Volume 6, Number 10



Volume 13, Number 04 & 05 MAY 2008

The Nugget

The Newsletter of the Mother Lode DX/Contest Club

MEETING DATE, LOCATION & PROGRAM

What:. TBD. Our program had not been finalized at the time of publication.

Where: THAI HOUSE  200 E. Highway 12 #E4, Valley Spring, CA 95252 phone:(209) 772-8549. Pull-up Map quest for door to door directions.

When: Saturday, May 17th at our regular time (The room is reserved from 11AM-3PM.)

FROM THE PREZ

May meeting agenda (Time “suggested”):

11:30 (Pre-meeting Board Meeting as needed)

12:00 Call to order and Agenda Review

12:05 Officer Roll Call

12:08 Old business

• Minutes review and acceptance

• Treasurer report, including presentation of proposed budget or issues

• Committee reports, if any

• Meeting dates (approve/amend)

• Recognition of achievements, milestones and other.

12:30 New business

• New Members?

• Contest planning

• Upcoming DX

• Presentation ideas

• Review action items

13:15 Guest Speaker/presentations:

15:00 Adjourn

Contesting

Time to be thinking about Field Day. Our few operators made a good showing last year with Jim’s focus on a new entry class.

Sweepstakes results are in—Congratulations to all who participated in the NCCC victory. One of my goals has been to earn a KB500 award and I managed it this past year. I’ve been using an available station for one day of the SS SSB weekend since I realized I would not likely meet my goal barefoot from home. I’m pushing to make 200 Qs in a day from home. I’ve been making almost 300 Qs from borrowed stations, so the problem has been under performing from home. This year I was ready to try CW for extra points and managed 175 or so contacts over the two days. That added to my “HMO” effort at W6SR for 483 Qs and I was over the top. I only managed 133 SSB Qs from home. Still, that overall show was good enough for me to set a new KB1000 goal for 2008. Clearly 700 Qs are possible from W6SR. If I manage 200 Qs from home and 150 CW Qs, and I’m over the top again. So, if we all set stretch goals, perhaps we can keep the winning streak alive. (Of course, improvement may be a lot easier at my level than at yours).

DX?

It was very nice to have two DXpeditions in our backyard. I managed contacts (LoTW confirmed) on all bands 10-80m, CW and SSB, with VP6DX with only a 10m CW contact in dispute. TX5C was not quite so “good” for me, but I managed 9 band/mode contacts 12m through 40m. I’m now waiting for QSL confirmation for TX5C contacts and for a CW contact with Thailand, Zone 39 for my WAZ. Still, I’ve learned enough about the bottom on the sun cycle for now. I’m ready for some good spots. Good DX! Rich;NU6T@; (916) 962-2431

CQ CQ FD 2008 de K6AO!!

It’s May and time to start talking about this year's MLDXCC Field Day Operating Event. That’s because Field Day weekend is a mere 7 weeks away and June 27-29 will soon be upon us. I’m pleased to serve as your Field Day Coordinator again this year. We sure did great last year! We operated in Class 1A, making 1,693 contacts and finished with a score of 6,698, which put us in 3rd place nationwide in class 1A. The Peddler Hill location was great (as usual) and the club’s 4-element 20-meter beam on AI6V’s portable tower at 60’ and 40-meter wire beam at 40’ performed well. Plus, all of the operators had a fun weekend. Fun - that's really what Field Day weekend is all about, plus the fellowship that takes place among club members when we work together as a team to accomplish a goal.

I don’t know what class we will be operating in this year. At this point, it looks like we will be in Class 1A again unless we have a lot more participants than we did last year. Having said that, I would like to hear from club members that would like to participate in our field day event this year. You can e-mail me at wx6v@ and let me know how much time you can commit to Field Day. Feel free to ask any and all questions about Field Day and what we will be doing over the course of the weekend. We will be gathering on Peddler Hill Friday afternoon for setup, while the operating event itself runs from 11 AM Saturday until 11 AM Sunday. In past years, we have had everything packed up and ready to go by 2 PM on Sunday.

In the next month or so, I will be sending out a checklist to all of last year's participants that brought rigs, support gear, antennas, and antenna support structures. I would like to know if you plan on bringing these items up to our Field Day site again this year. That way, we can determine what items we still need and put out an appeal for them via e-mail or in “The Nugget.”

Anyone in the club know anything about making qsos via satellite? Besides the 100-point bonus for making at least one satellite qso, a satellite station counts as a free transmitter regardless of what class we end up operating in for the weekend.

That's about it. We can discuss these things and more at our upcoming club meetings over the next several months. Hope to see you there. Jim -WX6V-

Member news/feedback/Announcements.

For Sale - I have a Heil ProSet with HC5 cartridge, new in the box with manufacture date of Feb. 2008. Won as prize at Visalia so under warranty. $100, delivered to club meeting.

Ken, K6TA, k6ta@

Excellent condition ICOM 756 PRO III for sale.. includes manual,  original box, and packing. Non smoking shack. $2050, firm. Similarly excellent condition IC7000, including manual, microphone, power cord, original box and packing. $1000, firm. Call (209) 785 5384, Thanks, 73.Barry. K3UG

Bought W6SR's A3WS with 30 meter add-on. Looks brand new. Clean air at Rick's house! Now, I need to plant another tower for it.

