SB DX @ WW < KB8NW $OPDX.1455 Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1455 The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster DX Bulletin No. 1455 BID: $OPDX.1455 March 9, 2020 Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW Provided by BARF80.ORG (Cleveland, Ohio) Written/Send From Strongsville, Ohio Thanks to the Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society, Northern Ohio DX Association, Ohio/Penn PacketCluster Network, the AB5K's AR Cluster Networks, NJ1Q & W1AW, NG3K & ADXO, W3UR & The Daily DX, WB6RSE, K8GI, K8YSE, W8GEX & 60m DX News, W9ILY, DL1SBF, DL7UXG & The DX News Letter, DXNews.com, DX-World.Net, F5NQL, F6AJA & Les Nouvelles DX, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, OH2BH, RN3RQ, S50U, Sixitalia Weekly, and VA3RJ & ICPO for the following DX information. ** EDITOR'S COMMENT: Remember to change your clocks this weekend? See below "Daylight Saving Time". ** EDITOR'S SPECIAL NOTICES: 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, 28th/February, through Friday, 6th/March there were 215 countries active. Countries available: 3A, 3B8, 3D2, 3V, 3W, 4J, 4L, 4O, 4S, 4U1U, 4W, 4X, 5A, 5B, 5H, 5R, 5T, 5U, 5W, 5X, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7X, 8P, 8Q, 9A, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9L, 9M2, 9M6, 9N, 9Q, 9V, 9Y, A3, A4, A6, A7, A9, AP, BV, BY, C3, C5, C6, CE, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, D2, D4, DL, DU, E5/s, E7, EA, EA6, EA8, EA9, EI, EK, EP, ER, ES, ET, EU, EX, EY, F, FG, FK, FM, FO, FP, FR, FS, 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, J6, J7, JA, JD/o, JT, JW, JY, K, KG4, KH0, KH2, KH6, KL, KP2, KP4, LA, LU, LX, LY, LZ, OA, OD, OE, OH, OK, OM, ON, OX, OY, OZ, P2, P4, PA, PJ2, PJ4, PJ5, PJ7, PY, PY0F, PZ, S0, S5, S7, SM, SP, SU, SV, SV5, SV9, T7, TA, TF, TG, TI, TK, TR, TU, TZ, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V2, V3, V4, V5, V7, V8, VE, VK, VK9N, VP2E, VP2M, VP5, VP6, VP8, VP8/o, VP9, VR, VU, XE, XU, YA, YB, YJ, YK, YL, YN, YO, YS, YU, YV, Z3, Z6, Z8, ZA, ZB, ZD7, ZD8, 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". 3B8, MAURITIUS. Nigel, G3TXF, will once again be active as 3B8XF from Mauritius (AF-049) during the 2020 Commonwealth Contest (BERU) [March 14-15th]. This is Nigel's 14th DX-trip made specifically to take part in the RSGB's Commonweath Contest, and the 4th time from Mauritius. He will be active March 27th, and will operate mostly on 80m/160m after the BERU Contest. QSL via G3TXF or ClubLog's OQRS (for both Bureau or direct QSLs). DO NOT SEND QSLS THROUGH THE BUREAU. For more details and possible updates, see: http://www.g3txf.com/dxtrip/3B8XF-2020/3B8-Mar-20.html 4W TIMOR-LESTE DXPEDITION NEWS (Press Release #2, dated March 2nd). The following was written by Christian Janssen, DL1MGB [edited]: The prepar- ations are on the move. A team, including Peter/DB6JG, Gerd/DJ5IW, Markus/ DJ7EO, Heye/DJ9RR, Chris/DL1MGB, Dietmar/DL3DXX, Ulf/DL5AXX, Paul/DL5CW, Tom/DL5LYM, Ben/DL6FBL, Dieter/DL8OH, Robert/SP5XVY and Bernd/VK2IA will operate from Timor-Leste from October 11th until November 8th. This includes the participation as Multi-Multi entry in the CQWW SSB. First payments have been made to the two lodges that will host our 10 stations. For most bands we will have at least two antennas with us to work in two modes on these bands simultaneously. Many thanks to our first corporate sponsors: * Spiderbeam for supporting us and our wildest ideas on antennas * WiMo for providing hardware like rotators and antennas * b.o.c. for providing computer and network infrastructure The Web site of our DXpedition is online now: http://timor-leste-dx.de Learn more about the Lagunaria DX Group and visit our website at: http://lagunaria-dx-group.org 8P, BARBADOS. Tom, W2SC, will once again be active as 8P5A during the ARRL International DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as Single-Op/All-Band/ High-Power