SB DX @ WW KB8NW $OPDX.894
Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 894

The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 894
BID: $OPDX.894
February 2, 2009
Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW
Provided by BARF80.ORG (Cleveland, Ohio)

Thanks to the Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society, Northern Ohio DX
Association, Ohio/Penn PacketCluster Network, AB5K & the AR TelNet
Clusters Network, ARRL Letter, ARRL Web Page K1XN & GoList, NC1L, NJ1Q,
NG3K, N4AA & QRZ DX, K5XK, K6EID, WB6RSE, AF8C, N7WO, K8YSE, NE8Z, KB9LIE,
DX-IS News Site, Pete's-DX-Newsdesk, 4L5O, DK8JB, DL7MAE & The DX News
Letter, EA4ATI, F5NQL & UFT, F6AJA & Les Nouvelles DX, GW0ANA, HP1AC,
I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, IK7JWX, PA4JJ, PA5BW, RSGB IOTA Web Site,
VA3RJ & ICPO, VK2IA and ZL2AL for the following DX information.

DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT: According to the AR-Cluster Network for the
week of Sunday, 25th/January, through Sunday, 1st/February there were 221
countries active. Countries available: 3A, 3B6, 3B8, 3DA, 3V, 4J, 4L, 4O,
4S, 4U1U, 4X, 5B, 5H, 5N, 5R, 5V, 5W, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7Q, 7X, 8P, 8Q, 8R, 9A,
9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9M2, 9M6, 9Q, 9V, 9Y, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A9, AP, BV,
BY, C3, C5, C6, CE, CE0Y, CE9, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, DL, DU, E5/s,
E7, EA, EA6, EA8, EA9, EI, EK, EL, EP, ER, ES, ET, EU, EX, EY, EZ, F, FG,
FK, FM, FO, FR, FT5W, FW, FY, G, GD, GI, GJ, GM, GU, GW, H4, HA, HB, HB0,
HC, HC8, HI, HK, HK0/a, HL, HP, HR, HS, HV, HZ, I, IS, J2, J3, J5, J6,
J7, J8, JA, JD/m, JT, JW, JX, JY, K, KG4, KH2, KH6, KL, KP2, KP4, LA, LU,
LX, LY, LZ, OA, OD, OE, OH, OH0, OK, OM, ON, OX, OY, OZ, P4, PA, PJ2,
PJ7, PY, PZ, S2, S5, SM, SP, SU, SV, SV5, SV9, T5, T7, TA, TF, TG, TI,
TJ, TK, TN, TR, TY, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V2, V3, V4, V5, V6, V8, VE,
VK, VP2E, VP2V, VP5, VP6, VP8, VP8/g, VP8/h, VP9, VQ9, VR, VU, XE, XT,
XU, XW, YA, YB, YI, YL, YN, YO, YS, YU, YV, Z2, Z3, ZA, ZB, ZC4, ZD7,
ZD8, ZF, ZK2, ZL, ZP, ZS, ZS8

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

3B7, ST. BRANDON ISLAND (Update). Ron, K5XK, updates OPDX that Rachid,
3B8FQ, has license in-hand, and expects to activate St. Brandon Island
(AF-015) for almost two weeks between Friday, January 30th and Thursday,
February 12th. The callsign will be 3B7FQ. This will primarily be a
working trip for maintenance on the meteorological station on St. Brandon,
with on-air operations as time allows. Rachid expects that the 30/20/17
meter bands to be the most productive but will try all bands, 80-10
meters. Rachid will use CW and SSB. On CW, look for Rachid near the bottom
of the band, "on the 8's" such as 10108, 14008, and 18078 kHz. He will
be using only 100 watts and a G5RV antenna. He also plans to be active
later in the year as 3B9FQ (from Rodriguez Island) while on holiday in
July. QSL 3B7FQ, 3B8FQ, 3B6FQ and 3B9FQ via K5XK per instructions on
QRZ.com.

5H, TANZANIA (IOTA Op). Just a reminder that Sigi/DL7DF and his XYL
Sabine will be on holiday in Zanzibar (AF-032), February 3-13th. Look
for Sigi to sign 5H1DF and be active on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB,
RTTY and SSTV as often as possible. His equipment consists of a trans-
ceiver, a linear TY900, a 18m Lowband Vertical, a Vertical R7, as well
as a laptop computer. QSL via DL7DF, by the German QSL Bureau (DARC) or
direct to: Sigi Presch, Wilhelmsmuehlenweg 123, D-12621 Berlin, Germany.
For updates and more details, visit: http://www.dl7df.com/5h/index.html

ANTARCTIC ACTIVITY WEEK NEWS...............
PLEASE REMEMBER - Stations that are active and signing "/ANT" may NOT
be in the Antarctic!

