[DX-NEWS] Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin #826
SB DX @ WW < KB8NW $OPDX.826 Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 826 The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster DX Bulletin No. 826 BID: $OPDX.826 October 1, 2007 Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW Provided by BARF80.ORG (Cleveland, Ohio) Thanks to the Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society, Northern Ohio DX Association, Ohio/Penn PacketCluster Network, AB5K & the AR TelNet Clusters Network, K1XN & GoList, NG3K, W3UR & The Daily DX, N4AA & QRZ DX, NA5U, AC8G, K8YC, K8YSE, W9DX, DX-IS News Site, Pete's-DX-Newsdesk, DJ7ZG, DK8JB, DL2VFR, DL5CW, DL7MAE & The DX News Letter, F5NQL & UFT, G3WGV, G3XTT, HR2DMR, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, IN3VZE, JA1BK, JI6KVR & IOTA-JA News, JT1CD, LU5FF, RSGB IOTA Web Site, S50XX, SM6CVX, VA3RJ & ICPO, VK4FW and Z35M 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 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 Saturday, 22nd/September, through Saturday, 29th/September there were 217 countries active. Countries available: 1A, 3A, 3B6, 3B8, 3B9, 3D2, 3DA, 3V, 3W, 4J, 4L, 4O, 4S, 4X, 5B, 5H, 5N, 5R, 5U, 5V, 5X, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7Q, 7X, 8P, 9A, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9L, 9M2, 9M6, 9N, 9Q, 9U, 9V, 9Y, A4, A6, A7, A9, AP, BV, BY, C2, C3, C5, C6, C9, CE, CE9, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, D2, D4, DL, DU, E5/s, E7, EA, EA6, EA8, EA9, EI, EK, EL, EP, ER, ES, ET, EU, EX, EY, EZ, F, FG, FJ, FK, FM, FO, FP, FR, FY, G, GD, GI, GJ, GM, GU, GW, HA, HB, HB0, HC, HC8, HI, HK, HL, HP, HR, HS, HV, HZ, I, IS, J2, J3, J5, J6, JA, JD/o, JT, JW, JX, JY, K, KH0, KH2, KH6, KH8, KL, KP2, KP4, LA, LU, LX, LY, LZ, OA, OD, OE, OH, OH0, OJ0, OK, OM, ON, OX, OY, OZ, P2, PA, PJ2, PY, PZ, S5, S7, SM, SP, ST, SU, SV, SV5, SV9, T30, T5, T7, TA, TF, TG, TI, TK, TR, TT, TU, TY, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V2, V3, V5, V7, V8, VE, VK, VK9L, VK9N, VK9W, VP2V, VP8, VQ9, VR, VU, XE, XU, XW, YA, YB, YI, YJ, YL, YN, YO, YS, YU, YV, Z2, Z3, ZA, ZB, ZC4, ZD7, 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" (WFWL). 3B7, ST. BRANDON. The 3B7C team went QRT on September 25th around 0331z. The operation netted 135,500 QSOs. The QSO total makes this expedition 3rd only to D68C and 3B9C. From the latest press release, the breakdown by bands and modes are as follows: 10m - 7958 30m - 13460 Phone: 51754 12m - 8851 40m - 19906 CW: 79217 15m - 1888780m - 13267 RTTY: 6549 17m - 21052 160m - 2922 20m - 31577 To read the complete press release with interesting comments about each band and other details, click on the news link listed below. Remember, the 3B7C Web page is available at: http://www.3b7c.com Update-to-date news is at:http://www.3b7c.com/news.htm Daily log updates are at: http://www.3b7c.com/logsearch/search.php QSL via G3NUG, direct (Neville Cheadle, Lower Withers Barns, Middleton on the Hill, Leominster, HR6 0HY, England) or by the Bureau (Bureau cards can be requested via the 3B7C Web page). The QSL Manager for SWLs is Bob Treacher, 93 Elibank Road, Eltham, London SE9 1QJ, ENGLAND. 3C, EQUATORIAL GUINEA. Elmo, EA5BYP, announces that a DXpedition to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea (Bioko Island AF-010) will take place between October 5-14th. Operators will be Fred/KH7Y, Luis/EA5BRE, Vic/EA5YN and Elmo/EA5BYP. The team will operate with two stations and will sign 3C7Y for 10 days. Activity will be on all bands and modes SSB, CW and RTTY. QSL via EA5BYP. Visit the team's Web page at: http://personal.telefonica.terra.es/web/ea5yn/3c7y.htm 3D2/R, ROTUMA (OC-060). Tony, FO5RK, reports that his planned DXpedition to Rotuma as 3D2AG/P is on schedule. His operation will take place between December 2007 and January 2008. Actual dates will be announced later. Tony will be managing his own QSL requests upon his return home. QSL only direct and please include either 2 USDs or 1 IRC with a SAE for your QSL card. The QSL cards are being printed by UX5UO and the DXpedition is being sponsored by SPIDERBEAM. Upon Tony's return home, he will have his log available online at: http://www.3d2ag.fr.tc/ QSL requests should be mailed direct to Tony at his QRZ.com address. 4L, GEORGIA. Operator Gia, 4L4WW, will be active during the CQ World Wide DX SSB Contest (October 27-28th) as a Single-Op/Single-Band (80m)/ High-Power entry. He expects to use a 3 element Yagi and inverted V during the contest. QSL via EA7FTR. 4O, MONTENEGRO. Look for Montenegro to be active during the CQ World Wide RTTY DX Contest on September 29th and 30th as 4O3A. Ranko Boca will air 4O3A from his Montenegrin Premium Contest Resort. He'll be hosting a young team of operators from Slovenia and Italy who will be operating in
[DX-NEWS] ARLP040 Propagation de K7RA
