Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin #1459

SB DX @ WW < KB8NW $OPDX.1459
Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1459

The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 1459
BID: $OPDX.1459
April 6, 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, W2VU, NG3K & ADXO, WA3MD,, W3UR & The Daily DX,
AD5A, K5GS, W5JON, WB6RSE, K8YSE, W8GEX & 60m DX News, W9ILY, DL1SBF,
DL7UXG & The DX News Letter, DXNews.com, DX-World.Net, EU7A, F6AJA &
Les Nouvelles DX, GU0SUP, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, LY4Q, OH2BH, RN3RQ,
Sixitalia Weekly, and VA3RJ & ICPO for the following DX information.

DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT: According to the AR-Cluster Network for the
week of Sunday, 29th/March, through Sunday, 5th/April there were 219
countries active. Countries available: 3A, 3B8, 3D2, 3DA, 3V, 3W, 4J, 4L,
4O, 4S, 4X, 5A, 5B, 5H, 5R, 5T, 5U, 5W, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7X, 8P, 8Q, 8R, 9A,
9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9L, 9M2, 9M6, 9V, 9Y, A2, A3, A4, 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, FK, FM, FO, FR, FS, FY, G, GD, GI, GJ, GM, GU, GW, H4, HA, HB, HB0,
HC, HH, HI, HK, HK0/a, HL, HP, HR, HS, HV, HZ, I, IS, J3, J6, J7, JA,
JD/o, JT, JW, JX, 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, PY,
PY0F, PZ, S0, S2, S5, S7, SM, SP, SU, SV, SV5, SV9, T33, T5, T7, T8, TA,
TF, TG, TI, TK, TR, TT, TZ, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V2, V3, V5, V6, V7,
V8, VE, VK, VK9N, VP2E, VP2M, VP8, VP9, VR, VU, XE, XW, YA, YB, YI, YL,
YN, YO, YS, YU, YV, Z2, Z3, Z6, Z8, ZA, ZB, ZD7, ZD8, ZD9, 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".

9G, GHANA. Matteo, IZ4YGS, is now and once again in Ghana via a special
flight, but currently under quarantine. He will be active as 9G5GS from
Sanzule, West Takoradi (Western Region), Ghana, sometime between April
13th and May 15th. Activity will be limited to his spare time (usually
on "almost every evening", between 2100-0000z) on 160-10 meters using
mostly FT8 (F/H) and SSB, with a Yaesu FT-891 and 100 watts into a ver-
tical antenna. On FT8 (Fox-Hound Mode) the suggested frequencies are:
3567, 7056, 10131 and 14090 kHz. On FT8 (Standard Mode) on the standard
frequencies; PLEASE SEND REPORT FIRST, not the Loc. He will also be active
through the QO-100 geostationary satellite, USB mode. He will update
daily to ClubLog. QSL via LoTW, IZ4YGS direct or eQSL.

AO5, SPAIN AND CANARY ISLANDS (Special Event/Update/Reminder). Special
event stations AO5DXX (Spain) and AO5DXX/8 (Canary Islands) are now active
until April 15th. Activity is to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the
DXXE Group (Mexican Contest and DX group). Operations will be on 160-10
meters using CW, SSB, FT4, FT8, PSK* and RTTY* (*depending on CONDX).
QSL only via LoTW. ADDED NOTE: Also, look for Thierry/F4GVO who will
operate as TM15DXXE until April 15th, and will be on 80-6 meters using
SSB, FT4 and. QSL only via LoTW.

CQ NEWS (Press Release, dated March 27th). Rich, W2VU, announced the
following [edited]: Randy Thompson, K5ZD, Named Interim WPX Contest
Director -- Former CQ WPX Contest Director Randy Thompson, K5ZD, has
been appointed interim director of the on-air competition following the
resignation of Terry Zivney, N4TZ. Zivney had been contest director for
the past seven years. The WPX Contest is amateur radio's second-most
popular competition, with only the CQ World Wide DX Contest drawing more
entrants each year.
"We thank Terry for his excellent work in administering and promoting
the WPX Contest," said CQ Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU, "and we will miss
him as part of our contesting staff. I am looking forward to working
closely again with Randy, who has been part of our contest leadership
team for many years."
Thompson, who has also previously served as director of the CQ World
Wide DX Contest, is a long-time CQ Contest Committee member and admini-
strator of the various CQ contesting websites. Experienced contesters
who are interested in "giving back" to the contesting community by admin-
istering a major contest are invited to apply for the position of WPX
Contest Director. Inquiries and applications should be directed to CQ
Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU, via e-mail to <w2vu@cq-amateur-radio.com>.

