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This just landed in my mailbox:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
We have reserved the special call sign K5D for our upcoming Desecheo operation. The operation will begin late in the day on Feb 12th.  
 
QSO philosophy…because Desecheo is so very rare ( #6 worldwide, #3 in Europe and # 2 in Asia ) there are many, many hams worldwide that need KP5 for an all-time new one. Therefore, we are asking that you not contact the Dxpedition on any band/mode that you have confirmed from a previous DXpedition. This will allow the people who really need a new DXCC entity a better opportunity to get through the pileups.  
 
Our objective is not to establish a world record for contacts…there will be no "greenies", no boxes to check, no competitions for most band/mode QSOs, no certificate or awards for contacting the Dxpedition more times than anyone else. So, if you have KP5 already confirmed on a particular band/mode, we respectfully ask that you exercise restraint. If, late in the DXpedition, we are calling CQ for contacts, we will welcome your call.
 
The team has encountered higher expenses than anticipated. These mainly involve the transportation and feeding of other personnel that will be traveling to the island with us. Approximately ten other personnel will share our campsite and facilities for the duration of the DXpedition. They will be on Island with us to provide security and carry out field research. Therefore, we ask that you consider a contribution to the DXpedition to help with these incremental expenses. Just go to www.kp5.us and click the button that reads" How you can Help".
 
We are all counting the days until we assemble in Puerto Rico on Feb 7th.  
 
Bob Allphin- K4UEE
Glenn Johnson-W0GJ
K5D co-leaders

A few weeks ago I got PZ5RA Ramon confirmed on several bands and modes. That was 198 on LoTW. At the same time I got XV4BM confirmed on 40M as 199. This week I got E44M confirmed on 40M as 200 total on LoTW. Thanks to all LoTW users, keep the confirmations coming!

I just got the news yesterday that the frequency allocations in Norway will be changed and extended. Here are the main changes:

• 490-510KHz, 100W,  A1A
• 5.260 – 5.410 MHz (60M) – general availability, not only clubstations, 100W
• 24.740 – 24.890 MHz (12m) – band extended by 150KHz, 1000W
• 70 – 70,5 MHz (4m) – 100W – The use of this frequency range will be limited to traffic in the frequency range which the telecommunications authority at any time has opened for use.

These frequencies are not available for use yet, but hopefully some time during spring.

Original article available here (Norwegian only): http://nrrl.no/NewsArticle.asp?id=296. English translation by Google here.

I just read that CQ Magazine is now accepting eQSL confirmations for award credit. Seems like digital confirmations are getting more and more popular. I have not registered on eQSL myself, and I'm not sure if I'll ever do. Only future will tell.

There is a catch with this whole thing. Only confirmations from "Authenticity Guaranteed" members of eQSL will be accepted, and in accordance with existing eQSL policy, a membership level of bronze or higher is required in order to participate in award programs via eQSL. You will also need to print out a list of confirmations and submit them to an award manager or bring it to a CQ checkpoint. I hope this will be improved to the point that you can apply for the award digitally online.

Go ahead and read the whole press release here: http://eqsl.cc/qslcard/PR-20090113CQ.cfm

I worked E44M on Monday on 40M SSB. I haven’t chased them much at all. I have worked E4 on many bands, but still need them on RTTY. I have tried them a few times on 30M, but haven’t been able to work them. One of the times they were too weak to copy, the other time I couldn’t break the pile-up. They were on 17M as well, but not decodable here.

On Saturday I had more time for radio. TI4CF Carlos were spotted on SSB. He was strong as always. I gave him a quick call to say hello, but struggled to copy him, because too many stations were calling all the time. I went down to CW and gave a few calls for DX. First station was W5CN Marc in TX. He was running 100W and a twin-cage doublet and had a quite good signal. I worked 2 more stations from the US, then suddenly JF1CBT called in with a good signal from Japan. A few minutes later Gary ZL2IFB called in for a new band. I worked him on 30M last year. Tony ZL2AGY also called in for a new band. I worked him on 30M many years ago. Nice to work people on new bands.

I gave it another go on Sunday morning. W5TZC Larry was booming from Arkansas. He was running a big pile-up, but no problem to get through to him. Afer the contact, I went down in the band and gave a CQ. That resulted in 15 JA stations. Several of them called in for a second band contact. Signals were very strong this morning with a few of the JA’s having heavy echo on their signal. Totally 29 QSO’es this weekend, among them 2 ZL, 8 W and 17 JA.

As always, logs will be uploaded to LoTW.