El ARRL y CQ Magazine firman acuerdo…

THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO. The ARRL 10 GHz and Up Contest, ARRL EME Contest, FISTS Get Your Feet Wet CW Weekend, SARL VHF/UHF Contest, Scandinavian Activity CW Contest, South Carolina QSO Party, QRP Afield, Washington State Salmon Run, QCWA Fall QSO Party, North American SSB Sprint, Run for the Bacon QRP CW Contest and the 144 MHz Fall Sprint will certainly keep contesters busy this weekend. Please see September QST, page 95 and the ARRL and WA7BNM contest websites for details.

MONTENEGRO, 4O. Martti, OH2BH may be QRV as 4O3B in the Scandinavian Activity contest on a variety of bands. QSL to home call.

MALAWI, 7Q. Ely, IN3VZE will be QRV as 7Q7CE from the west shore of Lake Malawi from September 18 to October 6. Activity will be on 80 to 10 meters using SSB. QSL to home call.

SOUTH COOK ISLANDS, E5. Ken, ZL4HU is QRV as E51KH from Rarotonga, IOTA OC-013, until September 22. He is generally active on 20 meters using SSB. QSL direct to home call.

KYRGYZSTAN, EX. Bek, EX8AB is usually QRV using RTTY on 30 meters around 1700z.

KERGUELEN ISLAND, FT5X. Gildas, TU5KG is QRV as FT5XP for the next two months. Of late he’s been active on 15 meters at various times. QSL via F4EFI.

LIECHTENSTEIN, HB0. Operators DF4OQ, DJ5BX, DL1ZBO, DK9FEC and DL1FX will be QRV as HB0/homecalls from September 21 to 25. Activity will be on 80 to 10 meters using CW, SSB and various digital modes. They plan to be QRV as HB0/DL1ZBO in the upcoming CW WW RTTY contest. QSL via operators’ instructions.

OGASAWARA, JD1. Operator JA1NAL/JD1 has been active on 15 meters from around 0000 to 0700z.

MONGOLIA, JT. Operators OK1CCK, OK1ES, OK1FM and OK1XC are QRV as JT800OK from Ulaan Baatar until October 8. Activity is on 160 to 10 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY, SSTV and PSK31. QSL via OK1XC.

DENMARK, OZ. Bernd, DL8AAV, will be QRV as OZ/DL8AAV/p from Laeso Island, IOTA EU-088, from September 17 to 30. Activity will be on 80 to 10 meters using CW and SSB. QSL to home call.

EGYPT, SU. Dave, KJ9I is QRV as SU/KJ9I until September 18. QSL to home call.

DODECANESE, SV5. Drew, GM3YOR will be QRV as SV5/homecall from IOTA EU-001 from September 21 to October 4 while on holiday. He will be active on the HF bands using only CW and when time and conditions permit. QSL to home call.

PALAU, T8. JE1SYN and JP1IOF will be QRV as T88YN and T88AS, respectively, from Koror, IOTA OC-009, from September 21 to 24. Activity will be on 80 to 10 meters, using CW, SSB, RTTY and FM, with two stations. QSL to home calls.

UZBEKISTAN, UK. Mike, UK8AR is usually QRV on 20 meters using CW between 0100 and 0200z.

BELIZE, V3. Operators K9DUR, KC9JMA, NT9T and KC9AOR will be QRV from Placencia as V31DU, V31PW, V31TN and V31OR, respectively, from September 16 to 23. Activity will be on 160 to 6 meters using SSB.

NAMIBIA, V5. Pierre, HB9QQ is QRV as V5/HB9QQ until September 30 and is active mainly on 30, 17 and 12 meters. QSL via HB9QQ.

CANADA, VE. Steve, VE2TKH is QRV as VY0ICE from Iqauluit, Baffin Island, IOTA NA-047, until May 30, 2007. Activity is on 80 to 6 meters using CW and SSB. QSL direct via VE2AWR.