Worked NEQP the first weekend in May. 132 hard earnedQ's. Had a decent run going until W4CW told me he did not like the key clicks on my MP. Guess I need to do the mod. Consistently getting "big sig" reports from New England with the new Force12, so I guess that makes the clicks big too. de Bob, W1RH

Well, let's see - received an award for last year's WPX CW contest - my 797,888 points earned me 1st place in the Assisted High Power class for the 6th call area. Also turned in my QSL cards at the Visalia convention and official application for my 5BDXCC award. Gary, KI6T was my card checker! Installed the "newer" 40 meter rotable since the last newsletter and I'm lovin' it. Already worked a lot of new band countries with it - mostly in EU. Going to give it a good shakedown in the upcoming WPX CW contest.

And lastly - finally solved my year old TVI problem with our next door neighbor. The problem turned out to be RF getting into the TV system via a phone line that is attached to the sateilitte receiver. I suppose the line is for interactive purposes. After wrapping the line about 10 times around an FT-240 ferrite core, the problem was completely cured!

de Jim, WX6V

A few items:

Bought a new Yaesu FT-950, the little brother to the FT-2000. Has three roofing filters and is a nice contest/DX radio for the money. I took advantage of Yaesu's April discount and got it for a

little over $1.3k. Now I plan to sell my IC-765 (with Inrad roofing filter) and buy a FT-2000 and get into SO2R.

I'm also building a micro based controller to run SO2R and make intelligent antenna selections. This will be a fun construction and coding project.

The "portable" two element 15 meter antenna I built for K6AO Field Day last year will be featured in QST. My article will appear in July. Too bad it just misses Field Day. Jack - KF6T

George KI6CG was over here for WPX phone we did a M/S 7.1M but not much of a score for world but OC maybe number one. Time will tell. Aloha, Fred, KH7Y

I have several hundred feet of odd lengths of rg-213 and 9913 type coax. If you need some jumpers or pieces (up to 50’ long) go through my pile of coax and take what you need……de Rick, W6SR

Where have all the 440MHz repeaters gone? And what am I going to do about it?

The DOT having experienced interference with their PAVE-PAWS radar at Beale Air Force Base has greatly impacted the communication between DX hams using the 450Mhz band (70cm). All repeaters on hill tops or otherwise elevated capable of having their signal heard (received) by the radar at the Air Force Base have been ordered off the air or have had to greatly reduce their output power, resulting in an average ERP of next to nothing. Many long established radio systems have been simply turned off because to continue operations at the lower power render them ineffective, leaving a communication void for many of the Central Valley and Bay Area hams using them for DX alerts or other DX’ing communications.

The UHF repeaters (450Mhz) unlike two meter band repeater operations were comprised of small group of individuals with specific interests which did not mix well or supported using two meter systems, having unrelated traffic, besides listening to all their chatter made your ears tired.

A solution need to be found and was in the form of a long over looked and enormously underutilized band. The 900Mhz or (33cm) band has beginning to grow and fill the void left by the loss of the 450 spectrum. Currently there six (6) newly active repeaters doing the job. Listed in no order other than their spectrum (channel, uhg don’t like that word) location.

927.0125 KJ6KO: El Dorado Hills, Open to all using a sub tone of 100.0

927.0375 Mt. Vaca: Open to all, using a sub tone of 100.0

927.0625 W6KCS: Vacaville, Open to all using a sub tone of 167.9

There are several others in and around the greater Bay Area, but these are practical for operations in and around the central valley.

OK, you have convinced me, but where do I get a 900 MHz band radio? My current catalog does not show a large selection of the critters. These radios are just like the beginning days of two meter and 450 operations, commercial surplus reworked to accommodate the 927.000 MHz portion of the band. Anyone out there from 1970ish converted an U44BBT or a Motrac to the ham band. The current flavor of the day is still the Motorola surplus stuff, the GTX-900 or the Motorola Spectra for 900. If you go looking for radios BE SURE they are 900 rated and not an 800 type. Current club members, having converted these radios and are operating on 900 include; Norm N6JV, Rick W6SR, Lyle K6QG, W6FI and several other non-members, but followers of the DX.

If you were on 450, but lost use of a repeater or repeaters due to PAVE PAWS this band has great possibilities for a replacement.

Check with Rick, Lyle or Norm for a look see or a sample operation. Guess what 10db gain on a plastic stick 18 inches long (6 element quad). See Norm’s web site for the details.

Put some fun back in hobby with a do it your self band, well at least for a couple of more years before the big kids figure there is money to be made building radio. Comments and observations from Lyle, K6QG 73

EDITOR’S NOTES

I really didn’t work much DX, or any contests the last of month. But I did get my 107, 160M cards checked (by Gary KI6T) in Visalia for my new 160M DXCC application.

So what have I been doing, you ask? A lot of antenna work! My TH-7 and A-3WS are gone from the LM-470 tower. In their place are a 3 element homebrew 20M beam, and 2 element homebrew 30M mono-band beams at 75 and 70’ respectively. At the top, at 82’ is the M2 5 element 6M beam. As always, Norm, N6JV was a key player in all this stuff, without his help it would not have happened. Thanks, Norm!!!

Jan, N6AW came up for a one day visit and took away the TH-7. We also arranged dinner with Norm, N6JV, Mike, W6FI and our wives at Cattleman’s in Sacramento. It was a fun catch-up, but much too short a visit.

At this point I feel that my antennas system is as good as it’s going to get at this QTH. And now I’m ready for the up-swing in the sunspot cycle, I hope it gets better soon.

