Mount Evelyn DX Report

Impossible to do any LF work due to constant thunderstorm QRM. Back up the other  end of the dial however...... 17480 EGYPT. R. Cairo, Abu Zaabal. Discussion program at 1031, Arabic ID at  1034 and into Egyptian classical vocal and orchestral music. Great signal  tonight! 17540 GUAM. AWR-KSDA Agat. Tagalog service with religious program at 1040,  giving the AWR address in Manila. Good level. 17550 IRAN. VOIRI - Kamalabad. Weak at 1050 with talks and ID at 1051. Don't  always hear this one in Melbourne as they are beaming to Nth Africa at this  time. 17630 THAILAND. R. Thailand - Udon Thani. A fair signal for their Thai service  to S.E. Asia at 1055 with a pop ballad in the Disney style and then the txer was  suddenly and unceremoniously switched off just at the climatic point in the song  at precisely 10:59:57. Walt would be shocked!! 17650 BATTLE OF THE 500 KILOWATTERS. At 1110, Iran - VOIRI - Zahedan (Arabic)  and China - CRI...

2368.5   AUSTRALIA. Radio Symban, Peats Ridge NSW. Talkback discussion program  interspersed with lots of adverts in Greek at 1015. Fair level into Melbourne  using 1kW non-directional antenna. This station appears to be on the air only  intermittently these days. Noted Nov 30. Radio Symban's Studio 1 The humble shop front of Radio Symban

3925 JAPAN. R. Nikkei 1, Nagara (presumed this location). Japanese discussion  program at 1104 with fair level. Also noted // 9595 at good level, but no luck  on 6055 due to heavy QRM. Still going past 1235 on this Friday evening. 5020 SOLOMON ISLANDS. SIBS Honiara, religious program to close out the  evening's transmission at 1155. At 1200, annct as "You have been listening to  the SIBC, Radio Happy Isles", then frequencies listed and the national anthem  played. Rob VK3BVW

11710   INDIA. All India Radio - Delhi. Huge signal but horribly distorted audio for music,  followed by hum on low level audio for announcements at 1935 for the Arabic  service. ID at 1945 to begin the French service, still with the hum but an  increased audio level, commensurate with the big signal strength, and still with  distorted audio for music. This was one of the dirtiest signals I've heard from  AIR in a long time! Rob

9705.6 NIGER. La Voix du Sahel, Niamey. Presumed this with the French service first noted on Nov 20, weak at 1950, became stronger at 2005, but then lost impetus around 2010. Back up again with very weak signal at 2100, time pips. Interestingly, the frequency drifted down to 9705.45 by 2110. The signal came up yet again around 2150, time pips again at 2200 and talk. Faded out or signed off (couldn't tell which) at 2220. No ID heard throughout this whole 2.5 hour monitoring period because the signal was so poor and variable, but I'm pretty certain this was the one - also, no sign of Ethiopia on that day.  I have been monitoring the frequency for some time now, but the level is way to low to glean any further information. Can anyone else shed light on this? Rob VK3BVW

6110 ETHIOPIA. R. Fana, Addis Ababa. Noted with a solid signal and in the  clear after China s/off at 1957 in presumed Oromo language with fabulously  energetic Nth African songs. Mention of Addis Ababa in other anncts at 2011. //  7210 also heard but only occasional glimpses under Korea. 6164.96 CHAD. R.N.Tchadienne, N'Djamena. Big signal at 1940 in French with news  program. No sign of Zambia. Rob VK3BVW Mount Evelyn, VIC

11750 SOUTH AFRICA. AWR - Meyerton, in the Ibo language for the 30 min service  to Nigeria. Usual religious programming at 1945, with ID and station address at  1955, then s/off 2000. Ibo is quite a pitch-oriented language, not as much as  Mandarin, but it does have a sing-song lilt to it. Quite pleasant. Rob

Only two signals on 21mHz in the 1900 - 2000 UTC time period. 21630   USA. WHRI Cypress Creek. Fair and fluttery signal with ID at 1930 in  English. 21690   FRENCH GUIANA. RFI - Montsinery. Another signal at a fair and fluttery  level, 1933 in French Rob

4885 BRAZIL. R. Clube do Para, Belem. Music and talk at 1013 but not strong. No  sign of Acreana on the same freq. 4925.2 BRAZIL. R. Educacao Rural, Tefe. S/on 0959 in Portuguese. The signal  was quite weak under heavy atmospheric noise, and had disappeared by 1010. 5765 GUAM. AFRTS USB feeder at 1030. Gigantic signal and interesting  programming on US politics while Romney failed. 5980 USA. R. Marti - Greenville, Spanish programming with many IDs and in the  clear at a fair level, 1130. Rob VK3BVW Mount Evelyn VIC