Just a reminder that the Worldwide Antarctic Program's (WAP) 6th
Antarctic Activity Week (AAW) will take place between 0000z, February
16th and 2400z, February 22nd. For details, see: http://www.waponline.it
This year's WAP AAW event is in collaboration with Italian Air Force,
the National Antarctic Museum (MNA-Genova) and the Italian Ham Radio
Association: ARI Mondovi, ARI-Genova and ARI Massa-Carrara. The AAW is
an unique world-wide event where Hams are "celebrating and working to
improve Worldwide interest around the Antarctic Continent and its related
matters, to understand and share what the Nations and Organizations are
doing to study and protect this still non contaminated corner of the
world and share from there, a message of peace." Gianni, I1HYW, states
(edited), "A number of operators (see list below) will be activating
radio stations from at least 13 countries world-wide. The aim of AAW
(also next March 1st, will see the end of the International Polar Year),
is precisely that of gathering international scientific activities and
the Ham's AAW, with particular reference to logistic and weather-related
aspects, developed jointly with the major world-wide scientific organ-
izations and international scientific community in a climate of mutual
practical data sharing, with respect of the economic forces and logistic
elements vital to the continuation of scientific research in a corner
of the world which harbors the very secret of our existence."
The AAW is celebrated every year during the last week of February,
and it also coincides with Argentine's celebration of their Antarctica
Day (see http://www.marambio.aq ) on February 22nd. As of print time,
the following stations are expected to be active during the AAW event:
WAP-002 IR1ANT via I1HYW WAP-128 DA0ANT via DC2SF
WAP-025 II5ANT via IZ5BTC WAP-130 IR2WAP via IK2FIQ
WAP-030 II2ANT via I2JJR WAP-148 VA3AAO via VE3XN
WAP-030 II2ANT/6 via I2JJR WAP-151 S50IPY via S51RU
WAP-044 IU8ANT via I8QJU WAP-153 5D0IPY via I0YKN
WAP-052 IU2ANT via IK2QPR WAP-154 TM8ICE via F8DVD
WAP-070 VA7AAW via VE7IG WAP-156 DR09ANT via DL5MHQ
WAP-072 GB0ANT via M3ZYZ WAP-157 IP9IPY via IT9YMM
WAP-073 K4A via K6EID WAP-159 IR1WAP via IZ1GJK
WAP-081 HE8ICE via HB9BHY WAP-160 II5AM via IK2IWU
WAP-085 OE3WWB/AAW via OE3WWB WAP-161 IY8WAP via IK8WEJ
WAP-086 OE3RPB/AAW via OE3RPB WAP-162 UT1KY/WAP via UT1KY
WAP-088 OE3KKA/AAW via OE3KKA WAP-163 UT7UA/WAP via UT7UA
WAP-089 OE3AIS/AAW via OE3AIS WAP-164 UR5KGG/WAP via UR5KGG
WAP-090 OE3SGA/AAW via OE3SGA WAP-165 UR8LV/WAP via UR8LV
WAP-091 N5T/ANT via W5BOS WAP-166 UR5KCC/WAP via UR5KCC
WAP-094 IA0IPY via I0YKN WAP-167 UR2XO/WAP via UR2XO
WAP-098 GB4IPY via M3ZYZ WAP-168 LZ06ANT via LZ3SM
WAP-109 VA2WAP via VE2LHP WAP-169 LZ09IPY via LZ3SM
WAP-111 VA3WAP via VA3NQ WAP-170 UE6ICE via UE6GG
WAP-125 OE3HM/AAW via OE3HM WAP-171 EG2ANT via EA2RC
WAP-126 OE3AGA/AAW via OE3AGA

For an updated list, please visit the WAP Web page at:
http://www.waponline.it/Default.aspx?tabid=113

* Phil, K6EID, from Marietta, Georgia, informs OPDX that he will be
signing K4A for the AAW. He wants to remind everyone that in the past
many of the AAW operators append "/ANT" to their callsign for AAW.
He has refused to do that because Russian hams have used "/ANT" while
they were in Antarctica, and he doesn't want to mislead anyone. It is
possible that many of the newbie hams can be fooled by this, thinking
they are working Antarctica. So, please remember that during the AAW
there will be a lots of stations with zany callsigns operating, and
some will inevitably append "/ANT." They are not in the Antarctica,
they are in the home country indicated by the prefix. There are no
current Antarctic stations signing "/ANT". Most of these special event
station callsigns will issue a special QSL, but they are not the
Antarctica!