DXPEDITIONS (Updated/Cancellations). Over the last few weeks there have
been many DXpeditions, present and upcoming, that have canceled their
operations due to the coronavirus or travel restrictions caused by it.
Many of the DXpedition have postponed, rescheduled for later in the year
or planned to be active next year in 2021. The current list of cancel-
lations is as follows (as of print time) [this week 59, up from 54 last
week]:
3B8XF Mauritius (cut short) SP7D Poland
4V5H Haiti T30ET West Kiribati
8Q7KB Maldives T88HS Palau
9A1A Croatia T88SM Palau
9K2F Failaka Island (AS-118) T88UW Palau
A25VR Botswana TC4PLH Turkey
CE0Y/VE7ACN Easter Island TG9BBV Guatemala
CP6/R7AL Bolivia TO7BP Martinique
CP6/RW9JZ Bolivia TU2R Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
CP6/RK8A Bolivia V31FX Belize
CP6/RZ3K Bolivia V6TOPG Micronesia
CP6/RK8A Bolivia V62P Polap Atoll (OC-155), Micronesia
CQ3W Madeira Island V62S Satawal Atoll (OC-299), Micronesia
CT9/DF7EE Madeira Island VK5KI Kangaroo Island (OC-139)
D4C Cape Verde VP2V/KB9DPF British Virgin Islands
DU2/SP5APW Calayan Island (OC-092) VP2V/K0NR British Virgin Islands
FK/C Chesterfield Island VP2V/W9DR British Virgin Islands
HS0ZME (cut short) VP5/AF3K Turks and Caicos Islands
IP1A Palmaria Island (EU-083) VP5/W2TT Turks and Caicos Islands
J88PI St. Vincent VP5P Turks and Caicos Islands
JW/DF3TS Svalbard VU4R Neil Islands (AS-001)
JW/DC8TM Svalbard W8S Swains Island
KH2KY Guam XR8RRC/p Riesco Island (SA-091)
KH7M Hawaii XW4XR Laos
MM2U Scotland (EU-008) Z66Y Kosovo
NH7A Hawaii ZA/HG2DX Albania
PA2020IG The Netherlands ZC4MK U.K. Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus
PJ2/DK5ON Curacao ZD7VJ St. Helena Island
PJ7AA Sint Maarten (cut short) ZF2PG Cayman Islands
PZ5G Papegaaien Island (NA-092)

A3, TONGA. Operators Stan/LZ1GC and Ivan/LZ1PM will be active as A35GC
from Tonga between October 19th and November 2nd. Activity will be on
160-10 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8. Their goal is to make 15,000
QSOs. QSL via LZ1GC, ClubLog's OQRS, direct or by the Bureau. Look for
the logs to be uploaded to ClubLog during their operation. Uploads to
LoTW will be one month later for sponsors, and six months for everyone
else after their activity. A Web page is currently under constructions
at: http://www.c21gc.com/index.php/a35gc-dxpedition-2020

ARRL HAMFEST/CONVENTION CANCELLATIONS (Update). The ARRL has created a
Web page that lists all hamfests and conventions that have advised the
League that they are canceling scheduled events due to the concerns over
the coronavirus (currently there are 39 listed):
http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/search/page:1/keywords:Canceled/model:Event

DXCC'S MOST WANTED (ClubLog). The "DXCC Most Wanted" entities list has
been updated on ClubLog as of March 30th. The list contains 340 entities.
The following are the top 26 entities:
1. P5 DPRK (North Korea) 14. KH4 Midway Island
2. 3Y/B Bouvet Island 15. ZS8 Prince Edward & Marion Islands
3. FT5/W Crozet Island 16. VP8O South Orkney Islands
4. BS7H Scarborough Reef 17. PY0S Saint Peter and Paul Rocks
5. CE0X San Felix Islands 18. PY0T Trindade & Martim Vaz Islands
6. BV9P Pratas Island 19. KP5 Desecheo Island
7. KH7K Kure Island 20. SV/A Mount Athos
8. KH3 Johnston Island 21. VP8S South Sandwich Islands
9. 3Y/P Peter 1 Island 22. EZ Turkmenistan
10. FT5/X Kerguelen Island 23. KH5 Palmyra & Jarvis Islands
11. FT/G Glorioso Island 24. JD/M Minami Torishima
12. VK0M Macquarie Island 25. YK Syria
13. YV0 Aves Island 26. ZL9 New Zealand Subantarctic Islands

