Sunday, January 28, 2018

Thailand

My dear friend, Mary Lou, is again on another grand bicycle adventure with, this time in Thailand.
Here is her latest report:

Have I mentioned Thai Tamales? Along the road and at gas stations there are many small vendors, most selling one or two different things. We often see these banana leaf wrapped packages that have been either smoked or steamed. You unwrap the package of two layers of leaves and there is a 2 x 3 inch piece of sticky rice stuffed with a shredded pork, just like you unwrap the corn leaves of a tamale. This is stick to your ribs good food. As we move farther south the rice is now stuck inside a stick of bamboo and steamed.
The Yellow flower tree: In the beginning of the season these trees are all fluffy and full of pretty leaves, as time goes on the beauty fads and the gift of shade is soon gone as well. But like a beautiful women who’s beauty fads as time passes the true gifts begin to show. This tree becomes covered with magnificent yellow flowers the true gift of beauty is not covered in leaves but displayed on barren branches for all to appreciate. 
I also wonder about the lost flip flop. On the road side there are many single lost shoes, how does that happen that someone only looses one … what happens to the other one? Is it the flip or the flop that is laying there?
Cattle in the dried fields do not look like ours. These beasts have very long legs and very long floppy ears. Even the very large ones with bellies down almost to their knees have their ribs showing through their hide. Each animal is on a rope and staked out away from any others.
No Smoking! Thailand is trying to discourage smoking. There are nasty warnings and even gross photos on the packages that show you what cancer looks like. Restaurants and public places are all no smoking.
Work out equipment is everywhere. The government is trying to get the population to be healthier. Parks, Wats, fronts of factories all have these bright colored equipment gyms out side in the hot sun. There are also many private gyms and clubs which we had not ever noticed available before. They have embraced wearing sweat pants and work out gear everywhere and by all.
Bike Shops As part of the fitness push there are some really nice bike shops that are making high end bikes available. We spent some time in one today getting Bruce’s brakes worked on. They had every gadget you could imagine, all kinds of lights and holders for your phone, long fingered gloves (for when it gets down to 70 at night? ) Most of the brands were the same ones we have but the keen bike shoes were about ½ the price as well as the gloves, a bike chain was only 10$
Dogs and Cats  There are a lot more cats here and the house kept ones are pampered, There also are a lot of wild ones which really keep the rodent population down and who hang out near the food stalls waiting to be fed the scrapes. Dogs do not often seem to be kept as pets in the house as much. They have a job to do and are not pampered or in the house , except those small little fluffy things the old ladies seem to keep. The grounds near all the Wats have many dogs that are very peaceful and fed by the monks.
Night food markets are in every town. The vendors each have a small cart of some kind and none have refrigeration. The hot pot for noodles is boiling and they dip the noodles in a wire basket into the hearty stock. What ever the stock was made with is on the counter to be chopped and added back to your plate. Various vegetables and meats are available as well as each cook has their secret combination of sauces to add. There are fried rice booths with sizzling woks, deep fried chicken and grasshoppers, egg rolls and Vietnamese spring rolls, soft noodle wrapped laub, tapioca balls and crispy filled omelets .
A mixture of flavors is evident along the Mekong as for so many centuries the trade route and recent century refugees escaping the wars and persecution  by going down river these people have brought their traditional foods and religions with them. The temples and Wats have very different distinct styles as does the foods.
The Hotel we are staying in is the fanciest we have been in so far. There is a grand entrance with restaurant and lounge and coffee shop a large fountain all on marble floors and 2 bikes across from the grand front desk. That’s where they wanted us to leave them. We are at 500 miles and thought we needed a break and a pool, there has been no one else at the pool but us.  Our next few days will be heading west and we are much farther south so it is getting very hot by noon when the pavement heats up…. We leave as soon as it is light enough to ride…. We have to go to bed early but there has been no night life to miss.
 Thanks for reading
ML

