IMPRESSIVE RECEPTION ON HIGHER FREQUENCIES

Sheoak Falls, near Lorne on the Great Ocean Road, Surf Coast.
30 sec exposure using a variable ND filter, 100 ISO.

IMPRESSIVE RECEPTION ON THE HIGHER FREQUENCIES

As discussed in my last post, reception conditions on the higher frequencies have been especially good here at Mount Evelyn over the past 24 hours. 

The solar flux has dropped a little to 203, A index is 8 and K index is 1. However, conditions have been quite unsettled with sudden radio blackouts possible. The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center released a forecast at 1810 UTC on December 20, which briefly says:

Space weather for the next 24 hours is predicted to be moderate.
Geomagnetic storms reaching the G2 level are likely.
Radio blackouts reaching the R1 level are expected.

So far, there has been plenty to hear on the higher frequencies, with evidence of some enhanced propagation from Asia and the Pacific during my daylight hours on Saturday afternoon. Last night, 15, 17 and 21 mHz were still quite active with many signals, some were especially strong. On the lower frequencies (around 5 mHz) evening reception was quite poor......although strangely, The Cross Radio (Micronesia) provided an excellent signal on 4755.55 kHz at 1100 UTC.

But, in terms of reliable radio propagation, anything could happen for the remainder of the weekend. I would suggest frequent checking of the shortwave bands for signals on the higher frequencies.

Here are some quick observations I made during yesterday afternoon and evening (December 20) on various bands:

0415-0430 UTC - Monster signals on 19 and 21 mHz:

19010  R. Azadi via Kuwait, s/on 0430 and a fine signal into Mt Evelyn.

21560  Nth Mariana Is - Vatican R. in Mandarin

21620  Philippines. VOA - Tinang in Tibetan with CNR 1 jammer

21700  Nth Mariana Is - RFA - Tinian in Mandarin with CNR 1 jammer

0435-0445 UTC - 17 mHz was in great shape as well:

17640  CRI - Xian. Russian to CAs, 0445, solid signal.

17730  CRI - Xian, English to CAs 0442, great signal.

17800  R.Australia via Medorn, Palau. English to SEAs 0440

17855  CRI - Beijing, English to CAs with multi path echo 0435. Magnificent signal this afternoon.

Plus others including many CNR outlets on 17 mHz. Appears to be enhanced reception across Asia and the Pacific right now.

0930-1015 UTC - More good signals on 17 mHz:
17530   GERMANY. R. Farda - Biblis. Excellent signal in the Farsi service at 0940.
17570   CHINA. CRI - Urumqi. English to Eu at 0943 with an interview about healthy eating, solid signal and // 17650 also heard.
17615   SAUDI ARABIA. BSKSA - Riyadh. Arabic to SAs at 0950, Qu'ran service, good signal.
17690   CHINA. CRI - Jinhua. English to Oc at 0950 with Mandarin lessons, thundering signal .
17720   THAILAND.  BBC - Nahkon Sawan. Dari to Afghanistan at 0955, massive signal.
17760   THAILAND. BBC - Nakhon Sawan. S/on 0958 with English to EAs, WS news and Sportsline, fair signal.
17770   GERMANY. RFE/RL - Lampertheim. ID at 1002 in Russian, fair to good signal.
17805   SAUDI ARABIA. BSKSA - Riyadh. Arabic to NAf at 1005, fair signal but with some QRM from the CNR 1 jammer on 17810.

Plus plenty of other CNR and CRI outlets on this band.

1020-1100 UTC - 15 mHz was very busy by this time:

15135   CHINA. CRI - Kunming. Malay service at 1022 with Mandarin language lessons, strong.
15160   CHINA. CRI - Nanning. S/on 1030 (but the carrier was on from 1020) in Khmer with news. Fabulous signal.
15190  CHINA. CRI - Kashi. English to SAs with a magazine-style program at 1025, strong and // 15210 for the Oc service with a high signal.
15220   CHINA. CRI - Kashi. Hungarian service to Eu at 1026, fair signal.
15235   GUAM. KTWR - Agana. Huge signal at 1028 with ID in Mandarin to EAs.
15270   TAIWAN. RTI - Paochung. Cantonese service at 1029 with accompanying CNR jamming. Then into Hakka at 1030 to SEAs, beautiful signal on Dec 20 with no jamming!
15285   SINGAPORE. BBC - Kranji. English WS at 1032 to SEAs, fair signal with light jamming.
15300   IRAN. VOIRI - Kamalabad. Dari to CAs at 1034, great signal.
15310   OMAN. BBC - A'Seela. Pashto service at 1035, fair signal.
15325   GUAM. KSDA-AWR - Agat. Mandarin to EAs at 1037 with pop song and preaching, good signal.
15350   TURKEY. VoT - Emirler. Turkish to Eu with local pop music at 1040, but under a much stronger CRI English to SAs.
15400   AUSTRALIA. Reach Beyond HCJB - Kununurra WA. Mandarin religious song at 1042, good.
15410   INDIA. AIR - Bengaluru. English to EAs with a talk on tourism at 1043, then ID and song. Good signal.
15465   TAIWAN. RTI - Paochung. Amoy language program to SEAs at 1045, with pop music and Xmas songs. Great signal.
15480.05   TURKEY. VoT - Emirler. Turkish music program to ME, fair to good signal at 1048 but a little off freq.
15490   SAUDI ARABIA. BSKSA - Riyadh. Arabic music program to Eu at 1050, fair to poor signal.
15580   PHILIPPINES. FEBC - Bocaue. Sasak language program to Indonesia at 1052, very good signal.
15690   SRI LANKA. R. Farda - Iranawila. Farsi to Iran with gentle music and ID at 1055, fair.
15725   GERMANY. RFA -Lampertheim. Tibetan talks at equal strength to the CNR 1 jammer at 1057.
15760   SRI LANKA. R. Mashaal - Iranawila. Interview program at 1058, great signal.

19010   KUWAIT. R. Azadi - Kuwait. Pashto service at 1020, good signal from 0430 to right past 1030 UTC .

1010-1110 UTC: These were heard on 21 mHz: 
21480   MADAGASCAR. Bible Voice - Talata Volonondry. Preaching in English at 1105 to East Asia with this weekends-only transmission, good signal.
21510   IRAN. VOIRI - Kamalabad. English to SAs at 1100 with tourist talk, good signal.
21580   KUWAIT. R. Kuwait at 1012 in Filipino to the Philippines, fair.
21670   SAUDI ARABIA. BSKSA - Riyadh. Indonesian news at 1015, fair.

So, hopefully the good propagation will continue throughout the weekend. Good luck everyone!

Rob VK3BVW

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