Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 445
January 24, 2000

The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 445
BID: $OPDX.445
January 24, 2000
Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW
Provided by BARF-80 BBS Cleveland, Ohio
Online at 440-237-8208 28.8k-1200 Baud 8/N/1

Thanks to the Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society, Northern Ohio DX Association, Ohio/Penn PacketCluster Network, K1XN & The Golist, WB2RAJ/ WB2YQH & The 59(9) DXReport, W3UR & The Daily DX, AJ3M, N4AA & QRZ DX, N4GN, WA4GMS, N5VT, K6TAR, K7BV, K7WX, K8YSE, W8KKF, N9QBT, A35RK, DJ5AV & DX News Letter, DF3CB, GM4SUC, HP1AC, HK3JJH, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, JA3VXH, JI3DST, LA4LN, PA5BW, PA5ET and VU2NTA for the following DX information.

3B6, AGALEGA. A multi-national team headed up by HB9BXE will be active from here in October of this year. They expect to land on Agalega October 5th and begin to operate between October 7-23rd. Activity will be on all bands and modes. The operating licence and landing permits have been assured and should be issued in the next few months. They are looking for sponsors and contributions. For more information contact Joe Meier, HB9AJW (via E-mail at: 100450.540@compuserve.com ).

3E, PANAMA. Cam, HP1AC, reports that he will be using a special Millennium callsign, 3E2K, until January 31, 2000. Activity will be "CW ONLY". QSNs show that he has been active mainly on/around 7008, 14014 and 21017 kHz after 0000z or between 1030 and 1230z. QSLs via HP1AC: Camilo A. Castillo, P.O.Box 0860-00144, Villa Lucre, Panama, PANAMA.

8Q7, MALDIVE ISLANDS. "The 59(9) DXReport" states to look for 8Q7CR to be active from February 10th on SSB, RTTY, Amtor and Packet. QSL via DF5JR. The "425 DX News" reports that Bert, PA0LPE, is also expected to be here and sign 8Q7PA now through February 3rd. Activity will be on CW and SSB. QSL via PA0LPE.

AX, AUSTRALIA. Bernie, VK4EJ, reports that he will be using the special prefix "AX" for "Australia Day 2000" for 24 hours only, from 1400z January 25th to 1400z January 26th. QSL is via VK4EJ: Bernie McIvor, 30 Brennan Parade, Strathpine, Qld, 4500 Australia. Also, look for AX1TX to be active and QSL via K1WY. Also AX6APK and other VK were mentioned to be active.

CARIBBEAN TOUR. By the time you read this Lars, SM0CCM, should be finishing up or has gone QRT from his FM/SM0CCM operation on Martinique. His next stop will be Dominica where he will be active as J73CCM until February 12th. He will end his Caribbean tour in Guadeloupe and will be active as FG/SM0CCM between February 13-17th. Even though his XYL is with him, Lars plans to be active 2-5 hours a day on 80-10 meters mostly on CW. QSL via SM0CCM (bureau is preferred).

CE0Z, JUAN FERNANDEZ (Just when you thought it was over!). Bernd, DF3CB, informs OPDX that a German team will go to Robinson Crusoe Island from February 17-29th. The expected callsign will be CE0ZX or CE0ZY (not yet confirmed). Two stations will be operated simultaneously with emphasis on CW and RTTY but also some SSB and PSK31. Special attention will be paid to the low bands. The team consists of DL2OAP, DL3DXX, DL7UFN, DK1BT and DK7YY who activated T20FW, 3D2DK, ZL7DK, P29VXX and S21XX in the recent years. An online logsearch site for the expedition will be announced soon. QSL via the DL bureau or direct to DK7YY at: P.O. Box 700343, 10323 Berlin, Germany. Special thanks goes to CE0ZIS, CE3CWF and XQ3IDY for making this trip possible.    (ed. Here is another one!) "QRZ DX" reports that three Finnish operators (OH2MXS, OH2NSM and OH3JF) have been planning this operation since last August and they were unaware of the plans by the group from Chile. This operation is scheduled for March 17th through April 8th. They have the license in hand and will be signing "homecall/CE0Z". They will have three complete HF stations, with amps. Activity will be on 160-10 meters with operations on CW/SSB and RTTY. Their goal is 40,000 QSOs emphasizing CW and RTTY. QSL Manager will be OH2BOZ. The team is looking for financial support to fund their expedition which will cost approximately 12,000 USD, and this is without the printing of QSL cards. For further information, contact the coordinator of this expedition: Keijo Loisti, OH2BOZ, Jaalankatu 11, FIN-04430 Jarvenpaa, FINLAND (or via E-Mail - KEIJO.LOISTI@NOVOGROUP.COM /or FAX: Int + 358 9 5067 2270)

