Here is the latest DX contest infoCompiled by Bruce Horn, WA7BNM
CQ-WE Contest: 1900Z-2300Z, Nov 10 (CW/Digital) and 0100Z-0500Z, Nov 11 (Phone) and 1900Z-2300Z, Nov 11 (Phone) and 0100Z-0500Z, Nov 12 (CW/Digital)
Mode: CW, Phone, Digital
Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6, 2, 432 MHz
Classes: Single Op
Exchange: Name + Location Code (see rules) + Years of Service (see rules)
Work stations: Once per band per mode
QSO Points: Points equal to years of service received in exchange for each QSO
Multipliers: Each location code once per mode
Score Calculation: Total score = sum of (total QSO points x total mults) for each mode
Submit logs by: December 1, 2012
E-mail logs to: (see rules)
Mail logs to: (see rules)
Find rules at: http://cqwe.cboh.org/rules.html
YO International PSK31 Contest: 1600Z-2200Z, Nov 16
Mode: PSK31
Bands: 80m Only
Classes: Single Op
Max power: 50 watts
Exchange: YO: RST + Serial No. + County
non-YO: RST + Serial No. + Country
QSO Points: 4 points per QSO with YO station
1 point per QSO with non-YO station
Multipliers: Each YO county and each country
Score Calculation: Total score = total QSO points x total mults
Submit logs by: December 1, 2012
E-mail logs to: pskyo[at]yo5crq[dot]ro
Mail logs to: (none)
Find rules at: http://www.yo5crq.ro/Rules2012EN.htm
CQ SA SSB Contest: 0000Z-2400Z, Nov 17
Mode: SSB
Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m
Classes: Single Op All Band (Low/High)
Single Op Single Band (Low/High)
Multi-Single
Multi-Multi
Max power: HP: 1000 watts
LP: 100 watts
Exchange: RS + Serial No.
Work stations: Once per band
QSO Points: 1 point per QSO with same country
2 points per QSO with different country same continent
3 points per QSO with different continent
non-SA only: 10 points per QSO with SA
Multipliers: Each continent once per band
Each country once per band
Score Calculation: Total score = total QSO points x total mults
Submit logs by: December 17, 2012
E-mail logs to: (none)
Upload log at: http://www.brcontest.com/cqsa/up/
Mail logs to: (none)
Find rules at: http://brcontest.com/resultado/cqsa/2012/cqsa_ssb_us-en2012.pdf
SARL Field Day Contest: 1000Z, Nov 17 to 1000Z, Nov 18
Mode: CW, SSB, Digital
Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m
Classes: Single-Op Field (QRP/High)
Multi-Op Field (QRP/High)
General
Max power: QRP: 5 watts
non-QRP: >5 watts
Exchange: Number of transmitters + Category (see rules) + Province (or "DX")
Work stations: Once per band per mode
QSO Points: (see rules)
Multipliers: (see rules)
Score Calculation: (see rules)
Submit logs by: November 25, 2012
E-mail logs to: zs4bfn[at]netactive[dot]co[dot]za
Mail logs to: SARL Field Day Contest
PO Box 12104
Brandhof, 9324
South Africa
Find rules at: http://www.sarl.org.za/public/contests/SARL_2012_Contest_Manual_issue_10.pdf
LZ DX Contest: 1200Z, Nov 17 to 1200Z, Nov 18
Mode: CW, SSB
Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m
Classes: Single Op All Band (Mixed/CW/SSB)
Single Op All Band Mixed QRP
Single Op Single Band Mixed
Multi-Single Mixed
SWL
Max power: Non-QRP: >10 watts
QRP: 10 watts
Exchange: LZ: RS(T) + 2-letter district
non-LZ: RS(T) + ITU Zone No.
Work stations: Once per band per mode
QSO Points: 10 points per QSO with LZ station
3 points per QSO with different continent
1 point per QSO with same continent
Multipliers: Each ITU zone and each district once per band
Score Calculation: Total score = total QSO points x total mults
Submit logs by: December 18, 2012
E-mail logs to: lzdxc[at]yahoo[dot]com
Mail logs to: BFRA
P.O. Box 830
1000 Sofia
Bulgaria
Find rules at: http://lzdx.bfra.org/rulesen.html
All Austrian 160-Meter Contest: 1600Z, Nov 17 to 0700Z, Nov 18
Mode: CW
Bands: 160m Only
Classes: Single Op
Multi-Single
SWL
Exchange: OE: RST + Serial No. + District Code
non-OE: RST + Serial No.
QSO Points: 1 point per QSO
Multipliers: Each district code and each DXCC/WAE country
Score Calculation: Total score = total QSO points x total mults
Submit logs by: December 31, 2012
E-mail logs to: hf-contest[at]oevsv[dot]at
Upload log at: http://contestrobot.aoec160m.oevsv.at
Mail logs to: OEVSV-HQ
HF-Contest Manager
Eisvogelgasse 4/1
A-1060 Vienna
Austria
Find rules at: http://www.oevsv.at/export/oevsv/download/AOEC/Rules_AOEC_160m.pdf
RSGB 2nd 1.8 MHz Contest, CW: 2100Z, Nov 17 to 0100Z, Nov 18
Mode: CW
Bands: 160m Only
Classes: Single Op (UK/Europe/Outside Europe)
Exchange: UK: RST + Serial No. + District Code
non-UK: RST + Serial No.
