Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 390
January 4, 1999

The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 390
BID: $OPDX.390
January 4, 1999
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, K1XN & GOLIST, N1NG, WB2RAJ/WB2YQH & The 59(9) DXReport, W3UR & The Daily DX, AJ4Y, N4GN, NO4J, K6FCC, W7TSQ, K8YSE, K9MIF, KU9C, EP2FM, F5NOD, G3SWH, HB9CXZ, HB9HFN, JH1LPZ, LX1NO, OH2BH, OH2BVE, OK2AP, PA3BXM, PY2YP, VE8PW and YO2LDE for the following DX information.

3A, MONACO. "The 59(9) DXReport" states to look for Luc, I1YRL, to be active in January as 3A/I1YRL on all bands. QSL via homecall.

5A, LIBYA. 5A1IC has been very active over the past week, mainly on CW, 40-10 meters. Activity over the past weekend seemed to concentrate on 40/17/12/10 meters. In "The Daily DX" they report that the operators are a YL named Veronica/IK3ZAW and her boyfriend Martino/IK3RIY. QSL via IK3ZAW .

5Z, LAMU ISLAND. Jim/G3RTE, Phil/G3SWH, John/G3WGV and Rob/5Z4RL will activate Lamu Island on the northern Kenyan coast between February 17th and 24th. Lamu counts as AF-040 for IOTA purposes and has been activated only twice before. It also counts as 5Z for DXCC purposes, of course. The team will be active with two stations on CW, SSB and RTTY on all bands from 160-10 meters, with the exception of 30 meters, which is not permitted in Kenya. There is hope for a special callsign to be announced closer to their departure date. QSLs will be handled by G3SWH: Phil Whitchurch, 21 Dickensons Grove, Congresbury, Bristol, BS49 5HQ, United Kingdom or via the RSGB bureau. Donations towards the cost of the expedition are invited and may be sent to G3SWH.

EA8, CANARY ISLAND. Good friend and member of NODXA, Fritz/DL7VRO and other German operators have been active from here. Activity seems to have started around January 1st. Activity has been on all bands, 80-10 meters, CW/SSB with operations on the WARC bands. Their length of stay is unknown at this time. Look for DL7VRO, DL3DRN, DJ4EJ and DJ8HD to sign EA8/homecall.

EP, IRAN. The latest news on amateur radio activity in Iran comes from Mr.Abdollah Sadjadian, EP2FM, who is in Iran. He reports that the Iranian PTT Adminstration has set up a station EP3PTT at their offices. This station is operated by some old time EP2s. The station is also operated by applicants who have passed the amateur radio exam (about 26 at present), but under supervision of the oldtimers. Mr. Jamshid Mansuri (EP2CN) and Mr Massod Adle (EP2ES) have devoted one to two afternoons per week to keep the station on fairly regular. Activity has been mainly on 20 meters. Khalil Ladjevardi, K6FCC (ex-EP2KL), has setup a Web page for EP (Iran) and it is as follows: http://www.qsl.net/k6fcc/AmateurRadioInIran.htm He also mentions a new Web page address and the latest information about amateur radio activity in EP-land is in process of being posted at: http://www.vtt.fi/ket/staff/komppa/ep.htm

FT5ZH QSLS (Special Mailing Procedures!). Lyon Dx Gang Association have announced the following important procedures in mailing for FT5ZH QSL cards:

1. All cards sent by bureau will be QSLed via the bureau.
2. All cards sent with sufficient postage will be returned direct, provided that the following new procedures are followed:
   1. In order to speed up the return process, the postage and the envelopes will be standardized. The envelopes will be provided by the European Council, so PLEASE DO NOT SEND A RETURN ENVELOPE.
   2. Instead, please send a printed address label with your QSL card. If you do not supply a label, then make sure that your COMPLETE and CORRECT mailing address is on your QSL card. If not, put it on a piece of paper ATTACHED to your card. If you have absolutely no way to produce a printed label, then the Lyon DX Gang will write your address manually on the envelope which will take longer for them to process.
   3. Very important! All direct QSLs MUST be sent to the club address given below. Cards sent by mistake to the pilot stations will be forwarded via the BUREAU only, so this will be a very slow process. Here is the address: Radio Club de la Gendarmerie F6KDF, 292 route de Genas, F-69677 BRON CEDEX, France

FT5ZH log is NOW AVAILABLE at the following Web site: http://perso.easynet.fr/~f5nod/ft5zhlog.html Also, OPDX InterNet Subscribers will receive the FT5ZH expedition results (statistics) as an additional bulletin.

