Mount Evelyn DX Report: B20 - 100+ NEW FREQUENCIES MONITORED

B20 TRANSMISSION SEASON

100+ NEW FREQUENCIES MONITORED

The new B20 transmission season began last weekend. I have been very busy scanning the international shortwave bands, checking out what has changed since the start of this new season. And, as expected, there has been much movement across the spectrum by most of the major players. Below is a list of some early observations made during the past few days.

Where possible, for each item I have tried to identify the former frequency used in the A20 season. But this is sometimes quite hard because schedules can be complex, or drastically changed by the broadcaster, making it difficult to arrive at direct comparisons. There are well over 100 frequency changes observed below, so if you are missing your favourite station, then it could be listed below!

Several additional points to make:

Australia is not part of the target zones for just about all of these broadcasts. The era of services beamed specifically to Australia stopped years ago! So, while my comments on signal strength for many broadcasts are rated as "weak" or "fair" at best, in the designated target zones listeners should find good to excellent reception of their favourite broadcasters.
Some DX lists relate their "ex" frequencies to what was used for the same transmission season last year (i.e. B19). Personally, I don't find this system useful and can be confusing. Yes, I know that a few stations will often try to use the same frequencies for the corresponding period 12 months earlier. However, from a regular shortwave listener's perspective, at the start of a new season, they want to know if the frequency has changed since they last listened the previous day or previous week - They won't remember a frequency from a season ago!
You may see an occasional change to some of the frequencies listed below in upcoming weeks. This is not unusual as broadcasters may discover they have clashed with other stations or receive reports of poor reception in the target zones. Sometimes, it can take a few weeks for everything to settle in a new transmission season.

Equipment: Yaesu FTDX3000 transceiver, a 100m long horizontal sky loop antenna, an inverted vee antenna for 10 MHz and a double bazooka antenna for 14 MHz.

Abbreviations:
NF = New frequency for the B20 transmission season
QRM = Interference from another station
// = The same broadcast simultaneously on another frequency i.e. in parallel.

5910 ENGLAND. World’s Last Chance - Woofferton. Arabic to NAf/ME, NF (ex 9800), fair signal, Oct 29.

5920 ROMANIA. RRI - Tiganesti. Spanish to NAf, NF, good signal, Oct 29.

5930 IRAN. VoIRI - Sirjan. Italian to SEu s/on 1753, NF (ex 5925), fair signal, Oct 26.

5930 ROMANIA. RRI - Tiganesti. Ukrainian to CEu 2000-2027, NF (ex 5910), fair signal, Oct 29.

5940 IRAN. VoIRI - Sirjan. German to WEu at 1740, NF (ex 7300), good signal, Oct 26.

5945 UZBEKISTAN. Nippon no Kaze - Tashkent. Korean to NEAs at 1535, NF (ex 11995), good signal, Oct 27.

5970 TURKEY. VoT - Emirler. French to WEu at 2030, NF (ex 9635), fair signal, Oct 29.

5980 TURKEY. VoT - Emirler. Turkish to Eu at 1900, NF (ex 9460), fair signal, Oct 26.

5985 JAPAN. R. Japan - Yamata. Russian to EAs at 1120 to s/off 1130, NF (ex 7355), good signal, Oct 25.

6010 CHINA. CRI - Urumqi. Min Nan Chinese at 1850 to s/off 1857, NF (ex 13700), fair signal, Oct 26.

6010 VATICAN STATE. Vatican R. - SM Galeria. To Af, English 2000, French 2030, NF (ex 7360), good signal, Oct 29.

6030 ROMANIA. RRI - Tiganesti. English to WEu at 1815, NF (ex 11850), weak signal, Oct 26.

6040 ENGLAND. KBS World R. - Woofferton. Russian to EEu at 1848, NF (9820), good signal, Oct 26.

6070 CHINA. CRI - Beijing. Russian to EEu at 1846, NF (possibly ex 9560), fair signal, Oct 26.

6075 USA. KNLS - Anchor Point AK. English to EAs at 0800-0900, NF (ex 9695), excellent signal, Oct 27.

6075 JAPAN. R. Japan - Yamata. 2130-2200 Indonesian to SEAs, NF (ex 9560), fair signal to start but faded by 2140, Oct 28.