QSO Points: 2 points per QSO
5 additional points for first QSO with each UK district
5 additional points for first QSO with each country outside of UK
Multipliers: (none)
Score Calculation: Total score = total QSO points
Submit logs by: December 3, 2012
Upload log at: http://www.rsgbcc.org/cgi-bin/hfenter.pl
Mail logs to: RSGB-G3UFY
77 Bensham Manor Road
Thornton Heath, Surrey CR7 7AF
England
Find rules at: http://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2012/r2nd-160m-2012.shtml
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Solar Activity
This in today from Southgate ARN...
Space Weather report that an interplanetary shock wave (probably the leading edge of a CME) hit Earth's magnetic field on November 12 at approximately 2300 UT, filling skies over northern Scandinavia with bright auroras
The site says more auroras are in the offing as Earth passes through the magnetized wake of the CME. Our planet's polar magnetic field is currently unsettled, and this could be a sign that storms are brewing at high-latitudes. Stay tuned for updates. Aurora alerts: text, voice.
Aurora pictures can be seen at
http://spaceweather.com/gallery/index.php?title=aurora&title2=lights
Space Weather
http://www.spaceweather.com/
Space Weather report that an interplanetary shock wave (probably the leading edge of a CME) hit Earth's magnetic field on November 12 at approximately 2300 UT, filling skies over northern Scandinavia with bright auroras
The site says more auroras are in the offing as Earth passes through the magnetized wake of the CME. Our planet's polar magnetic field is currently unsettled, and this could be a sign that storms are brewing at high-latitudes. Stay tuned for updates. Aurora alerts: text, voice.
Aurora pictures can be seen at
http://spaceweather.com/gallery/index.php?title=aurora&title2=lights
Space Weather
http://www.spaceweather.com/
Mysterious Chinese Signals
Wolf, DK2OM, Coordinator IARU Monitoring System (IARUMS) Region 1 reports on strange Chinese signals in the amateur radio bands.
Since Oct. 25 we are suffering from mysterious Chinese signals on 7000, 14000, 21000 and 21010 kHz. At first the A3E signals were sounding like grunt or moo. Now we are receiving very strong multitone signals with a carrier and both sidebands every morning.
The signals are also audible on 15000 (disturbing the time signal from RWM Moscow), 18000, 19000 and 20000 kHz. The purpose is unknown, perhaps a special kind of encrypted broadcast or a new generation of OTH radar?
Please inform your national PTTs for official complaints! I informed the German PTT this morning. Many thanks to HB9CET for excellent observations and support!
For further details visit our external homepage:
http://www.iarums-r1.org/ and look under "Latest Intruder News".
There you can find links to my recordings.
Wolf also reports that a taxi company in the Russian Federation is transmitting FM on 21404.2 kHz daily and all day. He says you can often hear a female voice organizing the business. Please use this frequency for amateur traffic daily.
Please log your reports of Amateur Band intruders online at
http://peditio.net/intruder/bluechat.cgi
Monitor the short wave bands on-line with a web based SDR receiver at
http://www.websdr.org/
IARU Monitoring System (IARUMS)
http://www.iarums-r1.org/
TNX SOUTHGATE ARC
Since Oct. 25 we are suffering from mysterious Chinese signals on 7000, 14000, 21000 and 21010 kHz. At first the A3E signals were sounding like grunt or moo. Now we are receiving very strong multitone signals with a carrier and both sidebands every morning.
The signals are also audible on 15000 (disturbing the time signal from RWM Moscow), 18000, 19000 and 20000 kHz. The purpose is unknown, perhaps a special kind of encrypted broadcast or a new generation of OTH radar?
Please inform your national PTTs for official complaints! I informed the German PTT this morning. Many thanks to HB9CET for excellent observations and support!
For further details visit our external homepage:
http://www.iarums-r1.org/ and look under "Latest Intruder News".
There you can find links to my recordings.
Wolf also reports that a taxi company in the Russian Federation is transmitting FM on 21404.2 kHz daily and all day. He says you can often hear a female voice organizing the business. Please use this frequency for amateur traffic daily.
Please log your reports of Amateur Band intruders online at
http://peditio.net/intruder/bluechat.cgi
Monitor the short wave bands on-line with a web based SDR receiver at
http://www.websdr.org/
IARU Monitoring System (IARUMS)
http://www.iarums-r1.org/
TNX SOUTHGATE ARC
Saturday, November 10, 2012
K7RA Propagation Report
10 November, 2012
ARLP045
Again this week solar activity retreated. Average daily sunspot numbers declined 8.7 points to 49.7, and average daily solar flux was down nearly 20 points to 97.2.
The latest forecast (from Thursday, November 8) shows solar flux at 105 and 110 on November 9-10, 115 on November 11-17, 110 on November 18-20, 105 and 100 on November 21-22, 105 on November 23-24, and 100 on November 25-26. Flux values then drop below 100 on November 27 through December 2.
The planetary A index forecast predicts an A index of 5 on November 9, 7 on November 10-12, 5 on November 13-18, 8 on November 19, 5 on November 20 through December 4, and 10 on December 5-8.
Currently the Sun is peppered with a few weak spots, but there have been 1-2 new sunspot groups every day starting on November 3.
November 3 had one new spot, November 4 had two, then two more on November 5, one on November 6 and another on November 7, and two new ones on November 8.