The following Myanmar frequencies were noted in operation last night: 5915 MYANMAR. Myanmar Radio, Naypyidaw. Mixed with the CRI Russian service at  equal levels of mediocrity, extensive talks at 1150. 5985.85 MYANMAR. Myanmar Radio, Yangon. Noted at 1120 with Burmese anncts and  pop songs. Not strong but quite readable. 7200 MYANMAR. Myanmar Radio, Yangon. Burmese pop songs at 1140. Good level. Rob VK3BVW Mount Evelyn VIC

Eastern Australia was under the influence (perhaps "spell"?….) of a solar  eclipse this morning. The total eclipse took place across the north eastern  coastal part of the country, focusing on the Cairns/Port Douglas region, QLD. On the beach at Cairns, QLD Here in Melbourne, we experienced only a partial eclipse (about 50% at its  maximum, which is not really enough to be able to tell with the naked eye),  beginning at 7.16am EDT (2016 UTC), reaching its maximum eclipse at 8.06am  (2106) and ending at 9.01am (2201). I made a few observations on the lower frequencies, just to see if there was any  effect on reception conditions. I was not expecting much difference from African  signals. However, I was looking my north for any signal variation between here  and Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands. Below are a few notes: 3 mHz: Nothing out of the ordinary for either the 90 or 75 mb. Both bands are  pretty much closed...

3945   VANUATU, R. Vanuatu, Port Vila. Noted at 1035 with an interview program.  Bit hard to tell the language - principally in the local Bislama but with a good  sprinkling of English and French words! At one point, I wasn't quite sure what  language I was listening to! Quite entertaining though! Fair level. Rob VK3BVW Mount Evelyn VIC

5019.9 SOLOMON ISLANDS. SIBC, Honiara. A little off frequency tonight at 1010,  English programming with local news, then a news commentary at 1015. Excellent  signal as always. Rob

7325 PAPUA NEW GUINEA. Wantok Radio Light, Port Moresby. Religious music at  1943, then a long and solemn talk in Tok Pisin, hymn at 2000. Under some QRM  from Russia 7330. Signal was fair upon first tune-in, and was still able to  maintain a weak but clear signal as the morning daylight path between Mount  Evelyn and Port Moresby established itself. However at 2030, China's Bulgarian  service fired up on 3220 kHz and that was the end of Wantok! Rob VK3BVW Mount Evelyn, VIC The FM transmitter at Burns Peak, Port Moresby The shortwave transmitter site

5010   MADAGASCAR REPUBLIC. R. Madagasikara, Antananarivo. Returned to this frequency with extended weekend broadcast on Sunday Nov 11 at 1930. Massive signal into Melbourne in the local Malagasy language. Interviews and talk, then bright dance music from 1940 with anncts, some of them on echo, reminiscent of Latin American programming. Checked all the other usual SW frequencies (i.e. 6135, 7105, 3289, 4910) but nothing heard. Using carrier and USB (no LSB) - don't know why they do this. Sounds pretty horrible in AM without that extra sideband, so USB is the best, even for music. Nice ID at 1951 as Radio Madagasikara. Continued monitoring till s/off 2030. Rob VK3BVW

I'm trying to piece together what's going on in PNG broadcasting on 3 mHz. Its  been some years since I listened down there, as I have only just returned to the  hobby after an extended absence. I notice a few changes with stations  disappearing, presumably gone off to play in the FM spectrum. There also appears  to be a bit of old or inaccurate information in the various lists including the  Nagoya, EiBi, HFCC and other guides. Indeed the NBC website was also not much  help with only a list of SW stations registered for use but no information on  current operations. Here's what I heard last night - Friday Nov 9. Observations between 1115 and  1215, except where noted: 3205 NBC R. Sandaun, West Sepik. Very weak to around 1215 s/off but carrier not  switched off till 1310. 3235 Nothing Heard 3260 NBC R. Madang, Fair in Tok Pisin. S/off 1210 3275 Nothing Heard 3305 Nothing Heard 3315 NBC R. Manus, Lorengau. Tok Pisin. Audio app...

2368.48 AUSTRALIA. R. Symban, Peats Ridge, NSW. Usual fare of Greek pop music  with no anncts at 1830. Solid level in our local mornings, using 1kW 3200 SWAZILAND. TWR - Manzini, English programming at 1840, fair level. 3965 FRANCE. R. Taiwan International - Issoudun. English service closing at  1959 after music interlude and s/off anncts. Fair level. Rob

3185   USA. WWRB Tennessee. "Religious" talk at 1050, musical intro into new  program at 1100 with the Bro cranking it out. Weak but in the clear. I try to be  very respectful of other people's beliefs when they differ from my own…..BUT……I  can't listen to this station for very long - I just get upset! Rob

3480 SOUTH KOREA. Voice of the People, Goyang. Korean talks at 1020, brief  musical interlude at 1029, then conversation between male and female announcers.  Quite a decent signal for this time of night (one would expect it to get  progressively stronger). Low-level het from an adjacent ute station but this was  successfully notched out by the TS2000's beat cancelling function. Listening  made even more pleasant on this heavy thunderstorm-riddled evening by using USB  and shifting the bandwidth. Also noted on the following parallel frequencies of  3912 (poor level with ute QRM), 4450 (fair), 6518 (good) and 6600 (also good). 4826.6 PERU. R. Sicuani, Cusco. Presumed to be this. No ID heard but the  off-frequency channel suggests it. Spanish programming at 0953 but quite weak  and under heavy thunderstorm interference from both here near Melbourne and  severe thunderstorm activity in Alice Springs (N.T.) 4840 USA. WWCR Nashville. At...