6100 CHINA. CRI - Beijing. English to Eu at 1843, NF, very good signal, Oct 26.

6120 USA. KNLS - Anchor Point AK. 0900-1000 in Russian, NF (ex 9695), very good signal, Oct 27.

6120 GERMANY. AWR - Nauen. Arabic to NAf 1940, NF (ex 11800), very good signal, Oct 29.

6120.03 TURKEY. VoT - Emirler. Turkish to ME/NAf at 1840, NF (ex 5960), good signal, Oct 26.

6155 CHINA. CRI - Beijing. Russian to EEu 2000-2100, NF (ex 9525), fair signal, Oct 29.

6160 CHINA. CRI - Xian. German to Eu at 1835, NF, good signal, Oct 26.

6165 FRANCE. R. Japan - Issoudun. Arabic to ME/NAf at 0615, NF (ex 11975), weak signal, Oct 25.

6170 BULGARIA. BBC - Kostinbrod. S/on 1830 in Farsi to Iran, NF (ex 6100), fair signal and low het from the weaker co-channel VoKorea’s German service on 6170.03 kHz, Oct 26.

6180 BULGARIA. BBC - Kostinbrod. French to CAf 1818, NF (ex 11680), weak signal, Oct 26.

7225 GERMANY. AWR - Nauen. French to CAf 2000-2030, NF (ex 9760), fair signal, Oct 29.

7235 FRANCE. DW - Issoudun. Hausa to WAf at 1810, NF, weak signal, Oct 26.

7270 AUSTRIA. AWR - Moosbrunn. French to WAf 2030-2100, NF (ex 11880), fair signal, Oct 29.

7300 IRAN. VoIRI - Sirjan. English to SAs/SEAs at 1545, NF (ex 7410), a poor signal and a poor choice as R. Taiwan Int’l and CNR 1 jamming are also here at this time, Oct 27.

7320 CHINA. CRI - Kunming. Bulgarian to EEu 2030-2100, NF (ex 11940), fair signal, Oct 29.

7325 GERMANY. AWR - Nauen. 1930-2000 Tachelhit to NAf, NF (ex 11955), fair signal, Oct 29.

7335 VATICAN STATE. BBC - SM Galeria. Amharic to EAf at 1730 (M-F only), into Oromo at 1750, Tigrinya at 1810, NF, heavy co-channel QRM CRI’s Croatian service which is also a NF here at this time until 1757. Oct 26.

7360 IRAN. VoIRI - Sirjan. Spanish to SEu s/on 2020, NF (ex 7375), weak signal, Oct 29.

7365 VATICAN STATE. Vatican R. - SM Galeria. English 2000, French 2030 to WAf, NF (ex 9705), fair signal, Oct 29.

7370 USA. KNLS - Anchor Point AK. Mandarin to EAs at 0830, NF (ex 11875), fair signal, Oct 27.

7410 UZBEKISTAN. AWR - Tashkent. Tamil to SAs at 1505, NF (ex 9445), weak signal, Oct 27.

7420 PHILIPPINES. Vatican R. - Tinang. S/on a minute late at 1231 in Russian to NEAs, NF and excellent signal, Oct 25.

7445 JAPAN. R. Japan - Yamata. Japanese to SAm 0700-0900, NF (ex 9795), fair signal, Oct 29.

7450 FRANCE. R. Japan - Issoudun. French s/on and ID at 0530 to WAf, but then news in English (switching error?), back to French at 0540. NF (11730), fair signal, 25/10.

7520 KUWAIT. R. Free Asia - Umm al-Rimam. Mandarin to EAs at s/on 1900, NF for this time slot, fair signal but well covered by Firedrake jammer, Oct 29.

9410 U.A.E. BBC - Dhabayya. S/on 0430-0530 in Farsi to Iran and WAs, NF, weak signal, 25/10.

9415 CHINA. CRI - Xian. English to EAs at 0905, NF, fair signal, Oct 27.

9440 CHINA. CRI - Xian. Mandarin to EAs 0910, NF, fair signal, Oct 27.

9455 KUWAIT. R Free Asia - Umm al-Rimam. 2100-2200 Mandarin to EAs, NF, fair signal with CNR jamming, Oct 28.

9485 ENGLAND. VoA - Woofferton. Amharic to EAf at 1823, NF (probably ex 11610), fair signal, Oct 26.

9535 ENGLAND. R. Ndarason Int’l - Woofferton. Kanuri to Chad 0620, NF (ex 12050), fair signal, Oct 29.

9570.05 FRANCE. DW - Issoudun. Hausa to WAf at 0645, NF, good signal, Oct 26.

9580 U.A.E. R. Japan - Dhabayya. Urdu to SAs at 1515-1545, NF (ex 11775), fair signal, Oct 27.

9580 ARMENIA. AWR - Yerevan. English to SAs at 1600-1630, NF (ex 9490), fair to poor signal and distorted audio. I checked on the SAs KiwiSDRs and this could not be heard at all there! Oct 27.

