The monthly newsletter of the Carbon Amateur Radio Club

September 1999

At the last club meeting, elections were held in accordance

with the recently adopted Constitution and By-Laws. The following officers will become effective at 0000 UTC September 1, 1999:

President: Larry Lilly, N3CR

Vice-President: Glenn O'Donnell, K3PP

Secretary: Bob Schreibmaier, K3PH

Treasurer: John Schreibmaier, W3MF

At-Large Directors:

1 Year Term: John Bednar, K3CT

2 Year Term: Bruce Appleton, N3RXJ

3 Year Term: Bert Rex, W3OWP

The At-Large Directors were elected from a field of four nominees in a close race with KA3UKL. The three winners were then assigned terms in a random drawing.

K3PH was nominated for Secretary and thus relinquished his nomination for Treasurer. In another close race, he won the Secretary position over KB3CWH.

The resulting vacancy for Treasurer saw W3MF nominated and he won unopposed for that office. Both President and Vice-President offices were also unopposed.

All ONE year terms will expire at 2359 UTC August 31, 2000. N3RXJ's term expires at 2359 UTC August 31, 2001 and W3OWP's term expires 2359 UTC August 31, 2002. In the August 2000 elections, we will elect the four officers and the At-Large Director position held by K3CT.

Congratulations to my new fellow officers and the Board of Directors. Let us set our sights forward as we begin this new chapter in the history of the Carbon Amateur Radio Club! I promise we have some very good times ahead of us!

VY 73 de Glenn O'Donnell, K3PP

By N3CR

Greeting fellow hams and now that summer is over and the kids are back in school maybe now everyone will find more time to be by the radios. Propagation up to this point has been unsettled and appears to remain the same at least until the fall equinox. As the hours darkness increase the longer into the evening we will see DX. This sounds all well and good until you throw in some solar events to upset everything. A major flare occured August 28th which pushed the A Index up to 14. A minor flare two days later put the A Index up to 16 and K Index 2. This will effect next months propagation.

We can expect more unsettled conditions thru September with the best day being September 22^nd and the worst day September 10th - solar flux 120 A8 K2. The low solar flux for the month will be in the 120 to 130 range with the high peaking at 240 if only briefly. As with other solar events most have been of the short duration type and conditions returned to the "normal". Average solar flux is about 160 with more days reaching the 200 and above level each month. Sunspots have been running from 67 to 170 with something near 90 being average. On a daily graph it appears that the numbers are falling back to the sine wave levels and becoming more stable than the month before.

How will all this affect the Pa Qso Party on October 16th and 17th? This will fall in the period of unsettled propagation pending on new sunspots and major flares most of which are short duration in nature. Look for a solar flux of 150 - 155, A Index 8 to 10, K Index 2. You will find weak signal afternoons on 10m and 15m with the best times 10 am to 1pm local time and again at dusk.

DX on 20m will appear with good signals from 9am local time until noon and again after 6pm. Don't forget to look over the poles, there is some good propagation coming from those directions.

Some people have trouble predicting propagation one week ahead and here I am predicting six weeks ahead !! You can imagine more than just the crystal ball are glowing!!! I would be happy just to see a huge number of stations calling W3HA !! Join the fun and see what a real pileup is like!! ED K3VA help us out, please !!!! Carbon ARC is the bonus station this year and we will need Carbon stations on the air as well. Good Luck Everyone.

73s de Larry N3CR

(taken from ARRL Bulletins, courtesy John K3CT)

All solar indices were up this week, but so were geomagnetic numbers. This meant that although there was more ionizing radiation from the sun to produce a reflective ionosphere for HF signals, proton activity from flares and coronal holes kept conditions unstable.

When protons strike charged particles in the ionosphere, their positive charge neutralizes the negative ionization. In addition, the lower D layer, which tends to absorb HF radio signals expands, and there is increased absorption in the polar regions as well.

......

K8KZ wrote from Michigan to ask why propagation on 10 and 15 meters disappears for the most part during summer months, and he wonders if the late night 20 meter propagation will disappear this winter.

In the summer, heating takes place in the F layers of the ionosphere, causing it to expand during daylight hours. Since the MUF (Maximum Usable Frequency) is based on the density of the ionosphere, expansion by heating makes it less dense, so the MUF is lower. 10 meters tends to get left out, but 20 does not.

But on 20 meters in the summer, propagation into the night (particularly toward the west) is enhanced because the days are longer. During daylight the ionosphere is receiving more ionizing radiation from the sun, so 20 is great from North America toward the Pacific on summer nights.

