425 DX News #1400

3 March 2018 A.R.I. DX Bulletin
No 1400

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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

3B7 - Two 3B7A team members will set sail from Mauritius for Saint
Brandon on 3 April. They will be in charge "of all equipment
transit operations, as well as identifying the location for all
antennas, stations, generators, etc." The rest of the team will
leave on 5 April. Plans are to be QRV as soon as possible, but "do
not expect any QSO before the entire team is on the island". Five
stations will be in use, with "priority given to the areas with the
shortest and most difficult openings" (see the propagation
predictions page on http://www.saintbrandondx.com). 3B7A will
operate CW, SSB and RTTY on 160-10 metres (60m excluded). The team
has decided "not to bring any antenna for 6m. Conditions are so bad
that it would be a waste of time for just a few or no contact at
all. No antenna for 6m also means no try for EME". QSL via Club
Log's OQRS (direct or bureau) or via F5CWU (direct or bureau); LoTW
for all contacts about six months after the end of the DXpedition.
3B8 - Nigel, G3TXF will be active as 3B8XF from Mauritius (AF-049) on for
the RSGB Commonwealth (BERU) Contest (10-11 March). QSL via LoTW
and Club Log's OQRS.
3C0 - Yuris YL2GM, Kaspars YL1ZF and Girts YL2KL have been active as 3C3W
from Bioko Island (AF-010), Equatorial Guinea since 28 February and
will remain there until 5 March. On 6 March they "will try to catch
a flight" to Annobon Island (AF-039), where they will be QRV as
3C0W. "Further plans are not clear yet", they say, but their flight
back home is scheduled on 27 March. They will operate CW, SSB and
RTTY on 160-10 metres with three stations. Updates are posted to
http://www.lral.lv/3c0w_3c3w/. QSL via Club Log's OQRS (direct or
bureau), or via YL2GN.
4K - 4K100W is a special callsign used by Vlad, 4K9W from 1 March
throughout the end of the year to celebrate the 100th anniversary
since the founding of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. QSL via
Club Log's OQRS, or via DL6KVA.
7Q - All preparations are now complete for the forthcoming 7Q7EI
DXpedition to Malawi (24 March-2 April) [425DXN 1395]. Up to five
stations will be QRV on 160-10 metres CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8. The
7Q7EI team will also participate in the CQ WPX SSB Contest in the
Multi-Multi category. Be sure to check out their VOACAP propagation
prediction tool on the DXpedition's website (http://7q7ei.com/).
[TNX EI9FBB]
9Y - Arkady, UA4CC and Arunas, LY2IJ will be active as 9Y4/UA4CC and
9Y4/LY2IJ from Tobago (SA-009) for a couple of weeks starting on 28
February. They will operate CW, SSB and possibly RTTY with a focus
on 160 and 80 metres for Europe and Asia. QSL via Club Log's OQRS,
or via home calls. [TNX qrz.ru]
C6 - Dom, M1KTA will be active as C6AKT from Eleuthera Island (NA-001)
Bahamas on 8-17 March. He will operate QRP CW on 80, 40, 20, 15 and
10 metres, and will participate in the RSGB Commonwealth (BERU)
Contest. QSL via Club Log's OQRS, LoTW or via home call. [TNX DX
World]
D2 - The D2TI DXpedition to Tigres Island (AF-108) has been cancelled
"due to a whole host of ongoing factors". A Russian team had
already purchased their flights "with an aim to be active mid-March
for about a week" [425DXN 1399], but the local airline company "is
unreliable and seems to be going bankrupt. It does not appear that
AF-108 will be activated anytime soon, as together with airline
issues, there is a vast problem with local logistics and help".
[TNX DX World]
H4 - H44R is the callsign for the 22-25 April IOTA DXpedition to Mbanika
Island (OC-168, Solomon Islands for DXCC) [425DXN 1394]. Cezar,
VE3LYC and Bernhard, DL2GAC will try to run two stations "for as
long in the day as possible". QSL via Club Log's OQRS, or via
VE3LYC. See https://h44r-h40d.weebly.com (new URL) for updates.
