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Happy new year with lots of DX to all our viewers
Winter LSDXA Meeting
Just in case you missed the notice, the next meeting is on Saturday,
January 10 at Bodacious BBQ, 1206
E. Division St. in Arlington. Since we supported the 9XØR
Rwanda operation, EA5RM sent us a video of their operation from start to
finish. The video, which runs about 40 minutes, also gives some insights
into the difficulties in operating from Africa.
E44M - Palestine
As I finish writing this, CNN are reporting "All Out War"
has erupted in the Gaza strip.
 They are on the
air. They were heard very weak on 20m CW here.
Latest news from the team:- Over here everything is ok, but we have a
strong local noise (S9+) an all the bands. We'll try to install some EWE
antennas for the low bands but we have to be careful.
Very good news from Palestine - a team consisting of C31CT, IK2CIO,
IZ0BTV, IZ0EGM, IZ4AKS, IZ8IYX, SP3DOI have been granted a license in
Palestine. Their first activity as E44M will be from January 1 to January
11, 2009. They will have 3 stations active with beams, verticals and wire
antennas on bands from 160 meters to 2 meters SSB, CW, RTTY.
They will focus their activity to RTTY and other digital modes, low and
WARC bands, giving attention to stations outside Europe, when the
propagation will allow it. The LSDXA is proud to have been a sponsor for
this DXpedition.
My computer shows the beam heading as 40° / 220° from Dallas...
QSL via IZ0BTV. He will answer via DIRECT, BURO, LOTW
in reasonable time.
Palestine is not a common country. Quite a lot of Amateurs from North
America still need it as an all-time new country.
Looking in the webmasters log shows E44DX in 1999 but nothing since.
E4/OE1GZA was active during 2000/2001.
In November 2008 E4/OM2DX was a very active DXpedition, but was never even
heard here.....
Proposals for a Palestinian state refer to the proposed establishment of
an independent state for the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, which
is currently controlled by Hamas, and parts of the West Bank, which is now
administered by the Palestinian National Authority. The precise borders of
this state are under debate. The state of Palestine is currently
recognized by 96 countries.
A declaration of a "State of Palestine" took place in Algiers on
November 15, 1988, by the Palestinian National Council, the legislative
body of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). The proclaimed
"State of Palestine" is not and has never actually been an
independent state, as it has never had sovereignty over any territory in
history. The declaration was approved by a vote of 253-46, with 10
abstentions. The proclaimed State was recognized immediately by the Arab
League, and about half the world's governments recognize it today. It
maintains embassies in these countries (which are generally PLO
delegations). The State of Palestine is not recognized by the United
Nations, although the European Union, as well as most member states,
maintain diplomatic ties with the Palestinian Authority
The current position of the Palestinian Authority, as well as Israel is
that all of the West Bank and Gaza Strip should form the basis of a future
Palestinian State. The main discussion during the last fifteen years has
focused on turning most or the whole of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank
into an independent Palestinian state
E44M has a web page HERE
and a FORUM
KC4AAA - Antarctica
Helmuth, W6KDX will be active from the US Antarctic
Research Project south pole station, Amundsen-Scott base until January
5th. This is AN-016 for the IOTA fans. This is a spare time operation
since Helmut will be working on a telescope while there. Check 14.243 MHz.
I'm pretty sure the beam heading will be 180° / 0° from anywhere...
QSL via K1IED
Antarctica is not a very rare country. Certainly, anybody who has been
dxing for a while should have it confirmed. However, KC4AAA from the pole
is another story in my experience. In 30 years of dxing it appears just
three times in my log. First was in December 1975 (SSB), then
January 2002 (CW). My last QSO was with Helmuth when he was there last
year.
The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is the southernmost continually
inhabited place on the planet. Its name honors Roald Amundsen who reached
the South Pole in December 1911, and Robert F. Scott who reached the South
Pole the following month.
The original base constructed in November 1956 to support the
International Geophysical Year in 1957, and has been continuously occupied
since then. It currently lies within 100 meters (330 ft) of the
Geographic South Pole. As with all structures at the South Pole, the
original station caused wind-blown snow to build up in the surrounding
area. This snow accumulation resulted in the structure being further
buried by about four feet of snow per year. The station, abandoned since
1975, is now deeply buried, and the pressure has caused the mostly wooden
roof to cave in. The site is therefore a hazardous area and off limits to
all visitors.
From 1970 - 1974 the geodesic dome was built at the station. Detached
buildings within the dome house instruments for monitoring the upper and
lower atmosphere and for numerous and complex projects in astronomy and
astrophysics. This was used until 2003.
Construction of the current station, adjacent to the Dome, began in 1999.
Features of the new station included a modular design, to accommodate an
increasing station population, and an adjustable elevation, in order to
prevent the station from being buried in snow. The building faces into the
wind with a sloping lower portion of wall. This angled wall increases the
speed of the wind as it passes underneath, causing the snow to be scoured
away and keeping the building from being quickly buried. Wind tunnel tests
show that scouring will continue to occur until the snow level reaches the
second floor.
In a location where about 20 cm (8 inches) of snow accumulates
every year without ever thawing, the building's rounded corners and edges
help reduce snow drifts. Because snow gradually settles over time under
its own weight, the foundations of the building were designed to
accommodate substantial differential settlements over any one wing, any
one line, or any one column. If differential settlement continues, the
supported structure will need to be jacked and then leveled.
The facility was designed to be jacked up an entire story, so the
primary building columns are outboard of the walls. During jacking, a new
height of column will be added over the existing columns, and jacks will
pull the building up to the higher elevation.
