OPDX Bulletin 1383 October 1, 2018

The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 1383
BID: $OPDX.1383
October 1, 2018
Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW
Provided by BARF80.ORG (Cleveland, Ohio)
Sent/Written in Strongsville, OH

Thanks to the Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society, Northern Ohio DX
Association, Ohio/Penn PacketCluster Network, AB5K & the AR TelNet Clusters
Network, NJ1Q & W1AW, NG3K & ADXO, W3UR & The Daily DX, K5GS, K8GI, K8YSE,
W8GEX & 60m DX News, DL1SBF, DL7UXG & The DX News Letter, DxCoffee.com,
DXNews.com, DX-World.Net, ES1CW, EY8MM, F5NQL, F6AJA & Les Nouvelles DX,
I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, I2MQP & DX Italia News, JA1BK, OZ6OM & 50 MHz
DX News, Pete Rayer & ISWL, Sixitalia Weekly, VA3RJ & ICPO and ZL4TT
for the following DX information.


**** EDITOR'S SPECIAL NOTICE: This week's bulletin was sent out earlier
 than normal to accommodate the late CQWW DX RTTY Contest announcements.
 Also, we wanted to provide the OPDX readers with a consolidated
 listing of the CQWW DX RTTY Contest participants


DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT: According to the AR-Cluster Network for the
week of Friday, 21st/September, through Friday, 28th/September there were
211 countries active. Countries available: 3A, 3B8, 3B9, 3D2, 3DA, 3V, 3W,
4J, 4L, 4O, 4S, 4X, 5A, 5B, 5H, 5R, 5W, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7Q, 7X, 8P, 8Q, 9A,
9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9L, 9M2, 9M6, 9V, 9X, 9Y, A2, A3, A4, A6, A7, A9, AP, BV,
BY, C3, CE, CE0Y, CE9, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, D4, DL, DU, E5/s, E7,
EA, EA6, EA8, EA9, EI, EK, EL, EP, ER, ES, ET, EU, EX, EZ, F, FG, FH, FK,
FM, FO, FP, FR, FY, G, GD, GI, GJ, GM, GU, GW, HA, HB, HB0, HC, HH, HI,
HK, HK0/a, HL, HP, HR, HS, HV, HZ, I, IS, J6, J7, JA, JD/o, JT, JW, JX,
JY, K, KG4, KH2, KH6, KH9, 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, PZ,
S0, S2, S5, S7, S9, SM, SP, SU, SV, SV5, SV9, T5, T7, T8, TA, TF, TG, TI,
TK, TR, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V3, V4, V5, V6, V7, V8, VE, VK, VK0M,
VP2E, VP2M, VP2V, VP8, VP9, VR, VU, XE, YA, YB, YI, YJ, YL, YN, YO, YU,
YV, Z2, Z3, Z6, ZA, ZB, ZD7, ZD8, ZD9, ZF, ZL, 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".


4U1, AUSTRIA. Oleg, HB9RB, will be active as 4U1A from the International
Amateur Radio Contest DX Club (ARCDXC) station during the CQWW DX RTTY
Contest (September 229-30th) as a Single-Op/Single-Band (40m) entry. QSL
via UA3DX. This station counts as the VIC (Vienna International Centre)
multiplier. 


4U1, AUSTRIA. A member of the International Amateur Radio Contest DX
Club (ARCDXC) will be active as 4U1A during the CQWW DX SSB Contest
(October 28-29th) as a Single-Op/All-Band/High-Power entry. QSL via
UA3DX. Visit the ARCDXC Web page at: http://www.cqdx.ru/4u1a


5W0 & YJ, SAMOA AND VANUATU (Reminder). By the time you read this, Stan,
LZ1GC, should begin his activity from two different entities in the Pacific.
His tentative schedule is as follows:
 September 28th-October 14th -- From Apia, Samoa (OC-097); callsign 5W0GC
 October 15th-November 4th -- From Port Vila, Efate Island (OC-035),
 Vanuatu; callsign YJ0GC. The YJ0GC team, consisting of
 Stan/LZ1GC, Lubo/OM5ZW and Karel/OK2WM will be on October
 15th, at the Nadi Airport, Fiji Republic (3D2). The same
 day is their flight to Port Vila, Vanuatu. Due to the late
 arrival time in Vanuatu and the night's arrival, most
 likely YJ0GC should be on the air around 20 GMT, on October
 15th.
 Activity will be on 160-6 meters, with a focus on 160/80m, using CW, SSB
and RTTY. QSL via his home callsign, LoTW or ClubLog's OQRS. For more details
and updates, see: http://www.c21gc.com


