RADIO AND CLUB NEWS 2011
YO9BPX new member of BRF (Dec. 25, 2011)
Mihai-Nicolae Malanca (YO9BPX) has become a new member of BRF. He is a lifetime member of "YODX CLUB" with 256 entites confirmed in HF, 5 DXCC award, 2 national champion titles and many national awards. In addition Mihai is Coach Emeritus, and trains young people to learn CW. Two of his students were to "HSC World championships" in Bielefeld (Germany) this year and one of them won the Bronze medal. DXing and contests are his great passion. Welcome to BRF, Mihai.
ELLA Master Class 1 Award to Leo van der Horst (Dec. 10, 2011)
Leo van der Horst (SWL-NL 11553) has today received the ELLA Award for the verified reception of 450 Euorpean lighthouses and lightships. Congrats!
Four new Certificates of Merit to DL7AFS, DJ7ZG, N2OO, VK4FW (Nov 29)
It is a pleasure to announce that four more great DXpeditioners have accepted the CoM.
Babs (DL7AFS) and Lothar Linge (DJ7ZG) as well as Bob Schenck (N2OO) and Bill Horner (VK4FW) have been rewarded the CoM for their commitment to amateur radio. More info to come soon.
Simon Gadaleta (IZ7ATN) new holder of CoM (Nov 24, 2011)
Simon Gadaleta (IZ7ATN) has this day accepted the Certificate of Merit. He has worked from about 60 islands and 23 different DXCC-entities. His latest operation from 5Z brought new IOTA points from two different IOTA groups to chasers.
Dan Rolla (I1-12387/IW1QLA) new member (Nov 24, 2011)
It is a pleasure to announce that Dan Rolla has become a member of BRF. Dan is especially known to SWL-IOTA-chasers for organizing the SWL-IOTA-Contest. Welcome, Dan!
IOTA-SWL-Marathon Excel Sheet Available (Nov 22, 2011)
SWL-friend Dan Rolla (I1-12327) has created an Excel sheet for the IOTA-SWL-Marathon which you can download for the competition. You can find the sheet on the homepage of DE3EAR.
Donald A. Miller (W9WNV) accepted Certificate of Merit (Nov 20, 2011)
It is a pleasure to announce that one of the great legends and fathers of dxpeditioning accepted the CoM. Don Miller (W9WNV) operated from very rare DXCC-entities back in the 1960s, at a time when dxpeditions were still more difficult and adventurous.
Rare DXCC-entities and IOTAS on the air these days (Nov 20, 2011)
Watch out for 9N7M (Nepal), E51MAN (North Cook), T2T (Tuvalu) and E3ND (Eritrea), whch are very active on many bands these days. Good luck!
CoM to Przemyslaw Golembowski (SP7VC) (Nov 20, 2011)
Przemek Golembowski (SP7VC) has accepted the Certificate of Merit this day. He has operated from 24 different DXCC-entities and 15 IOTA-islands, so far.
Jürgen Horn (DL1HRN) has achieved the Island Award 2011 Diamond Class (19 Nov 2011)
Jürgen Horn has received the No. 002 Island Award 2011 Diamond class for having worked more than 100 IOTA groups this year. Congrats!
Bob Allphin (K4UEE) new holder of Certificate of Merit (Nov 19, 2011)
It is a pleasure to announce that Bob Allphin (K4UEE) has accepted the CoM.
K4UEE has visited 110 DXCC entities and operated from 61. He has participated in 35 DXpeditions, and specializes in activating "top 10 most-wanted" and so far has nine to his credit! They are.Baker/Howland (#8), Heard Island (#4), Bhutan (#3), South Sandwich Islands (#6), South Georgia Island (#10), Peter I Island (#4), Lakshadweep (#2), Desecheo (#6) and most recently Saba/St. Eustatius (all-time new one).
He has eight "DXpedition of the Year" plaques hanging on the wall. Since retiring in 1999 to pursue DXpeditioning more or less full time, Bob has participated in eight MAJOR DXpeditions that have made over 700,000 QSOs.
Cezar (VE3LYC) to operate from IOTA SA-095 (new one!)
SA-095, CE4, O'Higgins/Maule Region group: CoM holder and lifetime member Cezar,VE3LYC, and Dino,CE3PG, will be active from Papuya Island from 20th till 23rd of November. This is a new IOTA-group. They will work on 40m, 30m, 20m und 17m in CW and SSB with2x IC7000 and 2x Multiband-Vertical. QSL via VE3LYC.
Certificate of Merit to Pedro Allina, HK3JJH (16 Nov 2011)
Pedro Allina has received the Certificate of Merit today. He has operated from 23 different rare IOTA islands in the Americas (from some of them more than once), among them for example Malpelo Island.
Cetrificate of Merit to YT1AD (11 Nov 2011)
It is a great pleasure to announce that Dr. Hranislav Milosevic (YT1AD) has accepted the Certificate of Merit. Hrane ranks among the most famous dxpeditioners and organizers of expeditions to a large number of very rare and remote DXCC-entities and IOTA islands. He is a real globetrotter having traveled to more than 210 countries.