The complete "DXCC Most Wanted" entities list (340) is available at:
https://secure.clublog.org/mostwanted.php

E6, NIUE. Operators Stan/LZ1GC and Ivan/LZ1PM will be active as E6AM
from Niue between September 28th and October 17th. Activity will be on
160-6 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8. Their goal is to make 25,000
QSOs. QSL via LZ1GC, ClubLog's OQRS, direct or by the Bureau. Look for
the logs to be uploaded to ClubLog during their operation. Uploads to
LoTW will be one month later for sponsors, and six months for everyone
else after their activity. A Web page is currently under constructions
at: http://www.c21gc.com/index.php/e6am-dxpedition-2020

GU75, GUERNSEY (Special Event). The Guernsey Amateur Radio Society (GARS)
will be running a special event station between May 6-12th (main days of
operation are 8/9/10th), to mark the 75th anniversary of the Liberation
of Guernsey from Occupying Forces. The callsign will be GU75LIB. Activity
will be on the HF bands, all modes, QO100, and maybe some 2m/70cm activity
as well, depending on conditions. The station will operate from St. Peter
Port, Guernsey. QSL via the Bureau, or direct to Dave, GU8ITE (QTHR).

HR, HONDURAS. Gerard, F2JD, who has been active as HR5/F2JD from Honduras
since December 12th, and was expected to end his operation on April 4th.
He may be staying long due to the current situation (Covid-19). Unless a
flight opportunity presents itself, he may be there until early June. In
the meantime, Gerard will be active on 160-6 meters using CW, SSB and the
Digital modes. Paper QSL from F6AJA direct or via the REF Bureau. The
logs will be posted on the LNDX Web site at:
http://LesNouvellesDX.fr/voirlogs.php

INTERNATIONAL MARCONI DAY (Canceled). The International Marconi Day event
which is organized every year by the Cornish Radio Amateur Club, and was
scheduled for April 25th, has been canceled due to the coronavirus. See:
http://gx4crc.com/gb4imd

IOTA NEWS..............
AS-207. (Reminder/NEW) By the time you read this, members of the Russian
Robinson Club (RRC) should be active as R207RRC from Kosa Dvukh
Pilotov Island (RDA CK-05, WW Loc AP18gg, RRA RR-11-05) in the
Chukchi Sea Coast Centre group for the first time ever until
April 10th. Operators mentioned are Victor/UA3AKO, Yuri/UA0KBG
and Alexander/RA3AV. Activity will be on 40/30/20/15 meters
using CW, SSB and possibly FT8 (F/H). QSL via UA3AKO, direct,
by the Bureau or ClubLog's OQRS. For more details and updates,
watch QRZ.com or the Web page: http://r207rrc.ru
They need your financial support because of the complex and
expensive logistics. PayPal address is: r207rrc@gmail.com
UPDATE: Team arrived on Kosa Dvukh Pilotov Island at 1740 UTC,
Saturday April 4th.

NA-210 A video on the KL7RRC/p, 2019 August-September, Sledge Island
expedition is now available. The video contains Yuri/UA9OBA
(President of Russian Robinson Club), Alexey/NW7M (who edited
the video), Yuri/N3QQ (the leader/brainchild of the expedition)
and Mike/AD5A (President of the Island Radio Expedition Foun-
dation [IREF]. The 10 minute+ video can be viewed on YouTube.com
at:

OC-047. Bernhard, DL2GAC, continues to be active as H44MS from Malaita
Island, Solomon Islands, and was expected to leave on April
23rd. However, all of his flights have been cancelled, and he is
expected to operate from there for sometime. Activity is planned
to be on 80-6 meters using SSB and FT8, but watch 40/17 meters.
QSL via DL2GAC, direct or via ClubLog. Possibly LoTW in the
future.

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......