FW, WALLIS & FUTUNA ISLANDS. Cedric, HB9HFN, will be active as FW5FN next February/March (February 23rd-March 8th). His activity will mainly be CW on 160-10 meters. He has put up a home page where you can find more information (geography, schedules, material, logs, QSL, flight plan) about his DXpedition at: http://www.qsl.net/hb9hfn/pacific99.html

JT1A POST-CONTEST REPORT. A press release written by Martti, OH2BN, and provided by Tim, N4GN, announced the winners of the lucky-draw for three bottles of Mongolian vodka. Those eligible had made 6 band contacts with JT1A during the CQWW CW Contest. The winners are: JA3YKC, JJ1VRO and ON5NT. The JT1A was a joint Finnish Mongolian operation. QSL via SCSDXT, Jouko Hayrynen, OH1RX. OPDX InterNet Subscribers will receive the complete press release as an additional bulletin.

NEW PREFIX, VY0. Starting April 1, 1999, all VE8 stations within the new territory of NUNAVUT will change to the new VY0 prefix. Most of these stations (there are only 4 or so active) reside within CQ Zone 2. The new prefix will be permanently assigned to the territory of NUNAVUT, which comprises all of the Eastern Arctic. NUNAVUT (which means = Our Land = in Inuktituk) will be Canada's newest territory starting April 1st this year. The old VE8 prefix will be assigned to stations in the Western Arctic, Zone 1.

PACIFIC DXPEDITION. "The Daily DX" reports that two Hungarians, HA9RE and HA8IC, have announced that they are planning a DXpedition to several islands in the Pacific Ocean. Currently, plans are still being worked out, but they hope to activate West Kiribati (T30), East Kiribati (T32) and Banaba (T33) sometime between January and the middle of March. Operations will be on CW, SSB and RTTY with activity on all bands from 160-10 meters. More information/details is forthcoming soon.

QSL INFO AND NEWS.......

• Bob, W7TSQ, reports that effective January 1, 1999, he will be QSL Manager for AH6PN/HR6. Also, Bob would like to remind all that the /HR6 is part of the callsign and all direct QSL requests will be answered directly. He states that he will not see the first log until mid February. Please remember to put a $0.33 stamp on the SASE. Cards without postage will be returned via bureau.
• QSL Info Server Available Via The InterNet. To use the server, here are the simple instructions:
  1. Send E-mail to qsl-info@datasync.com
  2. Put the DX callsigns in the message body. Include only callsigns for best performance. Anything after the word "end" in the message body will not be looked up (useful if your E-mail signature contains a callsign).
  3. Please don't use "reply" to send more callsigns to look up. Replies don't go to the robot server. Compose a new message instead.
  Additions and corrections should go to the database maintainer: Lothar, DL1SBF - packet radio address: DL1SBF @ DB0SDX.#BW.DEU.EU E-mail: k9pes_ms@siiks.a1.bosch.de Other comments, etc. to Ray, WQ5L rocker@datasync.com
• Cesar, PY2YP, reports that he has received several ZZ2Z QSL requests and can not reply because he has run out of cards. He requests to please reapply to: Ron Lago (AC7DX), P.O. Box 25426, Eugene, OR 97402 U.S.A.
• Many have been asking what the QSL route/address for XU7AAN is. There have been some reports that XU7AAN was operated by JH8CLU, but the QSL route is via JH8YZB at: Hokkaido-Contest-Club, P.O. Box 48, Tomakomai, 053-0000, JAPAN.
• QSL Manager Luis, HB9CXZ, reports that he received the new QSLS for 4F3CV and HB5H just before Christmas (after a long-long wait). He states that he replied to all the QSL cards received direct and from the bureau (about 1500). He mentions also that he is waiting for QSLs from IK2GAO for the HB9RL and HB5RL operations. He feels that the cards should be received in a month.
• John, K8YSE, reports that the QSL cards for FO0PAP and FO0MAC have not been printed yet. Please be patient and DO NOT RESEND CARDS.
• QSL Manager change/update for BS7H, VK9XM, XZ1A and XZ1X. Steve, KU9C, announced this week that Kan, JA1BK, has asked him to pick up the QSL management chores for the following operations: BS7H 1995 operation, XZ1A 1995 operation, XZ1X 1995 operation, BS7H 1997 operation (Japan QSL requests only! All other requests via W4FRU.) and VK9XM. You can QSL any of the calls listed above via KU9C at this address: Steve Wheatley KU9C, PO Box 5953, Parsippany, NJ 07054 USA Any questions, feel free to contact Steve via:
  • E-mail - ku9c@ix.netcom.com
  • Phone - 973.829.1890
  • Fax - 973.644.5053
• The VP8CRB DXpedition logs are on-line and can be found at: http://no4j.com/nfdxa/logs/vp8crb.htm Dave, NO4J, will be posting/updating the logs daily for the duration of Jan's (K4QD) stay. QSL info is also on this site.
• Steve, CE3/NE4Z uses XR3Z during contests. All QSL requests for XR3Z should go to Steve via the CE bureau or direct to: Steve Sexton, Av. Larrain 7618, La Reina, Santiago, Chile
• OH0AA cards should go to bureau or via OH0AA Call Book Address. OH2BVE is NOT the manager for OH0AA. OH0NC handles the cards in the OH0AA club station. The cards sent to OH2BVE will be returned to bureau system and forwarded to OH0AA.
• Milan, OK2AP, reports the new OKDX Club Web page is now up and running. The Web page is designed especially for DXers with all kinds of info. The URL address is: http://www.okdxc.cz