Carved Doors

Dinner

Dragons

Fish Farm

Altar in Buddhist Temple

Laos Across The River

Work Out Bikes

Temple Gates

Street Food

Fat TiresAdd caption  

street food.jpg

425 DX Group Info 27 Jan 2018

27 January 2018                                          A.R.I. DX Bulletin
                                   No 1395
                          ===========================
                          *** 4 2 5  D X  N E W S ***
                          *******   CALENDAR  *******
                          ===========================
                           Edited by  I1JQJ & IK1ADH
                         Direttore  Responsabile I2VGW

PERIOD           CALL                                                   REF
till  27/01      II4GV: special callsign                               1380
till  27/01      J88PI: Palm Island (NA-025)                           1393
till  28/01      GB2KW: special event station (Scotland)               1391
till  29/01      ET3AA: Ethiopia                                       1394
till  29/01      ZL/HA5OJ: South Island (OC-134)                       1386
till  30/01      9M2MRS: Penang Island (AS-015), West Malaysia         1349
till  30/01      C5YK: The Gambia                                      1386
till  30/01      HS0ZEG: Thailand                                      1391
till  31/01      LZ1883PSS: special callsign                           1392
till  31/01      P4/DL4MM: Aruba (SA-036)                              1393
till  31/01      V5/DK7PE: Namibia                                     1394
till  31/01      ZC4A: UK Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus               1389
till  03/02      J68HZ: St Lucia (NA-108)                              1395
till  04/02      VP5/N9EAJ: Turks Islands (NA-003)                     1387
till  06/02      OR4ESA: special callsign                              1395
till  07/02      9Z4/DL9OBQ: Trinidad (SA-011)                         1390
till  08/02      PJ2/PA0VDV: Curacao (SA-099)                          1392
till  10/02      HC1MD: Ecuador                                        1394
till  15/02      K1VSJ: Key Colony Beach (NA-062)                      1393
till  16/02      CU8FN and CR2W: Flores Island (EU-089), Azores        1394
till  21/02      J52EC: Guinea-Bissau                                  1393
till  25/02      HL0WOP: special callsign                              1386
till  28/02      DT23WOP: special event station                        1388
till  28/02      VI70HI: special callsign (Australia)                  1390
till  February   DP0GVN: Neumayer III base (Antarctica)                1332
till  February   RI1ANC: Vostok Station (Antarctica)                   1333
till  25/03      4S7KKG: Sri Lanka (AS-003)                            1381
till  31/03      4U13FEB: special callsign (Italy)                     1395
till  31/03      RI50ANO:  Bellinghausen, South Shetlands (AN-010)     1387
till  04/04      V31AX: Belize                                         1393
till  April      VP8DPJ: Adelaide Island (AN-001), Antarctica          1331
till  31/05      5V1JE: Togo                                           1385
till  01/06      JW4JSA: Bear Island (EU-027), Svalbard                1388
till  30/06      DM90AIW: special event station                        1391
till  30/06      HH70A: special callsign                               1391
till  30/06      VR20: special prefix (Hong Kong)                      1364
till  24/08      II6CNT: special calsign                               1373
till  August     UA4RX/1 (RI1FJ): Heiss Isl (EU-019), Franz Josef Land 1374
till  31/12      5W20SAMOA: special callsign (Samoa, OC-097)           1392
till  31/12      9A36W and 9A61AA: special callsigns                   1391
till  31/12      DA200FWR: special callsign                            1391
till  31/12      DJ70WAE: special callsign                             1391
till  31/12      DK200MARX: special callsign                           1391
till  31/12      EI100MCV: special callsign                            1391
till  31/12      IR0FOC: special callsign (Sardinia)                   1394
till  31/12      LM90C, LM90HQ, LM90NRRL: special callsigns            1393
27/01-28/01      OC4MS: special station                                1393
27/01-31/01      T88PB: Koror (OC-009), Palau                          1389
27/01-01/02      PU0F/PU2XDX: Fernando de Noronha (SA-003)             1394
27/01-01/02      PY0F/PY2NDX: Fernando de Noronha (SA-003)             1394
28/01-05/02      C8X and C81G: Ibo Island (AF-061)                     1393
28/01-10/02      D68I: Comoro Islands (AF-007)                         1391
29/01-12/02      V47UR: St. Kitts (NA-104)                             1393