I also purchased a used Alpha 86 power Amplifier from a So. Cal HAM, and picked

it up at the convention in Visalia. It makes a nice addition to the ol’ HAM shack heating system, HI HI

Now I’m ready for the next project, whatever it is. Of course, as all of you know, HAMS are never really done working on the rig. Right?

This one has been around the block a few times, but some of you may not have seen it. It was sent to me by Bruce, K0YW (who some of you may have known as K6JYO).

You Might be a Ham Operator if.....

1. When you look at a full moon and wonder how much antenna gain you would need.

2. When a friend gets a ride from you and remarks that you have a lot of CBs in your vehicle, it turns in to an hour long rant on how ham radio is not CB radio.

3. When someone asks for directions, you pause, wondering if long or short path would be best.

4. When you can look at a globe and be able to point to your antipode (and you know what an antipode is).

5. Your cell phone ring tone is a Morse code message of some kind.

6. You have accidentally said your Amateur Radio call sign at the end of a telephone conversation.

7. Your favorite vacation spots are always on mountain tops.

8. You notice more antennas than road signs while driving your car.

9. You have driven onto the shoulder of the road while looking at an antenna.

10. Porcupines appear to be fascinated with your car.

11. If you ever tried to figure out the operating frequency of your microwave oven.

12. When you look around your bedroom of wall to wall ham gear and ask: Why am I still single?

13. The local city council doesn't like you.

14. You actually think towers look pretty.

15. Your family doesn't have a clue what to get you for Christmas, even after you tell them.

16. Your HF amplifier puts out more power than the local AM radio station.

17. The wife and kids are away and the first thing that goes through your head is that no one will bother you while you call "CQ DX" a few hundred times.

18. When you pull into a donut shop and the cops there on their coffee break ask if they can see your radio setup.

19. You refer to your children as your "Harmonics".

20. Your girlfriend or wife asks: "You're going to spend $XXXX on what???

21. You actually believe you got a good deal on eBay.

22. When you see a house with a metal roof, and your only thought is what a great ground plane that would be.

23. You have pictures of your radio equipment as wallpaper on your computer's desktop.

24. Every family vacation includes a stop at a Ham radio store.

25. The first question you ask the new car dealer is: "What is the alternator's current output"?

26. You buy a brand new car based on the radio mounting locations and antenna mounting possibilities.

27. You have tapped out Morse code on your car's horn.

28. A lightning storm takes out a new Laptop, Plasma TV, and DVD Recorder, but all you care about is if your radios are okay.

29. Your wife has had to ride in the back seat because you had radio equipment in the front seat.

30. Your wife was excited when you were talking about achieving that critical angle, but very disappointed when you finally did.

31. During a love making session with your wife, you stop to answer a call on the radio.

32. Your wife threatens you with divorce when you tell her that you are going on a "fox" hunt.

33. Talking about male and female connectors makes you feel excited.

34. You dream of big, comfortable, knobs, but not on women.

35. You always park on the top floor of the deck, just in case you might have to wait in the car later.

36. When house hunting, you look for the best room for a radio shack, scan the property for possible tower placement and check CCR for antenna restrictions.

37. When house hunting, you give your realtor topographical maps showing local elevations.

38. The real estate agent scratches his head when you ask if the soil conductivity is high, medium, or low.

39. You have Ham radio magazines in the bathroom.

40. When your doorbell rings, you immediately shut down the amplifier.

41. Fermentation never enters your mind when "homebrew" is mentioned.

42. Instead of just saying no, you have said "negative".

43. You have used a person's name to indicate acknowledgement.

44. You become impatient waiting for the latest AES catalog to arrive.

45. You have found yourself whistling "CQ" using Morse code.

46. You always schedule the last full weekend in June for vacation.

47. You walk carefully in your back yard to avoid being close-lined.

48. You have deep anxiety or panic attacks during high winds or heavy ice.

49. You and the FedEx/UPS men are on a first name basis.

50. You really start to miss people that you've never seen.

51. Your exercise machine is a Morse code keyer.

52. You walk through the plumbing section at the hardware store and see antenna parts.

53. Your neighbors thought you were nuts when you ripped up your lawn to bury chicken wire.

54. Your next door neighbor thinks that your wife is a widow.

55. Your wife has delivered meals to your Ham shack.

56. If you sold all your Ham radio equipment, you could pay off your mortgage.

57. Removing snow from the roof of your car requires working around the antenna and wires.

CU all the 17th……………de Rick,W6SR

April 2008 Treasurer’s Report

January 31, 2008 Balance $778.29

4 dues + 60.00

No Expences 00.00

March 1, 2008 Balance $838.29

Carolyn Wilson, K6TKD, Treasurer

Board Meeting Minutes, 15 March 2008.

A suggestion regarding paid mileage for guest speakers was brought before the Board. A draft for consideration will be worked up by the Secretary and will be presented to the Board at the next meeting on 17 May 2008.

General Meeting Minutes, 15 March 2008.

Rich Hill, NU6T, President, called the meeting to order at 12:08 PM at Mountain Mike’s Pizza in Martell, CA, with 13 members and three guests in attendance.

Officers’ Roll Call. Present were President Rich; Vice President Shirley Rose. AA6K; Directors Dick Wilson, K6LRN, Norm Wilson, N6JV and George Campbell, KG6OJV; and Secretary Kay Anderson, K6KO.