T33, BANABA ISLAND. Just a quick reminder that Karl, DL1VU, is now active as T33VU. Some reports indicate that he will be active through January. Activity should be on all bands, but mainly on CW. Over the past weekend, he was heard on 10 and 17 meters CW.

T9 AND ZA (BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA & ALBANIA) OPERATIONS. Daniel, YO2LDE, reports that he will make another trip to T9 and ZA to operate RTTY in February. Daniel hopes to stay in Albania for one week and in Bosnia-Herzegovina for two weeks. He also mentions that he is looking for a little financial support for this operation from DXers. It would be greatly appreciated. QSL via YO2LDE, Daniel M. Vuescu, Zadei F3-1-7, RO-1700, Resita, Romania. Please don't send the QSLs cards via Bureau. He does have a QSL Manager for North American stations (USA, Canada, Mex., etc) which is KB5IPQ. Daniel also provides the following Web sites of interest for DXers:

• The South-West DX Bulletin (weekly) with all news from around the World at: http://qsl.net/yo2lde/swdxnews.html
• 1998 and 1987 All QSL Managers listed in 1997 and 1998 at:
  • http://qsl.net/yo2lde/qsl97.html
  • http://qsl.net/yo2lde/qsl98.html

TF7, ICELAND. Gulli/TF8GX, Manu/LX2LX and Norby/LX1NO will be active from Westman Island (EU-071) during the IOTA Contest 1999. Callsigns to be used are to be announced later. Activity before and after the contest, will be concentrated on the WARC bands and RTTY. For further inquiries, please send E-mail to: lx1no@bigfoot.com

VQ9, CHAGOS ISLAND (Update). Dale, W4QM, is now back on the air as VQ9QM as of December 29th. Dale had an interesting trip last week. As reported last week he was headed to the Persian Gulf on a ship only to be ordered back to VQ9-land (1000 miles out), and then they were ordered to return back to the Persian Gulf again. After heading back again, about 100 miles out, they were again ordered to return back to VQ9-land. (ed. Not much site seeing on this trip. More like a YO-YO ride.) Anyway, Dale has been very active on 10/12/20/30 meters CW at various times.

ZL9CI, CAMPBELL ISLAND DXPEDITION UPDATE. It has been reported that as of 0020z, January 1, 1999, the ship called "Braveheart" sailed with the ZL9CI team aboard. The team left from Wellington for a 7 day journey to Campbell Island. They feel it will take one day for setup, so start looking for them around the 9th. Don, N1DG, Pilot Station for ZL9CII, will keep us posted on the ZL9CI Web site: http://www.qsl.net/zl9ci/ Here is a bit of news from the team: "Ron, ZL2TT, was scheduled to do the SSTV for us. As he is not making the trip and as we do not have the expertise to run SSTV, it will no longer be a featured mode on the expedition, sorry. All other plans stay intact including plans to upload logs daily to the Web page. Plan on at least a 24 hour delay to get the logs over Pacsat after operations commence. All logs will have a 24-36 hour delay in transmission."

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
"Totally devoted to Amateur Radio" - 24 Hrs a day 8/N/1 14.4k-300 baud