The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 839
BID: $OPDX.839
December 31, 2007
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, ARRL W1AW Bulletins, K1XN & GoList, NG3K, W3UR & The Daily DX, AI4U, KP4BJD, N4AA & QRZ DX, N4MM, K8YSE, DX-IS News Site, Pete's-DX-Newsdesk, DK8JB, DL7MAE & The DX News Letter, F5NQL & UFT, G3XTT, F6AJA & Les Nouvelles DX, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, OM3JW, PY2WAS, PY2ZA, RSGB IOTA Web Site, VA3RJ & ICPO and ZS6DXB for the following DX information.

SPECIAL NOTE FROM EDITOR (Tedd, KB8NW)
My family (wife/OPDX's chief proof-reader Linda, son Teddy [TJ] and his wife Jessi, daughter Katie and her husband Kevin), and I (KB8NW) would like to wish all DXers, Contesters and OPDX readers a very "Happy New Year". Thanks to the many individuals who have provided DX information over the past year. Without them there would not be an OPDX Bulletin. Also, thanks to the individuals who sent holiday wishes to my family and me.....
73 and Have a Great/Safe/Healthy New Year de Tedd KB8NW
P.S. The year 2008 should be one of the most exciting years for DXers with all the upcoming new DXCC entites expected to be on the air.

DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT
According to the AR-Cluster Network for the week of Sunday, 23rd-December, through Sunday, 30th-December there were 214 countries active. Countries available: 3A, 3B8, 3B9, 3D2, 3DA, 3W, 3X, 3Y/b, 4J, 4L, 4O, 4S, 4X, 5B, 5H, 5N, 5R, 5V, 5W, 5X, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7X, 8P, 9A, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9M2, 9M6, 9Q, 9V, 9Y, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A9, AP, BV, BY, C3, C6, CE, CE9, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, D2, DL, DU, E4, E5/s, E7, EA, EA6, EA8, EA9, EI, EK, EL, EP, ER, ES, ET, EU, EX, EY, F, FG, FH, FJ, FK, FM, FO, FP, FR, FY, G, GD, GI, GJ, GM, GU, GW, H4, HA, HB, HB0, HC, HC8, HI, HK, HK0/a, HL, HP, HR, HS, HV, HZ, I, IS, J2, J3, J6, J7, JA, JD/m, JD/o, JT, JY, K, KG4, KH0, KH2, KH6, KL, KP2, KP4, LA, LU, LX, LY, LZ, OA, OD, OE, OH, OH0, OJ0, OK, OM, ON, OX, OY, OZ, P2, P4, PA, PJ2, PY, PY0F, PZ, S5, S7, SM, SP, ST, SU, SV, SV5, SV9, T32, T7, T8, TA, TF, TG, TI, TK, TN, TR, TT, TU, TY, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V3, V4, V5, V6, V7, V8, VE, VK, VP2V, VP8, VP9, VQ9, VR, VU, XE, XU, XW, YA, YB, YI, YL, YN, YO, YS, YU, YV, Z2, Z3, ZA, ZB, ZC4, ZD7, ZD9, 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).

3A, MONACO
Ghis, ON5NT, will be active as 3A/ON5NT from January 23-27th. His activity will be mostly during his morning and evening hours.

3Y, BOUVET ISLAND (Update)
Before last weekend there had been a report by Mehdi, F5PFP, indicating that he has talked to Petrus, ZS6GCM (3Y0E), via the Bouvet Island satellite phone and was told Petrus is currently unable to transmit due to a problem with his transceiver. However, on December 30th, Petrus/3Y0E and Rhynhardt/ZS6DXB had a conversation via satellite phone. Petrus was happy to confirm that the radio and antenna are working. He made a couple of contacts on December 30th with some ZS and PY stations.