In the winter, the days are shorter, so we don't get that long propagation after sunset. Also, because with less daylight the F layers are not heated as much, MUFs are higher, as the layers are more dense.

The bands are great for worldwide propagation in the Fall and Spring because the conditions are more even between the southern and northern hemispheres, providing more opportunities for worldwide propagation of HF signals. The equinox is coming up in less than a month on September 22. Look for great fall conditions, especially if some new sunspots appear.

…

KF7E sent the URL http://space.rice.edu/ISTP/justdials.htm, along with some comments about the ionosphere's D layer. Jim mentioned

that in the summer the D layer is thicker and more absorptive, and the LUF (Lowest Usable Frequency) increases. Since the MUF (Maximum Usable Frequency) is lower, this puts a ''squeeze'' on propagation, where there are fewer usable HF bands. But he also mentioned a tradeoff. While the MUFs are lower, 20 meter propagation extends long into summer evenings due to slower ion recombination, but closes sooner in the winter because of less ionization from sunlight and faster recombination.

(Provided courtesy of K3PH)

The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster

DX Bulletin No. 424

August 30, 1999

Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW

Provided by BARF-80 BBS Cleveland, Ohio

Online at 440-237-8208 28.8k-1200 Baud 8/N/1

Thanks to the Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society, Northern Ohio DX Association, Ohio/Penn PacketCluster Network, KA2D, N2OO, N3FTI, W3UR & The Daily DX, KB6NAN, W6SWM, K7BV, K8YSE, KE9KD & DX Central,

AH0W/OH2LVG, DJ5AV & DX News Letter, F6AJA & LNDX, F6BLQ, GI0DVU, HK6DOS, JA1ELY, OJ1JR, SP2BIK, SV2AEL, UUA0JGB, VK2NP, VP8LP, ZD8V/KF4OOX and Carlos Mayer for the following DX information.

AUGUST 30TH, A VERY IMPORTANT DATE (Two items)..........

1) OPDX's official proofreader (ed. my wife's) birthday. I want to wish her "ANOTHER wonderful 29th birthday" (ed. Hey, this great being married to a younger woman who never ages). Birthday wishes can be sent to: [email protected]

2) Closer To A Possible New Entity - The "New York Times" reports: "East Timor faces moment of truth in vote". On August 30th, "the people of East Timor will vote on a referendum that could lead it into a new era of freedom and reconciliation or one of even fiercer civil war. The referendum offers a choice between independence or an autonomous relationship with Indonesia."

1999 "HILLVIEW GARDENS" BORNEO DXPEDITION. Bob, N2OO/9M6OO, announced that a 3 week DXpedition partially sponsored by the Hillview Gardens Resort has been set for November, 1999. The list of operators are: Bob Schenck, N2OO/9M6OO (DXpedition leader); Jani Kusmulyana, YB0US/ NM6US/9M6US (Hardware engineer); Mike Mraz, N6MZ; Tom Harrell, N4XP and Paul Newberry, N4PN. Operations are scheduled to include activity from three different DXCC entities/countries. Schedule is as follows:

November 7-11th - 9M6AAC Hillview Gardens, Sabah, East Malaysia

November 12-18th - 9M6OO Layang-Layang Island, Spratly Islands

November 18-21st - The team will be attending the SEANET Convention in Brunei

November 21-25th - V8(???) Brunei (TBA)

November 25-29th - 9M6AAC Hillview Gardens, Sabah, East Malaysia. The team expects to be an entry in the CQWW CW Contest.

Operators N2OO and N4PN. Currently, 3 or 4 stations are being planned for the 9M6OO operation.

5W, WESTERN SAMOA. Gerard, PA3AXU, will be active again (on SSB, CW, RTTY and possibly PSK31) as 5W0GD between September 28th and October 14th. QSL

via home call (G.A.M.C. Dijkers, Dokter P.A. Cornethof 3, 6669AZ Dodewaard, The Netherlands).

DID YOU HAVE FUN DURING THE INTERNATIONAL LIGHTHOUSE/LIGHTSHIP WEEKEND? Dates for next year's event will be from 0001z on Saturday, August 19th, until 2359z on Sunday, August 20th, 2000.

FK, NEW CALEDONIA. Dany, F5CW (ex-FT5ZB and J28EI), is now active as FK/F5CW, and he is waiting for a FK8V(??) callsign. He will be there for the next 2 years. There has been some 17 meters activty. QSL via F5PED.