Secretary’s Minutes and Treasurer’s Report. The Secretary’s Minutes and Treasurer’s Report of 23 February 2008 were accepted as printed in the March Nugget newsletter.

Membership and Dues. Members were reminded that their 2008 dues are now due.

Achievements. Rick Samoian, W6SR, reported that J5C was his 100th on 160 meters, and Norm, N6JV, worked the ZB2 on RTTY for number 300.

Upcoming DX. 9X0R will be on from Rwanda Sunday or Monday, and East Timor should be on soon.

Next Meeting and Future Venue Possibilities. There will be no April meeting since the International DX Convention occurs the last weekend of April in Visalia. The 17 May meeting will be held at the Thai House in Valley Springs. Preparation for the July meeting are currently on hold since the Banquet Manager at the Lodi Beer Company has yet to return Shirley’s calls. He will continue to work with the LBC to determine if either the 19th or the 26th of July will be available for the joint meeting with the NCCC. Rick, N6RK, agreed to host a summer meeting next year at his place in Galt.

Presentation Ideas. Several ideas for upcoming presentations were suggested, including Rick for remote ops and his Visalia presentation on loop antennas; L6DGW from Auburn, on the shutdown of the Beall AFB 440; and Doug, N6BU, on the N6IC 1978 trip to Clipperton (30K on paper logging and straight keys).

Program and Adjournment. The business portion of the meeting was adjourned at 12:45 and following a short break, Jim Brown, K9YC, presented “Everything You Wanted to Know About Chokes and Baluns”. The presentation concluded at 2:45 and the meeting was adjourned.

Kay Anderson, K6KO

Secretary

UPCOMING EVENTS

Old Foothill Flea Market

1st Sunday of each month at DeAnza College, intersection of I280 and State Highway 85.  The flea market is going under the name "ASVARA"

Livermore Swap Meet

(see website for new location), 7:00 AM to noon, all year. Talk in 147.045 from the west 145.35 from the east. Check at:

(SELECT) UP-COMING CONTESTS

Feld Hell Sprint 1500Z-1700Z, May 17

Run for the Bacon QRP Contest 0100Z-0300Z, May 19

CQ WW WPX Contest, CW 0000Z, May 24 to 2359Z, May 25

Kids Roundup 1400Z, May 31 to 2200Z, Jun 1

June, 2008

NCCC Sprint Ladder 0230Z-0300Z, Jun 6

SEANET Contest 1200Z, Jun 7 to 1200Z, Jun 8

Alabama QSO Party 1600Z, Jun 7 to 0400Z, Jun 8

NCCC Sprint Ladder 0230Z-0300Z, Jun 13

ANARTS WW RTTY Contest 0000Z, Jun 14 to 2400Z, Jun 15

West Virginia QSO Party 1600Z, Jun 14 to 0200Z, Jun 15

ARRL June VHF QSO Party 1800Z, Jun 14 to 0300Z, Jun 16

Run for the Bacon QRP Contest 0100Z-0300Z, Jun 16

NCCC Sprint Ladder 0230Z-0300Z, Jun 20

All Asian DX Contest, CW 0000Z, Jun 21 to 2400Z, Jun 22

SMIRK Contest 0000Z, Jun 21 to 2400Z, Jun 22

Feld Hell Sprint 1500Z-1700Z, Jun 21

AGCW VHF/UHF Contest 1600Z-1900Z, Jun 21 (144) and

1900Z-2100Z, Jun 21 (432)

Marconi Memorial HF Contest 1400Z, Jun 28 to 1400Z, Jun 29

ARRL Field Day 1800Z, Jun 28 to 2100Z, Jun 29

The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster DX Bulletin No. 858

5X, UGANDA. Franz, DC7NF, is now active as 5X7FN until the end of June. Activity is expected to be mainly on 40 and 20 meters SSB. Most of his activity so far has been on 20 meters on various frequencies between 1700-2100z. QSLs will go out when he returns home.

5X, UGANDA. Nick, G3RWF, will be active again as 5X1NH from June 25th to August 15th. Activity will be from Fort Portal in Western Uganda. QSL via G3RWF. He was active during February and March this year and made 11000 QSOs.

6M0, SOUTH KOREA (IOTA and Lighthouse Activity). Members of the GyeongNam DX Club will activate 6M0W/4 from Paegya Island (AS-060) between June 6-8th. Operators mentioned are: 6K5AQY, 6K5AYC , 6K5BHZ, 6K5ALT, DS5AJT and HL5BMX. Activity will be on 80-10 meters, using CW, SSB and the Digital modes. This operation also counts for Paekya Do lighthouse (ARLHS SKR-022, WLOTA LH-3386). QSL via HL5BMX, direct or by the bureau.

8J, JAPAN (QRP Event). Look for special event stations 8J4P and 8J6P to be active until June 30th. Activity is to celebrate "QRP Day" (June 17th). Stations will run less than five watts output. Activity over the past week has been on 40/30/20 meters CW and PSK. QSL according to the operator's instructions.

9X, RWANDA. "The Daily DX" reports that Rich, WA3FPK, will be here for three weeks starting on May 15th. Activity will be limited to his spare time (especially during his last week) and will be mainly on 20 meters SSB. QSL via KA1CRP.

