Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 497
February 5, 2001

The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 497
BID: $OPDX.497
February 5, 2001
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, ARRL Letter & W1AW DX Bulletin, WA1YTW, W2LO, WB2YQH/WB2RAJ & The 599 DX Report, W3UR & The Daily DX, N4AA & QRZ DX, WB4PVT, WD4NGB, K5OVC, N5FPW, AJ6V, K6IPV, K6RO, K7BV, K8YSE, W9VA, WB9GYT, CE6TBN, CT1BNW, DL2VFR & IOTA-POST, DL4FP, F5NOD, F5SGI, G3XTT, G4XTA, GW4XXF, HK3JJH, I2UIY, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, JA3MZB, PA5ET, S53R, V51EK, VE3NQK, VE7DP, VK4FW, VK0MM, YO3FWC, YS1RR and YT1AD for the following DX information.

EDITOR'S COMMENTS. There's so much DX activity and information there is not enough time and space to print it all..... Enjoy it all! de Tedd KB8NW

2000 CLINTON B. DESOTO CUP WINNER. The "ARRL Letter"reports that Bob Eshleman, W4DR, of Midlothian, Virginia, is the winner of the Clinton B. DeSoto Cup for 2000. The DeSoto Cup is a new ARRL award being presented for the first time which recognizes the station that's on top of the DXCC Challenge List as of September 30th each year. The Cup will be presented in May at Dayton's "DX Dinner" sponsored by the Southwest Ohio DX Association.

3D2, CONWAY REEF (UPDATE/DELAY). Hrane/YT1AD and Raymundo/YS1RR report that the Conway Reef DXpedition with 8 operators, 5 Yugoslavians, 2 Macedonian and 1 Salvadorean (YT1AD, YU7AV, YU1NR, YZ7AA, YU1DX, Z32ZM, Z32AU and YS1RR), will be delayed for 3 days. The delay is because YS1RR's visa for Fiji is still in process in the Fiji Embassy in Washington DC. Their departure now will be on February 17th, arriving Fiji on February 19th, and they will leave for Conway Reef on February 20th. They will arrive on the island February 21st later in the afternoon and hope to start operation on February 22nd at 0800z. On Conway Reef there will be 3 stations with 1KW each, using two 3 elements beam antennas for 10, 15, 20 meters, and 12, 17 meters. Vertical antennas will be used for the low bands, all running simultanously. The modes will be SSB, CW, RTTY, PSK31, SSTV, and the operation will last until March 1st, when they will head back to Fiji on March 2nd. They will operate from March 2-8th from there with the callsigns 3D2AD, 3D2AU, 3D2NR, 3D2RR, 3D2ZM, 3D2AV,3D2AB and 3D2FW. For more details, check the following Web page: http://www.kragujevac.co.yu/3d2/

3D2, CONWAY REEF (Second Operation Postponed). It has been reported that the Scandinavian DXpedition to Conway Reef planned by Mats/SM7PKK and Nils/SM6CAS, which was scheduled to take place April 5-24th, has been postponed. This due to some personal commitments by two of the team members.

3Y, BOUVET. Finally, good news to report from here. Reports indicate that Chuck's, 3Y0C, diesel generator is "FIXED". Chuck said they found a problem with the compression release. He will continue to collect info about the propane conversion just in case of more trouble. They will be able to get back to normal now and will be putting up new wire antennas for the low bands and some RTTY with a fully charged laptop. The other thing that this affects is that Chuck will be able to operate for more hours a day now instead of 30 minutes to a hour at a time because of weak batteries. However, the Icom PW1 amp is still dead.

4W, EAST TIMOR. Dennis, K7BV, provided information to OPDX about the rather dramatic drop off in activity from 4W since Dick, N6FF, and Dennis had the pleasure of operating from a wonderful temporary QTH provided by Thor, 4W6MM. Dennis states, "A recent E-mail from Thor, informs us that he was transferred out of Baucau right after we departed. He is now stationed in Oe Cusse, the small enclave to the west of East Timor proper that is completely surrounded by West Timor. He has his rig with him but only a 15 meter dipole two meters high for an antenna; a radical step-down from the 220' tower in Baucau. He has managed only about 100 QSOs under the current situation."

