Mount Evelyn DX Report

  SPOTLIGHT: REACH BEYOND AUSTRALIA HCJB's Voice to the Asia-Pacific This article first appeared in the August 2026 issue of my World of Shortwave Listening column for The Spectrum Monitor magazine. Further details on this excellent publication are available at  www.thespectrummonitor.com From its transmitter site near Kununurra in Western Australia, Reach Beyond Australia remains one of the few major religious shortwave broadcasters in the Southern Hemisphere. Although the organisation adopted the Reach Beyond name in 2014, its roots lie firmly in HCJB (“Heralding Christ Jesus’ Blessings”), the pioneering missionary broadcaster founded in Quito, Ecuador, in 1931. HCJB began broadcasting on Christmas Day 1931 from Quito and became known worldwide as “The Voice of the Andes.” Over subsequent decades, it grew into one of the largest international Christian broadcasting organisations, transmitting in numerous languages via high-power shortwave facilities.   Support for HCJB ...

  SPOTLIGHT: WANTOK - A MELANESIAN VOICE ON THE AIR This article first appeared in the August 2026 issue of my World of Shortwave Listening column for The Spectrum Monitor magazine. Further details on this excellent publication are available at  www.thespectrummonitor.com Radio Australia ceased its shortwave transmissions on 31 January 2017. However, one Radio Australia program can still be heard on shortwave via Radio New Zealand Pacific. The Wantok program is a unique service for listeners throughout Melanesia.   Among the specialised language services heard across the South Pacific, Radio Australia’s Wantok Program stands out for its use of three closely related Melanesian creole languages. Produced by ABC Pacific, the program delivers regional and international news, features, and information in Tok Pisin (Papua New Guinea), Pijin (the Solomon Islands), and Bislama (Vanuatu). By broadcasting in languages widely spoken and understood across Melanesia, the program hel...

  OPENING THE LOGBOOK SEPTEMBER 1972 Each month, I open the old records to see what I (and others) heard decades ago. It has been fun looking back at old issues of the Australian DX News (ADXN - the newsletter of the Australian Radio DX Club), bringing back lots of memories. Here are some memories from September 1972—54 years ago!  All frequencies in kHz; all times are UTC (or GMT, as we used to say in those days!). My First Mediumwave DXpedition We begin this month's Opening the Logbook by focusing on mediumwave DX. 54 years ago this month, I went on my first mediumwave DXpedition. Boy, what an education it was! Australia's foremost DXer, Bob Padula, and I made the trip to Phillip Island, a popular holiday destination about two hours from Melbourne. We rented a little old shack near the town of Cowes and spent several days exploring the region. But at night, the radios were in full swing. This weekend proved to be a real education in the art of mediumwave DXing. As I mentione...