OK1HH has a new geomagnetic forecast from Prague, and he predicts quiet to unsettled conditions November 9, active to disturbed November 10, quiet to active November 11, quiet to unsettled November 12, quiet November 13, mostly quiet November 14-15, quiet again November 16-19, mostly quiet November 20, quiet November 21, mostly quiet November 22-23, quiet November 24-26, quiet to active November 27, active to disturbed November 28, quiet to unsettled November 29, and quiet on December 1.
NASA tweaked their forecast for the smoothed sunspot number at the peak of Cycle 24 next Fall. On October 2 they predicted a sunspot number maximum of 75 in Fall 2013, and on November 2 they changed that to 73.
Scott Wright, K0MD of Rochester, Minnesota shared some brief observations on conditions during the CQ World Wide DX SSB Contest (October 27-28, two weekends ago). He wrote, "I did not find the band openings nearly as good this year as last year. Ten meters was very good but not as good as 2011. Propagation was down on 40 meters with lower country totals from the Midwest than I saw last year. 160 was not very good but no surprise there, given it is October."
Check out Scott's station at http://www.k0md.com/.
The next CQ World Wide DX contest is the CW weekend, November 24-25. See http://www.cqww.com/. A week from now is the Phone weekend for ARRL Sweepstakes, a domestic contest. See
http://www.arrl.org/sweepstakes.
Scott noted the better propagation during the same contest last year. This year, the average daily sunspot number for the ten day period ending on Sunday, October 28, the last day of the contest, was 79.8. But for the same period last year, ending on Sunday, October 30, 2011 the average daily sunspot number was 111.6, quite a bit higher, by 40% in fact.
Max White, M0VNG of Worcester, UK sent this article about a coronal hole and a disastrous solar wind back in January 1994:
http://o.canada.com/2012/10/17/canadian-scientists-identify-suns-
coronal-hole-as-culprit-in-1994-anik-satellite-failures/.
We can check an archive of geomagnetic indices to get a sense of what the effect on Earth was:
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ftpdir/indices/old_indices/1994_DGD.txt
Note there are days in January of that year when readings from the magnetometer near Fairbanks, Alaska (the College A index) that have asterisks instead of numbers. This is what we see occasionally when the magnetometer is completely overloaded with energy, and cannot produce any sort of meaningful results.
We can see there was a lot of geomagnetic activity that year. I would like to refer back to propagation forecast bulletins from January 1994, but unfortunately the online archive at http://arrl.org/w1aw-bulletins-archive-propagation doesn't begin until January 1995. If anyone has copies of the propagation bulletin prior to 1995, please contact me. Perhaps you have an old hard drive from a personal computer used for packet radio twenty years ago?
K9LA has some great propagation resources on his web site at
http://myplace.frontier.com/~k9la/index.html. He has download links for free pdf copies of both NM7M propagation books, and a slide presentation showing an update on Cycle 24 that he presented in July. If you don't have Microsoft PowerPoint to watch the slides, you can download a free reader at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/
details.aspx?id=13.
From two years ago, G0KYA has a downloadable pdf eBook titled "Understanding LF and HF Propagation" at http://g0kya.blogspot.com/
2010/11/understanding-lf-and-hf-propagation.html.
If you would like to make a comment or have a tip for our readers, mail the author at, k7ra@arrl.net.
For more information concerning radio propagation, see the ARRL Technical Information Service at
http://arrl.org/propagation-of-rf-signals.
For an explanation of the numbers used in this bulletin, see
http://arrl.org/the-sun-the-earth-the-ionosphere.
An archive ofpast propagation bulletins is at
http://arrl.org/w1aw-bulletins-archive-propagation.
Find more good information and tutorials on propagation at
http://myplace.frontier.com/~k9la/.
Monthly propagation charts between four USA regions and twelve
overseas locations are at http://arrl.org/propagation.
Instructions for starting or ending email distribution of ARRL bulletins are at http://arrl.org/bulletins.
Sunspot numbers for November 1 through 7 were 48, 34, 35, 46, 47, 61, and 77, with a mean of 49.7. 10.7 cm flux was 98.4, 96.5, 93.3, 95, 96.6, 98.7, and 101.7, with a mean of 97.2. Estimated planetary A indices were 17, 5, 3, 2, 2, 4, and 10, with a mean of 6.1. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 17, 5, 2, 1, 2, 4, and 10, with a mean of 5.9.
Source: The American Radio Relay League
• All propagation reports can be found at:
http://www.southgatearc.org/propagation
ARLP045
Again this week solar activity retreated. Average daily sunspot numbers declined 8.7 points to 49.7, and average daily solar flux was down nearly 20 points to 97.2.
The latest forecast (from Thursday, November 8) shows solar flux at 105 and 110 on November 9-10, 115 on November 11-17, 110 on November 18-20, 105 and 100 on November 21-22, 105 on November 23-24, and 100 on November 25-26. Flux values then drop below 100 on November 27 through December 2.
The planetary A index forecast predicts an A index of 5 on November 9, 7 on November 10-12, 5 on November 13-18, 8 on November 19, 5 on November 20 through December 4, and 10 on December 5-8.
Currently the Sun is peppered with a few weak spots, but there have been 1-2 new sunspot groups every day starting on November 3.
November 3 had one new spot, November 4 had two, then two more on November 5, one on November 6 and another on November 7, and two new ones on November 8.
OK1HH has a new geomagnetic forecast from Prague, and he predicts quiet to unsettled conditions November 9, active to disturbed November 10, quiet to active November 11, quiet to unsettled November 12, quiet November 13, mostly quiet November 14-15, quiet again November 16-19, mostly quiet November 20, quiet November 21, mostly quiet November 22-23, quiet November 24-26, quiet to active November 27, active to disturbed November 28, quiet to unsettled November 29, and quiet on December 1.
