A18 - 100+ NEW FREQUENCIES MONITORED

SEASON A18 BEGINS

100+ NEW FREQUENCIES MONITORED

Since last Monday, I have been very busy scanning the international shortwave bands, checking out what has changed since the start of the A18 transmission season this week. And, as expected, there has been much movement across the spectrum by most of the major players.

Where possible, for each item I have tried to identify the former frequency used in the B17 season. But this can be quite hard at times because schedules can be quite complex, or drastically changed by the broadcaster, making it difficult to arrive at comparisons. There are well over 100 frequency changes observed below, so if you are missing your favourite station, then it may be listed below!

Additionally, in my travels across the bands, I observed a few interesting signals that were not on new frequencies. These include 5845 (IBC), 5940 (R. Deegaanka Soomaalida), 6030 (R. Oromiya), 12084.9 (Mongolia) and more.

👍 4835 AUSTRALIA. Ozy R - Razorback NSW. Pops and IDs at 0445, NF (ex 5045) and fair signal. Nice to see it back on air after having gone missing for most of March while it acquired the required transmitter parts for the frequency change. Mar 29.

👍 5845 ARMENIA. R. IBC (Italian Broadcasting Corp) - Gavar. Italian service with plenty of IDs and chat at 1920, on Weds only, very good signal, Mar 28.

5875 THAILAND. VoA - Ban Dung. At 2002 with news in Korean to EAs, NF and good signal on Mar 28.

5910 ROMANIA. RRI - Tiganesti. Ukranian service to EEu at 1930, NF (ex 5930), fair signal, Mar 28.

5930 FRANCE. R. Algerienne - Issoudun. S/on 2100 in Arabic to NWAf, excellent signal and NF for A18. Mar 26.

5930 SOUTH AFRICA. BBC - Meyerton. French to SAf and Madagascar at 1810, an additional freq for this service, weak signal, Mar 30.

5930 IRAN. VoIRI - Sirjan. Albanian to Eu at 1831, NF (ex 5925), weak signal and heard after the BBC s/off at 1830, Mar 30.

5935 IRAN. VoIRI - Sirjan. S/on 2225 in Indonesian to SEAs, NF (ex 7420) and fair to poor signal, Mar 26.

👍 5940 ETHIOPIA. R. Deegaanka Soomaalida - Jijiga. This relatively new station is still operating here for A18 in Somali, noted at 1935 with talks and instrumental music, a signal on Mar 28.

5945 IRAN. VoIRI - Sirjan. Italian to SEu at 1940, NF (ex 6135), fair signal, Mar 28.

👍5950 ETHIOPIA. VoTigray Revolution - Addis Ababa. Fair signal with Horn of Africa instrumentals at 1945, Mar 28.

5955 U.A.E. BBC - Dhabayya. S/on 2200 with English WS to SEAs, NF and a fair signal but accompanied by a bad hum on the modulation, Mar 26.

5960 TURKEY. VoT - Emirler. Turkish to ME at 1950, NF (ex 6120), good signal, Mar 28.

5980 NEW ZEALAND. RNZI - Rangitaiki. English to Oc at 1300, NF (ex 7390), excellent signal, Mar 29.

6010 JAPAN. R. Japan - Yamata. Japanese to ME at 1954, NF (ex 9670), good signal, Mar 28.

👍6030 ETHIOPIA. R. Oromiya - Addis Ababa. Ethiopian music programming at 1957 to s/off 2000, fair signal, Mar 28.

6045 USA. KNLS - Anchor Point AK. English to SEAs at 1240, NF and a good signal, Mar 29.

6080 NTH MARIANA IS. RFA - Tinian. Mandarin to EAs at 2007 with Firedrake jamming. NF and a weak signal, Mar 28.

👎👎👎 6090 ROMANIA. RRI - Saftica. German to WEu in DRM at 1940, NF and a real bummer for anyone wanting to listen to the co-channel Amhara State Radio. The Ethiopian can still be heard here underneath the DRM white noise, but it’s not a pleasant experience, Mar 30.

6170 ROMANIA. RRI - Galbeni. French to WEu at 2012, NF and good signal, Mar 28.

6185 USA. KNLS - Anchor Point AK. S/on 1100 in Russian to NEAs, NF (ex 7370) and a fair signal except for some light co-channel QRM from China Huayi BC, Mar 29.