FO, FRENCH POLYNESIA. The "DX News Letter" reports that Patrick, FO5QS (ex FO8DT, FR7CE, F6ESW), now lives on Huahine Island (OC-067) for the next several months and is on the air between 14120 and 14150 kHz almost daily from 0500-0800z. His new QSL address is: Patrick Freys, Box 643, F-98731 Fare, Huahine, French Polynesia.

FR5/G, GLORIOSO ISLANDS. The "Les Nouvelles DX" reports that Gil/F5NOD, Eric/F5PXT, Larry/F5PYI and Erwann/F6JJX will be active from here next year in August. This may be a long wait, but many will be happy to hear this announcement since this DXCC entity is ranked 9th on the most wanted list. The group may also visit some different FH island.

HP, PANAMA. Ernesto/HP1EFR and Mari/HP1EGV (XYL) have just started using PSK31. No QSNs have been reported but keep looking. QSL via CBA/QRZ or Bureau.

IOTA NEWS.....

POSSIBLE NEW IOTAS. Pat, F6BLQ/9Q (ex-TU5DX, 5N0T) Dem. Rep. of Congo’s ARAC Committee Advisor, reports that Roger Balister, G3KMA, RSGB IOTA Manager, gives an indication that following 9Q islands may be potential IOTA targets:

Monpanga Isl 06.01S 12.35E

Ilot des Pecheurs 06.01S 12.25E

Rosa Isl 06.00S 12.27E

Zungu Kia Kambula Isl 06.01S 12.35E

Pat in Kinshasa states any operator willing to put these "ever first new ones" on the air is already granted a one week free B+B at his house when stopping by Kinshasa on their way to those spots. Caution: He recommends you have a secure 9Q license before paying your airfare!

EU-048. Paul, F6CXV, will be on vacation on Groix island from September 5-24th. Look for him to use the callsign TM0G between September 10-23th. NA-201. Oscar, HK6DOS, reports that the DXpedition to Key Breton Island, originally scheduled to begin this past weekend, has been postponed due to hurricanes in the area. It has been rescheduled for the week of December 1-6th, 1999.

OC-212. A group of VKs will be activating Broughton Island October 1-4th. They plan on operating 80-10 meters CW/SSB. The last time this island was activated was in 1992. The operators will be using there own call signs signing portable. The QSL rout has not been finalized at this point.

KH2, GUAM. John, K4ANA, now active as KH2/K4ANA has been quite active this past week on 20/30/40 meters CW between 1030 and 1230z. He will be here for the next three years. Meanwhile, the DXNL reports that Gus, KH2/K4SXT, is listening for Europe, Africa and the Middle East on 1824 kHz daily from 1950-2010z. We have also seen reports that he has been active between 1030-1130z.

NEW NRAU CHAIRMAN. Frank Smith, AH0W/OH2LVG, reports that Dxpeditioner Jari Jussila, OH2BU, was just elected for a three year term as Chairman of the Nordic Radio Amateur Union (NRAU), which represents Scandinavian amateurs (OH, SM, LA, OZ, TF and OY). Jari was one of the operators of the recent 3B9R DXpedition and leader of the record breaking 4J1FS DXpeditions. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Finnish Amateur Radio League and served two full terms as that League's Chairman. He also has served in a number of leadership capacities in the IARU.

OH0 & OJ0, ALAND ISLAND AND MARKET REEF (Update/Excerpts From A Press Release). Dennis, K7BV, reports that he will arrive on OH0 Monday, September 13th at 2030z. He will be joined by Ari, OH1EH, will go immediately to the OH0Z super station. They will combine their gear and set up for a one-night "multi-multi" operating on 80 and 160 throughout the night until sunrise. Their frequencies will be on or close to 3512 and 1827 kHz. Some SSB may be attempted if conditions are favorable. On Tuesday morning, Dennis will board a helicopter (along with Seppo/OH1VR and Lars/OH0RJ) for OJ0 Market Reef, weather permitting. They will begin operating a few hours later after the antennas are up and the stations are put together. Look for Dennis to sign OJ0/K7BV from September 14-20th. Also, look for OJ0 activity in the SAC Contest. They will leave the reef Monday, September 20th at 0800z. This operation was made possible thanks to the financial support from the NCDXF and Top Band enthusiasts organized by W6PBI, K6RK and K3SX. This is K7BV's second trip of the year to Market Reef, and he will place heavy emphasis on the 160 and 80 meters. QSL all OH0/OJ0/K7BV QSOs via KU9C. OH0Z QSLs go to OH1EH. QSL printing for the earlier trip was held until outcome of planning for this trip was known. The printer is preparing the cards now, and SASE requests should be in the mail very soon. Operating frequencies, details of the trip and photos of the May trip are posted on the Web site: http:www.qth.com/k7bv/

PSK31 CONTEST. This contest is sponsored by the Chautauqua County Contest Club and it will take place between 0000z and 2359z on September 4th.