29/01-15/03      FG/F6ITD and TO7D: Guadeloupe (NA-102)                1393
30/01-10/02      YB9/F5LIT: Bali Island (OC-022)                       1393
January          3D2JS: Fiji (OC-016)                                  1391
January          3G9A/mm: team Bouvet enroute to 3Y0Z                  1395
January          3W9FB: Vietnam                                        1391
January          EI50AOM: special event station                        1391
January          GB1GW: special callsign (England)                     1389
January          H44DA: Solomon Islands (OC-047)                       1389
January          II4MXW: special callsign                              1391
January          JW2US: Bear Island (EU-027), Svalbard                 1384
January          PF2018LWD: special callsign                           1387
January          RI1ANA: Molodezhnaya Station, Antarctica (AN-016)     1391
January          VQ920JC: Diego Garcia (AF-006), Chagos Islands        1392
January          Z60A: Kosovo                                          1395
01/02-07/02      P29VXG: New Britain Island (OC-008), PNG              1389
01/02-15/02      HP8/W1USN and HP8/AA1M: Panama                        1395
01/02-28/02      LY100A-LY100Z: special callsigns                      1395
01/02-28/02      LZ250MT: special callsign                             1392
02/02-05/02      JD1BNA: Bonin Islands (AS-031), Ogasawara             1395
02/02-25/02      TM15AAW: special callsign (France)                    1395
04/02-01/04      VY0ERC: Ellesmere Island (NA-008)                     1395
06/02-20/02      C6AKQ, C6ARU, C6AUM: Great Abaco (NA-080), Bahamas    1395
07/02-25/02      V31TF and V31RU: Belize                               1395
08/02-14/02      V31JZ/p: South Water Caye (NA-180), Belize            1393
09/02-12/02      MT0IXD: Isle of Man (EU-116)                          1395
09/02-16/02      C5DX: The Gambia                                      1391
11/02-26/02      TM6C: special callsign (France)                       1395
12/02-20/02      P40W: Aruba (SA-036)                                  1395
13/02-20/02      CN2DF and CN2FR: Morocco                              1391
13/02-20/02      VP5/K0PC: Caicos Islands (NA-002)                     1395
15/02-10/05      HR5/F2JD: Honduras                                    1391
23/02-12/03      FG/F6HMQ, FG/F6GWV, TO3Z: Guadeloupe (NA-102)         1395
23/02-16/03      3D2EU: Rotuma Island (OC-060)                         1387
February         3D2JS: Fiji (OC-016)                                  1391
February         3W9DLE: Vietnam                                       1395
February         3W9FB: Vietnam                                        1391
February         3Y0Z: Bouvet Island                                   1395
February         6W/ON4AVT: Senegal                                    1395
February         DU3/F4EBK: Luzon Island (OC-042), Philippines         1395
February         EI50AOM: special event station                        1391
February         GB1FWW: special callsign (England)                    1389
February         H44MS: Solomon Islands                                1381
February         HK1/LU9EFO and HK3TU/1: Rosario Islands (SA-040)      1385
February         HK4/LU9EFO and HK3TU/4: Titumate Islands (SA-093)     1385
February         II4HRZ: special callsign                              1391
February         JW2US: Bear Island (EU-027), Svalbard                 1384
February         PF2018SNK: special callsign                           1387
February         RI1ANA: Molodezhnaya Station, Antarctica (AN-016)     1391
01/03-15/03      4B4B: Socorro Island (NA-030), Revillagigedo          1389
01/03-31/03      LZ40MS: special callsign                              1392
02/03-11/03      Z2LA: Zimbabwe                                        1395
02/03-15/03      XR0YD: Easter Island (SA-001)                         1387
07/03-18/03      TY: Benin                                             1393
09/03-17/03      XX9B: Macao                                           1395
10/03-17/03      TX5X: Tahiti (OC-046), French Polynesia               1395
10/03-20/03      9M0W: Spratly Islands (AS-051)                        1379
13/03-18/03      DU1/SP5APW: Palawan Island (OC-128)                   1393
20/03-04/04      FK/5B4ALX: New Caledonia (OC-032)                     1395
24/03-02/04      7Q7EI: Malawi                                         1395
March            3D2JS: Fiji (OC-016)                                  1391
March            3W9DLE: Vietnam                                       1395
March            D2TI: Tigres Island (AF-108)                          1374