❗❗ 7220 FRANCE. R. Dandal Kura Int’l - Issoudun. Kanuri service to Nigeria at 0515 with occasional IDs, health news, topical news and interviews. Several breaks in audio NF (ex 5950), a weak signal here but very strong on the Kiwi SDR in Kapeleto, Greece. At first, I thought it was IDing as the recently reported Ndarason R. Int’l, but constant monitoring throughout the hour and in the s/off annct, I was definitely hearing R. Dandal Kura Int’l. So, I’m now not sure what the situation is with the rebranding of this station. Mar 28.

7235 IRAN. VoIRI - Sirjan. Italian to SEu at 1935, fair signal and NF (ex 7305), Mar 26.

7245 CHINA. CRI - Baoji. Russian to EEu at 2020, NF (seems to be ex 7255), very good signal, Mar 28.

7255 CHINA. CRI - Kashi. Mandarin to NAf and ME at 2025, NF (possibly ex 7245), fair signal, Mar 28.

7300 CHINA. CRI - Kashi. One of only two stations offering the Esperanto language (the other being R. Habana), noted at 2220 beaming to SAm, NF (ex 7315), weak signal, Mar 28.

7305 OMAN. BBC - AL Seela. English WS to SEAs at 2215, NF and // 5955, good signal on Mar 26.

7305 IRAN. VoIRI - Sirjan. French to Eu at 1937, NF (ex 6135), weak signal, Mar 30.

7315 ROMANIA. RRI - Galbeni. English to WEu at 2217, NF and fair signal but co-channel QRM from CNR 2, Mar 26.

7355 USA. KNLS - Anchor Point AK. S/on 1000 in English to SEAs, NF (ex 7370) and a fair level, Mar 29.

7360 VATICAN. Vatican R. - SM Galeria. French to WAf at s/on 2030, NF (ex 7365) and good signal, Mar 28.

7360 VATICAN. Vatican R. - SM Galeria. The Rosary in Latin to CAf at 1950, NF (ex 7365), fair signal, Mar 30.

7360 VATICAN. Vatican R. - SM Galeria. Special Good Friday service in English to WAf at 1900, fair signal, Mar 30.

7365 THAILAND. VoA - Ban Dung. Korean to EAs at 2034, NF and fair signal with light jamming, Mar 28.

7375 GUAM. AWR/KSDA - Agat. S/on 2000 with English ID and then into Russian to Eastern Russia, NF (ex 9760) and good signal, Mar 26.

7390 ENGLAND. BBC - Woofferton. French to NAf at 0611, NF (possibly ex 6135), a weak signal, Mar 28.

7395 USA. KNLS - Anchor Point AK. Mandarin to NEAs at 1325, NF and a very good signal, Mar 29.

7410 GERMANY. Gospel for Asia - Nauen. Noted at 2350 in an unidentified Asian language, NF (ex 7380), weak signal, Mar 26.

7425 IRAN. VoIRI - Zahedan. Arabic to ME and NAf at 1945, NF and poor signal on Mar 26.

7425 NEW ZEALAND. RNZI - Rangitaiki. English to Pacific at 0700 through to 1100, NF (ex 9765), excellent signal, Mar 28.

7485 NTH MARIANA IS. VOA-Tinian. At 2035 in Korean with a good signal, runs //7365 and 5875 also heard, Mar 28.

9330 ARMENIA. TWR India - Gavar. Hindi to SAs at 1320, NF (ex 9745), very good signal, Mar 29.

9380 PHILIPPINES. FEBC - Bocaue. Mandarin service to EAs at 1040, NF (ex 9430) and a good signal with only slight co-channel QRM from AIR-Aligarh, Mar 29.

9410 ENGLAND. BBC - Woofferton. English to WAf at 2005 with “BBC News Hour”. Fair to weak signal. In B17, this freq was BBC-Al Seela in Arabic at this time. At 2100 (on weekdays only), the service changes to the Ascension Is. relay, which is a weaker signal here. Mar 26.

9410 ASCENSION IS. BBC - Ascension. English WS to WAf at s/on 0700, NF and txer site for A18, weak signal, Mar 28.

9440 ENGLAND. BBC - Woofferton. French to NAf at 0607, NF (possibly ex 7265) and fair signal, Mar 28.

9470 CHINA. CRI - Kashi. NF for the English service to Eu at 0105. Not a strong signal but very readable, and should be heard well in Eu, Mar 28.