9L. SIERRA LEONE. Members of the Radio Club de Provins (F6KOP) have announced 
their next DXpedition will be to Banana Island (AF-037), in Sierra Leone,
sometime during January or February of 2019. Look for more details to be
forthcoming. Also watch:
http://www.f6kop.com/2018/09/23/la-prochaine-expedition-de-f6kop-sera-en


CR2, AZORES. Wolf, OE2VEL, will be active as CR2L from the CU4DX DX station
on Graciosa Island (EU-175) during the CQWW DX SSB Contest (October 27-28th)
as a Single-Op/All-Band/Assisted entry. QSL via LoTW.


E6, NIUE (Reminder). Members of the Quake Contesters will be active as
E6Y at Turtle Lodge in the Makefu area on Niue Island (OC-040) between
October 6-15th. Operators mentioned are Mark/ZL3AB, Geoff/ZL3GA, Phil/
ZL3PAH and Paul/ZL4TT. Activity will be on 160-10 meters (including 60m)
using CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8. Focus will be on the low bands and EU.
Suggested frequencies are:
CW - 1805/1826.5, 3503, 7024, 10120, 14025, 18069, 21024, 24891 and 28025
SSB - 1865, 3770, 7080/7160, 14260, 18145, 21295, 24930 and 28490
RTTY - 3580, 7040, 10144, 14080, 18106, 21080, 24926 and 28080
FT8 - 3573, 7074, 10136, 14074, 18100 and 21074 kHz
 * Freq. are subject to change
They also plan to be active in the Oceania DX Contests (CW/Oct. 13-14th
and SSB/Oct. 6-7th) as a Multi-2 entries. QSL via ZL3PAH, direct, by the
Bureau, ClubLog's OQRS or LoTW. For more details and updates, see:
 https://quakedxpeditions.wordpress.com


FY, FRENCH GUIANA. Operators Marc/F1HAR, Florent/F4CWN, Didier/FY5FY,
Herve/F5HRY, Oliver/F5MZN and Christian/F5UII will be active as FY5KE
from the "Radio club de Kourou" (RACK) radio club station in Kourou City
during the CQWW DX SSB Contest (October 27-28th) as a Multi-2 entry. QSL
via LoTW.


IOTA NEWS..............
 AF-045. Operators John/6W7JX, Ouzin/6W1PZ, Tafa/6W1KI, Jul/6W1QL
 and possibly others will once again be active as 6V1A from
 Goree Island between December 7-9th. Activity will be on CW
 and SSB on all bands using a FT-1000 and Icom 7300 with 150
 watts into dipoles G5RV/Kelemen. QSL info see QRZ.com.


 AS-173. A group of VU operators are planning to activate Pamban Island
 (Dhanushkodi) between November 3-4th. The team, led by Madhu,
 VU3NPI, is calling themselves "Manic Monkeys", are planning
 to be active on 80-10 meters usibg CW, SSB and FT8. Look for
 more details to be forthcoming.


 EU-052. Just a reminder! Sigi, DL7DF, will be active as SV8/DL7DF
 from Zakynthos Island (EU-052) between October 1-15th. He
 will be on holiday with his XYL, Sabine, in Greece. Activity
 will be on 80-10 meters using CW, SBB, and RTTY as often as 
 possible. His equipment will be a Elecraft K2, a power amp-
 lifier XV600, a multiband vertical and a laptop computer. QSL
 via DL7DF, direct or by the DARC Bureau. Log will be uploaded
 within 6 months after his operation.


 EU-129. Klaus, DL8DZL, will be active as DL8DZL/p from Trassenheide
 Island (DLFF-0075) until October 6th. Activity will be on
 various HF bands using CW and SSB. QSL via DL8DZL, direct
 or by the Bureau.


