425 DX News #1397

10 February 2018 A.R.I. DX Bulletin
No 1397

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*** 4 2 5 D X N E W S ***
**** DX INFORMATION ****
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Edited by I1JQJ & IK1ADH
Direttore Responsabile I2VGW

3W - HL1AHS and HL1LUA will be active as XV9HL from Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
from 26 February to 6 March. They will operate CW, SSB and digital
modes on 160-10 metres. QSL via HL1AHS.
6Y - Yuri, VE3DZ will be active again as 6Y2T from Jamaica (NA-097) on
13-20 February, including an entry in the ARRL DX CW Contest. QSL
via home call. [TNX NG3K]
8P - Dick, G3RWL will be active again as 8P6DR from Barbados (NA-021)
from 20 March to 29 April. He will operate CW and RTTY on 80-10
metres. QSL via Club Log's OQRS, LoTW or via home call.
9X - Christian, M0UPL will be active as 9XSDA (the callsign is correct)
from Kigali, Rwanda on 11-18 February. He will operate mainly SSB
on 40 and 20 metres. QSL via home call. [TNX DX World]
CE0Y - Michael, DF8AN will be active again as CE0Y/DF8AN from Easter
Island (SA-001) on 21-28 February. This time he will concentrate on
digital modes (RTTY, FT8, JT and PSK). He will also be active as
CE3/DDF8AN from Santiago (10-11 February) and as CE8/DF8AN from
Punta Arenas (11-21 February). QSL via home call, direct or bureau;
neither LoTW nor Club Log will be used. [TNX The Daily DX]
CO - T45FM will be QRV again from the lighthouse at Punta Maya on 16-18
February for the South American Lighthouses Weekend. Also expect
activity during the ARRL DX CW Contest. QSL via RW6HS. [TNX RW6HS]
FK - Arnaud, JG1XMV will be active again as FK/JG1XMV from New Caledonia
between 17 February and 3 March. He will operate SSB on 40-15
metres from Grande Terre (OC-032) Lifou (OC-033) and Mare (OC-033).
Updates will be posted on qrz.com under FK/JG1XMV. QSL via JG1XMV
(direct or bureau), LoTW and eQSL. [TNX NG3K]
FM - Ismo, OH2IS will be active as FM/OH2IS from Martinique (NA-107) on
18-28 February. He will operate CW, SSB and possibly some FT8 with
a focus on the low bands. QSL via LoTW, Club Log's OQRS or direct
to OH2IS. [TNX The Daily DX]
H4 - Chung, VA7YM will be active as H44YM from Guadalcanal(OC-047),
Solomon Islands on 24-27 February and again on 13-16 March, and as
H40YM from Nendo (OC-100), Temotu Province between 27 February and
13 March. QSL via EA5GL. [TNX DX World]
HL - Look for Taka, JA8COE to be active as HL4/JA8COE/5 from Namhae
Island (AS-081) on 9-11 March. He will operate SSB, CW and digital
modes on the HF bands. QSL via JA8COE, direct or bureau, and Club
Log's OQRS. [TNX M0OXO]
I - Ninety years ago the airship "Italia" crashed on the ice on its way
back from the North Pole, and a small tent dyed red for maximum
visibility was the only shelter for the survivors. Commemorating
the role of radio (and amateur radio) in rescuing the Red Tent
survivors, special callsign II1ITR will be active from 25 May to 25
June. QSL via IZ1ETD , direct or bureau. [TNX IZ1ETD]
