425 DX News #1433

20 October 2018 A.R.I. DX Bulletin
No 1433

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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

4S - Once again Peter, DC0KK will be active as 4S7KKG from Sri Lanka
(AS-003) from 1 November to 1 April 2019. He operates mainly CW and
digital modes. QSL via home call (direct or bureau) and LoTW; OQRS
on Club Log.
CT9 - Helmut, DF7ZS (http://df7zs.de/) will be active as CT9/DF7ZS (QSL
via home call, logsearch on Club Log) from Madeira (AF-014) on
23-29 October. He will participate in the CQ WW DX SSB Contest as
CQ3W (QSL via LoTW and Club Log's OQRS only).
EA - Look for Markus, DJ4EL (https://twitter.com/rapanuiman) to be
active as EA7/DJ4EL from Sancti Petri Island (EU-143) on 19-24
October. QSL via home call.
F - Special callsign TM5PAX will be active on all bands and modes from
28 October to 11 November for the 100th anniversary of the
Armistice of Compiegne that on 11 November 1918 ended fighting in
World War I. QSL via F5JSQ, LoTW and eQSL. [TNX F8REF]
FG - Roger, SM7RYR, will be active as FG/SM7RYR from Guadeloupe (NA-102)
from 27 October to 11 November. He will operate CW mainly on 20
metres. QSL via LoTW. [TNX OPDX Bulletin]
FO - Cezar, VE3LYC and Adrian, KO8SCA will be active as TX0A from Maria
Est Atoll (OC-113) and as TX0M from Morane Atoll (OC-297, new one)
during the first half of December. The Acteon Group (OC-113) was
activated only once (by FO5BI/p, in April 1990), while the Morane
Group (OC-297) is a brand new IOTA reference (see the announcement
below). DXCC wise, both these atolls count for French Polynesia.
The tentative schedule is to operate from Morane on 6-10 December,
and from Maria Est on 12-16 December. "The final decision regarding
the sailing itinerary", however, "will be made at the time of
leaving Mangareva (4 December), based on the weather forecast". It
will be possible to track the DXpedition's progress via the InReach
system. The link will be posted to https://tx0a-tx0m.weebly.com/
and made available between 2 and 19 December.
Plans are to operate SSB and CW with two stations on 40-10 metres.
In order to maximize the number of unique callsigns logged, one
station will be QRV on 20 metres as long as the propagation
permits. The logs will be uploaded to Club Log when the operators
return back home. QSLs via Club Log's OQRS (direct or bureau), or
via VE3LYC (direct or bureau).
G - Special event station GB100ARM will be active on 1-28 November for
the 100th anniversary of the Armistice of Compiegne that on 11
November 1918 ended fighting in World War I. QSL via the RSGB
bureau, or direct to G0TOC.
GM - GM4YXI and GM3WOJ will participate in the CQ WW DX SSB Contest as
GS7V from the Shetland Islands (EU-012), a separate multiplier. QSL
via N3SL. [TNX NG3K]
HL - A team of South Korean operators will be active as HL0DOK from
Ullung Island (AS-045) on 20 October and - weather permitting -
from the Dok Islands (AS-045) on 21-22 October. They will operate
SSB, CW, FM and FT8 on 80, 40, 30, 20 and 2 metres. QSL via the
bureau or direct to the Korean Amateur Radio League. [TNX The Daily
DX]
I - Special callsign IO8MQP has been active since 13 October in
remembrance of ARI President and former Secretary General Mario
Ambrosi, I2MQP, who passed away on 6 November 2017. QSL via IZ8EDJ
and LoTW.
I - Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the battle that marked the
end of World War I on the Italian Front, ARI Vittorio Veneto will
operate special event station II3BVV from 24 October to 4 November.
Main activity will be on 80, 40 and 20 metres SSB, CW and digital
modes. All QSOs will be confirmed automatically via the bureau and
eQSL. See http://www.arivv.it/english-version.html for more
information.
KL - Rick, K6VVA will be active as K6VVA/KL7 from Endicott Island
(NA-004) from about 22 UTC on 8 November until about 18 UTC on 11
November (http://www.k6vva.com/iota/na-004). He will operate CW and
some SSB on 40, 30 and 20 metres. Make sure you read and understand
