Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 455
April 3, 2000

The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 455
BID: $OPDX.455
April 3, 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, W2SF, WB2YQH/WB2RAJ & The 59(9) DXReport, W3UR & The Daily DX, N4AA & QRZ DX, N4GN, W4WX, K6TAR, KD6WW, N6RT, K8YSE, 4Z1GY, DJ5AV & DX News Letter, F6AJA & Les Nouvelles DX, EY8MM, HS0/G3NOM, JA3JM, JA3MZB, LU2NI, LU7HVN, LU9HS, OZ8AE, PA1AW, PA5ET, PR7AR, PS7AB, S53AU, UR4EYN, ZR1DQ and the NATAL DX GROUP for the following DX information.

4W, EAST TIMOR (New one to work!). As this bulletin was being prepared, there seems to be six 4W6 stations active: 4W6EB, 4W6MM, 4W6GH, 4W6UN, 4W/W3UR and 4W6/VK2QF. However, this will probably change by the time you read this. 4W/W3UR and 4W6/VK2QF are slated to leave during the first part of the week (Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday). OPDX has received a few reports that Thor, TF1MM (aka 4W6MM), has been stating to hold off QSLing and a new route should be announced later. Currently, the QSL information that was given was to go to TF1MM, but the callbooks show to QSL via the Iceland QSL Bureau. Another QSL note deals with 4W6EB which is to be QSLed to CT1EEB, however, looking at the Buckmaster callbook it gives a stateside QSL Manager for Jose as WA1ECA. Reportedly, Frank, WA1ECA, states that Jose wants the 4W6EB cards to go to his CBA in Portugal, not to his U.S. manager.

A5, BHUTAN (DXPEDITION ANNOUNCEMENT). Excerpts from a press release by Carl, N4AA, editor of "QRZ DX", report the following exciting news: "The Kingdom of Bhutan has completed the long awaited Telecommunications Act of 2000 which authorizes amateur radio. An international team has been invited by the Ministry of Communications for the initial introduction of amateur radio in Bhutan, May 1-12, 2000. The goal will be to give as many DXers as possible the opportunity for this #2 most wanted country. Initial emphasis will be on the primary bands........ All bands and modes will be active, but after the initial demand has been met, more emphasis will be placed on the low bands. RTTY and WARC bands will be emphasized from the beginning. Later in the operation there will be simplex operation on the higher bands for those without dual VFO capabilities. Three CW, three SSB and one RTTY station will be active around the clock....... Operators include: 9V1YC, JA3IG, JA3USA, JF1IST, K3VN, K4UEE, N0MJ, N1DG, OH2BU, ON4WW, RA3AUU, UA3AB, W0GJ and W3WL. QSL CARDS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT DAYTON!!! OPDX InterNet Subscribers will receive the complete press release as an additional bulletin.

AY0N/X, NEW IOTA AND LIGHTHOUSE. A group of members of the Santiago del Estero ARC (LU1NF) will activate a new South American IOTA and Lighthouse: Isla Pinguino (Santa Cruz Province North) April 21-24th, weather and transportation permitting. Activity will be mainly SSB on 80-6 meters including the WARC bands on the usual IOTA frequencies. There will be two stations active 24 hours a day plus a third one for the low bands during the night. Output power will be 100 watts, but there will be beams for 6, 10 15 and 20 meters. (verticals and dipoles for WARC and low bands). The callsign will be AY0N/X and the QSL via Team Leader LU2NI. Contributions will be appreciated.

FO0, AUSTRAL ISLANDS. Denise, F6HWU (not F6WHU as reported by F6AJA last week -- He is sorry!), continues to be active as FO0HWU from Tubuai Island (IOTA OC-152) in the Australes. She was very active this past week on 30 meters (10104 kHz starting around 0415z) and 15/20 meters. Remember, she will be there until April 12th, and she is mostly active on CW (5 kHz from the bottom of the band). Also check RTTY.