JD1_mt - Take, JG8NQJ expects to be back to the weather station on Minami
Torishima (OC-073) for three months starting around 15 March. He
operates CW and RTTY as JG8NQJ/JD1 in his spare time. QSL via
JA8CJY (direct) or JG8NQJ (bureau).
KH1 - "While our movements and equipment may be regulated in order to
protect the environment", the KH1/KH7Z Baker Island DXpedition team
reported on 26 February, "luckily the hours we can be on the air
are not. Therefore, we intend to be active as much as we can on all
available bands. This project presents a great opportunity to prove
to the US Fish and Wildlife Service that DXpeditioning is a highly
compatible activity on an ecologically sensitive island". March
will mark "a significant milestone for the team as our next payment
on the ship is due. Though the operator team will contribute over
50% of the expected budget, we still need your support to make this
trip happen. If you haven't contributed yet, please consider
helping by visiting our website: http://www.baker2018.net". Plans
are for KH1/KH7Z to be QRV from 26 June through 7 or 8 July,
depending on weather and seas.
PJ2 - Ben, DL1RNT will be active holiday style as PJ2/DL1RNT from Curacao
(SA-099) on 6-15 March. He will operate mainly CW on the HF bands.
QSL via home call, direct or bureau.
T8 - Kiyoshi, JA0EKI will be active as T88XH from Koror (OC-009), Palau
on 8-14 March. He will operate CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8 on 160-6
metres. QSL via LoTW, or via JA0EKI (direct or bureau). [TNX NG3K]
TJ - TJ3TT is the callsign issued to the Italian DXpedition Team for
their forthcoming expedition to Cameroon [425DXN 1396]. The dates
are 15-29 March. Six operators (I2YSB, IK2CIO, IK2CKR, IK2DIA,
IK2HKT and JA3USA) will be QRV on 160-10 metres CW and SSB with
three stations; RTTY will be used on 20 metres only. QSL via I2YSB
and eventually LoTW. More information, including a band & mode
survey, real-time logsearch and OQRS for direct cards, can be found
at http://www.i2ysb.com/idt/. Updates will be posted to a dedicated
forum on www.hamradioweb.net.
VK - Craig, VK5CE has added a fourth island to his Western Australia
IOTA Tour [425DXN 1393], and will be active as VK5CE/6 as follows:
05-07 June East Lewis Island OC-199
08-12 June Direction Island OC-140
16-19 June Cheyne Island OC-193
20-22 June Woody Island OC-170
"This operation involves four DXpeditions with 9600 km of driving",
Craig says. "Each island is different and requires a different
range of life support, power and antenna equipment. Therefore it is
actually cheaper to drive my vehicle full of gear rather than fly".
QSL via Club Log's OQRS (look for VK5CE/6_OC140, VK5CE/6_OC170,
VK5CE/6_OC193 and VK5CE/6_OC199), or direct to VK5CE. See
https://vkiota.wordpress.com/vk5ce-6/ for more information and
updates.
Z6 - OG2M, OH2BH and OH3JR will be active again as Z60A from 28 February
until 12 March on the low bands and in the ARRL DX (SSB) Contest.
They were previously disappointed as they were not able to achieve
clean receiving on the low bands, thus locals Z61DX, Z61AS and
Z62FB have been working hard to find the noise sources. It now
looks like both 80m and 40m are relatively clean, while 160m is
still a challenge. The operators will try beverages located as far
as possible from the noisy electricity lines, and they are also
considering going to the middle of nowhere with their Spiderbeam
radiator. It will be another Arctic mission though, as the
temperatures are estimated to reach -17C (1F), and permanent snow
is covering the scene as they are 700m ASL. QSL via Club Log's OQRS
or via OH2BH. [TNX N7NG]
XF4 - According to the updated qrz.com entry, XE1B now expects to be
active as 4B4B from Socorro Island (NA-030), Revillagigedo [425DXN
1389] for the entire monhth of March. He departed the Mexican Navy
Base at Manzanillo on 1 March, and expects to be QRV starting on 3
March. He will operate SSB on 160-6 metres. QSL via Club Log's OQRS
or direct to home call.