FH, MAYOTTE (also Seychelles). Both "QRZ DX" and "The Daily DX" report that Roger/G3SXW and Nigel/G3TXF will be operating from here until January 31st signing FH/homecall. Activitty will be on 80-10 meters, CW only. Roger and Nigel will do a brief operation on Seychelles (S7) after their Mayotte operation on February 2nd, as S79SXW and S79TXF, again CW only. QSL to their respective homecall.

IOTA NEWS............

• AS-037.  Takeshi, JI3DST, will be active from Koshiki Archipelago (Kami- Koshiki-Shima) in the cities of Kamikoshiki-Mura, Satuma-Gun, and Kagoshima) from March 17-20th. He will once again sign JI3DST/6 and 7N3UXO/6. Activity will be on 40/17/15/12/10 meters (40m ONLY for Japan). QSL via the JARL Bureau (the BEST way) or direct (1 IRC is best, Please don't send 1 USD) to: Takeshi Funaki, 2-18-26 Hannan-cho Abeno-ku Osaka-city, OSAKA 545-0021 JAPAN
• SA-047.  A few weeks ago, OPDX mentioned that PA3DES was going to activate Ilha do Mel. Thanks to Ben, PA5BW, who provided OPDX with the following update. Ben states after a lot of effort and despite promises, their license was finally refused on formal reasons. However, to their great relief a ham on the mainland nearby, PY5CDA, came to their help. So they will be active from the island using the callsign PY5CDA/A, between February 14th and March 13th. They will concentrate on the 'traditional' ham-bands, 160/80/40/20/15/10 meters, using wire antennas and 100 Watts. QSLs for the PY5CDA/A operation will go via Erik, PA3DES. Please note: This route is only valid for QSOs from  Ilha do Mel in the mentioned period, normal PY5CDA QSOs should NOT be sent to Erik.
• SA-NEW.  Pedro, HK3JJH, states he will activate a new IOTA in February and sign HK3JJH/4. It was hard for your editor to decipher Pedro's E-mail, but we think he will be going to Pelon de Napu Island, which we could not find on the IOTA list. It must be in the Antioquia/Choco North Division Group. He also states that he will be going to Isla Palma (SA-078).

INTERNATIONAL LIGHTHOUSE/LIGHTSHIP WEEKEND 2000. Mike, GM4SUC, reports that last year the "International Lighthouse/Lightship Weekend" took place from 0001z on Saturday 21st August until 2359z on Sunday 22nd August 1999, when 218 amateur radio stations were established at lighthouses and light- ships in 39 countries. This year the period of the event is from 0001z on Saturday 19 August until 2359z on Sunday 20 August 2000. The event is NOT a contest and each station decides how they will operate their station in regards to modes and bands. OPDX InterNet Subscribers will receive more details on this event by Mike, GM4SUC, as an additional bulletin.

J3, GRENADA. Harry, W8KKF, will be active as J37K from March 4-7th. He plans to be an active station in the ARRL DX Contest over that weekend. There will be activity before and after the contest, and the operator will favor non-US/Canada locations. Activity on the air will end around 2400z on March 7th. QSL's go the CBA of W8KKF.

NP2, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS. Dennis, K7BV ( k7bv@aol.com ), the new trustee for the WP2Z station, will be on St. Croix doing antenna repair work due to hurricane damage now through February 1st. He will appear on the HF bands signing NP2/K7BV when the work schedule allows. Dennis will also be active as WP2Z using a balloon supported vertical during the CQ 160 CW Contest January 29-30th. All QSLs via KU9C.

