Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 350
March 30, 1998


The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 350
BID: $OPDX.350
March 30, 1998
Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW
Provided by BARF-80 BBS Cleveland, Ohio
Online at 440-237-8208 28.8k-1200 Baud 8/N/1 (New Area Code!)

Thanks to the Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society, Northern Ohio DX Association, Ohio/Penn PacketCluster Network, WB2RAJ/WB2YQH & The 59(9) DXReport, N4GN, N6VV, W7TSQ, K8XP, 7N1GVB, F6AJA & LNDX, G4BUE & DX News Sheet, I8NHJ, IT9JPK, ON4WW, PS7AB, SM5MX, SP2BIK, SP5ELA, SU1HM and YC0FTD following DX information.


3B8 & 3B9, MAURITIUS AND RODRIGUEZ ISLAND. The "DX News SHeet" reports that Laurent, F5MUX, will be active sometime after April 1st from Mauritius and also a brief operation from Rodriguez. He will only use 100 watts in a R7 vertical. QSL via home call.

7X, ALGERIA (UPDATE). Mark, ON4WW, reports that he will be leaving for 7X this week. His license will be looked at or arranged upon arrival (TNX to info provided by F6FNU). He is also thankful for the help provided by EA5XX and S01M, that may make an operation from West Sahara possible if Mark can cross the border. His possible callsigns (but not vertified at this point in time) may be 7X0WW and S04WW. His stay in 7X-land for QRL purposes is initially 6 months. Mark will use a 100 watt rig (TNX to Yaesu of Europe) and a G5RV antenna (TNX ON4MA). Activity will be mostly CW and low bands. QSL via ON5NT. Mark mentions that for those of you who are still waiting for 9X/ON4WW and 9X4WW cards, Ghis (ON5NT) has received a new batch of 20,000 cards for those calls, and 5X1T. Bureau cards should go out any time as well now.

EA8, CANARY ISLANDS. The German group (DL7AU, DL7URB, DL7UBA, DF8XC and DL7VRO), who were active as ED8CTM in the CQ WPX Contest this past weekend, will continue to be active until April 6th. Operations will be on all bands, CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL via DL7VRO. Also, look for Ron, G4DIY, to be active April 5-11th as EA8/G4DIY. Activity will be maninly CW on 20, 17 and 10 meters. QSL via home call.

FT5/X/Y/Z, CROZET, KERGUELEN, AMSTERDAM/ST. PAUL ISLANDS. The French DX bulletin "LNDX" reports Rene, FR5HR, will start shortly for a new trip around these rare island for one and one half months. They are not sure if he will operate from each place. The QSLs for his previous trip are still at the printer's. PLEASE be patient. QSL via the following address: Rene Allegre, 56 rue Leconte de Lisle, 97411 Bois de Nefle, France

H40, THE TEMOTU ISLANDS (Update). Tim Totten, N4GN, sent out three press releases throughtout the past weekend. OPDX InterNet Subscribers will receive ALL/COMPLETE unedited press releases as an additional bulletin. The following are excerpts from Tim's releases for our "Packet Radio" readers..... Tim states, "All systems are 'go' for the launch of the H40AA DXpedition." Team members over the past week and weekend were very busy making final preparations. Activity by team members, using H44RY, was heard this past weekend. As the team did an all-band effort in the CQ WPX SSB Contest. Remember, even though the contest effort will be taking place from the DXpedition site in Temotu, QSOs will count for Solomon Islands DXCC credit (H44) before 2359z on March 31st. At that time, the H40AA call will make its debut, and QSOs will begin counting for Temotu (H40) DXCC credit pending approval of the new country application. Temotu will qualify for separate DXCC status by reason of separation by water. The new DXCC rules, which become effective at 2359z on March 31st, change the separation criteria from 225 miles to 350 km. The Solomon Islands Temotu Province includes the following islands: Santa Cruz Islands, the Reef Islands, the Duff Islands, Tikopia Island, Anuta Island, and Fatutaka Island. The DXpedition will take place on the largest island in Temotu. The island is officially known as Nendo and is more commonly referred to as Santa Cruz Island. The H40AA operation will take place in a small village known as Lata (provincial capital). The H40AA team is sad to report that one of the original team members, Kari, OH2BC, will be unable to make the journey to Temotu. Kari recently suffered a fall in which he broke several bones in his hand. The team also reports two changes have been made to the frequencies listed in the original H40AA announcement (refer to OPDX.348). Please note the following new transmit frequencies: 160 meters (SSB and CW) - 1824.5 kHz and 10 meters SSB - 28395 kHz. The team has received another call sign, H44DX, to be used from Honiara, the Solomon Islands' capital, as the DXpedition operators pass through on their way to and from Temotu. This callsign (H44DX) may be heard on the air before, after, and even during the H40AA operation. H40AA will hit the air waves at 2359z, March 31st, and will continue through the early hours (UTC) of April 13th. Normally, three stations will be in service at any given time. For the first several days, two stations will run almost exclusively SSB--primarily on 20 and 15 meters. During this time, the third station will concentrate on CW, emphasizing 40 meters at night and 17 meters during the day. Beginning April 6th, the emphasis will change to CW operation, paying more attention to the other bands. RTTY operation will begin on April 8th, and will be limited to 15 and 20 meters. The H40AA team would like to emphasize that they intend to stick to the basic plan outlined above. In this way, all DXers will be given the maximum opportunity to make at least one QSO with this 'new one' during the early days of the operation. Following is the complete, updated list of H40AA transmit frequencies incorporating the changes announced earlier:

Lastly, remember, H44RY and H44DX QSOs count for Solomon Islands credit, while H40AA QSOs will count for the new Temotu Islands DXCC entity, pending approval of the application. QSL H44RY via OH1RY. QSL H40AA and H44DX via OH2BN. Also, the H40AA DXpedition Web Site is now available at the following URL: http://www.iglou.com/n4gn/h40aa/

DX NEWS FLASH...... As your editor was ready to hit the key to send out OPDX.350, a message was received from Kaz, JH1ORA, stating well-known HIDXA DXer Jim Smith, VK9NS, is in the Solomon Islands and will be active from the Temotu Province Islands group. Jim was in Honiara and moved to Santa Cruz Island on March 28th. After 3 hours of sailing by canoe, Jim is now on Pigeon Island located in the Reef Island group. He is currently signing H44/VK9NS and will change his callsign on April 1st to H40AB. His operation should count as the same entity as the H40AA operation. QSL via HIDXA (VK9NS).

JAPANESE ACTIVITY RARE IOTA. A very large group of Japanese operators will activate an island in the Honshu's coastal group (AS-117). Their activity will be from Awashima (otherwise know as Awa Island) beginning 0900z on April 17th and lasting until 2100z April 18th. Operations will be on CW/SSB on 80-6 meters including the WARC bands (check IOTA frequencies). The operators callsigns and addresses were provided to OPDX, but we suggest you listen for details by the operators. Operator's callsign/address are:

JT1, MONGOLIA. A large group of Italians will be active from Ulan Bator, Mongolia from April 7-14th. Operators will included I0SNY (leader), I1JQJ, I0TIC, I8NHJ, IK0AEH, IK0FUX, IV3FSG, IK5/EA8AFJ, IK0SHF, IV3ZAC and IZ0AZQ. The group will have two complete HF stations on the air 24 hours and a third station on the satellites plus 6 meters. Their planned activity will be 160-6 meters which includes CW, SSB and RTTY. The special callsign JT1Y will be used from the Mongolian Radio Sports Federation Club station JT1KAA (located in Zone 23). The team plans on leaving a 40 meters monobander behind for the JT1KAA station. The following are the suggested frequencies:

Log checking will be available on the 425 DX News WEB pages. The team plans to upload the logs to the Web on a daily basis in order to let amateurs check them while the activity is taking place. Contributions and QSLs can be sent to I0SNY, Nicola Sanna, Str. Gualtarella 8/M, 06132 S. Sisto - PG, ITALY. Visit the JT1Y WEB site for updates at: http://www-dx.deis.unibo.it/htdx/jt1y/

QSL INFO AND NEWS.....

SN0, POLAND (Special Event). A special event station SN0JG will be active from Gdansk, from April 3rd until June 30th. The station will be on the air to celebrate the 500th anniversary of printing technology in Gdansk. QSL via SP2BIK.

SPDX CONTEST REMINDER. Zygi, SP5ELA, The President of Warsaw University of Technology RC (SP5PBE), would like to inform/remind OPDX readers and contesters that the 1998 SPDX Contest will be held on April 4-5th. Entries can be all modes or single mode CW/SSB. The SPDX Club of PZK has the honor to invite the radio amateurs from all over the world to participate in the SPDX Contest. The object of the contest is to establish as many contacts as possible between radio amateurs around the world and radio amateurs in Poland. For more information, the following E-mail and URL addresses were provided:

SU8, EGYPT (Special Event). Hossam, SU1HM, reports that for the first time ever, amateur radio activity will take place in the ancient Egyptian city of Luxor during the period of March 29th and April 4th. The event is organized by the members of ERAA and the special callsign SU8LXR was assigned for this occasion. Operators Ezzat/SU1ER, Ahmed/SU1AH, Said/SU1SK, Sayed/SU1SA, Hisham/SU1HB and Hossam/SU1HM will also be using their own callsigns/8 and the ERAA's club station will sign SU0ERA/8. Look for SU8LXR on 20 meters (14220 kHz). Activity on other bands/modes will be announced on the above QRG.

TM0, OLERON ISLAND. Jean Claude, F5LEJ, will be active from this French island as TM0DX from August 1-15th.

