Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 548
February 4, 2002

The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 548
BID: $OPDX.548
February 4, 2002
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, AB5K & the AR TelNet Clusters Network, AI2Q, W3UR & The Daily DX, K4VUD, K4ZIN, N4AA & QRZ DX, W4TYU, AC7DX, K7BV, W8EB, K8YSE, K9DC, NW0L/PJ2T, 5B4AFB, CE6TBN, DL1EK & DX News Letter, DL2FAG, DL5AXX, DL7CM, F5NQL & UFT, F6BFH, G3SWH, G4BGW, G4JZO, IN3QBR, Japan DX News, M0DXR, OK1KT, ON5NT, PS7AB, SM0SMK, UA0SJ, VA3RJ & ICPO and VK4AAR for the following DX information.

DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT: According to the AR-Cluster Network for the week of Sunday, 27/January, through Sunday, 3/February there were 240 countries active. Countries available: 3A, 3B8, 3C, 3D2, 3DA, 3V, 3W, 4J, 4L, 4S, 4W, 4X, 5A, 5B, 5H, 5N, 5R, 5V, 5X, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7P, 7Q, 7X, 8P, 8Q, 8R, 9A, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9L, 9M2, 9M6, 9N, 9Q, 9U, 9V, 9X, 9Y, A2, A4, A5, A6, A7, A9, AP, BV, BY, C2, C3, C5, C6, C9, CE, CE0A, CE9, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, D2, DL, DU, EA, EA6, EA8, EA9, EI, EK, EL, EP, ER, ES, ET, EU, EX, EY, EZ, F, FG, FH, FK, FM, FO, FP, FR, FW, FY, G, GD, GI, GJ, GM, GU, GW, H4, HA, HB, HB0, HC, HI, HK, HK0/a, HL, HM, HP, HR, HS, HV, HZ, I, IS, J2, J3, J5, J6, J7, JA, JD/o, JT, JW, JX, JY, K, KG4, KH0, KH2, KH6, KH8, KL, KP2, KP4, LA, LU, LX, LY, LZ, OA, OD, OE, OH, OH0, OK, OM, ON, OX, OY, OZ, P2, P4, PA, PJ2, PJ7, PY, PY0F, PZ, S2, S5, S7, S9, SM, SP, SU, SV, SV5, SV9, T30, T32, T7, T9, TA, TF, TG, TI, TK, TL, TN, TR, TT, TU, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V2, V3, V4, V5, V7, V8, VE, VK, VK9N, VP2E, VP2M, VP2V, VP5, VP8, VP8/g, VP8/h, VP8/o, VP9, VQ9, VR, VU, XE, XU, XW, XX9, YA, YB, YI, YJ, YK, YL, YN, YO, YS, YU, YV, Z2, Z3, ZA, ZB, ZC4, ZD7, ZD9, ZF, ZK1/s, ZL, ZP, ZS

* PLEASE NOTE: The report "could" contain "Pirate/SLIM" operations. As always, you never know - "Work First Worry Later" (WFWL).

6 METER PIRATE. Yuri, UA0SJ, in the Russia Asiatic region, informs OPDX that there has been a station signing UA0SC on 6 meters. This station is definitely a PIRATE.

5H, TANZANIA. Look for Maurizio, IK2GZU, to be active from February 5-27th. His callsign will be announced upon arrival. No other details about his bands/modes of activity were provided. QSL via home callsign.

5T5 & S07, MAURITANIA AND WESTERN SAHARA. From February 11-17th, six members of the International Amateur Radio Volunteers (IARV) organization will visit the Sahara Desert as part of a technical aid program. They expect to be permitted to operate amateur radio with individual callsigns using the format, 5T5***, in Mauritania, as well as S07CRS and S07U in Western Sahara. The operation will be carried out mainly on CW, including RTTY. Send your QSLs for the 5T5 operations to each operator's home callsign. For the S07CRS and S07U operation, QSL to JA1UT.