QSL INFO AND NEWS......

QSL cards for the GB2MUL operation from the Lighthouse Station on Mull of Kintyre can be sent through the bureau in the usual way or direct to Jim, GI0DVU, at his callbook address. All callbooks from the last 4 years are correct. All QSL cards received via the bureau or received without the appropriate postage will be returned via the bureau (when time permits).

Dianna, KB6NAN, reports that she is now the new QSL Manager for the following callsigns: JY4NE, JY4NE/OD5, E44A and ZC6A (Ali Yashruti was operator on all operations). KB6NAN's QSL address is: Dianna R. Killeen, P.O. Box 911, Pescadero, CA 94060-0911.

Eric Vancraenbroeck, ON7RN, reports that he is now the QSL manager for: OT6P, OT7P, OT8P and OT9P. He states that QSLs are ok via the bureau or direct.

QSL route for VP8LGT active during the Lighthouse/Lightship weekend is via direct to VP8LP - address is: Bob McLeod, PO Box 474, 75 Davis Street, Stanley, Falkland Islands.

Stan, OK1JR, informs OPDX that more than 1500 direct QSLs were mailed (as promised before the end of August) for his 5N0MSV, 5N99MSV and 5N0/OK1JR operation. He also mentions that some 2500 QSLs have been sent through the bureau and he will continue to send cards through the bureau as received.

SPECIAL AWARD/CONTEST/EVENT. The Polish Short Wave Operators Association in Gdansk announces that several special stations will be active and an award will be available in commemorating the "60th Anniversary of Defense of the Polish Coast" between September 1st and October 2nd. This activity commemorates the ground and naval actions related to the Defensive Warfare in 1939, especially at the Reinfoced Area of Hel Penisula, Oksywie, Polish Postal Office in Gdansk and other units that offered resistance. October 2nd was the date the Reinforced Area of Hel Penisula had surrendered. This contest will be held for all HF and VHF bands, especially 80 and 40 meters. For award eligibility stations ouside of the Polish area: DX stations contacts must includes at least two QSOs or any European station shall be at least three QSOs with any of the special event stations that will operate from the following National Memorial Places:

3Z60H from Hel Penisula QSL Manager SP2FJN

3Z60O from Oksywie QSL Manager SP2HJN

3Z60P from the Museum of the Polish Post Office Gdansk

QSL Manager SP2AYC

3Z60W from Westerplatte QSL Manager SP2BNJ

3Z0BLY from the Destroyer Museum "ORP Blyskawica"

QSL Manager SP2PMW

3Z0MDL from the NAval Aquadron in Puck, QSL Manager SP2UUU

The cost of the award is 12 (PLN) for Polish operators and 3 USD or 3 IRC for all foreign stations. Requests for the award must be confirmed by two operators and should be submited with payment to: SP2FJN.

SPECIAL EVENT. Look for station K3T to be active to celebrate "Wellsboro Rail Days" October 9-17th. K3T will be on all bands 160-10 meters both CW and Phone modes. Operation will be from Wellsboro, PA (Tioga Co.),

and will be active during the PA QSO Party. QSL w/SASE to: Steven Kerns/ K3T, PO Box 344, Douglassville, PA 19518.

SPECIAL EVENT, Look for UE0JX to be active from September 1st through November 30th. The special event station is to commemorate the 120^th anniversary of Zeya city. QSL via DIRECT to RA0JX: Vladimir I. Babynin, P.O.BOX 1, ZEYA-3, AMURSKAYA OBL.676200, RUSSIA.

SW2, GREECE. Savas, SV2AEL, will again activate the special callsign SW2A during the WAE SSB and CQWW SSB Contests. QSL via P.O. Box 22013, Thessaloniki - 55310 - Greece. Also, the logs for SW2A (WPX SSB), SV2AEL/SV8 (IOTA EU-052), J48ISL (IOTA EU-49) and SX2T-SX2THE (1997) will be available at: http://www.qsl.net/sv2ael/

TF, ICELAND. Just a quick reminder (please refer to OPDX.415). Look for Bob, W2SF, to be active as W2SF/TF until September 6th. Activity will be on CW/SSB/RTTY. QSL to his home callsign.