ANTARCTIC CRUISE/EXPEDITION (Update). Mehdi, F5PFP, organizer of an upcoming Antarctic Cruise/Expedition for about 4 weeks in 2009, informs OPDX the following Antarctic bases and the main goal of the expedition is to operate about 5 to 7 hours from each base, BUT also have a great adventure, sailing, trekking, photos...etc. The Antarctic Cruise/Expedition will start in February, departing from Ushuaia on the 18th and returning to Ushuaia om March 17th. Mehdi states, "Our plan is very extensive and several bases could be cancelled due to weather and sailing conditions, but each area will be visited." The list of areas and bases are as follows: AN-016 - ANTARCTICA (Mainland); Videla Station (Danco coast) and Almirante Brown Station (Danco coast) AN-012 - PALMER Archipelago; Yelcho Station (Doumer Island) and Port Lockroy (Wiencke Island)

AN-010 - SOUTH SHETLAND Archipelago; Macchu Picchu Station & Republica del Ecuador Refuge (King George Island), Gurruchaga Refuge (Nelson Island), Maldonado Station (Greenwich Island), Juan Carlos Station (Livingston Island), Station B (Deception Island) and Risopatron Station (Robert Island)

The expedition team will travel on the yacht "Le Boulard". The "Le Boulard" home page can be viewed (in French) at: index.php? page=antarctique

The French skipper is Jean Monzo who lives in Ushuaia and speaks English/Spanish and is probably one of the most experienced sailors of the Antarctic Penninsula sailing every summer season in that zone since 1992 with the same yacht. The "Le Boulard" is 14 meters long with automatic pilot, phonesat, GPS and can accommodate 6 passengers + 1 or

2 crew members. It is possible to be part of this expedition as an operator or just as a tourist. If interested in being part of this Cruise/Expedition, please conatct Mehdi at: f5pfp@aliceadsl.fr Also, for information about the expedition and amateur radio activities in the Antarctica, please visit:

CQ MAGAZINE NEWS. Richard Moseson, W2VU, Editor of CQ Amateur Radio, sent out the following press release on May 8th: "Randy Thompson, K5ZD, Named Director of CQ WPX Contests (Hicksville, NY) -- Contesting luminary Randy Thompson, K5ZD, has been named Director of the CQ World Wide WPX Contests, effective immediately. Randy succeeds Steve Merchant, K6AW, who has been WPX Contest Director since 2002 and who needed to step aside due to business obligations. Randy has been a contester for more than three decades and has multiple wins to his credit in the single-op, all-band categories of both the CQ World Wide DX Contest and the CQ WPX Contest, in both CW and SSB modes. Randy is also a past editor of the "National Contest Journal" (a post he has held three separate times) and a co-founder of the website. He is a longtime member of the Yankee Clipper Contest Club and an instructor at K3LR's Contest University. In the past year, Randy has been working with Steve Merchant behind the scenes on the WPX contests, so he is already familiar with the program from the administrative side.

Any questions regarding the 2008 WPX Contests (SSB weekend was held last March; CW weekend is coming up at the end of May) should be directed to Randy via e-mail to: k5zd@ . We thank K6AW for his years of dedicated service to the WPX Contests and look forward to a seamless transition to K5ZD's administration of the event."

DAYTON HAMVENTION ACTIVITIES (Reminders).......

* Contest Super Suite - May 14-17th, 7pm-2am at the Crowne Plaza, Dayton (Downtown), OH; 2nd floor Miami Ballroom; Free Pizza Parties Every Night!

DX HOSPITALITY SUITE. The Northern Ohio DX Association (along with Janeen Hire, W8ZET) will once again sponsor a Hospitality Suite at this year's Dayton Hamvention. It will be in Suite 1011 on the 10th Club Floor of the Crowne Plaza Hotel (old Stouffers) on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings (Look for signs!). All DXers/Contesters are welcome. Munchies and refreshments will be avaialble. Come and meet the members and friends of NODXA.

The 23rd annual SWODXA DX Dinner will be Friday evening, May 16th, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, located in Dayton city center. Speaker is Eric Scace, K3NA, one of the operators behind the excellent VP6DX operation.

Topband Dinner on Friday evening, May 16th, at the Barnsider Restaurant, (Near Hamvention Arena), 5202 N. Main Street (Route 48 just north of Needmore Ave), Dayton, Ohio.

DX AND CONTEST FORUMS AT THE CONVENTION

The Contest Dinner will be held on Saturday night, May 17th, at 6:30 PM, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel (Official Contest Hotel), 5th and Jefferson Streets (Next to the Convention Center), Dayton (Downtown), Ohio, in the VAN CLEVE BALLROOM. Speaker is Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH from the FCC.

EA6, BALEARIC ISLANDS (EU-004). Matthias, DD9HK, will be active as EA6/DD9HK from Mallorca Island between June 15-19th. Activity will be holiday style on 160-6 meters on SSB using an Icom IC-7000 w/100 watts and a dipole.

FJ, ST. BARTHELEMY. Harry, AC8G, will be active as FJ/AC8G between May 22-27th. Activity will be on 160-6 meters. Harry states, "Please avoid asking for band changes, schedules and other interruptions especially if I am running well. Exceptions would be if 12, 10 or 6 meters are open to nearby islands." QSL via AC8G. QSLs from stateside SASE ony. Others SASE or bureau OK. Do not send cards to FJ Bureau. A week or so after returning home, Harry hopes to have his log posted to LoTW.

