The DX Mentor

Hello and Welcome to the DX Corner for your weekly Dose of DX. I’m Bill, AJ8B.
The following DX information comes from Bernie, W3UR, editor of the DailyDX, the WeeklyDX, and the How’s DX column in QST. If you would like a free 2-week trial of the DailyDX, your only source of real-time DX information, just drop me a note at thedxmentor@gmail.com
We have been waiting for this DXpedition. R1FJ – Franz Jozef Land - R7AL, Vasily, and his team should be QRV soon until about August 30.
J7 – Dominica - FM5FJ and FM5BH will be in Dominica from August 20-24, then return October 18–27 along with F5VHJ and S53R to participate in the CQ WW DX SSB Contest using the callsign J75A.
A4 – Oman - The Royal Omani Amateur Radio Society (ROARS) will operate as A43KD on the HF bands and QO-100 during Khareef Dhofar, 26–28 August 2026, from Dhofar Governorate, Oman. Held during the Dhofar Khareef Season, theevent will include amateur radio activities, technical sessions, operating demonstrations, and opportunities for local operators to share experience.
9M – West & East Malaysia - Special callsigns will be on for National Day, which is August 31, and again for Malaysia Day, September 16. But the calls may be on the air anytime between August 22 and September 30.Here are some DXpeditions that are just around the corner!
S9 - Sao Tome and Principe- S9R, an expedition, is October 17-31, from Tamarindos, grid JJ31rp. Planned is HF, various modes. The antennas are a spiderbeam, hexbeam, 40M vertical, 80-10 EFHW and 6M 5-element Yagi. Digital modes will be FT8 MSHV, multi-slot. The modes are CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8, 160-6M including 60. They will also get on the QO-100 satellite. Operation will be“split at all times.
”From Mid-October to early November: JD1BQP, Ogasawara - JD1BQP by JP1IHD, Koutarou Watanabe, will be on Chichijim October 17-November 2. He will use an end-fed half-wave wire antenna that covers 160-10M, a six-band hexbeam for 20-6M, plus a seven-element Yagi for 6M.
CE0Z - Juan Fernandez Islands - CE3VTZ and XQ7IR, Moises and Felipe, are going there for 10 days or so in October. They plan 160-10M FT8, CW and SSB. It will be Alexander Selkirk Island, IOTA SA-101. They will be running on generators.
Z2 – Zimbabwe - ZS6ND, Dumisani Nkala, will be Z21MY on the air. He is currently in Poland but will be back in Zimbabwe December 1 to January 25, and plans to get on HF with this new Zimbabwe callsign.
Contest Updates  A major contest is coming up. The CQWW RTTY contest is the weekend of September 26th and 27th. This contest typically draws over 15,000 participants with over 3,600 logs submitted. If you can operate FT8, you can operate RTTY. Why not give it a try?
If you have questions or need information, just drop me a note at thedxmentor@gmail.comUntil next week, this is Bill, AJ8B saying 73 and thanks to my XYL Karen for her love and support. I Hope to hear you in the pileups! Have a great DX week!

Hello and welcome to episode 100 of TheDX Mentor – a look under the hood of the ARRL’s Logbook of the World program. My guests are George, K1IG, and Joe, W8GEX.
If you like what you find, please subscribe to always be notified about upcoming episodes!    
If you have a comment or a question, please drop me a note at thedxmentor@gmail.com
Below are the links that we alluded to:
K1IG QRZ page: https://www.qrz.com/db/K1IG
K1IG QSO Today Interview https://www.qsotoday.com/podcasts/K1IG
K1IG local ham club https://wb1gof.org/
Grid Tracker Software https://gridtracker.org/
TQSL Page: https://www.arrl.org/tqsl-download
LoTW Status Page: https://www.arrl.org/logbook-queue-status
DXCC Standings: https://www.arrl.org/dxcc-standings
Real Time DX Info (DailyDX
https://www.dailydx.com/
Southwest Ohio DX Assoc.
https://www.swodxa.org
Daily DX
https://www.dailydx.com/
DX Engineering
https://www.dxengineering.com/
Icom: https://www.icomamerica.com/
IC-7760 Product Page: https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7760
IC-PW2 Product Page: https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-PW2
IC-7300 MK2 Product Page: https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7300MK2/
IC-9700 Product Page: https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-9700/
IC-905 Product Page: https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-905/
IC-R8600 Product Page: https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-R8600/
IC-52A Plus Product Page: https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/ID-52APLUS/