We wish to thank him for his outstanding activities for the benefit of DXers and for accepting our award.
New Member: DD6UDD (Nov 6, 2011)
Detlef Wabersky (DD6UDD) is a new member. He operates frequently from the Island of Usedom (IOTA EU 129 / JO74aa / Ueckeritz; ARLHS FED 359; WFF DLFF 075). He has worked six awards from our ELLA Award program (see ELLA Award Holders).
Welcome to BRF, Detlef!
VE9GLF and VE9MY accepted Certificate of Merit (Nov 5, 2011)
Linda Friars (VE9GLF) and Len Morgan (VE9MY) have been awarded the CoM for their numerous island activations. As a team, they have operated from more than 160 Canadian islands for the CISA and the IOTA awards.
Certificate of Merit to EA3WL, EA3BT and RZ3EC (Nov 01, 2011)
Three more operators have been awarded the CoM because of theirs merits for the amateur radio community:
Núria Font Soler (EA3WL) and her husband Josep Gilbert Del Pino (EA3BT) have worked from a large number of different DXCC entities and have given lots of band points to hunters. Núria is the first YL to receive the award.
Eugene Shelkanovtsev (RZ3EC) has taken part in numerous DXpeditions (especially for the Russian Robinson Club), activating very rare IOTA islands. Furthermore he has worked from more than 200 RDA districts and serves as a QSL manager for lots of DXpeditions.
Certificate of Merit to OZ7AEI and F5BLC
As members' suggestions of candidates for the CoM keep coming in, we are happy to announce that OZ7AEI and F5BLC have accepted the award.
Jakob Pedersen (OZ7AEI) has operated from 90 lighthouses and 37 Danish islands.
Guy Pailhories (F5BLC) has activated about 70 islands, primarily in Scotland, but also in France and the Baltic area.
So here are two more OPs who truly deserve the certificate!
Certificate of Merit to G0DHZ, VE3LYC and BA4DW
We take pride in announcing that three more outstanding amateur radio operators have accepted the Certificate of Merit.
Alex Johnsen (G0DHZ) has been awarded the CoM for his activations from 95 Scottish islands and his involvement in the development of amateur radio in Tunisia.
Cezar Trifu (VE3LYC) is well known among the IOTA chasers for his operations from very rare IOTA groups in North and South America. In some cases he even risked his health to get access and operate from these islands.
David Zhou (BA4DW) has given IOTA hunters the chance to work 15 different Chinese IOTA groups.
It is a deep pleasure to send the Certificate to these three great OPs and to enter them into our Hall of Merit
Certificate of Merit to Neno Rotter 9A5AN (Ocober 4, 2011)
Today Neno, 9A5AN, was awarded the CoM for hois outstanding IOCA activities. So far, he has activated 354 (!!!) Croatian islands for the IOCA award. What a number! Thanks for accepting the award and welcome to BRF, Neno.
Day of German Unity Award: October 3
On October 3, is the Day of German Unity. We have an activity award for that day. For the rules, please check the "Activities"-site.
Certificate of Merit to M0DOL, DH5JBR and EA5KB
Three more Certificates of Merit have been awarded to amateur radio operators in acknowledgement of their outstanding commitment for the benefit of the amateur radio community:
Chris Darlington (M0DOL) has activated a large number of castles and stately homes in the UK for the CASHOTA award, either with his own call or with the club call GX4KPT.
Joachim Braun (DH5JBR) has done more than 250 activations of Scottish islands and several lighthouses and given lots of points to IOSA or SCOTIA award hunters.
Pepe Ardid (EA5KB) has activated numerous Spanish islands and lighthouses as well as some EAFFs and some special calls. Furthermore, he is well known to DXers as a reliable QSL manager for a large number of DX stations.
Thanks and a warm welcome to all three gentlemen!
Nominations for Certificate of Merit (Sept. 25, 2011)
Quite a number of suggestions and nominations for the COM have come in during the last few days. The board will examine the cases and get into contact with the nominees. Thanks to all who sent in a suggestion.
Second Certificate of Merit for André G Saunders (GM3VLB) (Sept.15)
The second Certificate of Merit goes to André G Saunders (GM3VLB), who during the past 42 years made 282 island activations (the vast majority Scottish islands) and started the SCOTIA Award.
Message to Alexander, OM3YCA (Sept. 15, 2011)
I am trying this way of getting into contact with you, as my e-mails to you with the Lights Hunter Award keep coming back undelivered. I do not know what is the problem as I am only sending a pdf. Maybe your program considers my mail as a spam. Please, try to make sure that my mails can be delivered to you and write me once again. - DE3EAR
New Member: Walter Capozza (Sept. 09, 2011)
Walter Capozza, SWL I3-65709, is a new member of BRF as of September 09. Welcome to our club, Walter!
First Certificate of Merit awarded to Bill Newman, M0BNN (Sept. 02, 2011)
The first Certifciate of Merit was awarded to Bill Newman (M0BNN). Bill has activated more than 80 lighthouses, primarily in Scotland as MM0BNN/p.