9600 VATICAN STATE. Eye Radio - SM Galeria. Arabic (and occasional English) to EAf at 0530 to s/off 0557 exactly! NF (ex 11650 via Talata), good signal, Oct 26.

9610 TURKEY. VoT - Emirler. S/on 2130 English to SEAs/Oc, NF (ex 9875), fair signal, Oct 28.

9625 TURKEY. VoT - Emirler. French to WAf at 2115 to s/off 2123 exactly! NF (ex 9880 and one hour earlier from A20), good signal, Oct 28.

9680 JAPAN. R. Japan - Yamata. Japanese to SAs at 1500, NF (ex 12045), weak signal, Oct 27.

9700 TURKEY. VoT - Emirler. Turkish to Eu at 0625, NF (ex 13635), very good signal, Oct 26.

9715 USA. KNLS-Anchor Point AK. Mandarin to EAs at 1035 to s/off 1058, NF (ex 9685), fair signal, Oct 25.

9725 IRAN. VoIRI - Sirjan. Arabic to ME at f/in 0450, NF, Oct 25.

9765 GERMANY. R. Japan - Nauen. Japanese to Eu/ME/NAf 1800, NF (ex 13690), fair signal, Oct 26.

9765 ARMENIA. AWR - Yerevan. Tegulu to SAs at 1500-1530, NF (ex 7510), fair signal but audio distorted, Oct 27.

9780 AUSTRIA. AWR - Moosbrunn. French to Af 1930-2000, (ex Nauen relay), good signal, Oct 29.

9795 JAPAN. R. Japan - Yamata. S/on 1300 in Japanese to WAs, NF for this time slot, weak signal, Oct 25.

9795 PHILIPPINES. VoA - Tinang. Mandarin to EAs at 0917, NF, fair signal but heavy CNR jamming, Oct 27.

9825 TAJIKISTAN. AWR - Dushanbe. 1200 in Amoy to EAs, NF (ex 15550), very good signal, Oct 25.

9830 FRANCE. DW - Issoudun. 30-min Hausa service at s/on 0630 to EAf, (ex Pinheira, São Tomé relay)

9835 IRAN. VoIRI - Sirjan. S/on 1152 in Urdu to SAs, NF (ex 9710), excellent signal, Oct 25.

9850 FRANCE. AWR - Issoudun. Igbo language, 1930-2000 to WAf, NF (ex 12070), fair signal, Oct 29.

9855 UZBEKISTAN. R. Japan - Tashkent. In Farsi at 0415 to s/off 0429 NF (ex 11970), good signal, Oct 25.

9855 MADAGASCAR. R. Japan - Talata Volonondry. 2030-2100 in French to WAf, NF (ex 7425), fair signal, Oct 28.

9860 GERMANY. AWR - Nauen. 0600-0630 in French to WAf, NF, good signal, Oct 25.

9875 CHINA. CRI - Kashi. 1600-1700 English to Eu, NF, fair signal, Oct 27.

9885 VATICAN STATE. VoA - SM Galeria. French to Af, 0610, (ex Greenville NC), good signal, Oct 29.

9895 GERMANY. R. Farda - Biblis. Farsi to Iran at 0640, NF, fair signal, Oct 26.

9940 NTH MARIANA IS. R. Free Asia - Agingan Point. Korean to NEAs 2100-2200, NF, fair signal. // 9985 also a NF and heard slightly better, Oct 28.

9990 THAILAND. R. Farda - Ban Dung. Farsi to WAs at s/on 1230, NF and fair signal, Oct 25.

11620 VATICAN STATE. Vatican R. - SM Galeria. To Eu with Italian 0700, Arabic 0710, French 0730. NF (ex 11930), good signal but heavy co-channel QRM from CNR 17 Kazakh service, Oct 26.

