No 1808
425 DX NEWS - DX INFORMATION
Edited by I1JQJ & IK1ADH
Direttore Responsabile I2VGW
9A - To celebrate their 15th anniversary, members of the Croatian Flora Fauna ARC (9A1WFF) will be active as 9A44FF and 9A44FF/p between 1 January and 31 December 2026. See https://www.qrz.com/db/9A44FF for information about the Anniversary Award.
DL - To commemorate the centenary of the first Kurzwellentagung - the landmark convention for German shortwave enthusiasts held in Jena on 16-17 January 1926 - the special callsign DF100KWTJ will be active between 1 January and 31 March 2026. QSL via the bureau.
DL - The DARC Team SES will operate five special callsigns at various times throughout 2026: DA100LH, DL100LH and DK100LH for the 100th anniversary of Lufthansa Airlines; DA100TV and DL100TV to celebrate 100 years of television in Germany.
G - Using vintage equipment manufactured by KW Electronics Ltd from the mid-1950s to the 1970s, the GB8KW multi-operator station will be active again over the "KW Weekend" (3-4 January 2026) from the Cray Valley radio club's HQ in Eltham, England. Other special callsigns are expected to be activated by collectors and restorers across the UK during the month, notably GB2KW from Scotland.
HH - Members of the Radio Club d'Haiti will be active as 4V1L on 1-31 January 2026. The special callsign memorializes Marie-Jeanne Lamartiniere, who fought alongside her husband during the Haitian Revolution. QSL via N2OO; QSOs will be uploaded to Club Log.
HK - Christoph, DF3TJ, is active from Colombia as HK4/DF3TJ until sometime in January 2026. "There will also be activations of HK0/DF3TJ from San Andres (NA-033) and Providencia (NA-049) on short term notice", he says. All QSLs via ON5JC.
>>> KP5/NP3VI: DESECHEO 2026 <<<
In collaboration with the Vieques Island Amateur Radio Club (NP3VI) and
the Manyana DX Foundation, KP5/NP3VI is expected to be "a landmark DXpedi-
tion" to Desecheo Island, currently ranked as the 14th most wanted DXCC En-
tity worldwide. Located approximately 13 miles off the west coast of Puerto Rico, Desecheo
Island has not been activated since 2009. This operation represents the
first Puerto Rican-led DXpedition to KP5 in 48 years, following the historic
KP4AM/D activation in 1978.
Plans are to deploy two self-sustained RDUs (Remote Deployable Units) pro-
vided by the Manyana DX Foundation. The deployment window is 12-14 January,
weather permitting. Once deployed, the DXpedition is expected to operate 24
hours a day for approximately 30 consecutive days, until the scheduled re-
covery date. The stations will utilize state-of-the-art remote operating in-
frastructure from Remote Ham Radio (RHR). KP5/NP3VI will be QRV on 160-6
metres CW, SSB, and FT8 (always MSHV, never F/H). Club Log's Live Stream
feature will be enabled. QSL via M0OXO.
The equipment is currently undergoing extensive stress-testing at the
KP4AA contest station in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. This QTH is located on a
hill overlooking the Caribbean Sea and sits just under 30 miles from
Desecheo. Signal characteristics should closely resemble what the DX commu-
nity can expect from KP5. The station is operating using the KP4ES callsign,
and DXers worldwide are encouraged to look for KP4ES on the bands and help
the remote operators gain experience managing large pileups and long operat-
ing schedules.
The station will remain on the air until 29 December, at which time the
team will disassemble the equipment, perform a thorough cleaning and prepare
it to comply with the strict biosecurity protocols required prior to trans-
portation to Desecheo Island. Remote operator training will continue using
KP4ES from the Palmas RHR station in Puerto Rico.
More information and updates can be found on https://desecheo2026.com/kp5/
and https://www.facebook.com/people/Desecheo-2026-Dxpedition/61585525894897/
J3 - Rikk, WE9G, will be active as J38WG from Grenada (NA-024) on 1-16 January 2026. This will be a SO2R (Single Operator 2 Radios) activity on 160-6 metres, mostly FT8 with some CW and SSB. "I might also do some POTA", he says. QSL via Club Log's OQRS, LoTW, or via WE9G.