News from Bill, MM0BNN/p (August 30, 2011)
I leave this location Morvich tomorrow and will travel the whole 20kms to the Isle of Skye hi. I will be on the Skye for 7 days and will activate SCO- 072, 115, 019, 161 and 009.
Certificate of Merit (August 29, 2011)
BRF is going to install the Certificate of Merit to honor those people in the field of amateur radio that have shown exceptional commitment for the benefit of the amateur radio community, for example by activating a larger number of islands, lighthouses, parks, castles or by having worked as a QSL manager for a larger number of DX stations or expeditions or by having participated in dxpeditions to very rare DXCC entities or islands, just to mention a few examples.
Candidates for this Certificate of Merit should be suggested by our members. The board of BRF will then evaluate the adequacy of the suggestion made and then try to get into contact with the candidate. If the candidate agrees to accept the Certificate he will be sent it electronically and be entered into the Hall of Merit as well as being credited free lifetime membership in our group. So, please feel free to suggest candidates for this special certificate.
Lights Hunter Award 2011 (as of September 13, 2011)
001 Paolo Corsetti IK3GER 13
002 Janis Mihailovs YL2EC 12
003 Virgil Nesteriuc YO2CJX 37
004 John Aston G6EQT 12
005 Kevin Jackson M0XLT 13
006 Benito Groshus YL2CF 43
007 Hans-Jürgen Schmelzer DE3EAR 130 (SWL)
008 Ivo Tanev LZ4BU 37
009 Leo van der Horst NL 11553 31 (SWL)
010 Ivan Pacnik S51AP 56
011 Valdas Ruksenas LY2BNL 10
012 Walter Capozza I3-65709 87 (SWL)
013 Craven Amateur R Group MX0BCQ/p 23
014 Alexander Klabník OM3YCA 53
Concerning Award Applications (August 28, 2011)
I returned from my 16-days holiday in Northern-DL and OZ yesterday and found quite some award apllications on my e-mail account. Please, excuse the delay in answering. The applications will be checked and the awards will be sent out in the coming week. Thanks for your patience - DE3EAR.
Message from Bill, MM0BNN/p (August 9, 2011)
I am now back traveling the West coast of Scotland and will be at MORVICH camp site from 10th August( GOOGLE EARTH Post/Zip IV408HQ ) for 3 weeks and hope to activate the following lighthouses:
SCO 072 and SCO 115 also SCO 161 and SCO 019 also ARDTRECK lighthouse SCO 009 a number of times on 40/20 meters. If possible I will try to post dates of activation on www.qrz.com
ON4RK new member (August 08, 2011)
Ronny Van Massenhove (ON4RK) is a new member of our group. Welcome, Ronny!
Message from MM0BNN: LH activations in August
I received the following message from Bill on his LH activities:
I will NOT be activating a lighthouse in the Main ILLW 20/21 August as I cannot transmit from close enough to any of lighthouses on the Isle of Skye following the ILLW Rules and guide lines.
Scotland Lighthouses I will try to active to activate:
Sunday 7th August SCO- 310 Rhu Spit & Ardencaple castle R.R. SCO-329
Monday 8th August Port Glasgow Beacon SCO-311 & Port Glasgow Steam Boat Quay SCO-312. OR DUMBUCK SCO-367 ( River Clyde)
Tuesday 9th August, Fort William, Corpach SCO-320
Wednesday 10th August Morvich Caravan Club site ( IV408HQ) 3 weeks
Isle of Skye Lighthouses SCO- 072, SCO-115, SCO-161 SCO-019 and SCO-009
Activation dates ? I will TRY to give dates on to you and QRZ.com if I have signal for laptop dongle hi.
Isle of Skye EU 008 Ashaig/Breakish campsite 31st August 7 days ( IV428PZ )
Wednesday 7th September Morvich Caravan Club site ( IV408HQ) 3 weeks
All above information depends on my health, the WX and propagation hi.
Stéphane Morice (SWL F-10255) new member (August 5, 2011)
Stéphane Morice is a new member of our group. He is holder of the IOTA 300 award and the manager for the Morbihan Islands Award. And he has got a very interesting website for islands chasers. It's great to have you in our club, Stéphane.
International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend on August 20-21
A good opportunity to work or hear many LH amateur radio stations for our Lights Hunter Award is the ILLW on August 20-21. An entrants list for 2011 can be found at illw.net.
Manfred Meier (DF6EX) new member of BRF (August 3, 2011)
It is a great pleasure to announce that Manfred Meier (DF6EX) has joined our club. Manfred is a very succesful DXer (943 IOTAs and all DXCC-entities except South Sudan confirmed) and well-known activator of castles and WFF parks in Northern Bavaria (with the club call DA0CW/p) and the Czech Republic (as OK8WFF). For full information on his activities have look at: www.u23.de
Welcome to our group, Manfred!