He also mentions, "Little has been heard from Ross 4W6UN; probably indicating he is as busy as ever carrying out his responsibilities to the UN mission in Timor Lorasae." ADDED NOTE (From Dennis): "Thousands of full color QSLs for our 4W/K7BV and 4W/N6FF operation will be in the mail within the next week. The story/photos of our trip will appear in an upcoming issue of DX Magazine." ADDED NOTE: Thor, 4W6MM, was reported this past weekend on 15 meters CW around 0500z and 0900z.

5U, NIGER. Look for operators Silvano/I2YSB, Paolo/I2UIY and Marcello/IK2DIA to operate from here, February 27th through March 12th. Their callsigns will be issued after their arrival on the site. They will use separate callsigns for SSB and CW/RTTY/PSK31. Also, they will put on the air up to 3 stations when possible, operating from 160-10 meters on CW/SSB/ RTTY/PSK31 and on 6 meters on CW/SSB. QSLs for both callsigns will be OK via the Bureau or direct to I2YSB: Silvano Borsa, P.O.Box 45, 27036 Mortara (PV), Italy. A web page has been activated at: http://digilander.iol.it/i2ysb/ There will be on-line logs and pictures available during their activity.

9H, MALTA. Karl, DL4FP, reports that there will be activity from February 15-18th using the callsign 9H3DLH (instead of 9H1DLH). QSL via DL4FP.

9M6, EAST MALAYSIA. Don, K6IPV, reports that plans are now finalized for their trip to Hillview Gardens Resort (9M6). Don, K6IPV/9M6IPT, will arrive at Hillview on the morning, local time, of February 11th. Since there is a complete station awaiting his arrival, he should be on the air that day, probably during the night to working stateside and Europe. Dave, W6AQ/ 9M6AQT, will arrive on the morning of February 14th. He will be bringing his Yaesu FT1000MP - MARK V, which they will use in the contest. Don mentions that he will make a stopover in Perth, Western Australia, for five days before going on to Hillview (around February 6th). He should be on the air from VK6XA's QTH, using VK6IPV. Don and Dave expect to operate more SSB than CW before the contest since neither of them claims to be a "hot shot" operator. They do anticipate using PSK-31 as well. They will do their best to correctly log every callsign that they can get and hope that the contesters will be patient with them as they will work toward accuracy rather than rate. They will operate the contest as a Multi-Single/Low Power entry. QSL via W6ORD, good in all callbooks and data bases for the last four years. Please do include SAE and sufficient postage for direct cards. Others will go by Bureau.

A5, BHUTAN. The Johnson family has left here (a day earlier than expected), but before leaving, Glenn, W0GJ (A52GJ), informed the DX Community that there are 7 new hams (nationals) with 10 meter privileges. Be on the lookout for them.

AP, PAKISTAN. Robert, S53R, informs OPDX that thanks to extensive help from "Pakistani Amateur Radio Society" and Tariq, AP2TJ, he will be active from the AP2ARS (ARS club station) from Islamabad. Activity will be almost 100% CW. He plans to be active from 40 meters up including WARC bands, mostly during the weekends due to work commitments. QSL should go to S53R. Robert adds, "In a very short period I'll be travelling to EZ, EY, EX and UK and will certinly try to do some radio from there too."

BQ9, PRATAS ISLAND. It was reported in the "425 DX News" that Paul, BV4FH, reports an operation as BQ9P is scheduled to take place from here March 6-15th.

C6, BAHAMAS. Gary, KI6T, is expected to be active February 13-18th as C6A/KI6T. He will also be active as C6AGS in the ARRL DX CW Contest. QSL both callsign via KI6T.