entry. QSL via LoTW or direct to HA1AG. 9G, GHANA. Alan, G3XAQ, will once again be active as 9G5XA from Accra. His length of stay is unknown at this time. Activity will be CW only on 160-10 meters and during the 2020 Commonwealth Contest (BERU) [March 14-15th]. QSL via G3SWH. The log will be uploaded to G3SWH's Web site upon Alan's return at: http://www.g3swh.org.uk 9J2LA ZAMBIA DXPEDITION NEWS (Update). The 9J2LA team is now active from Zambia until March 15th. Activity will be on 160-6 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8. For more details see OPDX.1452. Look for 9J2LA to be in the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th). QSOs will be uploaded to ClubLog if internet access is available. QSL via M0OXO QSL service. The 9J2LA Web page is available at: https://9j2la.com Facebook and Twitter will be used for “Breaking News” the weeks before departure and during the Expedition. The media Web pages are: FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/9j2la Twitter: https://twitter.com/9J2LA A4, OMAN. Khalid, A41CK, will activate the contest station, A44A, in Muscat during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Single-Op entry. QSL via LoTW. C6, BAHAMAS. Operators Rob/K4OV and Lee/N1BA will be active as C6ATF from Eleuthera Island (NA-001, WW Loc. FL15oj) during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Multi-Single entry. QSL via K4OV, LoTW or eQSL. CQ NEWS RELEASE (CQ Magazine Awards Editor Eddie De Young, KS4AA, is Silent Key -- Jim Houser, WA8JIM, Named to Succeed Him). The following was sent out on March 3rd, by Rich Moseson, W2VU: Just a few weeks after stepping down due to health issues, CQ Amateur Radio magazine Awards Editor Eddie De Young, KS4AA, became a Silent Key on February 25. DeYoung had held the post for less than a year, according to CQ Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU, who also announced the appointment of Jim Houser, WA8JIM, of Bartlett, Illinois, as the new Awards Editor. Houser's first column will appear in the May 2020 issue. "Eddie had let us know in late January that he would be unable to continue," Moseson explained, "so we were already looking for a successor and were about to announce WA8JIM's appointment when we learned of Eddie's passing. We extend our condolences to Eddie's wife and family." Jim Houser has been licensed since 1998 and has held an Extra Class license since 1999. His main interests are award-hunting, county-hunting, state QSO parties, rag-chewing, home-brewing, collecting QSL cards and attending the Dayton Hamvention. Professionally, Jim is the lead radio technician for Amtrak's Chicago Radio Department. "Jim's perspective is likely to be a little different from that of his predecessors," noted Moseson, "since he is still actively in the hunt for new 'wallpaper,' holding Worked All Continents (WAC) and Worked All States (WAS), but still chasing other major awards, including DXCC/CQ DX and the USA-Counties Award. So he will bring to these pages a first-hand understanding of the challenges of award-chasing in today's ham radio." Houser says he plans to highlight some lesser-known awards that keep the hunt fun while chasing the major awards, along with tips and sug- gestions for successful award-chasing. DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME (DST). This weekend it will be time to change your clocks again. 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 8th 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 1st at 2:00 AM. European countries will switch to DST on March 29th. 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/2020.