SB DX @ WW < KB8NW $OPDX.1209 Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1209 The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster DX Bulletin No. 1209 BID: $OPDX.1209 April 6, 2015 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, K1XN & GoList, NJ1Q & W1AW, NN1N, NG3K & ADXO, W3UR & The Daily DX, WP3GW, N3SL, N4AA & QRZ DX, W4FC, W4FOA, KY6R, WB6RSE, K7VV, K8GI, K8YSE, W8GEX & 60m News, K9EL, W9ILY, W0GJ, 4Z4KX, DL7UXG & The DX News Letter, DL1SBF, DxCoffee.com, DXNews.com, DX-World.Net, ES1CW, F5NQL, F6AJA & Les Nouvelles DX, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, I2MQP & DX Italia News, JI3DST/JS6RRR, LY5W, OZ6OM & 50 MHz DX News, RSGB IOTA Web Site, Sixitalia Weekly, VA3RJ & ICPO, the VHF-DX-Portal (MMMonVHF) and VU2CDP for the following DX information. *** SPECIAL NOTE FROM EDITOR: My family and I would like to wish a "Happy Easter" to those who celebrate this special and holy holiday...... 73 de Tedd KB8NW DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT: According to the AR-Cluster Network for the week of Sunday, 29th/March, through Sunday, 5th/April there were 238 countries active. Countries available: 3A, 3B8, 3B9, 3DA, 3V, 3W, 3X, 4J, 4L, 4O, 4S, 4U1I, 4X, 5B, 5H, 5R, 5T, 5U, 5V, 5W, 5X, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7Q, 7X, 8P, 8Q, 8R, 9A, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9M2, 9M6, 9N, 9Q, 9V, 9Y, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A9, AP, BV, BY, C2, C3, C5, C6, CE, CE0Y, CE9, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, D2, D4, DL, DU, E4, E5/n, E5/s, E6, E7, EA, EA6, EA8, EA9, EI, EK, EL, EP, ER, ES, EU, EX, EY, EZ, F, FG, FK, FM, FO, FR, FS, FW, FY, G, GD, GI, GJ, GM, GU, GW, H4, HA, HB, HB0, HC, HI, HK, HK0/a, HL, HP, HR, HS, HV, HZ, I, IS, J2, J3, J6, J7, J8, JA, JD/o, JT, JW, JY, K, KH0, KH2, KH6, KL, KP2, KP4, LA, LU, LX, LY, LZ, OA, OD, OE, OH, OH0, OJ0, OK, OM, ON, OX, OY, OZ, P2, P4, PA, PJ2, PJ4, PJ7, PY, PY0F, PY0T, PZ, S0, S2, S5, S7, SM, SP, ST, SU, SV, SV5, SV9, T7, T8, TA, TF, TG, TI, TJ, TK, TL, TN, TR, TT, TU, TY, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V2, V3, V4, V5, V6, V7, V8, VE, VK, VK9N, VP2E, VP5, VP8, VP8/g, VP8/h, VP9, VQ9, VR, VU, XE, XU, XW, XX9, YA, YB, YI, YL, YN, YO, YS, YU, YV, Z2, Z3, Z8, ZA, ZB, ZD7, ZD8, ZF, ZL, ZL7, ZP, ZS * PLEASE NOTE: The report "could" contain "Pirate/SLIM" operations or more likely a "BUSTED CALLSIGN". As always, you never know - "Work First Worry Later". 3D2, FIJI. Wes, ZL3TE, will once again be active as 3D2SE from Viti Levu (OC-016) between April 10-13th. His main activity will be in the Japan International DX CW Contest (April 11-12th). Operations outside the contest will mainly be casual on CW, with some Digital modes. QSl via LoTW or ZL3TE. 4Z, ISRAEL. MARK, 4Z4KX, wants to remind everyone that the 2015 Holyland Contest will be on April 17-18th, starting at 2100z for 24 hours! He will be active as 4Z0X during the contest. QSL via 4Z4KX. For more info on the contest, see: http://www.iarc.org/iarc/#HolylandContest 5V, TOGO. Operators Baldur/DJ6SI and Jan/DJ8NK are now active as 5V7BD and 5V7JH, respectively, from Togo until April 8th. Activity will be on 160-10 meters using CW (Baldur only), SSB and RTTY. QSL via their home callsigns. 