C2, NAURU. Dani, EA4ATI, who is now active as 9M2TI from Malaysia, informs
OPDX that he is preparing for a DXpedition (with a team of operators) to
activate Nauru in the Pacific sometime in May. The callsign will be C21TI.
Travelling through Australia to get to Nauru, tentative dates will be
either from May 3-17th (after the cyclone season) or May 16-30th. Dani
states, "I am preparing the logistics with a friend from Nauru that I
met in Malaysia during a ITU workshop last November, but we will probably
stay in the Od'N Aiwo Hotel." This is the same location that previous
DXpeditions to Nauru have used (such as C21BH, C21SX, C21XF, etc). The
composition of the team is not finished yet, but Dani is looking for CW,
SSB and RTTY operators. Ruben, C21RK, was mentioned as part of the team.
Activity will be on all HF bands including 60m and 6m. The suggested
frequencies mentioned (as of now) a
CW - 1825.5, 3505, 7005, 10110, 14025, 18075, 21025, 24895 and 28025
SSB - 1825.5, 3799, 5371.5, 7065, 14195, 18145, 21295, 24945 and 28495 kHz
6m - 50.115 MHz (CW/SSB)
They currently have two transceivers with HF amplifiers and will use a
yagi beam antenna for 20/15/10 meters and several dipole antennas (ed.
they are looking for additional antennas). Dani mentions that they will
have a satphone for data connection. QSL will be via EA4ATI. A Web page
has been created for the DXpedition (still not finished) at:
http://c21ti.madrono.net/index.php?newlang=3Denglish
A study of propagation with a proposed band plan for the DXpedition will
be posted on their Web page. This study will be done by the Technical
University of Malaysia. They have not yet estimated a QSO target, but
it will not be less than 20,000. The estimated budget for their DXpedition
is 14,500 USDs and the team is looking for funding as well as more
operators. If interested in helping, see details on the Web page. ADDED
NOTE: You may know Dani, EA4ATI/9M2TI, from the following operations:
XT2ATI, XT2TI, HP2PL, Z39A, 6W1EA, 6W1/EA4ATI, HP1/EA4ATI, HI5/EA4ATI,
HI3CCP, HI3C, 3XY9B, etc.....

C6, BAHAMAS. Operators Bob/N4BP (C6AKQ) and Kevin/K4PG (C6APG) will once
again be active between February 18-22nd. Look for them to be active on
30/17/12 meter bands between antenna jobs. Bob and Kevin currently plan
on operating 160 meters and either 40 or 80 meters in the ARRL DX CW
Contest (February 21-22nd). Kevin states, "There is no third person with
us this year. Not too late! Please look for us; we need the work! Thanks."
QSL to their home callsigns, direct or by the Bureau.

C6, BAHAMAS. Operators Mark/NA6M, Renee/N5RNA, Craig/W5TSN, Scott/K2CK
and Pete/K9OWQ will be active as C6AMS from New Providence (Nassau,
NA-001, WLOTA LH-1115), June 1-14th. Activity will be on 160-10 meters
using CW, SSB and digital modes. QSL via NA6M, direct only. Updates and
more information can be found at: http://www.c6ams.com

EA8, CANARY ISLANDS. Simon, M0VKY, will be active as EA8/homecall from
Lanzarote Island (AF-004, DIE S-007, WLOTA LH-0099) between March 31st
and April 5th. Activity will be on 40/20/15 meters using a FT-857D and
1/2 wave dipoles. QSL via his home callsign, direct or by the bureau.

ES, ESTONIA. Operators Juri/ES5GP, Toomas/ES5RY and Vilnis/YL2KF will
be active as ES5Q during the CQWW WPX RTTY Contest (February 14-15th)
as a Multi-Single entry. QSL via ES5RY.

FP, ST. PIERRE AND MIQUELON (NA-032). Operators Paul/K9OT and Peg/KB9LIE
plan on operating from Miquelon Island as FP/homecalls, July 10-18th.
They will also participate in the IARU HF World Championship Contest
(July 12-13th). Activity outside of the contest will be on 160-6 meters
using CW and SSB. Paul/K9OT prefers CW on 30 meters and down, while
Peg/KB9LIE likes SSB, especially on 17, 20 and 40 meters. Location will
be Room 5 at Motel de Miquelon (formerly Maxotel). QSL direct with return
postage; bureau and LoTW okay. No eQSL. Their Web site is at:
http://hamradio.pnpfarms.com

FT5W, CROZET ISLAND (Update). Reports indicate that Florentin, F4DYW,
was heard as FT5WO this past Sunday, on 14222 kHz between 1445-1640z.
Signal reports were very weak. Remember, he will stay there until the
end of November 2009, and will return back home in early 2010. QSL via
F4DYW, direct or by the bureau after he returns back home. Look for
updates on: http://f4dyw.free.fr/index.php?langu...enu=ft5wo.html

FT5W & FT5X, CROZET AND KERGUELEN ISLANDS. Gildas, TU5KG, is once again
sailing in the Southern Indian Ocean on a fishing boat. As he sails around
the Crozet region between now and March 7th, there is a possibility that
he may land on Crozet and operate as FT5WP. Also, beware that Gildas is
expected to sail around the Kerguelen region between March 10th and April
15th. Again, he may be active from Port aux Francais possibly on March 7th.
A stop on Kerguelen at the beginning of March is necessary before the
return trip. PLEASE pay attention to his callsign. He may be signing
as maritime mobile "/mm". QSL via F4EFI, by the REF Bureau 29 or direct.