NASA tweaked their forecast for the smoothed sunspot number at the peak of Cycle 24 next Fall. On October 2 they predicted a sunspot number maximum of 75 in Fall 2013, and on November 2 they changed that to 73.
Scott Wright, K0MD of Rochester, Minnesota shared some brief observations on conditions during the CQ World Wide DX SSB Contest (October 27-28, two weekends ago). He wrote, "I did not find the band openings nearly as good this year as last year. Ten meters was very good but not as good as 2011. Propagation was down on 40 meters with lower country totals from the Midwest than I saw last year. 160 was not very good but no surprise there, given it is October."
Check out Scott's station at http://www.k0md.com/.
The next CQ World Wide DX contest is the CW weekend, November 24-25. See http://www.cqww.com/. A week from now is the Phone weekend for ARRL Sweepstakes, a domestic contest. See
http://www.arrl.org/sweepstakes.
Scott noted the better propagation during the same contest last year. This year, the average daily sunspot number for the ten day period ending on Sunday, October 28, the last day of the contest, was 79.8. But for the same period last year, ending on Sunday, October 30, 2011 the average daily sunspot number was 111.6, quite a bit higher, by 40% in fact.
Max White, M0VNG of Worcester, UK sent this article about a coronal hole and a disastrous solar wind back in January 1994:
http://o.canada.com/2012/10/17/canadian-scientists-identify-suns-
coronal-hole-as-culprit-in-1994-anik-satellite-failures/.
We can check an archive of geomagnetic indices to get a sense of what the effect on Earth was:
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ftpdir/indices/old_indices/1994_DGD.txt
Note there are days in January of that year when readings from the magnetometer near Fairbanks, Alaska (the College A index) that have asterisks instead of numbers. This is what we see occasionally when the magnetometer is completely overloaded with energy, and cannot produce any sort of meaningful results.
We can see there was a lot of geomagnetic activity that year. I would like to refer back to propagation forecast bulletins from January 1994, but unfortunately the online archive at http://arrl.org/w1aw-bulletins-archive-propagation doesn't begin until January 1995. If anyone has copies of the propagation bulletin prior to 1995, please contact me. Perhaps you have an old hard drive from a personal computer used for packet radio twenty years ago?
K9LA has some great propagation resources on his web site at
http://myplace.frontier.com/~k9la/index.html. He has download links for free pdf copies of both NM7M propagation books, and a slide presentation showing an update on Cycle 24 that he presented in July. If you don't have Microsoft PowerPoint to watch the slides, you can download a free reader at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/
details.aspx?id=13.
From two years ago, G0KYA has a downloadable pdf eBook titled "Understanding LF and HF Propagation" at http://g0kya.blogspot.com/
2010/11/understanding-lf-and-hf-propagation.html.
If you would like to make a comment or have a tip for our readers, mail the author at, k7ra@arrl.net.
For more information concerning radio propagation, see the ARRL Technical Information Service at
http://arrl.org/propagation-of-rf-signals.
For an explanation of the numbers used in this bulletin, see
http://arrl.org/the-sun-the-earth-the-ionosphere.
An archive ofpast propagation bulletins is at
http://arrl.org/w1aw-bulletins-archive-propagation.
Find more good information and tutorials on propagation at
http://myplace.frontier.com/~k9la/.
Monthly propagation charts between four USA regions and twelve
overseas locations are at http://arrl.org/propagation.
Instructions for starting or ending email distribution of ARRL bulletins are at http://arrl.org/bulletins.
Sunspot numbers for November 1 through 7 were 48, 34, 35, 46, 47, 61, and 77, with a mean of 49.7. 10.7 cm flux was 98.4, 96.5, 93.3, 95, 96.6, 98.7, and 101.7, with a mean of 97.2. Estimated planetary A indices were 17, 5, 3, 2, 2, 4, and 10, with a mean of 6.1. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 17, 5, 2, 1, 2, 4, and 10, with a mean of 5.9.
Source: The American Radio Relay League
• All propagation reports can be found at:
http://www.southgatearc.org/propagation
Friday, November 9, 2012
LOTW BACK UP from ARRL
11/08/2012
ARRL Information Technology Manager Michael Keane, K1MK, is reporting that while Logbook of The World (LoTW) system is currently down, it is expected to be back up by 9 AM EST (1400 UTC) on Friday, November 9. “While the system is temporarily down, radio amateurs are not able to access LoTW or upload their logs,” Keane explained. “No data has been lost, and everyone’s records are intact. We understand the problem and we are in the process of restoring service to LoTW. Since both the Logbook of The World service and the Online DXCC service are connected to the ARRL Awards System, radio amateurs are not able to access either service until the system is restored. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and want to assure the amateur community that the ARRL is working diligently to restore service to these popular programs.”
ARRL Information Technology Manager Michael Keane, K1MK, is reporting that while Logbook of The World (LoTW) system is currently down, it is expected to be back up by 9 AM EST (1400 UTC) on Friday, November 9. “While the system is temporarily down, radio amateurs are not able to access LoTW or upload their logs,” Keane explained. “No data has been lost, and everyone’s records are intact. We understand the problem and we are in the process of restoring service to LoTW. Since both the Logbook of The World service and the Online DXCC service are connected to the ARRL Awards System, radio amateurs are not able to access either service until the system is restored. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and want to assure the amateur community that the ARRL is working diligently to restore service to these popular programs.”
