www.vk0ek.org

* It was reported by Rich, KY6R, on March 3rd [edited]: The first team members will arrive in Cape Town today, and several others start their flights over the next couple of days. This VK0EK Blog Site is now switching over to "DXpedition Mode".

DXpedition Mode is where we will concentrate on everything DX and DXpedition. You will notice over the next few days changes that accentuate this. Some of the sections that used to be on this site can be found in their entirety on:

http://www.heardisland.com
But have been replaced by new sections such as "How to Work Us". Later today, the banner will show the planned Voyage dates and On Air dates - which is the number one question we have received so far. Second to that have been propagation questions.

The Support Site is up and running and working very well. It handles everything and anything that you might have questions or concerns with, from propagation questions to souvenir order questions. You can find the Support System here:

https://vk0ek.freshdesk.com/support/tickets/new

VK0EK DXPEDITION NEWS (Heard Island Expedition Newsletter Vol. 2 No. 3)
The current Heard Island Expedition Newsletter (Vol. 2, No. 3 -- dated March 1st) is now out. Individuals may have already received this because they subscribed to it, or they made a donation to the expedition, or they are a team member or a corporate sponsor, or Bob, KK6EK, just happens to know you and think you would like to have it. This issue goes to 1817 different people.

Bob also informs [edited], "There is no charge or obligation for this ­ we just want to help you make a QSO with VK0EK, or to collaborate in the scientific work. This is the last Newsletter we will send out before the expedition (we sail March 10 from Cape Town)."

PLEASE NOTE: Recommended way to view this Newsletter:
1. Download the PDF file to your browser.
2. Save the PDF file from your browser to your desktop or to a folder.
3. Open the PDF file (typically by double-clicking)
4. On the main menu of your PDF viewer:
a. Select View/Page Display/
b. Select Two-page scrolling
c. Select Show Cover Page in Two-Page View

Now you can view it full-screen using the Page Up and Page Down keys. If you missed a previous Newsletter and would like to have a copy, you can find a link on p. 4 http://www.heardisland.org/HD_pages/HD_newsletter_back_issues.html to download the back issue.

The expedition is scheduled to begin sometime around/between March 21st-April 10th. You can see the current status of the project on the main websites www.heardisland.org, and on the blogsite www.vk0ek.org.

VP2M, MONTSERRAT
Charles, K1XX, will be active as VP2MMF during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 5-6th) as a Single-Op/Band entry. QSL via K1XX.

VP5, TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS
Geoff, will be active as VP5H from Pro- videnciales Island (NA-002, WLOTA 2003) during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 5-6th) as a Single-Op entry. QSL via W0CG. Look before and after the contest because he will probably be active as VP5/homecall. QSL via his home callsigns and LoTW.

VP9, BERMUDA
Kurt, W6PH, will once again be active as VP9/W6PH for the ARRL International DX Phone Contest (March 5-6th) as a Single-Op/All- Band/Low-Power entry. QSL direct to his home callsign W6PH.

YB16, INDONESIA (Special Event)
Members of the "Organisasi Amatir Radio Indonesia - HQ" (ORARI) will activate the special callsign YB16SUN for one day, March 9th (00:00 - 23:59 UTC), because of the total solar eclipse which take place on March 8-9th. No need to send your QSL card, as your confirmed QSO in the log will automatically have a QSL card sent via the Bureau.

YW315, VENEZUELA (Special Event)
Members of the Radio Club Venezolano Casa will be active using the special callsign YW315MCY starting March 5th. Activity is to celebrate 315th anniversary of the founding of Maracay City (Venezuela Garden City, in the capital of Aragua state). Operations will be on 80/40/20/17/15/12/10 meters using CW, SSB and the Digital modes. Operators mentioned are Oscar/YV9OHG, Ricardo/YV5DKT, Carlos/YV4GLY, Jose/ YV4YC, Franco/YV4GLF, Hector/YY4HMR, Marcos/YY4KCV, Luis/YY4LJS, Roberto/ YY4GRO, Robert/YY4RAW, Victor/YY4VMT and Juan/YY4KCW. QSL via YV4AA or by the Bureau.