March            EI50AOM: special event station                        1391
March            GB2GW: special callsign (England)                     1389
March            H44MS: Solomon Islands                                1381
March            II4CAO: special callsign                              1391
March            JW2US: Bear Island (EU-027), Svalbard                 1384
March            PF2018YLS: special callsign                           1387
01/04-30/04      LZ362ME: special callsign                             1392
05/04-17/04      3B7A: Saint Brandon Islands (AF-015)                  1392
17/04-29/04      YJ0AG: Efate (OC-035), Vanuatu                        1393
22/04-25/04      H4: Mbanika Island (OC-168) * by VE3LYC and H44MS     1394
26/04-27/04      H4: Florida Islands (OC-158) * by VE3LYC              1394
29/04-03/05      C96RRC: Mozambique Island (AF-088)                    1392
29/04-03/05      H40: Duff Islands (OC-179) * by VE3LYC                1394
April            3W9DLE: Vietnam                                       1395
April            GB2FWW: special callsign (England)                    1389
April            H44MS: Solomon Islands                                1381
April            II4MAR: special callsign                              1391
April            JW2US: Bear Island (EU-027), Svalbard                 1384
April            PF2018SLO: special callsign                           1387
01/05-23/05      OZ18ICE and 5P8ICE: special event stations            1395
01/05-31/05      LZ110SAE: special callsign                            1392
05/05-09/05      C98RRC: Inhaca Island (AF-066)                        1392
May              GB4GW: special callsign (England)                     1389
May              H44MS: Solomon Islands                                1381
May              II4TES: special callsign                              1391
May              JW2US: Bear Island (EU-027), Svalbard                 1384
May              PF2018BOL: special callsign                           1387
01/06-30/06      LZ430PPW: special callsign                            1392
June             GB4FWW: special callsign (England)                    1389
June             II4AMP: special callsign                              1391
June             KH1/KH7Z: Baker Island (OC-089)                       1389
June             PF2018HIN: special callsign                           1387
June             VK5CE/6: Direction Island (OC-140)                    1393
June             VK5CE/6: East Lewis Island (OC-199)                   1393
June             VK5CE/6: Woody Island (OC-170)                        1393
01/07-31/07      LZ380PM: special callsign                             1392
July             GB5GW: special callsign (England)                     1389
July             II4COU: special callsign                              1391
July             PF2018FRA: special callsign                           1387
01/08-09/08      CY9C: St. Paul Island (NA-094)                        1377
01/08-31/08      LZ1146SPS: special callsign                           1392
August           GB5FWW: special callsign (England)                    1389
August           II4VOL: special callsign                              1391
August           PF2018HAR: special callsign                           1387
01/09-30/09      LZ920MLC: special callsign                            1392
September        GB6GW: special callsign (England)                     1389
September        II4LNZ: special callsign                              1391
September        PF2018DOK: special callsign                           1387
01/10-31/10      LZ1545POA: special callsign                           1392
20/10-03/11      VP6D: Ducie Island (OC-182)                           1387
October          GB6FWW: special callsign (England)                    1389
October          II4OER: special callsign                              1391
October          PF2018WOR: special callsign                           1387
01/11-30/11      LZ33MM: special callsign                              1392
10/11-11/11      GB0AD: special callsign (England)                     1389
November         GB8GW: special callsign (England)                     1389
November         II4HNR: special callsign                              1391
November         PF2018STA: special callsign                           1387
01/12-31/12      LZ532PSO: special callsign                            1392
December         II4FRD: special callsign                              1391
December         PF2018xxx: special callsigns                          1387
TBA              DU1UD/8: OC-105 and OC-174                            1387
TBA              VK5MAV/9: Cato Reef (OC-265)                          1393