PJ7 - Giovanni IZ2DPX as PJ7/IZ2DPX, and Flavio IW2NEF as PJ7/IW2NEF will be active from Sint Maarten (NA-105) on 13-21 January. They will operate SSB and FT8/FT4 on various bands. Additionally, side trips to St. Martin are also being planned, with limited operations as FS/IZ2DPX and FS/IW2NEF from a mobile setup. QSL PJ7/IZ2DPX and FS/IZ2DPX via Club Log's OQRS, LoTW, or via home call. QSL PJ7/IW2NEF and FS/IW2NEF via Club Log's OQRS, LoTW, IK2DUW (direct, or via bureau to HE9ERA). [TNX IZ2DPX]
W - The Straight Key Century Club's annual on-air event, commemorating the club's founding in 2006 and celebrating the original instruments of early radiotelegraphy (straight key, bug and cootie keys), will run on 2-31 January. Look for K3Y to be aired from the ten US call areas (K3Y/0 through K3Y/9), plus /KH6, /KL7 and /KP4. Information on the event and QSLing instructions can be found on https://skccgroup.com/k3y/k3y.php.
XF4 - Following his brief October visit to Socorro Island, Revillagigedo, Mark (XE1B) returns to activate XF4B for a Christmas holiday operation. Accompanied by Guillermo (XE1IMO), he was scheduled to arrive on 23 December, with the activation running through the end of the year. The team is deploying two radios, one linear amplifier, and four antennas, allowing for simultaneous SSB and FT8 operations on 80-6 metres. All FT8 contacts (excluding 60m) will use Superfox mode with call validation to prevent pirate stations. QSL via Club Log's OQRS only; QSOs will be uploaded to LoTW as OQRS requests are processed. Efforts are ongoing to prepare for a more extensive activation planned for 2026.
ZL - The New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters (NZART) was founded in Auckland in 1926. To celebrate their centenary, NZART members are encouraged to use the ZM prefix during the 2026 year; in addition, individual operators and NZART branches can apply to use special ZL100 callsigns for a period of 1 to 3 months - e.g. Ian ZL1MVL and the Whangarei Amateur Radio Club (ZL1AM) will be using ZL100MVL and ZL100AM, respectively, until 31 March.
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*** 4 2 5 D X N E W S ***
**** GOOD TO KNOW ... ****
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Edited by I1JQJ & IK1ADH
Direttore Responsabile I2VGW
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AMERICA250 WAS AWARD ---> Celebrating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the ARRL is launching the America250 WAS Award, a year-long WAS (Worked All States) operating event. To earn this award, participants must confirm two-way contacts with all 50 US states via LoTW between 1 January and 31 December 2026. There will be three specialty endorsements:
* Earn WAS by contacting W1AW/portable stations in all 50 states.
Activations of W1AW/# stations will take place from all 50 states. Each W1AW/# station will operate for seven days for two separate weeks in the Year. The schedule for January is as follows:
7-13 January W1AW/0 Nebraska
7-13 January W1AW/2 New York
14-20 January W1AW/5 Louisiana
14-20 January W1AW/4 South Carolina
14-20 January W1AW/8 West Virginia
21-27 January W1AW/9 Illinois
28 January-3 February W1AW/1 Maine
* Earn WAS by contacting ARRL Affiliated Club stations in all 50 states
* Earn WAS Triple Play by contacting all 50 states on all three modes (CW,
Phone & Digital).
Only QSOs uploaded to LoTW will be considered valid for the event and related awards.
There are no planned physical QSL cards for any of the W1AW/# America250 WAS stations.
Applications for the America250 WAS Award must be submitted via LoTW after achieving a minimum of 50 state QSO confirmations for contacts made during 2026.
See https://www.arrl.org/america250-was for more information, including the
State Activations Schedule for W1AW/# stations.
CQ DX MARATHON ---> The CQ DX Marathon is a year-long DX hunt, with participants competing to see who can work the greatest number of countries ("entities") and CQ zones during the calendar year. The 2026 edition will start at 00.00 UTC on 1 January and will end at 23.59 UTC on 31 December. See https://dxmarathon.com/ for complete details.
INDEXA NEWSLETTER ---> The Winter 2025 issue (#147) of the International DX Association's Newsletter is now available for download on the INDEXA website (https://indexa.org/newsletters.html). Highlights include "Message from the President" by Otis Vicens (NP4G), "E44OM DXpedition Trip Report" by Michal Horecky (OM2DX), "An Impromptu Humanitarian Aid Project at the 9U1RU Burundi DXpedition" by Hal Turley (W8HC), "PJ2 Youth Expedition 2025" by Max Freedman (N4ML).