SB PROP @ ARL $ARLP040 ARLP040 Propagation de K7RA ZCZC AP40 QST de W1AW Propagation Forecast Bulletin 40 ARLP040 >From Tad Cook, K7RA Seattle, WA September 28, 2007 To all radio amateurs SB PROP ARL ARLP040 ARLP040 Propagation de K7RA Last week's report stated the possibility that zero-sunspot days were about to end, but no such luck. Instead we've seen no sunspots for three weeks straight, since September 7. The September 20 forecast from NOAA and the US Air Force showed solar flux values rising to 70 on September 21. (See http://sec.noaa.gov/ftpdir/forecasts/45DF/092045DF.txt). The next day's prediction reverted to 67 (http://sec.noaa.gov/ftpdir/forecasts/45DF/092145DF.txt). The September 21 prediction had solar flux rising to 70 again, but not until September 29 to October 1, then falling back below 70, then back to 70 again for October 18-28. Now the September 27 forecast has solar flux staying around 67-68 through November 11. You can see all the latest daily forecasts for solar flux and planetary A index at http://sec.noaa.gov/ftpmenu/forecasts/45DF.html. The possible end to the stretch of zero sunspot days was based on the observation that when the solar flux is 70 or higher, there is at least one visible sunspot. This makes it seem that we are still at the bottom of the cycle, or haven't quite reached it. Those daily forecasts are posted after 2100z. There is a new sunspot 970 emerging, so perhaps the September 28 forecast will show solar flux back to 70 or higher. There is currently a solar wind hitting earth, and currently the interplanetary magnetic field points south, which leaves earth vulnerable. That same forecast on September 27 predicts a planetary A index for September 28 to October 3 at 15, 25, 12, 8, 8 and 15, so we may see unsettled to active geomagnetic conditions on Saturday, September 29 and again Wednesday, October 3. Already early Friday morning UTC (which is late Thursday on the West Coast) we've seen the planetary K index as high as 6. Lately with quiet conditions the K index has been 1 or 2. Above 3 is considered unsettled or active geomagnetic conditions. Geophysical Institute Prague predicts unsettled conditions for September 28, unsettled to active September 29, unsettled September 30, quiet October 1, unsettled October 2-3, and quiet to unsettled October 4. Jeff Lackey, K8CQ of Saint Simons Island, Georgia wrote in with an interesting observation. He created a graph (which unfortunately is not on the web for viewing) which plots periods in which the solar flux drops below 80 for extended periods. It shows the longest run at the end of cycle 22 was from January 8 through July 7, 1996, 182 days. The second longest run from 11 years ago was 112 days from August 2 to November 21, 1996. The latest and also the longest run at the end of the current cycle 23 began on June 9, 2007 and so far runs 112 days through September 28. The September 28 morning reading at Penticton (the noon reading is the official value) has a very low solar flux value of 64.4. The latest forecast from the Air Force shows solar flux below 80 for the next 45 days, so if this turns out to be true, that would put this run up toward the longest one from 11 years ago. We are today already equal to the second longest run of cycle 22, and are in the longest run of the current cycle. The second longest run for the current cycle is 77 days, ending after April 25, 2007. Note there is nothing magic about a solar flux value of 80, but Jeff is a numbers guy and found this to be an interesting threshold for his analysis of solar minima. Despite the lack of sunspots, hams are still communicating around the world, and reports of working 3B7C with modest stations are still coming in. WA2VQW worked them on 30 meters from his car at 2115z on September 18 while sitting at a traffic light in Hawthorne, New York. Mike was on his way to higher ground, but never made it, instead working the DXpedition while stuck in traffic. W4WNT of Oak Island, North Carolina reports a 30 meter 3B7C contact at 0212z on September 22 using an 80-20 meter fan dipole bent around his deck at 30 feet. On September 18, Ken Tata, K1KT of Warwick, Rhode Island noticed an online propagation map tracking 2 meter APRS stations showed a path from Rhode Island to Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula. Ken was running 50 watts into a dipole, a driven element removed from an 11 element Yagi and mounted on a pole. He reports, ''I worked VE1PZ, in FN85, 100 mi north of Halifax; VE1HD, FN95, 100 mi east of Halifax; and VE1AHM, FN76, near Moncton, New Brunswick''. He reported that many of the better equipped stations in Southern New England were working into the Maritime Provinces on 432 and 1296 MHz. Ken didn't say what mode he used. Ken sent along web-based VHF propagation sites he likes for checking real-time conditions: http://www.mountainlake.k12.mn.us/ham/aprs/, http://www.dxinfocentre.com/tropo.html, http://www.vhfdx.ne