***************************************************************************


27 January 2018                                           A.R.I. DX Bulletin
                                   No 1395

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

                         >>> REPUBLIC OF KOSOVO  <<< 
                         >>>   NEW DXCC ENTITY   <<< 

At its latest meeting (19-20 January) the ARRL Board of Directors approved a
motion to amend the  DXCC Rules. Section II (DXCC List Criteria), Subsection
1 (Political Entities) now includes a fourth criterion:
(d) The entity has a separate IARU member society [1] and is included on the
    US State Department Independent States in the World [2].
An Entity must be on both lists in order to qualify for separate listing  as
a Political Entity under this new criterion.
In fact, the Republic of Kosovo (Z6) has  been  added to  the  DXCC List  of
current Entities, increasing the total number of  current  DXCC Entities  to
340. The addition of Kosovo raises  to 331  the required number  of  current
Entities confirmed to qualify for DXCC Honor Roll; Top of Honor Roll is 340.
DXCC Award accounts are being tabulated to reflect the change.
This change qualifies as an "event," effective on 21 January 2018,  at 00.00
UTC. Nothing is retroactive. Kosovo's DXCC Entity code is 522.

                         >>> 3Y0Z: BOUVET ISLAND <<<

"Today, the seas remained relatively calm, but the temperature  has  dropped
significantly, and the wind velocity is increasing", the 3Y0Z team  reported
on 25 January. "We passed another iceberg today.  The weather is supposed to
deteriorate tomorrow".  They  are  active  as 3G9A/mm, and  "propagation  is
becoming closer to that predicted in  our model.  Once we are on the  island
and have better antennas with no noise, we expect we will hear  much better.
Right now, signals are fairly weak,  but definitely there  under some  local
noise from the ship".  The  team is "well past the half-way point" of  their
voyage. See  http://www.bouvetdx.org/ for news  and  updates, and follow the
M/V Betanzos' progress on https://share.garmin.com/bouvet.