JD1_oga- Nobu, JA0JHQ (http://pandasan.jimdo.com/) will be active again as
JD1BOW from Chichijima (AS-031), Ogasawara on 21-24 February. Main
activity will be on 160 metres CW, and 20 metres FT8 and/or RTTY.
QSL via JA0JHQ, bureau or direct, and LoTW.
OA - Dave, WJ2O will be active as OA4/WJ2O from Peru on 13-21 February
for the ARRL DX CW Contest. He will operate CW only; before and
after the contest he will focus on 30, 17 and 12 metres. QSL via
LoTW or direct to N2ZN. [TNX NG3K]
OE - In celebration of World Radio Day (13 February), the International
Amateur Radio Contest DX Club based in Vienna, Austria will be
active as 4U0R. QSL via UA3DX; logsearch on Club Log.
PJ7 - PJ0DX is the duly authorized callsign for a new contest station
located on Sint Maarten (NA-105). Operated by Pat I8QLS, Gino
I8ULL, Gianluca IC8WIC, Nino IK8ENH, Marco KC9FFV, Marco PJ7MF/
FS4WBS and Pier W1NA, it will debut during the ARRL DX SSB Contest,
with some activity (SSB and possibly CW) between 1 and 5 March. QSL
via IZ1MHY and LoTW.
PY - Henrique, PU5IKE and other five operators (PP5AI, PP5AX, PP5PG,
PT7BI and PU5KDM) will be active as PX5P from the lighthouse on
Ilha da Paz (SA-027) on 16-18 February during the South American
Lighthouses Weekend. They will be active on 160-10 metres CW, SSB,
RTTY and FT8. QSL via operators' instructions.
PY - The Cabreuva DX Team will be active as ZV1C from Ilha Cedro
(SA-029) on 17-18 March. Plans are to operate CW, SSB and FT8 on
80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 metres, plus 2m and satellite. QSL via
PU2VCP, direct or bureau.
TY - Wim, ON6DX (http://www.dxpedition.be/Benin.html) will be active
again as TY1TT from Grand Popo, Benin on 20-28 February. He will
operate CW, SSB and RTTY on 160-10 metres. QSL via ON6DX, direct or
bureau, and LoTW; logsearch and OQRS on Club Log. [TNX NG3K]
V2 - Paul, VA3ZC will be active as V26PE from Antigua (NA-100) on 13-27
February. He will operate FT8, JT65 and maybe some SSB on 40, 30
and 20 metres. QSL via LoTW or home call.
VK - Andy, VK5MAV will be active as VK5MAV/9 from Cato Reef (OC-265)
[425DXN 1393] on 11-16 April. QSL via Club Log's OQRS (preferred),
or via RN3RQ. See https://www.qrz.com/db/VK5MAV/9 for more
information.
VP2M - George, K5KG, will be active as VP2MKG from Montserrat (NA-103) on
14-27 February. He will operate CW and SSB with a focus on the WARC
and the low bands. He will participate in the ARRL DX CW Contest
with K1XX, K1DG and K1QX (callsign to be decided), and in the CQ WW
160-Meter SSB Contest. QSL via LoTW or direct to K5KG.
YN - Jim, WB2REM and Mark, WY1G will be active as H72DX from Nicaragua
from 26 February to 6 March. They will operate SSB, CW and FT8. QSL
via Club Log's OQRS, or direct to WY1G.
ZF - Adrian, AA5UK will be active holiday style as ZF2AE from Grand
Cayman (NA-016) on 1-4 March, and as ZF2AE/ZF8 from Little Cayman
(NA-106) on 5-10 March. Activity on the HF bands will focus on
the digital modes (FT8, RTTY, PSK and other modes upon request)
with some SSB. QSL via LoTW, eQSL, or direct to AA5UK.