JA NEWS (160/80m Changes). Yoshi, JG7AMD, reports that there are changes
coming on 160/80m for JA operators. He states [edited], "On March 11th,
the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications replied for public
comments about expanding bandwidth 160m and 80m. The current JA's band
plan for 160m is: 1810-1825 kHz CW and 1907.5-1912.5 kHz CW and DATA
The addition will be: 1800-1810 kHz All Mode and 1825-1875 kHz All Mode
Yes, All mode means not only data but phone as well. No need big split
QSO with FT8 anymore. The starting date hasn't been announced yet, but
I guess before CQWW this year."

LY300 & 4Z0, LITHUANIA AND ISRAEL (Special Event). By the time you read
this, two special events LY300GAON (from Lithuania) and 4Z0GAON (from
Israel) should be active until April 30th. Activity is to celebrate the
year 2020 in Lithuania as a year of the Great Lithuanian Rabbi Elijas
ben Saliamon Zalman, known also as Vilnius Gaon, who was born in April
300 years ago. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilna_Gaon) A special
"VILNIUS GAON 300" e-award is available by making 6 contacts on 3 dif-
ferent bands and on 2 different modes with the special event stations:
LY300GAON (3 QSOs) and 4Z0GAON (3 QSOs). Also, you need to make 5 contacts
with any LY stations and 5 contacts with any 4X/4Z stations (Total - 16
contacts on any bands or modes). Please send your award applications to
Award Manager, Rolandas, LY4Q, at (ly4q@qrz.lt) by May 31st, 2020. The
LY300GAON operators mentioned are: Algirdas/LY2BMX, Gintautas/LY2GV,
Pranas/LY2J, Andrejus/LY2HQ, Ričardas/LY2FN, Albinas/LY2MM, Valerijus/
LY2QT, Vilius/LY2PX, Mindaugas/LY2VO, Andrius/LY3AB, Rolandas/LY4Q,
Tomas/LY4TB, Bronius/LY5O and Remigijus/LY8O. The 4Z0GAON operators are:
Jan/4X1VF, Arthur/4X4DZ, Victor/4X6GP, Chanan/4Z1DZ, Gil/4Z1KD, Mark/
4Z4KX and Ros/4Z5LA.

PROPAGATION FORECAST/REPORT (April 6-12th).......
Apr/06th AN Apr/09th AN Apr/11th AN
Apr/07th AN Apr/10th AN Apr/12th AN
Apr/08th 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
* Real-time 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) (April 5th)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
3Z0X via SP5MXZ HB2K via HB9OCR S50EARTH via S59FOP (e)
4A60O via XE2KJ HZ1STAYHOME via HZ1SAR SN3R via SP6GNJ
AN100L via EB5R IO7T via IZ7ECL & (L) SN5N via SP5KP (d/L)
DL0WCA via DF6QE LX20I via LX2A SN8K via SQ8ERS & (L)
DQ1P via DK1IP & (L) LZ603IL via LZ1KCP SP50ENV via DL1EKO
EC6FK via RW6HS (d/L) OE6Z via OE6CLD & (L) TM29X via F5MUX
EF8I via EA8TK OZ2SPACE via OZ1ACB UG5F via RW3DSR
EF8W via EA8TH (L) PV2P via PY2DY (d/L) ZW75FEB via PT2ADM
EO50LW via UT7LW R207RRC via UA3AKO (O)

(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/J68HZ
https://clublog.org/logsearch/XR8RRC/MM

3D2CR QSL STATUS. "Following similar news regarding international postal
services' issues, we also must report that currently, the Polish Post
Office, does not process any in and outbound international mail. Due
to the fact we cannot send any 3D2CR cards internationally – until
the coronavirus issues end and the postal service would resume providing
reliable services, again. We will keep an eye on the situation and will
post updates immediately once we hear any positive news.
Big 73, take care and be healthy!
The RDXG Team"

VK9NE, VK9NC & VK9NG QSL STATUS. QSL Manager Przemyskaw, SP7VC, for the
VK9NE, VK9NC and VK9NG operations informs that international mail from
Poland is not working currently. All envelopes and packages are being
sent back with the annotation 'Return to sender. Suspension of transport
by airlines'. In addition, severe government restrictions on COVID-19
limit access to many services and introduce restrictions on the movement
of citizens. Card shipping will resume as soon as the situation is normal.

