January 26, 2014

Mellish Reef DX-pedition is scheduled for March 28, 2014 to April 9, 2014.

Status:
We are on schedule and will soon be on autopilot. Team members booked their travel to Mackay, Australia, local contacts in Mackay are established, as well as suppliers to assist with logistics. Generators were ordered and will ship later in February from Sydney, Australia. One of the biggest logisticalchallenges will be purchasing 1,400 liters of petrol. The skipper of Evohe, Steve Kafka, agreed to handle the sourcing and take delivery of the petrol removing from the team this task.

Antennas from SteppIR, coax / accessories from DX-Engineering and folding hex beams from foldingantennas.com will be air shipped to Australia in early February from the USA. Another shipment from Hungary is also scheduled for February, some equipment will be hand carried. Joining the antennalineup is a 4 Square provided by Norbert DJ7JC.

Update to the QSL Policy:
We are happy to announce that any individual donating $50(USD) or more to VK9MT will automatically receive their QSL for all QSOs, free of charge. These donors will not need to request QSL cards or take any action to redeem the QSL. Our QSL manager, Tim Beaumont M0URX, will post the cards to all $50+ donors as soon as the cards are ready, thank you Tim for this wonderful service.

Global Pilot Team:
The pilot team will manage all DX community communication between the island team and DXers. Prior to sailing we’ll update the web site with process details and e-mail addresses. While on the island we will not be checking personal e-mail accounts. Please direct operational suggestions to the pilot designated for your region.

Fund Raising:
Like all DX-peditions to rare and semi-rare DXCC entities, donations are welcomed through vk9mt.complease use the Donate Button on the web site to insure your name is automatically added to the donor list,or by check / money order in US dollars to:

Mellish Reef 2014 DX-pedition
Gene Spinelli, Treasurer
PO Box 189
Divide, CO
USA 80814

For our friends outside the USA please use PayPal or e-mail for wire transfer instructions:[email protected]

We appreciate the generosity of the foundations, clubs and individuals who have already made a donation or a commitment. At the completion of the DX-pedition a financial summary will be sent to all club / foundation donors.

For additional information please e-mail: [email protected]

And, of course, good luck to the FT5ZM team that is now QRV.

73, Team Mellish 2014

I have a VERY important message for you today. For those of you requesting Bureau cards this MUST be done now ONLY by requesting using my OQRS service which will remain completely FREE.

There is a problem developing caused by those who ignore my OQRS system and send cards Via RSGB incoming Bureau. Incoming cards cost the RSGB and myself money.

It is simple. If you want a FREE Bureau service you must use my OQRS. If you continue to keep sending incoming Bureau cards that have not been requested then it will come to a time when we must start charging for Bureau cards. Times are changing and you must pay attention. Thank you.

A new year is a good time to remind you that if you are QSL’ing Direct you need to enclose US$2 and a Self Addressed Envelope for the QSL to be returned to you.

Simple! $2 and a SAE.

No IRC’s, No Stamps & No Coins….. Just $2.

I think this reminder is important, because today I received 3 letters without $2. One contained an old IRC, and two others with no dollars at all.

Thank you.

Just a reminder that United Radio QSL Bureau has an Outward QSL Bureau “Send Service” posting to all IARU World QSL Bureaus 3 or 4 times per year.
This FAST service is for all QSL’ers that may not be able to send these cards through your local society Bureau. Although I welcome anyone to use this service.

£10 per kilo. Pro-rata for lower volumes. or £1 per 100g

All QSL cards must be pre-sorted into the IARU Bureau sequence.

Special lower rates for DXpeditions.

All parcels should be securely packaged using plenty of packing tape to secure the box against bursting.
Email confirmation of packages sorted and dispatched.

All Outgoing parcels are posted using Royal Mail, Priority Air Mail and MBag Service for fast transit.

There are NO minimum or maximum user limits.

In times when the cost of QSL’ing is becoming ever more expensive, it is welcome to see initiatives to reduce the cost. I would like to bring attention to the excellent QSL service provided by IK2DUW, Antonello, at the ARI HQ. An excellent initiative that is proving a great success. This means that ARI members can use the service to get QSL cards “Almost Direct” from QSL managers like myself. I send monthly bundles of QSL cards to ARI these include the “Almost Direct Service” So please pay attention Italian hams, use the excellent service that your organisation provides and I will ensure that your Bureau and “Almost Direct” cards get to you very quickly.

Here are the Instructions for use. Courtesy of ARI

The QSL Service “Almost Direct” provides that the members send QSL cards of the stations operated by the QSL Manager with which the association has reached specific agreements. 
Requests should be sent to: Antonello Passarella IK2DUW – QSL SERVICE ” ALMOST DIRECT “ARI QSL BUREAU – Via Scarlatti 31-20124 MILAN

In the envelope you have to put the cards only for stations operated by the QSL Manager included in the list below.
Other QSL cards not included in this service in another envelope sent to the Association.

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