H40/H44, SOLOMON ISLANDS AND THE TEMOTU PROVINCE. "The 59(9) DXReport" reports that Peter, G8BCG, will be active as H44PT until April 9th. His operations will be mainly 6 meters and 10 meters. His 6 meter beacon will be on 50.105 MHz. OPDX has found that Peter was active this past week on or around 28430 kHz between 0230 and 0430z. He may go to Temotu Province as H40PT.

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

• AS-NEW. A group will activate the Malay Peninsula South East Group from Koh Nu (Mouse Island) in Southern Thailand from April 6-16th. A special licence and callsign has been issued, E29DX. The special licence includes 160m and 80m frequencies and allows digital modes, but not WARC band operations. The main effort will be to give first time contacts to as many stations as possible, therefore, most of the operation will be on 10/15/20/40 meters CW, SSB and RTTY using maximum 100 watts output. It may be possible to run two or three HF stations simultaneously at times. IOTA frequencies will be used on these bands. There is no main power or accommodations on the island. Generators and tents will be used. It will be an "Al fresco" expedition!. Their antennas will be: 40m GP. 2 element HB9CV, 80m inverted vee, plus other dipoles and verticals. The low frequencies allocated are: 1834-1850, 3524-3526, and 3534-3536 kHz. There will be at least four operators who were involved with XZ0A, so there is an awareness of the demand for LF QSOs with Thailand, but the logistics of getting suitable antennas up are very difficult, and LF ops should not expect too much on this operation. If any serious LF operation is possible it will came later in the DXpediton. A 144 MHz operation will be made using mainly 145.800 for DX contacts with Thailand, and possibly SSB with Malaysia/Singapore. The DXpedition Leaders are HS0GBI, assisted by HS1CKC. The licence was kindly arranged by HS1RU with the PTD. QSL Manager will be HS0GBI. International Liaison and Pilot is HS0/G3NOM. For the list of operators, please check the Web site: http://www.qsl.net/tg1996/
• AS-056. Updated schedule shows that Masa, JA6GXK, will be active from Danjo Archipelago during the following dates: April 6-18th, April 28th through May 10th, May 30th through June 6th and June 30th through July 11th. Remember that this will not be a DXpedition, and he will only be active in his spare time. His activity will be on CW, SSTV and PSK31. Suggested frequencies are: 14260 +/-5 kHz or 21260 +/- 5kHz. QSL via the JARL Bureau.
• NA-062. Bob, W2SF, will be active from Lower Matecumbe Key in the Florida Keys on April 25th through May 15th. Activity will be on all bands CW/SSB/RTTY.

L21, ARGENTINA. Horacio, LU7HVN, states that he will use the special callsign, L21H, in all the contests in the years 2000-2005. QSL via LU7HVN: Horacio Galanti, 25 de Mayo 647, Villa del Rosario (5963), Cordoba, Argentina.

PACIFIC TRIP. Bruce, KD6WW, will be operating from Majuro, Marshall Islands (OC-029) from April 4-6th. Then from April 7-10th, look for Bruce to be on Chuuk (Truk) Island (OC-011). He will then end his trip on Pohnpei (OC-010) from April 10-14th. Bruce states that he will operate primarily on CW with the possibility of some FSK from Micronesia. This is a vacation, so expect him to operate primarily in the evenings and early morning when not snorkling. His callsign for the Marshall Islands will be assigned on his arrival. While active in Micronesia, he will use the callsign V63VL. QSLs may be requested for a bureau reply via E-mail at: kd6ww@inreach.com

PIRATE ALERT. A station signing AP2/WA2WYR and stating to QSL via KK6TX is a pirate. According to Matt, S53AU, who contacted John, W2YR (ex-WA2WYR), and John stated the following: "From time to time PIRATES use my ex call on the ham bands. YES indeed it was a PIRATE you worked. My authorized operation took place at the American Consulatein Karachi, Pakistan from 1991 to October 1992. ALL OTHER OPERATIONS FOR AP/WA2WYR ARE PIRATES. I am now retired from the foreign service and live at my home in New Jersey. The log books for many of overseas operations can be found at my web site: http://members.aol.com/w2yr/w2yr.htm Then just click on the callsign you wish to do a log search for. KK6TX is no longer the QSL manager for my old contacts. He is not active in ham radio anymore and I QSL directly."