8Q, MALDIVES. By the time you read this Andy, LZ2HM, will be active as 8Q7SA from North Male Atoll (AS-013) until April 12th. Activity will be holiday style on 40-10 meters (he may also try 60 and 6m) using a Elecraft K3 with 100w into a DunaX GPN4B vertical (40-10m), VDA for the WARC bands and some other antennas depending on the space. QSL via LZ3SM. 8Q, MALDIVES. Sascha, DG4ABE, will be active as 8Q7BI from the Maldives (AS-013) between May 10-17th. Activity will be holiday style on 20-10 meters using mostly the Digital modes, but with some SSB. QSL via his home callsign. A5, BHUTAN. JA operators Tatsuo/JA3ARJ, Jusei/JA3IVU, Junichi/JH3AEF and Kunio/JH3LSS will be active as A52ARJ, A52IVU, A52AEF and A52LSS, respec- tively, from Dochula Resort, Punakha, between April 30th and May 5th. Three of these operators were on the XR0YJ DXpedition to Easter Island in January. Activity will be on 80-6 meters using CW, SSB and the Digital modes. Max Power will be 200 watts into a 2 element Yagi (20-10m), HEX-6 (20-6m), Loop(15m), Wire DP(40m) and Long Wire (80, 40, 30m and 160m if possible). QSL A52AEF via JH3AEF, direct or by the Bureau. QSL A52ARJ via JA3ARJ direct. QSL A52IVU via JA3IVU, direct or by the Bureau. QSL A52LSS via JH3LSS, LoTW, direct or by the Bureau. See QRZ.com for more details. AM90/AN90/AO90/EG90/EH90, SPAIN (Special Event). Look for Spanish stations and club stations of the URE to use special prefixes in April to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the IARU. EA stations will use the AM90 prefix, EB stations will use AN90 and EC stations will use AO90. URE club stations will activate EG90IARU (mainland) and EH90IARU/6, /8 and /9 from the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands and Ceuta and Melilla respectively. QSL for EG90IARU and EH90IARU via EA4URE. AT150, INDIA (Special Event). Look for special event station (SES) AT150ITU to be on the air to commemorate 150th anniversary of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). This callsign has been granted to the Amateur Radio Society of India (ARSI) by the Wireless Planning & Coordi- nation (WPC) wing of the Ministry of Telecommunications & I.T. Govt. of India for use by all members of ARSI. Various VU radio amateurs will be signing AT150ITU on air from April through December 2015 on all the HF bands on various modes. A special QSL card will be printed later in the year, and QSLs will be processed via Bureau based on ClubLog's OQRS requests; direct QSLs are via VU2CDP. All QSOs will be automatically confirmed via ARRL's Logbook of The World (LoTW). More details will be published in due course on the ARSI website . DX MARATHON (Helpful Hints Web Page Updated). John, K9EL, informs OPDX readers that there is a valuable source available to them. He states [edited], "Each year for the DX Marathon, we compile a list of bad spots, pirates, callsign errors, etc. Ultimately this list is used in the scoring database, but we make it available to the participants to eliminate as many subtractions as possible. DX Editors are aware of the huge number of bad cluster spots these days. Even big time DXer's can be fooled by bad DX spots. The list is updated every few days or whenever I get significant updates from several people who feed us information. We can make the databases available from prior years if that is of any interest. Please note that there are several callsigns, such as 5A1AL, that are OK for this year's DX Marathon that are NOT accepted by the ARRL for DXCC. Any countries that are OK for the Marathon but not DXCC are listed on the website. Disclaimer: It is always possible that an error can occur on these lists. Each entry is checked before being posted, but I cannot guarantee 100% accuracy. I can tell you, however, that errors have been very rare." John also mentions that he has recently done a rather large update to the "Callsigns and Bad Spots" web pages on the DX Marathon web site, and urges everyone to check all QSOs in their 2015 DX Marathon log against these lists, so you have time to re-work any bad QSOs. The Web page can be found at: http://www.dxmarathon.com/helpfulhints/2015/HelpfulHints2015.htm DXCC NEWS. DXAC Staff Liaison, Dave Patton, NN1N, reports that the following operation is approved for DXCC credit: TI9/3Z9DX - 2015 