8Q, MALDIVES (Update to OPDX.534). Mark Haynes, M0DXR, DXpedition Leader of the "Crystal Clear DX Group", informs OPDX that they now have their callsign confirmed for their summer operation as 8Q7ZZ. They will be operating for 10 days from the Maldives beginning late July. Team members are as follows: Mark/M0DXR, Tony/EA2AIJ, Fabian/DJ1YFK, Ryan/K3XC and Robert/M0TTT. Activity will be on all bands including the WARC bands. They now have a Web site up and running at: http://www.8q7zz.com They are still looking for sponsorship from companies and individuals. Anyone who can help will get promotion on the QSL card, Web site, the video they make, and in magazines. If you would like to help, please contact Mark via E-mail at: m0dxr@qsl.net

9L, SIERRA LEONE. Jerry Trousdale, K4ZIN, informs OPDX that he just returned from Sierra Leone this past week. On Tuesday, January 30th, the government re-issued his old 9L1JT license. He will be there again in April and will set aside about three or four consecutive days for a concerted, mini-DX-Pedition effort. Depending on how much equipment he can come up with to take, activity will probably only be 40/20/15/10 meters CW and SSB at this time. Jerry will be in Sierra Leone on business for about two weeks, and he should have his schedule set for the specific days of operation by the end of February, so he will update us with more details. Jerry states, "The horrific ten year war seems to have raised 9L1 on the 'most needed' lists so hopefully we can help out a bunch of hams in those days." QSLing will be via his home callsign K4ZIN. There will be no Web site for this one.

9N, NEPAL (Update). Charly, K4VUD (aka 9N1UD), informed the DX community this past week that the donations he took to Nepal a couple of years ago are still working wonders for the hams there. Their thanks go out to all who helped. On April 14, 2002, they will celebrate the anniversary of the late Father Moran's 9N1MM operations. Unfortunately, 9N1AA and Charly have not been able to secure Father Moran's callsign, 9N0MM, which was proposed at one time for a club callsign. Their efforts were significantly affected after the events of the King (and many of his court) were murdered. Charly states that they have not given up on establishing the memorial club station and obtaining the 9N0MM callsign in Kathmandu.

9Q, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO. "The Daily DX" reports that the a few licences have been approved by PTT in Kinshasa. Look for 9Q0AR/6 to be active from Goma (Nyiragongo volcano- North Kivu province) possibly now through February 24th. There were additional licenses approved by PTT Kinshasa officials: Jean Philippe, 9Q1MM; Cyprien, 9Q1KS; Pat, 9Q1A; and Nicole, 9Q1YL (which are valid until February 24th). Some of the operators will activate 9Q0AR/6 at the earliest from Goma with 100w and dipoles. While others (Pat/9Q1A and Nicole/9Q1YL) will be active from Kinshasa between February 2-24th, on 20/15/10 meters, and possibly 40/17/12 meters later. All the above are QSLed via Paul, F2YT, via the bureau or direct with SAE + postage.

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

H40/H44, TEMOTU PROVINCE AND SOLOMON ISLAND. Babs/DL7AFS and Lot/DJ7ZG are currently on their Pacific tour and are now active from Honiara (H44) as H44ZG and H44LB. The will be active until February 10th. Depending on the local circumstances (unreliable transport arrangements, civil unrest, necessities of power, tropic malaria, weathercondx, etc), they will try to be active usually on SSB, RTTY and PSK on all bands from 80-6 meters. They will try to move to the Temotu Province later and be active as H40ZG and H40YL ("depending on some problems with the immigration office, but the flights are already booked"). All QSLs are via DL7AFS. For more info and updates, watch the Web site at: http://www.qsl.net/dl7afs/

IRC DEBATE (Reports Continue)..............

J3, GRENADA. On January 29th, Bill/K4LTA and his xyl Ruby/K4UPS travelled to Grenada for their 8th time and trip number 17 to the Caribbean. Their callsigns are J38A for contests, and J37BO and J37RO respectively outside of contests. Bill will be active in the FOC Marathon February 1-3rd, the NA Sprint on February 9th and the ARRL DX Contest on CW February 16-17th. Ruby plans to operate some on SSB on 10, 15 and 20 meters, plus skeds back home. In addition, she will monitor the six meter band for any openings. Outside of contests, look for J37BO to be very active on CW, leaning toward the WARC bands plus 80/160 meters. They will be on the island until February 26th. QSL via their home callsign and address, 101 Baylor Drive, Oak Ridge, Tn. 37830, and please include an SASE.

J6, ST. LUCIA. Laurent, F4TVY, is now active as J6/F4TVY until February 7th. He was spotted over the past weekend on 28502 kHz around 0115z. No other details are available.