Bill (MM0BNN/p) to activate Scottish Lighthouses (August 3, 2011)
Our member Bill Newman is going to Scotland once again on August 6 to activate several Scottish lighthouses. He has activated more than 80 LHs so far (see Award holders ELLA) and it's always a pleasure to hear him on the bands as he is a real gentleman. So watch out for him!
Leo van der Horst first winner of Islands Award 2011 Gold (August 2, 2011)
Leo (NL 11553) is the first to have achieved our new Islands Award 2011 in Gold for 75+ IOTA groups. Congrats. Full rules at "Activities" page.
LIGHTS HUNTER AWARD starting in August 1, 2011
Our LIGHTSHUNTER AWARD 2011 has started on August 1. During the whole month work or hear as many radio amatuer stations working from lighthouses or lightships as possible. Full rules see "Activities" page.
GM3VLB/p operating from Scottish islands (August 1, 2011)
Andre (GM3VLB) is again operating from different Scottish islands for his renowned SCOTIA award. Watch out for him on 20m (about 14257kHz).
New Member (July 7, 2011)
Davor Kordic (9A4KJ) is a new member of our club. Welcome, Davor!
DE3EAR to organize the IOTA SWL Marathon (June 22, 2011)
THE YEAR 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the launch of the Islands On The Air (IOTA) Programme by British SWL Geoff Watts, BRS-3129. To celebrate the occasion, the RSGB IOTA Manager and Committee announce an exciting activity period in which all licensed amateurs world-wide are invited to participate. For a two-year period during 2012 and 2013, IOTA chasers are encouraged to contact as many different IOTA groups as possible, and IOTA activators to play their part by operating from as many groups as possible, with special emphasis on the less-frequently activated ones.
A separate SWL competition on the same rule basis as for amateurs participating in the IOTA Chasers Marathon will be organized by German SWL DE3EAR. The IOTA committee will accept scores forwarded by DE3EAR for listing in an SWL section alongside the amateurs' scores and will issue certificates endorsed 'SWL'. The conditions are that the SWLs will need to follow the IOTA rules for logging valid QSOs, namely they will need to indicate the callsign of the station that the island station is working at the time (CQs are not allowed) and the committee may disallow reported contacts on the same basis as for amateurs if they believe circumstances require it.
The full rules of the SWL competition can be found at de3ear.weebly.com
For questions on the SWL marathon write to: [email protected]
SWLs around the world, please take part in the competition!
NEW!!! (June 16, 2011)
ANNUAL ISLANDS AWARD (starting in 2011/every year)
To support the IOTA award program, we offer this new challenge to all interested island hunters (OP or SWL), starting in the calendar year 2011.
In the respective calendar year, work or hear amateur radio stations operating from as many different IOTA groups as possible. Each group only counts once in the year.
The award is also available for broadcast band listeners (BCL) under different conditions.
For full information on the award and the different classes look at the "Activities" site.
Results European Spring Award 2011 (as of June 28, 2011; to be updated)
001 Paolo Corsetti IK3GER 28 (HAM, CW)
002 Leo van der Horst NL11553 31 (SWL)
003 Kevin Jackson MR0XLT 28 (HAM, SSB)
004 Giancarlo Scarpa I3VAD 22 (HAM, mixed)
005 Hisashi Matsushita JF2SKV 10 (HAM, mixed)
006 Lutz-D. Elsner DL7UGO 31 (HAM, mixed)
007 Ian Wooller M3NQM 20 (HAM, mixed)
008 Bernd Schmidt DL-BCL 21 (BCL)
009 Benito Groshus YL2CF 35 (HAM, 14, SSB)
010 Thomas Krüger DH5MM 45 (HAM, mixed)
011 Kevin Jackson M0XLT 25 (HAM, SSB)
012 Ivo Tanev LZ4BU 26 (HAM, mixed)
013 Veit Pelinski DL7ET 20 (HAM, above 30MHz)
014 Jorge Jacome HC1JQ 22 (HAM, mixed)
015 Jorge Jácome P. HC1JP 13 (HAM, mixed)
016 Janis Mihailovs YL2EC 44 (HAM, mixed)
017 Peter Herklotz DL-S14/3100391 32 (SWL)
018 Hans Nerlich DL-BCL 37 (BCL)
019 Milos A Oblak S53EO 52 (HAM, mixed)
020 Dick Whittering SV0XBN/9 23 (HAM, CW)
021 Dick Whittering J49XF 24 (HAM, 14 Mc; CW)
Change of Rules for the Lightshunter Award 2011 (June 10, 2011)
There is a change of rules for our Lightshunter Award starting from 2011 onwards. The dates for working/hearing lighthouse stations is no longer limited to the INTERNATIONAL LIGHTHOUSE AND LIGHTSHIP WEEKEND. From now on the whole month of August is the time for the competition. For the rules in detail see the "Activities" page.
New Member (June 14, 2011)
Martyn J Preston (G0THY) has become a new member in our club in June 2011. Welcome to our club, Martyn.
Roland Dlabac - winner of the WPX RTTY Contest (SWL section) (June 15, 2011)
Our member Roland Dlabac (ADXB OE-527) has won the SWL Section of WPX RTTY Contest 2011. Congratulations, Roland!