FW, WALLIS & FUTUNA ISLANDS (Update). Eli, HA9RE, and a team of operators
are now active from Wallis Island as FW5RE until about the end of February.
Activity will be on 160-10 meters, including 30/17/12 meters, using CW,
SSB and RTTY. Two stations will be on the air. The group has been very
active on the lower bands. QSL Manager is HA8IB. A Web page is up and
running now with updates, pictures and a log search at:
http://www.ha0du.com/index.php

GD8/GT4/GT6, ISLE OF MAN. Members of Barry Amateur Radio Society (BARS)
from South Wales will be going on a expedition to the Isle of Man from
Saturday, March 28th to Saturday, April 4th. The team will consist of
Glyn/GW0ANA, Curtis/MW0USK, Franz/DJ9ZB, Jan/DJ8NK, Thomas/DJ6OI, Alois/
DL8RBL and Yasu (a JA DX operator), Lois/MW3LOI (YL) and their wives &
partners. Activity will be on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY and PSK.
The 6 meter band will be monitored for openings. The callsign to be used
during the CQ WPX SSB Contest (March 28-29th) will be GD8K. The callsign
OUTSIDE of contest will be GT4BRS (Please note the GT prefix is special
callsign for the Isle of Man. GW0ANA states, "Remember TT Races on IOM".)
The callsign for the DATA Modes (RTTY, PSK31) will be GT6BRS. All QSL
cards are via the QSL Manager GW0ANA, by the Bureau or direct. For direct
cards only use one IRC or 2 USDs.

H40, TEMOTU PROVINCE. Operators Siegfried/DK9FN, Bernhard/DL2GAC/H44MS
and Herrmann/DL2NUD will be active (possibly as H40FN, H40MS and H40??)
between March 2-16th. Activity will be on 160-10 meters and 2m EME. Look
for Siegfried/DK9FN to operate only CW, Bernhard/DL2GAC on SSB and
Herrmann/DL2NUD on 2m EME. QSL Manager for H40FN is via HA8FW (Siegfried
states that all QSOs will be confirmed automatically via the MRASZ QSL
Bureau by QSL card when he returns home). QSL the other callsigns via
their home callsign. For more info, pictures of DK9FN's last operation
from Temotu and possibly updates, visit DK9FN's Web page at:
http://hari-ham.com/h40fn

H81, PANAMA (Lighthouse Activity). Members of the Radio Club of Panama
(HP1RCP) and Panama Canal Amateur Radio Association (PCARA) will be
activating Miraflores Lock's Lighthouse (PAN-030) in the Panama Canal
using the special callsign H81L between February 14-15th. Activity will
be on all bands and modes. QSL via HP1RCP. Visit the following Web page
to see a picture of the lighthouse at:
http://www.geocities.com/canallights...lorespics.html

HC, ECUADOR. Dr. Rick, NE8Z, tells OPDX that he will once again be heading
south to Ecuador and plans to be active with the following callsigns from
various locations as follows:
HC1MD/HC4 - February 20-27th; QTHs: Same & Tonsupa, Esmeraldas Province
(Pacific beach homes)
HC1MD - February 28th-March 8th; QTH: Tumbaco, Pichincha Province
Activity will be on 160-10 meters using CW and SSB. QSL via K8LJG: John
Kroll, 3528 Craig Drive, Flint, MI 48506 USA. Rick suggests to view the
the HC/Ecuador and HC8/Galapagos DX-Diplomas on the following Web page
at: http://webpages.charter.net/ne8z

HI, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. Operators Edwin/HI3K, Tino/HI3CCP and Andy/VE9DX
will be active in the ARRL DX SSB Contest as HI3K (March 7-8th) from Lomas
del Toro in Santiago (Lomadeltoro Contest Team's HI3CCP station):
http://www.lomadeltoro.com

IOTA NEWS...............................
AF-019. (REAL EARLY ANNOUNCEMENT) Operator Luigi, IK8HCG, will be
active as IG9R from Lampedusa Island, African Italy, during
the next CQWW DX SSB Contest (October 24-25th). QSL via IK8HCG.

AS-115. Rene, DL2JRM, will be active as TA0/DL2JRM/p from Kekova
Island, Turkey, February 23-25th. Activity will be on 40-10
meters CW. QSL via his home callsign, direct or by the bureau.