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. DAY-XENIA NEWS (Hamvention Names 2020 Award Winners). Dayton Hamvention has named five radio amateurs and one ham radio club as the recipients of its 2020 awards. Each year, Hamvention honors award winners in several categories: Amateur of the Year -- Yasuo "Zorro" Miyazawa, JH1AJT Special Achievement Award -- Jordan Sherer, KN4CRD Technical Achievement Award -- Steve Franke/K9AN, Bill Somerville/G4WJS and Nobel Laureate Joe Taylor/K1JT Club of the Year -- The South Canadian Amateur Radio Society (SCARS) For complete details, see the "ARRL Letter" for March 4th, or the ARRL Web page at: http://www.arrl.org/news/view/dayton-hamvention-names-2020-award-winners EX0, KYRGYSTAN (Reminder). By the time you read this, operators Yuri/R2DY, Pavel/R2DX and Eugeni RW3FB will be active as EX0QR from the south shore of Issyk Kul Lake, Kyrgyzstan, until March 17th. Activity will be on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB and the Digital modes. Equipment will be 2x Kenwood TS-590, Ameritron ALS-500M and antennas are: SteppIr BigIr (vertical) + 80m, SteppIr 2 Element Yagi antenna (20-6m), 4 element Fix Yagi (30m) and vertical (160/80m). QSL via R2DX, direct, by the Bureau or ClubLog's OQRS. FM, MARTINIQUE. Marius, ON4RU/OQ3R, will be active as FM/OQ3R from Mar- tinique (NA-107) between May 25th and June 6th. Activity will be on 160-10 meters using CW only. He also plans to be in the CQWW WPX CW Contest (May 30-31st) as a Single-Op entry signing TO3F. QSL both call- signs direct to ON4RU only (not Bureau member). HB0, LIECHTENSTEIN. Operators Sivio/HB9LCW, Haaf/PA3FGA, YL Claudia/PA5CT, Aurelio/PC5A and Daniel/VE7SO will be active as HB0A (AFVL - Amateurfunk Verein Liechtenstein callsign) during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Multi-Single entry. QSL via LoTW. HC, ECUADOR. Members of the Quito Radio Club will participate in the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Multi-Multi entry signing HC0E. QSL via HC1QRC or by the Bureau. HV, VATICAN. Francesco, IK0FVC, will be active as HV0A from the Vatican City during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Single-Op entry. QSL via LoTW or direct to IK0FVC. IOTA NEWS.............. EU-010/ (Cancelled/Update) Fraser, G4BJM, was expected to be active EU-012. as GM4BJM from Yell Island (EU-012) for the RSGB IOTA Contest (July 25-26th), but had to cancel because "their accommodation had fallen through and was unable to find an alternative that was acceptable to his XYL." (LAST MINUTE UPDATE): Fraser has found an alternative, and has booked the QTH and ferry to near North Uist, Outer Hebrides Islands. His activity will be CW only. EU-127. Ralf, DK8FA, reports that 30 operators will be active as DA0HEL from Helgoland Island between March 19-29th. Activity will be on all bands/modes and activity on the QO100 satellite. There will be a side trip to Helgoland Dune signing as DL0IH. For safety reasons, activity from the Dune will only be between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. QSL via Bureau. NA-249. By the time you read this, David, KN4ZKT, will be active as KP4/KN4ZKT from Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, until March 13th. Activity will be holiday style on the 40/20 meters, and possibly the 17/15 meters, mostly in the late afternoons (3-6pm local time) and sometimes in the morning (8-10am local time). David states, "I'll have a linked dipole for both bands (40/20m) and a vertical for 20m running QRP on SSB mode with a Yaesu FT-817. Please spot me (I may or may not have internet/cell service), or look for self-spots on http://dxsummit.fi " QSL via his home callsign. Check QRZ.com in the future for schedule updates. OC-129. Lenny, N7MOT, is now active as DU6/N7MOT from Panay Island, which is part of the Visayan Islands, Philippines. He retired here (his XYL's homeland, DV6/N5CMG) in April 2019. Activity will be on 80-6 meters using SSB and FT8. It is suggested to listen for him on 20 meters between 2300-0300z and 80/40 meters between 1200-1600z. QSL via ClubLog, eQSL or LoTW. No direct (Postal mail doesn't work in the Philippines). PLEASE NOTE: Since the Webmasters of the new <www.iota-world.org> have decided NOT to post or