WHY NOT HAVE AN FRG-7
....OR TWO!
I finally found a Yaesu FRG-7 communications receiver - a blast from the past! Well, actually I have two of them, although I am not sure what I am going to do with one of the FROGS! Below is a video to tell you the story of how I acquired these venerable old radios, along with some 'DX Quick Tips' noted over the past few days using exclusively one of the FRG-7s and a range of dipole antennas.
WHY NOT HAVE AN FRG-7
DX QUICK TIPS - The FRG-7 Version!
👍 4750 BANGLADESH. Bangladesh Betar - Shavar. Terribly muffled audio for the English service to SAs at 1236 with news (….I think!!). This outlet has had on-going issues with audio and transmitter problems for some time now. Some days it seems better than others. Today was not a good day at all, which is a pity because the signal strength is strong. Dec 4.4800 INDIA. AIR - Hyderabad. A poor signal at 1205 with heavy co-channel QRM from CNR 1, either in Hindi or Telugu, Dec 4.
4910 INDIA. AIR - Jaipur. Hindi commentary at 1210, weak signal and splash QRM from a strong PBS Xizang on 4905, Dec 4.
4920 INDIA. AIR - Chennai. Either Hindi or Tamil language under the co-channel PBS Xizang at 1220, difficult listening on Dec 4.
👍 5950 ETHIOPIA. Voice of Tigray Revolution - Addis Ababa. A fair signal in Tigrinya with talk and local pop-oriented music from 1945 until s/off 200, Dec 6.
6010 VATICAN. Vatican R. - SM Galeria. English to CAf at 2010, good signal, Dec 6.
6120 TURKEY. VoT - Emirler. Turkish to ME at 2015, excellent signal, Dec 6.
6220 UNIDENTIFIED. Quite possibly the recently reported Iran International TV station. Arabic commentaries and occasional music at 2025, but tough listening with its weak signal on this out-of-band frequency, Dec 6.
9265 USA. WINB - Red Lion PA. American preaching, 2150, weak signal, Dec 6.
☄ 9330 USA. WBCQ - Monticello ME. World’s Last Chance (or more like the World’s Last Gasp!) with Arabic language programming to NWAf, talks at 2153, then dramatic music and WBCQ English ID, and then s/off at 2200. Big signal...so they are using close to full power now? Dec 6.
9395 USA. WRMI - Okeechobee FL. American preaching at 2210, a fair signal but punny in comparison to WBCQ on 9330 at the same time, Dec 6.
9950 INDIA. AIR - Bengaluru. GOS in English to Oceania at 2220, fair ro weak signal Dec6.
⭐⭐⭐ 11890 Radio Nyawa Sarawak - Location Unknown. At 1145 with an interview in the Iban language, ID at 11 55 and ending with a pop-ish song and transmitter off at 1158. This seems to be a reincarnation of the old Radio Free Sarawak and transmits on Mon/Wed/Fri only. The Aoki lists this as transmitted via Tashkent, others are saying via Palau or Taiwan. Me? Well, I dunno!! However, it puts in quite a decent signal into Mount Evelyn. My thanks to Ron Howard for the heads-up on this one, who has already got his eQSL via info@radionyawasarawak.org. Dec 4.
12040 GUAM. KTWR - Agana. Burmese to SEAs at 1205 to 1214, then into the Sgaw Karen language, good signal, Dec 4.
12075 GUAM. KSDA - Agat. AWR programming in Amoy to EAs at 1218, fair signal but deep fades at times, Dec 4.
👍 12095 SAO TOME. BBC - Pinheira. S/on 0700 with time pips and news in English to SAf. initially, noted here with a much weaker signal than the earlier BBC English service between 0600-0659 via SM Galeria, but by 0725 Pinheira had improved significantly in signal strength. Dec 3.
12095 PHILIPPINES. FEBC - Bocaue. Service in the Iu Mien (listed) language at 1221, good signal, Dec 4.
12120 PHILIPPINES. FEBC - Bocaue. The Akha language service to SEAs at 1225, fair to poor signal, Dec 4.
12140 KUWAIT. R. Azadi (R. Free Afghanistan) - Umm al-Rimam. Pashto interview at 1228. ID at 1230 and into the Dari service, fair to poor signal, Dec 4.
17680 CHINA. CRI - Kunming. Khmer service to SEAs at 1122 until s/off 1127. Excellent signal, Dec 4.
👍 17805 SAUDI ARABIA. R. Saudi Int’l - Riyadh. Arabic to NAf at 1120, fair signal. Also noted at the same time on 17615 with a very strong signal, and again on 17570 with a fair signal. Dec 4.
17830 UAE. R. Japan - Dhabayya. S/on 1115 in Japan to EAs, fair to good signal with some deep fades, Dec 4.
👍👍 21670 SAUDI ARABIA. R. Saudi Int’l - Riyadh. Indonesian to SEAs at 1135, first time heard this summer DX season with my last monitored sighting in February this year, a weak variable signal. Interestingly, the broadcaster wasn’t very strong on the KiwiSDR in Bandung, Indonesia either! But the signal was making the distance to Victor’s KiwiSDR in Sri Lanka with a very strong signal. S/off at 1200, Dec 4.
73 and good DX to you all!
Rob Wagner VK3BVW
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© Rob Wagner, Mount Evelyn DX Report, and contributors 2012-2019
Cool! I also have a "frog", an FRG-7700. Great audio, especially with 12kHz. I like listening to stations with fair to strong signals, so that I can enjoy its wonderfull audio quality. As for your DXing reports, I haven't been able to listen to Bangladesh Betar on 4750kHz. I get to listen to 4800, 4810 and 4920, but the carrier with a bit of audio. My environment is very noisy due to the alarm system and surveillance cameras. I've just acquired a W6LVP active loop and been testing and enjoying it. Unfortunately, I'll have to travel to another state and won't be able to install this antenna adequately, which is as far as possible from the sources of noise. 73
ReplyDeleteHi Julio. Thanks for taking the time to watch the video and check out the logs. Good luck with your listening and coping with the noise levels at your location. 73, Rob
DeleteI have this receiver from many years. Love it for BCL listening! And for hard-core dx I use my new FT817ND in ECSS mode or my trusty Collins 392URR. But the FRG is so fun to use! 73 Davide IW2NZR
ReplyDelete