VP8PJ QSL/LoTW STATUS. QSL Manager Tim, M0URX, reports the following
on March 29th:
– We are approaching 6,000 requests for QSL cards, Direct and Bureau.
– 731 "Not in Log" requests have been investigated and answered, the
few that remain will be completed this week. For a DX-pedition with
83,500+ QSOs and 20,500 unique callsigns in the log this is a very
small number, it indicates the DX-pedition team's attention to
logging accuracy.
– LoTW processing is up-to-date. All donor LoTW records were uploaded.
Current OQRS LoTW uploads are processed daily.
– The VP8PJ QSL cards are being designed by the team.

Due to the Covid-19 situation I have been asked to report to work
7 days per week, for a 10 hour shift. I will continue to process QSL
confirmations and research issues as time allows, please be patient.
For those who have not yet reported a "Not in Log" problem, please
use the form on OQRS QSO entry page. Responding to individual e-mails
is time consuming and non productive.
Please do not send screen-shots unless requested, and never send your
log files, spreadsheets or screen-shots of your log, they are of no use
to researching a problem.... Tim M0URX

QSLS RECEIVED VIA LoTW: 3B8XF, 3W9FU/P, 4L8A, 5B60ALJ, 5H3DX, 5H3UA,
9A9A, 9N7AM, D41CV, DS3EXX, EA9ACD, EX0QR, FR4QT, HB0/HB9LCW, HC5DX,
HI8DL, HV5PUL, JA7BXS, JY4CI, JY5HX, KG4NE, RI0B, RT0F, T6AA, T77LA,
TA0TA, TA9J, VK3FLCS, VK4SN, VP8PJ, WH6EY, XX9TYT, Y21UC (1989), YB0MWM
and ZS1ANF

QSLS RECEIVED VIA MAIL: 5I4ZZ, 5I5TT, EP2TC and OD5NJ/P

QSLS RECEIVED VIA THE BUREAU: 4J9M, 4J9RI, 4T100MP, 5H3EME, 5H3UA, 6O0X,
9H3TX, A52BH, A61QQ, CP4BT, CT9/LZ4AE, GS3PYE/P (EU-008), GT3PYE/P
(EU-116), HK6KKK, J68GU, OA4ASD, OA4CN, OA4DOS, OA4DPO, OA4O, OC4HP,
OH9A (EU-126), OJ9A (EU-192), P29VCX (OC-025), SV8/DL7DF (EU-052),
TO80SP, VP2MUW, XR0YD, Z21DXI, ZC4UW, ZK3A, ZL3IO, ZM4T and ZS/SP5ES
--- We would like to see more QSL Bureaus (such as AS/US/SA/AF.. etc)
send in their info....

RSGB VIDEO FROM THE 2019 CONVENTION LECTURE (The "Arctic Legends" Ex-
pedition). A video (40+ min) and lecture on the RI0B operation to the
Russian Polar Arctic is now available on YouTube.com at:


S59, SLOVENIA (Special Event). Members of the Radio Club Slovenska Bistrica
(S59FOP) will activate the special callsign S50EARTH during the month of
April. Activity is to celebrate World Earth Day (April 22nd). The cele-
bration was first organized in 1970. It is coordinated by the global Earth
Day network. This event is celebrated every year in almost 200 countries
around the world. Operations will be on various HF bands. QSL via eQSL.

SN100, POLAND (Special Event). Members of the Radio-Club Krobia have
activated special event station SN100KW until May 31st. Activity is to
commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Pope John Paul II (born
as Karol Wojtyla [1920-2005]). QSL via SP3PGS by the Bureau.

SPECIAL STAY AT HOME STATIONS/ACTIVITIES. Be looking for many special
event stations to hit the airwaves to promote "STAY-AT-HOME" and raise
awareness for the restrictions necessary to fight the spread the corona-
virus. Stations announced are: 8A1STAYHOME (Indonesia), 9K9STAYHOME
(Kuwait), A60SH/1 [SH=StayHome] (United Arab Emirates), A60SH/2, A60SH/3,
A60SH/4, A60SH/5, AX2020STAYHOME (Australia), GB5NHS (NHS=National Health
Service), HZ1STAYHOME (Saudi Arabia), TC1STAYHOME (Turkey), VC2STAYHOM
(Canada) and XM2STAYHOM (Canada). QSL via operator's instructions.