 PLEASE NOTE: Since the Webmasters of the new  have
 decided NOT to post or dedicate a Web page to announce upcoming IOTA
 operations, PLEASE send your IOTA operations information to the OPDX,
 and we will post it here in an upcoming bulletin......


ISWL CALLSIGNS (For October). The following ISWL club callsigns will be
used throughout the month of October 2018:


 GX4BJC/A - Not yet allocated. The operator will give details if
 heard/worked.
 (/A WAB Square - ? - England, IOTA EU-005, WLOTA 1841).


 MX1SWL/A - Operated from Great Missenden, in Buckinghamshire, by John,
 G8XTJ.
 (/A WAB Square - SP80 - England, IOTA EU-005, WLOTA 1841).


 ALL QSLs will be handled by Dick, M5DIK - The QSL Manager and NOT the
individual operator. The I.S.W.L. is a member of the European PSK Club.
All QSL info is on  or  or 
or via . NO LoTW.


NP2, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS. Yuriy, N2TTA, will once again be active from
here as NP2P during the CQWW DX SSB Contest (October 27-28th) as a Single-
Op/All-Band/Low-Power entry. QSL via LoTW.


OX, GREENLAND. Bo, OZ1DJJ, is once again active as OX3LX, this time
from Scosbysund Island (NA-018, WW Loc. HQ90AL), east Greenland, until
October 2nd. Activity will be on various HF bands, but limited to his
spare time when not working (He states, "Best chance is in the morning
around lunch and after dinner [local time utc+2], on the weekend also
during night/morning"). QSL via OZ0J direct (see QRZ.com). Logs get
uploaded to LoTW, ClubLog and sometimes eQSL. For more details and updates,
see: http://geronne.dk/index.php/ox3lx/ox3lx-dxped


P4, ARUBA. Operators Vernon/NN5E and Jim/NT5V will be active as P4/homecall
from Aruba (SA-036) between October 12-19th. Activity will be on 80-10
meters using CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8. QSL via their home callsigns direct
or LoTW.


PJ4, BONAIRE. Operators Scott/W4PA, Steve/PJ4DX and other operators
will be active as PJ4Q from Bonaire during the CQWW DX SSB Contest (October
27-28th) as a Multi-? entry. QSL via W4PA. Scott, W4PA, will be active
before the contest as PJ4/W4PA starting October 21st with an emphasis
on 160m and the 30/17/12m bands. QSL both callsigns to W4PA.


PJ4, BONAIRE. Operators Scott/W4PA, Ward/N0AX, Robert/S53R and other
operators will be active as PJ4Q from Bonaire during the CQWW DX CW
Contest (November 24-25th) as a Multi-2 entry. QSL via W4PA. Scott,
W4PA, will be active before the contest as PJ4/W4PA starting November
18th with an emphasis on 160m and the 30/17/12m bands. QSL both call-
signs to W4PA.


PROPAGATION FORECAST/REPORT (October 1-7th).......
 Oct/01st LN Oct/04th AN Oct/06th LN
 Oct/02nd HN Oct/05th HN Oct/07th DIS
 Oct/03rd HN


 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.


 Also, check out the VOACAP predication Web page at:
 http://www.voacap.com/hf/
 A daily HF radio wave propagation forecast can be found at:
 https://www.facebook.com/thomasfranklingiellaw4hm
 Also on Twitter: https://twitter.com/@GiellaW4hm


QSL INFO AND NEWS...................
 QSL-INFO from DB0SDX by Lothar, DL1SBF  
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Will be available next week!!!


 LOGS ONLINE AT CLUBLOG.ORG THIS WEEK......
 https://clublog.org/logsearch/5W0GC
 https://clublog.org/logsearch/TO6OK
 https://clublog.org/logsearch/YJ0GC


 QSLS RECEIVED VIA LoTW: 5A1AL, A5A, TR8CA, VK0AI, XT2BR and ZD9CW


 QSLS RECEIVED VIA MAIL: 4S7AB, 5A1AL and KH1/KH7Z


 QSLS RECEIVED VIA THE BUREAU: NONE REPORTED THIS WEEK!!!!!!


