Ten X DX News
March 1, 1997
The greatest DXpedition of 1997 and possibly of all time
happened during January on Heard Island. The VK0IR
DXpedition was a huge success in many areas, well
organized by many dedicated individuals like Ralph K0IR
#2629 and other members, and it was expensive $300K!
They made 80,673 contacts, a world record that will go
down in the history of amateur radio! They began
operating on January 14 and worked nonstop until the 27th
when bad weather conditions forced them to prepare to
leave early. They departed the island by helicopter two
days later with 30 tons of equipment. In spite of poor
propagation conditions, many stations worked them in
Europe, the eastern US and Japan. Twenty meters was the
most productive band where I worked them both modes.
What happened to VK0IR on ten meters? The MUF
between the US and VK0 never made it to 28Mhz. My
friend Bruce WD4NGB called them with his big yagi and
thought he had worked them! But, NO stateside contacts
made the log on ten! They tried the band often and only
worked about 200 Japanese and a few Europeans. Can
anyone confirm a 1010 number swap for a new one?
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The ARRL Ten Meter Contest was a great joy for one
local member, KE5FI Chuck #7412. Operating from
super station, K5XI, Chuck may have won it by working
1300 contacts that weekend. This station located about 90
miles north of Houston, had a 200-foot tower with many
elements on ten! I was in Louisiana during the contest,
visiting N5EJS Russ at his station, when I worked Chuck
about 200 miles away on backscatter. Chuck is a first
class contest op, a good lawyer and the past president of
the Texas DX Society. During the contest, Chuck was
called by ZS8IR (same as ZS8MI #64647) operated by
Chris from Marion Is. Happy to get the new multiplier
for the contest, Chuck forgot that he needed Marion Island
for a new country for himself. I congratulated him on
missing a new country, as I paid for ZS8MI membership
but, I have not worked the station . . . yet.
Don ZS6AQS #61510 Chapter Head Springbok Chapter
Int. from South Africa, wishes all members a happy
birthday March 1, the 5th Anniversary of the Springbok
Chapter. The chapter has grown beyond his expectations
and they now have over 1600 members, in all 50 states of
the US as well as close to 50 DXCC countries. Listen for
ZS6NB Ken #63494 daily on 28425 at 1400Z. Chris, the
operator of ZS8IR on Marion Island, told Don that he
has a receiver on all the time on 28.480 KHz.
St. Peter & St. Paul Rocks DXpedition began February
3 with ZY0SK Karl PS7KM #39920 on SSB and ZY0SG
Tino PT7AA on CW. These rocks, located on the equator
in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, are half way between
S.America and Africa. The islands are only about 1/4 mile
long, inhabited only by birds and crabs with a small
lighthouse on the tallest rock. There are no trees for
shade, no sandy beach, no hotel, no water, just rocks and
ocean. Karl & Tino stayed in tents for shade and protection
from the daily rains. They must bring everything needed
for survival and operate the DXpedition, and be sure there
is a boat available to pick them up! The island is
seismically active, with many tremors felt each trip. Karl
has done a good job of giving out contacts from this island
on four trips. The small fishing boat they ride on is very
low budget, the boat goes to fish, the hams get a 1500 mile
ride. When the fishing is done, the hams go home to fill
out QSL cards and rest up for next year, hi.
Here are some comments by Karl: " I tried to work 28Mhz
several times but the band was dead. On 09 Feb., around
2000Z, my friend PY5EG told me how 10 was starting to
open. Immediately, I went there. I worked 77 stations,
from USA and South America. No European stations.
Signals were weak but very audible. Around 2110Z,
propagation was going down! Last station logged was
WF2S Stephen #39920. I was running 100W out, into
Kenwood TS50. Antenna: Vertical ground plane for
10-15-20 mts. " Only SSB QSL to Karl M Leite, Rua
Estacio de Sa 1838, 59054-580 Natal, RN, Brazil.
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Upcoming DXpeditions & New 10-10 Country Activity:
BS7H 1997 DXpedition to Huang Yan Dao (Scarborough
Reef). A multinational team, led by BZ1OK and JA1BK,
will set sail from the southern Chinese port city of
Guangzhou (a.k.a. Canton) on April 28. They will begin
a one-week operation from Scarborough Reef on April 30,
using the call sign BS7H. Operators include Jim Duffy
W6EU (ex-WA6AUE #4722), BZ1OK, JA1BK (who will
also serve as QSL manager), JA1RJU, N7NG, and
W6RGG. The BS7H 1997 Home Page is
http://www.iglou.com/n4gn/sr/ or contact Tim Totten,
N4GN (ex-KJ4VH #41856), Email: N4GN@iglou.com .
Colon Is. Group in Panama by HP2CWB Jose #42071,
Emilio HP2DFU #62294 and Ricardo HP2CTM #64642.