Operation FR, REUNION. Rocco, DG5AA, is now active as FR/DG5AA from Reunion Island (AF-016) until April 11, 2015. Activity will be on all bands using CW. QSL via his home callsign. HI, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. Boris, N3SY, will be active as HI3/N3SY from the Dominican Republic between April 9-22nd. Activity will be on all HF bands using K3 transceiver and FT-100D with 50-70 watts into a 1.5 meters Vertical and some other antennas. QSL only direct to his home callsign. IOTA NEWS.............. AS-200. Takeshi "TAKE"/JI3DST(JS6RRR) will once again be active as JI3DST/5 (CW/SSB) and JS6RRR/5 (RTTY/FM) from Shodo Island (in the Shikoku's Coastal Islands) between April 11-12th. Activity will be on 40/30/20/17/15/12/10/6 meters. This operation is subject to change because of bad WX or other conditions. QSL JS6RRR/5 and JI3DST/5 via the Bureau or by ClubLog's OQRS. Please check QRZ.com for more details. For more details and updates, see: http://blog.goo.ne.jp/ji3dst EU-023. Roberto, PB5X, will once again be active as 9H3A from Gozo Island, Malta, between June 3-10th. Activity will be holiday style with a focus on the 30/20/17/12/10 meters SSB. QSL via PB5X, direct or by the Bureau. EU-051. Operators Giovanni/IK5BCM and Andrea/IU5BLZ will be active as IE9B from Ustica Island between May 9-16th. Activity will be on 80-10 meters using CW, SSB and the Digital modes. QSL via IU5BLZ, direct, by the Bureau, LoTW or eQSL. EU-074. Operators Francis/ON8AZ, Geert/ON7USB, Tim/ON5HC, Lieven/ON4PQ and Pat/ON7PQ will be active as TM5U from Ile Brehat, France, between May 10-16th. Activity will be on 160-6 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL via ON8AZ. For more details, see their Web site at: http://www.eu074.be EU-088. Mike, OZ1KZX, will be active as 5P1ANH from Anholt Island (DIA NK-001) sometime between May 5-10th for 3-4 days. When off duty, he will be active on Digimode JT65, RTTY and PSK31. QSL via his home callsign, by the Bureau, direct, LoTW, eQSL or ClubLog's OQRS. EU-125. Tom, DL7UZO, will be active as 5P9Z/P from Romo Island between May 23-31st. Activity will be focused on CW and RTTY. QSL via his home callsign, direct or by the Bureau. For more details, see: http://www.5p9z.com EU-175. By the time you read this, Leo, CU3EJ, was expected to be active as CU5/CU3DX from São Jorge Island as of Friday, starting at 0900z. Activity will be mostly on 20 meters SSB. Length of stay was not mentioned (could be a one operation). This activity will count for the awards: CTFF-0124, CUFF-005, WCA CT-00416, DMHP AZ-068, ARLHS AZO-019, WLOTA WL-1004, DFFP FP-145, DFP FAZ-05, PIP AC-005, DIP AZ-005, DMP 1904 and DDFP VLS-03. QSL via CU3EJ, by the Bureau or direct. OC-021. Bert, PD1SA, will be active as YB1/PD1SA from Java Island between April 18th and May 18th. QSL via PD1SA by the Bureau. OC-130. Marc, ON5SM, will once again be active as DU9/ON5SM from Mindanao Island (WLOTA 2803) between April 16-25th. Activity will be on all HF bands. QSL via his home callsign, by the Bureau or direct (see QRZ.com). Log will be uploaded to LoTW and eQSL. OC-142. Charlie, VK3ZD, is currently active as VK9NW from North West Island [uninhabited island off the coast of Queensland in the Coral Sea] until April 20th. Activity will be mainly on 20 meters (14205 kHz) at first, but will also be on 40 and 15 meters. QSL via his home callsign direct, eQSL or LoTW. For more details and updates, see: http://www.vk9nw.com OC-204. By the time you read this, Budi, YF1AR, will be active as YF1AR/4 from the rare IOTA Enggano Island and Malakoni Enggano Lighthouse (IDO-197) until April 6th. Activity will be on 40-10 meters using mainly SSB with some CW and Digital modes. QSL via N2OO or via ClubLog's OQRS. For more details, see: http://www.yf1ar.com/2015/04/yf1ar4-ido-197-oc-204-enggano-island.html OC-244. Operators Patrick/4F1TDT and Gilbert/4F2KWT/DX1PUP will be active as 4G0PUP from Mindoro Island between April 16-19th. Activity will be on the HF bands using CW and SSB. QSL via DX1PUP/4F2KWT, direct or by the Bureau. OC-269. Operators Imam/YB4IR, Hendri/YB7AM and YC7BAO are now active (since April 2nd) as YB4IR/7, YB7AM/p and YC7BAO/p, respectively, from Serutu Island, Karimata Island until April 7th. QSL via YB4IR. JW, SVALBARD (Reminder). François, F8DVD, will once again be active as JW/F8DVD from Longyearbyen located on Spitsbergen Island (EU-026) between April 9-15th. His activity will be on HF bands. He will use the Longyearbyen Radio Club's equipment which consists of an Kenwood TS870 and a 500 watts amp into an optibeam antenna on a 30 meters high tower. The log will be uploaded on Clublog and on LoTW. QSL via his home callsign, through the French REF Bureau or direct, with SAE + 1 IRC or 2 USDs to: Francois Bergez, 6, Rue de la Liberte, 71000 MACON, France. For more info, visit: http://www.qrz.com/db/JW/F8DVD KP4, PUERTO RICO (Special Event). The Puerto Rico Field Day Group will once again will be on the air, this time as KP4FD/IARU, to celebrate "World Amateur Radio Day" on Saturday, April 18th, 2015. They will be on in various modes and bands to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the foundation of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) in Paris, France, on April 18th, 1925. They will join other stations from different parts of the world to celebrate this special day. There will be a special certificate available via E-mail. More information at: http://www.qrz.com/db/KP4FD/IARU NCDXF PRESS RELEASE (NCDXF announces major grant to the VK0EK Heard Island DXpedition) April 2, 2015: The Northern California DX Foundation is pleased to announce a grant of $50,000 to the VK0EK Heard Island DXpedition planned for November 2015. Heard Island has moved up to the #5 position on the ClubLog Most Wanted List, after the recent Navassa operation. Without major financial support from NCDXF, DXpeditions like this to challenging or rare locations would not be possible. Within the last year, NCDXF has given $175,000 in grants to operations in Iran, Andaman, Navassa, Eritrea, South Sandwich, South Georgia, Chester- field, Heard and to a yet unannounced DXpedition, all of which are in or near the Top Ten Most Wanted. We have been doing this for the past 42 years, making rare DX happen and bringing fun to DXers everywhere. The credit for these large grants goes to the NCDXF contributors, individuals and clubs, who believe in supporting NCDXF. In the next few weeks and months, please stop by the NCDXF booths at Visalia, Dayton, and other major DX meetings. Our board members are looking forward to meeting you and thanking you for your support! Have you contributed yet? 73... Glenn Johnson, W0GJ (NCDXF Vice President) P4, ARUBA. Dino, VE7NX, will be active as P4/VE7NX from Aruba (SA-036) between April 12-24th. Activity will be holiday style (few hours a day only) using an Icom IC706MKIIG, LDG200 Pro-tuner, Mini Buddipole antenna and a 5 band dipole. He will be working mostly CW, but may switch to SSB if needed. Dino will not have InterNet access from the hotel. QSL via VE7NX. PJ2, CURACAO ISLAND (Reminder/Update). The German team of Anja/DH2AK and Torsten/DL1HTM are now active as PJ2/homecall from Curacao Island (SA-099) until April 23rd. Activity will be on the high bands, SSB and maybe some Digital modes. They will announce activities on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dl1thm QSL via their home callsigns, direct (see QRZ.com) or by the Bureau. PQ0T, TRINDADE ISLAND. By the time you read this, the PQ0T team that has been active Trindade Island