Mihai-Nicolae Malanca (YO9BPX) has become a new member of BRF. He is a lifetime member of "YODX CLUB" with 256 entites confirmed in HF, 5 DXCC award, 2 national champion titles and many national awards. In addition Mihai is Coach Emeritus, and trains young people to learn CW. Two of his students were to "HSC World championships" in Bielefeld (Germany) this year and one of them won the Bronze medal. DXing and contests are his great passion. Welcome to BRF, Mihai.
ELLA Master Class 1 Award to Leo van der Horst (Dec. 10, 2011)
Leo van der Horst (SWL-NL 11553) has today received the ELLA Award for the verified reception of 450 Euorpean lighthouses and lightships. Congrats!
Four new Certificates of Merit to DL7AFS, DJ7ZG, N2OO, VK4FW (Nov 29)
It is a pleasure to announce that four more great DXpeditioners have accepted the CoM.
Babs (DL7AFS) and Lothar Linge (DJ7ZG) as well as Bob Schenck (N2OO) and Bill Horner (VK4FW) have been rewarded the CoM for their commitment to amateur radio. More info to come soon.
Simon Gadaleta (IZ7ATN) new holder of CoM (Nov 24, 2011)
Simon Gadaleta (IZ7ATN) has this day accepted the Certificate of Merit. He has worked from about 60 islands and 23 different DXCC-entities. His latest operation from 5Z brought new IOTA points from two different IOTA groups to chasers.
Dan Rolla (I1-12387/IW1QLA) new member (Nov 24, 2011)
It is a pleasure to announce that Dan Rolla has become a member of BRF. Dan is especially known to SWL-IOTA-chasers for organizing the SWL-IOTA-Contest. Welcome, Dan!
IOTA-SWL-Marathon Excel Sheet Available (Nov 22, 2011)
SWL-friend Dan Rolla (I1-12327) has created an Excel sheet for the IOTA-SWL-Marathon which you can download for the competition. You can find the sheet on the homepage of DE3EAR.
Donald A. Miller (W9WNV) accepted Certificate of Merit (Nov 20, 2011)
It is a pleasure to announce that one of the great legends and fathers of dxpeditioning accepted the CoM. Don Miller (W9WNV) operated from very rare DXCC-entities back in the 1960s, at a time when dxpeditions were still more difficult and adventurous.
Rare DXCC-entities and IOTAS on the air these days (Nov 20, 2011)
Watch out for 9N7M (Nepal), E51MAN (North Cook), T2T (Tuvalu) and E3ND (Eritrea), whch are very active on many bands these days. Good luck!
CoM to Przemyslaw Golembowski (SP7VC) (Nov 20, 2011)
Przemek Golembowski (SP7VC) has accepted the Certificate of Merit this day. He has operated from 24 different DXCC-entities and 15 IOTA-islands, so far.
Jürgen Horn (DL1HRN) has achieved the Island Award 2011 Diamond Class (19 Nov 2011)
Jürgen Horn has received the No. 002 Island Award 2011 Diamond class for having worked more than 100 IOTA groups this year. Congrats!
Bob Allphin (K4UEE) new holder of Certificate of Merit (Nov 19, 2011)
It is a pleasure to announce that Bob Allphin (K4UEE) has accepted the CoM.
K4UEE has visited 110 DXCC entities and operated from 61. He has participated in 35 DXpeditions, and specializes in activating "top 10 most-wanted" and so far has nine to his credit! They are.Baker/Howland (#8), Heard Island (#4), Bhutan (#3), South Sandwich Islands (#6), South Georgia Island (#10), Peter I Island (#4), Lakshadweep (#2), Desecheo (#6) and most recently Saba/St. Eustatius (all-time new one).
He has eight "DXpedition of the Year" plaques hanging on the wall. Since retiring in 1999 to pursue DXpeditioning more or less full time, Bob has participated in eight MAJOR DXpeditions that have made over 700,000 QSOs.
Cezar (VE3LYC) to operate from IOTA SA-095 (new one!)
SA-095, CE4, O'Higgins/Maule Region group: CoM holder and lifetime member Cezar,VE3LYC, and Dino,CE3PG, will be active from Papuya Island from 20th till 23rd of November. This is a new IOTA-group. They will work on 40m, 30m, 20m und 17m in CW and SSB with2x IC7000 and 2x Multiband-Vertical. QSL via VE3LYC.
Certificate of Merit to Pedro Allina, HK3JJH (16 Nov 2011)
Pedro Allina has received the Certificate of Merit today. He has operated from 23 different rare IOTA islands in the Americas (from some of them more than once), among them for example Malpelo Island.
Cetrificate of Merit to YT1AD (11 Nov 2011)
It is a great pleasure to announce that Dr. Hranislav Milosevic (YT1AD) has accepted the Certificate of Merit. Hrane ranks among the most famous dxpeditioners and organizers of expeditions to a large number of very rare and remote DXCC-entities and IOTA islands. He is a real globetrotter having traveled to more than 210 countries.