EU-029. Ben, DO1BEN, will be active as OZ/homecall from Lolland Island
(DIA SJ-015), April 9-17th. Activity will be on all HF bands
using SSB and sometimes digital modes. Location is 5 meters
from the Baltic Sea. QSL via his home callsign, by the bureau
or direct.

EU-146. Rene, DL2JRM, will be active as PA/DL2JRM/p from Schouwen
Duiveland, February 14-15th. Activity will be on 80-10 meters
CW. QSL via his home callsign, direct or by the bureau.

NA-102. Iiario, IV3CGJ, will be active as FB/IV3CGJ/p from Marie
Galante Island (DIFO FG-008, WLOTA LH-4241), Guadeloupe,
February 13-24th. Activity will be holiday-style on 80-10
meters. QSL via his home callsign, direct or by the bureau.

J7, DOMINICA. John, K3TEJ, will active from here between February 11-27th.
Activity will be on CW and RTTY with a focus on 160/30/17/12 meters. He
will also be in the CQWW WPX RTTY Contest (February 14-15th) and the ARRL
DX CW Contest (February 21-22nd) as Single-Op/All-Band entries signing
J7N for both contests. QSL via K3TEJ.

JD1/M, MINAMI TORISHIMA (OC-073). Operators Masa/JA6GXK (JD1BMM) and
Kingo/JK1PCN (JD1BND) are now active until February 9th. Activity will
be limited because they are on a business trip to the island, so they
will be active during their little spare time. Over the past week Masa
was on 160/80/40 meters. QSL JD1BMM by the JARL Bureau or direct to:
Masafumi Ishihara, 2-305 Loran, 2-5-35 Miyazaki, Chuo-ku, Chiba, 260-0806
Japan). QSL JD1BND by the bureau to JD1BND.

KH4, MIDWAY ISLAND (Amateur Radio Operations to Begin Again). The ARRL
Web page reports, "The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced
on Monday, January 26th, that they would once again allow Amateur Radio
operators the opportunity to operate from Midway Atoll. This is the first
time that USFWS has allowed amateurs to operate from the wildlife refuge
since 2002. The USFWS started a program earlier this month to encourage
visitors to experience Midway's wildlife, history and culture, as well
as non-wildlife-dependent activities -- including Amateur Radio. To ensure
the safety of the wildlife on the Refuge, the USFWS said that Amateur
Radio operations will be permitted for two weeks only, from October 5-19th,
2009. 'Radio operation will be allowed only within a designated area on
the north side of Sand Island and the use of portable generators will
not be permitted,' said Midway Atoll Refuge Manager Matt D. Brown. 'There
is 120 V power available at the operation site. Any modifications to the
island power grid/infrastructure must be approved in advance and be paid
for entirely by the radio operators.' All participants will be required
to attend a refuge orientation shortly after arrival that is designed to
enhance visitor safety, wildlife protection and overall enjoyment of the
wildlife refuge." To read the complete press release, go to:
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/01/27/10596/

NAQCC PRESS RELEASE (Preserve and Encourage CW Activity in 2009!!).
New Years 2009 may have come and gone, but it's never too late to resolve
to help preserve and encourage CW activity across our amateur bands. To
celebrate the new year, come and join the NAQCC (North American QRP CW
Club), a club for any and ALL CW enthusiasts around the world.
Our members include "Big Gun" contesters, hard-core QRPers,
experimenters, ragchewers and SWLers; young and old alike. As different
as we may be, we all share one thing in common, and that is our love for
CW.
We welcome all who want to help support CW and have at least some
interest in using QRP from time-to-time. Our club runs monthly sprints
and challenges. Plus we sponsor some additional special on-air activities
during the year.
Membership is FREE and once you join you're automatically a lifetime
member! So sign up today and help us keep CW alive and well.
Visit our web site at http://www.usatek.net/~yoel/. You'll find info on
all of our various activities plus an online membership application.
We look forward to your support and hope to soon see your call added to
our membership roster.... 73, Paul/KD2MX, NAQCC Membership Recruiter
On behalf of: Tom, WY3H - NAQCC President
John, K3WWP - NAQCC Vice President
Larry, W2LJ - NAQCC Asst. Publicity Director
Dave, VA3RJ/VE3JDR - NAQCC Publicity Officer

PJ2, NETHERLANDS ANTILLES. Jan, PA4JJ, informs OPDX that he will be on a
short holiday trip to the Island of Curacao (SA-006, WLOTA LH-0942) and
will be active as PJ2/PA4JJ. He will leave Amsterdam on March 30th and
expects to be on the island until April 11th. Jan states that he will be
the only ham in a party of 4, so he will try to be active as much as he
can. Activity will be on all ham bands with a focus on 30/17/12 meters
and the DIGI modes (RTTY and/or PSK31). QSL cards are direct to PA4JJ.
If Jan has access to the Internet, he will provide an online log on his
Web site (or as soon as possible after his return home) at:
http://www.pa4jj.nl/html/pj2_pa4jj.html