since April 3rd, will be possible QRT or about to go QRT. They were only expected to operate for 3 days. QSL via PP5BZ, direct or by the Bureau. PROPAGATION FORECAST/REPORT (April 6-12th).... Apr/06th AN Apr/09th AN Apr/11th AN Apr/07th AN Apr/10th AN Apr/12th HN Apr/08th AN SOLAR REFERENCE KEYS/INDEXES AND GEOMAGNETIC REFERENCE ====================================================== NORMALITY GEOMAG K Values Alpha ----------------- ------ -------- ------ AN - Above Normal Quiet K=0-1 0-7 HN - High Normal Unsettled K=2 8-15 LN - Low Normal Active K=3 16-29 BN - Below Normal Minor Storm K=4 30-49 DIS - Disturbed Major Storm K=5 50-99 VRY DIS - Very Disturbed Severe Storm K=6-9 100-400 REALTIME BAND CONDITIONS WEB SITE : The purpose of this experimental Web site is to provide 24-7-365 actual (REALTIME) band condition information to CW QRPp, QRPe and CW/SSB for Contesters interested in increasing their scores. It can also be of benefit to other Radio Amateurs to determine band conditions for Nets and casual QSO's. This information is NOT based on any software pre- dictions or any kind of satellite based readings. It is based on a new Ionospheric sounding method called "HF Ionospheric Interferometry" which operates very similarly to the PolSAR system used by NASA. QSL INFO AND NEWS..................... QSL-INFO from DB0SDX (Will return April 19th) ET3AA via N2OO HC0E via HC1JQ R2AA via RW3R SV5DKL via LoTW, Bureau, OQRS, eQSL and Clublog. VR2HKS via direct YE2C via LoTW or direct 6Y2M and 6Y5/VE8DX QSL (plus others!). Sam, LY5W, informs OPDX readers [edited], "I am the QSL Manager for Ken's, VE8DX, operation from Jamaica - 6Y2M and 6Y5/VE8DX. Today I received his nice very high quality color QSLs from the printer and will start answering cards. I want say to the public - I can answer only direct requests for him. Also, I am the QSL Manager for the following CALLSIGNS: DL/LY1DR, IG9/LY5W, IT9/LY5W, IT9/VE8DX, IT9AUG, LY10DR, LY10NATO, LY10W, LY16W, LY1DR, LY200NB, LY20W, LY25W, LY2BIM, LY37W, LY53SOP, LY54SOP, LY550W, LY55SOP, LY600W, LY605W, LY61DR, LY70W, LY755W, LY75DR, LY760W, LY91DR, LY95DR, LY98DR, OE/LY5W, SP/LY5W, UP2BIM, W4/LY5W, W9/LY5W and YL/LY5W. If you need a QSL - my address is OK on . Direct QSL method is preferred. If anyone needs a QSL Manager, just write me an E-mail." 7QAA (and 7Q7AA) QSLs. Tony, W4FOA, reports: "I have received several QSLs for my old call 7Q7AA when the actual QSO was with the recent 7QAA DXpedition. 7QAA QSLs should go via N7RO. I have not been active from 7Q7AA since the late 60's. Since the received QSLs show 7Q7AA, I am returning them to the sender rather than to N7RO." T88TI, T88GI and T88XX logs from Tobi Island (OC-296) are now at: http://www.it9yre.it/t88 QSL RECEIVED VIA LoTW: 3C0E, 5H1ES, 7Q7BP, 9K2HN, 9Q0HQ, A45XR, AM190WH, D4C, DL7ON, DL8OH, EC1DD, F6IRA/P, FG/F6ITD, H42NT, H44NT, HT2N, HV0A, IK1QBT, JA2AH, JA2BDR, JA5BEN, JE4FNC, K1N, KP4MS, L51HDJ, OK1NZ, PJ4DX, R6AB, RZ1OA, T77C, T88MR, UK8AR, UK9AR, VA3NQ, VK5CE/p (OC-220), VK7FG, VK9NW, XM7CPR, YN2NW, YO3APJ and ZF2JT QSLS RECEIVED VIA MAIL: 5A1AL, 5Z4/DJ3EL, C5YK, EJ0PL, FO/JI1WTF, GP0STH, HH5/KC0W, K1N (Bird FO-29), K7VV, OH8T, OJ0AM, RI1ANT, TX4A, VK5CE/8, VK6ISL, VP8LP and ZD7FT QSLS RECEIVED VIA THE BUREAU: 3A/ON5UR, 3G0Y, 3W1D, 4S7DLG, 4U1UN, 4W/G3ZEM, 5B/R2DX, 5B/RZ3DJ, 5B7FOC, 5C5T, 5U9AMO, 5W0M, 5X8C, 6Y7W, 7Q7VW, 8Q7BM, 9H3TX, 9K2AP, 9K2NO, 9K53NLD, 9L0W, 9M4SLL, 9M6DXX, 9M6XRO/P, 9Q6AL, 9U4U, A65BR, CO5FB, CP4BT, DJ60DXMB, DJ90IARU, DM750FOR, DP5A, DQ25GRENZE, E51AIU, E6AY, EA6/G4MKP, EA8/DD5ZZ, EA8/DJ9BN, EF0JC, EP6T, FO/KH0PR, FM/RC0F, HB0/DJ6OI/P, HB0/DK3RED/P, HB0/DL3TU, HB0/DL5YL, HB0/RC5A, HD8A, HC2AO, HI2DX, HI8/UA4LGS, HR2J, J6/DL7VOG, J8/LY2IJ, J87GU, JD1BHA, JG8NQJ/JD1, KH8/DL6JGN, KL7YK, LX1GG, LX1IQ, LX1RFJ, OH/R3CW, OH0/OH2DZ, OY1OF, OY3AA, P33W, PJ4NX, PJ4S, PJ4V, PY1SX, R0000O, RC0F, RI1ANR, RI0K/P, RJ3AA, RK110RAEM, RM5Z, RP67RW, RT2D, R700SR, S79ACR, SU9AF, T48LT, TA3SA, TN2T, TO5K, TX5RV, V31ME, V5/DH3WO, V5/DJ2HD, V63PR, VK8NSB, VP2MMN, VQ975FOC, XP1A, XW8XZ, DL3KZA/YB8HI