dedicate a Web page to announce upcoming IOTA operations, PLEASE send your IOTA operations information to the OPDX, and we will post it here in an upcoming bulletin...... LX, LUXEMBOURG. Simon-Philipp, DL3SPS, will be active as LX7I during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Single-Op/Single-Band (20m) entry. QSL via LX2A. LX20, LUXEMBOURG. Tom, F4HWS, will be active as LX20I (with YOTA friends) from Eschdorf (WW Loc. JN29XV) during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Single-Op/Single-Band (40m) entry. The special callsign is for the 20th anniversary of the LX7Icontest station. QSL via LX2A. In celebration, they will issue a special LX20I Award for those who work them on many Band/Mode slots in 2020. For more details, see: http://lx7i.com/lx20i Tom states that he will possibly warm-up as LX/F4HWS before the contest! OPDX MAILING LIST (Just A Reminder). Details on how to subscribe and unsubscribe from the "OPDX Mailing List" are at the bottom of this bulletin. PLEASE pass the word around.... Thanks and 73 de Tedd KB8NW PACIFIC TOUR (Update/Reminder). By the time you read this, operators Will/AA4NC and Ron/AA4VK should be finishing up their YJ0NC and YJ0VK Vanuatu operation and heading to Fiji. Look for them to sign 3D2AA and 3D2VK (callsign tentative). Look for Will to be active as 3D2AA during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Single-Op-Low-Power entry. They will be there until March 11th. Activity will be holiday style on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB and FT8/FT4, with 100 watts and wire antennas. QSL routes have been changed. QSL all callsigns via EA5GL. PROPAGATION FORECAST/REPORT (March 9-15th)....... Mar 09th AN Mar/12th AN Mar/14th AN Mar/10th AN Mar/13th AN Mar/15th AN Mar/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 Meanwhile, check out the following Web sites for propagation: * VOACAP predication Web page at: http://www.voacap.com/hf and http://www.voacap.com/prediction.html * DX.QSL.NET Propagation page: https://dx.qsl.net/propagation * A daily HF radio wave propagation forecast can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/thomasfranklingiellaw4hm * SolarHam Web page: http://www.solarham.net * Radio Propagation/Space Weather/Sunspot Cycle Information at: http://sunspotwatch.com * News and Information About The Sun-Earth Environment: https://www.spaceweather.com * Monthly propagation charts between four USA regions and twelve overseas locations are at: http://arrl.org/propagation * Information and tutorials on propagation are at: http://k9la.us * Graphic propagation tool by DR2W: http://www.dr2w.de/dx-propagation * Point to point propagation at: http://www.predtest.uk/p2p.html * Realtime propagation at: http://www.predtest.uk * Also on Twitter: https://twitter.com/@GiellaW4hm QSL INFO AND NEWS................... QSL-INFO from DB0SDX by Lothar, DL1SBF (www.qslinfo.eu) (March 6th) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4O4T via YU1FW & (L) JW/PA7MDJ via PA7MDJ & (L) OL700DKA via OL700DKA (O) 4W/JH2EUV via JH2EUV & (L) KH6/KY7M via KY7M OS8A via ON8VK 5B0EME via 5B4ALX (d) LZ250KD via LZ1KCP PC20MC via PA0FAW & (e) 9G5AR via N4GNR (d/L) N4F via K2BHQ (d) PJ7AA via AA9A (O/d/L) EA/SM7EDO via SM7EDO OE25BKC via OE3BKC S500E via S50O GB200FN via M0XIG (d) OE25XKJ via OE7MPI SX1DI via SV1AHH (d/e) HB0/HB9LCW via HB9LCW & (L) OH/HB9GNP via HB9GNP TO0A via IZ1MHY & (L) J68SS via NY3B (L) OL700CO via OL700CO (O) W4NC/90 via W4NC (d) (e) eQSL only (d) direct only (B) Bureau only (*-B) DX's- Bureau (O) OQRS only (C) ClubLog only (L) LoTW only (N) No QSL needed (I) No IRC (P) PayPal (NB) No Bureau LOGS ONLINE (New/Updated) AVAILABLE ON CLUBLOG.ORG THIS WEEK...... https://clublog.org/logsearch/9J2LA https://clublog.org/logsearch/HZ1FI (Updated) https://clublog.org/logsearch/J68HZ (Updated) https://clublog.org/logsearch/PJ7AA (Updated) https://clublog.org/logsearch/TU5PCT (Updated) NEW QSL