PJ2, NETHERLANDS ANTILLES (Update - Referendum on Curacao). Hans Timmerman,
PB2T, President of the European DX Foundation (EUDXF), reported on the
EUDXF Web page on Friday, January 30th: "Where I had the impression that
Curacao had a clear position on its future political status it appears
that another referendum will be necessary to decide on the future of this
island. On Curacao a committee has been installed that will lead a
referendum that addresses the planned political change. On February 2nd,
2009, at the latest, this committee will propose the date for the
referendum and it will propose the exact question for the referendum.
A final decision will be taken by the local government of the island.
In the meantime the chairman of the committee stepped down because he
appeared to be too controversial. To be continued...."

QSL INFO AND NEWS.....................
LOTW REACHES 200 MILLION QSOS! "The ARRL Letter" reports that on January
16th, the "Logbook of The World" (LoTW) hit the 200 million mark during
the upload of four years' worth of logs (about 25k QSOs), by Vic Kean
Jr., K1LT, of Carroll, Ohio. To celebrate Kean's submission of the 200
millionth QSO, the ARRL has awarded him lifetime free LoTW credits and
free ARRL Awards as he qualifies for them. Read the complete press
release at: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/01/22/10576/?nc=1

LOGBOOK OF THE WORLD NOW EASIER THAN Ever! Bill Moore, NC1L, ARRL Awards
Manager, reports: "In order to better accommodate new users as well as
existing account holders, ARRL's Logbook of The World (LoTW) has been
updated. According to ARRL Membership and Volunteer Programs Assistant
Manager Norm Fusaro, W3IZ, these improvements were made based on tracking
Manager LoTW help questions and listening to users. 'Through the efforts
of Membership and Volunteer Services Dave Patton and Information
Technology Manager Jon Bloom, we have also added an automated results
table on the LoTW Users Home Page that lists members in numeric order
who have achieved the Triple Play Award,' said ARRL Chief Operating
Officer Harold Kramer, WJ1B. 'IT personnel have also fixed a number of
long standing issues with Logbook in recent weeks, and some additional
enhancements are underway.'
Some things that have been added:
* An LoTW User's Corner that includes quick links to log onto your
account, save or renew a certificate and ways to address PC failure.

* The GET STARTED section http://www.arrl.org/lotw/start.html has
been simplified with links for each of the four steps in the
certificate process.

* LoTW instructions are now available in nine languages: English,
Dutch, French, German, Italian, Russian, Slovenian and Spanish.
Options to select a language have always been available, but they
have now been moved up front to the GET STARTED page. The languages
are identified with icons of flags to represent each language.

* The GET STARTED pdf file has been updated to include new screenshots
and refinement of some of the processes.

* The software download section now consists of only three icons
representing the three operating systems for which software is
available: Windows, Mac and Linux. The user simply selects their
operating system and they are redirected to the download specific
to their system.

* A new link has been added for QSL Manager, Club Calls and DX-
peditions. This link gives details on establishing an account for
these special operations and includes a section for 1×1 call signs.

* A new PowerPoint overview is available from the LoTW site. This
presentation has also been added to our multimedia library.
http://arrl.org/multimedia
The program is an overview of LoTW and what users can expect from
the service. There are screenshots of LoTW pages, as well as a
condensed version of the certificate and award application process.

With more than 200 million QSOs submitted, ARRL's Logbook of The World
system is a repository of log records submitted by users from around the
world. When both participants in a QSO submit matching QSO records to
LoTW, the result is a QSL that can be used for ARRL award credit. Yaesu
is the principal sponsor of the LoTW Web site."

NOT THE QSL MANAGER. Alfredo, IK7JWX, reports that he is NOT the QSL
Manager for ZA1KP. QSL ZA1KP only direct to: Miftar Fana, Klub Partizani,
P.O.BOX 1439, TIRANA, Albania.

QSL MANAGER NEEDED. Omar, 4L5O, from Tbilisi, informs OPDX that he is
looking for or is in need of a QSL Manager in the USA. If interested
in being his QSL Manager, please contact him at:
-or-

QSLS VIA LOTW: 6Y5/WD3Q, 9L1/WD3Q, J20BY, WD3Q/HI3, OX3DB, OY3JE and
VK9DWX

QSLS RECEIVED VIA MAIL: 3X5A, 5N/LZ1QK, 6V7M, 6W/DL4JS, 7X5VRK, 9M6NA,
9V1F1, A5100A, A92GR, D44CF, ER4DX, EA6SX, EL2DX, F5PFP, GM4YXI, H44MY,
HC1HC, HC1JQ, HK3JJH/HK0B, OJ9JD, TT8JT, TY5MR, V26B, V51AS, VE1AI/1,
VR2PX, VU7NRO, XV4BX and ZP6/IK1PMR

