No 1782
425 DX NEWS - DX INFORMATION
Edited by I1JQJ & IK1ADH
Direttore Responsabile I2VGW
DL - Special callsign DL0SOP will be active on 1-31 July 2025 for the 67th edition of the Sea of Peace Award (see https://dl0sop.darc.de/ for full details). QSL via Club Log's OQRS, LoTW and eQSL.
EI - Gordon, G3PXT, will be active as EJ3VP from Arranmore Island (EU-121) from 25 June to 2 July 2025, and from Inisheer Island (EU-006) on 25-30 July 2025, IOTA Contest included. He will operate SSB on 80-6 metres. These operations are part of a three-month tour of Ireland (EI/G3PXT/p and EI3VP/p) and Northern Ireland (GI3PXT/p) that started on 4 June and will end on 5 September 2025.
F - Nicolas, F4HCG, will be active as F4HCG/p from Noirmoutier Island (EU-064) on 5-18 July 2025. He will operate SSB on 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 metres.
F - French special callsigns to be activated for this year's 112th edition of the Tour de France include: TM112TDF operated by F8GGZ between 5 and 26 July 2025, QSL via eQSL only. TM25TDF operated by the Radio Club Emettre between 2 and 26 July 2025; QSL via F5KMY. TM59TDF operated by the Radio Club de l'Agglomeration Dunkerquoise on 5-19 July 2025; QSL via F8KGS and eQSL.
HB9 - The 2025 UEFA Women's Championship will run from 2 to 27 July 2025 in Switzerland, and eight special event stations will be active from the host cities throughout July: HB2025BA (Basel), HB2025BE (Bern), HB2025GE (Geneve), HB2025LU (Lucerne), HB2025SG (St. Gallen), HB2025SI (Sion), HB2025TH (Thun), and HB2025ZH (Zurich). QSL via oTW only, paper cards will not be provided. Certificates will be available for contacts made on CW, Phone and/or Digital. See https://www.qrz.com/db/
HR - Alex, K6VHF, will be active again as K6VHF/HR9 from Roatan Island (NA-057) on 3-9 July. He will operate FT8, FT4, SSB and CW on the HF bands and 6 metres. QSL via K6VHF; QSOs will be uploaded to Club Log and LoTW. [TNX The Daily DX]
JX - Peter, LB2OBG, is currently on a work assignment on Jan Mayen (EU-022) and expects to remain there for a few weeks. He plans to be QRV as JX/LB2OG in his spare time, with SSB and FT8 activity on 40 and 20 metres, "and some higher bands". [TNX The Daily DX]
PJ6 - Team PJ6Y [425DXN #1769] is now expected to be active from Saba (NA-145) on 16-30 October 2025. The team will comprise 12-14 on-site operators, including nine first-time young DXpeditioners. The local team will be complemented by 30-40 young remote operators. There will be five stations (three for the local operators) at two separate sites, with activity on 160-6 meters CW, SSB and FT8, plus satellite. PJ6Y will also participate in the CQ WW DX SSB Contest. QSL via M0OXO's OQRS. See https://pj6y2025.com for more information.
"This is more than a DXpedition", the organizers say, "it is an investment in the future of our hobby", as it offers "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for young amateur radio operators to experience DXpeditioning at the highest level for the very first time. Without support from clubs and individuals this opportunity would not be possible. Our goal is to fully cover the travel and operational expenses of all our young team members - so that financial circumstances are never a barrier to participation for these enthusiastic and dedicated young hams". Donations are gratefully accepted, see https://www.qrz.com/db/PJ6Y for the details.
SM - Celebrating the 100th anniversary of its official inauguration (2 July 1925), the still operational long wave transmitter at the Grimeton Radio Station, callsign SAQ, will be activated on 2 July at 09:00, and again at 13:00 UTC on 17.2 kHz CW. Both events will be broadcast live: https://www.youtube.com/@
VU - In late May the planned activity from Arnala Island (AS-169) was cancelled due to heavy rains and safety concerns [425DXN 1778]. Sarath, VU2RS, has announced that now the new plans are for "a back-to-back expedition" to the islands of Shial Bet (AS-176) on 2-4 November, and Arnala (AS-169) on 6-8 November. Details are expected in due course.