his "HRAL ATNi KN" operating procedure before calling! Rick has
devised this protocol "to benefit all serious IOTA chasers who have
submitted for any IOTA credit in the last 5 years". Explanations in
seven languages can be found on http://www.k6vva.com/iota/. The log
will be uploaded to Club Log and LoTW, but neither direct nor
bureau QSL cards will be available. IOTA credit for this operation
will be obtained only via the Club Log Matching function on the
IOTA website. Missing QSOs/busted calls should be reported to
logcheck4[@]k6vva.com after the expedition is over.
OZ - DL4HG, DL7AT and DL8UD (5P2C) will be active as OZ0TX from Romo
Island (EU-125) on 25-30 October, including participation in the CQ
WW DX SSB Contest. QSL via DL7AT, direct or bureau.
PA - Celebrating the 32nd anniversary of the European DX Foundation
(http://www.eudxf.de/), nine special callsigns will be active from
The Netherlands during the month of November: PA32EUDXF, PB32EUDXF,
PC32EUDXF, PD32EUDXF, PE32EUDXF, PF32EUDXF, PG32EUDXF, PH32EUDXF
and PI32EUDXF. QSLs via PA1AW (OQRS will be available after the
operations). [TNX PA4JJ]
PJ4 - Scott, W4PA and others will participate in the CQ WW DX SSB Contest
as PJ4Q from Bonaire (SA-006). There will be some "pre-contest
activity" by PJ4/W4PA starting on 21 October, with a focus on 160,
30, 17 and 12 metres. QSLs via W4PA. [TNX NG3K]
PZ - Team Parbo (G3NKC, G4BVY, G4CLA, G4XUM, M5RIC and N0VD) will be
active again as PZ5K from Suriname on 23-30 October, including
participation in the CQ WW DX SSB Contest. Outside the contest they
will be QRV also on 30, 17 and 12 metres, and will operate also CW
and RTTY. QSL via LoTW, Club Log's OQRS, or via G3NKC.
S9 - Jorge, CT1BOL will be active as S9CT from Principe Island (AF-044)
on 24-29 October, including an entry in the CQ WW DX SSB Contest.
QSL via Club Log's OQRS, LoTW, or via home call. [TNX NG3K]
T31 - Heye DJ9RR, Joe DK5WL, Guenter DL2AWG, Hans DL6JGN, Wolf DM2AUJ and
Ronald PA3EWP will be active as T31EU from Kanton Island, Central
Kiribati (OC-043) from 16 February to 5 March 2019. They already
have the licence and the permit from the Phoenix Island Protected
Area. Activity will be on 160-10 metres CW, SSB, RTTY and some FT8.
QSL via DL2AWG. Before and after the DXpedition they will be active
Holiday style from Tarawa (OC-017), Western Kiribati (T30).
A website is under construction at http://www.kanton2019.de. [TNX
PA3EWP]
TA - Four Turkish amateur radio clubs (YM2KW, YM1KTR, YM1KE and YM1KAD)
will be active as TC29OCT 26-29 October in celebration of Republic
Day, which in its turn commemorates the official proclamation of
the Republic of Turkey on 29 October 1923.
V7 - Masa, JA0RQV will be active from Majuro (OC-029), Marshall Islands
on 26-29 October (callsign to be issued upon arrival, bookmark
https://blog.goo.ne.jp/rqv for updates). He will operate CW and SSB
on 80-6 metres, and will participate in the CQ WW DX SSB Contest.
QSL via M0OXO's OQRS.
VP9 - Look for AA4V/VP9, K4AJA/VP9, N4SF/VP9 and W4GE/VP9 to be active on
all bands and modes from Bermuda (NA-005) on 24-29 October. They
will participate in the CQ WW DX SSB Contest as K4AJA/VP9. [TNX The
Daily DX]
VU - Madhu, VU3NPI and others will be active AT4DK from Pamban Island
(AS-173) on 3-4 November. The team plans to operate SSB, CW and FT8
on 80-10 metres. QSL via operator's instructions. [TNX DX World]
YJ - Chris, VK2YUS will be active again as YJ0CA from Efate (OC-035),
Vanuatu on 25-29 October. He will operate SSB on 40, 20 and 15
metres, including activity during the CQ WW DX SSB Contest. QSL
direct to home call. [TNX The Daily DX]
YL - In celebration of the Latvian State centenary, five special
callsigns will be active on 1-18 November from the capital city of
Riga (YL100R) and the country's four historical regions of Kurzeme
(YL100K), Latgale (YL100L), Vidzeme (YL100V) and Zemgale (YL100Z).
QSLs via Club Log's OQRS and LoTW. See http://www.lral.lv/yl100/
for complete information on the award programme.