MANAGER. Pedro, EA5GL, is now the QSL Manager for Ujodha, 3B8BAL, in Port Louis, Mauritius. OLD QSL COLLECTION (Update). Jean Michel, F6AJA, wants to remind every- one to visit the Les Nouvelles DX (LNDX) Web page to see more than 17,600 old QSL cards in several different albums/galleries. This site contains: - The ten most wanted DXCC entities (2009 to 2018) with more than 600 QSLs - At least one card for each 62 deleted DXCC countries (more than 2000+ QSLs) - Nearest the totality of current prefixes, disappeared now (more than 5800+ QSLs) - Album for stations from North Africa 1945-1962 (500+ QSLs) - More than 1000 QSLs from the Antarctic bases. - With 280 QSLs from the TAAF (Terres Australes and Antarctiques Francaises). - More than 100 cards from Eparses Islands such as FR/B/E/G/J/T - More than 500 QSLs for the rare French Pacific Islands such as FK, FK/C, FO/C, FO/A, FO/M, FO/C and FW - The FG, FM, FP, FS, FY stations from 1945 to 1969 - Commemoratives stations for ITU and IARU with more than 800 QSL. - More than 3000 cards for the old timer with more than 150 countries before 1945. - Cards from the French Department before 1945. - At least one card from each of the states in the U.S. before 1945. The URL address for the Web site is: http://LesNouvellesDX.free.fr Some cards are still needed for the collection, and your particip- ation is welcome. Only a ".jpg" file (both sides of the card) is required. Please visit the site and give them your comments by sending an E-mail to: LesNouvellesDX@free.fr V47JA LOG. John, W5JON/V47JA, reports: All V47JA logs through March 4, 2020, are now uploaded to LoTW. YP0H QSLS (Paper). Adrian, KO8SCA, announced: All YP0H direct QSL requests have been mailed out March 2nd, 2020. They should be delivered in a week or two to all recipients. QSLS RECEIVED VIA LoTW: 4U1UN, 4W/JH2EUV, 5H4WZ, 9A5Y, BG2AUE, CE2MVF, CE2SV, FG8OJ, HB0/HB9LCW, HS5NMF, KG4NW, S79OWZ, SV5DKL, TU5PCT, V47JA, VK5GR, VP2ETE, VP5/WA2BOT, VP8PJ, VU2OT and ZA/IK2RLM QSLS RECEIVED VIA MAIL: BI4Q (AS-135), OM3EY, YB8V (OC-157) and YJ0RRC (OC-111) QSLS RECEIVED VIA THE BUREAU: 4M1K, 6O0X, 9M2CLN, 9M2JKL, 9M2SE (AS-046), 9M2SE (AS-074), 9M4LHM, 9M8RC (OC-165), 9W6EZ, 9W8DEN, A71GO, CE7/DL2OE (SA-018), CU2KG, D44EE, DA0DFF (EU-042), DP0POL (AN-016), E20HHK/P (AS-107), EF9Z, HS10KING, JW6VDA, LU/DL2OE (SA-008), OX3LX (NA-220), OX3LX (NA-151), OX3LX (NA-134), OX7A, OX7AKT, OZ/DL6JZ/P (EU-172), T88KK, T88PB and ZD8JR --- We would like to see more QSL Bureaus (such as AS/US/SA/AF.. etc) send in their info.... S500, SLOVENIA (Special Event). Members of the Radio Club Cerkno will activate special event callsign S500E throughout 2020. Activity is to mark half a million QSOs made from the S50E (WW Loc. JN76AD) station. A special QSL will confirm each contact via the Bureau in early 2021. The Log will be uploaded to the ARRL LoTW and ClubLog on a regular basis. For those who want to send QSL cards direct, please request a QSL via Clublog's OQRS (preferred) or send SASE with 3 USDs or equivalent in EUR to cover return postage for their QSL Manager Miran Vončina (S50O), Cvetkova 35, 5282 Cerkno, Slovenija. Cards with insufficient postage or no return envelope will be returned via the QSL Bureau. Special S500E T-shirt will be awarded to a station with the highest number of QSOs (band/mode) from each continent and Slovenija. For more information and updates, please visit the Radio Club Cerkno S50E Web site at: http://www.s50e.si TO5, MARTINIQUE. Uwe, DL8UD, will be active as TO5O from Martinique (NA-107) during the RSGB IOTA Contest (July 25-26th) as a Single-Op/ All-Band/High-Power entry. Look for activity before and after the contest between July 22-30th, signing as FM/DL8UD. QSL via DL8UD, by the Bureau, direct or Clublog's OQRS. TO7DL REUNION ISLAND DXPEDITION NEWS (Update). The DL7DF Team is now active as TO7DL from Reunion Island (AF-016) until March 16th. Activity will be on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB and the Digital modes. After the recent permission of the 5 MHz band in France and the French territories, the team will also activate 60m. Please check their "News Page" during the DXpedition: http://www.dl7df.com/fr/news.php QSL via DL7DF, direct or by the DARC Bureau. They will upload the full logs of the DXpedition to LoTW within 6 months after the DXpedition. For more details and updates, see: http://www.dl7df.com/fr TT8, CHAD. After a delay in their planned early 2019 Chad DXpedition, the Italian Dxpedition Team is pleased to announce their next operation will be from Chad between September 29th and October 12th. The team finally received the required security clearance, and will be active from the Capital City Ndjamena. Callsigns will be TT8RR on SSB/CW/RTTY and TT8XX on FT8 only. Operators mentioned are Alfeo/I1HJT, Franco/I1FQH, Antonio/I2PJA, Silvano/I2YSB, Vinicio/IK2CIO, Angelo/IK2CKR, Marcello/ IK2DIA, Stefano/IK2HKT, Angelo/IK2RZP and Mac/JA3USA. Activity will be on 160-10 meters using 4 stations. Look for more details to be forth- coming and also watch: http://www.i2ysb.com/idt V5, NAMIBIA. Ulrich, ZR2A (DM5EE), will be active as V55A from Namibia during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Single-Op/All-Band entry. QSL via LoTW or M0OXO's OQRS. V5, NAMIBIA. Pat, KI4SVM, will be active as V5/KI4SVM from Namibia between March 14-28th. Activity will be holiday style, primarily in the evenings (GMT+2). He states, "With any luck I might get in a Summits on the Air activation or two. Equipment in use will be an Elecraft KX2, Hardrock-50 Amp with either a 20/40 meter vertical or 88' doublet depending on con- ditions, running 50W on SSB and CW (please be kind and QRS ). [wink] Spots are much appreciated if you hear me and look for me on DXSummit and the ReverseBeaconNetwork." QSL via his home callsign, direct (NO SASE REQUIRED), LoTW or eQSL. V8, BRUNEI. Hajime, JO1RUR, will be active as V85RH during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Single-Op/All-Band/High-Power entry. QSL via LoTW or V85RH direct: Rahman Hassan, P.O. Box 73, Gadong BE3919, Brunei. VP8PJ SOUTH ORKNEY DXPEDITION NEWS (Update). Reported by Pilot Glenn, KE4KY on March 6th, 6:25am (EST) [edited]: "VP8PJ is now QRT! (as 0100z, March 6th) The pileups were enthusiastic, fun, & at times never ending. We appreciate all of you that participated! The weather forecast for tomorrow is that of wind and rain. It will make our chore of tearing down the camp wet and very slow. We look forward to our return trip home.... 73! VP8PJ Team" By the time you read this, the VP8PJ team should be tearing down their camp and will be departing Signy Island (scheduled for March 7th) after battling with blowing snow and damaging high wind. Weather depending, Thursday, March 5th, was expected to be their last full day of operations. EDITOR NOTES: At 03:17 am Thursday, March 5th, the team was pleased to report that they are nearing 70,000 QSOs in the log. Their plan is to remain active on the bands throughout the day. They anticipate ending radio operations and going QRT at or near 2359z (later that day they stated, "We will try and stretch our operating time until about 0100 UTC tonite. ". Their attention overnight and tomorrow will be devoted to the large chore of packing the gear and then dismantling the camp. As stated previously, they will attempt an upload of the log once aboard the Braveheart as they prepare for departure from Signy Island. Also on Thursday, the team stated, "We will soon begin the process of staging equipment and supplies on the beach for transfer to the Braveheart. A number of antennas are being removed as we evaluate our 'on air' activ- ities for the remaining hours on the island. Slowly, throughout the day, we will take operating positions off-line as we prepare to end our radio operations later tonight. We cannot thank the crew of the Braveheart enough for their hard