Hello and Welcome to the DX Corner for your weekly Dose of DX. I’m Bill, AJ8B.
The following DX information comes from Bernie, W3UR, editor of the DailyDX, the WeeklyDX, and the How’s DX column in QST. If you would like a free 2-week trial of the DailyDX, your only source of real-time DX information, just drop me a note at thedxmentor@gmail.com
Earthquake in Colombia - On August 10, 2026, at 07:34 AM (12:34Z), a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia near San José del Palmar in Chocó, causing damage in Cali, Pereira, Quibdó, Manizales, and surrounding areas. CO2JC, Carlos Alberto Santamaría González, IARU Region 2 Emergency Coordinator, reported that the Colombian Amateur Radio League (LCR) and affiliated operators were working with the Colombian Red Cross to support damage assessment and emergency communications in affected areas including the Coffee Axis, the Pacific coast, Pereira, Dos Quebradas, Manizales, Medellín, and Cali. Amateur radio operators are asked to keep clear the emergency frequencies 3.985, 7.060, 7.240, 7.275, 14.300, 18.160, 21.360, and 146.520 MHz simplex for possible relief traffic.
R1FJ – Franz Jozef Land - R7AL, Vasily, and his team should be QRV now until about August 30.
TU – Ivory Coast - F5HPE, Fredy, is QRV from the Ivory Coast, where he has the TU5MM callsign. He will be joining TU5JZ, Mathruin. Fredy expects to be there until August 22nd , operating from the Motobé Radio Club on 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10M SSB and FT8.
OJ0 - Märket Reef - OH6BG says a DXpedition should be QRV about now until August 22, with OJ0JR, Henri; and OJ0YL, Anne. He points out that the reef is the most exposed location in the Baltic Sea, “more rock than island, more sea than shelter.” To be dealt with before the first QSO is made is the weather, landing conditions, antennas, power and constant wind and waves, he says. They plan 80-10 CW, SSB and FT8.
3B8 – Mauritius & 3B9 – Rodrigues - SQ9UM, Alex, reports that “Everything seems to be arranged so far,” with flights and lodging now confirmed. 3B8/SQ9UM is August 14-17 and 21-27. 3B9/SQ9UM is August 18-20. He plans 40-10 FT8/FT4 and CW and says “SSB if possible.” The rig is an IC-7100, 100 watts, to a multiband dipole or vertical depending on “local conditions.”
V7 – Marshall Islands - May 22 we reported that KC8CPK, Mac, is a “flight nurse” on temporary duty on Kwajalein, callsign V7/KC8CPK. Now his Marshall license has come through and he is V73RM. Mac says he is there through the end of August and will try to get on the air in his spare time.
Contest Updates   August starts the contest season for me with two contests kicking things off.
First is the Ohio QSO Party. I work every minute of this and have had some good rates the past few years. However, I have also been kicked off the air by lightning 3 of the last 4 years so I am hoping for good weather. I finished 7th overall in Ohio last year and #1 in Warren County. I could use your help if you are around the weekend of August 22nd. The contest period runs from 1200 EDT noon in Ohio (1600Z) to Midnight on the 22nd (0400Z Sunday).
Secondly is the CQWW RTTY contest. This is the weekend of September 26th and 27th. This contest typically draws over 15,000 participants with over 3,600 logs submitted. If you can operate FT8, you can operate RTTY. Why not give it a try?
If you have questions or need information, just drop me a note at thedxmentor@gmail.com
Until next week, this is Bill, AJ8B saying 73 and thanks to my XYL Karen for her love and support. I Hope to hear you in the pileups! Have a great DX week!

Hello and Welcome to the DX Corner for your weekly Dose of DX. I’m Bill, AJ8B.

The following DX information comes from Bernie, W3UR, editor of the DailyDX, the WeeklyDX, and the How’s DX column in QST. If you would like a free 2-week trial of the DailyDX, your only source of real-time DX information, just drop me a note at thedxmentor@gmail.com
Like many of you, I am an avid CQ DX Marathon participant. To help identify those stations that may not be rare, but also not common, I will bring it to your attention by announcing MARATHON ALERT. This will let you know that based on my experience, this activation is one that you will want to make part of your Marathon Chase! Let’s get started.

{Marathon Alert} OH0 – Aland Islands - OH0ERF is QRV until August 12, by a group of German hams operating holiday style. They are operating all bands from 160 m through 10 m, using CW, SSB, and FT8, with 6 m added as conditions allow. The equipment includes an IC-7610, two IC-7300 transceivers, and an ACOM 700S amplifier.