KH4, MIDWAY ISLAND (DXpedition Cancelled). A very disappointed Phil Whitchurch, G3SWH, informed OPDX that they have had to abandon their trip to Midway (expected to take place March 30th-April 6th) as the airline which flies between Hawaii and Midway has cancelled the flights. Also, the company which operates the hotel on the island is closing down their operation. Also, David, K1TTT, states, "that the Midway Phoenix company that has been running the island's infrastructure is leaving effective March 1st. This essentially closes down the island except for the Fish and Wildlife Service. All planes have been canceled, stores and accommodations are closed, and all the company people are packing to leave. Sounds like access will be much harder in the future as there will be no services available at the airstrip."

KH0, MARIANA ISLANDS. Yuji/JA5ROH and Take/JA5AUC will sign KH0/JA5ROH and KH0/JA5AUC, respectively, from Rota Island (OC-086), from February 9-11th. Their activity is expected to be on 160-6 meters CW and SSB. QSL via their home callsigns either direct or via the bureau.

KP2, U.S. VIRGIN ISLAND. John/W8LBY and Norm/K8NI are now active as KP2/homecalls from St. Croix through February 13th. Norm was spotted on 10 meters over the past weekend in the 10-10 Contest. They plan to concentrate on PSK31 and the WARC bands. QSL to their home callsigns.

MD, ISLE OF MAN. Operators Diemo/DL4LQM, Wolfgang/DL4WG, Ulf/DL5AXX and Frank/DL8WAA will again go to the Isle of Man, and be active as MD/homecalls between February 11-18th. Activity will be mainly on CW. There will be a M2 or MM entry in the ARRL DX Contest.

P5, NORTH KOREA. Ed, P5/4L4LN, continues to be active on 15 meters (21225 kHz) usually starting around 2230z. Reports indicate he has a much better signal with his new vertical (check the KK5DO Web page for pictures). Still no word on whether Ed has received the proper license/documentation. QSL via KK5DO.

PJ7, ST. MAARTEN. Bil/W8EB and his wife, Dorothy/W8DVC will make their 10th trek to St. Maarten commencing February 24th and returning to Michigan on March 17th. They will be joined the first week of March by Bob/K8RLM and his wife, Lori/W9MSU. This will be their second trip to the island which is owned half by the French (FS) and half by the Dutch (PJ7). See web site at: http://www.qsl.net/pj8a/ Bob and Bil will participate in the ARRL DX Phone Contest (March 2-3rd) using the contest callsign of PJ7B with QSL cards going to W8EB as in the past. The old contest callsign of PJ8A, which was used in the 1995 through the 2000 contests, is no longer available to non-residents. The rest of the time they will operate with U.S. callsigns and the prefix of PJ7/. All of those contacts QSLs will go to the home callsign. The gang will operate all bands and all modes (RTTY, CW and SSB) including, for the first time, 6 meters and PSK31. Antennas are: R-7000 Vertical for 40-10 meters, 80-160 sloper and a 6 meter 3 element beam mounted on the top of the 100 ft. building of the Sapphire Beach Club. Rigs will be the Kenwood TS-2000, Yaesu FT-100D, Ameritron 811H amplifier, MFJ power supply and Dell Laptops. Software will be DX4WIN for general logging and PSK31, MMTTY and WF1B for rtty and CT for the contest log. There is a daily sked with the back home Michigan bunch at 2030z on or near 14268 kHz. Please feel free to join in for the ragchew or to set up a sked. Check out Bil's Web pages at: http://www.qsl.net/w8eb/ http://www.qsl.net/k9pxv/.

PW0, TRINDADE ISLAND (Update). Excerpts from a PW0T DXpedition press release #3 dated January 29, 2002, states that "the Trindade 2002 PW0T team is happy to report that major sponsors have begun stepping forward providing vital support for the DXpedition." (OPDX InterNet Subscribers will receive the complete press release as an additional bulletin.) Some of the sponsors include ICOM America, Electril (a Brazilian manufacturer), Bob Heil, Toni/JA1FGI, Nori/JA1WSK, SMIRK, Chiltern DX Club and many PYs from all over Brazil. Financial support can still be sent to K7BV: Dennis Motschenbacher, 4357 Appollonio Way, Carson City, NV 89704. The operator team has been finalized and now includes Andre/PY0FF, Rolf/PY1RO, Peter/PY5CC, Herminio/PY5HSD, Eliso/PT7BZ, Jim/PY7XC, Ciro/PY7ZY, Fred/ PY7ZZ, Dick/N6FF and Bill/W9VA. Andy, W6/G4VPM, has joined the "Support Team" serving as the administrator of the DXpedition on-line log posting process. The team will have satellite telepone service available to them, thanks to Inpar to facilitate regular transfer of log information to Andy. The operators will gather on the naval base in Rio de Janeiro on February 14th, spending their last night in Brazil aboard the vessel prior to the scheduled departure the following morning. The DXpedition's website is up with new information being added daily at: http://www.trindade2002.com Abbreviated versions of the Web site are available in French and Japanese thanks to the efforts of Jean-Louis/F5UJK and Toshi/JA1ELY.