GJ, JERSEY (EU-013). By the time you read this, Geoff, G4CID, is expected to be active (starting May 11th) as GJ4ICD for possibly 7 to 10 days. His activity will be on the HF bands, but with a focus on 6 meters. Look for a beacon on 50.140 MHz. QSL via G4ICD.

IOTA NEWS....................

EU-005. Operators John/M0JFE, Ian/2E0EDX,Grian/2E0OYG,Nathan/2E0OCC,Greg/2E0RXX, Sean/2E0BAX and Liam/M3ZRY will be active as GB0IPA during the CQ WPX CW Contest (May 24-25th) from Piel Island.

EU-005. Steve, G0UIH, will once again attempt to activate Walney Island between May 31st and June 2nd using the callsign G0UIH/M. Activity will be mainly on 20/17/15 meters, but also on 40 meters using a IC706MK2G, w/400 watts into an Outbacker Perth Vertical. This activation is a reschedule from May 3rd. QSL direct to his home callsign.

EU-010. Paul, M3KBU, will be active as MM3KBU/p from the Island of Scalpay (IOSA OH-25, SCOTIA HI-19) between 1100-1600z on August 3rd. QSL via M3KBU, direct or by the bureau.

EU-016. Alex, DL1MAJ, and his family plan to visit Korcula Island (IOCA CI-041, ACIA-767, CIA-19, MIA MC-163, LH-1315) for one week between May 10-24th. The IOCA Group hopes Alex will find free time for ham-activity. QSL via his home callsign.

EU-054. Members of the Egadi DX Team and ARI di Trapani will be active as IF9LI from Levanzo Island (IIA TP-009, MIA MI-050, WLOTA LH-1918), May 16-18th. Operators mentioned are: Rino/IT9FXY, Momo/IT9GNG, Enzo/IT9ECQ, Sal/IW9FRA, Mimmo/IW9GTD, Pippo/IW9GNV and possibily Gastone/I4GAS. Activity will be on 80/40/20/15/10 meters using SSB, PSK31 and RTTY, and possibly 6 meters. A side trip to Il Faraglione (also EU-054, IIA TP-013, MIA MI-277) is being planned. QSL direct to IT9FXY.

EU-058. Operators Giovanni/IK1WEG, Davide/IW1DQS, Gerry/IZ1DSH, Giorgio/ IZ1DXS, Riccardo/IZ1GDB, Willy/IZ1HGM and Claudio/IZ1JMV will be active as F/homecall (or possibly M0IL, if callsign is issued. - QSL via IZ1HGM) from St. Honorat, Lerins Islands, May 17-18th. They plan to have three stations on the air. All QSOs will be confirmed automatically via the Bureau.

EU-110. Operators Alessandro/IK4ALM and Sergio/IZ4BBF will be active as 9A/homecall from the Island of Sveti Nikola (ACIA-16, IOCA CI-118, MIA MC-414, WLOTA LH-3152) between May 15-19th. QSL via their home callsigns, direct or by the bureau.

EU-124. Operators Ian/G1JCC, Dick/G4LBH, Don/G4LOO, David/G4MVU, Terry/G4UEM, Andy/G8ATD and Bryan/M0BIK will be active as GB2CI from Caldey Island (WLOTA LH-4056) between 1800z, September 2nd to 1100z, September 8th. Activity will be holiday style with operations on all bands 160-2 meters. Look for GW3SVJ/P to be operational over the weekend of September 6-7th for SSB and 2m contests. QSL direct or by the bureau to G8ATD. QSL manager G4UEM. Further information can be found on their Web site at:

NA-057. Ray, WQ7R, will be active as HQ9R from Roatan Island during the RSGB IOTA Contest (July 26-27th). QSL via K5WW.

NA-128. A group of 4 operators from Quebec City will be active as CG2I from Grosse-Ile, Quebec, Canada ( C.IS.A. PQ-010, GRID FN47) between July 25-27th. The members of the team will be Francois/VA2RC (VO2/VA2RC, NA-077), Guy/VE2QRA (NA-128, NA-077), Steve/VE2TKH (CY9SS, VO2ZT, VY0ICE) and Dany/VE2EBK (CI0GI, NA-128). There should be 2 stations (with KW, beams and dipoles) active at the same time. Activity will be on all bands 80-6 meters (if propagation is there) on SSB, CW and RTTY/PSK31. During the RSGB IOTA Contest, a station will be dedicated to the contest exclusively on SBB on the first half hour and CW for the last hour. QSL via VE2CQ. More info on .

IO1, ITALY (Special Event). Members of the A.R.I. Ivrea Club Station (IQ1IV) will activate special event station IO1WWC between May 12th and June 8th. Activity is to celebrate the 2008 Wildwater World Championships in Ivrea that takes place between June 3-8th. Look for operations to be on all the bands, HF to the VHF and UHF, with activity on the satellite. QSL via IQ1IV, by the bureau or direct (see ).

IR9, ITALY (Special Event). Maurizio, IT9TQH, President of A.R.I. -Palermo's Association, informs OPDX look for special event station IR9GI on Sicily Island to be active through May 18th. Members of the ARI Section of Palermo will use this callsign to celebrate "91=B0 Giro d'Italia di Ciclismo" - a road bicycle race in Sicily. Activity will be on all HF bands and modes. An award is available. QSL via IT9TQH.

JD1, MINIMA TORISHIMA. Masa, JA6GXK, is now active as JD1BMM on Marcus Island until May 22nd. Activity will be on 80-6 meters, CW and RTTY. QSL via the bureau.