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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
for Android. It is available on Google Play - free of charge, no ads. Enjoy!

3Y0I ---> Last week the organizers of the 3Y0I DXpedition to Bouvet Island
[425DXN 1397] "publicly invited the members of the ill-fated 3Y0Z team to
join forces as part of 'rebooted preparations' for the venture, but 3Y0Z
team co-leader Bob Allphin, K4UEE, told ARRL that his group has other
plans". The 3Y0I team says they expect to announce the expedition dates soon
(see https://bouvetoya.org).

ARRL INTERNATIONAL DX CONTEST (SSB) ---> Object of the contest is for W/VE
amateurs to work as many stations in as many DXCC Entities as possible on
160, 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 metre bands, while DX stations (also including
KH6, KL7, CY9 and CY0) work as many W/VE amateurs in as many of the 48
contiguous states and provinces as possible (complete rules can be found at
http://www.arrl.org/arrl-dx). This year's event will run from from 00.00 UTC
on 3 March through 23.59 UTC on the 4th. Do not forget to give a look
at the Announced Operations listing maintained by Bill, NG3K at
http://www.ng3k.com/Misc/adxs2018.html - good contest to you all!

FT8 DXPEDITION MODE: PUBLIC TEST ---> A "Release Candidate" version (WSJT-X
v1.9.0-rc2) of the WSJT-X digimode software has been released. A primary
purpose of this beta release is to allow field testing of the new FT8
DXpedition Mode, which facilitates high QSO rates in pileup situations. A
public test run is scheduled for 6-7 March. The goal is to simulate a rare-
DXpedition pileup by having many stations ("Hounds") calling and trying to
work a designated pseudo-DXpedition station ("Fox").
Those participating in the test MUST use WSJT-X v1.9.0-rc2. Installation
packages for Windows, Linux, Macintosh and Raspian Jessie are available on
http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx.html.
Participants in the test MUST read and carefully follow the instructions:
http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/FT8_DXpedition_Mode.pdf
The scheduled test will take place as follows:
6 March 23.00 UTC 14080 kHz
7 March 00.00 UTC 10141 kHz
7 March 01.00 UTC 7080 kHz
7 March 02.00 UTC 3585 kHz
The USB dial frequencies are subject to change, depending on other band
usage at the time. If last-minute instructions are necessary, they will be
posted on http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/DXpedition_Mode_Test.txt.
Note that the dial frequencies are NOT the conventional FT8 operating
frequencies for each band. DXpedition Mode should NOT be used on standard
FT8 operating frequencies.
You may also choose to do your own testing of FT8 DXpedition Mode together
with a group of colleagues. One station would act as Fox, the others as
Hounds. In such tests the Fox will be limited to using a single TX "slot".
Please report any anomalous behavior to wsjt-devel[@]lists.sourceforge.net
(you must be a subscriber in order to post there).

FT8 DXPEDITION MODE: TY7C ---> The 7-18 March DXpedition to Benin [425DXN
1398] will operate FT8 in DXpedition mode. The use of WSJT-X v1.9.0-rc2 or
higher is mandatory, otherwise TY7C will not be able to decode you in the
waterfall. You need to be configured as "Hound", while TY7C will be the
Fox" and will not use the standard FT8 frequencies.

ITALIAN ISLANDS AWARD ---> The new edition of the IIA Directory, compiled
by Saverio Amore (IK2RLS), is now available for download on the ARI website
at http://ari.it/iia_max/getfile.php?name=IIA_Directory_2018.

QSL G3MRC/9Q5 ---> The paper log for G3MRC's activity from Goma, Zaire as
G3MRC/9Q5 (30 June-8 November 1994) has now been transferred to electronic
format. It is fully searchable at http://www.g3swh.org.uk/9q5mrc.html and
has been uploaded to both LoTW and Club Log. As with any such manual
transfer, transcription errors are possible. If you have a QSO that does not
appear in the on line log, please contact Phil, G3SWH and he will do a
double check (and amend if necessary). Paper QSLs via G3SWH's OQRS (direct
only). [TNX G3SWH]

QSL VIA KU9C ---> After more than a decade of handling the QSL chores for a
handful of stations, Erik K5WW has decided to hand the baton to Steve KU9C.
The callsigns involved are: C6AKU, CW5T (25-28 November 2005 only), CW7T,
CX7TT, HP1XT, HQ9R, HR9/WQ7R, J68V, K4T (11-15 March 2010 operation from the
Dry Tortugas, NA-079), NP2X, PJ6/K9VV, V31BD and VP2VVV. The QSL route
change is effective immediately, as KU9C has already received the blank
cards.