TU, CÔTE D'IVOIRE. Bertrand, DF3FS, will once again be active as TU5MH
from the Ivory Coast or Côte d’Ivoire between October 20-29th. Activity
will be on various HF bands using CW and SSB. QSL via DF3FS or LoTW.
Also, QSL requests via ClubLog's OQRS (your card not needed). Please do
not send your QSL via Bureau, use the OQRS system from ClubLog for confir-
mation via the Bureau.


V6, MICRONESIA. Chusuke, JR1FKR, is once again active as V63FKR from
South Park Hotel, Pohnpei Island (OC-010), until October 1st. Activity
will be holiday style on 40/20/17/15/10/6 meters using SSB and RTTY.
QSL via his home callsign, direct or by the Bureau (not the KH0 Bureau).


VK9X, CHRISTMAS ISLAND (Reminder). By the time you read this, operators
Martin/A65DC, Paul/A65DR, Thomas/SM0CXU and YL Delia/VE7HDW will be or
close to being active as VK9XT from Christmas Island (OC-002) until October
6th. Activity will be on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB and the Digital modes.
FT8 might be used at times when no other operations are going on. QSL via
N4GNR direct, LoTW, eQSL or QRZ.com's LogBook. Direct card via Clublog's
OQRS will be active for 6 months after the DXpedition. You may request your
direct card there. QSL Fee on the OQRS will increase to 3 USDs for OQRS to
cover envelope and paypal costs. Please DO NOT send your card via the VK 
Bureau, it will never be answered. This expedition will not offer any
Bureau cards, sorry. For more details and updates, see: 
 http://vk9xt.qsodirector.com


VK9X, CHRISTMAS ISLAND (Update). Operators Chris/G3SVL, Nigel/G3TXF,
David/G3WGN, Mike/G3WPH and Tony/G2NF (all 6Gs Group members) will be
active as VK9XG from Christmas Island between October 16-30th. Activity
will be on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB, FT8 and possibly RTTY. They plan
to use FT8 (DXpedition mode) as the primary Data mode. Suggested FT8
frequencies are listed here: http://www.6gs.org.uk/vk9xg-on-ft8
QSL via G3TXF. Full logs will be uploaded to LoTW during the operation.
For more details and updates, see: http://www.6gs.org.uk/christmas-island-2018
 PLEASE NOTE: The callsign VK9XG is being reissued: if you worked VK9XG in
2006 or earlier, please QSL (direct only) to Charlie, W0YG, with 2.00 USDs
and SAE.


VP2, MONTSERRAT. Operators Rob/M0VFC, Dan/M0WUT and Dom/M0BLF will be
active as VP2MUW from Gingerbread Hill, Montserrat, between November
17-23rd. Activity will be on 80-10 meeters using CW and SSB. They will
have three Elecraft K3s stations. One station has a Juma amp and another
station has a KPA500. The other station will be barefoot. Logs will be
uploaded to ClubLog and LoTW regularly throughout their operation. If
you need a paper QSL, you can use ClubLog's OQRS to request a direct or
Bureau card. Please do not send them your card. For more information,
see: https://vp2muw.com


VP5, TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS. Members of the Frankford Radio Club will
be active as VP5W from Providenciales, Caicos Islands (NA-002) during the
CQWW DX SSB Contest (October 27-28th) as a Multi-Single entry. QSL via
LoTW or KD3TB. Operators mentioned are Irwi/KD3TB, Andrew/KD3RF, and
Mike/W3MAS. The team "may" be active before and after the contest signing
VP5/homecall. QSL via their home callsign.


