DX QUICK TIPS June 15, 2019

DX QUICK TIPS

June 15, 2019

Well, the winter DX season has finally hit and some pleasing signals have made it into the radio shack. The higher frequencies are dismal at the moment, what with no ionisation from the sun during short winter days and the bottom of the solar cycle. But the lower frequencies between 4 and 7 mHz have been performing well, enabling stations not normally heard at any other time of the year to make their appearances. This coming week sees the winter solstice (June 21).

In this edition of Quick Tips, I have included a few maps showing the tracks that signals take to Mount Evelyn during this time of year. Longer periods of darkness allow for those lower frequencies to become active earlier in the late afternoon/evening and hang on longer with the later sunrise and even into mid-morning.

4905   TIBET. Xizang PBS - Lhasa. Indigenous songs and telephone talk-back in Tibetan at 2135. Good signal and // 4920 and 6130 also heard, June 13.

⭐⭐ 4949.7   ANGOLA. R. Nacional de Angola - Mulenvos. Pop music programming and Portuguese anncts at 2120. Always a weak signal here these days, but great to see it hanging on until its wintertime f/out around 2255 (8:55am here!!), June 13. (see below)

The winter all-darkness path between
Mulenvos and Mount Evelyn at 2120 UTC.

⭐⭐ 5040   CUBA. R. Habana - Bauta. Spanish programming at 0545. Isn’t this supposed to be English at this time? A good signal and reasonable audio at 3:45pm local here, good 60mb winter DX reception! Suddenly off-air just before 0500. R. Rebelde 5025 also heard but slightly weaker signal there, June 14.

5830   USA. WTWW - Lebanon TN. American preaching at 0542, fair signal, June 14.

⭐⭐ 5915   ZAMBIA. Zambia NBC - Lusaka. Radio 1 service at 2030 with a commentary in one of the many local languages. A rather poor signal at that time. However, I came back to the frequency at 2250 with non-stop local African dance music and an occasional annct, and later still at 2325 (9:25am here!) to find it still cranking it out. Nothing heard from CRI’s English to SAs which was scheduled to s/on at 2300. I had to leave the radio for a while but got back at 2350 to find Zambia had finally faded and a weak CRI signal. Ron Howard advises that Zambia sometimes runs 24 hours. June 13.

⭐⭐ 5925   VIETNAM. VoVietnam - Xuan Mai. The s/on for this appears in various lists at 2145, so I missed it by seven minutes (noting it from 2152). The Network 2 service in Vietnamese with some type of commentary. At equally poor level was the ever-present co-channel CNR 5. Interestingly, Beijing faded out around 2225 leaving Xuan Mai (which is further to the west and just emerging from sunrise) for a few minutes by itself. Usually, we hear the higher-powered Beijing dominating the frequency past 2230, but not this day. June 13.

5930   FRANCE. R. Algerienne - Issoudun. Qur’an at 2230 to WAf, fair signal, June 13.

⭐⭐ 5939.65   BRAZIL. R Voz Missionária - Camboriú SC. The Brazilian signals have been terribly poor this year, so I was surprised to hear this at 2232 (8:32am here). Multiple announcers, Portuguese talks and music stings, including a reference to Brazil at 2236. I had to check with the KiwiSDR located south of Sāo Paulo to convince myself that I was actually hearing Voz M. Sure enough, there it was! Here, the signal faded away by 2247. This is one of those all-darkness Antarctic signal paths that we used to hear annually at mid-winter in Melbourne, but which just haven’t been propagating in the past few seasons. Unfortunately, no other Brazilian channels were audible at that time on June 13. (see below).

The all-darkness short path from coastal Brazil to southeastern Australia passes over part of Antarctica at 2235 UTC.

5950   USA. WRMI - Okeechobee FL. Supreme Master TV program at 0732. The show was in English but I didn’t have a clue what it was they were talking about! Airy fairy stuff, I suspect! I guess I lack enlightenment…… 😆  But I DID hear the ID and frequency anncts at 0735. A weak signal and heavy adjacent channel QRM from New Zealand 5945, so listening was better in USB. June 13. And again on June 14 at the earlier time of 0535 with long station frequency and mode anncts. Then a female voice with an Australian accent talking about a donation to a particular cause in India!!…..and I could easily understand her, too! 😁

5950   USA. RAE Argentina - Okeechobee FL. S/on 0800 after Supreme Master TV and WRMI ID. Japanese programming beamed to WNAm and scheduled Tues through Sat. Fair to poor signal here, but I checked on the WNAm Kiwi SDRs and it was very strong there. However, barely audible at the Japanese Kiwi SDR locations. June13.