6W     - Willy, ON4AVT will  be  active  holiday  style  as  6W/ON4AVT  from
         Senegal sometime in February.  He will operate PSK31, PSK63 and SSB
         on 20 metres. QSL via bureau to home call and eQSL.
7Q     - The EIDX Group will be active as 7Q7EI  from  Malawi  [425DXN 1382]
         from 24 March to 2 April, CQ WW WPX SSB Contest included.  Thirteen
         operators will be QRV on 160-10 metres  SSB, CW and RTTY with  four
         stations.  The logs will be uploaded to Club Log on a  daily basis.
         QSL via M0OXO's OQRS (direct or bureau);  traditional  cards direct
         only to M0OXO. See http://7q7ei.com/ for more information.
C6     - Bob N4BP (C6AKQ), Tim N4UM (C6ARU) and  Mike K4RUM (C6AUM)  will be
         active  again  from  Marsh Harbor,  Great Abaco  (NA-080)  on  6-20
         February. They will operate mainly CW on 160-6 metres. Plans are to
         participate in the CQ WPX RTTY (10-11 February) and ARRL DX CW (17-
         18 February) contests.  QSL C6AKQ via N4BP  (direct) and LoTW;  QSL
         C6ARU via  N4UM  (direct, no LoTW);  QSL C6AUM via  K4RUM (direct),
         LoTW and eQSL with logsearch on Club Log. [TNX The Daily DX]
DU     - Chris, F4EBK will be active again  as DU3/F4EBK  from  the  city of
         Baliuag on  Luzon Island (OC-042)  sometime  in  February.  He will
         operate SSB on  20, 15 and 10m.  QSL  via  operator's instructions.
         [TNX NG3K]
F      - Francois, F8DVD will be active as TM15AAW between 2 and 25 February
         including the 15th  Antarctic  Activity  Week (17-25 February).  He
         will operate on 40-10 metres mostly SSB from his home QTH in Macon,
         France. QSL via home call, direct or bureau, and LoTW; logsearch on
         Club Log. [TNX F8DVD]
F      - Members of Radio  Club  F6KMB  will  be  active  as  TM6C  on 11-26
         February during  the  traditional  Dunkirk  Carnival  (Carnaval  de
         Dunkerque). QSL via F6KMB. [TNX F8REF]
FG     - Gildas, F6HMQ and Michel, F6GWV will be active  again  as  FG/F6HMQ
         and FG/F6GWV from Guadeloupe (NA-102) from 23 February to 12 March.
         QSL via  home  calls.  They will  participate  in  the  ARRL DX SSB
         Contest as TO3Z (QSL via F6HMQ). [TNX NG3K]
FK     - Alex,  5B4ALX  (IZ4AMS)  will  be  active  as  FK/5B4ALX  from  New
         Caledonia  (OC-032)  from  20 March to 4 April,  CQ WPX SSB Contest
         included. He will operate  SSB, CW, JT65 and RTTY  on  80-6 metres.
         QSL via Club Log's OQRS  or  via  IZ4AMS  (direct or bureau).  More
         information on http://www.5b4alx.cloud/.
FO     - Will, W0ZRJ and Bill, KH6OO will  be  active  as  TX5X from  Tahiti
         (OC-046),  French Polynesia on  10-17 March.  They will operate CW,
         FT8, JT9 and JT65 on 40-10 metres. QSL via LoTW, eQSL or Club Log's
         OQRS. All QSOs will be confirmed automatically via the bureau. 
GD     - GM0OBX, MM0OKG and  MM0VPY  will  be  active  as  MT0IXD  from  the
         Scarlett Point station (http://scarlettpoint.im/site/) on the  Isle
         of Man (EU-116) on 9-12 February.  They  will operate  SSB, CW  and
         RTTY, and will  participate  in  the  CQ WPX RTTY Contest.  QSL via
         M0OXO's OQRS and LoTW. [TNX NG3K]
HP     - Mike, W1USN and Bob, AA1M will be active as HP8/W1USN and  HP8/AA1M
         from Panama on 1-15 February. They will operate CW, SSB and digital
         modes on the HF bands.  QSL via LoTW, or  via home calls (direct or
         bureau). [TNX The Daily DX]
I      - The  United Nations Global Service Center ARC (4U1GSC) in  Brindisi
         is active as 4U13FEB until 31 March to promote and celebrate  World
         Radio Day (13 February).  DXCC wise, it counts  for Italy.  QSL via
         9A2AA.
J6     - Bill, K9HZ has been active again as  J68HZ  from  St Lucia (NA-108)
         since 20 January, and will remain there until 3 February. He is QRV
         daily between 12 and 6 UTC, on 160-6 metres. QSL via LoTW, eQSL, or
         direct to K9HZ.