JD1, OGASAWARA. Operators Toru/JI5USJ (JD1BLX) and Makoto/JI5RPT (JD1BLY) will be active from Chichijima Island (IOTA AS-031) in the Ogasawara Island group between Augsut 10-16th. Activity will be on 160-6 meters, using satellites, CW, SSB and the Digital modes. QSL via their home callsigns. For updates, see:

JW, SVALBARD. Lars, LA5LJA, will be active as JW5LJA and JW7FJA fromSpitsbergen Island (EU-026, WLOTA LH-0125) from May 25th to June 1st. Look for activity on all HF bands, using CW, SSB and digital modes. QSL both calls via LA5LJA, bureau preferred and also direct.

KH6, HAWAII. Look for Ron, KJ5XX, to be active as KJ5XX/KH6 from Kauai Island (OC-019, HI-003S, LH-1761) between now and May 16th. Activity will be mainly on 20 meters and with possible operations on 17/15/10 meters. QSL via KJ5XX.

KL7, ALASKA (IOTA and USI Op). Look for Michael, K6UMO, to be active ashomecall/KL7 from several Alaskan islands between September 15-20th. He will be on a cruise ship that stops at all of these islands. He will take an ICOM IC-703+ with him and will try to transmit from each island for as long as the ship is in harbor (or until dinner time). Michael will try to activate the following:

Kodiak Island (NA-019, USI AK-004S, 3rd S. Central County)

Unga Island (Not IOTA, USI AK099, 3rd S. Central County)

Unalaska Island (NA-059, USI AK005S, 3rd S. Central County)

Kiska (NA-070, USI AK197, 3rd S. Central County [Aleutians West])

Attu Island (NA-064, USI AK009S, 3rd S. Central County)

Please note: AL099 and AK197 are unqualified. QSLs will be accepted via: USI eQSL or direct to the callbook address.

LX, LUXEMBOURG. Philippe, LX2A, and a team of opertaors will be active as LX7I during the CQ WW WPX CW Contest (May 24-25th) as a Multi-2 entry. QSL via LX2A, by the bureau or direct. He has a new home page with a log search at: The log is uploaded every month to LoTW.

OJ0, MARKET REEF (EU-053). Pasi, OH3WS/OG3A, will be active as OJ0/OG3A during his spare time between May 14-17th. Activity will be on 40-20 meters. QSL via OH3WS.

PA143, THE NETHERLANDS (Special Event). Members of the Veron Traffic Bureau will be using the special callsign PA143ITU between May 15-30th. Activity is to celebrate the 143th anniversary of the ITU and the "World Telecommunication Day" which is held yearly on May 17th. Operations will be on all HF bands on CW, SSB and some RTTY. Suggested frequencies are: SSB - 3645, 7045, 14245, 18145, 21245, 24945 and 28445 kHz

CW - 3545, 7025, 10125, 14045, 18075, 24900 and 28045 kHz Look for activity during the CQWW WPX CW Contest (May 24-25th). QSL Manager is PA3CAL ("OK" via Bureau).

QSL INFO AND NEWS.....................

QSL ROUTES by Johannes/DK8JB:

A92GS direct

CQ5MGP via EA4URE

5X7FN via DC7NF

CS5NRA via EA4URE

BY1TTY via BG1LLB

EP4SP QSL ROUTE. Petr, OK1DOT, informs OPDX that he is now the QSL Manager for EP4SP as of May 5th. Petr offers his services to any station in need. He can be contacted at: petr.gustab@seznam.cz For more details and a list of stations that he is the manager for, please visit:

QSL STATUS FOR PZ5YV AND YN2YV. Conrad, IT9DAA, informs OPDX that all direct requests concerning PZ5YV and YN2YV have already been processed and mailed. The logs for PZ5YV have already been uploaded into LoTW. In a few weeks, after correcting any possible error, the log for YN2YV will be uploaded to LoTW.

NEW ADDRESS FOR RW3GW/3: Valery Sushkov, P.O.Box 88, Moscow 101000, Russia. Please send SASE with only IRCs (no currency).

SV9, CRETE. Willi, DJ7RJ, will be active as SV9/DJ7RJ in 2009 between February 25th and March 15th. Activity will be on the low bands, 160-10 meters and CW/SSB. QSL via his CBA.

TP2, FRANCE. Operators Dieter/DK5PZ, Volker/DL1WH, Peter/DL2RPS and Rene/DL7WR will operate from the Council of Europe Radio Club (TP2CE) betweem May 16-18th. They will concentrate on the lower bands, CW, SSB and the Digital modes. QSL via F5LGF. A log search will be available on:

V3, BELIZE. Operators Jay/K0BCN (V31MX) and Tom/AB5XZ will be active from Cay Caulker (NA-073) starting October 22nd. They also plan to be active as V31MX in the CQ World Wide SSB DX Contest (October 25-26th) as a Multi-Single entry. QSL via K0BCN.

V4, ST. KITTS AND NEVIS. Reiner, DL2AAZ, will be active as V4/9H3TI from the Island of Nevis (NA-104) between May 25th and June 15th. Activity will be on 80-10 meters, using CW and SSB, with 100 watts to GP and dipole antennas. QSL via DL2AAZ, direct or by the bureau.

VP5, TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS. Jim, WB2REM, will be active as VP5/WB2REM between July 2-12th. Activity will be on 160-6 meters, using CW and SSB. QSL direct ONLY via WB2REM.