We wish to thank him for his outstanding activities for the benefit of DXers and for accepting our award.
New Member: DD6UDD (Nov 6, 2011)
Detlef Wabersky (DD6UDD) is a new member. He operates frequently from the Island of Usedom (IOTA EU 129 / JO74aa / Ueckeritz; ARLHS FED 359; WFF DLFF 075). He has worked six awards from our ELLA Award program (see ELLA Award Holders).
Welcome to BRF, Detlef!
VE9GLF and VE9MY accepted Certificate of Merit (Nov 5, 2011)
Linda Friars (VE9GLF) and Len Morgan (VE9MY) have been awarded the CoM for their numerous island activations. As a team, they have operated from more than 160 Canadian islands for the CISA and the IOTA awards.
Certificate of Merit to EA3WL, EA3BT and RZ3EC (Nov 01, 2011)
Three more operators have been awarded the CoM because of theirs merits for the amateur radio community:
Núria Font Soler (EA3WL) and her husband Josep Gilbert Del Pino (EA3BT) have worked from a large number of different DXCC entities and have given lots of band points to hunters. Núria is the first YL to receive the award.
Eugene Shelkanovtsev (RZ3EC) has taken part in numerous DXpeditions (especially for the Russian Robinson Club), activating very rare IOTA islands. Furthermore he has worked from more than 200 RDA districts and serves as a QSL manager for lots of DXpeditions.
Certificate of Merit to OZ7AEI and F5BLC
As members' suggestions of candidates for the CoM keep coming in, we are happy to announce that OZ7AEI and F5BLC have accepted the award.
Jakob Pedersen (OZ7AEI) has operated from 90 lighthouses and 37 Danish islands.
Guy Pailhories (F5BLC) has activated about 70 islands, primarily in Scotland, but also in France and the Baltic area.
So here are two more OPs who truly deserve the certificate!
Certificate of Merit to G0DHZ, VE3LYC and BA4DW
We take pride in announcing that three more outstanding amateur radio operators have accepted the Certificate of Merit.
Alex Johnsen (G0DHZ) has been awarded the CoM for his activations from 95 Scottish islands and his involvement in the development of amateur radio in Tunisia.
Cezar Trifu (VE3LYC) is well known among the IOTA chasers for his operations from very rare IOTA groups in North and South America. In some cases he even risked his health to get access and operate from these islands.
David Zhou (BA4DW) has given IOTA hunters the chance to work 15 different Chinese IOTA groups.
It is a deep pleasure to send the Certificate to these three great OPs and to enter them into our Hall of Merit
Certificate of Merit to Neno Rotter 9A5AN (Ocober 4, 2011)
Today Neno, 9A5AN, was awarded the CoM for hois outstanding IOCA activities. So far, he has activated 354 (!!!) Croatian islands for the IOCA award. What a number! Thanks for accepting the award and welcome to BRF, Neno.
Day of German Unity Award: October 3
On October 3, is the Day of German Unity. We have an activity award for that day. For the rules, please check the "Activities"-site.
Certificate of Merit to M0DOL, DH5JBR and EA5KB
Three more Certificates of Merit have been awarded to amateur radio operators in acknowledgement of their outstanding commitment for the benefit of the amateur radio community:
Chris Darlington (M0DOL) has activated a large number of castles and stately homes in the UK for the CASHOTA award, either with his own call or with the club call GX4KPT.
Joachim Braun (DH5JBR) has done more than 250 activations of Scottish islands and several lighthouses and given lots of points to IOSA or SCOTIA award hunters.
Pepe Ardid (EA5KB) has activated numerous Spanish islands and lighthouses as well as some EAFFs and some special calls. Furthermore, he is well known to DXers as a reliable QSL manager for a large number of DX stations.
Thanks and a warm welcome to all three gentlemen!
Nominations for Certificate of Merit (Sept. 25, 2011)
Quite a number of suggestions and nominations for the COM have come in during the last few days. The board will examine the cases and get into contact with the nominees. Thanks to all who sent in a suggestion.
Second Certificate of Merit for André G Saunders (GM3VLB) (Sept.15)
The second Certificate of Merit goes to André G Saunders (GM3VLB), who during the past 42 years made 282 island activations (the vast majority Scottish islands) and started the SCOTIA Award.
Message to Alexander, OM3YCA (Sept. 15, 2011)
I am trying this way of getting into contact with you, as my e-mails to you with the Lights Hunter Award keep coming back undelivered. I do not know what is the problem as I am only sending a pdf. Maybe your program considers my mail as a spam. Please, try to make sure that my mails can be delivered to you and write me once again. - DE3EAR
New Member: Walter Capozza (Sept. 09, 2011)
Walter Capozza, SWL I3-65709, is a new member of BRF as of September 09. Welcome to our club, Walter!
First Certificate of Merit awarded to Bill Newman, M0BNN (Sept. 02, 2011)
The first Certifciate of Merit was awarded to Bill Newman (M0BNN). Bill has activated more than 80 lighthouses, primarily in Scotland as MM0BNN/p.