TK, CORSICA. Look for Jack to continue to sign TK/F6FGY and stay on the island until September 10th. His activity has been RTTY on 20 meters.

TU, IVORY COAST. Look for Laurent, F4ATM, to be active as TU2/F4ATM from September 7-17th. He will use a TS-850 and a 14AVQ vertical antenna.

XX9, MACAO. Tomio, JM3DTY, will be active from here as XX9TUP beginning the evening of September 3rd and operate until September 13th. Activity will be on 20/15/10 and 6 meters (50.130). If spaces permit, he will be on the lower bands. Operations will be on SSB/CW/FM/RTTY/PSK31 (all 200 watts PEP). Tomio plans to participate in either the "All Asian DX Phone Contest (September 4-5th) and the WAE DX Phone Contest (September 11-12th).

QSL via the Bureau or direct to JL3VUL: Hideki Noma, 15-15 Fujigadai, Himeji, 670-0066 JAPAN

YI, IRAQ. Look for the "German Arab Friends" to be active now through October 1st signing YI9DAF, YI9SEB, YI9JN, YI9MB, YI99BIF, YI/DJ2SX, YI/DH1YVI, YI/DL8ABO and YI/DD3VW. No other details were given.

ZD8V WILL GO QRT. Paul, ZD8V/KF4OOX, informed OPDX that he will now be going QRT from Ancension Island on September 15th and will return to his home back in Sharon, Pa. Paul states. "I will not be returning.... After 15 years of work down here I have had enough of it and need to leave and get a life back in the states."

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OPDX INTERNET SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE REQUEST: [email protected]

OPDX WORLD-WIDE WEB HOME PAGE (provided by John, K8YSE):

http://www.en.com/users/k8yse/opdx.html

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Excerpts and distribution of The OPDX Bulletin are granted as long as KB8NW/OPDX/BARF80 receive credit. To contribute DX info, call BARF-80 BBS online at 440-237-8208 28.8k/14400/9600/2400/1200 and leave a message with the Sysop or send via InterNet Mail to: [email protected]

- OR - Send a message via packet to KB8NW @ WA8BXN.OH.USA.NA

- OR - Use the VOICE or FAX answering machine at 440-237-8208 which

shares the same phone line as BARF-80 BBS using a data/fax/phone switch.

To access: 1) Dial Number. 2) Wait for first ring (the second ring should be a false ring from the fax/data switch box) and then dial four quick ones ("1111"). (NOTE: Some FAX machines that send single "BEEPS" every second will not have to do this step.) 3) The phone will pick up and

after the "BEEP" leave your voice message or FAX.

Bob K3PH plans to show the Northern California DX Foundation videotape, "All China Amateur Radio Direction Finding Competition, plus BY1PK" at the September CARC meeting.

Goody KA3NGH has upgraded to Extra.

Additional N0UJR cartoons may be found

on the World Wide Web at: http://incolor.inetnebr.com/n0ujr

** denotes CARC supported or sponsored events

bold indicates items of local interest

September 6 : Sprint CW, MI QRP Club Labor Day CW Sprint

September 11 : ARRL September VHF QSO Party, North American Sprint – Phone

September 16 : *** CARC Meeting 19:30 Local – Carbon EMA Center Rte 93 ***

September 18 : Air Force Anniversary QSO Party, ARRL 10 Ghz Cumulative Contest, Washington State Salmon Run, QCWA QSO Party

September 19 : Tennessee QSO Party

September 25 : CQ Worldwide DX Contest – RTTY

October 2 : PSK31 Rumble, California QSO Party

Vice President: Glenn O’Donnell K3PP [email protected]

Secretary: Bob Schreibmaier K3PH

Treasurer: John Schreibmaier W3MF

W3HA Callsign Trustee: Bill Dale WY3K

W3HA Repeater Trustee: John Bednar K3CT

Public Information Officer: Bill Kelley KA3UKL

Skywarn Coordinator: Mike N3XYU

John Bednar K3CT, Bruce Appleton N3RXJ, Bert Rex W3OWP

Editor: Goody KA3NGH [email protected]

Contesting: Glenn K3PP [email protected]

DX : Bob K3PH

Foxhunting: open

Propagation and Commentary: Larry N3CR [email protected]

QRP: Lamar N3AT [email protected]

Technical : John K3CT

Newsletter Printing, Folding, Mailing: Andrew KB3CWH & Robert KB3BYT

CARC Website: http://www.cpals.com/~elitehom/carc/

Webmaster : Robert KB3BYT [email protected]

Regular Membership is $15.00, Regular with Autopatch is $20.00.