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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 ---> The 3Y0I DXpedition to Bouvet Island [425DXN 1418] is "planned for
the southern hemisphere's summer time", but "exact dates will be announced
when closer to our departure". For the time being, they have posted their
band plan (160-6 metres, CW, SSB and FT8 Fox & Hound mode) to the
DXpedition's website (see below). The team includes 3Z9DX, SP3DOI, SP7VC,
SP8S (ex SQ8X) and YU4DX. Plans are to "install a camp and ham radio
equipment at the ice cap covering 93% of Bouvet". If "we are lucky with
weather", they say, "our stay at the island will last for 2 weeks". Bookmark
https://bouvetoya.org/ for more information and updates.

425 DX NEWS MAGAZINE ---> The September 2018 issue is now available for
download at http://www.425dxn.org/index.php. [TNX IZ3EBA]

IOTA: NEW GROUPS ---> IOTA Management announced on 31 August on the IOTA
website the five yearly review of the Directory list of IOTA groups [425DXN
1426], and is grateful to proposers of some 28 candidate groups received by
the 1 October deadline. On 14 October IOTA General Manager Roger Balister,
G3KMA announced the first tranche of 6 new groups at the RSGB Convention:
1. EU-192 SM/OH Kataja Island, Finland/Sweden (=Kataja)
65.41-65.43N 24.07-24.11E
New 'split sovereignty island', located in the very north of the Gulf of
Bothnia. Since the signing of a bilateral agreement in 1809 ground rise
has caused the Swedish island Kataja and the smaller Finnish island
Inakari to merge forming a larger island 2 km long. The border between
Sweden and Finland now crosses the island, similar to Market Reef. No
known previous amateur radio activity.
2. OC-297 FO Morane Atoll, Tuamotu Islands, French Polynesia (=Morane)
23.05S-23.15S 137.05-137.11W
New 'remote island' group. This island, previously an outlier of the
OC-113 Actaeon group, lies a distance of at least 153 km from Maria Est
Island, the nearest island in the rest of the Tuamotus. No known previous
amateur radio activity.
3. NA-249 KP3, 4 Puerto Rico's Coastal Islands, Puerto Rico (=Caja de
Muertos, Culebra, Culebrita, Mona, Monito, Vieques)
17.48-18.40N 065.09-068.00W
New 'coastal islands' group. Justified on the grounds that Puerto Rico is
of a similar size to Corsica which has a coastal islands sub-group. Some
5 previous operations, 3 from Vieques, and 1 each from Culebra and Mona.
4. NA-250 KL Yakutat County Group, Coastal Groups, United States (Alaska)
(=Fitzgerald, Gregson, Khantaak, Knight, Kriwoi, Krutoi, Otmeloi)
58.48-60.00N 137.56-141.00W
New 'coastal islands' group, created by splitting the current NA-161
Skagway-Yakutat County group. It can be justified on the grounds that the
qualifying islands in both groups are separated by at least 250 km and
the two administrative counties can be easily split. No known previous
amateur radio activity.
5. AS-205 R0X Bering Sea Coast East group, Koryanskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug,
Russian Federation - Asia (=Yoanna Bogoslova, Vasiliya Islands)
57.20-61.49N 168.00-174.30E
New 'coastal islands' group, created by splitting the current AS-064
Bering Sea Coast group. Bogoslova Island lies 460 km away in a straight
line from Verkhoturova Island, and 485 km away from Karaginskiy Island,
the only two island counters of this group. The Vasiliya Islands are
further away. This distance spread in a group is quite exceptional. We
allowed AS-091 in a neighbouring area to be split in July 2014, the
separation being 500 km or more. No known previous amateur radio
activity.
6. AS-204 R0F Kuril'skiye Islands North, Sakhalinskaya Oblast', Russian
Federation-Asia (=Atlasov, Shumshu, Paramushir, Antsiferova, Makanrushi,
Onekotan, Kharimkotan, Chirinkotan, Ekarma, Shiashkotan, Raikoke, Matua,
Rasshua, Ushishir, Ketoy, Simushir)
46.40-51.00N 151.30-156.38E
A new group, created by splitting AS-025 Kuril'skiye Islands into 2. The
islands extend over a distance of more than 1200 km. Adverse comparisons
are made with the Aleutian Island Chain and the Hawaiian Island Chain
where there are many separate IOTA Groups. Some information sources
specify North and South Kurils as sub-groups. Most activity has been from
the South Group.
All new groups have provisional numbers. This means that they will need to
be confirmed by an operation taking place after 14 October 2018 that meets
the 1000 QSO and other normal validation requirements. Only after
confirmation of the number will credit for past operations be considered.
A second tranche will be announced at Ham Radio Friedrichshafen 2019.

