Thursday, July 27, 2006

Montengro (New County)

From ARRL:

Montenegro DX Festival 2006 Shifting into High Gear

Nineteen-year old Nikola Ilic, YZ6AMD, makes the first 4O3T
QSO on July 20.

NEWINGTON, CT, Jul 25, 2006--Montenegro DX Festival 2006 --
the on-air event celebrating the tiny Balkan nation's independence and
its status as a new DXCC entity -- is poised to shift into high gear this week.
As of 0800 UTC on July 24, the 4O3T team had already logged more than
30,000 contacts. "They are currently operating from two locations and
running three stations from each," said Martti Laine, OH2BH, in an update
to DX editors. "Late today they are expecting to activate a third station from
Bar. This will be the location of their best low-band efforts, and they hope to
have two stations QRV on 80 and 160 meters."

The three-week-long event, which got under way July 20, features visiting
operators from all over the continent and a few from the US. Nearly four
dozen operators from more than 10 countries are expected to serve as
4O3T operators during the DX Festival, which continues until August 13.

ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, and his wife Linda, KA1ZD, joined the event
this week. During the first weekend, the emphasis on 160 and 80 meters was on CW.
"In spite of the summer season, they were able to get their signals deep into
the Midwest of the US on 160 meters using a Titanex vertical," Laine said.
Efforts got under way earlier this week to put 4O3T on 75 meters by this
coming weekend from Ocas, near Bar, but initial tests on 75 were set to begin
this evening.

"The location is part of a navy radio station utilizing large commercial wideband
conical antennas with a gain of 5dBi," Laine explained, calling the site
"a low-band dream location with a large sloping plateau next to the Adriatic Sea
with an open shot toward the United States, Japan and Europe." Buried beneath
the site, he added, is an extensive radial field.

"We heard stories about 200 W ship radios relaying messages with S9
telephone-like signals below 2 MHz from Cuba and other long-distance
maritime locations," Laine recounted.

At the other 4O3T sites, plans were made to boost the contact rate for the
second weekend run, now that the sites are up and running and have
established a routine. RTTY operation is expected to commence on July 27.

The first 6-meter QSOs were made July 24.

Look for 4O3T on or about these frequencies: CW: 1826.5, 3522, 7022, 10,106
, 14,022, 18,072, 21,022, 24,892 and 28,022 kHz; SSB: 3795, 7055, 14,190,
18,145, 21,290, 24,945 and 28,490 kHz; RTTY: 7035, 10,135, 14,085,
18,105, 21,085 and 28,085 kHz; 6 meters, CW/SSB: 50,106 kHz.

An online searchable log is available on the SRACG Web site.

Festival organizers have set the ambitious goal of 200,000 contacts
for the event. DX Festival activities also will include several basic
courses on ham radio operating and CEPT license examinations
aimed at new and less-experienced radio amateurs.

QSL via Ranko Boca, YT6A.

YU6AO Operation on the Air
A second -- and unrelated -- large team, operating under the call sign
YU6AO, now is on the air from Montenegro and plans to continue
through August 18 on all bands and modes from the capital city of Podgorica
running four stations on 160 through 2 meters, CW, SSB, RTTY, PSK,
SSTV and FM.

Suggested frequencies are
CW: 1830, 3530, 7010, 10,115, 14,015, 18,080, 21,015, 24,900
and 28,010 kHz plus 50.102 and 144.050 MHz;

SSB: 1850, 3790, 7080, 14,250, 18,130, 21,250, 24,930 and 28,450 kHz
plus 50.130 and 144.310 MHz;

Digital: 3585, 7040, 10,130, 14,085, 18,110, 21,085, 24,910 and
28,085 kHz;

SSTV: 14,232 kHz.

QSL direct to YU6AO, Gojko Mitrovic, Crnojevica 4, 81000 Podgorica,
Montenegro or via the bureau.--some information from The Daily DX

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Montenegro

Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montenegro

The Republic of Montenegro (Serbian/Montenegrin: Црна Гора / Crna Gora, pronounced /'tsr̩naː 'ɡɔra/) is a country located in southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south, and borders Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the southeast. Its capital is Podgorica.
Independent from the late Middle Ages until 1918, the country was later a part of various incarnations of Yugoslavia and the state union of Serbia and Montenegro. Based on the results of a referendum held on May 21, 2006, Montenegro declared independence on June 3, 2006. Montenegro was recognised as an independent nation by Serbia on June 15 and on June 28, it became the 192nd member state[1] of the United Nations.