9510 UZBEKISTAN. BBC - Tashkent. The 30-min Bangla service to SAs at s/on 0030. NF (possibly replacing one of the Kranji outlets in B17), started weakly, peaked a little stronger at 0035 and then faded by 0045, Mar 27.

9510 IRAN. VoIRI - Sirjan. Pashto to CAs at 1305. This appears to be a new service in Pashto at this time (scheduled: 1220-1320), a good signal on Mar 29.

9535.86 VIETNAM. VoV - Son Tay. Network 1 with Vietnamese discussion at 0030. Fair signal at 11:30 am local AEDT and one of the few signals on the band at this time.

9540 NTH MARIANA IS. RFA - Tinian, Korean at 2145, NF and good signal, Mar 28.

9545 UAE. BBC - Dhabayya. Amharic to EAf at 1945, into Oromo at 1950, weekdays only, NF and a fair signal, Mar 30.

9560 JAPAN. R. Japan - Yamata. Indonesian to SEAs at 2150 to s/off 2200, NF (ex 6075), fair signal, Mar 28.

9585 NTH MARIANA IS. KSDA/AWR - Agat. Cantonese service at 1255 until s/off 1300, NF (ex 9800), good signal, Mar 29.

9590 CHINA. CRI - Beijing. English to EAs at s/on 2200, NF (ex 5915), Fair signal, Mar 28.

9620 FRANCE. R. Algerienne - Issoudun. Qur’an at 0621 to NWAf, NF and excellent signal, Mar 28.

9620 INDIA. AIR - Aligarh. Urdu service to Pakistan at 1035, NF (ex 6145), fair signal but CNR 2-Beijing dominates this freq for most of the transmission until s/off at 1140 after AIR’s 5-min English news bulletin, Mar 29.

9625 PHILIPPINES. VoA - Tinang. S/on 2200 in Mandarin with CNR jamming, NF and a fair signal, Mar 28.

9655 USA. KNLS - Anchor Point AK. English to EAs at 0825, into Russian at 0900, NF (ex 7370), very good signal, Mar 28.

9670 VATICAN. Vatican R. - SM Galeria. Special Good Friday service to WAf at 1920, weak signal on Mar 30.

9685 AUSTRALIA. Reach Beyond Aust - Kununurra WA. English to SEAs at 1230, NF and excellent signal, Mar 29.

9690 FRANCE. RFI - Issoudun. Hausa to CAf at 2013, NF (x 9825) and fair signal, Mar 26.

9700 ROMANIA. RRI - Galbeni. English to WEu at 0530 to s/off 0557, NF (ex 7345), very good signal, Mar 28.

9710 VATICAN. Vatican R. - SM Galeria. Special Good Friday service in Portuguese to SAf at 1915, good signal, Mar 30.

9725 CHINA. CRI - Huhhot. Russian to EAs at 1020, NF (ex 5915), fair signal but heavy splatter from 10 kHz away (!) due to the combined efforts of gigantic signals from R. Taiwan Int’l and Firedrake jamming on 9735, Mar 29.

9730 USA. KNLS - Anchor Point AK. S/on 0900 in Mandarin to EAs, NF (ex 7355), very good signal, Mar 28.

9740 ROMANIA. RRI - Tiganesti. Arabic to NAf at 0640, NF (probably ex 15330 or 17810), excellent signal and // 11970 also an NF and equally well heard, Mar 28.

9755 MADAGASCAR. KNLS New Life - Mahajanga. Russian to EEu at 1952 to s/off 1956, NF (ex 9810) and a weak signal, Mar 26.

9800 AUSTRALIA. Reach Beyond Aust. - Kununurra WA. S/on 2110 with jazzy flute theme music, English to EAs, NF (x 9620) and excellent signal. Believed to be scheduled for Sun/Mon/Wed-Fri and ends at 2130. Mar 26.

9800 IRAN. VoIRI - Zahedan. Arabic to ME and NAf at 0240, NF (ex 7380). Plenty of carrier but the audio seemed to be down somewhat….maybe they were phoning it through to the transmitter! ;-) Mar 28.