DX NEWS FROM 425 GROUP
-->
3W
Vietnam - UU5WW, UU0JR and UT5JCW will be active as
3W2J from Vietnam on 22-28 November. Main activity will be during the CQ WW DX CW Contest; outside the contest they
will operate CW, SSB and RTTY on 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 metres. All of the QSOs will be confirmed
automatically via the bureau and LoTW.
Direct cards via K2PF. OQRS will be provided by
Club Log. Further information can be found
at www.3w2j.com.
5R Madagascar IW1GIO is active as 5R8IO
from Nosy Be (AF-057),
Until 12
November. He operates CW on 30-10 meters.
QSL home call.
5X UGANDA - 5X8C will operate CW, SSB, and PSK on 160-6
meters with
six stations. QSL via F1NGP,
direct or bureau (OQRS
9H
Malta 9H3OG (QSL via DL4HG) and 9H3TX (QSL via DL5XAT) from Gozo, Malta on 21-26 November. Activity
will include a Multi-Two entry
in the CQ WW DX CW Contest as 9H3TX. [TNX NG3K]
9M6 East Malaysia- Saty, JE1JKL will participate
in the CQ WW DX
CW Contest as 9M6NA
(SOAB) from Labuan Island (OC-133
QSL via home calls,
direct or bureau, and LoTW. Email requests for bureau cards
can be sent to 9m6na[@]jsfc.org.
[TNX NG3K]
A3 Tonga
- Look for A31JY (Mat, JA1JQY), A31KJ (Sasi, JA1KJW), A31MA
(Karl,JA3MCA) and A31VE (Kuni, JA8VE) to be active from Tonga until 15 November. They operate SSB, CW and RTTY
on 160-10 QSL home calls.
C5 Gambia
ON7WP will be active as C5WP from The Gambia on 11-18 November. He will be QRV in his spare
time on 40-6 SSB running 50 watts into dipoles or a
vertical antenna. QSL via ON7WP
(direct only).
H4 Solomon
Islands will be active
as H44G from Guadalcanal on 8-25 March 2013. Part of the group will alsooperate as H40T from Nendo Island
on 12-23 March. They will
have "several stations" active on 160-6,
CW and SSB, plus one station dedicated exclusively to RTTY, PSK31 and SSTV. QSL
via DL7DF, direct or bureau.
Further information
and logsearch at www.dl7df.com/h4index.php.
JT Mongolia - JU850 is a
special prefix to be aired from Mongolian stations (JU850AA/3, JU850DA, JU850DN,
JU850CS etc) 14-21November to celebrate
the 850th anniversary of the birth of Genghis Khan. A free "Chinggis Khagan Award" will be issued by the Mongolian Radio Sport Federation
to those who make three contacts
with three different
JU850 callsigns; send your request with QSO detail information to mrsf[@]mrsf.mn
JU850 callsigns; send your request with QSO detail information to mrsf[@]mrsf.mn
KH0 Siapan JR1VAY will be active as AH2J/KH0
from Saipan on 9-12
November, including the Japan
International DX SSB and Worked All Europe
DX RTTY Contests. QSL JR1VAY,direct or bureau. [TNX NG3K]
OX Greenland
OZ1BII will be active
again as XP2I from 16-19 Nov. CW only and will articipate in the LZ DX Contest. He also
plans to be QRV on 160 and 80 metres during the night between
18 and 19 November.
VK9L Lord Howe
Island VK9/OH1VR
and VK9/OH3JR on 16-26 November.
They will operate CW, SSB and RTTY
on 160-6 qsl direct only.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Intruder Watch
I know that from time to time, over the course of the years, I have heard unusual signals on our bands. The International Amateur Radio Union, Region One, publishes a pdf report of recent intruders. Here is the link for some very interesting information.
http://www.iarums-r1.org/iarums/latest.pdf
http://www.iarums-r1.org/iarums/latest.pdf
This Weeks DX Contests
Some DX contests for this week..
WAE DX Contest RTTY:
0000Z, Nov 10 to 2359Z, Nov 11
Mode: RTTY
Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m
Classes: Single Op (High/Low), Multi-Op. SWL
Max operating hours: Single Op: 36 hours, off times in 1 to 3 parts, Multi-Single: 48 hours
Max power: HP: >100 Watts, LP: 100 Watts
Exchange: RS + Serial No.
Work stations: Once per band
Score Calculation: (see rules)
Submit logs by: November 26, 2012
E-mail logs to: waertty[at]dxhf[dot]darc[dot]de
Mail logs to: (none)
Find rules at: http://www.darc.de/referate/dx/contest/waedc/en/rules/
JIDX Phone Contest
0700Z, Nov 10 to 1300Z, Nov 11
Mode: SSB
Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m
Classes: Single Op All Band (Low/High)
Single Op Single Band (Low/High)
Multi-Single
Maritime Mobile
Max power: HP: >100W
LP: 100W
Exchange: JA: RST + Prefecture No. Non-JA: RST + CQ Zone No.