QSL INFO AND NEWS.....

• Masa, AJ3M, reports that he logged over 1400 QSOs and would like to    thank those who worked him during his short visit. He mentions that    the QRN was pretty bad, and he could not hear well. He also promised    that he will be at the station again to make more QSOs. Do not send    AJ3M QSLs. QSL "ONLY" to: PO BOX 3873, New York, NY 10017.    
• Takashi, JA3VXH, reports that he is NOT the QSL Manager for 9Y4KB. He    has received many QSLs for 9Y4KB via the bureau (mostly from European    countries) and some direct QSLs with S.A.S.E. Takashi has no idea how    to get a QSL for 9Y4KB and does not know who distributed this wrong    QSL information. OPDX did some research and found that several databases    and cluster networks list Takashi as the QSL Manager. We did not find    a QSL Manager, only a direct mailing address: Brian Eligon, 34 Locust    Hill, Malick, Trinidad & Tobago, W.I.
• Rob/PA5ET (8Q7ET) and Ronald/PA3EWP (8Q7WP) have returned home from    their Maldives DXpedition. Rob tells OPDX that all logs are now on-line    as well their diary, the statistics and a nice picture gallery. Check    the Web page:  http://www.muurkrant.com/pi4com/Maldives/8q-2000.html   
• Tip, N4SIA, who was recently active from Guantanamo Bay (GMTO), Cuba,    as KG4AS, wants everyone to know that the direct QSL address is OK in    the "2000 BUCKMASTER" :  206 76 th. Street Va. Beach, Va. 23451-3113   
• OD5NH QSLS (WOW!). OD5NH cards are being received from his QSL Manager    W4AO (now his ex-Manager) with no contact information on them and on    the back of the card is the following text: "Sorry, I am no longer qsl    manager for OD5NH. The cards I furnished at my own expense did not meet    with his approval.  QSL direct only. Good luck, 73 W4AO"   
• Looks like a "typo" was made (in OPDX.444) on the information about    Frederick, AA4NG, not being the QSL manager for the recent VP5W (not    VP4W as reported last week). However, he is the QSL Manager for the    1991 VP5W operation only. The correct QSL information for the December    1999 operation is W4OV.
• Ulrich, DK4VW, reports to please NOT send envelopes with GERMAN    STAMPS fixed on for the return of QSL cards for the club station    RW2F/RK2FWA in Kaliningrad (or for other UA2-calls in the official    list of "via DK4VW"). DK4VW`s address is "mail drop" only, and all    letters with cards are forwarded on to private ways to UA2 and    verification is done in Kaliningrad. IRC or green stamps for return    postage is ok. If you intend to send your  QSL card via the Bureau,    you may send it via the RUSSIAN Bureau - not via DK4VW. Russian hams    are urged not to send their cards to the DL bureau via the Moscow!    Use domestic ways to Kaliningrad. All cards arriving via bureau will    also be answered in Kaliningrad, and your QSL cards will be sent to    the Moscow bureau. Ulrich states that the next transport is scheduled    for the end of January. The weight of the package is about 20 kilogramms    or more with all cards.

SPECIAL EVENT. The "Ski Flying World Championship" will be held in Vikersund (near Oslo), Norway. The special event callsign LM7SKI has been issued for use for amateur radio operators for this event. The LM7SKI station will operate during the period of January 30th through February 14th. There will at times be several stations operating simultaneously on different bands (all from 160 to 2 meters) and modes (CW, SSB, digital). Suggested frequencies are:

• SSB - 1845, 3700, 7075, 14200, 18150, 21200, 24920 and 28500 kHz
• CW  - 3525, 7025, 10125, 14025, 18075, 21025, 24895 and 28025 kHz

QSL via LA7M, direct or via the LA Bureau. A special Web site is under construction at:     http://www.zykes.com/LM7SKI/

