UBARoyal Belgian Amateur Radio Union

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Photo: Couloir

DX Info

RI1ANC- Vostok station
22-12-2012
Submitted by: ON4BEN
Alex, RD1AV will be active from Vostok Station, Antarctica from 22nd December 2012 to 7th February 2013 as RI1ANC which is the new call-sign of Vostok base. He will be active on HF bands.

QSL via RN1ON to the bureau.

S79QT – Seychelles
19-12-2012
Submitted by: ON4BEN
Werner DC8QT will be active from Mahe, Seychelles between December 19, 2012 to January 7, 2013 as S79QT, using a vertical and IC-7000. He will be QRV on 40-10m – SSB, RTTY & PSK31.

QSL via home call through the bureau.

HB0/ON6NB - The movie
18-12-2012
Submitted by: ON5EX
Watch the HB0/ON6NB DXpedition movie on YouTube.
TM1TARA - Port des Champs Elysées
08-12-2012
Submitted by: ON9CFG
Afin de commémorer les missions scientifiques du voilier polaire TARA, l’indicatif spécial TM1TARA sera activé depuis Paris du 8 au 10 décembre sur le port des Champs Elysées, rive droite (au niveau du Pont Alexandre 3) dans le cadre de l’exposition «Tara expéditions, à la découverte d’un nouveau monde: l’océan».

Deux stations seront activées simultanément du 10m au 20m en phonie par 2 membres du CDXC : F8DVD François et F8IJV Sébastien. Les 3 jours d’activation permettront de mieux faire connaître au grand public l’activité radio-amateur et pourquoi pas de tenter des liaisons avec les stations polaires situées en arctique et en antarctique. Une carte QSL couleur spéciale sera éditée pour l’occasion, et les réponses seront assurées en direct ou par le bureau, via F8DVD : François Bergez 6, rue de la Liberté 71000 MACON.

Après 2 ans et demi à étudier les océans, la goélette TARA fait escale jusqu’au 27 janvier 2013 au port des Champs Elysées pour une exposition, des rencontres, des projections et des débats. Depuis 2003, l'organisation à but non lucratif Tara Expéditions organise des missions scientifiques et éducatives à bord du voilier polaire. Ses expéditions ont principalement pour sujets : Océan et changement climatique. En près de 10 ans, huit expéditions ont été réalisées par ce navire de légende dont, Tara Arctic, une aventure scientifique et humaine de 17 mois dans les confins de l’océan Arctique (2006-2008) et Tara Oceans, 2 ans et demi sur tous les océans du monde (2009-2012) pour étudier le rôle du plancton et de l’océan dans la machine climatique. Après des escales en Europe cet hiver, la goélette repartira dès 2013 en mission pour le Grand Nord. Tara tentera d’effectuer le tour de l’Océan Arctique par les passages du Nord-Ouest et du Nord-Est si la glace le permet… La plupart des scientifiques et instituts impliqués dans Tara Oceans accompagneront ce voyage pour étudier l’écosystème polaire marin et compléter le travail effectué depuis 2009. Ce sera aussi l’occasion d’ajouter de nouveaux programmes de recherche spécifiques à cette région, sur les particules de plastique ou sur les traces de polluants.
VK0JJJ - Mawson Station Antarctica
07-12-2012
Submitted by: ON9CFG

Ship departs 17th Jan 2013 and arrives at Mawson station 10th Feb 2013.

Santa Claus is now active
07-12-2012
Submitted by: ON4CAS
Santa
Santa lives at the freezing North Pole, leading a harsh but exciting life under the Northern Lights (Aurora Oval). But no one has actually thought about Santa's specific location – there is no such DXCC entity as North Pole in the world – at least not yet.

Now much to everyone’s delight, Santa’s location is clearly marked on all maps. Santa lives in the Santa Claus region of Finland. That is Lapland, OH9 district, situated north of the Arctic Circle, only a stone's throw away from the Radio Arcala operating site amid the barren tundra where reindeer run wild. In December, the locals do not see daylight – it is dark all day. As compensation Mother Nature has created a distinctive polar path on 20 meters to North America.

Santa Claus Airport is the region's busiest while many of the world's leading carriers fly in with their jets, bringing young and old alike to sense the Christmas spirit and to enjoy many activities in beautiful nature, forgetting about their otherwise busy lifestyles and going with the mind-set of children – such small children reside within all of us. More than 300.000 spirited people come in every winter.

The OH9SCL radio station will be active in December from the heart of Santa Claus Land, but adding to it and making it more visible, Radio Arcala will utilize their most advanced technology and remotely driven station, signing OF9X to test their technology, ride the Polar Path and employ a 100 meter (330 foot) rotating tower with a 6-over-6-over-6-over-6 20M array. OH9SCL at Santa’s workshop is based on a smaller array.


OH9SCL & OF9X QRV from Muonio Village, 200km north of Santa Airport (Location N 67.55.98 and E 23.39.37)
Santa Claus radio operators will open shop for Christmas on December 7, 2012 and you will hear these stations on and off during December, both domestically and remotely. For the opening ceremony, five (5) frozen radio operators will be physically in Muonio, Lapland to test the technology and hand out QSOs: Martti, OH2BH; Rami, OH3BHL; Juha, OH8NC; Kimmo, OH9MDV; Ja Aaro, OH9RJ.


Listen to your own signals as they sound in Lapland.

The OF9X station is expected to be active for the first time from December 7 until December 10 and you may listen to your own signal to hear how it sounds at the offices of Santa Claus. You can also find their operating frequency on their station camera. On 20M they typically try to be in the vicinity of 14.225 kHz.