{Marathon Alert} R1FJ – Franz Jozef Land - R7AL, Vasily, and his team should be QRV around August 15 for 15 days. Five hundred kilograms of gear is already in Murmansk, their departure point, with the ops bringing another 300 kg.

{Marathon Alert} E5/S – South Cook Islands - ZL2KE, Steve, is QRV as E51KEE from the South Cook Islands until August 14th, mainly on CW with some SSB, likely focusing on 30 and 40 meters unless propagation improves. Another Steve, ZL4CZ, is QRV as E51CZZ until August 6th on SSB. Neither operator is using FT8 or other digital modes.

{Marathon Alert} TU – Ivory Coast - F5HPE, Fredy, is underway to the Ivory Coast, where he has the TU5MM callsign. He will be joining TU5JZ, Mathruin. Fredy expects to be there until August 22nd , operating from the Motobé Radio Club on 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10M SSB and FT8.

{Marathon Alert} OJ0 - Märket Reef - OH6BG says a DXpedition is coming up August 15-22, with OJ0JR, Henri; and OJ0YL, Anne. He points out that the reef is the most exposed location in the Baltic Sea, “more rock than island, more sea than shelter.” To be dealt with before the first QSO is made is the weather, landing conditions, antennas, power and constant wind and waves, he says. They plan 80-10 CW, SSB and FT8.

{Marathon Alert} YS – El Salvador - WE9G, Rikk, is QRV as YS/WE9G from El Sunzal, El Salvador, until August 14th. He will primarily use FT8, with some CW and SSB, on 6–160 meters using an SO3R setup, two vertical antennas, and a G5RV dipole. QSOs will be uploaded in real time to Club Log, QRZ, and LoTW, with QSL available via WE9G or Club Log OQRS.

Contest Updates 
August starts the contest season for me with two contests kicking things off. First is the Ohio QSO Party. I work every minute of this and have had some good rates the past few years. However, I have also been kicked off the air by lightning 3 of the last 4 years so I am hoping for good weather. I finished 7th overall in Ohio last year and #1 in Warren County. I could use your help if you are around the weekend of August 22nd. The contest period runs from 1200 EDT noon in Ohio (1600Z) to Midnight on the 22nd (0400Z Sunday).
Secondly is the CQWW RTTY contest. This is the weekend of September 26th and 27th. This contest typically draws over 15,000 participants with over 3,600 logs submitted. If you can operate FT8, you can operate RTTY. Why not give it a try?

Hello and welcome to episode 98 of TheDX Mentor – a discussion with Steve, W0ZB, Violletta, KN2P, and Joe, W8GEX, about the upcoming VP0SG DXpedition to South Georgia. 
December 2025 - Amateur Radio DXpeditions (ARD) (⁠https://www.ardxpeditions.com/⁠ ) is pleased to announce a major milestone in the preparation of the VP0SG South Georgia 2027 DXpedition. We have successfully signed the vessel contract and first deposit is being paid, officially securing our expedition vessel: the MV MEREDIAN, operated by 60° South Expeditions. 
 The MV MEREDIAN is a robust, ice-strengthened expedition vessel capable of safely supporting land-based operations in the challenging sub-Antarctic environment. The experience of the 60° South team, combined with their long track record in the region, makes them an ideal partner for this ambitious project. 
Securing the vessel represents a crucial step that moves VP0SG from planning to reality. 
We are pleased to report positive progress in our ongoing dialogue with the Government of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI). 
Our early planning has been well received, and the framework of our proposed operation is considered consistent with current guidance. 
While the formal permit process will open in 2026, GSGSSI has expressed a willingness to continue working with us as we refine our plans throughout the coming months. 
This represents a highly encouraging step toward obtaining the final landing permit required for onshore operations in 2027. 

If you have a comment or a question, please drop me a note at thedxmentor@gmail.com

Below are the links that we alluded to: https://www.ardxpeditions.com/
Website: www.aj8b.com
Youtube & Podcast TheDXMentor
Real Time DX Info (DailyDX
https://www.dailydx.com/
Southwest Ohio DX Assoc.
https://www.swodxa.org
Daily DX
https://www.dailydx.com/
DX Engineering
https://www.dxengineering.com/

Icom https://www.icomamerica.com/
IC-7760 Product Page: https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7760
IC-PW2 Product Page: https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-PW2
IC-7300 MK2 Product Page: https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7300MK2/
IC-9700 Product Page: https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-9700/
IC-905 Product Page: https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-905/
IC-R8600 Product Page: https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-R8600/
IC-52A Plus Product Page: https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/ID-52APLUS/