News from Bill, MM0BNN/p (August 30, 2011)
I leave this location Morvich tomorrow and will travel the whole 20kms to the Isle of Skye hi. I will be on the Skye for 7 days and will activate SCO- 072, 115, 019, 161 and 009.
Certificate of Merit (August 29, 2011)
BRF is going to install the Certificate of Merit to honor those people in the field of amateur radio that have shown exceptional commitment for the benefit of the amateur radio community, for example by activating a larger number of islands, lighthouses, parks, castles or by having worked as a QSL manager for a larger number of DX stations or expeditions or by having participated in dxpeditions to very rare DXCC entities or islands, just to mention a few examples.
Candidates for this Certificate of Merit should be suggested by our members. The board of BRF will then evaluate the adequacy of the suggestion made and then try to get into contact with the candidate. If the candidate agrees to accept the Certificate he will be sent it electronically and be entered into the Hall of Merit as well as being credited free lifetime membership in our group. So, please feel free to suggest candidates for this special certificate.
Lights Hunter Award 2011 (as of September 13, 2011)
001 Paolo Corsetti IK3GER 13
002 Janis Mihailovs YL2EC 12
003 Virgil Nesteriuc YO2CJX 37
004 John Aston G6EQT 12
005 Kevin Jackson M0XLT 13
006 Benito Groshus YL2CF 43
007 Hans-Jürgen Schmelzer DE3EAR 130 (SWL)
008 Ivo Tanev LZ4BU 37
009 Leo van der Horst NL 11553 31 (SWL)
010 Ivan Pacnik S51AP 56
011 Valdas Ruksenas LY2BNL 10
012 Walter Capozza I3-65709 87 (SWL)
013 Craven Amateur R Group MX0BCQ/p 23
014 Alexander Klabník OM3YCA 53
Concerning Award Applications (August 28, 2011)
I returned from my 16-days holiday in Northern-DL and OZ yesterday and found quite some award apllications on my e-mail account. Please, excuse the delay in answering. The applications will be checked and the awards will be sent out in the coming week. Thanks for your patience - DE3EAR.
Message from Bill, MM0BNN/p (August 9, 2011)
I am now back traveling the West coast of Scotland and will be at MORVICH camp site from 10th August( GOOGLE EARTH Post/Zip IV408HQ ) for 3 weeks and hope to activate the following lighthouses:
SCO 072 and SCO 115 also SCO 161 and SCO 019 also ARDTRECK lighthouse SCO 009 a number of times on 40/20 meters. If possible I will try to post dates of activation on www.qrz.com
ON4RK new member (August 08, 2011)
Ronny Van Massenhove (ON4RK) is a new member of our group. Welcome, Ronny!
Message from MM0BNN: LH activations in August
I received the following message from Bill on his LH activities:
I will NOT be activating a lighthouse in the Main ILLW 20/21 August as I cannot transmit from close enough to any of lighthouses on the Isle of Skye following the ILLW Rules and guide lines.
Scotland Lighthouses I will try to active to activate:
Sunday 7th August SCO- 310 Rhu Spit & Ardencaple castle R.R. SCO-329
Monday 8th August Port Glasgow Beacon SCO-311 & Port Glasgow Steam Boat Quay SCO-312. OR DUMBUCK SCO-367 ( River Clyde)
Tuesday 9th August, Fort William, Corpach SCO-320
Wednesday 10th August Morvich Caravan Club site ( IV408HQ) 3 weeks
Isle of Skye Lighthouses SCO- 072, SCO-115, SCO-161 SCO-019 and SCO-009
Activation dates ? I will TRY to give dates on to you and QRZ.com if I have signal for laptop dongle hi.
Isle of Skye EU 008 Ashaig/Breakish campsite 31st August 7 days ( IV428PZ )
Wednesday 7th September Morvich Caravan Club site ( IV408HQ) 3 weeks
All above information depends on my health, the WX and propagation hi.
Stéphane Morice (SWL F-10255) new member (August 5, 2011)
Stéphane Morice is a new member of our group. He is holder of the IOTA 300 award and the manager for the Morbihan Islands Award. And he has got a very interesting website for islands chasers. It's great to have you in our club, Stéphane.
International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend on August 20-21
A good opportunity to work or hear many LH amateur radio stations for our Lights Hunter Award is the ILLW on August 20-21. An entrants list for 2011 can be found at illw.net.
Manfred Meier (DF6EX) new member of BRF (August 3, 2011)
It is a great pleasure to announce that Manfred Meier (DF6EX) has joined our club. Manfred is a very succesful DXer (943 IOTAs and all DXCC-entities except South Sudan confirmed) and well-known activator of castles and WFF parks in Northern Bavaria (with the club call DA0CW/p) and the Czech Republic (as OK8WFF). For full information on his activities have look at: www.u23.de
Welcome to our group, Manfred!
Bill (MM0BNN/p) to activate Scottish Lighthouses (August 3, 2011)
Our member Bill Newman is going to Scotland once again on August 6 to activate several Scottish lighthouses. He has activated more than 80 LHs so far (see Award holders ELLA) and it's always a pleasure to hear him on the bands as he is a real gentleman. So watch out for him!