MARCONI CLUB'S QSO PARTY DAY ---> The 8th edition will be held on 3 January from 7 to 21 UTC, on 80, 40 and 20 metres CW. Complete rules can be found on https://www.marconiclub.it/. ARI Loano Marconi Club gathers around 1000 enthusiasts from all over the world, and is a member of the International CW Council (https://internationalcwcouncil.org/), which "promotes and aids in the retention and growth of International Morse Code as a mode of communication between amateur radio operators". [TNX IK1QBT]
VP0SG: SOUTH GEORGIA 2027 ---> The current operating team for the DXpedition
to South Georgia includes Rune LA7THA (Team Leader), Erwann LB1QI (Co-Leader), Gjermund LB5GI (Co-Leader), Steve W0ZB (Co-Leader and Team Doctor), Fred F4HEC, Nobby G0VJG, Paul G4PUM, Giampaolo IU2EFB, Svein LA3BO, Philipp OE7PGI, Vlad OK2WX, Alex UR8UQ and Alex UR5UY. The expedition plans to operate from South Georgia in March 2027, subject to obtaining the necessary landing permits. The formal permit process will open in 2026. While logistics support has been secured, collaboration with the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands continues and is
progressing well. Bookmark https://www.ardxpeditions.com/dxpeditions/vp0sg for updates.
WORLD WIDE AWARD 2026 ---> The 3rd World Wide Award chase will take place on 1-31 January. The WWA combines CW, SSB and digital modes activity from stations around the world with real-time award tracking for the chasers. The 2025 event involved some 150,000 chasers who made 3.7 million QSOs. See See https://hamaward.cloud/wwa for complete information. Announced participants include stations from
Argentina LR1WWA
Austria 4U1A
Azores CR2WWA
Balearic Islands EG6WWA
Belgium OP0WWA
Bosnia-Herzegovina E7W
Canada VB2WWA, VC1WWA, VE9WWA
Cape Verde D4W
Ceuta & Melilla EG9WWA
China BA3RA, BA7CK, BG0DXC, BH9CA, BI4SSB, BY1RX, BY2WL,
BY5HB, BY6SX, BY8MA
Corsica TK4TH
Czech Republic OL6WWA
East Malaysia 9M8WWA
England GB2WWA, GB5WWA
European Russia RW1F
France TM1WWA, TM18WWA, TM29WWA, TM7WWA, TM9WWA
Germany DA0WWA, DL0WWA
Greece SX0W
Guernsey GB1WWA
India AT2WWA, AT3WWA, AT4WWA, AT5WWA, AT6WWA, AT7WWA
Indonesia 8A1A
Iraq YI1RN
Isle of Man GB0WWA
Italy II0WWA, II1WWA, II2WWA, II3WWA, II4WWA, II5WWA, II6WWA,
II7WWA, II8WWA, II9WWA, IR1WWA
Jersey GB9WWA
Kazakhstan UP7WWA
Mauritius 3B8WWA
Netherlands PA26WWA, PC26WWA, PD26WWA, PE26WWA, PF26WWA
North Macedonia Z30WWA
Northern Ireland GB8WWA
Oman A43WWA
Philippines DU0WWA
Poland 3Z6I, SN0WWA, SN1WWA, SN2WWA, SN3WWA, SN4WWA, SN6WWA,
SO3WWA
Portugal CQ7WWA, CR5WWA, CR6WWA
Puerto Rico W4I
Romania YO0WWA
Sardinia IR0WWA
Scotland GB4WWA
Slovenia S53WWA
Spain EG1WWA, EG2WWA, EG3WWA, EG4WWA, EG5WWA, EG7WWA
Sweden SB9WWA, SC9WWA, SD9WWA
Switzerland HB9WWA
Thailand E2WWA
Ukraine EM0WWA
USA N0W, N1W, N4W, N5W, N6W, N8W, N9W
Venezuela 4M5A, 4M5DX
Wales GB6WWA
West Malaysia 9M2WWA
+ SILENT KEY + Bert Van Den Berg, PA3GIO suddenly passed away on December 5. From 1993 to 2007, he was a familiar presence on the DX scene, having operated from a large number of countries and IOTA groups. He was the recipient of the IOTA Merit Award (2002) for outstanding service to the IOTA Community, as well as of the SouthWest Ohio DX Association's DXpeditioner of the Year Award (2005). His family will keep his website alive as a record of his time on the air, ensuring that his memory lives on: https://www.pa3gio.nl.