9805 SRI LANKA. AWR - Trincomalee. S/on 0000 for the Thai service to SEAs, NF (ex 9510), weak signal and faded by 0015, Mar 26.

9830 TURKEY. VoT - Emirler. English to ENAm at 2207, NF (ex 5960) and weak under a much stronger CNR 1, Mar 28.

9835.05 INDIA vs MALAYSIA. At 0040, AIR-Delhi’s Tamil service creating a het with the ever-reliable RTM-Kajang dead-on 9835kHz until 0045 when AIR signs off. A weak signal from both stations around local lunchtime here, Mar 28.

9855 KUWAIT. VoA - Umm al-Rimam. NF for the Tibetan service at 0050 to s/off 0100 with CNR jamming, fair to poor signal from both stations, Mar 28.

9860 CHINA. CRI - Kashi. Esperanto service to SAm at 2215, NF (ex 9860), fair to weak signal, Mar 28.

9890 SINGAPORE. BBC - Kranji. Bangla service to SAs at 0130, NF (ex 9560) and a weak signal, Mar 28.

9890 PHILIPPINES. Vatican R. - Tinang. Russian to NEAs at 1135, NF (possibly ex 9695 or 7330), good signal until a sudden s/off at 1250 (not the scheduled 1300!), Mar 29.

9900 SINGAPORE. BBC - Kranji. English WS at s/on 1000 to SEAs, Indon and Au, an additional frequency for this service and a fabulous signal, Mar 29.

9915 ENGLAND. BBC - Woofferton. English WS at 0500 to CAf and SAf, NF for A18 at this time, switching over from the Talata relay in the previous hour. A weak signal here and not as strong as Talata on Mar 28.

9955 UZBEKISTAN. AWR - Tashkent. The Hmong service (Thurs/Fri) to SEAs at 1330-1400, Indonesian (Mon/Tues/Sat), NF (ex 11900 via Guam). Very good signal, Mar 29.

11580 GUAM. FEBA India - Agana. In the scheduled Kannada language at 1335 on Thurs/Fri/Sat, in Tamil on Tues/Wed, and English on Mon until s/off 1345. NF (ex 9775 via Trincomalee), good signal, Mar 29.

11695 SINGAPORE. BBC - Kranji. English WS to EAs at 1005, NF and a fair signal, Mar 29.

11710 CHINA. CRI - Xian. English to EAs at 0815 to s/off AT 0957, NF (ex 9415), fair signal, Mar 30.

11725 NEW ZEALAND. RNZI - Rangitaiki. English to Pacific at 0545, NF (ex 13730), excellent signal, Mar 28.

11800 FRANCE. DW - Issoudun. Hausa to WAf at 0635, this transmission previously via Nauen in B17, excellent signal, Mar 28.

11800 FRANCE. DW - Issoudun. Hausa to WAf at 1820, NF (possibly ex 9785), weak signal, Mar 30.

11885 USA. KNLS - Anchor Point AK. Mandarin to EAs at 0835, NF (ex 7355), very good signal, Mar 30.

11890 GUAM. KSDA/AWR - Agat. Mandarin to EAs at 2208, NF (ex 11980) and fair signal, Mar 26.

11890 OMAN. BBC - Al Seela. English WS to SAs at 1300, NF and a fair signal, Mar 29.

11905 CHINA. CRI - Jinhua. English to Oc at 0910, NF (possibly ex 17690), S9+ 30dB, Mar 28.

11925 SRI LANKA. AWR - Trincomalee. S/on 0100 in Min Nan Chinese to EAs (in Mandarin on Fri and Sat), NF (ex 15625) and a fair signal, Mar 27.

11940 ROMANIA. RRI - Tiganesti. Russian to CAs at 1315, NF (ex 11985), fair signal, Mar 29.

11955 GUAM. KSDA/AWR - Agat. Indonesian to SEAs at 2205, NF (ex 11800) and a good signal, Mar 26.

11985 FRANCE. R. Algerienne - Issoudun. French to CAf at 1903, into Arabic at 1911. NF (possibly ex 7375 which I can’t hear anymore). Weak signal, Mar 30.