Rhynhardt/ZS6DXB and Petrus/3Y0E will be trying a new strategy to get 3Y0E into pileups. 3Y0E will, until further notice, be calling CQ between 1600-1730z on 14200 kHz only. 3Y0E will work simplex until Petrus gets more acquainted with the radio equipment. Please note that no pre-arranged skeds "contacts" can be arranged with 3Y0E. Petrus is still having some E-mail problems, and as soon as they are resolved, they will publish the 3Y0E logbook on the 3Y0E Web site. There has been a number of false cluster reports over the last couple of days and they urge anybody that hears Petrus/3Y0E calling CQ to record him and forward the recording to: zs6dxb@kats.za.net The official 3Y0E operation Web page address is:

4X, ISRAEL
Henri, F6EAY, is now signing 4X8AY. No other details were provided. QSL via F5LGE.

6W, SENEGAL
Jacques, F6HMJ, will be active as 6W/F6HMJ from January 8-29th. Activity is usually on 80-10 meters on CW, SSB and RTTY. He will use an IC-706 MKIIG and HF9V. QSL via his home callsign.

9L, SIERRA LEONE (Update)
Norbert, 9L1FZ, is currently active and can usually be found on 20 meters (14165 kHz) SSB. He informs OPDX that he will announce a QSL Manager very soon. He also tells OPDX that he can be active on all bands up to 30 MHz, from home, mobile, portable and maritime mobile. Modes of activity will be SSB, CW (please only if needed for specific diploma etc., as he is in the process of relearning after 30 years and is very slow) and all digital modes which can be covered by SCS PTC, including Pactor 3 and robust packet.

Norbert adds, "I can operate crossband and duplex, as there are 4 transceivers and antennas available (remote transmitter available). I am not very active and not operating in contests but can spend a couple of hours on the radio if some folks need this rare country (don't think that there are more than 10 licences and more than 3 OMs active over here)." There is a possibility he may activate Banana Island (AF-037).

CN, MOROCCO
Didier, F4ELJ, will be active as CN4MC through January 3rd. Activity will be on 80-10 meters SSB. Most of the activity over the past weekend was on 20 meters. QSL via his home callsign.

CO8, CUBA
Eduardo, CO8LY, reports that he is very active on RTTY and PSK31 on all bands. If you need to work Cuba on any band, he is willing to make a sked for the QSO via E-mail. His E-mail address is: co8ly@frcscu.ciges.inf.cu

D4, CAPE VERDE
Operator Yuris, YL2GM, will be active as D4C during the CQ WW RTTY WPX Contest (February 9-10th) as a Single-Op/All-Band/High-Power entry. Operator Girts, YL2KL, will be active as D4C during the ARRL DX CW Contest (February 16-17th) as a Single-Op/All-Band/High-Power entry. QSL Manager for both operations go to IZ4DPV. For latest information, check the Web page at:

DXCC NEWS
OPDX was informed by Gabe, KP4BJD, who received an E-mail from Phil, 9Q1TB, who was recently active as TN/9Q1TB/p, was told by Bill Moore, NC1L, that his TN/9Q1TB/p contacts are not good for DXCC.

FJ, ST. BARTHELEMY
Paul, F6EXV, reports: "Members of the KH8SI group are happy to announce their upcoming activity from the newest DXCC entity, Saint Barthelemy Island. With the help and support of FJ5DX, FJ5AB and FJ5KH, both Yuichi/JR2KDN and Paul/F6EXV will sign FJ/F6EXV (callsign used for SSB and CW) and FJ/JR2KDN (callsign used for RTTY), from January 6-20th. Activity will be on 160-10m, with beam antennas from Cushcraft, vertical and dipole antennas, Yaesu FT2000 and FT857 plus 500W amplifiers. QSL via respective home calls, OK on (QRZ.com).