ZD7 - Tim, N0UI will be active as ZD7TIM from St. Helena (AF-022) on 5-13 July 2025. He will operate CW, SSB and maybe some RTTY on 40-10 metres, possibly also on 6 metres if conditions are good. QSL via LoTW, or via home call. [TNX The Daily DX]
SPRINT WORLD WIDE AWARD 2025 ---> The HamAward Team announces the "Sprint World Wide Award" chase that will take place from 30 June to 6 July. The WWA combines CW, SSB and digital modes activity from special event stations around the world with real-time award tracking for the chasers: complete information can be found on https://hamaward.cloud/wwa/
Indonesia 8A1K
Argentina LR1WWA
Azores CR2WWA
Bahrain A91WWA
Balearic Islands EG6WWA
Belgium OR0WWA
Bosnia-Herzegovina E7W
Canada VE9WWA
Ceuta & Melilla EG9WWA
Czech Republic OL5WWA
Dominican Republic HI3WWA, HI6WWA, HI7WWA, HI8WWA
East Malaysia 9M4WWA
England GB2WWA
France TM0WWA, TM2WWA, TM73WWA, TM7WWA
Germany DA0WWA, DL0WWA
India AT4WWA
Iraq YI0WWA
Italy II0WWA, II1WWA, II2WWA, II3WWA, II4WWA, II5WWA, II6WWA,
II7WWA, II8WWA, II9WWA, IR1WWA
Jersey GB9WWA
Kazakhstan UP7WWA
Mauritius 3B8WWA
Namibia V55WWA
Northern Ireland GB8WWA
Oman A43WWA
Philippines DU0WWA
Poland SN0WWA, SN2WWA, SN3WWA, SN4WWA
Portugal CS2WWA
Puerto Rico W4I
Reunion Island TO0WWA
Sardinia IR0WWA
Scotland GB4WWA
Slovenia S53WWA
Spain EG1WWA, EG2WWA, EG4WWA, EG5WWA, EG7WWA, EH3WWA
St. Vincent J8WWA
Switzerland HB9WWA
USA N0W, N1W, N3W, N4W, N6W, N9W
Other participating stations include 3Z6I (Poland), BA7CK and BY1RX (China),
RW1F (European Russia), TK4TH (Corsica).
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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
Access to the main functions of www.425dxn.org is provided by the 425DXN App for Android. It is available on Google Play - free of charge, no ads. Enjoy!
INDEXA NEWSLETTER ---> The Summer 2025 issue (#145) of the International DX
Association's Newsletter is now available for download on the INDEXA website (https://indexa.org/
LOTW SYSTEMS UPGRADE ---> "As a part of the ongoing modernization of the ARRL systems infrastructure, LoTW will be receiving major upgrades to the operating system it is running on, the relational database system it uses to store and access logbook and awards data, and server hosting, where it will be fully migrated to the cloud. These changes will, among other improvements, ensure LoTW performance needs can be better met based on user demand. LoTW will be unavailable from June 27 to July 2, 2025, to complete these upgrades. We will bring LoTW back online if it is available sooner than July
2". [TNX ARRL]
NCDXF'S GRANT TO CLUB LOG ---> The Northern California DX Foundation is
Pleased to announce an 8,000 USD grant to Michael, G7VJR, for a hardware
upgrade to Club Log. "Club Log is a free service operating at a global scale, supporting
130,000 callsigns and storing 1.25 billion QSOs. Every second of every day, a worldwide base of HF DXers rely on Club Log to enhance their enjoyment of the hobby. To many, Club Log's features and tools are integral to their pursuit of DX. To operate at this scale, Club Log uses high-end servers of the kind you might find in a major internet company's data centres. Paying for this has only been possible due to major foundations stepping in to give us the help needed. Our server equipment was last updated in 2019, and in the intervening time the use of data modes and our popular livestreams feature has expanded dramatically, putting higher and higher loads on our existing systems.
Now in 2025, we are about to renew and upgrade our equipment again - a daunting expense. Once again, though, NCDXF has stepped forward to support Club Log and give us the backing needed, giving us a grant of around 8,000 USD to cover all of the equipment costs involved. Thanks to NCDXF, once the new servers are deployed, Club Log will be using cutting edge servers which are faster, more energy efficient and ready for years of high-endurance 24/7 work.