VP6D DUCIE ISLAND DXPEDITION NEWS (Press Release [Special], dated September
27th). [edited] -- VP6D Ducie Island 2018 DX-pedition (OC-182)
 Today while doing final technology testing before packing several pieces
of VP6D equipment in checked luggage we discovered a problem. If you follow
us on Twitter you saw two test tweets. We had planned to, and previously
tested, automatically transferring Twitter tweets to our VP6D Facebook
page using a Twitter / Facebook Application Programming Interface (API)
provided by Facebook. Our tweets will originate from the Braveheart or
the island using the Garmin inReach.
 Today we learned Facebook discontinued their API (the bridge) that
connected Twitter to Facebook. Specifically, the issue has to do with
Facebook’s lockdown of its API platform — an overhaul that’s been under-
way following the Cambridge Analytica scandal, where as many as 87 million
Facebook users had their data improperly harvested and shared.
 We have arranged for tweets to be transferred to VP6D’s Facebook page.
However, due to time zone differences there may be a time delay between
Twitter and Facebook updates. If you follow us on Twitter you’ll receive
our tweets without delay.
 We were disappointed to discover this change, but we have a workable
solution.
 Braveheart is ready to sail, and the VP6D team is ready to soon begin
their journey.
 73, 
 Team Ducie ­ 2018
 Please direct questions to: info@vp6d.com
 VP6D Web page: https://www.vp6d.com
 VP6D FaceBook page: https://www.facebook.com/VP6D-Ducie-2018-1470984209616170
 VP6D Twitter page : https://twitter.com/VP6D_2018


WRTC PHOTOBOOK AVAILABLE. Nodir, EY8MM, informs OPDX, "I made photobook
about WRTC 2018 in Germany. It is available (royalty-free) from Blurb.com
at: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/7729273/2f71f824660ca72b2f7db279b0d4b769ffb44c41
It is about 230 pages and over 400 photos of all teams, referees and judges.
As a judge I was able to visit few locations before and during WRTC, so I
include those photos too. This book is made in similar format as the WRTC 2014 in
USA. As it is quite an expensive book, please make sure check Blurd discounts.
All new users get 35% off on first order.
 For those who are interested in electronic version it is available free
for download at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1b_FPJCLLuAbYkrVIHKwBxO8X6r066jKN "


--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 The following stations are expected to be active in the
 CQ World Wide DX RTTY Contest (September 29-30th, 2018)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Thanks to Bill, NG3K, for providing OPDX readers with the following
consolidated listing of the participants in the 2018 CQWW DX RTTY Contest.
For a more detailed listing (and up-to-date changes/corrections) in HTML
format, please visit Bill's Web page at:
 http://www.ng3k.com/Misc/cqr2018.html (By call sign)
 http://www.ng3k.com/Misc/cqrd2018.html (By entity)
 http://www.ng3k.com/Misc/cqrz2018.html (By zone)


 The CQ World-Wide DX Contest Web page and rules:
 https://www.cqwwrtty.com/index.htm
 http://www.cqwwrtty.com/rules.htm


------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Contest DXCC CQZ Class QSL
 Callsign Entity Route
------------------------------------------------------------------------
4U1A UN Vienna 15 SOSB 40M UA3DX
5Q2T Denmark 14 SOAB LoTW; QSL via OZ0J (B/d/e)
8Q7IP Maldives 22 HA3JB
CR3DX Madeira 33 M/2 OM2VL
EA8DED Canary Islands 33 M/S OH2BP
GM4FDM Scotland 14 SOSB 80M LoTW
HB0/DL5YL Liechtenstein 14 QSL via (DARC-B/d)
HB0/DL5YM Liechtenstein 14 QSL via (DARC-B/d)
KG4SS Guantanamo 08 LoTW; QSL via K4MIL (d)
LY7Z Lithuania 15 M/M LoTW; QSL via LY9Y 
MJ5Z Jersey 14 SOAB LP LoTW; QSL via (C)
OU2PA Belgium 14 M/2 (e)
SP100PAZ Poland 15 SO LoTW; QSL via SP6PAZ (B)
TM3Z France 14 SOAB LP F4DSK
V31VP Belize 09 SOAB WB0TEV
VO2VC Canada 02 SOSB 20M VE6CMV
VP2V/AA7V Br. Virgin Islands 08 SO LoTW; QSL via AA7V
YB0NDT Indonesia 28 SO LoTW; QSL via (e)
ZD9CW Tristan da Cunha 38 SOAB LZ1JZ


 (e) eQSL only (d) direct only (B) Bureau only (*-B) DX's- Bureau
 (O) OQRS only (C) ClubLog only (L) LoTW only (N) No QSL needed