QSL INFO AND NEWS.................

S9, SAO TOME. Just a reminder! A group from Norway and Sweden, operators LA6FJA, LA7THA, LA5QKA, LA5UF, LA6EIA, LA7WCA, LC3EAT, LC6ZBT, SM5COP and SM5IMO), should be active (by the time you read this) as S9LA now through February 10th. At least two stations will be on the air 24 hours a day with activity on 160-6 meters CW, SSB, RTTY, PSK31 and may be SSTV, with amplifiers, a wide range of antennas and an emphasis on the low bands and the WARC bands, digital modes and 6 meters. QSL via LA2N: Sore Sunnmore Gruppa av NRRL v/ Otto Norhagen, NO-6143 Fiskaabygd, Norway. For further information, check their Web site at: http://www.qsl.net/s9la/

VP8, SOUTH GEORGIA ISLAND. The multi-national team of twelve operators became active as VP8GEO just around 0000z on January 28th. Their activity has been on all bands, however, they are expected to go QTH some time between February 3-5th. QSL via VE3GCO: The Maple Leaf Radio Society, 5 McLaren Avenue, Listowel, Ontario N4W 3K1 Canada.

VP8, SOUTH GEORGIA AND SOUTH ORKNEYS ISLANDS. If you missed the above VP8GEO South Georgia Island operation, you will have a second chance. Mike, GM0HCQ, who has been travelling around the South Atlantic, is expected to visit South Georgia Island, as well as Signy Island in the South Orkneys. Look for him as VP8SIG from South Orkneys, February 27th through March 2nd, and VP8SGK from South Georgia Island March 4-6th. Updates of his itinerary are posted on the Web at: http://www.qsl.net/gm0hcq/

XW, LAOS (Update from OPDX.546). Mauro, IN3QBR, who was expected to be active as XW3QBR at the end of January, informs OPDX that he had to delay his departure to Laos until after February 20th. He will inform us as soon as possible when he knows the exact dates of the operation.

YA, AFGHANISTAN (YA5T Update). Ghis, ON5NT, informs OPDX that he received an E-mail from Peter/ON6TT and talked to Mark/ON4WW recently. The update is that Peter is now on his way to New York. Robert, S53R is in Kabul right now and has been active as YA5T on 40/15/12/10 meters CW. Mark, ON4WW, was reportedly in Islamabad, but was expected to fly to Kabul (taking along his famous 160m wire is his pocket) on February 2nd. So start looking for a lot of CW with those 2 super CW ops over there. For the moment, they are still using 100 watts into a R5 vertical (the one Peter installed). QSL YA5T via KU9C. UPDATED ADDED NOTES:

YN, NICARAGUA. Hans, DL7CM, informs OPDX that Michael/DL2OE, Dietmar/DL3DXX and himself will be going here February 18th through March 8th. They have received their permission to operate, and the flight and hotel are booked. They know that YN is not so rare on the higher bands but is quite rare on 160/80 meters and on RTTY. However, they will be active on 160-6 meters but their emphasis will be on 160/80 meters and RTTY. Their equipment we be two V80 Titanex, LP5-beam, 5 element yagi for 6 meters and other antennas as well three tranceivers and two amps. Hans mentions that this operation will be very expensive because of the flights, accomodations and overweight baggage (around 8000 USDs). This German team, which has activated such places like CE0Y, CE0Z, T30, FW, 3D2, ZL7, P29, S21, VK9X, VK9C, VK9L, D44, CT3, C5, HP, ZB2 and HB0, are looking for some support. If you can help, please contact Hans, DL7CM, via E-mail at: dl7cm@online.de


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