Please note the following:
1) F6EXV will do CW, but is not primarily a CW op. He will do his best, be patient with him.
2) Several hams have been involved in the preparations. The list would be too long but let them be thanked already for their help.
3) A Web page will be available for log checking, though access to internet will not be possible from the operating location. Do not use the clusters to ask us to QSY places, it would be a waste of time... Logs will probably be uploaded every 2 or 3 days, depending on internet access. Details to be given soon, as page is being constructed now.
4) More details will come soon."

HB0, LIECHTENSTEIN
Tom, DL2OBO, will once again be active as HB0/DL2OBO from Chalet Barsula, January 1-9th. Activity will be mainly CW with an emphasis on 160/80/40 meters using a FT-1000MP with an AL1200 amp. Look for him on 40m the first night using a verticial. He will then use 2 element wire beams for 80m and 160m toward USA following the next day(s) and a single vertical for JA/Asia (He states, "Sorry, there is no chance for the 2 element in that direction.")

HC & HC8, ECUADOR AND GALAPAGOS ISLANDS (SA-004)
Peter, DL9DAK, is expected to activate Ecuador (HC) and the Galapagos Islands (HC8) during the first half of January. His planned schedule is as follows:

January 2-9th - Active as DL9DAK/HC1 from Quito, Ecuador
January 11-14th - Active as DL9DAK/HC2 from Guayaquil, Ecuador
January 15-18th - Active as DL9DAK/HC8 from the Galapagos Islands
January 19-21st - Active as DL9DAK/HC2 from Guayaquil, Ecuador

IOTA NEWS
AS-060. Chae, HL5YI, will be active as HL5YI/4 from Sorok Island, January 18-21st. Activity will be on 80/40/20/10 meters, CW, SSB and RTTY. He will also participate in the UK DX RTTY Contest (January 19-20th). QSL via his home callsign, direct or by the bureau.

EU-011. A French team of operators lead by Tony, F8ATS, will activate St. Mary's (Grid Square IN69UV) in the Isles of Scilly group between May 15-23rd. During their stay they hope to manage a 2 hour activation from the rare Grid Square IN79jx. The callsigns to be used will be M/homecall. Activity will be on HF (160-10m), VHF(2 m) and UHF (70 cm), CW and SSB. They are expecting one or several digit operators to join them. St. Mary's also counts for the "World Lighthouse On The Air" award under the reference: WLOTA 0234. En route to St Mary's, the team will be active as homecall/m and M/homecall/m, on 40m and 2m. QSLs for all of the callsigns go via F8ATS, through the French Ref-Union Bureau (please only this bureau). For those who cannot use the bureau, Tony will accept valid IRCs and SAEs (please avoid green stamps). More information will follow.

NA-075. Richard, VA7MJR, will be active from Entrance Island (BC) between Jan 9-20th. Activity will be limited due to work, but look for him on 80-6 meters SSB. Other reference numbers are: Canadian Island Award - BC 176, Grid Square CN89cf and Lighthouse CAN-171.

SA-021. A team of Brazilian operators will be active as PW2M from Moela Island, February 1-8th. Team members mentioned so far are (alphabetical): Rolf/PY1RO, Joe/PY2EJ, Luiz/PY2OC, Alex/ PY2WAS, Fred/PY2XB, Junior/PY2ZA, with administrative support by Andre/PY2MTV and Eder/PY2XAT. Activity will be on 160-2 meters, CW, SSB and the Digital modes. QSL Manager will be AI4U for foreign operators and PY2AA for Brazilian operators. There is a lighthouse on Moela Island (WLOTA 1335) and permission for the operation was granted by the Brazilian Navy. This is a rare island for IOTA.

J2, DJIBOUTI
Mal, F4FMI, will be active as J20MB between January and the end of March. Activity will be on 20/17/15 meters SSB. QSL via his home callsign.

