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Northwest Indiana DX CLUB Volume 5, Issue 10 October 2017

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E

1 President Speaks

2- Member News/DX News

President’s Corner

The next meeting is the October 14th. The Viking Chili at Noon.

Mike Kasrich, AJ9C will be speaking

about his DXpeditions. This will be very

interesting.

73

John W3ML

Good DXing!

Don’t Forget DXCC CARD CHECKING Doctor Richard Lochner, K9QA is our

Official ARRL DXCC Card Checker.

Contact Rich to schedule an appointment

for card checking.

You may email him at k9qa@arrl.net for

details on how to mail your cards to him, if

you desire to go that route.

NWI DX Club Website http://nwidxclub.weebly.com/

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Reminder, the NWIDX Club has a club call W9NWI. The call is available to members for use during contests, special events, Field Day, etc. To schedule dates for its use, contact the trustee, Steve Mollman – KD9HL. kd9hl@arrl.net QSL cards are available.

We support the LoTW.

NWIDX Club Logo

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We will have a couple of Presentations at this month’s meeting.

Home Depot in the Ham Radio Business?

By Steve Mollman –KD9HL

Is Home Depot dipping its toes into the Ham Radio business? A search of their on-line catalog reveals a number of ham antennas being offered. All are dual banders for 144-148 MHz/430-450 MHz. Most are designed for mobile use but there are several base verticals listed. The manufacturer is “Tram” supposedly out of Texas. Of particular interest for an omni-directional vertical is the TRAM 1480 Amateur Dual-Band Base Antenna. This antenna appears to be a clone of the Diamond X-200, an antenna that retails for about $120. The Tram is under $43 + tax delivered to your local Home Depot.

While probably not a “cup of tea” for a hard-core HF DX’er, these antennas may be of interest to someone who does dabble in the 2 meter and up world.

< 73’s and Good DX >

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QSL Card of the Month A collection of the old, the new, the rare, the exotic or just interesting QSL Cards

Uganda 5X

ClubLog 2017: Most Wanted World Rank: #141

Most Wanted North America Rank: #102

CQ zone: 37 ITU Zone: 48

Continent: AF

Location: 00°18′49″N 32°34′52″E

Beam Headings from Northwestern Indiana: 68°/248° 7615 mi / 17243 mi

An East African country of approximately 40 million people, Uganda has substantial natural resources, including fertile soils, regular rainfall, small deposits of copper, gold, and other minerals, and recently discovered oil. Agriculture (coffee) is the most important sector of the economy. Since its independence from Britain in 1962 the country has had a turbulent history. Such characters as Milton Obote and Idi Amin have controlled the country with Amin responsible for the death of up to an estimated 500,000 people. Uganda continues to be subject to armed fighting among hostile ethnic groups, rebels, armed gangs, militias, and various government forces that extend across its borders; Ugandan refugees as well as members of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) often seek shelter in southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Garamba National Park; LRA forces have also attacked Kenyan villages across the border.

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The operator responsible for this QSL card, Rev. Dr. Gerasimos (Gerry) Kambites MD, arrived in Uganda in 1983, just a short time after Idi Amin had fled the country.

A Canadian, after college he became a correspondent for United Press International. Two years later, yearning for adventure, he joined the Transworld Snowmobile Expedition as a cameraman, Minnesota to Moscow. They never made it to Moscow but nearly perished in Greenland. The trials of that experience led him to divinity school. There he met his future wife, a teacher, who was from a Ugandan Orthodox family. This led to Medical School, marriage to his African Orthodox fiancée, an article in National Geographic, and the beginning of the dream of building a Church, Clinic and school in Uganda. From 1983 until 1988 they served in a country riddled by war and the AIDS pandemic. His mission was located on Bukasa, a Lake Victoria island. Bukasa Island is located on the northern edge of the lake and just south of the equator. To reach the island, one must take one of the local’s wooden boats. That trip can take anywhere from 4-8 hours. The island is sparsely populated by fishermen and subsistence farmers. Very little infrastructure exists there: Rainwater is collected for cooking, drinking and cleaning. All cooking is done over coal fires, and the only electricity available comes from those who have generators. He kept a large boat at ready to be able to flee across the lake to Kenya in case of violence. Commenting on his experience he says “This tested my Priesthood, my medical knowledge and indeed every part of my being”. Civil war and suspicion of foreigners led to his arrest as a spy, imprisonment and finally deportation.

Gerry - VE3SPY (ex 5X5GK) 2014)

5X5GK and family arriving in Toronto after deportation – 1988 He has written a book on his Ugandan experiences – “Tears on the Equator”. Today he resides in Canada and is still active in his church and medical practice specializing in Psychiatry.

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< 73’s and Good DX>

What Do You Think?

My Favorite Part of the DXpedition…

By Paul S. Ewing - N6PSE

There are many phases to a successful Dxpedition. From the Idea or Concept phase, all the way through the planning and execution or operation phases ending with the wrap up or conclusion of the Dxpedition which culminates in the mailing of QSL cards, LoTW uploads and the preparation and storage of the equipment for the next Dxpedition.