PY0S, ST. PETER & ST. PAUL ROCKS. NATAL DX GROUP announced that they received a telephone call from the Brazilian Navy and have been advised that the trip of their two radio operators to the Archipelago St. Peter and St. Paul-PY0S, scheduled for the first week in April has been moved forward again. (But, N-O-T cancelled). The reason given was that new repairs and increased maintenance to the wooden building (on the Rocks) has become necessary, and the vessel carrying the needed personnel, "the Comandante Manhaes", will not have room for their two operators. They were told that the next maintenance trip will be in July, and it is possible that at that time their two operators can be accomodated.

QSL INFO AND NEWS.......

• 3B8/KD6WW and S79BL QSLs. Bruce, KD6WW, reports that the QSLs have left the printers and he expects to receive them just prior to leaving for V6 and V7 operations (see PACIFIC TRIP above). So he will start working on them when he returns. Please don't send second requests any sooner than June.
• The Clipperton 2000 Team is glad to announce that the FO0AAA logs are now online at: http://www.qsl.net/clipperton2000/ A wrap up report and pictures will follow soon.
• QSL JY8FX and E4/DL7FER via the bureau or direct to DL6FCK: Titus Pilz, Rathhausstr.5, 35753, Allendorf, Germany. During Felix's, DL7FER, recent DXpedition as JY8FX and E4/DL7FER, he made more than 5000 QSOs on SSB/CW. Felix was Dr. Munzer's, JY5HX, guest and operated from his shack in Amman. E4/DL7FER was possible due to the help of Ali/E44A and Sami/E44B. He operated in the city of Gaza. He temporarily stayed in the E44DX-club at the Gaza College. Felix would like to thank all stations which gave him a call, and especially the local ops for their hospitality and help.
• ADDED NOTE about Dr. Munzer, JY5HX. Because the JY-QSL bureau isn`t reliable, he prefers the QSL direct via P.O. Box 182700, 11118 Amman, Jordan. Furthermore, a SAE and 2 IRC or equivalent will be appreciated.
• Rob Snieder, PA5ET, reports that the QSLs (both bureau and direct) for the Low Land DXpedition Team's (LLDXT) "Caribbean Tour 1999" (operations to J7/FS/V4/VP2E) have all been processed. Also, all direct and bureau cards for 8Q7ET and 8Q7WP in January 2000 are processed. Online logs are available on the LLDXT Web site at: http://www.qsl.net/lldxt/
• Joergen, OZ8AE, is receiving QSL cards for 5P1ER. He is not the QSL Manager. All QSL cards must go via EDR bureau or direct to 5P1ER, CEPT Amateur Radio Club, ERO-CARC, Midtermolen 1, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark. Also look at their Web site at: http://www.ero.dk/carc/
• QSLs for LP7H should go to LU9HS, however, the address is incorrect in the 2000 Amateur Radio Callbook. The correct address is: Javier Santillan, Fournier 2783, Barrio Matienzo, (X5011CDO) Cordoba, ARGENTINA
• QSL for LU7EC who was active in the WPX Contest go to: Lucas Mariano Elichagaray, C.P. 2703, Carabelas Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA (or via the Bureau).
• Contest callsign ZZ7Z should be QSLed via PR7AR: IRApuan de Sousa, P.O.BOX 60 - 58200-970, Guarabira - PB - Brazil.
• Nodir, EY8MM, reports that the Tajik Amateur Radio League has a Web site with an "EY" CallBook on-line at: http://www.qsl.net/tarl/ Also, check out Nodir's personal Web page at: http://www.qsl.net/ey8mm/
• Ukrainian stations active in the 2000 CQWW WPX SSB Contest:
  • UZ4E qsl via UR4EN, UR2E qsl via UR5EAW,
  • UZ5M qsl via UX2MM, EN7M qsl via UX2MM.
  Please QSL cards via bureau or direct:
  • UR4EN - Nick Golub, P.O.Box 48, Ordzhonikidze, Ukraine, 53300.
  • UR5EAW - Shevchenko Alex, Pelina str. 29, Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, 49107.
  • UX2MM - Vlad Grushewskiy, P.O.Box 59, Lisichansk, Ukraine, 93100.
  ADDED NOTE: Ukrainian National Team UARL HQ-2000 will take part in the IARU World Championship 2000. Their callsign will be EM0HQ from the base station UR4MZL. Team chief will be Wladimir Grushevskiy/UX2MM and the Manager will be Alexander Shevchenko/UR5EAW.
• V2/W1LR and V2/W4WX, members of the North Florida DXPedition Group, were active on SSB and RTTY March 21-28th from Antigua. They also participated in the CQ WPX Contest as V25WX. QSL to home calls and V25WX via W4WX.