work and assistance throughout this entire DX- pedition." QSL via M0URX, direct or OQRS (direct and Bureau). LoTW will be uploaded 6 months after DXpedition. Online log is available at: https://www.m0urx.com/oqrs/logsearch.php?dxcallsign=VP8PJ The following are VP8PJ media pages to watch: The VP8PJ Web page is at: https://sorkney.com The VP8PJ Twitter page is at: https://twitter.com/SouthOrkneyDX The VP8PJ Groups.io group is at: https://groups.io/g/VP8PJ VX3, CANADA. Pete, VE3IKV, will be active as VX3X from Canada during the CQWW WPX CW Contest (May 30-31st) as a Single-Op/All-Band/Low-Power/ Non-Assisted. QSL via VE3IKV direct. Outside of the contest, Pete will be active on various HF bands and 6 meters until June 30th. W8S SWAINS ISLAND DXPEDITION NEWS (Update). The following was from the W8S Web page (https://swains2020.lldxt.eu/), date March 6th [edited]: Postponed but..... The fact that we had to postpone the DXpedition so shortly before the initially planned date does not mean that Swains2020 is no longer alive. The opposite is true.... A new planning brings many new logistical challenges with which the team is busy to resolve. Not all equipment can wait for half a year in a box for shipping and the team members also have to adjust their travel plans to the new goals. This all sounds simple, but for sure it is not. The new date also means a different season and therefore different circumstances on the island and a change in expected propagation. This means that the operating manual needs some adjustment as might the planning. The team is happy that their sponsors and supporters show so much under- standing for the situation and continue to support the team in the real- ization of this great project. It is this trust and support that gives extra motivation to the team to make the postponed DXpedition a success. Without this support a project like Swains2020 is not possible. THANK YOU XM3, CANADA. Yuri, VE3DZ, will be active as XM3T from Canada during the CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 28-29th) as a Single-Op/All-Band entry. QSL via VE3DZ. Activity with the special callsign (until April) is to celebrate 200 years of the discovering the Antarctica. YASME NEWS (Press Release; by Martti, OH2BH, dated March 3rd). YASME FOUNDATION IS RECOGNIZING THE KEY PEOPLE BEHIND RE-ACTIVATING 4U1UN [edited] -- The project took over four years to complete; James Sarte, K2QI, and Adrian Ciuperca, KO8SCA, are the key amateur operators who worked on the project and as such they will be the recipients of the Yasme Excellence Award 2020. The team used a slick in-house remote concept, whereby the station is located at the 42nd floor while the control head is located on the ground floor of the UN Headquarters in New York City. ARRL Hudson Divisions Director Ria Jairam, N2RJ, and Yasme Director Martti Laine, OH2BH, will be jointly presenting the Yasme award at the UN Headquarters in New York City on Friday, March 6, 2020. This ceremony will be topped with the first-ever FT8 QSO from 4U1UN – with its inventor Joe Taylor, K1JT, at the controls. First twenty-five QSOs will be awarded by U.N special certificate signed by Joe. What perfect timing! — following the ceremony the group of K2QI, G6CBR, N2RJ, OH2BH, KO8SCA and VE7NY will activate 4U1UN in the ARRL DX SSB Contest. By the way, this will be a much more complex exercise than you might imagine, since, for security reasons, the operators will need to be escorted at all times by the UN security officers. See you in the air! QSL via HB9BOU. ZD7, ST. HELENA ISLAND. Oliver, W6NV, will once again be active as ZD7W from Jamestown on Saint Helena Island (AF-022) during the CQWW DX SSB Contest (November 28-29th) as a Single-Op/All-Band entry. QSL via W6NV or LoTW. His length of stay was not provided. ZF, CAYMAN ISLANDS. William, KO7SS, will be active as ZF2SS from Cayman Brac Island (NA-016) during the CQWW WPX CW Contest (May 30-31st) as a Single-Op/All-Band/High-Power entry. QSL via LoTW only. ZL, NEW ZEALAND. Operators Frank/ZL2BR, Geoff/ZL3GA, Phil/ZL3PAH and Paul/ZL4TT will use the "Quake Contesters" callsign ZL3X during the 2020 Commonwealth Contest (BERU) [March 14-15th]. QSL via LoTW, Club- Log or direct to ZL3PAH. No Bureau. ZW, BRAZIL. Rodrigo, PY2KC, (member of the Araucaria DX Group) will be active as ZW5B from Curitiba during the ARRL DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th) as a Single-Op/All-Band/High-Power entry. QSL via K3IRV. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following stations are expected to be active in the ARRL International DX SSB Contest (March 7-8th, 2020) Complete details on the rules for the contest: http://www.arrl.org/arrl-dx -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to Bill, NG3K, for providing OPDX readers with the following consolidated listing of the participants in the 2020 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/adxs2020.html (By callsign) http://www.ng3k.com/Misc/adxsd2020.html (By entity) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Contest DXCC Class QSL Callsign Entity Route ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3D2AA Fiji SO LP EA5GL 4U1UN UN HQ M/? LoTW; QSL via HB9BOU 8P5A Barbados SOAB HP LoTW; QSL via HA1AG A44A Oman SO LoTW C6ATF Bahamas M/? H33K Panama M/? HP1DAV HB0A Liechtenstein M/S LoTW HC0E Ecuador M/M HC1QRC HV0A Vatican City SO LoTW; QSL via IK0FVC J68HZ St. Lucia M/? LoTW J68SS St. Lucia M/S NY3B KH6LC Hawaii SOAB LoTW NP2P U.S. Virgin Islands SO LoTW P40A Aruba SO WD9DZV PJ4/N2HX Bonaire SO LP N2HX PJ4G Bonaire M/? WA2NHA PJ7AA Sint Maarten SO AA9A PY0F Fernando de Noronha SO PY7RP T32AZ East Kiribati SO LoTW; QSL via KH6QJ (B/d) TO3Z Guadeloupe M/? F6HMQ TO5A Martinique SOAB LoTW; QSL (REF-B); USA QSL via WA6WPG, others F5VHJ direct TO0A St. Martin M/S LoTW; QSL via IZ1MHY V26M Antigua & Barbuda SOA W3HNK V47P St. Kitts & Nevis M/? LoTW V47T St. Kitts & Nevis SOAB HP LoTW V55A Namibia SOAB LoTW; QSL via M0OXO OQRS V85RH Brunei SOAB HP LoTW; QSL via V85RH direct: Rahman Hassan, PO Box 73, Gadong BE3919 Brunei VP2MMF Montserrat SO LoTW; QSL via KU9C VP5M Turks & Caicos M/S LoTW; QSL via K4QPL VP9I Bermuda SO LoTW; QSL via WW3S YJ0CA Vanuatu SO VK2YUS (d) ZF1A Cayman Islands M/S LoTW; QSL via K6AM (B/d) ZF2RJ Cayman Islands SO LoTW; (C) ZF5T Cayman Islands SO LoTW; QSL via K5GO (d) (e) eQSL only (d) direct only (B) Bureau only (*-B) DX's- Bureau (O) OQRS only (C) ClubLog only (L) LoTW only (N) No QSL needed (I) No IRC (P) PayPal (NB) No Bureau *********************************************************************** TO BE ADDED TO THE OPDX MAILING LIST -- Click or send requests to: Subscribe: (mailto:kb8nw@hotmail.com?subject=subscribe) Unsubscribe: (mailto:kb8nw@hotmail.com?subject=unsubscribe) Just a reminder, you can still obtain the OPDX Bulletins via the OPDX Web page (provided by John, K8YSE) [http://www.papays.com/opdx.html], QRZ.com (under Forums; News; Special Events, Contests.. etc.), several DX Mailing Lists, and two different UseNet Groups (rec.radio.info and rec.radio.amateur.dx). The weekly bulletin (issue # from the OPDX Web page URL) is also posted on the following Media pages: NODXA FaceBook -- https://www.facebook.com/NorthernOhioDxAssociation Twitter -- https://twitter.com/kb8nw_opdx ALSO VISIT THE NORTHERN OHIO DX ASSOCIATION'S WEB PAGES AT: http://www.nodxa.org/ http://www.facebook.com/NorthernOhioDxAssociation *********************************************************************** * All excerpts and distribution of "The OPDX Bulletin" are granted as long as KB8NW/OPDX/BARF80 receives credit. ** To contribute DX info, please send via InterNet Mail to: (kb8nw@arrl.net) or (kb8nw@hotmail.com) Information can now be faxed to the following phone line at: 1-419-828-7791 (F A X only!) ....... 73 de Tedd KB8NW /EXIT -----------------------------------------------------------------------