With the vote for independance, Montenegro, effective June 28, becomes a new DXCC entity for amateur radio operators to contact. The latest country to join the UN was Timor-Leste, which became the 191st UN Member State on 27th September 2002.

To celebrate the new DXCC entity a dxpedition was planned:

Operations will commence July 20 and will run until August 13, 2006. The callsign will be 4O3T. The following operator roster is released: 9A6AA, A61M, DJ7EO, DJ9ZB, DL3DXX, DL6LAU, DL7FER, DL8OBQ, DL7AJA, DF3TJ, G3TXF, I0SNY, I8NHJ, IK8HBA, I1JQJ, IK1ADH, IK1PMR, K1ZZ, KA1ZD, K2LEO, K2WR, N6OX, W6OSP, WW5L, LZ1JY, LZ1UQ, LZ2UU, OH2BH, OH2RF, OH2TA, OK3AA, ON4IA, ON4ATW, ON5TN, PA0R, PB2T, S50R, SP5XVY, T95A, UA3AB, UA4HBW, UA4HOX, YU1EW, YU3YQ, YT3T, YT6A, YT6T, YT6Y and Z35G plus several others.

The 4O3T operation will launch Yaesu's new FT2000 transceiver and will Also employ several SteppIR beams, courtesy of the Northern California DX Foundation (NCDXF) and SteppIR. 4O3T QSL via YT6A. CW - 1826.5, 3522, 7022, 10106, 14022, 18072, 21022, 24892 and 28022 kHz SSB - 3795, 7055, 14190, 18145, 21290, 24945 and 28490 kHz RTTY - 7035, 10135, 14085, 18105, 21085 and 28085 kHz 6 Meters - 50106 kHz CW/SSB

I have worked 4O3T on 40 cw and have heard them on 20 cw and 40 SSB.

Right now this is a fairly easy new one to add to your country count.

QSL via YT6A.

NEW COUNTRY!!!

Swain's Island is newest DXCC entity (Jul 24, 2006) -- A recent addition to the DXCC rules has led to the designation of Swain's Island (KH8) as the 337th DXCC entity. A brief inaugural DXpedition operating under the call sign KH8SI was to get under way this week. In June, the ARRL DXCC Desk announced the addition of a Paragraph (c) under Section II, DX List Criteria, 1. Political Entities of the DXCC Rules: "The Entity contains a permanent population, is administered by a local government and is located at least 800 km from its parent. To satisfy the 'permanent population' and 'administered by a local government' criteria of this subsection, an Entity must be listed on either (a) the US Department of State's list of 'Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty' as having a local 'Administrative Center,' or (b) the United Nations' list of 'Non-Self-Governing Territories.'" The new language reclassified American Samoa as a political entity for DXCC purposes. Subsequently, the DX Advisory Committee and the Awards Committee concurred with a request, accompanied by substantiating evidence, and added Swain's Island to the DXCC List as the first "separation entity" from American Samoa. "The distance between American Samoa and Swain's Island has been determined to be in excess of 350 km as required by DXCC Rules Section II, Paragraph 2, Section b)," the DXCC Desk said. Contacts made with Swain's Island on or after 0001 UTC on July 22, 2006, will count for DXCC credit. For more information, including the DXCC Reference Number for Swain's Island, contact the DXCC Desk. Link to this story

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Commercia Morse lives again!

Reposted from ARRL web page:


"Night of Nights VII" to Commemorate Last Commercial Morse
Message in US


July 10, 2006
Coast stations will return to the air this week for an evening of listening for
calls from ships and sending messages just as they did for so many years
before Morse operations were shut down.


Ray Smith ("RC") was the senior Morse operator at KPH. He sent
the last message when the station shut down in 1997.

Last year, the FCC issued the first commercial shore station license
in decades to KSM. Here, Richard "RD" Dillman, W6AWO ,
Denice Stoops, and Steve Hawes, WB6UZX, hold open the display
case where the license resides. The MRHS applied for the license
"in order to assure that American commercial Morse operation on
the marine bands will continue into the future."