On behalf of Club Log and our users, I would like to express my gratitude to the Northern California DX Foundation for their renewed financial support and backing as we renew Club Log's infrastructure this year. Thanks to their help, Club Log can continue to grow, be reliable and ready for whatever the future holds for DXing in an era of innovation. 73, Michael G7VJR".
YASME FOUNDATION GRANT ---> The Board of Directors of the Yasme Foundation
has announced a supporting grant for the YOTA (Youngsters On The Air) Region 1 Summer Camp to be held on 18-25 August near Paris. This continues Yasme's tradition of supporting YOTA and youth activities; however, more support is needed; contact Mario Lerma, EA1JAY (ea1jay.mario@gmail.com) for more information.
ZD9BV STATION UPGRADE PROJECT ---> "About six months ago, I was approached by Ken K4ZW (YASME) about the possibility of helping Andy ZD9BV improve his antenna setup on Tristan da Cunha. At that time, Andy's station consisted of
a Marine vertical and an IC706MK2G transceiver utilizing the internal tuner. YASME was considering providing Andy with a setup for an RBN. I was asked if INDEXA could assist with the antenna upgrade. Before I could put in a request for INDEXA assistance, I needed to see what might be available that would meet Andy's needs and his property footprint. What evolved was quite a wonderful surprise.
I started by initiating communication with Andy. He had limited space on his property for an antenna. So, compromise rotatable antennas were considered.
I started by contacting DX Engineering. But, while I was at it, I decided to also see if they might consider an improved radio for Andy. They decided to ask ICOM for their help, and a new IC7300 was provided and DX Engineering agreed to add some lengths of coax and cover the shipping of the items to Andy. As for the antennas, they were not available in the USA so they suggested contacting WIMO in Germany to see what they might have. They would lso be able to provide a 240vac rotor which was not available in the USA.
Next, I approached WIMO about the antenna system desires for Andy. This would include a small mini-beam and an 80-6 meter vertical. In addition, a 240vac rotor, associated rotor hardware, a rotor control cable, and a 240v 12VDC power supply were also requested. My plan was to ask for pricing so I would know how much the project would cost before I moved forward looking for financial support. What followed was another heartwarming surprise. WIMO asked why Andy was not considering a HEX Beam, and I advised them that Andy felt that it would not handle the occasional harsh weather that would be
experienced on ZD9. So, WIMO offered to add a HEX Beam to the package. WIMO
agreed to provide all of the equipment at no charge, but asked if INDEXA would cover the shipping cost which was around $500 USD.
INDEXA does not normally support private stations. However, in this case we had the only licensed ham on a remote island entity whose population is around 250 people. ZD9 is #55 on the most wanted DXCC list (Club Log) even after some serious activity by ZD9W in 2023. In addition, we already had extraordinary support from ICOM, DX Engineering, WIMO and YASME. So, in the end it was an easy decision for INDEXA to cover the shipping expense. Withut the support from ICOM, DX Engineering, WIMO, INDEXA, YASME, N3FJP and UX5UO, I would have needed to run a separate funding campaign of some sort.
Andy was logging using an Excel format, and QSLing is all done via direct mail to him on the island. I asked Andy if he would do LoTW uploads occasionally, but he did not have regular logging software there. I approached Scott, N3FJP, asking if he would provide his software package to Andy, which would make uploading the log easier either directly from him, or via an assist from me. Scott quickly obliged. This part will be an ongoing project.
I will continue to assist Andy on this. Meanwhile, Andy shared his Excel log with me that goes back a few years, and I am working on it to create an ADIF. After Andy gets his hardware together and operational, we will move forward with logging upgrades and work on how to set up LoTW.
Andy wanted to design a new QSL card that promoted the new sponsors and he asked me for help with the design. He has a local printer in South Africa who prints his cards. So, I asked Gennady UX5UO if he would help design a new card for Andy and I sent him a couple of photos that Andy shared with me. Gennady quickly obliged and provided a professional quality design which Andy will use with his local printer. These will take a while to get printed. But they will be worth the wait.
So, that's our story. I want to thank everyone who helped put this project together. All items have arrived at ZD9 and are currently being assembled. Looking forward to seeing Andy on the air as he gets everything operational. His preferred modes are CW and SSB". [TNX Bob Schenck, N2OO; Vice President, INDEXA]