ZL7, CHATHAM ISLANDS (Update)
Members of the "6G" team will be active as ZL7G from Chatham Island (OC-038) between October 26th and November 9th. The location has excellent short and long path take off towards Europe where Chatham Island is still high on the wanted list. Activity will be on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY with up to four stations active at any one time. Operators mentioned are Don/G3BJ, Chris/G3SVL, Nigel/G3TXF, Mike/G3WPH, Don/G3XTT, Hilary/G4JKS and Justin/G4TSH. QSL via G3TXF direct, OQRS or LoTW. More information and a web site will be available soon.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
       The following stations are expected to be active in the
         ARRL International DX SSB Contest (March 5-6th, 2016)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Thanks to Bill, NG3K, for providing OPDX readers with the following
consolidated listing of the participants in the 2016 ARRL International DX
SSB Contest.
  For a more detailed listing (and up-to-date changes/corrections) in HTML
format, please visit Bill's Web page at:
          http://www.ng3k.com/Misc/adxs2016.html  (By callsign)
          http://www.ng3k.com/Misc/adxsd2016.html (By entity)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Contest        DXCC          Class         QSL
Callsign       Entity                       Route
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3V8SS          Tunisia        SOAB LP       LoTW; QSL via LX1NO
6Y6Y           Jamaica        M/?           LoTW
8P6ET          Barbados       SOAB LP       KU9C
9A1P           Croatia        M/M           9A2RD
A31MM          Tonga          SOAB LP       LoTW; QSL via EA5GL
A93JA          Bahrain        SOAB HP       KE5JA
CB1H           Chile          M/?           CE1DY
CR2X           Azores         M/M           OH2BH
D4C         Cape Verde Island SOSB          LoTW
ED7O           Spain          M/?           ED7O
ED8W           Canary Islands SOAB HP       W3HNK
EF8R           Canary Islands SOAB LP       LoTW; QSL via EB7DX
FY5KE          French Guiana  SOSB 15M      LoTW
HC1WDT         Ecuador                      LoTW; QSL via W0OR direct
KH2X           Guam           SOAB HP       EA5GL
KH7M           Hawaii                       I0MWI or KH6ZM
KP3Z           Puerto Rico    SOAB HP       N4AO
NP2P        US Virgin Islands SOAB          LoTW
P40L           Aruba          M/2           WA3FRP
P40M           Aruba          SOAB HP       LY5W
PJ2T           Curacao        M/S           W3HNK
PJ4G           Bonaire        M/S           LoTW; QSL via WA2NHA
PZ5W           Surinam        M/S           N0AT
T32WW          East Kiribati  M/?           LoTW; QSL via AC8JF (B/d)
TI5M           Costa Rica     M/?           TI2KAC
TI5W           Costa Rica     M/S           N3YIM Direct
TO5A           Martinique     SOAB          LoTW
UA2F           Kaliningrad    SOAB          See QRZ.com
V73OY        Marshall Islands               AH6OY
VE3VSM/HR9     Honduras                     LoTW; QSL via VE3VSM
VP2MMF         Montserrat     SOAB          K1XX
VP2VGG      Br Virgin Islands               LoTW; QSL via K6TOP (d)
VP5H           Turks & Caicos SO            W0GJ
VP9/W6PH       Bermuda        SOAB LP       W6PH (d)
WP2AA       US Virgin Islands SOAB          WD9DZV
YB0NDT         Indonesia      SOSB 40M      LoTW
YN5Z           Nicaragua      SOAB HP       LoTW
YV1KK          Venezuela      M/S           LoTW
    (e) eQSL only  (d) direct only   (B) Bureau only  (*-B) DX's- Bureau
    (O) OQRS only  (C) ClubLog only  (L) LoTW only

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