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*** 4 2 5 D X N E W S ***
**** GOOD TO KNOW ... ****
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Edited by I1JQJ & IK1ADH
Direttore Responsabile I2VGW

Access to the main functions of www.425dxn.org is provided by the 425DXN App
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3Y0Z: CANCELLED ---> "During the last 72 hours, we continued to experience
the high winds, low clouds, fog and rough seas that have prevented
helicopter operations since our arrival at Bouvet", the 3Y0Z team reported
on 3 February at 20 UTC. "No improvement was predicted in the weather
forecast for the next four days. Then, last night, an issue developed in one
of the ship's engines. This morning, the captain of the vessel declared it
unsafe to continue with our project and aborted the DXpedition". On 5
February the captain decided that "it is in the best interest of safety and
expediency to proceed directly to Capetown, South Africa rather than Punta
Arenas, Chile". On 9 February the Betanzos was continuing her slow voyage at
a reduced speed, with one of her two engines out and still some 1700
kilometres to go. A tugboat is on its way to assist her to the port of
Capetown. The team is "deeply disappointed, but safe", and "there is already
talk about rescheduling the DXpedition". See http://www.bouvetdx.org/ for
updates.

3Y0I ---> DX World has received "info from a Norwegian contact that the 3Y0I
license has been renewed. A landing permit has also been issued by the
Norwegian Polar Institute. No dates of activity are mentioned but the permit
is good until February 2019". DX World also noticed that the 3Y0I website
(https://bouvetoya.org/) has been updated with the following blog entry:
"Our trip planned originally at the end of 2017 was cancelled at the request
of the organizers of the 3Y0Z expedition. Due to the cancellation by the
organizers, we are now returning to the implementation of our project and
preparations for our trip as a matter of urgency". Plans are for 3Z9DX and a
few other operators to spend a couple of weeks on Bouvet Island sometime
during the subantarctic summer.

CLUB LOG'S MOST WANTED LIST ---> The latest Most Wanted List, generated on
4 February, is available at https://secure.clublog.org/mostwanted.php. The
information is derived from QSOs uploaded to Club Log (currently 477.8
million log entries available for analysis) and, to improve quality, only
QSOs that have QSLs confirmed are considered to be worked. The most wanted
charts are rebuilt once per month, on average. The top 10 Entities are:
1. P5 DPRK (NORTH KOREA) 6. KH1 BAKER HOWLAND ISLANDS
2. 3Y/B BOUVET ISLAND 7. BS7H SCARBOROUGH REEF
3. FT5/W CROZET ISLAND 8. BV9P PRATAS ISLAND
4. Z6 REPUBLIC OF KOSOVO 9. KH7K KURE ISLAND
5. CE0X SAN FELIX ISLANDS 10. KH3 JOHNSTON ISLAND

FT8 DXPEDITION MODE ---> A "Release Candidate" version (WSJT-X v1.9.0-rc1)
of the WSJT-X digimode software is due to be released later this month. It
will introduce a new "FT8 DXpedition Mode", whose basic goal is to enable
DXpeditions to make FT8 QSOs at the highest possible rates. The DXpedition
station (the "Fox") will be able to transmit up to five signals
simultaneously, and contact multiple calling stations (the "hounds") at the
same time. The new mode will permit contacts to be completed with as little
as one Fox transmission per contact, and sustained rates of several hundred
QSOs/hour are expected to be possible. Making FT8 QSOs with KH1/KH7Z (this
summer's expedition to Baker Island) will require the DXpedition and
everyone trying to work them to use the new version of WSJT-X. A draft of
the "FT8 DXpedition Mode User Guide" can be found at
http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/FT8_DXpedition_Mode.pdf.

INDEXA NEWSLETTER ---> The Winter 2018 edition (#120) of the International
DX Association's Newsletter (INDEXA) is now available for download at
http://www.indexa.org/newsletters.html. "I'm sure you would all rather be
trying to bust the pileup at Bouvet at this moment", John, K8YC says, but
"overcoming the obstacles of operating from Bouvet will have to wait for
another day. Let us then turn our minds to the XX9D DXpedition to Macao with
this edition of the newsletter. The route to Macao is far less arduous, and
the climate is much warmer. Yet, as we'll learn, some adversity has a way of
creeping into any endeavor".

LIGHTHOUSE WEEKEND ---> The 10th South American Lighthouses Weekend will be
held on 16-18 February. Details, including a listing of participating
stations, can be found at http://www.grupodxbb.com.ar/.

NOMINATIONS: CQ HALLS OF FAME ---> The CQ DX Hall of Fame and the CQ Contest
Hall of Fame recognize those amateurs who have made major contributions to
DXing and contesting, respectively. The CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame
recognizes those who have made major contributions to amateur radio as a
whole, and radio amateurs who have made major contributions to society at
large. The activities and accomplishments that qualify one for membership in
these elite groups involve considerable personal sacrifice and can usually
be described by the phrase "above and beyond the call of duty".
Nominations to any of the halls of fame may be made by individuals, clubs or
national organizations, and must be submitted by 1 March to be considered. A
maximum of two people may be inducted into the Contest and DX halls of fame
each year. There is no set maximum for inductees into the Amateur Radio Hall
of Fame. Nominations may be e-mailed to hall-of-fame[@]cq-amateur-radio.com
(preferred) or mailed to CQ (Amateur Radio, DX or Contest) Hall of Fame, c/o
CQ Magazine, 17 West John Street, Hicksville, NY 11801, USA. Be sure to
specify for which hall of fame the nomination is made.