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*** 4 2 5 D X N E W S ***
******* QSL ROUTES *******
===========================
Edited by I1JQJ & IK1ADH
Direttore Responsabile I2VGW

===================================================================
CALL MANAGER CALL MANAGER CALL MANAGER
===================================================================
3C3W YL2GN FM5BH W3HNK PJ4A K4BAI
3D2EU DK2AMM FM5FJ KU9C PJ4G WA2NHA
3E1L HP1RCP FM8QR F5EAN PR2IL PY2LCD
3W2MAE DL5MAE FR4PV F1UIJ PS2T K3IRV
3W3B E21EIC FR5FC EA7FTR PV7L PT2OP
3Z100K SP7CVW G5K G0BNR PW5T PP5NY
3Z3GF UT3GF GM5X N3SL PX2A PY2VM
4K100W DL6KVA GX5MW M6VFC PX5P PU5IKE
4K28MAY 4K4K H40YM EA5GL PX5Z PP5BI
4L6QL RW6HS H44YM EA5GL SN7Q SP7GIQ
4M6CQ YV6BXN H72DX WY1G SN8B SP8CUR
4S7NHG LZ1NK HB2U HB9OCR ST60JOTA ST2M
5H1TMM IV3TMM HG3R HA3NU SU9JT E73Y
5H3EE DL4ME HG5A HA5KDQ SX5SPY SV5AZP
5T2AI NI5DX HG5C HA5MA SZ3P SV3CYL
5X2B JA1PBV HG7T HA7TM T2AT N7SMI
7X5QB EA7FTR HH2JR W3HNK T45FM RW6HS
8P5A HA1AG HR5/F2JD F6AJA TI7W W4FS
9A200S 9A2MF HZ1HZ N7RO TM18ATS F8ATS
9A61AA 9A2AA II2ANT IK2QPO TM2B F8CIL
9A8GHJ/P OE7GHJ II2V IK2AQZ TM2D F5KHP
9H18VLT 9H1SP II3B IQ3SD TM2O F1AEY
9H3FC G4UDG II3BOVE IV3CCT TM2T F8DHE
9X0TA N4GNR II3MNA IQ3TS TM3R F5UTN
A41NN A61BK II4CAO IQ4FE TM4E F4GPB
A91YOZ A92AA II5ANT IZ5BTC TM55M F4ESV
AH2R JH7QXJ II7WWI IZ7AUH TM5OTT F4SGU
AO5ANT EC5EA IP2ANT IK2QPR TM5TT F4BEV
AT3HT VU2ZMK IR18AAW IK8FIQ TM5XR F4HIK
AT7BK EA5GL IR1ANT I1HYW TM5Y F8DBF
BV30R BM2JCC IR1Y IZ1YPF TO1A F5HRY
CE2AWW N7RO IR4ANT IU4DDT TO3Z F6HMQ
CO2JD AD4Z IR4M I4IFL TO7D F6ITD
CO2RQ EC5AC IR4X I4EAT TO972A F5RXL
CP5HK EC5AC J52EC IZ3BUR TY1TT ON6DX
CP6CL W3HNK JD1BOW JA0JHQ UE23DSA RO5F
CR3DX OM2VL KH6LC WA6WPG UE23DZO RA4DR
CR3W DL5AXX KL7RA NI5DX V26K AA3B
CR6K CT1ILT KP2M NZ4DX V31MA M0OXO
CS2C OK1RF LN8W LA9VDA V31MK K5MDK
CT9ABN OM2VL LU4ZS LU4DXU V31RU DO5ALX
CU4DX CU2CE LX7I LX2A V31TR KT0A
CX2BR EA5GL LY100T LY1RMD V31YN DJ4KW
CX9AU EA5GL LY28A LY5A V3T WC0W
D2EB IZ3ETU LZ40MS LZ1KCP V47T W2RQ
D41CV HB9DUR [d] LZ5R LZ1YQ VA7AAW VE7IG
D41CV IK2NCJ [b] M6T G4BWP VI70HI M0OXO
D44EE OZ1BII MD2C MD0CCE VP2MMF K1XX
D44KF G3SWH NP4G NP3O VP5K K0PC
DU1/JA3FJE JN3VQM NP4Z N4AO VU4G G4IRN
E2A E21EIC OA4SS KB6J VY2ZM EA7HBC
E51GEA OE3GEA OE15AAW OE3DMA XL3A VE3AT
EA6FO EA5BM OE88WAP OE3KKA XV9DLH DK8ZZ
ED7P EA7PP OE89ANT OE3AIS XV9HL HL1AHS
ED8W EA8DO OE90AAW OE3SGA YN1N NB3I
EG7DCA EA7URS OH0Z W0MM YQ6A YO6BHN
EH3ANT EA3EYO OH8X OH2UA YT100SF YU1SRS
EH5TGR EA5EV OK3C OK2ZC YU100WWI YU1SRS
EH8URT EA8URT OK5F OK1FFU Z2LA M0OXO
EI100MCV EI6AL OK7K OK1BN Z60A OH2BH
EI50AOM EI2KA OT4V ON4VT Z68M Z32ZM
ET3AA N2OO OX5T OZ0J ZF1A K6AM
F8UFT F6ICG P40E K9QVB ZF2AM K6AM
FG4KH F1DUZ P40L WA3FRP ZF9CW K5GO
FG4NN NI5DX P49Y AE6Y ZM1A ZL3CW
FK8GX W3HNK PB18ANT PA0RDY ZM4T ZL3IO
FM1HN W3HNK PI40FL PA3HEB ZV7T PR7AYE
FM4KA ON6DP PJ0DX IZ1MHY ZW8T PS8HF
FM4LV W3HNK PJ2T W3HNK ZY8D PS8RV