JD1_oga- Kazu, JD1BNA  will  be  active  from  the  Bonin Islands  (AS-031),
         Ogasawara on 2-5 February.  He will be QRV mainly on 160, 80 and 40
         metres. QSL direct to JL1UTS. [TNX DX World]
LY     - Special callsigns from LY100A to LY100Z  will  be  active  on  1-28
         February in celebration of  the  100th anniversary  of  Lithuania's
         independence. The activity is organized by  the  Lithuanian Amateur
         Radio Society (http://lrmd.lt/). QSL via LY1RMD.
ON     - Javier, EA1HEO is active as OR4ESA from the European Space Agency's
         site in Redu, Belgium until February 6.  He operates SSB, RTTY  and
         PSK31 approximately between  18 and 21 UTC  from  Monday to Friday.
         QSL via LoTW, eQSL or via  DL0ESA (direct or bureau);  logsearch on
         Club Log.
OZ     - Special event stations OZ18ICE and  5P8ICE will  be active  on  all
         bands and modes for the Ice Hockey World Championship to be held in
         Denmark on  1-23 May.  See qrz.com for information about the awards
         issued for working these stations.  QSL via  Club Log's OQRS,  LoTW
         and eQSL. [TNX OZ4FF]
P4     - John, W2GD will operate  again as P40W from Aruba (SA-036) on 12-20
         February.  Main activity  will be  during  the  ARRL DX CW Contest;
         activity outside the contest will include 160, 30, 17 and 12 metres
         as time allows. QSL via LoTW or N2MM (direct only). [TNX NG3K]
V3     - Torsten, DG7RO Alexandra, DO5ALX will be active again as V31TF  and
         V31RU from Belize on 7-25 February, including  activity during  the
         CQ WPX RTTY, ARRL DX CW and CQ WW 160-Meter  SSB contests.  QSL via
         home calls, direct or bureau,  and LoTW;  logsearches on  Club Log.
         [TNX DX World]
VE     - Pierre, VE3KTB and  Alex, VE1RUS will  be  active again  as  VY0ERC
         approximately  from  4 February  to  1 April.  This is  the  Eureka
         Amateur Radio Club station located in the  environs of the  weather
         station on  Ellesmere Island (NA-008).  They will  be QRV in  their
         spare time, most likely on 40 and 20 metres  SSB, digital and  very
         slow CW. QSL via M0OXO's OQRS. [TNX DX World]
VP5    - Pat, K0PC will be active as VP5/K0PC from  Providenciales (NA-002),
         Caicos Islands on 13-20 February.  He will operate VP5K during  the
         ARRL DX CW Contest  (17-18 February).  QSL for both  callsigns  via
         LoTW,  Club Log's OQRS  or  via K0PC  (direct or bureau).  [TNX The
         Daily DX]
XW     - Charles, W0DLE will be active as 3W9DLE  from  Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
         "for 90 days in February, March and April". He will operate CW, FT8
         and some SSB, with main activity during the ARRL DX CW Contest (17-
         18 February ) and  the  Russian  DX CW Contest  (17-18 March).  QSL
         direct to W0DLE. [TNX The Daily DX]
XX9    - With the assistance of XX9LT, a  team  from  Brazil  (PP1CZ, PR7AB,
         PY2MC, PY2SEX, PY2WAS,  PY3MM,  PY4BZ,  PY5HSD,  PY5KD,  PY6RT  and
         PY7XC) will be active as XX9B from Macao on  9-17 March.  They will
         operate CW, SSB and  digital modes  (especially RTTY and FT8)  with
         three stations on  160-10 metres.  QSL via Club Log's OQRS,  or via
         PP1CZ. More information on http://xx9b.py2sex.com/.
Z2     - Rune LA7THA, Arne LA7WCA and  Thor LA9VPA  will be  active  holiday
         style as Z2LA (http://www.la9vpa.com/z2la/)from  Zimbabwe  on  2-11
         March.  They  will operate  SSB and CW  on  160-10 metres.  QSL via
         M0OXO's OQRS and logsearch on Club Log.
Z6     - Kosovo's IARU member society (SHRAK) and its president Vjollca Caka
         (Z61VB) are hosting an activation to celebrate the 10th anniversary
         of Kosovo's independence.  SHRAK Headquarters station  Z60A now  is
         active on several  bands  from  two operating sites  with  multiple
         local and guest operators.  QSL via Club Log's OQRS,  or via OH2BH.