KURE ATOLL: AMATEUR RADIO PERMIT APPLICATION DENIED ---> "Over the course of
the past four years, the Pacific Islands DXpedition Group (PIDXG) has sought
permission to conduct a DXpedition from Kure Atoll, currently ranked by Club
Log as the #7 Most Wanted DXCC entity. During this time PIDXG has filed four
separate permit applications.
Due to scheduling conflicts, the first application filed in November 2014
was voluntarily withdrawn in April 2015 following authorization by The
Nature Conservancy for the PIDXG's January 2016 K5P Palmyra Atoll
DXpedition.
A second permit application, filed in April 2016, was also subsequently
withdrawn, nearly one-year later, due to the ARRL DXCC action "deleting"
Kure Island (and Midway Island) from the DXCC program.
However, following its DXCC reinstatement, a third PIDXG permit
application for Kure was filed in July 2017.
During the process of these three permit attempts, several email exchanges
occurred to address the reviewing agencies' follow-up questions and
legitimate concerns about our activity coinciding with Kure Atoll's
"albatross season."
Ultimately, our third permit application stalled out. Email status
requests went unanswered. In December 2017, a phone call was placed to our
Permit Coordinator assigned from Hawaii's Division of Forestry and Wildlife
and we were advised that an official "denial package" would be returned to
PIDXG following a January 2018 Trustee Review Board meeting in Honolulu.
After many email requests and phone calls on the status of the "denial,"
on June 25, 2018 PIDXG finally received the formal denial package from the
Chairperson of Hawaii's Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR). The
official position was that amateur radio "cannot be conducted with adequate
safeguards for the resources and ecological integrity" of Kure Atoll. They
contend that our use of antennas would pose a considerable risk to the
island's bird population in spite of the fact that we indicated in our
application we would be following USF&W approved guidelines and protocols
successfully used by DXpeditions in other National Wildlife Refuges (NWR)
and as praised by USF&W officials (see video excerpt produced by James
Brooks 9V1YC from the 2009 K4M Midway DXpedition:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCh24EmmIOg)
Follow-up phone calls and emails to Hawaii DLNR officials requesting
additional clarification have been ignored and a formal Freedom of
Information request to the State of Hawaii has likewise resulted in no
substantive information relative to the denial.
Throughout each attempt of the permitting process, PIDXG has acted in good
faith in its efforts. It has adhered to all procedural and application
guidelines necessary for requesting access to this Public Land, land where
amateur radio has already been determined to have "existing use" by the same
Federal agencies overseeing this and other Pacific NWRs.
It is the understanding of PIDXG that there have been NO documented
instances of negative impact to the "ecological integrity" at any NWR from
any previous amateur radio activity. Thankfully, through the guidance of the
oversight agencies and the protocols directing radio operations from these
environmentally sensitive areas, it can be said that amateur radio has
maintained an impeccable track record in this regard. To suggest that
amateur radio poses "unacceptable risks" or "has the potential to adversely
impact seabirds and other protected species" at Kure Atoll is disingenuous
and without basis in fact. Again, we refer to the praises sung by U.S. Fish
and Wildlife in the above-mentioned YouTube video excerpt.
The last amateur radio activity to Kure Atoll was in 2005. PIDXG does not
think it is unreasonable to request the use of a U.S. Public Land for an
amateur radio activity following a 13-15 year lapse.
For the record, there is no appeal process in this matter. PIDXG has
requested personal meetings with review agency members to discuss this
activity but no response has been given to our requests. However, the cover
letter accompanying the denial package indicates PIDXG is not precluded
"from submitting applications in the future and will be evaluated pursuant
to the findings criteria." As such, a fourth Kure Atoll permit application
was filed by PIDXG on August 6, 2018.
At this time, PIDXG requests interested DXers to help in this matter. We
simply ask that you send your QSL card and brief note respectfully asking
the Hawaii's Department of Land and Natural Resource to please reconsider
their position in this matter to:
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources
c/o Suzanne Case, Chairperson
Kalanimoku Building
1151 Punchbowl Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Meanwhile, the PIDXG would like to thank the DX Community for your
interest and support and will certainly keep you posted on any news relative
to our efforts with Kure Atoll.
For more information contact Craig Thompson, K9CT (craig[@]k9ct.us)".