QSLS RECEIVED VIA THE BUREAU: 4J0DX, 6W1RY, 7S2E, 8Q7BR, 9G5UR, 9X0R,
C98RF, CE0Y/OE2SNL, CN2AW, CS6V, CU8F, DF0CG, E4/OM2DX, EJ0GI, ER1DA,
ER3GS, F5GPE, F5JUS, FS/DL5CF, HA5DE, HG100WTE, HP1XX, IK0ZSQ, IR6T,
IU0IPY, LZ129LO, MJ/F4EGD, OA4BHY/3, OA4WW, OH0/SP7VC, OK1DED, PA3FYG,
PC07XMAS, PD08HNY, R245GS, R450KB, RD3ABN, RK1B/P, RK3QWW, RZ3DC,
SN0AXL, T70A, TO1T, TO5FJ, TO5J, UA1ARD, UA3QAM, V26MH, YU8/HB4FG and
ZA1MH

SILENT KEY. It was reported by Ben, PA5BW, that Solofo Randrenjason,
5R8ET, became a "Silent Key" (SK) unexpectedly in the hospital on January
19th, "during a more or less routine surgery". Ben states, "Solofo was
my colleague and later even my 'second man' at the Radio Netherlands
shortwave station in Talata Volonondry in Madagascar, where I worked
there back in 1993-1995. Together we started the Madagascar Amateur Radio
Association in 1995. His keen interest in radio and shortwave lead to
his amateur radio license in 1994, using a simple transceiver borrowed
from visiting Japanese hams and a homebrew dipole antenna. Solofo was
the first local ham to obtain an amateur radio license. All licensees
before that were foreigners that traded in their foreign calls for a
local ham radio permit. Several other local hams were to follow him
which led to the first ever 5R8 Ham Dinner in Antananarivo in 1995,
counting nine (!) 5R8 hams on 10 square meters. The highest 5R8-
concentration ever. I remember Solofo as a very friendly and kind man,
a real friend (and a very loyal one) and a committed amateur radio
DXer. For me it is very hard to understand that I will never meet him
again. The world will be a little bit colder without him. Our hearts
go out to those that are left behind: his family, his colleagues at
the radio station, his fellow radio amateurs."

TOP BAND DINNER ANNOUNCEMENT. Steve, WB6RSE, reports: "Registration for
the Top Band Dinner at the 2009 Visalia International DX Convention is
now open. First come, first served." The dinner will be held Friday,
April 17th, at the Holiday Inn Visalia - Birch Room (6:30 PM No-host Bar,
7:15 PM BBQ Buffet Dinner). The program will be "Top Band from KP5,
Desecheo, February 2009" by Glenn Johnson, W0GJ, Co-leader, Desecheo
DXpedition. Door Prizes! Thanks to these fine organizations for their
generous donations: ARRL, NCDXF, Idiom Press, CQ, QRZ-DX, Yaesu, Water-
proof Log Books, The Daily DX, Photoqsls.com .... AND ...... from Array
Solutions - their new Beverage transformer system:
http://www.arraysolutions.com/Produc...op%20of%20page
Dinner will be "Miner 49er BBQ Buffet" (COST IS 36 USDs/per person -
includes, all taxes, gratuity, and room charges AND Door Prize eligibil-
ity). TO REGISTER: Send an E-mail to Steve, WB6RSE, to check on availa-
bility and indicate the number of registrations you want. Send an E-mail
to:
You will receive a return E-mail with additional information and registra-
tion details. Last year's event was a sellout. Advanced registration is
absolutely required. Registration at the door will be very limited IF any!
REGISTER EARLY!

TOP TEN MOST WANTED. Jean-Michel, F6AJA, informs OPDX that the Les
Nouvelles DX Web page has an interesting listing of the QSL cards of past
operations from the entities mentioned in "The DX Magazine's" -- "2008
MOST WANTED SURVEY". QSL cards of the "Top Ten Most Wanted" can be viewed
at: http://www.lesnouvellesdx.fr/galerie...age=listtopten
You will find more than 300 cards for the "Top Ten" entities for the
last 5 years (2004 to 2008). If you don't speak French, you can use the
automatic translator (see on the left side of the page).

V3, BELIZE. The "two contests in two weeks team" is at it again. As part
of their "Adventure Before Dementia" program they are returning to Belize,
this time with two other operators to help share the insanity. Phil Yasson,
AB7RW/V31RW, and his XYL Barbara, AC7UH/V31UH, will join Rick, KT7G/V31TB,
and Jake, N7WO/V31WO. The group will be active from February 10th to 24th.
During the CQWW WPX RTTY Contest (February 14-15th) they will use V31TB
(QSL via KT7G) and for the ARRL International DX CW Contest (February
21-22nd) they will use V31WO (QSL via N7WO). Outside the contests, QSL
via the operator's instructions. Activity is planned for 160-15 meters
including WARC bands.