CHAGOS ISLAND, VQ9. Jim, ND9M is QRV as VQ9JC from Diego Garcia, IOTA AF-006, for the next four months. QSL to home call.

INDIA, VU. Kumar, VU2BGS is normally QRV on 160 meters around 2100z on Saturdays.

El ARRL QSL Bureau ajusta los costos de envío: 

Efectivo el 17 de enero de 2011, los costos de envío de QSLs via Bureau cambiarán

Con este cambio los radioaficionados usuarios del Buró no tendrán que contar sus QSLs y luego adivinar cuanto deben pagar basándose en el costo al costo de 1/2 libra; solo tendrán que pesar las QSLs que desean enviar para determinar  cuánto dinero deben enviar al buró con sus tarjetas.

Esta nueva forma de envío incluye un aumento en el costo de envío basado en los aumentos en el franqueo que anunció el correo y en los costos de manejo y envío.

La última revisión del Servicio de envío vía buró se hizo en enero de 2007. Aunque los costos de envío internacionales se han mantenido estables por los últimos 4 años, los costos de envío domésticos han aumentado más de 16% desde el  2007 al presente mientras los costos de manejo y materiales siguen subiendo a un promedio de 1 a 2 % cada año.

Los nuevos costos son como sigue:

•             $2 por 10 o menos QSLs en un mismo sobre

•             $3 por 11 a  20 QSLs en un mismo sobre, o

•             75 centavos por onza, en paquetes con 21 o más QSLs.

Por ejemplo: un paquete de QSLs que pese 1.5 libras –24 onzas, o aproximadamente 225 QSLs costará $18. El envío de 225 QSLs al extranjero vía correo regular internacional basado en 98 centavos por onza costarían unos $220.50 por lo que el uso del servicio del buró sigue siendo una forma de ahorrar mucho dinero en franqueo.

Si tiene preguntas relacionadas  con el “ARRL Outgoing QSL Bureau” o de los costos de envío del servicio envíe un eMail a <buro@arrl.org>.

El 2010 rompió todos los records para el ARRL QSL Buró

With the coming of more sunspots, comes more DX. And when more amateurs are working DX, that means the ARRL’s Membership and Volunteer Programs Department — especially the DXCC desk and the ARRL Incoming and Outgoing QSL Bureaus — goes into high gear.

“Compared to 2009, 2010 saw a dramatic increase in the number of cards we received from ARRL members that were sent to foreign QSL bureaus, as well as the number of cards we sent out to the bureaus,” said DXCC Manager Bill Moore, NC1L. “In addition, the number of DXCC applications — including those for initial awards and endorsements — also increased.”

Through December 14, 2010, the ARRL Outgoing QSL Bureau received 709,800 cards destined for foreign QSL bureaus from ARRL members in the US. This represents an increase of 16 percent over the 2009 number of about 612,000 cards. In 2009, the ARRL shipped 673,500 cards — or close to 4500 pounds of cards — to foreign bureaus. “We have processed nearly 660,000 cards in 2010, and the year isn’t even over yet,” said MVP Administrative Manager Sharon Taratula. “I would not be surprised if we surpassed 750,000 cards by the end of the year.”

As the number of QSL cards has increased, so have the number of DXCC applications. In 2009, the DXCC Desk processed 7134 applications for initial awards and endorsements; these 2009 applications included almost 762,500 QSOs. So far in 2010, the DXCC Desk has processed 6895 applications, containing almost 860,000 QSOs, for an increase of 13 percent over 2009. “With all of the year’s applications not yet fully processed, we’ve seen the number of QSOs increase in 2010 over 2009, even though the number of applications is a tad lower,” Moore said. “Come the end of the year, I expect the 2010 application total to surpass the 2009 number.”

