DX QUICK TIPS - November 2, 2018


DX QUICK TIPS
November 2, 2018


The B18 transmission season began last Sunday and there have been plenty of frequency changes. Most notably, CRI has moved around many of its services. Here is a list of more than 70 changes I have noted so far during the last few days.

5845   SINGAPORE. BBC - Kranji. Korean to EAs at 1800. This appears to be an additional freq from Kranji for this service, // 7355 also heard, good signal, Nov 1.

5895   TAJIKISTAN. BBC - Dushanbe. Korean at 1810, NF (ex 9900) and // 5845, 7355, good signal, Nov 1.

5910   ARMENIA. BBC - Yerevan-Gavar. Pashto to WAs and SAs at 1815. NF (possibly ex one of the Al Seela outlets from A18), good signal, Nov 1.

5930   IRAN. VoIRI - Sirjan. Albanian to Eu at 1830, NF (ex 5930), fair signal, Nov 1.

5935   ROMANIA. RRI - English to Eu at 1836, NF, fair signal, Nov 1.

5945   TURKEY. VoT - Emirler. German to Eu at 1841. NF (ex 9840 and now 1-hr later for B18), fair signal, Nov 1.

5955   ROMANIA. RRI - Tiganesti. Serbian to Eu at 1845, NF (ex 5910 and one-hr later for B18), fair signal, Nov 1.

5955   ROMANIA. RRI - Tiganesti. Macedonian to Eu at 1930, NF (ex 5910) and one hour later than A18, Oct 29.

5965   CHINA CRI - Beijing. Mandarin to EAs at 0935, NF and very good signal, Oct 30.

5980   TURKEY. VoT - Emirler. Turkish to Eu at 1935, NF (ex 9460), fair signal but slight QRM CRI’s Portuguese service on 5985, Oct 29.

5990   ROMANIA. RRI - Galbeni. Romanian to Eu at 1850, NF and good signal, Nov 1.

6010   CHINA. CRI - Urumqi. Min Nan Chinese language (southern China), at 1854, NF (ex 13700), good signal, Nov 1.

6040   ENGLAND. KBS World R. - Woofferton. Russian to EEu at 1805, NF (ex 12065) until s/off 1900. Good signal, Nov 1.

6040   FRANCE. R. Algerienne - Issoudun. Arabic to WAf at 2125, NF and fair signal, Oct 30.

6050   TURKEY. VoT - Emirler. English to Eu at 1940, NF (ex 9785) and now one hour later than A18, fair signal, Oct 29.

6075   JAPAN. R. Japan - Yamata. Indonesian to SEAs at s/on 2130, NF (ex 9560), weak signal, Oct 30.

6090   OMAN. BBC - Al Seela. Pashto to WAs at 1820, NF (probably ex 6165 or 5970), excellent signal, Nov 1.

6100   CHINA. CRI - Beijing. Russian to EEu at 1905, NF and // 6010, very good signal, Nov 1.

6115   CHINA. CRI - Beijing. French to WEu at 2140, NF and fair signal with co-channel QRM from WWCR, Oct 30.

6120   TURKEY. VoT - Emirler. Turkish to ME at 1945, NF (ex 5960), good signal, Oct 29.

6135   IRAN. VoIRI - Sirjan. French to Eu at 1910, NF (ex 7305), fair signal but QRM from the usual co-channel pointless North Korean jamming, Nov 1.

6145   UAE. BBC - Dhabayya. Arabic to EAf at 1950, NF (ex 9885) and fair signal. Changes to Al Seela, Oman at 2000 for the continuation of the service, Oct 29.

6155   CHINA. CRI - Beijing. Russian to EEu at s/on 2000, NF (ex  9525), good signal, Oct 29.

6170   FRANCE. R. Algerienne - Issoudun. Arabic (listed as Algerian Saharan Arabic!) to WAf at 2015, NF and fair signal but with heavy co-channel QRM VoKorea (KCBS). Oct 29.

6185   VATICAN. Vatican R - SM Galeria. English at 2150 with Vatican and world news, NF. Into Mandarin for EAs at 2200, fair signal, Oct 30.

7210   ALBANIA. CRI - Cerrik. Arabic to NAf at 0555 to s/off 0657. NF (possibly ex 11775) and fair signal, Oct 29.

7215    CHINA. CRI - Xian. English to NEAs at s/on 1000, NF and a good signal, Oct 30.

7220   FRANCE. AWR - Issoudun. French to NWAf at 0600, NF and // 7375 which also a NF for this service, both freqs were at a fair level, Oct 29.