5985   USA. R. Japan - Okeechobee FL. Spanish to CAm 0400-0430, fair signal, June 14.

5985   ALBANIA. CRI - Cerrik. Arabic to NAf at 0530, fair signal, June 14.

⭐⭐ 6020   VIETNAM. VoV - Buon Me Thuot, Đắk Lắk Province. First noted the Network 4 programming with talks at f/in 0910 but a very weak signal. I returned at 1050 with a somewhat stronger signal to hear lovely Vietnamese ballads featuring a female singer accompanied by traditional instruments. A change of tone at 1100 with a martial music theme and then into what I assumed was a news bulletin. Some lists incorrectly say the language is Vietnamese. Not so! Local languages are used including Bana, Ede, Giarai, H’Mong, K’Hor, Sedang, Thai, and M’Nong. Buon Me Thuot city is located in the region known as the Central Highlands of Vietnam and is famous for coffee beans. The region is home to a number of indigenous minorities, so Network 4 caters for these citizens. This is one of the two lower-powered VoV outlets running 20 kW. The other 20 kW outlet is 7210 kHz, which is also Buon Me Thuot but that carries Network 1 programs. June 14.

⭐⭐ 6070   CANADA. CFRX - Toronto. A discussion on hypnotism at 0715. The higher pitched female voice was cutting through the noise better than the lower pitched male interviewer. Still hearing this 1 kW station during our winter DX season, but the reception has so far been very poor compared to past years. Pity! June 13.

Sunset at Mount Evelyn and not yet sunrise in Toronto delivers a weak but audible signal in mid-winter. 

⭐⭐ 6080   SAÕ TOMÉ. VoA - Pinheira. English to CAf at 0650 with current affairs, a Rolling Stones tune and anncts before s/off 0700. Weak signal via the long path, June 13.

At 0650 UTC, VoA's West African relay station in São Tomé takes a long path journey across a mostly nighttime track
during the southern hemisphere winter where absorption limiting frequencies drop below 6 mHz.

6090   ETHIOPIA. Amara State R. - Addis Ababa. Always good listening with its fabulous local music selections and Amharic anncts, at 2037 with a fair signal on June 13.

6090   ANGUILLA. Caribbean Beacon - Anguilla. American preaching at 0903, haven’t heard this in a while, good signal, June 14.

6110   ETHIOPIA. R. Fana - Addis Ababa. A fair signal with local music at 2055, a brief annct in the Oromo language, then s/off at 2100, revealing a very weak Xizang PBS in Lhasa, Tibet. June 13.

6155   GERMANY. AWR - Nauen. French to NAf at s/on 0430, fair signal, June 14.

6165   GERMANY. R. Japan - Nauen. Russian to EEu at 0430, poor signal, June 14.

6180   ROMANIA. RRI - Galbeni. Romanian to SEu 0400, good signal, June 14.

⭐⭐ 6185   MEXICO. XEPPM R. Educación - Mexico City. Delighted to hear this as it faded in around 0445 with what appeared to be an educational program with two male announcers. Slightly stronger by 0459 with ID as Radio Educación and other anncts. A Spanish ballad at 0501 to sign off the transmission at 0503. This station is rarely heard here at this time and only during the mid-winter DX season. My last observation was on the same day, June 14, 2017, when I was DXing at Mount Beenak with virtually no manmade noise floor. (Video:  https://youtu.be/nK1bNPz-FTU). The noise floor at Mount Evelyn on this occasion was hovering around S4, so XEPPM was just breaking through towards the end of the transmission. If it stayed on the air for another 2-3 hours, the station would be much easier to hear. June 14.

9330.18   USA. WBCQ - Monticello ME. Bro Stair with American preaching at 0610. Where are the watts? Is this the new txer/ant in operation or the old setup? Who knows? Surely the old transmitter! Not a loud signal! And sitting on the high end of the registered frequency. Their website is pretty much out of date and the Facebook site is worse. June 14.

It is always great to be DXing during the winter season. There are often some surprising results that make it all worthwhile.

73 and have a great weekend everyone,

Rob Wagner VK3BVW

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