Several commercial coast stations will be back on the air Thursday,
July 13 (UTC), to mark the "Night of Nights VII."
The annual event commemorates the last commercial Morse message
sent in the US. Many commercial radio operators also were Amateur
Radio operators. Historic KPH -- which has been maintained in operational
order and hosts Amateur Radio station K6KPH -- will celebrate its 101st
anniversary this year. Other stations to be on the air include KSM
-- celebrating its first anniversary -- WLO, KLB and NMC.

Coast station NOJ in Alaska was also to be on the roster but was
unable to participate this year. Radio amateurs and shortwave
listeners (SWLs) are invited to tune in and send reports.

"These on-the-air events are intended to honor the men and women
who followed the radiotelegraph trade on ships and at coast stations
around the world and made it one of honor and skill," says Richard
"RD" Dillman, W6AWO, of the Marine Radio Historical Society (MRHS).

The Society maintains KPH in cooperation with the Point Reyes
National Seashore, part of the National Park Service. Transmissions are
expected to continue until at least midnight PDT (0700 UTC).

KPH, the former RCA coast station located north of San Francisco,
will begin its commemorative transmission at 0001 UTC on July 13
(1701 PDT), which is seven years and one minute after the last
commercial Morse transmission in the US.

Dillman has issued a special request for those monitoring KPH
on 12,808.5 kHz on the Night of Nights. "The Transmitter Department
plans to alternate transmitters and, more important, antennas on this
frequency at the top of each hour during this year's Night of Nights,"
he said. "Both antennas will be directional H over 2 types but one will
be oriented north/south, the other east/west."

Dillman says the Transmitter Department will carefully log which
antenna is in use at what time and compare this information against
incoming reports. "So for all reception reports, but especially those for
12808.5, please include the time you heard the signal and a detailed signal
report," he said.


The two KPH transmitters on 12808.5 kHz will be an early 1990s-vintage
Henry and a 1950s-vintage RCA "L" set. Dillman says listeners may detect
some slight difference in keying between the two transmitters.

Returning from the Dead

ARRL member Brian Smith, W9IND, in Indiana, says the maritime
Morse transmissions were a great source of code practice when he was
a prospective radio amateur in his teens. "I learned how to send
and receive Morse code by listening to the automatic CW loops of
these very stations -- WLO, KPH, WCC, NSS and so forth," Smith said.
"The rhythms of the characters stuck in my head, which helped me pass
my Novice test at the age of 15; I was soon licensed as WN9ICB."

Smith notes that while the coast stations won't be working amateur stations,
they'll be offering QSL cards for reception reports. He called the event
"a rare opportunity to snare a collectible QSL from CW stations that
are essentially returning from the dead."

Veteran Operators and Transmitters

Veteran Morse operators, including former KPH staff members,
will be on duty at the KPH receiving station at Point Reyes, California,
"listening for calls from ships and sending messages just as they did for
so many years before Morse operations were shut down," Dillman says.

The transmitting station, some 18 miles south of Point Reyes in Bolinas,
was established in 1913 by the American Marconi Co. "The original KPH
transmitters, receivers and antennas will be used to activate frequencies
in all the commercial maritime HF bands and on MF as well."

Many of the KPH transmitters will be 1950s-era RCA sets. KSM will use
a 1940s-vintage Press Wireless PW-15 transmitter on its 12 MHz frequency
, and output power will be in the 4 to 5 kW range. Transmitting antennas
include a Marconi T for MF, double extended Zepps for 4, 6 and 8 MHz
and H over 2s for 12, 16 and 22 MHz.

Dillman says KPH will send traffic lists, weather and press broadcasts
as well as special commemorative messages, some of which will be sent
by hand. At other times the KPH and KSM "wheel" will be sent to
mark the transmitting frequencies.

Streaming Audio Available

A streaming audio feed will be available for Night of Nights VII.
"Audio will be from a remote receiver probably tuned to the KPH 4 Mc
channel," Dillman said. He notes, however, that picking up the Internet
audio feed does not qualify for a QSL card.

"We realize that this way of copying KPH may not be completely in line
with the traditions of maritime communications," he said, "but we thought
we'd provide it as an option for those who are unable to copy the proceedings any other way."

More Information

Members of the public are invited to visit the KPH receiving station
for this week's event. It will open to visitors at 1500 PDT. The station
is located at 17400 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, on the route to the
Point Reyes lighthouse.

