Mount Evelyn DX Report

Photo by Mtpaley at English Wikipedia [CC BY 2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons YouTube Video: THE 2016 BBC ANTARCTIC TRANSMISSION Southeastern Australia is not really that far from the Antarctic Territories. So our reception of the special BBC Winter Solstice broadcast to the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) teams on June 21, 2016 was probably a fair indication of how listeners in that region might have heard the broadcasts, although they probably had more success with the Ascension Island relay outlet on 7360 kHz than I had here at Mount Evelyn! Overall, 5985 and 6035 kHz were the best signals here. But a number of other listeners around the globe also had good reception of 7360. I've made a 12 minute YouTube video record from the three BBC relay stations. This recording focuses not so much on the program content, but rather the reception characteristics of the signals. It also looks at a variety of DSP, modes and IF cont...

STATION NEWS AND THE LOG BOOK June 17, 2016 STATION NEWS VANUATU An interesting item came to notice via the website of Radio New Zealand International concerning the services of VBTC, the broadcaster charged with the responsibility of providing radio and television services in Vanuatu. VBTC had unpaid debts owing to the nation's electricity provider UNELCO. Last Thursday, the provider decided to cut supply, forcing the broadcaster to crank up their own generators to keep the station on air. But by Monday, the fuel supplies had dried up, plunging both the radio and TV operations into blackout mode. This lasted for a day before UNELCO decided (....or perhaps were pressured??) to flick on the power switch again. Services are now back to normal. Vanuatu has had a somewhat chequered history when it comes to the management of its state coffers. There have been allegations of corruption at the government level in the past. Other Pacific nations such as Australia and esp...

BBC WINTER SOLSTICE BROADCAST TO ANTARCTICA - June 21 As outlined in my last Station News and the Log Book post , the annual BBC special one-off broadcast to the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is scheduled for June 21 between 2130 and 2200 UTC . Today, the station held a test transmission on four frequencies. Unfortunately, I couldn't monitor these channels as the news of the test arrived too late. However, I am grateful for the following information which has been passed on by Dan Ferguson: Babcock has tests today, June 14, at 2130-2145, to Antarctica on - 5985 (Woofferton),  - 6035 (Dhabayya),  - 7360 (Ascension), and  - 9720 (Woofferton).   I think we can assume three of these frequencies will be used for the annual mid-winter transmission to Antarctica on June 21 at 2130-2200. Thanks Dan! These frequencies line up with similar outlets used by the BBC in past years.  In addition, For additional information on this broadcast, check ou...

STATION NEWS AND THE LOG BOOK June 9, 2016 THE VIDEO VERSION! OK!! So I've decided to run a little experiment. I've prepared a video of this week's Station News and the Log Book. However, the little experiment turned out to be quite a bit bigger project than originally anticipated! Opps! This week's station news includes additional broadcasts during Ramadan, closure of some All India Radio regional shortwave services, closure of Radio Liberty's Russian service, the BBC's winter solstice broadcasts to Antarctica, and lots of notes from the log book. Below are two links mentioned in the video for you to follow up: DX India: http://www.qsl.net/vu2jos/ Article on the BBG decision to close the Russian shortwave service of Radio Liberty: http://bbgwatch.com/bbgwatch/masters-of-bad-timing-bbg-to-eliminate-radio-libertys-shortwave-broadcasts-in-russian/ Any feedback on this "little" experiment would be greatly appreciated. 73 and have a ...

RESTORING THE KENWOOD R-5000 RECEIVER PART 4 The R-5000 can become quite hot when operated on the AC mains power, especially if used for longer than an hour. Over time, this is not such a good environment for electronic components on the boards near the power transformer. Also, as many of you know, I enjoy taking myself off on DXpeditions, so using the R-5000 from a 13.8v portable power source would be a distinct advantage for me. This short video demonstrates the installation of an optional DC power socket and cable for the receiver. It's an easy modification to make and I can now see myself sitting down to enjoy operating the R-5000 out-in-the-field somewhere by the beach or under a tree by a river! Missed Parts 1, 2 and 3 of this series? Catch them here at: RESTORING THE KENWOOD R-5000 RECEIVER - PART 1 RESTORING THE KENWOOD R-5000 RECEIVER - PART 2 RESTORING THE KENWOOD R-5000 RECEIVER - PART 3 73 and good DX to you all. Rob Wagner VK3B...