V63, MICRONESIA (New IOTA). Lew, N6VV, announces that an operation from Mokil Atoll is scheduled for June 1-7th. This will be a new IOTA island plus the first time an operation will take place from Mokil Atoll. Mokil Atoll is located in the State of Pohnpei (IOTA letter d.) in the Federated States of Micronesia (V63). Before the activity on Mokil Atoll, the team of Mike/NG7S, Lew/N6VV and Dan/W7DR will be active from the former German Colonial City "Kolonia", Pohnpei Micronesia (IOTA OC-010), May 24-31st. The team during this time will also operate in the CQ WPX CW Contest (Multi-Op) as V63VV. Lew, N6VV, has received the callsign V63VV. Dan and Mike will also be receiving V63 callsigns. N6VV, W7DR and NG7S have already received the permission to visit the remote Micronesian island, Mokil Atoll. Callsigns to be used on Mokil are V63VV/p and the other assigned callsigns by Dan and Mike. Their equipment list includes: Yaesu FT-1000MP, FinnFet FF-1001 Solid State KW amplifer, Force/12 C3S Yagi, Monoband GP Verticals for 40,20,15 meters, R-7000 Vertical and wires for 80 and 160 meters. QSLs for V63VV go to N6VV (CBA or Bureau). The V63 callsigns for W7DR and NG7S will go to their home callsigns. For more information contact Lew, N6VV at: E-mail - lew@book.net, home phone +1.925.945.6413 or fax +1.925.944.4989

XV7, VIETNAM. Right before going to print, OPDX received the following from Rolf, SM5MX. He reports that he is now in Hanoi, Vietnam, again, where he will activate his dormant callsign XV7SW from the end of March until the middle of May. As this is a private visit and Rolf is travelling light, he is only bringing an IC-706 and a 5-band vertical for 80-10 meters. Hence, no QRO, no beams and no Top Band this time. Luckily though, upon arrival, Rolf was invited to work from the QTH of fellow Sweden Torsten (XV7TH), so Rolf is now active with a TH-5 triband Yagi; 80 and 40 meters may be activated later with the vertical. Because of the rules in Vietnam, he is restricted to operation on certain fixed frequencies only. The designated frequencies for XV7SW are: 3506, 7007, 14016, 14021, 21016, 21019, 28016 and 28019 kHz. Rolf will concentrate on CW as usual but may operate some SSB occasionally on 7086, 14243, 14249, 21421, 21427 and 28661 kHz. Since operation hours will be irregular, XV7SW cannot handle any skeds. QSL via his home call SM5MX, either via the bureau or direct to: Rolf T. Salme, SM5MX, Korpstigen 5 B, SE - 135 53 Tyreso, SWEDEN. He will handle all incoming cards upon his return to Sweden in May. While in Southeast Asia, Rolf is planning a DXpedition to another country. More information later, KYFC. Also, just a quick reminder that Steve/K2WE/3W6WE and Les/W2LK/3W6LK are still active with their own 3W callsigns until March 31st (refer to OPDX.347). Their activity will probably continue (not sure how long) but under the Kasati Ham Club callsign 3W6KA.

ZK2, NIUE. Look for Frank, DL7FT, to be active until about April 12th as ZK2FT. His activity recently has been mainly on SSB 20-10 meters. QSL via his home call.

ZV3, MARINHEIROS ISLAND (BRAZIL). PY3ACC and PY3CKO will activate this Brazilian (DIB 49, not IOTA) April 17-19th, ZV3A and ZV3C, respectively. Activity will be on 40 and 20 meters CW/SSB. QSL via bureau or direct to: Alberto V. Christensen, R. Irmco Josi Otco 170/1302, 90035-060, Porto Alegre (RS), Brazil.

SPECIAL NOTE FROM THE EDITOR. Please send all DX announcements/information "ONLY" to the addresses below and "NOT" to the distribution InterNet address of: dxinfo@barf80.nshore.org

OPDX INTERNET SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE REQUEST: opdx-request@nshore.org
OPDX WORLD-WIDE WEB HOME (provided by John, K8YSE):
http://www.en.com/users/k8yse/opdx.html
OPDX SPANISH WEB SITE. (provide by "QTC Magazine" and Tony Pernas, EA1CSI):
http://www.intercom.es/qtc/qtcopdx.htm

Excerpts and distribution of The OPDX Bulletin are granted as long as KB8NW/OPDX/BARF80 receive credit. To contribute DX info, call BARF-80 BBS online at 440-237-8208 14400/9600/2400/1200/300 and leave a message with the Sysop or send InterNet Mail to one of the two following addresses: kb8nw@barf80.nshore.org -or- aq474@cleveland.freenet.edu - OR - Send a message via packet to KB8NW @ WA8BXN.OH.USA.NA - OR - Use the VOICE or FAX answering machine at 440-237-8208 which shares the same phone line as BARF-80 BBS using a data/fax/phone switch. To access: 1) Dial Number. 2) Wait for first ring (the second ring should be a false ring from the fax/data switch box) and then dial four quick ones ("1111"). (NOTE: Some FAX machines that send single "BEEPS" every second will not have to do this step.) 3) The phone will pick up and after the "BEEP" leave your voice message or FAX.

Tedd Mirgliotta KB8NW
InterNet: kb8nw@barf80.nshore.org
Basic Amateur Radio Frequency BBS (BARF-80) +1 440/237-8208
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