TX0, CHESTERFIELD ISLANDS (the next new DXCC entity!). Just before going to print, OPDX received a press release from Tim Totten, N4GN, on the upcoming DXpedition to the Chesterfields Island (IOTA OC-176, 158 deg 19 min East, 19 deg 52 min South). The complete press release will be sent to all OPDX InterNet Subscribers as an additional bulletin. Here are excerpts from that release. The Association des Radio Amateurs de Nouvelle Caledonie (ARANC), the amateur radio society of New Caledonia, is pleased to report that the Chesterfield Islands DXpedition remains on target for the window of March 15th through April 1st.  A more detailed schedule will be announced in future press releases. The New Caledonian telecommunication authorities have issued the distinctive callsign TX0DX for this multi-national expedition. The TX0DX team will operate from two sites far enough apart to allow simultaneous CW and SSB operation on the same band. Four HF stations each equipped with Yaesu FT1000MP transceivers will provide for plenty of activity on all bands, as well as RTTY operation. A separate station equipped with a Yaesu FT655 will be dedicated to six meters. Because the Coral Sea typhoon season is still very active during March, weather is likely to play a major role in this expedition. Several special arrangements have been made in this regard. TX0DX will have two QSL Managers:

• Jarmo Jaakola, OH2BN - for HF QSOs ONLY
• Kan Mizoguchi, JA1BK - for six-meter QSOs ONLY

The TX0DX Web site can be found at:       http://www.n4gn.com/tx0dx/ Additional information regarding the TX0DX DXpedition will be added during the coming days and weeks.

V7, MARSHALL ISLANDS. By the time you read this, Tom/N4XP and Mike/N6MZ should be active from here. Callsigns are currently unknown, but "QRZ DX" suggests that they may operate as V7/homecall. Activity for Tom will be about a week, while Mike will stay and operate until February 10th. Their activity will be mainly on 160/80/12/10 meters. QSL to their home callsigns.

VU, ANDAMAN AND LAKSHADWEEP ISLANDS. Nat, VU2NTA, reported this week that "Neither Lakshadweep nor Andamans is likely to be activated in the near future if the Government of India has its way. The government is clearly not in favor of any Amateur operation from any of these islands. ...... So you can keep either Lakshadweep or Andamans off your wish list for 2000!!!"

XZ, MYANMAR. The XZ0A team continues to be active from Thahtay Kyun Island until February 6th. The latest press release states, "The XZ0A team is now more than a week into operating with approximately 36,000 QSOs, evenly divided between SSB and CW. As JA, EU and VK/ZL are relatively easy paths to/from Southeast Asia, our operators have done their best to concentrate their efforts on the terminator openings for South America and North America. Over such long distances, both the short path and the long path become important considerations, even for the higher frequencies. Please visit               http://www.getnet.com/~k7wx/flash.htm for some recommendations based on information collected from our logs." OPDX InterNet Subscribers will receive the complete press release dated January 21st as an additional bulletin.

ZK1, NORTH COOK ISLANDS. The Italian operator Adriano, IK2GNW, is finally active as ZK1GNW from North Cook after arriving on the island with an inoperable rig. Adriano's QSL Manager Sil, I2YSB, sent him a new rig via DHL express delivery which was guaranteed to arrive in Rarotonga on January 16th. However, it did not arrive as of the 19th. Apparently, Adriano must have received the rig just before last weekend. He was heard this past weekend on 10 meters SSB (around 28460 kHz after 0000z). Adriano was also active on 24935 kHz at 0200z. He will stay here until January 27th and then go to South Cook. QSL via I2YSB.

ZK1, SOUTH COOK ISLANDS. Jim, ZK1JD, on Rarotonga Island is also quite active on 10 meters SSB (around 28465 kHz after 0000z). He reports that there will be a new operator, ZK1MM, to be up in a couple of weeks from North Cook. Also active is ZK1BJA who showed up this past weekend. Activity was on 40 and 30 meters CW, and 20 meters SSB after 0400z. QSL via LA5VK.

ZV, BRAZIL. Look for Delson, PY4AUN, to be active as ZV4D until April 30th to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Discovery of Brazil.

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
ALSO VISIT THE NORTHERN OHIO DX ASSOCIATION'S WEB HOME PAGE:
http://www.en.com/users/k8yse/nodxa.html

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