Work stations: Once per band
QSO Points: 2 points per JA-DX QSO on 80m
1 points per JA-DX QSO on 40, 20, 15m
2 points per JA-DX QSO on 10m
Multipliers: JA Stations: DXCC countries and CQ zones once per band. Non-JA Stations: JA prefectures plus JD1/O, JD1/MT, JD1/OT once per band
Score Calculation: Total score = total QSO points x total mults
Submit logs by: December 10, 2012
E-mail logs to: ph[at]jidx[dot]org
Mail logs to: JIDX Phone Contest
c/o Five-Nine Magazine
P.O. Box 59, Kamata
Tokyo 144-8691
Japan
Find rules at: http://www.jidx.org/jidxrule-e.html
OK/OM DX CW Contest
1200Z, Nov 10 to 1200Z, Nov 11
Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m
Classes: Single Op All Band (QRP/Low/High)
Single Op Single Band (Low/High)
Multi-Single
SWL
Max power: HP: 1500 watts
LP: 100 watts
QRP: 5 watts
Exchange: OK/OM: RST + 3-letter district code
Non-OK/OM: RST + Serial No.
Work stations: Once per band
QSO Points: OK/OM-Station: 1 point per QSO with EU station
OK/OM-Station: 3 points per QSO with DX station
EU-Station: 1 point per QSO with OK/OM station
DX-Station: 3 points per QSO with OK/OM station
Multipliers: OK/OM-Station: each prefix once per band
Non-OK/OM-Station: each OK/OM district once per band
Score Calculation: Total score = total QSO points x total mults
Submit logs by: December 1, 2012
E-mail logs to: okomdx[at]crk[dot]cz
Mail logs to: OK-OM DX Contest
CRK
P.O. Box 69
113 27 Praha 1
Czech Republic
Find rules at: http://okomdx.crk.cz/g.html
EANET Sprint
0800Z-1200Z, Nov 11
Mode: Any
Bands: Any
Classes: Individual (Spain/Non-Spain)
Club (Spain/Non-Spain)(Member/Friend)
Exchange: RS(T)
Work stations: Once
QSO Points: 1 point per QSO with an individual
3 points per QSO with a friend radio club
5 points per QSO with a member radio club
Multipliers: Each ISO 3166-1 country once Each continent once
Score Calculation: Total score = total QSO points x total countries x total continents
Submit logs by: November 25, 2012
E-mail logs to: eanet-sprint[at]fediea[dot]org
Mail logs to: (none)
Find rules at: http://www.fediea.org/news/?news=20120809&lang=en
Thanks to WA7BNM. Good Luck In The Contest!
WAE DX Contest RTTY:
0000Z, Nov 10 to 2359Z, Nov 11
Mode: RTTY
Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m
Classes: Single Op (High/Low), Multi-Op. SWL
Max operating hours: Single Op: 36 hours, off times in 1 to 3 parts, Multi-Single: 48 hours
Max power: HP: >100 Watts, LP: 100 Watts
Exchange: RS + Serial No.
Work stations: Once per band
Score Calculation: (see rules)
Submit logs by: November 26, 2012
E-mail logs to: waertty[at]dxhf[dot]darc[dot]de
Mail logs to: (none)
Find rules at: http://www.darc.de/referate/dx/contest/waedc/en/rules/
JIDX Phone Contest
0700Z, Nov 10 to 1300Z, Nov 11
Mode: SSB
Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m
Classes: Single Op All Band (Low/High)
Single Op Single Band (Low/High)
Multi-Single
Maritime Mobile
Max power: HP: >100W
LP: 100W
Exchange: JA: RST + Prefecture No. Non-JA: RST + CQ Zone No.
Work stations: Once per band
QSO Points: 2 points per JA-DX QSO on 80m
1 points per JA-DX QSO on 40, 20, 15m
2 points per JA-DX QSO on 10m
Multipliers: JA Stations: DXCC countries and CQ zones once per band. Non-JA Stations: JA prefectures plus JD1/O, JD1/MT, JD1/OT once per band
Score Calculation: Total score = total QSO points x total mults
Submit logs by: December 10, 2012
E-mail logs to: ph[at]jidx[dot]org
Mail logs to: JIDX Phone Contest
c/o Five-Nine Magazine
P.O. Box 59, Kamata
Tokyo 144-8691
Japan
Find rules at: http://www.jidx.org/jidxrule-e.html
OK/OM DX CW Contest
1200Z, Nov 10 to 1200Z, Nov 11
Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m
Classes: Single Op All Band (QRP/Low/High)
Single Op Single Band (Low/High)
Multi-Single
SWL
Max power: HP: 1500 watts
LP: 100 watts
QRP: 5 watts
Exchange: OK/OM: RST + 3-letter district code
Non-OK/OM: RST + Serial No.
Work stations: Once per band
QSO Points: OK/OM-Station: 1 point per QSO with EU station
OK/OM-Station: 3 points per QSO with DX station
EU-Station: 1 point per QSO with OK/OM station
DX-Station: 3 points per QSO with OK/OM station
Multipliers: OK/OM-Station: each prefix once per band
Non-OK/OM-Station: each OK/OM district once per band
Score Calculation: Total score = total QSO points x total mults
Submit logs by: December 1, 2012
E-mail logs to: okomdx[at]crk[dot]cz
Mail logs to: OK-OM DX Contest
CRK
P.O. Box 69
113 27 Praha 1
Czech Republic
Find rules at: http://okomdx.crk.cz/g.html
EANET Sprint
0800Z-1200Z, Nov 11
Mode: Any
Bands: Any
Classes: Individual (Spain/Non-Spain)
Club (Spain/Non-Spain)(Member/Friend)
Exchange: RS(T)
Work stations: Once
QSO Points: 1 point per QSO with an individual
3 points per QSO with a friend radio club
5 points per QSO with a member radio club
Multipliers: Each ISO 3166-1 country once Each continent once
Score Calculation: Total score = total QSO points x total countries x total continents
Submit logs by: November 25, 2012
E-mail logs to: eanet-sprint[at]fediea[dot]org
Mail logs to: (none)
Find rules at: http://www.fediea.org/news/?news=20120809&lang=en
Thanks to WA7BNM. Good Luck In The Contest!