VK9C, COCOS-KEELING ISLAND (OC-003). Bernd, VK2IA, will once again be
active as VK9AA between March 14-27th. Activity will be on 160-10 meters
using CW and SSB. QSL via DL8YR (QRZ.com).

YN2/H7, NICARAGUA. Andrei, NP3D, will be active as H7/NP3D and YN2/EW1AR
between February 11-15th. Activity will include the CQ WW RTTY WPX Contest
(February 14-15th) and he will sign YN2S for the contest. QSL direct to
NP3D. QSLs are also "OK" via W3HNK and RW6HS.

YN, NICARAGUA. Eric, K9GY, will be active possibly as YN2/K9GY from
Octavio's, YN2N, QTH in Grenada, during the CQWW WPX CW Contest (May
30-31st) as a Single-Op/All-Band/Low-Power entry. QSL via his home
callsign, direct or by the bureau.

YW0, AVES ISLAND (Update). The 4M5DX Group will once again activate Aves
Island (NA-020) in March for one week. A team of more than 15 operators
(team almost complete) will be active on 160-6 meters using CW, SSB and
RTTY. The logistic support is ready (transportation will be made by the
Venezuelan Navy. QSL via IT9DAA, either direct, by the bureau or LoTW.
The QSL Manager is authorized to receive any donation. For updates,
visit the DXpedition's Web page at: http://yw0a.4m5dx.info

ZL7, CHATHAM ISLANDS (Update). Lee ZL2AL, informs OPDX that a team of 9
operators will be activating Chatham Island as ZL7T during March from the
fabulous Chatham Fishing Lodge in the fishing village of Kaiangaroa on
the far Northeastern tip of the island. The operators a Lee/ZL2AL,
Morrie/ZL2AAA, Lee/ZL2LE, John/ZL1BYZ, Mike/ZL2CC, Phil/ZL2RVW, Mark/ZL3AB,
Wayne/ZL2WG and John/ZL1ALZ. The pilot station will be Duncan/ZL3JT. The
four station setup will operate 160-10 meters, using CW, SSB, RTTY and
the PSK modes. Operations will be on between March 6-11th. Donations would
be appreciated. The ZL7T Web site is available at: http://www.zl7t.com
A logsearch will be available on the team's return. Logs will be uploaded
to LoTW within 6 months. QSL via ZL2AL, by the Bureau or direct (CBA or
QRZ.com).

ZP6, PARAGUAY (Possibly CX). Witek/SP9MRO and XYL Danuta/SP9SX will be
here between February 21st and March 3rd. Activity will be holiday style
(mainly on the weekends and local night hours) with operations on CW,
SSB and RTTY using the callsign ZP6/SP9MRO. They also plan to go to
Uruguay (CX) between March 4-14th.

ZS8, MARION ISLANDS. Very few QSN reports on Petrus, ZS8T, this past
week. BEWARE OF PIRATE ACTIVITY! However, the very first portion of QSOs
logged by Petrus (as of January 25th) are now available at:
http://zs8t.net/online-logsearch/
Also available are sound clips of Petrus on the Web page listed below.
For updates and official announcements of the ZS8T operation, please
visit the Web site at: http://zs8t.net

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** IMPORTANT NOTICE/REMINDER ** The Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin now has a new
FAX number. Contributors can now send/fax their DX information to the
following number: 1-419-828-7791 ( F A X only! )
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SPECIAL NOTE BY EDITOR: If you are having a problem receiving bounced
mail by sending mail to me via " ", please send
mail to me via " "...... TNX de Tedd KB8NW
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PLEASE NOTICE (as of February 12th), NEW ADDRESS CHANGES FOR THE
OPDX INTERNET HELP/SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE REQUESTS:
Help: mailto Subscribe: mailto Unsubscribe: mailto OPDX WORLD-WIDE WEB HOME PAGE (provided by John, K8YSE):
http://www.papays.com/opdx.html
ALSO VISIT THE NORTHERN OHIO DX ASSOCIATION'S WEB HOME PAGE:
http://www.papays.com/nodxa.html
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Excerpts and distribution of The OPDX Bulletin are granted as long as
KB8NW/OPDX/BARF80 receive credit. To contribute DX info, please send
via InterNet Mail to: - OR -
Information can now be faxed to the following "NEW" phone line at:
1-419-828-7791 (F A X only!)

/EXIT
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
--
Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW - --or--
Editor of the "Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin" (OPDX - "DXer's Tool of Excellence")
President of the "Northern Ohio DX Association" (NODXA)
DX Chairman for the "Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society
ARRL Assistant Director of the Great Lakes Division
Sysop of the "Basic Amateur Radio Frequency BBS" (BARF80.ORG)