3D2AG Antoine de Ramon N'Yeurt, P.O. Box 10842, Laucala Beach Estate,
Suva, Fiji
AO3MWC Federacion Digital EA, Apartado Postal 3050, 08200 Sabadell
(Barcelona), Spain
DK2AMM Erno Ogonovszky, Am Steinbruch 4, 09123 Chemnitz, Germany
EA5GL Pedro Miguel Ronda Monsell, C/ Maximiliano Thous 16-24, 46009
Valencia, Spain
G4IRN John Warburton, 31 Greenwood Road, Thames Ditton, KT7 0DU,
United Kingdom
HV0A Francesco Valsecchi, Via Bitossi 21, 00136 Roma RM, Italy
IZ1MHY Andrea Gili, Via Scorpacciano 1, 19034 Luni SP, Italy
K6PV Palos Verdes ARC, P.O. Box 2316, Palos Verdes Peninsula CA 90274,
USA
KP4KE Tony Ramos, 2306 E. Lumsden Rd, Valrico FL 33594, USA
OA4TT John Henry, 8345 NW 66 St #B4451, Miami FL 33166, USA
ON6DX Wim Hamblok, Waaltjes 8, 3920 Lommel, Belgium
PU5IKE Jose Henrique Schossland, Rua Rui Barbosa 2247 Apto 01,
Joinville - SC, 89220-100, Brazil
RW2F Ulrich Mueller, Kreutzacker 13, 35041 Marburg, Germany
S01A Arseli Echeguren Bardeci, Barrena 6 1 Izq, 01408 Luiaondo (Alava),
Spain
T48K Erhard Hauptmann, Erlenstr. 31, 57581 Katzwinkel, Germany
TM6M Stephane Van Langhenhoven, 24 bis rue de Anter Hent, 29830
Ploudalmezeau, France
V31ZF James A. Widlar, 311 McConnell Drive, Lyons CO 80540, USA
V51SCOUT Scouts of Namibia, PO Box 6436, Ausspannplatz, Windhoek, Namibia
WY1G Mark Bevan, 83 Porter Hill Road, Cummington MA 01026, USA
YL2GN Ziedonis Knope, P.O.Box 55, Balvi LV-4501, Latvia

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425 DX NEWS HOME PAGE: http://www.425dxn.org
425 DX NEWS MAGAZINE: http://www.425dxn.org/monthly

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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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