YE30P and ZL1WY/ZL7 SX9, CRETE. Operators Mirek/SP9ONC, Mirek/SP9JKB, Martin/SQ9AC, Darek/ SP9ETE, Tomasz/SP9NLT, John/SV9IOQ and Joh/SV9AHZ, members of the Club- station Radioklub Beskidzki (SP9KAT) and Klub Krótkofalowców w Kozach (SP9KOZ), together with other operators from Greece, will be active as SX9PL from Crete Island (EU-015) between April 18-24th. Activity will be on the HF bands using CW and SSB. QSL via SP9KAT, direct or by the Bureau. T8, PALAU. Akira, JH0CKF/DU1CKF/AF1Y, is once again active as T88MZ from the VIP Guest Hotel (Free Radio Room) on Koror Island (OC-009) until April 10th. He is there on business so activity will be limited to his spare time on the HF bands. QSL via DU1CKF, direct or by the Bureau, eQSL or LoTW. For more details about the VIP Guest Hotel (Free Radio Room), see: http://www.palau-radio.com/index.php?page=rr2014 V6, MICRONESIA (Update). Operators Keith/GM4YXI (GM5X) and Chris/GM3WOJ (GM2V) continue to be active as V6Z from Blue Lagoon Resort on Chuuk Island (OC-011) until April 9th. However, their QSL Manager N3SL (not N2SL as mentioned in OPDX.1202) reports the following: "Chatted with Keith (04z Saturday). They are doing well, but the weather continues to be a major issue, with constant rain and lightning since the passing of the cyclone. They're approaching 11,000 QSOs, but very few on the low bands with all the QRN. They'll continue to alternate 160 and 80, staying on whichever band from their sunset to sunrise. And they've not had Inter- net service since the very first upload to ClubLog and LoTW. Travel plans remain unchanged, meaning QRT on April 9th. QSLs will be printed after their return. ClubLog OQRS will be active later this year - probably in the September/October time frame." For more info and updates, see: http://www.v6z2015.com VISALIA IDXC NEWS. Rich, KY6R, will give his presentation: "Using Social Media in DXing and DXpeditioning" -- "At the Visalia International DX Convention (IDXC) at 1530z on Friday, April 17th. Bob, KK6EK, and Rich, KY6R, will man a table in the hallway leading to all conference rooms for the entire weekend. Look for our very distinctive banner with logo - we will make several very exciting announcements from Visalia 2015 - please stay tuned!" VK0EK HEARD ISLAND NEWS. Rich, KY6R, reports: "It is with considerable pleasure that we announce the award of a $50,000 grant from the Northern California DX Foundation. For years the NCDXF has enabled major DXpeditions by ensuring that the extraordinary costs, particularly transportation, can be met. NCDXF support probably represents the most accurate indicator of eventual project success, and we are very grateful for the implied endorse- ment. The grant is contingent on completing the contract with the vessel, but this is considered a relatively straightforward process, probably complete by mid-April. With that, the expedition has obtained its major components (team, transportation, finances), so preparations of facilities, equipment, and logistics will move forward." VK9X, CHRISTMAS ISLAND. Nobuaki, JA0JHQ will be active as JA0JHQ/VK9X from Captain Cook Lookout Resort, Christmas Island (OC-002) between May 7-10th. Activity will be on 40-6 meters using CW and SSB. His general operating schedule will be (local time): Morning - 30/12/10 meters; Noon - 6 meters; Afternoon 17/15 meters; Evening - 40/30 meters and Midnight - 20 meters. QSL via his home callsign, direct or by the Bureau. For details and updates, see: http://pandasan.jimdo.com V8, BRUNEI (Also 