394 letters were posted today for 4W/G3ZEM. Please expect delivery within the next 5 – 7 days. If you also requested MX0LDG, they will be posted next week.
Author - Tim Beaumont
THE 2014 ACTIVATION OF SAONA ISLAND IOTA NA-122 – NOV 19-23, 2014
HI2DX will take place at the end of 2014 by a team of operators leaded by HOTEL INDIA DX CLUB, INC. in a join effort with top DX operators from LOMA DEL TORO DX CONTEST CLUB, RADIO CLUB DOMINICANO, UNION DOMINICANA DE RADIOFICIONADOS UDRA and RADIO CLUB DE SANTIAGO among guest operators from FLORIDA CONTEXT GROUP, and other guest operators joining the team from the US.
OBJECTIVES:
To provide the possibility for every amateur radio station in the world – even those running QRP or very simple antennas – to make at least one contact with Saona Island.
To enable all level users and to DXers to put HI2DX in their logs on as many bands and modes as possible.
Besides the Dxpedition we will conduct a MEDICAL OPERATIVE PROGRAM to bring basic medical assistance and donate medications to residents of the island.
SAONA ISLAND is located in the southeastern part of the Dominican Republic
(Lat: 18° 7′ 47.0814″ /Long: -68° 40′ 5.9376″)
Surface area of 110 squared Km.
IOTA NA-122
CQ ZONE 8
ITU ZONE 11
GRID FK58OE
QSL INFORMATION: QSL Via M0URX
I quite frequently get emails asking me “Why hasn’t my QSL package arrived?” Well you can be sure that we take your QSL requests very seriously indeed!
Sometimes delays in mail transportation can be the result of many International Incidents and may not always be obvious or specific to your region but may be the cause of a delay in the routing of your International Mail.
Incidents such as flooding, earthquake, fire, strike, flight delays, damage to aircraft ILS, war and government restrictions. I have seen all the above incidents causing delays in my time as QSL manager and one way to see if there is an event that could be the cause of your delay look on the “International Incidents Update” page at Royal Mail which gives quite a comprehensive list to incidents around the globe.
Here is the QSL card preview of 4W/G3ZEM. All direct QSL cards are scheduled to be posted at the end of November.
Since its publication many DX groups and individuals offered to support this expedition which we highly appreciate. So far, the preparations are progressing smoothly and according to plan.
Exchange of QSL cards with EP is not always going smoothly and sometimes high costs are involved to cover postal expenses. As in the past with previous Rockall DX Group expeditions we asked Tim M0URX to take care about the QSL chores for the EP6T operation. Together with Max ON5UR, responsible for the QSL card design and printing, they are a great team and without doubt you can count on a fast service. And yes, the complete log will be uploaded to LoTW right after the expedition has ended.
We would like to thank Dr. Azim Fard. Dr. Fard is Director General of the Communication Regulatory Authority (CRA) and amongst others is responsible for the radio amateur licenses in the I.R of Iran. Together with his team and the people of national security, he has made this expedition possible.
This expedition stands for “ friendship and cultural tolerance.
In a country with 80 million inhabitants and only 13 (!) radio amateurs, the user manual written and edited by Tony ON6TM will be a guide for students to learn the basics for their Ham radio ticket.
MX0LDG EU-011 QRT many thanks to all that called in.
Left to right John M5JON, Rob MW0RLJ, Pete M0ILT & Ant MWØJZE.
Each year United Radio QSL Bureau dispatches bureau cards to all World IARU Bureaus every three months, the recent dispatch this week was our third one in 2014 so it is time to give you our report for the year.
In 2014 I have once again worked with Charles, M0OXO in our bureau posting, this helps us both keep down our outgoing expenses. 31,260 bureau QSL cards have been dispatched this year. All our packages are sent using online business account with Royal Mail, we use several products on the account to best suit the size and weight of the item. All of the packages are sent by Business Mail Priority so that we can be sure that they reach their destination as fast as possible and at a cost that is the most competitve in the industry.
It is very important to remember that bureau cards are NOT free, it actually costs us a considerable amount of money every year which has to be financed by the work that we do here, that is why direct cards cost $2, that is why i do not accept stamps.
The RSGB are in the process of doing a “Bureau Review” in which we have been asked to pay more for the incoming bureau service that we have from the RSGB Bureau. At this stage we are still waiting to hear from the RSGB as to how much this is going to cost. So this is a good time to remind you that for ALL DXpeditions you should NOT send incoming bureau cards to us as they are not required, they cost us money to receive them. You must always use OQRS to request your DXpediton IOTA & DXCC bureau cards. This will save us a considerable amount of money and time, and you will get your bureau cards very quickly.
Thank you to all the bureau staff at the IARU bureaus, we value your work very much. There are some that are giving outstanding service, notably the Venezuealan bureau where members informed us that cards had arrived in just 24 days after we had posted them. Thank you.
Using OQRS for direct QSL cards is the fastest and best way to request your QSL cards and this will help us fund our outgoing bureau for the future. Any donations are most welcome of course… Thank you.
MX0LDG IOTA DXpedition to Isles of Scilly EU-011 this week are using the new 7 Band Broadband Hexbeam by MW0JZE Anthony.
The 7 band Hexbeam includes a 40m dipole element. The team will be using this antenna on 40m so please listen for them and work them from wherever you are in the World, Anthony would very much appreciate genuine signal reports on this band.
You can read more about the MW0JZE 7 Band Hexbeam 40m – 6m by clicking on the link.
The team very much look forward to working you all on Isles of Scilly, St Mary’s Island.
The team have no internet so logs will be uploaded after the DXpediton.
QSL Via M0URX Direct & (Bureau OQRS only). Please do not send us any bureau cards for this activity.
MX0LDG will be QRV from the Isles of Scilly EU-011. We will be operating from the main island of St Mary’s.
Dates: 15th October 2014 to 22nd October 2014
Operators: John M5JON Pete M0ILT Ant MW0JZE and Rob MW0RLJ
We plan to have 3 stations on air. In the main it will be SSB.
Equipment
x1 Elecraft K3 With KPA500 Amp
x1 Kenwood TS570 With Expert 1K FA Amp
X1 rig (TBC) With Expert 1K FA Amp
X1 Kenwood TS480 (200w) for CW and Digi Ops
Antennas
All antennas are once agian supplied by Ant MW0JZE
x2 G3TXQ Hex Beams x1 40m vertial x1 Windom 80m
QSL Via M0URX – For Bureau Requests please ONLY use OQRS to request your Bureau QSL.
Please do NOT send any incoming Bureau cards they will not be collected.