How the Bureaus Work

Each day, QSL cards are delivered to the Outgoing QSL Bureau where they are placed in dated bins. They are then sorted by country prefix in according to the date they were received in the Bureau. Every other month, volunteers and ARRL staff assist Outgoing QSL Bureau Associate Rose-Anne Lawrence, KB1DMW, pack up the cards for the most active bureaus and prepare them for shipment. The Outgoing QSL Bureau uses two sizes of cartons for sending QSL cards, depending on the size of the shipment — either 4 or 20 pound cartons. These cartons are sent to the bureaus via private shipper. Cards going to less active entities are forwarded every 90 days via USPS First Class International Mail, either in smaller boxes or in a padded envelope.

Within the US, the ARRL Incoming QSL Service is made up of numerous call area bureaus, with one bureau serving each call area. These call area bureaus act as central clearing houses for QSL cards arriving from foreign countries. ARRL volunteers sort all incoming cards according to the number in a call sign, 0-9. Then all the cards are sent to the appropriate call area bureau. Volunteers within each bureau then sort the cards according to the first letter in a call sign’s suffix. The cards are then sent to those in the call area who participate in the Incoming QSL Service. While amateurs must be an ARRL member to take advantage of the Outgoing QSL Bureau, membership is not required to receive cards from the Incoming QSL Service.

“There is a definite cycle here in the Bureau,” Lawrence said. “We keep really busy all year long, but it really gears up in the fall right around Thanksgiving weekend. It tapers off a little in the spring after contest season when a lot of hams enjoying activities in the nice weather. Hams really do love their QSL cards, and we get to see so many beautiful ones pass through the Bureau.”

Lawrence receives help from volunteers in the Bureau: Lisa Zeug, K1UQT, and Michael Zeug, W1YM, are Area 1 letter sorters from Massachusetts who also help out ARRL HQ in the QSL Bureau. Richard Lawrence, KB1DMX, and David Kaplan, WA1OUI, both help with all parts of the Bureau operation at HQ. John Meyer, K9QVB, — the Area 9 Incoming Manager — comes to Newington all the way from Illinois to spend a week in May every year, slotting cards all day.

El QSL Bureau Manager para Puerto Rico es:

Luis de la Vega, KP4WI   -   PO Box 901061  -  San Juan, PR 00920-1061

La decisión del  DXCC Desk

ARRL Awards Committee Makes Statement on Dissolution of Netherlands Antilles
“To clarify the administrative process by which the anticipated changes to the two existing Netherlands Antilles DXCC entities will be made, the ARRL Awards Committee has determined that at 0400 UTC (12:00 AM local time in the islands) on October 10, 2010, the two Netherland Antilles DXCC entities will be deleted.

Commencing at 0400 UTC (12:00 AM local time) on October 10, 2010, operation from the islands of Curacao, Bonaire, Sint Maarten, Saba and St Eustatius will count for a yet-to-be-determined number of new entities under the DXCC List Criteria and Political Entities, Rule 1 and/or Rule 2 Geographic Separation Entities.

When the Awards Committee determines what Rule 1 or Rule 2 actions apply, it will announce the final disposition of the entities on the DXCC list. The DXCC desk will not accept confirmations for these new entities until after January 1, 2011.”

Para resumir, los QSO´s hechos con estas expediciones a las islas a partir del 10 de octubre de 2010 contará pero la ARRL no aceptaraásolicitudes para el DXCC de ninguna de las nuevas entidades DXCC hasta el 1 de enero de 2011.
Hasta esa fecha posiblemente no sabremos si Saba y San Eustaquio se divide en entidades separadas o no. Es decir podemos tener cuatro nuevas entidades DXCC (Bonaire, Curazao, Saba / St. Eustaquio, San Martín). O 5 nuevas (Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, San Eustaquio y San Martín). Asi que como estan previstas operaciones en las 5 posibles entidades a trabajar lo que se pueda y luego que santa ARRL decida.

En otros asuntos internacionales, se espera que en un referendum general a celebrarse a principios de enero de 2011, donde votarn 3 millones de Sudaneses sobre su independencia, surja un nuevo pais (o entidad) para deleite de los DXers. Epseremos los resultados y por supuesto el largo analisis que acostumbra hacer el DXCC Desk para considerar a Sudan del Sur como una nueva entidad.

Suerte a todos…73