Read about the telescope HERE
LSDXA 80m net on Saturdays
Please don't forget the LSDXA information nets take place
on Saturdays, on 3815 kHz +/- QRM at 09:30 local. Net control is Victor
Paul, WB0TEV in Greenville, Texas. Purpose of the net is to exchange info
on what DX has been heard and worked from this part 5 land in terms of
bands and times. Reports on recently received QSLs will be exchanged as
well.
Ethics and Operating Procedures for the Radio Amateur
New hams, new dxers and even us "Old Hands" could use a lesson /
reminder of good operating procedures sometimes. So, the great gentlemen
from Belgium, John ON4UN, and Mark ON4WW, have written an excellent
"Ethics and Operating Procedures for the Radio Amateur" guide.
It can be downloaded as a .pdf file from several websites, including the IARU
and the RSGB.
Descheo
January 6, 2009
Desecheo 2009 Press release #3
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
During the week of December 17-21, six members of the February
2009 Desecheo DXpedition team met in Puerto Rico. The team spent the first
evening with local DXers and members of the Puerto Rico Amateur Radio League
and enjoyed a wonderful dinner and a night of fellowship. The hospitality was
gracious and very much appreciated.
The following day the team visited US Fish and Wildlife Headquarters in
Boqueron and met with the Chief Refuge Manager and law enforcement personnel.
Later that day, the DXpedition team members underwent UXO (unexploded
ordnance) training. The following morning, Friday, December 19th,
they accompanied U.S. Fish & Wildlife law enforcement and UXO personnel to
Desecheo. The campsite and antenna fields were thoroughly swept for UXO and
several areas were found suspicious. These areas were clearly marked, mapped
by GPS and declared off limits for the DXpedition. USFWS will allow antennas
on the ridge above the helicopter pad, thus providing a clear shot to EU, NA
and JA. Other antennas will be located on the beach below the
helicopter pad. The only radio operation that was conducted was to test a 2m
link to Puerto Rico. After three hours on the Island, the team endured a rough
passage back to the mainland.
Logistics and staging of equipment is ongoing and will be complete before the
team arrives in Puerto Rico on Feb.7th. The team will transit to
Desecheo on Feb.12th to begin the two-week operation. Eight HF
stations plus 6 meters will be operational. An incredible array of antennas
has been planned.
Transportation and logistics have been arranged for a fast deployment and
quick appearance on the air.
The Desecheo 2009 team wishes to thank our sponsors for their generous
support. Special thanks go to North American and Japanese DX clubs
and individual DXers. Their support has been especially
noteworthy.
Fundraising continues….if you or your Club would like to
help out, please go to www.kp5.us/help.htm.
While on the team website, click the "Pictures" menu button and
check out the pictures taken on the recent reconnaissance trip to Desecheo.
73,
Co-leaders:
Bob Allphin, K4UEE
Glenn Johnson, WØGJ
The LSDXA is proud to have contributed towards this dxpedition
ZS8T is on Marion Island
Petrus will be on Marion Island for a
year. Although he got there in April 2008, he has been too busy for amateur radio
operations yet. The great news is he will have an Icom IC-7000, an Ameritron AL80B
Amp, a Spiderbeam, A Steppir vertical and a Bencher paddle. Maybe my
dreams of a CW contact with ZS8 will be fulfilled.
On 21st August, the ZS
guys assisting Petrus issued news update number 3. It basically said
they have been unable to contact Petrus for two months, and they don't
know why he has not been active on the bands yet. The full text is on
his web page linked below.
As I update this web page on Christmas eve, there has been no update on the ZS8T webpage,
and no reports of activity on the cluster. That is eight months without
any activity. Maybe we should pass the hat around and buy some tickets
for Petrus to get a visit from Roger and Nigel.
ZS8T web page HERE
3YØE web page HERE
Excel Spreadsheet by Jari, OH2BU - The "Mega DX Peditions Honor Roll".
MEGA DX PEDITIONS HONOR ROLL. Jari, OH2BU,
has put together and maintained an interesting Excel spreadsheet over the
last 12 years called - The "Mega DX Peditions Honor Roll". This
Honor Roll listing includes data of DXpeditions that have
worked 30,000 or more QSOs since 1979. This unique listing includes data
on:
-
A summary on the DXpedition (dates,
length, QSOs, stations..etc.)
-
Information on Logs, Web site, QSL
routes and if it is in LoTW
-
List of operators of the DXpedition
-
QSO statistics per continents, modes
and bands
-
Also continental, band and mode records
The whole purpose of this listing is to
help future DXpeditions in planning their next operation, and to
understand the possibilities in making QSOs to different continents and to
optimize their efforts.
The LSDXA would like to thank Jari for permission to reproduce his amazing
spreadsheet on this site. Please Click on the "Files" link in
our menu to access it.
Current DX Cluster Spots - updated every 30 secs.
Possible DXCC changes
According to Dutch
Prime Minister important agreements to secure the future of the people on the
Netherlands Antilles were made.
During (another) Round Table Conference held on 15 December 2008 an agreement
was signed on the future of the Netherlands Antilles. In 2009 more work has to
be done on the execution of the agreements made. Depending on progress a date
will be set for the implementation of the new structure. There is hope that all
will be finalized in 2010.
In 2005 it was agreed that Curaçao and Sint Maarten will become autonomous
countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands and that the islands Bonaire,
Sint Eustatius and Saba will become Dutch municipalities.
DXCC wise these changes could result in deletion of two entities (PJ2 and
PJ7) and four new entities, being
- Curaçao with status aparte
- Sint Maarten with status aparte
- Bonaire
- Sint Eustatius and Saba
I'm sure the following will never count for DXCC, but it's interesting to see
who can declare independence......
When this site was updated
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