My favorite phase of the Dxpedition takes place just after setup and operations begins. Typically, during my first 3-4 shifts on the bands, I am making notes of which bands are open to which continents during certain times. I really enjoy operating on the higher bands while my other team mates relish operating on 80 and 160 meters.

I love to watch the effect of propagation as it rolls like a large Ocean Wave from continent to continent. When operating from places in Africa, such as South Sudan and Eritrea, I have seen where at our sunrise, the propagation moves westward across the globe. Africa and Europe are open as the sun rises and within a few hours the first North and South American stations receive propagation. This was also apparent from Iraq in 2010 and Yemen in 2012. I noticed that as I was working stations in EU that every once in a while, I would hear a weak W1 or W2 station. Within a few hours, the W1, VE1 and W2 stations were almost as strong as the European stations. As the W1/W2 stations grow in strength, you begin to hear some W4, W3 and W8/W9 stations.

Soon, the signals from the East Coast peak and begin to fade as the W8/W9 signals become stronger. The effect of the Ocean Wave rolling westward continues and the W0/W5 signals begin to get stronger as the W1/W2 and W4 signals begin to fade. As my shift continues, I begin to hear the W6/W7 signals. From Africa and the Middle East, W6/W7 contacts are not strong and have only a very short window of propagation. As the W8/W9 signals are fading out the W6/W7 signals begin to peak. Within a short time, the W6/W7 signals are fading as the KH6 signals are becoming stronger.

When I operated from Myanmar in 2013 during the XZ1J Dxpedition, I saw much different propagation. Surprisingly, one of our toughest area to work on the high bands was the US West Coast. In contrast, we had very good long path

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openings just after our sunrise to the US East Coast. During those long path openings, propagation would move westward across the USA but would die out completely before it reached the US West Coast.

Sometimes, during a Dxpedition, we experience anomalous propagation behavior. During the VP8SGI Dxpedition, I was operating on ten meters SSB one late afternoon and I experienced several hours of “spotlight propagation” to North America. By spotlight propagation, I mean that the band was only open to small areas at any one time. Sometimes, the propagation was one way. I was hearing stations well that were calling me (split) but they were not always hearing me.

Some DXpeditioners become very distracted by the remote station users. They pause and think how can that be? A station calling me with a strong signal when he should not have propagation?

Unless one has the QRZ.com/Callbook database memorized, it’s not worth the time or effort to address the issue of remote users during the DXpediton. The ARRL has thoroughly covered this issue and I won’t address it further.

So, for me, my favorite part of the Dxpedition is anticipating and experiencing the propagation band by band, day by day to see how it changes by time of day. While propagation can be predicted, many times I have seen where there were good openings where no opening was predicted.

What do you think?

Thank you to Paul Ewing-N6PSE for his kind permission to print this item. Paul is a noted DXpeditioner having operated from many rare and semi rare spots, including the South Sandwich Islands, Yemen, Myanmar, Eritrea and the South Georgia Islands.

Editor’s Note: Paul comments that “Sometimes, the propagation was one way. I was hearing stations well that were calling me (split) but they were not always hearing me.” As a firm believer in the DX Code of Conduct, I have to wonder if some of these stations in their greed were disregarding the second item of the code i.e. “I will only call if I can copy the DX station properly”. Were these stations seeing a spot and calling blind without listening first? The old timers DX truism of "If you can’t hear them, you can’t work them” still applies. To broadcast blind like this just clutters up the band with QRM and may deprive a deserving DXer of a needed contact. All DXers should operate to the highest levels of proficiency, with proper consideration for others using the amateur radio bands.

Handy Hint Oxidation-Rust-Corrosion

By Steve Mollman-KD9HL

Oxidation never sleeps! This picture of a Rohn 45 tower leg at PJ2T in Curacao was taken in December 2016. The rust happened

because the coax was secured by tape wrapped around this location and trapped water underneath. The rust has been removed with

aggressive wire brushing, and is ready for the next steps of repair, to be covered with multiple coats of epoxy paint.

(continued)

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A possible better way to secure the coax to the tower legs would be to use black plastic wire ties (UV Resistant). For additional

strength and peace of mind, use two at each securement point. The wire ties should be “secure” but with enough slack to allow a

little breathing room. Note: A good guide to proper tubing repair is The FAA Airframe and Powerplant Mechanics-Airframe Handbook AC 65-15. Page 264 of that

volume advises that “in the case of punctured tubing, use welded-patch repairs if the holes are not longer than the tube diameter and involve not

more than one-fourth of the tube diameter”. The FAA advises using either a welded patch or inserting a metal sleeve into the original tube. If

there is significant internal corrosion it may be necessary to replace the tower section. Photo courtesy of Geoff Howard, WØCG

< 73’s and Good DX >

3Y0Z BOUVET DXPEDITION (Press Release #8, dated September 21st).