There's more information about the Night of Nights VII event on
the Maritime Radio Historical Society Web site or by contacting Dillman
(415) 990-7090, or Tom Horsfall, WA6OPE (510) 237-9535.

Frequencies and QSL Info

KPH will transmit on 4247.0, 6477.5, 8642.0, 12808.5, 17016.8 and
22477.5 kHz on HF and 500 and 426 kHz on MF. These frequencies have
been made available through the generous cooperation of Globe Wireless,
the current owner of the KPH and KFS licenses. Operators will listen for calls
from ships on ITU Channel 3 in all bands. The Channel 3 frequencies are
4184.0, 6276.0, 8368.0, 12552.0, 16736.0 and 22280.5 kHz on HF and
500 kHz on MF. Send reception reports to D.A. Stoops, PO Box 381, Bolinas, CA
94924-0381 USA. (Denice Stoops was the first female telegrapher hired at KPH.)

KSM will transmit on 426, 500, 6474, 12993 and 16914 kHz. Operators
will listen for calls from ships on 500 kHz and HF Channel 3
(see KPH listing for frequencies). Send reception to D.A. Stoops,
PO Box 381, Bolinas, CA 94924-0381 USA.


WLO will transmit on 4343, 8514 and 12,660 kHz, and operators
will listen for calls from ships on HF Channel 3
(see KPH listing for frequencies). Send reception reports to
WLO/KLB, 700 Rinla Ave, Mobile, AL 36619 USA, or via e-mail.

Due to antenna problems caused by Hurricane Katrina, WLO will not be on MF this year.
KLB will transmit on 488, 500, 2063.0, 6411.0 and 12917.0 kHz,
and operators will listen for calls from ships on 500 kHz and on HF
Channel 3 (see KPH listing for frequencies). Send reception reports to
WLO/KLB, 700 Rinla Ave, Mobile, AL 36619 USA, or via e-mail.

NMC will transmit on 448, 472, 500, 6383.0, 8574.0 and 17220.5 kHz,
and operators will listen for calls from ships on 500 kHz and on HF
Channel 3 (see KPH listing for frequencies). Send reception reports to

Commanding Officer, ATTN: ITC Eric Simmons, Communications Area
Master Station Pacific, 1700 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, Pt Reyes Station,
CA 94956-0560 USA.

Field day 2006

Well Field Day 2006 has come and gone. And you couldn't have asked for much better weather, at least in the Ohio Valley. KY4CW (composed of AA4RL, K4SAC, NW4T and K4MQR) KY Indiana Dx Association, ranked 5th in 1A nationwide in 2005 and this year after the tragic death of NW4T, who fell off of his tower while working on his antennas in preperation for the ARRL CW SS Contest, we wanted to memorialize Gerald by attempting to beat last year's score operating in "missing man" formation.

2005 scores
1 W6PT 8,324 1A 2,103 2 SDG 15 San Diego DX/Pt Loma ARC
2 K9TP 6,790 1A 1,834 2 IL 8
3 N4OL 6,408 1A 1,540 2 NC 7 Central NC DX Chasers
4 W9HUZ 6,200 1A 1,335 2 IL 4 Southern IL DX & Contest Club
5 KY4CW 6,166 1A 1,329 2 KY 4 KY IN DX Assn


So AA4RL, K4MQR and myself set out to honor Gerald and have a Memorium Field Day. AA4RL and K4MQR set up the antennas, while K4SAC set up the station. We got on the air andFD 2006 had begun!

Here is our band breakdown:

160 0 150 0 150 0 150
80 130 150 0 150 0 150
40 485 150 0 150 160 150
20 700 150 0 150 0 150
15 5 150 0 150 0 150
10 0 150 0 150 0 150
6 0 150 0 150 0 150
2 0 150 0 150 0 150
1.25 0 150 0 150 0 150
70 0 150 0 150 0 150
33 0 150 0 150 0 150
23 0 150 0 150 0 150
GOTA 0 150 0 150 0 150
Totals 1320 CW 0 Dig 160 Phone

Last year as you can see we had 1329 total qso's so we handily beat last year's scores. Going by last year's scores, we anticipate that we are somewhere around 3rd-4th place in 1A unless overall scores increase tremendously.

It was a honor to memorialize Gerald in this way, and we look forward to FD next year.

Powered by Blogger