VP9, BERMUDA. Yuri, VE3DZ, will be active as VP9/VE3DZ between May 22-28th. His activity will include the CQWW WPX CW Contest (May 24-25th) as a Single-Op/All-Band/Low-Power entry. Outside of the contest he will be on RTTY, PSK and SSB. QSL via VE3DZ.

WP3, PUERTO RICO. A group of operators will be commemorating the Puerto Rico Amateur Radio Operator Day, May 13th, in San Juan Antiguo [Old San Juan] (USI PR-013, San Juan County) and also qualify the island for the U.S. Islands program (USI), using the callsign WP3GW. Activity will be on 20 meters using CW and SSB from 1400 to 2300z. QSL via WP3GW.

ZS8, MARION ISLANDS. From the ZS8T Web page, Christian/DL6KAC and Col/MM0NDX report on behalf of ZS8T team (dated May 11th): "Over the past 24 hours numerous spots have been appearing on DX clusters mentioning Petrus is on air. As yet, we have no confirmation from Petrus. It's becoming apparent there are internet/phone problems on the island, so news is currently scarce. In the meantime, be aware of bogus ZS8T stations

appearing on the bands. If you'd like to familiarize yourself with Petrus's voice please visit previous recordings during 3Y0E at:

As soon as we hear again from Petrus, all news will be updated." For updates and the first offical announcement of ZS8T being on the air, please visit the official ZS8T Web site at:

SB PROP ARL ARLP020

ARLP010 Propagation de K7RA

Again this week Earth residents saw a new, but brief sunspot from new Cycle 24, judging from the polarity of the spot, sunspot 993. This one was south of the solar equator, so it has the same polarity as any Cycle 23 spot that was north of the equator. After two days it was gone, not from drifting over the edge of the visible solar disk, it just disappeared.

Geomagnetic indices were mostly quiet this week, except for some only slightly unsettled planetary A index numbers for May 2-3. The next active geomagnetic period is expected May 20, with a planetary A index of 25. For May 9-15 the predicted planetary A index is 8,

5, 5, 5, 12, 8 and 5.

For May 9-15 Geophysical Institute Prague predicts quiet conditions May 9, quiet to unsettled May 10, unsettled May 11-13, quiet to unsettled May 14, and quiet again on May 15.

An email from Martin McCormick, WB5AGZ of Stillwater, Oklahoma mentioned sporadic-E propagation and meteor showers. Last Saturday, May 3 he tuned to the Channel 2 television frequency centered on 55.25 MHz with his receiver set to CW mode, upper sideband. The closest Channel 2 station is 50 miles from him in Tulsa, so that makes spotting on this frequency possible, because locally from his position it is quiet.

He quickly heard a ping, then another, then a very loud ping with the slide-whistle effect associated with Doppler shift. This was from the Eta Aquarids meteor shower, which peaked two days later on May 5. The Eta Aquarids occur when Earth passes through dust left behind from Halley's Comet.

Martin noted that on February 17, 2009 when analog television goes dark we will lose a large group of powerful beacon stations for the low VHF spectrum, useful for detecting 6 meter openings. There are about 50 active broadcasters on Channel 2 in the United States, I assume most operating around the clock. So for the sporadic-E seasons we only have this Summer remaining to use this tool, and the shorter sporadic-E Winter season. After that, all quiet. I don't know what will eventually replace television broadcasting in the spectrum just above our 6 meter band when television channels are refarmed.

Sunspot numbers for May 1 through 7 were 0, 0, 0, 13, 15, 0, and 0 with a mean of 4. 10.7 cm flux was 68.5, 68.1, 67.3, 68.3, 67.6, 67.2, and 66.5 with a mean of 67.6. Estimated planetary A indices were 9, 12, 12, 8, 11, 10 and 4 with a mean of 9.4. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 6, 7, 9, 6, 8, 9 and 5, with a mean of 7.1.

MLDXCC 2008 Meetings 3rd Saturday (pending contest or other conflicts). Tentative Schedule below:

|May |17 |

|June |14 |

|July |19 or 26 |

|August |23 |

|September |20 |

|October |18 |

|November |22 |

|December |20 |

Membership Criteria

Membership criteria may be obtained by writing the Secretary/Treasurer at:

MLDXCC

PO Box 1073

Pine Grove, CA 95665-1073

The club website is:

The MLDXCC NEWSLETTER

Information may be reproduced provided credit is given MLDXCC.

2006 Officers of the MLDXCC

President, Richard Hill, NU6T

REHill@.com

Vice President, Shirley Rose, AA6K roses@

Director, Dick Wilson, K6LRN

k6lrn@

Director, Norm Wilson, N6JV

n6jv@

Director, George Campbell, KG6OJV

Kg60jv@

Treasurer, Carolyn Wilson, K6TKD

k6tkd@

Secretary, Kay Anderson, K6KO

k6ko@

Nugget Editor, Rick Samoian,W6SR samoian@

QSL Manager, Norm Regan, WA6SJQ

Qsl73@

Publicity Chairperson, Brandt Woodard, K6BEW. k6bew@

ARRL Awards Checkers

DXCC, Gary Stillwell, KI6T & Ken Anderson, K6TA

ARRL Sixth District QSL Bureau

P.O. Box 970 Fairfax, CA., 94978-0970

Comments or questions on this bureau's operation may be directed to kc6awx@ See the W6 Bureau home page ()

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