CE0Z, SAN AMBROSIO ISLAND (Update). Marco, CE6TBN, Team Leader for the 2001 San Ambrosio Island CE0ZT DXpedition, reports that a new team member has been added, Joe, KO4RR, (E30GA, K5K and T32R operations). He also mentioned that the CE0ZT San Ambrosio DXpedition will take part in the ARRL CW Contest February 17-18th, as a Multi-Operator/Single TX entry. The QSL Manager for CE0ZT (San Ambrosio San Felix group) is CE6TBN for outside USA and N6MZ for the USA.

CQ, PORTUGAL. Cupido, CT1BNW, informs OPDX that he will operate during the next CQ WPX RTTY Contest, February 10-11th, using the special event callsign " CQ2CE ". The event is " Porto 2001 ", the Capital European of culture. QSL only direct to: P.O.Box 4143, 4461-901 Senhora da Hora, Portugal.

CU8, AZORES ISLAND. Well-known DXer, Baldur, DJ6SI, was active this past weekend from Flores Island as CU8/DJ6SI. Activity was on 80/40/30/ 20/18/15/12/10 meters. Most of the activity was on CW and the WARC bands. QSL via his CBA.

D68, COMOROS. OPDX InterNet Subscribers will receive an additional bulletin containing the the latest and last update (very large) by Don Field, G3XTT, on the upcoming "Five Star DXers DXpedition" to D68. This contains info on the "D68C Awards Programme - SWLs", "Operating Patterns and Power Outages", "Contests Activity", "Pilot Stations" and their "QSL and QSLing Policy".

D68BT & D68WL ARE NOW QRT. Both Josep/EA3BT and Nuria/EA3WL are back in Barcelona as of Monday, the 29th. The final log count is more than 31,000 QSOs, and without dupes, they finally were 24,500 QSOs. The logs can be viewed at: http://www.qsl.net/ea3bt/Comoros-Logs_Angles.htm Josep's complete press release will be sent to all OPDX InterNet Subscribers as an additional bulletin.

DU, PHILIPPINES (IOTA Activity). Frank, VE7DP, informs OPDX that he will be here all during the month of February. He has been organizing with the "locals amateurs" in the Philippines to join him for several IOTA operations. The first one will be Polillo Island (OC-091) probably during the first part of this week. Roland/DU1KGJ (DX4RIG) and others wil be joining him. Other "targeted" islands are Lubang Island (OC-126), Batan Island (OC-092) and possibly a new unnumbered IOTA in the Luzon Coastal Island Group. Frank has meet with his partners last week, and they have decided on the following operating schedule:

Frank, VE7DP, states more details will be forthcoming.......

HK0, MALPELO ISLAND. Last week (in OPDX.496) we mentioned that Pedro, HK3JJH, sent a message to your editor in Spanish which I tried my best to translate. This week I would like to thank both Rick Kissell, WB9GYT, and Mike Mattes, W2LO, who took the time to translate the message for me. Basically, I had the details right. Pedro is planning his next expedition to Malpelo, for which he already has the license. However, he did ask OPDX who he could contact about getting financial aid. Pedro states, "For example, the cheapest postage from here (Colombia) costs more than one American dollar." He receives only 80 American cents for an IRC, etc.... He will be on the island for a month and won't be able to return sooner due to the lack of transportation. As mentioned last week, he will activate 6-10-12-15-17- 20-40-80m SSB, I will try RTTY. Pedro states, " Of course contributors will be duly credited on the QSL card, it's also possible that I'll obtain a U.S. mailing address, to avoid a repeat of past problems with the mails. (I especially need a 6m rig with antenna, a lap-top, modem for RTTY.)" If you are interested in helping, let OPDX know and I will forward the message to Pedro.

HK0, MALPELO ISLAND. "The Daily DX" is reporting that a second operation is planned and scheduled to take place in April. Operators mentioned are: Jorge/HK5YBL, Jairo/HK5MQZ and Hiro/HK5QGX/JA8BWI. More details are forthcoming.