11630 JAPAN. R. Japan - Yamata. S/on 2100 in Japanese to SEAs, NF (ex 13680), good signal, Oct 28.

11640 GERMANY. AWR - Nauen. 0600-0630 in French to WAf, NF, good signal Oct 25.

11660 TURKEY. VoT - Emirler. Turkish to ME 0620, NF (ex 6040), fair signal, Oct 26.

11685 SPAIN. REE - Noblejas. Spanish 2140 with football call, NF, fair signal, Oct 28.

11720 USA. VoA - Greenville. English to WAf 2100-2200, NF, very good signal, Oct 28.

11825 SINGAPORE. R. Japan - Kranji. English to SEAs at s/on 1100-1130, NF (ex 11695) and good signal, Oct 25.

11830 FRANCE. DW - Issoudun. Amharic to Ethiopia at 1623, NF (ex 13775), fair signal, Oct 27.

11850 NTH MARIANA IS. R. Free Asia - Tinian. Khmer to SEAs at 2245, NF (ex 12140), weak signal, Oct 25.

11870 GERMANY. AWR - Nauen. Oromo language to EAf 1735, NF (ex 17720), fair signal, Oct 26.

11870 GUAM. KSDA - Agat. AWR programming in Mandarin, s/on 2200, NF (ex 15625), fair signal, Oct 28.

11935 VATICAN STATE. Vatican R. - SM Galeria. Amharic to EAf 1530-1600, NF (ex 15565), good signal, Oct 27.

11980 GUAM. KSDA - Agat. AWR Mandarin program at 2205, NF (ex 11875), good signal, Oct 28.

11980 GERMANY. AWR - Nauen. Arabic to NAf 0700-0800, NF (ex 15220), very good signal, Oct 29.

12015 CHINA. CRI - Kashi English to SAs, 1100-1300, NF, very good signal, Oct 25.

12025 GERMANY. R. Farda - Lampertheim. S/on 0400 in Farsi to WAs, NF (ex 9370), weak signal at first but improved over the hour, Oct 26.

12040 GUAM. KSDA - Agat. AWR Sundanese program 2210 (M,W,F,Sa only), NF (ex 12040), fair signal, Oct 28.

12050 KUWAIT. R. Free Asia - Umm al-Rimam. Tibetan at CAs at 1130, NF, fair signal, Oct 25.

12065 U.A.E. BBC - Dhabayya. English 1600-1700 to SAf, NF (ex 13660), fair signal, Oct 27.

12125 THAILAND. VoA - Ban Dung. Special English to SEAs at 1135, NF (ex 12030?), good signal, Oct 25.

13655 CHINA. CRI - Xian. Cantonese to EAs at 0440, NF, fair signal, Oct 25.

13690 IRAN. VoIRI - Sirjan. Dari to WAs at 0615, NF (ex 13680), fair signal, Oct 25.

13720 CHINA. CRI - Kashi. Mandarin to Eu at 0635 to s/off 0657. NF, fair signal. Then switches to the Lampertheim relay at 0530, where it is still a fair signal here, Oct 29.

13765 THAILAND. R. Farda - Ban Dung. S/on 0400 in Farsi to WAs, NF (ex 13860), fair signal and // 12025, Oct 26.

13860 MADAGASCAR. BBC - Talata Volonondry. English WS at 0600-0800 to EAf, NF (ex 13580), weak signal, Oct 29.

13870 PHILIPPINES. FEBC - Bocaue. Lu Mien service at 1045 to s/off 1100, NF (additional service for this language), good signal, Oct 25.

15130 CHINA. CRI - Beijing. Mandarin at 0445 to EAs, NF, weak signal, Oct 25.

15420 PHILIPPINES. FEBC - Bocaue. 0930-1000 in Minangkabau to SEAs, NF (ex 15450), weak signal, Oct 27.

15640 U.A.E. R. Azadi - Dhabayya. Dari to WAs at 1240, NF (possibly ex 17880?), weak signal, Oct 25.

15745 NTH MARIANA IS. R. Free Asia - Tinian. Tibetan for CAs at 1138, NF, fair signal, Oct 25.

15620 CHINA. CRI - Kashi. Italian s/on 0600 to SEu, NF (ex 17520), weak signal, Oct 26.

17660 NTH MARIANA IS. R. Free Asia - Agingan Point. Mandarin to EAs at 0650, running equal strength with co-channel jammer CNR, NF, Oct 26.

17675 GERMANY. R. Free Asia - Biblis. S/on 0600 in Tibetan to CAs, NF (ex 17670), good signal well over the noise jamming that began at 0603, Oct 26.

17730 NTH MARIANA ISLANDS. R. Free Asia - Tinian. Tibetan to EAs at 1025 and noted to s/off 1100, Sunday only service, fair signal, NF (possibly ex 21505), Oct 25.

17830.13 U.A.E. R. Japan - Dhabayya. S/on 1115-1145 Indonesian to SEAs, NF (ex 17820) and way off frequency! Good signal, Oct 25.

73 and have a great weekend everyone!

Rob Wagner VK3BVW