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DX Bulletin 16 ARLD016
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT April 14, 2000
To all radio amateurs
SB DX ARL ARLD016
ARLD016 Chesterfield Islands Added to ARRL DXCC List
The ARRL DX Advisory Committee and the ARRL Awards Committee have voted to add the Chesterfield Islands of New Caledonia to the DXCC List. For DXCC credit, contacts made on or after March 23, 2000 will be accepted. Cards for this new entity may be submitted after October 1, 2000.
With the admission of New Caledonia to IARU membership, the Chesterfield Islands qualify by reason of separation from New Caledonia. The Chesterfields are more than 350 km from the closest point of New Caledonia.
The recent Chesterfield Islands TX0DX DXpedition team racked up 72,654 contacts before it shut down March 29 after six days of operation.
On its way to the Chesterfields, the TX0DX group made a slight detour to the area where intervening reefs are indicated on some older maps. The team reports it was able to confirm the French Navy's documentation that the claimed islands simply do not exist, and that there is a 350-kilometer open-water separation between New Caledonia and the Chesterfields.