Leo van der Horst first winner of Islands Award 2011 Gold (August 2, 2011)
Leo (NL 11553) is the first to have achieved our new Islands Award 2011 in Gold for 75+ IOTA groups. Congrats. Full rules at "Activities" page.
LIGHTS HUNTER AWARD starting in August 1, 2011
Our LIGHTSHUNTER AWARD 2011 has started on August 1. During the whole month work or hear as many radio amatuer stations working from lighthouses or lightships as possible. Full rules see "Activities" page.
GM3VLB/p operating from Scottish islands (August 1, 2011)
Andre (GM3VLB) is again operating from different Scottish islands for his renowned SCOTIA award. Watch out for him on 20m (about 14257kHz).
New Member (July 7, 2011)
Davor Kordic (9A4KJ) is a new member of our club. Welcome, Davor!
DE3EAR to organize the IOTA SWL Marathon (June 22, 2011)
THE YEAR 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the launch of the Islands On The Air (IOTA) Programme by British SWL Geoff Watts, BRS-3129. To celebrate the occasion, the RSGB IOTA Manager and Committee announce an exciting activity period in which all licensed amateurs world-wide are invited to participate. For a two-year period during 2012 and 2013, IOTA chasers are encouraged to contact as many different IOTA groups as possible, and IOTA activators to play their part by operating from as many groups as possible, with special emphasis on the less-frequently activated ones.
A separate SWL competition on the same rule basis as for amateurs participating in the IOTA Chasers Marathon will be organized by German SWL DE3EAR. The IOTA committee will accept scores forwarded by DE3EAR for listing in an SWL section alongside the amateurs' scores and will issue certificates endorsed 'SWL'. The conditions are that the SWLs will need to follow the IOTA rules for logging valid QSOs, namely they will need to indicate the callsign of the station that the island station is working at the time (CQs are not allowed) and the committee may disallow reported contacts on the same basis as for amateurs if they believe circumstances require it.
The full rules of the SWL competition can be found at de3ear.weebly.com
For questions on the SWL marathon write to: [email protected]
SWLs around the world, please take part in the competition!
NEW!!! (June 16, 2011)
ANNUAL ISLANDS AWARD (starting in 2011/every year)
To support the IOTA award program, we offer this new challenge to all interested island hunters (OP or SWL), starting in the calendar year 2011.
In the respective calendar year, work or hear amateur radio stations operating from as many different IOTA groups as possible. Each group only counts once in the year.
The award is also available for broadcast band listeners (BCL) under different conditions.
For full information on the award and the different classes look at the "Activities" site.
Results European Spring Award 2011 (as of June 28, 2011; to be updated)
001 Paolo Corsetti IK3GER 28 (HAM, CW)
002 Leo van der Horst NL11553 31 (SWL)
003 Kevin Jackson MR0XLT 28 (HAM, SSB)
004 Giancarlo Scarpa I3VAD 22 (HAM, mixed)
005 Hisashi Matsushita JF2SKV 10 (HAM, mixed)
006 Lutz-D. Elsner DL7UGO 31 (HAM, mixed)
007 Ian Wooller M3NQM 20 (HAM, mixed)
008 Bernd Schmidt DL-BCL 21 (BCL)
009 Benito Groshus YL2CF 35 (HAM, 14, SSB)
010 Thomas Krüger DH5MM 45 (HAM, mixed)
011 Kevin Jackson M0XLT 25 (HAM, SSB)
012 Ivo Tanev LZ4BU 26 (HAM, mixed)
013 Veit Pelinski DL7ET 20 (HAM, above 30MHz)
014 Jorge Jacome HC1JQ 22 (HAM, mixed)
015 Jorge Jácome P. HC1JP 13 (HAM, mixed)
016 Janis Mihailovs YL2EC 44 (HAM, mixed)
017 Peter Herklotz DL-S14/3100391 32 (SWL)
018 Hans Nerlich DL-BCL 37 (BCL)
019 Milos A Oblak S53EO 52 (HAM, mixed)
020 Dick Whittering SV0XBN/9 23 (HAM, CW)
021 Dick Whittering J49XF 24 (HAM, 14 Mc; CW)
Change of Rules for the Lightshunter Award 2011 (June 10, 2011)
There is a change of rules for our Lightshunter Award starting from 2011 onwards. The dates for working/hearing lighthouse stations is no longer limited to the INTERNATIONAL LIGHTHOUSE AND LIGHTSHIP WEEKEND. From now on the whole month of August is the time for the competition. For the rules in detail see the "Activities" page.
New Member (June 14, 2011)
Martyn J Preston (G0THY) has become a new member in our club in June 2011. Welcome to our club, Martyn.
Roland Dlabac - winner of the WPX RTTY Contest (SWL section) (June 15, 2011)
Our member Roland Dlabac (ADXB OE-527) has won the SWL Section of WPX RTTY Contest 2011. Congratulations, Roland!