7255   CHINA. CRI - Xian. Mandarin to NEAs at 1005, NF and good signal but slight co-channel QRM from CNR-Lhasa’s Tibetan service, Oct 30.

7270   AUSTRIA. AWR - Moosbrunn. French to WAf at s/on 2130, English at 2100. NF (ex 11880), good signal, Oct 29.

7285   CHINA. CRI - Xian. 30 min service in Min Nan Chinese to southern China at 1856 until suddenly off at 1857, NF (ex 11895), good signal, Nov 1.

7290   CHINA. CRI - Shijiazhuang. Russian to NEAs at 1015, NF (ex 11935), heavy co-channel QRM from CNR-Beijing in Mandarin, Oct 30.

7300   UAE. BBC - Dhabayya. English WS to SEAs at s/on 2200. NF (possibly ex 5955), a weak signal here but strong on the Collie WA KiwiSDR, Oct 30.

7305   IRAN. VoIRI - Sirjan. Albanian to Eu at 1833, NF (ex 7235), weak signal, Nov 1.

7315   CHINA. CRI - Kashi. Esperanto to SAm at 2210, NF (ex 7300), weak signal, Oct 30.

7325   ENGLAND. BBC - Woofferton. English WS to WAf at 0620, NF and fair signal, Oct 29.

7345   ROMANIA. RRI - Tiganesti. English to Eu at s/on 0630, NF with a good signal, but slight QRM from co-channel BBC-Ascension, Oct 29.

7350   CHINA. CRI - Urumqi. French to WEu at 2143, NF (ex 9570) and fair signal, Oct 30.

7360   GUAM. KSDA-AWR - Agat. Russian to EAs at 2010, NF (ex 7375), good signal, Oct 29.

7370   USA. KNLS - Anchor Point AK. English to EAs at 1025, NF (ex 7355), good signal Oct 30.

7390   FRANCE. RFI - Issoudun. French to WAf at 0635, NF, good signal but with many short (1 second) interruptions to the txer carrier, Oct 29.

7445   THAILAND. VoA - Ban Dung. Mandarin to EAs at 2225, NF, fair signal with slight jamming, Oct 30.

7460   PHILIPPINES. VoA - Tinang. Cambodian service to SEAs now here at 2200-2230, NF (probably ex 7375), weak signal, Oct 30.

7480   KUWAIT. R. Free Asia - Umm al-Rimam. Tibetan at 2235, NF and fair signal, Oct 30.

9435   D.P.R.KOREA. VoK - Kujang. English at 1000, is this a NF for this service? Very good signal, Oct 29.

9440   CHINA. CRI - Xian. Japanese to EAs at 1005, NF for this service, very good signal, Oct 29.

9485   ENGLAND. VoA - Woofferton. Tigrinya service to EAf at 1920, NF (maybe ex 15640?), good signal, Nov 1.

9600   OMAN. BBC - Al Seela. Tigrinya service to EAf at 1925, NF and fair signal. // 9885 also heard and also a NF, Nov 1.

9620   PHILIPPINES. VoA - Tinang. Mandarin to EAs at 2247 to s/off 2300. NF and fair signal with jamming, Oct 30.

9690   SPAIN. REE - Noblejas. Scheduled for new extended programming to 0400 in B18, but I came across the continuous playing of the interval signal at 0300 and then suddenly off at 0305. Good signal. Oct 30.

9695   CHINA. CRI - Jinhua. S/on 2300 in Japanese to EAs, NF (ex 13640), fair signal, Oct 30.

9720   CHINA. CRI - Xian. Japanese to EAs at 2305, NF (ex 11680), weak signal, Oct 30.

9765   NEW ZEALAND. RNZI - Rangitaiki. English to the Pacific at 0700, NF (ex 7425), excellent signal, Oct 29.

9765   THAILAND. Deewa Radio - Ban Dung. Pashto to WAs at 0310, NF (probably ex 15490), weak signal here, Oct 30.

9860   CHINA. CRI - Kashi. Esperanto to SAm at 2215, NF (ex 9880), weak signal, Oct 30.

9895   GERMANY. AWR - Nauen. Wolof language service at 1900-1930, NF (ex 11790), fair signal. Wolof belongs to the Niger-Congo language family and is spoken by around seven million Africans in the Senegal, Gambia, Mauritania, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Mali. It is related to Fula and Serer. Nov 1.