9M6). Hans, DF5UG, who was recently active from West Malaysia as 9M2QQ, will once again be active as V85QQ from Brunei and from East Malaysia as 9M6QQ during May and June for about three weeks (no specific dates were mentioned). Activity will be on the HF bands. QSL via his home callsign. W8, UNITED STATES (Special Event). Members of the Parma Radio Club of Ohio will celebrate its 3rd annual "Earth Day" this April 25th with special event station W8PRC. Activity will be on SSB within 20 kHz of 7195 and 14245 kHz from historic Stearns Farm in the heart of the city. Their operation will be entirely on solar power in recognition of Earth Day. A beautiful QSL card will be available. For more information, see: http://www.parmaradioclub.webs.com YB200, INDONESIA. Look for special event station YB200T to be active between April 5-11th, by operators Burkhard/DL3KZA, Adi/YB9GV and Kardi/YB9KA. The activity is to promote tourism to Nusa Tenggara Barat Province, particularly to the island of Sumbawa (OC-150), and the local authorities have launched a year long program to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Mt. Tambora eruption [the world's most dangerous volcano]. The program will culminate on April 11th. For more details, see: http://qrz.com/db/yb200t QSL via W2FB (International). A special QSL route for YB stations is available (see QRZ.com). YJ, VANUATU (Postponed). Masa, JA0RQV, reports [edited]: "My planned activity from Vanuatu as YJ0MT (originally planned between April 21st and May 5th) will be postponed due serious devastation by tropical cyclone PAM that hit Vanuatu archipelago on March 13-14th. Since my business should support restoration activities there, I had to postpone my oper- ations from YJ for the moment. Activation of YJ0MT seems to be possible in late June or July 2015, and I will announce it here (QRZ.com) once it is determined. All the best and 73s, Masa JA0RQV" Z2, ZIMBABWE. Herbert, 7Z1HB, is once again active as Z21LS from Zimbabwe until April 15th. He prefers 20 meters SSB, but basically he will be on the HF bands (not on low bands). QSL via DE1ZHB, by the DARC Bureau or direct. ZL7, CHATHAM ISLANDS. Operators John/ZL1BYZ, David/ZL1DK and John/ZL1ALZ should be active as ZL7E from Kaingaroa, Chatham Island (OC-038), by the time you read this until April 15th. Activity will be on with two stations, 40-10 meters and using CW, SSB and RTTY. Internet access permitting logs will be uploaded to ClubLog daily, and LoTW after initial log checking on their return to Auckland. The preferred QSL route is via ClubLog's OQRS for both direct and Bureau requests. Direct QSLs are via ZL1ALZ: John Balsillie, 48 Fraser Road, Pokeno 2471, New Zealand. Log inquiries go to John, ZL1ALZ at: gibit@xtra.co.nz Log search: https://secure.clublog.org/charts/?c=ZL7E -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- TO BE ADDED TO THE OPDX MAILING LIST -- Click or send requests to: Help: Subscribe: Unsubscribe: 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 PAGES AT: http://www.nodxa.org/ http://www.facebook.com/NorthernOhioDxAssociation -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- * All excerpts and distribution of "The OPDX Bulletin" are granted as long as KB8NW/OPDX/BARF80 receives credit. ** To contribute DX info, please send via InterNet Mail to: OR OR Information can now be faxed to the following phone line at: 1-419-828-7791 (F A X only!) /EXIT -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW - E-mail addresses: 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) ______________________________________________________________ DX mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/dx Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:DX@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html