17550 KUWAIT. RK - Sulaibiyah. Arabic at 2025, wonderful signal and pleasant  programming with local music. No one else seems to use this band at this time  except for RNZ 17675 which s/on 2051 with it's chirpy bird IS. Rob

21690 FRENCH GUIANA. RFI - Montsinery. Surprised to hear RFI barely making it  through at 1940 with the French service. Signs off at 2000. Only station on the  band at this early time of the day for these frequencies. Rob

Very humid here this morning. Current temp at 7am is 22C, windy and damp from  overnight rain. 3955 ENGLAND. KBS - Skelton. Commencement of German service at 2002, poor  under noise. 4005 IRAN. VOIRI - Kamalabad. Russian service at 1957. ID at 2000. 4765 TJAKISTAN. Tajik Radio, fair level with constant thunderstorm noise at  1950. One of the few stations on the band at this time this morning. 4800 CHINA. CNR 1 - Geermu, commenced transmission at precisely 1955,  switching right into the middle of programming without announcements. Not much else on these bands. Heavy local noise and thunderstorm activity. Rob

Reception not great tonight so far. Got sick of the LF's so went up the other  end of the dial. 19mHz: Only three stations, as listed, 18910 ORF, 18970 SOH, and 19010 AZADI - all  about the same level. 21mHz: 21470 BBC - Mahe. Quite variable signal strength tonight - can go from booming  to almost fading out in the space of a few minutes. 21510 VOIRI with Swahili, scheduled s/off is 0930. But vacated the channel 5  min earlier. 21540 REE, bearly audible at 0945. 21590 VOA Tinang and China jamming. 21670 Riyadh - Speech in Arabic during the indonesian Service 0935! 21800 & 21820 - The Moscows! 820 the best. Rob

In another forum, I came across the concept of  QSLing Internet Radio Stations. Not sure what this really is! I've seen the QSLs  from various stations so it appears to becoming widespread. Is this just the  listener sending an acknowledgement letter of having heard the station and  receiving another acknowledgement from the station that you clicked on the right  link??!! I'm at a loss....... So its not a reception report you are sending......no SINPO required. It's  really just fan mail.  Seems an abuse of the term QSL card. But perhaps I'm old fashioned. Don't think I'll be hurrying off to participate in this nonsense. Rob VK3BVW Mount Evelyn VIC

7275 KBS currently on with the Korean service 0915. Massive signal according to  the meter, but audio appears to be down somewhat. Is this usual? Bad thunderstorm activity tonight. Rob

Some pleasant listening at 5.30am local time today on a variety of frequencies.  3200 SWAZILAND. TWR Manzini, English at 1926 with quiet, meditative  instrumental music, then a hymn. Weak and fading fast as local morning daylight  intensifies. 4780 DJIBOUTI. RTV de Djibouti, 2010 4930 BOTSWANA. VOA - Moepeng Hill. Fair level with great African music  programming at 2005. 4949.75 ANGOLA. R. Nat. de Angola, Mulenvos. Just caught the last 15 minutes of  this before it faded around 2010 with Portuguese service. 5915 ZAMBIA. ZNBC Radio 1, Lusaka. Local language at 2015 with discussion  program. Fair level. 6055 RWANDA. R. Rwanda, Kigali. Interview program in the presumed Kinyarwanda  language at 2020, good strength. 6089.85 NIGERIA. R. Nigeria, Kaduna. Spotted this from the telltale heterodyne  created with its competitors on 6090 at 2030. Disappeared after 2047. Discussion  program in Hausa. Only a fair to poor signal on this ...

4955 PERU. R. Cultural Amauta, Huanta. First noted at 1033 with what sounded  like a religious program. Weak level and never improved past 1110. There were a few weak LA carriers around tonight but nothing eventuated. Pity!  The nice lady next door was not at home so no TV oscillations to contend with..... Rob VK3BVW Mount Evelyn VIC

On now - 1005 UTC: 5039.2 PERU. R. Libertad de Junin. S/on 0945 with music and then many IDs,  mentions of Junin city and anncts, much of it dripping in heaps of echo. Fair to  poor level but made clearer by listening in USB and using the BHI DSP in-line  module. Rob VK3BVW Mount Evelyn VIC

Jose Jacob has confirmed to me that the 100kW AIR Chennai txer was back on 7270  kHz yesterday evening and throughout the night due to cyclone Nilam. This  station has been off the air for nearly a year now but was arc-ed up again  especially for cyclone news reports. Rob