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
DX NEWS From 425
3A MONACO - Look for Max, 3A/ON5UR and Marc, 3A/ON8AK to be active from Monaco on 9-17 November. They will operate SSB only on 80-10 metres. QSL
via M0URX. [TNX DX World]
5X UGANDA - Once again Nick, G3RWF will be QRV (hopefully also on 160 and 6
meters) as 5X1NH from Uganda starting on 6 November for five weeks. He prefers CW, with some activity on SSB and digital modes. QSL via home call, direct and bureau, and LoTW.
A5 BHUTAN - Zorro, JH1AJT will be active as A5A from Bhutan on 8-15 November. He will be QRV in his spare time on 40-10 meters. QSL via home
call, direct or bureau. [TNX JA1TRC]
CY0 SABLE IS.- Al, VE1AWW is going back to Sable Island (NA-063), and expects to remain there and be QRV in his spare time as CY0/homecall until
late December. He apologizes for "the great delay in QSL replies":
he plans to "sort through the backlog" while on the island, and
mail those cards on his return to the mainland. He prefers new
requests come by the bureau.
EL LIBERIA - The VooDoo Contest Group will participate in the CQ WW CW Contest as EL2A (Multi-Multi) from Liberia. QSL via G3SXW. Outside the
contest, possibly between 17 and 27 November, the team will
operate with their personal callsigns: AA7A as EL2ES, G3SXW as
EL2A, G4BWP as EL2WP, G4IRN as EL2RN, KC7V as EL2MF, KY7M as EL2LF
and N7CW as EL2WS. QSL EL2WP via G5LP, others via home call. Logs
will be uploaded to LoTW and Club Log (with OQRS) as soon as
possible. [TNX G3SXW]
ET ETHIOPIA - The Ethiopian Amateur Radio Club, ET3AA (http://et3aa.com/), is commemorating their mentor, Sid T. May (ET3SID), who passed away
in late September. Activity started on 29 October and will go on
until they make 10,000 QSOs. The QSL manager for this event is
N2OO.
PY0S ST PETER & PAUL ROCKS- The PT0S DXpedition [425DXN 1109] team members (AA7JV, HA7RY, PP5XX and PY2XB) are on schedule to leave the city of Natal on 5 November, and to arrive at St. Peter & St. Paul Rocks on the 9th.
It will then take one day to set up. There will be a dedicated
station operating on 160 metres from sunset to sunrise, while a
second station will be on 80 and 40 metres at night. During the
day there will be two stations on the higher bands - and 6 metres
- depending on conditions. RTTY will also be supported. QSL via
HA7RY (OQRS for direct and bureau cards will be available on the
website) and LoTW (the logs will be uploaded "generally within 36
hours of the QSO taking place"). For further information and
regular updates please visit http://pt0s.com/
S7 SEYCHELLES - Hardy, DL8NU will be active as S79NU from Mahe (AF-024),
Seychelles on 9-24 November. He will operate mainly CW. QSL via
home call.
V8 BRUNEI - Announced frequencies for the 11-23 November V84SMD activity from Brunei [425DXN 1100] are:
CW 1826.5 3505 7005 10105 14025 18075 21025 24895 28025 50101
SSB 1840 3799 7080 - 14200 18145 21295 24950 28470 50130
RTTY - 3600 7040 10140 14085 18100 21080 24930 28085
A team of 23 operators will be active with seven
stations from two different sites. QSL via IK2VUC. Further
information, including QSL-ing policy and log-search, can be found
at http://www.mdxc.org/v84smd
via M0URX. [TNX DX World]
5X UGANDA - Once again Nick, G3RWF will be QRV (hopefully also on 160 and 6
meters) as 5X1NH from Uganda starting on 6 November for five weeks. He prefers CW, with some activity on SSB and digital modes. QSL via home call, direct and bureau, and LoTW.
A5 BHUTAN - Zorro, JH1AJT will be active as A5A from Bhutan on 8-15 November. He will be QRV in his spare time on 40-10 meters. QSL via home
call, direct or bureau. [TNX JA1TRC]
CY0 SABLE IS.- Al, VE1AWW is going back to Sable Island (NA-063), and expects to remain there and be QRV in his spare time as CY0/homecall until
late December. He apologizes for "the great delay in QSL replies":
he plans to "sort through the backlog" while on the island, and
mail those cards on his return to the mainland. He prefers new
requests come by the bureau.
EL LIBERIA - The VooDoo Contest Group will participate in the CQ WW CW Contest as EL2A (Multi-Multi) from Liberia. QSL via G3SXW. Outside the
contest, possibly between 17 and 27 November, the team will
operate with their personal callsigns: AA7A as EL2ES, G3SXW as
EL2A, G4BWP as EL2WP, G4IRN as EL2RN, KC7V as EL2MF, KY7M as EL2LF
and N7CW as EL2WS. QSL EL2WP via G5LP, others via home call. Logs
will be uploaded to LoTW and Club Log (with OQRS) as soon as
possible. [TNX G3SXW]
ET ETHIOPIA - The Ethiopian Amateur Radio Club, ET3AA (http://et3aa.com/), is commemorating their mentor, Sid T. May (ET3SID), who passed away
in late September. Activity started on 29 October and will go on
until they make 10,000 QSOs. The QSL manager for this event is
N2OO.