They have operated from several Panama islands recently.
Possible callsigns: 3F2A, H32A, & H82A. The QSL is
complicated as Jose uses a mail box for incoming ONLY.
You need to put an SAE and IRC or greenstamp with your
QSL for him to mail it back from Panama! Do not use US
stamps. QSL: Jose Ng Lee, Dir.Dist.LTD, PTY-201,
POBox 02-5275, Miami, FL 33102-5275.
J52IM Guinea-Bissau Africa by Dave Bendt #24392 is
on the air. Dave expects to be in J5 until mid 1998. Due to
poor propagation this past winter, we have not made a
QSO on ten. Conditions will improve this winter, so we
should have a good chance to swap numbers for a new
country before he leaves for another foreign service
posting. QSL to his manager KB9XN #57389 Howard
Barbrey, 306 Greenfiled Cir, Geneva, IL 60134.
Willy VE6JO #35994 will be in Raratonga South Cook
Island from February 24 to March 10, 1997. His call
assigned to him is ZK1JOO. QSL to Willy Markhasin,
POBox 234 Stn.M, Calgary, AB, T2P 2H7 Canada.
Insua Is. Portugal by CT1EEB Jose #5896, CT1DVV
Tony #38986, CT1AHU Carlos #23437 and seven other
operators, will be on from July 24-28th. Watch for them
as CQ2I a multi single entry in the 1997 IOTA Contest!
Nicaragua YN2LAC by Luciana AB6WE #64963 from
Grenada Nicaragua is the only 1010 number active from
this country. We talked on 28.442 at 1732Z. I used the
XXIP database to find his forgotten 1010 number. QSL to
AB6WE. Randy KB0YHU heard me and Luciana swap
numbers but Randy was not able to work Luciana.
Fernando de Noronha PY0ZFO by W9VA Bill #2706.
Bill has operated from PY0 several times but has not
advertised his 1010 number as most contacts are contest
style. He operated PY1ZFO/0 (88), ZY0FX (89,90,92),
and PS0F (94). He was back on the island during the
ARRL CW DX contest in February using the PY0FF call
owned by Andre who is not a member. If you worked Bill
as PY0ZFO before or after the contest, QSL to Bill Smith,
1345 Linden Ave., Deerfield IL 60015. See photo.
_____________________________________________
Propagation: Solar flux will range from 79-95 during the
Spring of 1997. As I write this, the Solar flux is 73, the A
index 9 and K index 2, many points lower than my last
article! During the transition into Cycle 23, expect large
swings of flux as new spots appear above the equator on
the sun. For stations in the Eastern US, expect a 12%
chance of DX propagation to the East-West path into
Europe or Africa. For stations in the Western US, expect
no chance of DX into Europe. All of the US will get a
25% chance a path into S.America. Expect reduced
Sporadic E Layer conditions during the spring to be short
skip that will travel 300 to 2500 miles. F Layer skip will
begin to return as Cycle 23 gets more active. Remember
to listen for the beacons (28.175-28.3) to check conditions.
I am sticking to my comments about May 28, 1996 being
the start of Cycle 23. With the slow increase in solar flux
levels and the predictions by NOAA, we have started the
next cycle. Why haven't we seen much activity yet from
the new cycle? The NOAA projection is based upon past
cycles and indicates an average sunspot number of 19 for
January and 22 for February--with the number doubling to
44 by July. It also shows solar flux of 77 for January, 80
for February, 84 for March, and 100 by July. Currently,
actual conditions are behind these projections. The
upswing of the new cycle is going to be slower than the
previous but I expect the flux to be over 110 by 1998.
Charlie KA5EAV/KA2CC #45835 (KA2CC was his call
in Japan) sent this: "OK, Ten is open from New Mexico to
the Pacific, ZL's, KH's and JA, yep Japan. Time is 0145z
Feb.28th. Go get'em. 73, Charlie."
New DX members for the past quarter: Dec. LU5CAG
#66099; Jan. LU3ADU #68900, 9A4RU # 68901; Feb.
#68902 VO1CAL, #68903 DK7JQ, #68904 DJ2YE,
#68905 9A2YS, #68906 LU9ATB, #68907 LU8AGE.
Hope this helps you find and welcome new DX members.
73, Carol K8DHK #29588 Email: K8DHK@juno.com .
Thanks too: Russ Gauthier (N5EJS@linknet.net) for his
assistance; To everyone for the letters and photos that you
have been sending; To the on-line DX Reflector, QRZ-DX
& Ohio/Penn DX Bulletins. Send photos to Mike
Davidson, 3518 Bellefontaine, Houston, TX 77025 USA
or NEW Email: N5MT@aol.com. Remember, DX IS!
Good DX & 73. ... Mike Davidson N5MT #24949
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