12015 USA. WHRI - Cypress Creek SC. American preaching to Oc at 0915, NF (ex 11825), fair and variable signal, Mar 30.

12040 GUAM. KSDA/AWR - Agat. Sundanese service to SEAs at 2211, NF (ex 9720) and a fair signal. Scheduled Sundanese on Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat and English on Tues/Thurs/Sun until s/off 2230. Mar 26.

👍 12084.9 MONGOLIA. VoMongolia - Ulaanbaatar. English service to As at 0925 with American-sounding pops, ID at 0929, IS and into Mongolian at 0930, fair to poor signal, Mar 30.

13570 CHINA. CRI - Xian. English to EAs at s/on 1000, NF (ex 5955), fair signal, Mar 30.

13635 TURKEY. VOT - Emirler. Turkish to Eu at 0850, NF (ex 15350), good signal, Mar 30.

13640 CHINA. CRI - Jinhua. Japanese to EAs at 2245, NF (perhaps ex 7440), good signal, Mar 28.

13670 USA. VoA - Greenville NC. The 30-min Bambara service to WAf at 2130, NF and a fair signal, Mar 28.

13680 JAPAN. R. Japan - Yamata. Japanese to SEAs at 2250 to s/off 2300, NF (ex 11665), fair to poor signal and some light QRM from co-channel Sound of Hope, Mar 28.

13730 NEW ZEALAND. RNZI - Rangitaiki. English to the Pacific at 2055, NF (x 15720), very good signal, Mar 26.

13730 CHINA. CRI - Kunming. Mandarin to Oc at s/on 0900, NF and // 13765, both replacing 17670 and 15440 from the B17 season. Both powerhouse signals. Mar 30.

13740 NTH MARIANA IS. RFA - Agingan Point. Khmer service at 2300, NF and a weak signal, Mar 28.

13765 TURKEY. VoT - Emirler. Hausa to CAf at 0617, NF (ex 15235), good signal, Mar 28.

13790 ROMANIA. RRI - Tiganesti. French to NAf at 1005, NF (ex 17640), weak signal, Mar 30.

13800 CHINA. CRI - Kunming. English to Oc at 0908, NF (possibly ex 15210) and excellent signal, Mar 30.

13860 THAILAND. R. Farda - Ban Dung. Farsi to Iran at 0922 until s/off 0930, NF (possibly ex 7585…not sure!), fair signal, Mar 30.

15120 USA. VoA - Greenville NC. Bambara service to WAf at 2135, NF and a fair signal, Mar 28.

15200 ROMANIA. RRI - Galbeni. French to SEu at 1015, NF (possibly ex 17870 or 15260), weak signal, Mar 29.

15310 SINGAPORE. BBC - Kranji. Bangla service to SAs at 0135, NF (ex 11995) and an excellent signal, Mar 28.

15310 PHILIPPINES. BBC - Tinang. Burmese service to SEAs at s/on 0200, NF (ex 17790) and a fair signal, much weaker than the Singapore outlet during the previous 30 min Bangla service, Mar 28.

15320 GUAM. KSDA/AWR - Agat. Service in the Asho Chin language to SEAs at 2340 to s/off 2400, NF (ex 17650) and fair signal, Mar 26.

15400 GERMANY. Gospel for Asia - Nauen. Many and varied Asian languages. Changes from day-to-day in 15 min blocks between 1330 and 1530, NF (ex 15235), fair signal, Mar 29.

15410 AUSTRALIA. Reach Beyond Aust. - Kununurra WA. S/on 2230 in Special English with the Spotlight program to EAs (weekdays only), NF (x 15400), good signal, Mar 26.

👍 15410 SRI LANKA. AWR - Trincomalee. S/on 0300 to EAf in Oromo, NF (ex 12010 via Talata). The transmission suddenly ceased at 0320 and then returned at 0325 with a 30-second tuning signal and into unannounced music before the s/off at 0329. I would be curious to know why they switched from Talata to Trincomalee for this service! Mar 28.

17790 SRI LANKA. AWR - Trincomalee. S/on 0500 in Arabic to CAf and EAf, NF (ex 17780), weak signal, Mar 28.

17835 PHILIPPINES. VoA -Tinang. Burmese to SEAs at 0210, NF (ex 11820), weak signal, Mar 28.

In the coming days, I hope you find this new list of some help in finding where some of the broadcasting services are now located. There will be more news here as it happens.

73 and have a great weekend everyone,

Rob Wagner VK3BVW