Our team Meeting in Atlanta, GA, from Sept. 7th through the 10th was a great success. Eighteen of our 20 operators were present, coming from as far away as Japan and representing 7 of the 8 home countries of our team members. Our meetings began with a review of our goals, the challenges we have met, and those we have yet to encounter. We had a Skype conference with the CEO of our transportation company in Punta Arenas, Chile, and then discussed safety, our shelter deployment plans, antennas, transceivers and amplifiers, propagation, medical and emergency issues, operating practices, scheduling, and propagation. We spent many hours unpacking and then staging our equipment. We inventoried everything and then began moving it from temporary storage to our 40-foot sea container. We also prepared our customs documentation which included the 6,000 items on our inventory. We ran a tank of gas through each of our eight 6.5 KW generators, drained the oil from them, and readied them for shipment. There were many of trips to local stores for more shipping cases, duct tape, nuts and bolts, electrical supplies, fuel cans, etc.

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Our EME team needed to be certain there were no problems with their complex station and antenna system. They worked until 4:30 AM assembling their 2-meter station and antenna array and were rewarded by completing a QSO off the moon with PA2CHR, our EME pilot station. The station works! Our sea container leaves Atlanta the first few days of October. It will be placed aboard a ship bound for Punta Arenas, Chile. We are hopeful that it will there no later than December 1st. Our team members have all purchased their airline tickets to Punta Arenas for a couple days of meetings and orientation. Then we will fly across the Drake Passage on the morning of January 13th to board our ship at King George Island in the South Shetland Islands. We plan to sail for Bouvet that same afternoon. We will arrive at Bouvet sometime between January 23rd and 25th. Our actual landing date is weather dependent. We will be lucky to be on the air within a few days. Every detail of our landing sequence, shelter construction, antenna layout, equipment setup and radio operations is well thought out. Also, our emergency evacuation routes and plans have been identified. We are humbled by the support of the DX community. Over 100 clubs and foundations and over 1550 individuals have supported us financially. If you have already supported us, we thank you. But, please ask your fellow DXers to join you. If you have yet to contribute, we ask for your consideration. While our operators are prepared to dig deeper into their pockets to make this DXpedition happen, your continued support would make our faces, as well as our antennas...beam. Counting the days, 73, Bob-K4UEE Ralph-K0IR Erling-LA6VM ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

These Texans Fought Water With Water... And Their House Is Bone Dry

These Texans Fought Water With Water...

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And Their House Is Bone Dry

By Benjamin Arie

The results are impressive ...

from Tom W8FIB

Who is the most incessant digital person calling CQ in the world? Now you can check!

https://foc.dj1yfk.de/activity /rank

_ from Tom W8FIB

Many of you have probably already seen this. Today AA6YQ, writer of the DXLABS software, posted the

following:

Version 5.33 of the "PC Cleanup" tool CCleaner, which is distributed by Avast contains malware:

https://www.howtogeek.com/326742/ccleaner-was-hacked-what-you-need-to-know/

http://blog.talosintelligence.com/2017/09/avast-distributes-malware.html

KH1, Baker Island

For Immediate Release:

The Dateline DX Association is very pleased to announce significant progress in our planning to operate in 2018

from KH1, Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge, the 4th most wanted entity in the DXCC program.

We have executed a charter agreement with a ship, the Nai'a out of Fiji with an anticipated arrival at the refuge

during the 3rd week of June, 2018. We intend to be at the refuge a total of 12 days with 10 days of operations.

This ship and dates were chosen in consultation with the US Fish and Wildlife service based on availability of

their resource monitor, avoidance of the cyclone season, and Nai'a availability. Propagation forecasts look

favorable for HF to Western Europe (a large target audience for us) during this time as well.

As with any DXpedition to the really rare ones, this will be another financially demanding operation. The 11

operator team will contribute over 50% of the expected budget of $400,000. You can help make this DXpedition

happen by visiting our new website, http://www.baker2018.net/ and contributing today

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We wish to thank the US Fish and Wildlife Service for their trust in our group to safely and responsibly activate

this rare location.

Don Greenbaum, N1DG, Tom Harrell, N4XP, and Kevin Rowett, K6TD co leaders

How Lithium Batteries Become a Workplace

Hazard

Check out this article:

https://www.lion.com/lion-news/july-2015/how-lithium-batteries-become-a-workplace-hazard

W9DXCC

Being a first-time attendee to the W9DXCC conference was quite interesting. For the most part the

presentations were good. They gave away over 18,000 dollars in prizes. Of course, my bad luck prevailed

and I did not bring one home.

The dinner was okay, but the presentation from the ARRL new president Rick Roderick, K5UR was very

entertaining and the best part of dinner.

The 66th W9DXCC DX Convention and Banquet

Friday-Saturday

September 14-15, 2018

Hyatt Regency Schaumburg

* Registration and hotel reservations will open Spring 2018 *

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I want to thank those that have been sending in articles for the newsletter. All items are appreciated. Don’t forget to send in any information you would like to share with the Club members.

Until Next Time,

73

John W3ML

http://nwidxclub.weebly.com/