V4, ST. KITTS. John, W5JON, will once again be active as V47JA from his
Calypso Bay, St. Kitts, West Indies vacation home, located 200 feet from
the Caribbean Sea, between June 11th and July 2nd. Activity will be on
160-6 meters (incl. 60m) using SSB and FT8, with emphasis on 6m and 160m
- FT8. Equipment is a Yaesu FT1000MP, FT857D and an Elecraft KPA500 Amp-
lifier. John states his antennas are a Mosley Mini32A 10/15/20m, 33'
Vertical 10-40m, 35' Top Loaded 80m Vertical, 160m Vertical and 6m 5
element Yagi. ALL QSLs go to W5JON direct or via LoTW. NO Bureau QSLs.

VC2, CANADA (Special Event). Mike, VE2MXU, will use the special event
callsign VC2STAYHOM (no "E") to raise awareness for social distancing
during the COVID-19 pandemic and global public health emergency. Special
event use of callsign runs from April 6th, 2020 - May 6th, 2020. QSL via
VE2MXU direct or LoTW.

VP8PJ PHOTOS. Gene, K5GS, informs that additional photos have been added
to the VP8PJ Photo Gallery's main menu (pull down menu; several albums;
with more photos to come) at: https://sorkney.com

W3, UNITED STATES (Special Event). Frank, WA3MD, informs that special
event station W3A will be active between April 17-30th to bring attention
to April being World Autism Awareness Month. Activity will be on various
HF bands using FT8, CW and some SSB. A special QSL card will be available
after the special event is over. PLEASE QSL direct to WA3MD and include
SASE. DX Station PLEASE include return postage if direct. QSL is OK via
the Bureau or send a Bureau Request by E-mail to: wa3md@comcast.net

W8S SWAINS ISLAND DXPEDITION NEWS. The following were posted on the W8S
Web page (https://swains2020.lldxt.eu/home/) [edited]:
* March 28th: 180 days to go.... There is not much to tell at the
moment. We are sure that most of you have other concerns and not
thinking about Swains. Normally we would be back in Pago Pago today
after 13 days activation of Swains, but things are completely dif-
ferent now. We hope that all of you are still in good shape and don't
have too many problems staying indoors. Looking forward to September.
.... 73, The Swains 2020 Team
PS. We are still receiving donations. Thanks to all for their faith
in the project.

* April 4th: A change in the team -- Due to the new dates set for the
Swains2020 adventure it became clear that Dieter, DJ9ON, could not
make it due to other obligations. So unfortunately the team had to
say goodbye to Dieter and look for a new team member. It is our
pleasure to announce that Marcel, PA9M, will fill the vacant place
in the team. Marcel is an experienced operator with a lot of low
band and contest experience. We welcome Marcel to the team!
https://swains2020.lldxt.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/pa9m.jpg
172 Days to go.....

XM2, CANADA (Special Event). Pierre, VE2EH, will be active as XM2STAYHOM
(no "E") to raise awareness for social distancing during the COVID-19
pandemic and global public health emergency. Length of operation was not
mentioned. QSL via VE2EH by the Bureau.

ZM, NEW ZEALAND (Special Event). The following was posted on March 31st,
on the NZART (New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters) Web site
[https://www.nzart.org.nz/], by Don, ZL2TLL, NZART ALO: Use of ZM callsigns
during COVID-19 Lock-down -- At the suggestion of Paul, ZL4TT, we applied
to Radio Spectrum Management for, and have been granted, approval to
treat the COVID-19 lock down period as a "special event". This means
that, for the duration of the lock down, New Zealand Amateurs may use
the ZM prefix instead of the ZL prefix on their callsign. Please feel
free to use these callsigns from today. We hope that the use of the ZM
prefix will:
* help to relieve the boredom for amateurs stuck at home over the
lock-down period; and
* increase the profile of New Zealand amateurs (and New Zealand in
general) overseas.
Stay safe in your bubble.

ZW60, BRAZIL (Special Event). BY the time you read this, the special
event station ZW60DF will be active until April 30th. Activity is to
celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of Brasilia, Brazil's
capital in 1960. QSL via LoTW or PT2GTI.

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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

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* 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

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