Mount Evelyn DX Report

SHORTWAVE IN THE NEWS - No. 4 Here is a collection of new and very recent online articles relating the shortwave radio hobby. If you missed some of these, now is your opportunity to catch up!! Sit back and enjoy! Note: If you missed the first two editions of  "Shortwave In The News" , you can still read them at: Shortwave In The News  (dated November 20, 2014) Shortwave In The News - No. 2   (dated April 11, 2015) Shortwave In The News - No. 3 (dated July 10, 2015) Vanuatu's radio’s active decay In Pacific island nations, radio remains the most accessible news source. But while media is being targeted for development, funding cuts and government interference are threatening its efficacy. A really interesting and well-written article about the whole broadcasting scene (including shortwave services) in Vanuatu, plus the impact of Radio Australia's closure of many of its shortwave services to the Pacific Islands. https://www.thesaturdaypaper.co...

BIG SOLAR STORMS As I write this post, the Solar Flux is 126, A-Index is 30 and the K-Index is at 6. Stormy conditions are currently making reception conditions on the shortwave bands fair to poor. If it wasn't so cloudy and rainy here at Mount Evelyn tonight, I may have possibly been able to see some Aurora Australis (Southern Lights). But, alas, not to be! Check the aurora ovation oval below, focused on Antarctica: Things are looking bleak  for the next day or so. Here's a report from Dr. Tamitha Skov, posted on her website yesterday: BUT.....don't give up! Sometimes, the most unexpected reception of a signal can occur in times of major ionospheric disturbances. Patience may yield a startling result. But you have to be lucky!! 73 and let's hope DX conditions improve soon! Rob Wagner VK3BVW   Subscribe!! Follow @robvk3bvw

REVIEW - QSL.WINDOW Opportunities for a new QSL! A project that has been going since 2010 is the  QSL.WINDOW  document prepared and updated regularly by Brazilian DXers Rudolph Grimm in São Bernardo and Fabricio Silva in Tubarão. The work by both these DXers and the other contributors to the project is to be commended. Here's how they describe the collected data: "QSL.window" (August 2015 update): a list of electronic addresses and postal addresses applied in sending reception reports / receiving confirmations (QSL cards, letters, eQSL, ...) by DXers listed at the beginning of the publication. This is not a copy from endless lists of emails disclosed on the Internet and also not from known publications. This is the result of the action of listening and seeking results since 2010. QSL.Window lists contact and email addresses for many shortwave, mediumwave, utility and even some FM services in many parts of the world. It is not a complete list of all addresses and...

HOLIDAY LOGGINGS FROM LAKES ENTRANCE After my brief Stony Creek DXpedition in the East Gippsland bush (see my last post), it was back to the holiday accommodation at the beautiful town of Lakes Entrance. In my apartment, the noise level was surprisingly low compared with noise levels back home. That is, once I found the switches to the kitchen downlights - they were emitting a terrible RF hash until I turned them off!  The receiver was the Kenwood TS2000, the internal antenna was a random wire draped around the lounge room, down the hallway and into the bedroom. Evening and middle-of-the-night listening sessions on August 13 revealed the following DX catches: 4809.95   PERU. R. Logos - Chazuta, Tarapoto. Peruvian music with a dance or traditional feel at 0954, weak signal and just a little down on its registered frequency. 4905   TIBET. PBS Xizang. English service noted at 1650 with songs, then an ID at 1657. Back into Tibetan at 1700. A...

  THE STONY CREEK DXPEDITION A one-night DXpedition into the eastern Victorian bushland proved very profitable on Tuesday August 11. Sunset was at 0729 UTC, so by 0800 it was pitch black in the forest! Armed with the Kenwood TS2000 transceiver, the MFJ 941B ATU, and around 40m of random wire wound through the heavily wooded bushland, some tropical bands and 49mb signals were picked up, including a couple of frequencies not regularly heard! In fact, many signals were noted during this evening listening session (too many to list here), but here are some of the highlights: 3185   USA. WWRB - Morrison TN. Religious song at 0745 and then into preaching, fair signal. 3215   USA. WWCR - Nashville TN. Americvan preaching at 0740, fair signal at 0740. ********  3289.93   GUYANA. VoGuyana - Georgetown. Believed to be this at a very weak level at 0750, fleeting moments of talk and music. Heavy thunderstorm noise made listening very difficult for most of the time...

Milky Way at Midnight - Cape Schanck, VIC - Rob Wagner © STATION NEWS AND THE LOG BOOK STATION NEWS USA Adventist World Radio has just begun a new service to Cuba, which is also audible throughout much of Latin America and the Caribbean. The new 30-minute program, which began August 1st, is broadcast twice daily at 1100 and 2300 UTC on the frequency of 5950 kHz via the transmitter site of WRMI in Okeechobee, Florida. And particularly interesting is the fact that the program originates at AWR studios in Cuba with all locally-produced content -- such as a segment called “Somos Cuba” or “We are Cuba.” Much of the AWR-Cuba programming is intended for young people, but there are features for a wide variety of listener interests. Again, the new service can be heard daily at 1100 and 2300 UTC on 5950 kHz. (via WRMI) ROMANIA From July 25, Radio Abisinia started broadcasting in Amharic to East Africa from on Saturdays only. The frequency is 15470 kHz between 1600 and  1757 UTC ...

A QSL….AND THE LOG BOOK HUH?.....WHAT'S THIS?......... ROB GETS A QSL CARD!! Yes! That doesn't happen very often.  Many years ago, I sent hundreds of reception reports and enjoyed very much the QSL collecting part of the hobby. But these days, I don't actively chase QSLs. In recent times, I think I've sent off three reception reports in the last three years. The verifications came back, and then I was not sure what I should do with them! Put them in a box with all the others? Anyway, last February I enjoyed listening to an English transmission from Bangladesh Betar. It was a lovely signal, too! I monitored the entire 30 min broadcast and emailed a reception report, attached a short mp3 recording of the signal, and gave feedback on the programs heard. I was hoping for a short email acknowledgement from the English language department. I wasn't necessarily looking for a QSL card, but rather to just correspond and comment as a listener After two months, I...