SPECIAL ACTIVITIES/AWARD. Activity by stations for the "2000 years of history in the HolyLand Award (4X2K)" still continues. The 4X2K award is for promoting historical sites related to the beginning of Christianity in the HolyLand. The 4X2K operation will continue during the Holyland Contest (April 15-16th) by Leonid, 4Z5FL, who will operate as 4X2K/1, while Jan, 4X1VF, who will operate as 4X21K through 4X25K for 5 squares. (Please refer to OPDX.440 for details)

SPECIAL EVENT/PREFIX. As part of the commemorative events celebrating the 500th anniversary of Brazil's discovery by Portuguese navigators, Ariosto, PT2BW, will be operating the special callsign PW500A (Papa, Whiskey, Five Hundred, Alfa), from April 1-30th. Activities will take place on HF bands, and there is planned operations for modes on RTTY, PSK31, MT63, Feld-Hell, SSTV, CW and SSB. QSL must be sent to PT2BW either via the Bureau or direct to: Ariosto R. de Souza, P.O. Box 03821, 70084-970 Brasilia, DF, BRAZIL. Also, look for Rony, PS7AB, to sign PS500BR in celebration on 10/15/20 meters, SSB only. QSL via PS7AB: Rony Reis, PO Box 2021, Natal/RN, 59094-970, Brazil (or Bureau).

TX0CI QRT FROM CHESTERFIELD ISLAND. "The TX0DX operation went QRT suddenly on Wednesday, March 29th, shortly after 0000z, due to the rapidly changing weather which threatened to make landing operations on the reef very risky and could potentially cause the group to be stuck on the reef. However, in six days of operating, they completed 72,654 QSOs. The majority of QSOs were on 21 MHz SSB and CW, as per the original strategy to provide the maximum number of DXers their first-ever Chesterfield contact. However, other complimentary bands and modes were activated sporadically, including 50 MHz with more than 2500 QSOs and RTTY with some 800 stations in the log." The above excerpt was taken from a press release provided by Tim, N4GN. The complete press release will be sent to all OPDX InterNet Subscribers as an additional bulletin.

ZS31, ELEPHANT ROCK ISLAND. The Elephant Rock Island DXpedition, ZS31ER, is on the air from April 1-8th. Please refer to OPDX.454. The expedition has a Web site that will be updated every twelve hours with the latest news and conditions on the island at: http://www.qsl.net/zr1dq/

ZS8, MARION ISLAND. The "DX News Letter" reports that Deryck, ZS6DE/ZS8D, will leave the island within the next few weeks. QSL via the CBA of ZS6EZ.

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