J5, GUINEA BISSAU (Update)
From a press release, the "F6KOP TEAM", who is planning a DXpedition to Guinea Bissau on Bubaque Island (AF-020 and WLOTA 1145) between January 12-21st (2008), report everything is a go. This is the same group that was active as XT2C from Burkina Faso. They hope to be able to use all their skills and experiences gained from the past XT2C operation as well as being active on as many bands as possible simultaneously. Team members located near Paris have spent a lot of time packing their equipment (antennas, coax and guys, four PA's and five transceivers, laptops, and other miscellaneous gear). The team has their licenses in hand: J5C (the official DXpedition callsign), and one for each operator's different nationalities (1 for F, OE and K). Operators are: F2JD, F2VX, F4AJQ, F5JSD, F5PED, F5TVG, F5VHQ, F8BJI, F8BUI, F8IXZ, F8PDR, F9IE, FM5CD, OE8KDK, N2WB and N6OX. Pilot stations are: Thierry/F4TTR and Bruno/F5AGB. To contact the pilot stations, use the E-mail address: pilots@j5c.eu
For more details and up-to-date info, visit their Web pages at:

JD1, OGASAWARA
By the time you read this, Harry, JG7PSJ, will be active as JD1BMH from Chichi-Jima (AS-031, JIIA AS-031-003, WW Loc. QL17CC, JCG 10007), Ogasawara Islands, through January 4th. Activity will be on 160-10 meters, CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL via JG7PSJ, by the bureau or direct to: Hiroyuki Kawanobe, 1-4-1,Mikamine, Taihaku, Sendai, Miyagi 982-0826 JAPAN. For more info and a log search, visit:

NEW OFFICERS FOR 2008
The following individuals were announced as new officers for the North Shenandoah DX Association:

  President     -  Godfrey Miller, N8GM
  V. President  -  Steve Cuccio, NB3O
  Sec/Treasurer -  John Kanode, N4MM

According to International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Secretary David Sumner, K1ZZ, the Ministry of Communications and Transport (BiH) held a press conference in Sarajevo on December 18 to formally announce the change. Minister Dr. Bozo Ljubic explained the desirability of changing a prefix that initially was allocated during wartime and how it was now being replaced with one that has no connection to that troubled time; similar steps have been taken with regard to passports, drivers' licenses and automobile registrations, he said. Ljubic also observed that the costs associated with the change were minimal compared to the benefits.

Amateur Radio station licenses bearing E7 prefixes will be issued beginning in January 2008, and the use of other prefixes will be phased out.

Sumner and IARU Region 1 President Ole Garpestad, LA2RR, of Norway, were invited to speak at the press conference. Accompanying them was IARU Region 1 Executive Committee member Nikola Percin, 9A5W, of Croatia. They expressed congratulations and support for the change, eliminating an issue that has complicated relations among the radio amateurs of Bosnia- Herzegovina.

Also invited to speak was Miroslav Nikse, President of the Union of Radioamateur Associations of Bosnia and Herzegovina (URAS), a recently formed umbrella organization of amateur radio associations based in different parts of the country. He thanked those involved in promoting the change. In his remarks, Dr. Ljubic pledged support from the Ministry of Communications and Transport to the umbrella organization for the development of Amateur Radio repeater and digital networks that would cover the whole of the country, enhancing emergency communications capabilities."

PZ, SURINAME
Just a reminder that the 4M5DX Group is expected to be active from Paramaribo, Suriname, January 4-11th. There will be a multi- national team of skilled and experienced operators, and their plans are to have three stations active for 10 days. They will operate as PZ5YV on all bands (160-6 meters) CW, SSB and RTTY. Team members mentioned are: Olli/OH0XX, Spiros/SV8CS, Pedro/HK1X, Alex/YV5SSB, Ramon/XE1KK, Jose/YV5TX, Diego/LU8ATX, Pasquale/YV5KAJ and Ramon/PZ5RA. They are still looking for financial assistance to help offset the costs. For more information, please visit:

QSL INFO AND NEWS
Steve, OM3JW, reports that the complete log, as well as statistics for the recent E4/OM2DX operation from Bethlehem, Palestine, can be found at:

QSL CORRECTION. The correct QSL Manager for HR9/WQ7R is AI4U. K5WW is the QSL Manager just for the HQ9R callsign.