PY0S ST PETER & PAUL ROCKS- The PT0S DXpedition [425DXN 1109] team members (AA7JV, HA7RY, PP5XX and PY2XB) are on schedule to leave the city of Natal on 5 November, and to arrive at St. Peter & St. Paul Rocks on the 9th.
It will then take one day to set up. There will be a dedicated
station operating on 160 metres from sunset to sunrise, while a
second station will be on 80 and 40 metres at night. During the
day there will be two stations on the higher bands - and 6 metres
- depending on conditions. RTTY will also be supported. QSL via
HA7RY (OQRS for direct and bureau cards will be available on the
website) and LoTW (the logs will be uploaded "generally within 36
hours of the QSO taking place"). For further information and
regular updates please visit http://pt0s.com/
S7 SEYCHELLES - Hardy, DL8NU will be active as S79NU from Mahe (AF-024),
Seychelles on 9-24 November. He will operate mainly CW. QSL via
home call.
V8 BRUNEI - Announced frequencies for the 11-23 November V84SMD activity from Brunei [425DXN 1100] are:
CW 1826.5 3505 7005 10105 14025 18075 21025 24895 28025 50101
SSB 1840 3799 7080 - 14200 18145 21295 24950 28470 50130
RTTY - 3600 7040 10140 14085 18100 21080 24930 28085
A team of 23 operators will be active with seven
stations from two different sites. QSL via IK2VUC. Further
information, including QSL-ing policy and log-search, can be found
at http://www.mdxc.org/v84smd
The Dissapearing IRC
It seems that the International Reply Coupons are slated to go the way of the Edsel and Dodo bird if the US Postal Service has their way.
From the ARRL web page News section:
11/06/2012
If the US Postal Service (USPS) gets its way, it will no longer sell International Reply Coupons (IRCs) after January 27, 2013. According to the October 23 edition of the Federal Register, there is not sufficient demand for the USPS to continue offering IRCs to customers; however, per the Universal Postal Union (UPU) regulations, the USPS must continue to exchange (redeem) IRCs that have been purchased in foreign countries and presented at USPS facilities. The current Nairobi model is valid through December 31, 2013. Comments on this proposed change will be accepted through November 23, 2012.
IRCs provide foreign addressees with a prepaid means of responding to inquiries, solicitations or other types of communications -- such as QSL cards -- that are initiated by US senders. IRCs are exchangeable for postage stamps by postal administrations in member countries of the UPU. Each IRC is equivalent in value to the destination country’s minimum postage price for an unregistered airmail letter. The purchase price is in the US is currently $2.20 per IRC. -- Thanks to The Daily DX for some information.
From the ARRL web page News section:
11/06/2012
If the US Postal Service (USPS) gets its way, it will no longer sell International Reply Coupons (IRCs) after January 27, 2013. According to the October 23 edition of the Federal Register, there is not sufficient demand for the USPS to continue offering IRCs to customers; however, per the Universal Postal Union (UPU) regulations, the USPS must continue to exchange (redeem) IRCs that have been purchased in foreign countries and presented at USPS facilities. The current Nairobi model is valid through December 31, 2013. Comments on this proposed change will be accepted through November 23, 2012.
IRCs provide foreign addressees with a prepaid means of responding to inquiries, solicitations or other types of communications -- such as QSL cards -- that are initiated by US senders. IRCs are exchangeable for postage stamps by postal administrations in member countries of the UPU. Each IRC is equivalent in value to the destination country’s minimum postage price for an unregistered airmail letter. The purchase price is in the US is currently $2.20 per IRC. -- Thanks to The Daily DX for some information.
LOTW OFFLINE
From the DX-World.net web site:
http://dx-world.net/2012/lotw-lost-data/
DX World.net has learned that up to 45% of [recently] uploaded logs and delivered awards / DXCC certificates have been lost due to corrupted database / backups. It’s currently unknown if the missing data can be retrieved.
As can be seen from the latest message on the ARRL LoTW homepage, the Logbook team is currently investigating the issue.
Earlier, users were seeing this particular message as they tried to log-in:
Fatal error: initializeLOTWDB: -709 – CONNECT: (cannot connect to server socket): General database error [initializeLOTWDB: -709 – CONNECT: (cannot connect to server socket)
More details as we get them. Hopefully problems can be resolved.
ED: I tried to access LOTW and received a similiar error on 11/06
http://dx-world.net/2012/lotw-lost-data/
DX World.net has learned that up to 45% of [recently] uploaded logs and delivered awards / DXCC certificates have been lost due to corrupted database / backups. It’s currently unknown if the missing data can be retrieved.
As can be seen from the latest message on the ARRL LoTW homepage, the Logbook team is currently investigating the issue.
Earlier, users were seeing this particular message as they tried to log-in:
Fatal error: initializeLOTWDB: -709 – CONNECT: (cannot connect to server socket): General database error [initializeLOTWDB: -709 – CONNECT: (cannot connect to server socket)
More details as we get them. Hopefully problems can be resolved.
ED: I tried to access LOTW and received a similiar error on 11/06
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