NOMINATIONS: CWOPS AWARD ---> The "CWops Award for Advancing the Art of CW"
recognizes individuals, groups or organizations that have made the greatest
contributions toward advancing the art or practice of radio communication by
Morse code. Nominations for this year's award must be received by 12 April.
Details can be found at http://www.cwops.org/advancing-the-art-of-cw.html.

VP6D --- > Vadym, UT6UD has joined the team that will be active from Ducie
Island (OC-182) between 20 October and 3 November [425DXN 1387]. "Six meter
EME was added to the project", the team announced on 8 February. "With
planning support from Lance W7GJ, and the 6 meter community, we hope to make
the first ever 6m EME QSOs from Ducie Island".
While they are "working with several amateur radio equipment manufacturers
and suppliers who indicated interest in supporting VP6D", the logistics plan
is coming together. "Our equipment will be consolidated in Fremont,
California for testing, packaging and shipment to the Braveheart in New
Zealand. The team has a group reservation for our flight transportation from
Papeete to Mangareva and back. Braveheart will pick us up in Mangareva and
return us there at the end of the expedition". Detailed antenna plans "are
coming together nicely with 2-element vertical dipole arrays on the high
bands backed up by a couple of horizontal beams, 4-squares on 30/40 meters
and verticals on 80/160 meters. The 160 receiving antenna plans are under
development". The fundraising campaign continues - see http://vp6d.com/ for
information. [TNX K5GS]

Z60A ---> The first Z60A activation will end on 18 February, the actual day
of Kosovo's 10th independence anniversary. As for QSLling, "Club Log OQRS
system is set to cover the cost of direct QSL postage (USD 3.00), while also
allowing voluntarily, private contributions. All donations small or large
are most welcome to support SHRAK, the Kosovo Amateur Radio Association to
aid in recruiting additional Kosovar youth and to activate the existing
Amateur Radio operators and support their activities.
As many have requested confirmations during the ongoing activation, it has
been decided to do an immediate LoTW and fast direct QSL service for those
who contribute USD 20.00 or more. This option would not delay any of the
traditional QSL options, but just put a priority on those who are willing to
help Kosovo Amateur Radio finally move beyond the past ten difficult years".
The complete Z60A log will be uploaded to LoTW approximately four weeks
after the current activation, to "allow for corrections and checking for
potentially busted calls".

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QSLs received direct or through managers: 3C0L (AF-039), 3C1L (AF-010),
3XY3D (AF-051), 3XY3D/p (AF-096), 5K1B (SA-078), 9M2MRS (AS-015), 9M8RC
(OC-165), 9U4M, CN8IG, D2EB, DU9/R4WAA (OC-175), DU9/RZ3FW (OC-175), H40GC
(OC-100), J5T (AF-020), LU8DPM, R24RRC (AS-044 and AS-114), RI1F (EU-190),
TZ4AM, VK9AR (OC-216), VK9MA (OC-072), VP8LP, VU7T (AS-011), YC8QT, YF9CDL,
Z81B, ZA1WW.

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425 DX News is a free of charge weekly bulletin
edited by Mauro Pregliasco, I1JQJ and Valeria Pregliasco, IK1ADH

Its contents may be used, reproduced and distributed
in part or full provided that
"425 DX News" or "425DXN" receive proper credit

Contributors are invited to send their DX information to
Mauro Pregliasco, I1JQJ (i1jqj.mauro@gmail.com)
The deadline is 12 UTC on Fridays

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Direttore Responsabile
Gabriele Villa, I2VGW
Giornalista Professionista - Tessera n. 071675
Ordine Nazionale dei Giornalisti
Roma, Italia

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