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

PJ2, CURACAO. Look for Larry/K6RO and Charlie/W6KK to be here from February 27th through March 5th. They will be active on CW and SSB and possibly RTTY. They will concentrate on the WARC bands before and after the contest. Larry, K6RO, will participate in ARRL SSB Contest as a SO/AB/HP effort using PJ2R. QSL PJ2R via K6RO. PJ2/K6RO and PJ2/W6KK via home calls.

PW0, ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL ROCKS. Team members of the St. Peter and St. Paul Rocks DXpedition (PW0S) have departed Recife, Brazil, on schedule on February 2nd, and expect to arrive on the Rocks about February 7th. It has been reported that a well-known Brazilian DXer Ely, PT7BZ, has joined the team. Operations are expected to be on 160 through 6 meters, CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL via KU9C.

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

T48, CUBA. "The No-Name DX-Group" will once again be operating from Santiago de Cuba this year. They will operating on 160 meters during the contest February 23-25th and the ARRL DX Contest in March 3-4th. They will also be operating on 20 and 40 meters as Multi-Op. It is hoped they will be active between the contests for prefix hunters. The logs will be posted on the "Kitchener Waterloo ARC" Web page at: http://www.kwarc.org Click on the Cuban flag to go to the log site and follow the instructions. QSL via VE3ESE: Don Fisher, 48 Lucerne Dr., Kitchener, Ontario N2E 1B3.

VP5, TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS. Ed, AJ6V, will be operating in this month's ARRL DX CW Contest as VP5U from North Caicos Island in the single operator all band category. Look for him before and after the contest as VP5/AJ6V. QSL both callsigns to WA4WTG.

YK, SYRIA. The YK9A DXpedition is up and operating as this bulletin was being prepared. Reports from "The Daily DX" (again, as this bulletin was being prepared) indicated that the team has had some problems. The YK9A team arrived in Damascus, Syria, on February 3rd safely on schedule with about 90% of their equipment. Three of K9LA's bags didn't make it, but they hoped to pick them up on Sunday (the 3rd). Also, the report on Sunday, is that the team has lost contact with Bob, G4VGO. He was not present in Paris for the flight, and so far the team has not heard from him at all. They don't know why that is, but that means they have no FT-1000MP, or 1200W amp, 12V PS, or laptop. They now have to use the laptop which was used for the InterNet, for station logging. This will make the Internet access difficult. They will work out something. The team was a little out of sync with their schedule because they had to wait for the monitoring people which were not ready for them. The team will be active until February 12th. Activity will be on 160-6 meters CW, SSB and RTTY. Operators include Dick/N7RO, Bob/W4DR, Rosalie/N4CFL (YL), Carl/K9LA, Vicky/AE9YL (YL), Jim/W4PRO, Al/K3VN, Ali/JY4NE, Lee/VE7CC, Bob/G4VGO and the team leader Al/K7AR. There will be three stations active on the HF bands, with the fourth station monitoring 6 meter beacons and activity. Suggested frequencies are:

Check out the YK9A web site at: http://www.qsl.net/k7ar/yk9a_'01.htm QSL cards will be handled by K9LA and may be sent via the bureau (outside of the US) or direct to Carl Luetzelschwab, 1227 Pion Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46845, USA. Cards will be available at the Dayton Hamvention.

YO DX HF CONTEST 2000 (Results). Ciprian, YO3FWC, reports that the final scores in the "YO DX HF Contest 2000" are now available on the "Romanian Amateur Radio Federation" Web site at: http://www.qsl.net/yo3kaa/

Z3, MACEDONIA. Zoki, Z31GB, informed OPDX that he has been signing Z33F since January 1st. He has been active on all modes and bands including the WARC bands. QSL via NN6C. Zoki states schedules can be made with him via his E-mail address at: z33f@freemail.org.mk


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