QSL WRTC 2018 ---> The QSL cards have been ordered, but "please don't send
paper QSL cards to us", Chris (DL1MGB) says. "Neither to me nor to any one
else in the Organizing Committee. We don't collect them, we don't need
them". All of the QSOs made by the 63 stations that competed in the World
Radiosport Team Championship on 14-15 July 2018 (Y81A, Y81D, Y81K, Y81M,
Y81N, Y81R, Y81U, Y82A, Y82B, Y82D, Y82F, Y82G, Y82K, Y82L, Y82M, Y82N,
Y82V, Y82W, Y83B, Y83C, Y83K, Y83L, Y83O, Y83P, Y83U, Y83V, Y83X, Y83Z,
Y84B, Y84C, Y84G, Y84J, Y84O, Y84P, Y84Q, Y84W, Y84X, Y84Y, Y84Z, Y86C,
Y86J, Y86O, Y86P, Y86Q, Y86V, Y86W, Y86Y, Y87B, Y87C, Y87G, Y87K, Y87L,
Y87M, Y87O, Y87U, Y87V, Y87W, Y89A, Y89D, Y89M, Y89N, Y89R and Y89U) have
been uploaded to Club Log, and the OQRS has been activated for both bureau
and direct cards. In early October the logs were also uploaded to LoTW.
Missing QSOs should be reported to contact[@]wrtc2018.de.

RI0B ---> A photo gallery for the September 2018 RI0B IOTA DXpedition can be
found at http://legendsarctic.com/foto_ekspedicii_ri0b.

TT8KO ---> Operated by LA7GIA, TT8KO stopped transmissions at 17:45 UTC on
10 October, when the national security police shut down his station pending
an equipment inspection [425DXN 1432]. "My gear has been disconnected. The
antennas on the roof are locked down. I am not allowed to touch anything",
Ken reported on 13 October. As there was no sign of an improvement in the
situation, Ken decided to return home earlier than planned. On 18 October,
however, he reported that "a police order has been issued preventing me from
leaving Chad, even without equipment. Status of my return flight has changed
to 'open'. The Norwegian embassy and Foreign ministry is now working on the
issue". Original plans were for Ken to be QRV until 21 October. [TNX DX
World]

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QSLs received direct or through managers: 3A2NL, 4B4B (NA-030), 5P2C,
9L1YXJ, 9M0W, 9M2YDX, CQ918FWC, EX8MLE, EY8MM, GB5RC, GI0LDI, K9AJ/VY0
(NA-207), KD6WW/VY0 (NA-207), KH1/KH7Z (OC-089), MD2C, P29RR, PJ7/UT6UD,
PS1S (SA-077), PZ5XX, R18JPN, RT65KI (AS-065), SP26WOSP, TX5T, UK9AA, UP4L,
V6J (OC-254), XF3PAS (NA-090), XW4XR, YJ0CA, YW6X (SA-090), Z35F, Z35M,
ZB2X, ZD7JC, ZS9V (AF-064).

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