P5/3Z9DX IS QRT – 785 QSOs made.
ONLINE LOG
@12:30Z. Dom is now resting at his hotel. Tomorrow he leaves for Beijing. As agreed before operations commenced, his equipment has been confiscated. More news in coming days.
MONDAY @ 08:00Z - Shortly before Sunday midnight (GMT), P5/3Z9DX again started activity on 15m. Propagation has not been good due to a level G2-class geomagnetic storm mostly affecting his operating on 20m. He is QRT soon and is now using 10m in the final minutes of his activity before packing and leaving.
December 20 @ 07:38Z - After giving a ham radio demonstration, and making some +350 QSOs, Dom sent the following news and pictures to DX-World.
His antenna is on a metal fence post 2m above the ground among government high rise buildings. The lowest noise level on 15m is 59+10 and on 20m it’s 59+30. He’s surrounded by a lot of people as he operates (officials coming in and out). Dom points out this operation is only a presentation so it’s possible a different QTH will be found for the real activity planned for early next year.
At the end of his email, Dom writes “a lot of things will be changed but all in a good way“..
December 20 @ 00:05Z- Earlier today (December 20), Dom 3Z9DX phoned DX-World to say that
“all was well and Sunday would be a day to test equipment and possibly work a few stations”.
At 00:03z, P5/3Z9DX started limited activity on 15m SSB.
Since December 16th, Dom has been in Pyongyang meeting telecom officials and other representatives. A full news update will be released on DX-World.net once Dom returns home to Poland on Xmas Day.
October 29, 2015 - Dom 3Z9DX updates that he’s returned from the SP7GXP antenna factory where he and Waldek did final adjustments on the GP7 vertical Dom will use in P5, North Korea. Delivery of equipment happens in December, as does final meeting with officials, with the radio activity in January or February 2016.
May 9, 2015 – Last few months 3Z9DX has received many emails asking about the possibility of an additional operator (CW) going with him to P5. To be clear, it’s Dom’s dream for a CW op to join, but at this moment only SSB will be used. Currently, there is no negotiations or ongoing dialogue about CW. Please understand this is the first step to opening doors for future P5 expeditions and it’s not helpful to “complain” about type of mode, antenna choice or how much power will be used since it’s local administration who make these restrictions. Please, no more requests about CW. In addition, a website will not be available until the final meeting with the telecoms department in December. The next Press Release will also be issued in December upon his return from North Korea.
March 10, 2015 – On February 28th, DX-World.net broke the news that Dom 3Z9DX had written permission to operate amateur radio from a VERY wanted DXCC entity.
Today, we can reveal that entity is North Korea (P5).
Dom 3Z9DX explains he has received a further letter from authorities in Pyongyang inviting him to a final meeting to discuss [and for he to accept] rules by the North Korean officials and the relevant telecommunications department.
This meeting will take place in December with activity planned for January or February 2016.
According to P5 telecoms, Dom will be permitted only three bands (20-15-10) likely using a multiband vertical from a secured place in Pyongyang with two government supervisors over-looking 24/7.
Activity will last for 5 days.
At the moment this is a solo expedition to the #1 Most wanted entity using SSB only. He is working hard behind the scenes to get one more op (CW) to possibly join him.
Please realise this project is a work in progress and to understand that it may only be Dom who operates from North Korea.
More updates throughout 2015.
Congratulations, Dom, on this great achievement that you have pulled off when so many others have been trying without success, including those who have been making so much noise in recent years about their proposed P5 activations!
Let’s hope that plans for a longer operation in Jan/Feb will materialise and go a little further towards satisfying the enormous demand for #1 most wanted.
But one thing one notices – despite the fact that only 790 QSOs were made this time from this #1 most wanted, no less than 32 OM (mainly from JA) were not satisfied with 1 QSO but couldn’t resist making 2!!!
Seems the height of selfishness to me, especially when others have commented on this thread that they refrained from calling since they worked P5/4L4FN and wanted to give others the chance!
73 Chris
@F8AFC – there were probably only three QSOs from Zone 14 at best. DR2IL is a miscopied call and some cluster comments from Oceania suggest that another Zone 14 QSO was in fact made from Asia.
Western Europe will have to wait for another occasion that hopefully materializes soon to make real QSOs. If that happens, I hope that Dom will implement an ‘only ATNO’ policy (no repeat QSOs from this activity and no QSOs on multiple bands).
73! Uli, DM5EE
@G3SJH – what is even more disappointing is a cross-check with the log of P5/4L4FN still available in the logsearch section of dx.qsl.net. I checked the 32 calls that made more than one QSO with P5/3Z9DX:
- 15 of these 32 stations (almost all from JA) already had at least one QSO with P5/4L4FN back in 2001/2002.
- ALL of these 15 stations made a QSO on 15m SSB where they had previously had worked Ed as well !!
Makes me wonder what the mindset in JA is regarding ethical behavior on the bands…
73! Uli, DM5EE
Further cross-check with the log of P5/4L4FN shows that 4 out of 16 successful Zone 15 stations worked Dom when they already had a 15m SSB QSO with Ed. While this is not illegal, it undermines the ultimate goal of DXing for these stations – peer recognition.
If Dom can make his plan come true, he may achieve 10.000 QSOs, not 140.000 QSOs like K1N did. There are more than 10.000 individuals needing P5 for an ATNO, therefore I personally consider anyone making a QSO on a band/mode where he/she has P5 already confirmed from a prior operation as egoistic and certainly not as someone to admire.
Hats off to those refraining from a QSO for a new bandpoint under these circumstances, they deserve particular recognition.
73! Uli, DM5EE
Enough talk about a few “dupes”, its a hobby.
Hope Dom can bring RA9USU with him for some CW next time!