                         ===========================
                         *** 4 2 5  D X  N E W S ***
                         ****  GOOD TO KNOW ... ****
                         ===========================
                          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!

KOSOVO & TQSL ---> A new Logbook of The World (LoTW) TQSL configuration file
(v.11.4) was released on 23 January. Radio amateurs outside of Kosovo should
continue to upload their logs to LoTW in the usual manner. LoTW users within
Kososvo (either with a Z6 call sign  or  reciprocal  call sign  Z6/homecall)
will use TQSL to request a new  call sign certificate  for their  call sign.
The request will use Republic of Kososvo  as  the  DXCC Entity, and  the QSO
Begin date  will be  21 January 2018 or later.  LoTW will  reject  call sign
certificate requests for the Republic of Kosovo with a QSO Begin date  prior
to 21 January 2018.  Z6 users requesting call sign certificates may e-mail a
copy of their Amateur Radio license to LoTW-Help@arrl.org.

QSL VIA N2OO ---> "With the 3Y0Z QSL project fast approaching, now would  be
a good time to request any other QSLs that I handle",  Bob N2OO says.  "Once
the 3Y0Z and 3G9A/mm mail starts up, all other  QSL operations here will  be
delayed. For a full list of who I handle and how to request cards, go to the
QRZ page for N2OO.  Also, if you add  cards with  your  3Y0Z mail for  other
calls, your return mail will be delayed.  It's OK to do, but there will be a
delay".

RST SPECIAL EVENT ---> Members of  the  North Country DX Association (NCDXA)
will  be  active  between  1 February  and 31 May  from   several  different
locations  in  Alaska,  Yukon,  Northwest  Territories,  Nunavut  (including
VY1RST/VY0 and VE8RST/VY0 from Ellesmere Island)  and  Greenland  using  all
NCDXA "RST" callsigns: KL7RST, VY1RST, VE8RST, VY0RST and OX7RST. QSL direct
to K7ICE. See https://www.qrz.com/lookup/K7ICE for more information.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

QSLs received direct  or  through  managers:  3C0L (AF-039),  3C1L (AF-010),
3XY3D (AF-051), 4O4A, 4S7VBG (AS-003), 4S7VBG/p (AS-171),  4W/OZ1AA,  5A1AL,
5K1B (SA-078), 5T9VB,  6W/UA4WHX/p (AF-078),  7V7V,  8Q7VB,  9H3WHX,  9K2OF,
9N1AA,  A25SP,  A92AA,  AL3/AA7CH  (NA-042),  AP2HA,  B7CRA  (AS-143),  BV0L
(AS-155),  C50VB,  C93PA,  CE7VPQ  (SA-018),   CN2VB,   CO8LY,   CT8/UA4WHX,
CT9/UA4WHX,   D44TVB  (AF-005),   DU9/R4WAA  (OC-175),  DU9/RZ3FW  (OC-175),
EA8/UA4WHX, EA9/UA4WHX, ER0VB/p, ES0VB/5, H40GC,  H79H,  HI8CSS,  HK3C,  J5T
(AF-020),  LW2EIY,  LY/UA4WHX,  N9AW/p (NA-069),  NL6/AA7CH (NA-157),  OA6Q,
OJ0/UA4WHX (EU-053), R00BVB, RI0BV (AS-005), RI0POL, RI1ANO,  RI1F (EU-190),
RI1PV  (EU-085),  SV9BAI,  TI2VLM,  TK9R,  UA0CY,  VE7KDU/7 (NA-181),  VK9AR
(OC-216), VK9AR/6 (OC-234), VP5CW, VP9/DK7LX,  VR2CO,  VU2GSM,  VU7T,  WP4G,
XK150YUKON,  YB8RW/p (OC-145),  YC8UTI (OC-209),  YL/UA4WHX, YV1KK,  YV5MBI,
YV5RED, ZA/OG1N, ZA1WW, ZS2EZ, ZS6WB.

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