Incentive for working both Santa stations.
If you contact both OH9SCL and OF9X during December 2012, a slick Santa Claus certificate and a fact sheet will be sent to you as per your of9x [at] sral [dot] fi (email request). The certificate can be issued also in the name of your children or grandchildren and used as an entry document with a discount program on your potential visit to our radio location at Harriniva.

3Y0IOF - For immediate release
05-12-2012
Submitted by: ON9CFG
After a lot of negotiation we are pleased to announce a multinational team of twelve is to undertake a Dxpedition to Bouvet Island from 25 March 2013 to 5 April 2013 using the callsign 3Y0IOF. We will be operating 24/7 with five stations covering all bands 160m-10m.

We understand that Dxpeditions are all about you – the DX operator – therefore we are pleased to announce some exciting new innovations.

We appreciate many of you feel you should not have to make any effort to work us. Accordingly, we are offering you the chance to call us on the telephone when you are ready for a QSO. That’s right, we will give you a phone number and when you are ready you can ring us and we will immediately cease to work the pile up and call you on a frequency of your choice. Not only that, we will also ensure an email is sent to you directly after the QSO to confirm you are in the log. Furthermore, we are organising a team of experts who, if you wish, will fly in and set up your rig on the required frequency, connect the antenna for you and make sure the heating or ventilation is on so it is nice and warm or cool in your shack as the case requires. Don’t worry about propagation. We will make sure there is some between us as we understand that is our responsibility and it’s our fault if there isn’t.

If that is not for you then don’t worry we are just as happy to work you in a pile up. We realise that we will need to operate in accordance with your operating habits so therefore we will understand if you call over the top of another station we are trying to work, or when we are specifically calling a part of the world you do not reside in, or if you are simply calling aimlessly or while we are transmitting, or even if you call when you cannot hear us. We will do our best to work you despite all this and yes we know it’s our fault if you do not make it into the log. We wish to acknowledge the value Frequency Cops bring to a Dxpedition so to recognise this we are going to specifically publicise some times when we will arrange for some operators to deliberately call us on our frequency instead of split. Frequency Cops can even register their availability with us to help us ensure these periods get maximum uptake by the Frequency Cop community. During these periods the Frequency Cops will be able to say or send “up up!” to their hearts content. (Note: we will make sure we tell the pile up to listen up and not down as the recent PT0S Dxpedition has taught us that Frequency Cops don’t know how to send “down” in CW).

We also don’t want the “tuner uppers” to feel left out and like them we feel dummy loads are completely overrated. So when we are ready to transmit on a band we will give them the opportunity to tune up on our frequency before we start working the pile up. Each period will start with us sending our callsign and “QDL” (“Quick Dummy Loaders”) so they will know when to commence tuning up on us. We will allow for at least five minutes for this as we know how important it is for the tuner uppers to make sure their finals are good and ready. We acknowledge if they go bang it’s our fault. Depending on demand we will every now and then send “QDL” while working a pile up so any tuner uppers late to the party can tune up on us as well.

Unfortunately we will not have cluster access while we are on Bouvet but we know this will not stop you posting announcements and comments on the cluster about our Dxpedition. Some suggestions for you to try include saying what band you want us to QSY to or mode to operate on, the quality of our ops and the usual “loud”, “can’t hear them here”, “thanks for 7th band” or “yee hah” comments. Likewise as we noted above we understand it’s our fault if you cannot work us and therefore we accept in that case you will post on the cluster calling us the worst Dxpedition ever.

We can’t wait to be of service to you.

The 3Y0IOF Team
OT12BR - "Locomotive type 12"
03-12-2012
Submitted by: ON5EX
Le Belgian Railways Amateur Radio Club (BRARC) activera l’indicatif spécial OT12BR jusqu'au 31 décembre 2012 et ce en l’honneur de la célèbre locomotive type 12.

Deux activations sont déjà prévues ces 5 et 6 décembre de 07h00 à 11h00 UTC : le 05/12/12 depuis la gare de STOCKEM avec comme référence MKM-162 et le 06/12/12 depuis la gare de VIVILLE avec comme référence XVE-162. Toutes bandes HF - SSB mais principalement en 40 M.

Les QSO compteront pour le diplôme BRARC et pour le diplôme BRSA (Belgian Railways Stations Award). QSL via ON7BR.

ON1Ø1BOB - Compagnie Easy
01-12-2012
Submitted by: ON3FMB

ON3FMB activera en compagnie du team ON-RAF-MOTA l'indicatif ON1Ø1BOB en souvenir de la compagnie Easy de la 506 P.I.R qui s'est farouchement battue lors de la bataille de Bastogne (Battle of the Bulge). 101= 101 Airborne, BOB= Band Of Brothers.

Le QTH sera situé dans une gare de chemin de fer désaffectée à proximité du monument érigé en mémoire de la Easy compagnie près du Bois Jacques, où était la ligne de front. ON1Ø1BOB sera activé en HF et en VHF 2m FM/SSB. Les opérateurs seront : ON3EA, ON7KEI, ON5SWA et ON3FMB. Cette activité se déroulera à partir du samedi 1er décembre aux environs de 10h30 sans interruptions jusqu'au dimanche 2 décembre 12h00. Tous les QSO seront confirmés par une superbe carte QSL. Consultez les DX-clusters pour savoir sur quelles bandes ON1Ø1BOB sera activé.
PJ4NX - QSL info
28-11-2012
Submitted by: ON9CFG
PJ4NX Peter is the latest DX station to join the United Radio QSL Bureau, now QSL Via M0URX. The full log has now been transferred to me and again a NEW QSL card is being designed by Max, ON5UR, these should be posted in time for Christmas.