11580   USA. R. Nigeria Kaduna - Okeechobee FL. Hausa to WAf at 0710, good signal, Oct 29.

11700   CHINA. CRI - Kashi. Hindi to SAs at 0320, NF (possibly ex 15210 or 13720) and // 11640, weak signal, Oct 30.

11710   CHINA. CRI - Urumqi. Russian to WAs at 0335, NF (possibly ex 17640), fair signal, Oct 30.

11750   UAE. VoA - Dhabayya. Somali service to EAf at 0345, NF and fair signal, Oct 30.

11760   FRANCE. RFI - Issoudun. Hausa to WAf at 0720 to s/off 0730, NF (ex 15315?) but moderate QRM CNR1-Shijiazhuang, Oct 29.

11825   USA. WHRI - Cypress Creek SC. English to Oceania at 0920 with non-stop pops, ID at 0927, NF (ex 12015), excellent signal, Oct 29.

12140   KUWAIT. R. Azadi - Umm al-Rimam. Pashto to WAs at 0400, NF and a fair signal, Oct 30.

13570   CHINA. CRI - Xian. English to NEAs at 0330, NF (ex 15785), fair signal, Oct 30.

13710   THAILAND. VoA - Ban Dung. Mandarin to EAs at 1035, NF and fair signal, but some CNR jamming. Oct 30.

13765   GERMANY. R. Farda - Lampertheim. Farsi to WAs at 1040, NF (I suspect this might be ex 9370 via Kuwait from A18), good signal, Oct 30.

13780   CHINA. CRI - Kashi. Mandarin to SAs at 1045, NF, good signal but co-channel QRM from R. Saudi Int’l (Riyadh), Oct 30.

15150   THAILAND. VoA - Ban Dung. Mandarin to EAs at 0930, NF but a weak signal under a dominating CNR 1 jammer, Oct 29.

15210   CHINA. CRI - Kunming. English to Oc at 0900-1100, NF and excellent signal, Oct 29.

15440   CHINA. CRI - Kunming. Mandarin to Oc at 0950, into Cantonese at 1000. NF and excellent signal, Oct 29.

15640   KUWAIT. R. Azadi - Umm al-Rimam.  Pashto service to WAs at 0955, NF and weak signal, Oct 29.


Station Online Schedules

Some broadcasters have managed to get their online schedules up-to-date, although several STILL haven't updated their websites yet! Check these out:


Deutsche Welle:
The once mighty shortwave broadcaster has a very small presence these days. Here is the latest schedule complete with their Hausa football coverage:
https://www.dw.com/downloads/45656369/b18webkw.pdf

KBS World Radio:
There are a handful of broadcasts from global relay sites, but most services come from the South Korean Kimjae transmitter site:
http://world.kbs.co.kr/service/common/images/about/shortwave_181031.pdf

Radio New Zealand International:
RNZI is the lone international voice in the Pacific. Their broadcasts are highly valued by many Pacific nations:
https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/listen
Radio Japan:
NHK still offers an extensive shortwave service these days.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/resources/brochure/pdf/rj_frequency.pdf

Clandestine and Religious Broadcasters
The Alyx & Yeyi transmission brokers are offering a slightly reduced list of clients broadcasters this time around.
https://www.airtime.org/shortwave/schedule.php



And Finally......

Two days ago, I was playing with the FT8 mode on the amateur bands. Ever the optimist, I thought I would take a look up at the 15mb (21.074 mHz) during mid-morning here. The band was dead. Nothing heard. I thought "Well, this is going to be a waste of time!" I put out four CQs, and suddenly a reply from XE1MEX in Cuautla, Mexico.  A quick exchange of signal reports, a 73, and then he was gone.

Then I spent the next 20 min listening for other stations and calling CQ, but heard nothing at all for anywhere. I went to the WSPR mode listened for a few rounds, transmitted for one round, and waited. Nothing there either!

A check of the online PSKReporter site shows that despite 30 minutes of calling CQ on 21 mHz,
the only station that heard me on that occasion was XE1MEX. Interesting! 😁


With the sunspot cycle at its absolute lowest level, it is common not to hear any activity on the higher frequencies above 15 mHz. But, why did I hear only XE1MEX on this occasion? Propagation can be such a strange and fickle thing. You just never can tell when the band will open up or a random signal might break through.......

Power: 30 watts  Antenna: 7 mHz Double Bazooka (coax) dipole in an inverted vee (resonant on 21 mHz)
Distance:  13,508 km (8,394 mls)

73 and have a great weekend everyone.

Rob Wagner VK3BVW





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