QSLS VIA LOTW: None reported this week. QSLS RECEIVED VIA MAIL: 3C7Y, 5L2MS, 5U5U, 5W0RE, B1Z, CO6XN, EE5E, EX2M, EY8MM, FM/JE1JKL/P, FM5BH, H40MY, J3A, J38AA, J88DR, KA3UNQ/p, KP2/K3VA, OD5/F5PTM, OX3XR, P29VCX, P29VLR, VK9WWI, XQ0X and ZL1BYZ QSLS RECEIVED VIA THE BUREAU: DT8A, DR2006K, EE5E, GB95MGY, HP1WW, TZ5A and SV0XAO T2, TUVALU (Also, H4)
Ito "Dan", JA1PBV, who was active as H44V from the Solomon Islands last week, was expected to be active from Tuvalu (T2) starting December 28th through January 4th. However, as of press time there have not been any QSNs reported. So be listening. Dan will return back to the Solomons and be active again starting January 5th. QSL via JA1PBV.

TF, ICELAND
Siggi, TF3CW, will be active in the CQ 160-Meter CW Contest (January 26-27th) as Single-Op entry. QSL via LX1NO.

TR, GABON
Roland, F8EN, continues to be active as TR8CR from Libreville until January 12th. Activity will be mostly on 20 meters. Watch 14005 kHz after 0600z and 14191 kHz after 0700z. There is a possibility that Roland may make a short operation from an island in the AF-043 IOTA group. QSL via F6AJA or F8EN.

VP9,BERMUDA
Kurt, W6PH, will be active as VP9/W6PH again for the 2008 ARRL DX CW Contest (February 16-17th) as a Single-Op/All-Band/Low-Power entry. He will also be active during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 1-2nd) as a Single-Op/All-Band/Low-Power entry. QSL direct to his home callsign W6PH.

ZD7, ST. HELENA
Tom, KC0W, who recently moved to St. Helena Island in September and is active as ZD7X, announced that he will be departing the island in April 2008. He states, "This will prematurely bring to a close my eight month ZD7X operation. Thanks to the Radio Amateurs in over 225 countries with whom I have established on-the-air friendships with. The reason that I moved to ZD7-land was my dream of constructing a Big Gun Contesting/DXing station here on St. Helena Island. Unfortu- nately, I must now abondon this project. I WILL start again in 2008 from another desirable DX location. I will be spending the majority of my last few months as ZD7X on 75/80 meters, CW and SSB. Look for me around 3502 kHz on CW and in the DX window on SSB (+/- QRM). My QSL manager is W0MM. Please send all QSLs for ZD7X to W0MM via bureau or direct........ LoTW, eQSL or any other type of electronic QSLing WILL NOT be accepted." This past weekend Tom was heard on 160/80/20/17 meters at various times.

ZL8R DVD REVIEW
Another interesting video done by James Brooks, 9V1YC. This 46 minute video takes you to Raoul Island which is in the Kermadec Islands chain. As always, James shows you the beauty of the island. The island has a large and active volcano on it where an eruption recently took place on March 17, 2006. One scientist/conservationist died and several others were evacuated from the island. The video tells the story how the well-known ship (by DXers) called the "Braveheart" took a team of operators known as the "Microlite Penguins" to Raoul Island on a DXpedition in October that same year. James provides a view on how the team had to follow strict regulations by the New Zealand Department of Conservation before going to Raoul Island. All the equipment, clothing and gear had to be quarantined before leaving for Raoul. However, seeing that this was a "Microlite Operation", the radio equipment was light.

The ZL8R operation only used 100w radios (IC-7000) and dipoles. You will enjoy the many different views from the island, and the interesting way the DXpedition team had to get their equipment on the island to operate. This DVD is definitely another "must have" for the collection. The ZL8R video is available at:

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