DX QUICK TIPS
July 16, 2022

As I write this, the last few days have seen an elevated solar flux index between 169 and 171. The higher frequencies have come alive, even up to 21 MHz on the shortwave broadcast bands and right up to 28 MHz on the amateur bands. In addition, the lower frequencies (below 6 MHz) have been quite good at night. So, things are looking up on the propagation front! "About time", I hear you say! 😄

Below is a selection of stations including Angola, Bolivia, Mexico, Peru, Tajikistan, Vanuatu, and more.

⭐⭐ 2310 AUSTRALIA. Shortwave Australia - Bendigo, VIC. A new station in AM, good signal at 0930 with a replay of an old show celebrating the Melbourne MW station 3KZ. July 12. See my recent post for more information about this station.

⭐⭐ 2368.44 AUSTRALIA. R. Symban - Hurlston Park, NSW. 1905 Endless Greek music with no anncts, fair signal. Their website has been "parked", but the Facebook page appears active under the moniker "Symban World Radio". July 15.

⭐⭐ 2349.39 D.P.R.KOREA. KCBS - Pyongyang. 1150 Korean orchestral music with choir. 1200 time pips, then possible news reports and a replay of a speech. Weak signal // 3250 where it was much stronger. July 12.

⭐⭐ 3310 BOLIVIA. R. Mosoj Chaski - Cochabamba. 1009 weak signal in the noise with music and Quechua anncts. July 12.

A banner logo from Radio Mosoj Chaski, Bolivia

3325 INDONESIA. VoIndonesia - Palangkaraya. 1915 Pop music and frequent IDs in the Dutch service, fair signal. Not heard on the // 4750 except for the powerful co-channel Bangladesh Betar, July 15.

3480 KOREA REP. Voice of the People - Goyang, Gyeonggi-do. 1930 Korean commentaries with occasional spasms of music, good signal, July 15.

3925 JAPAN. R. Nikkei 1 - Nemuro. 1035 jazzy Japanese pops, pleasant listening, fair signal, July 12.

4765 TAJIKISTAN. R. Tajikistan - Dushanbe. 1945 Tajik radio play until 2001 when the broadcast ends mid-dramatic scene suddenly. That's one way to kill a story! Fair signal, July 15.

4775.04 PERU. R. Tarma - Tarma. At 1014 with Peruvian pops and rapid anncts, weak signal, July 12.

⭐⭐ 4835 AUSTRALIA. Shortwave Australia - Bendigo, VIC. 0810 with a music program featuring works by the French composer Milhaud. Excellent signal between the period 0700 and 1000, but it fell away badly as the evening progressed, leaving us with the // 2310 as the best option, July 12. And again on July 13 as early as 0400 (2 pm local) with a good signal. And again on July 14 around 2300! See my recent post for more information about this station.

4930 BOTSWANA. VoA - Moepeng Hill. 2005 English to SAf. Groovy African music, great listening! Fair signal, July 15.

⭐⭐ 4949.73 ANGOLA. R. Nacional de Angola - Luanda. 2012 West African easy listening music and Portuguese anncts. Weak signal and rarely heard here these days. July 15.

4965 ZAMBIA. VoHope Africa - Makeni Ranch. 2020 English with American preaching. Good signal, July 15.

4990 CHINA. PBS Hunan - Changshi, Hunan Province. 2022 Mandarin, music selections pre-official s/on at 2030. One of the few low-powered Chinese outlets, weak signal, July 15.

⭐⭐ 5025 PERU. R. Quillabamba - Quillabamba. No ID heard, but I suspect that this is probably the one at 1020 with music and anncts, mumbling away in the background under the co-channel Rebelde. A tough one to hear these days and off by a couple of Hertz, as usual. July 12.

6185 MEXICO. XEPPM R. Educación - Mexico City. 0540 with the usual eclectic musical selections. This time it was Argentine tangos by the Orquesta Osvaldo Pugliese, weak signal but got a little stronger over the next hour. July 13.

⭐ 7260 VANUATU. R. Vanuatu - Emten Lagoon. Back on this frequency at 0450 in Bislama (with the usual fistfuls of English phrases). Community anncts, news and weather, 0510 Island songs. Initially heavy co-channel QRM from Vatican R. via SM Galeria to EEu in Ukranian until 0500 then changing to Russian. But Vila gained strength by 0510 and was in the clear once Vatican s/off at 0520. July 13.

9635 VIETNAM. VoV1 - Son Tay. 1130 Vietnamese Network 1, commentaries and occasional local music interlude. Good signal, July 12.

12050 ASCENSION IS. R. Ndarason Int'l - Ascension. 1840 Kanuri to WAf, weak signal. A site change to Woofferton at 1900 resulted in a much stronger signal, July 15.

15629.84 UZBEKISTAN. Iran International R. - Tashkent. 1140 Farsi to Iran, current affairs, program change at 1145. fair signal, July 12.

17775 VATICAN. VoA - SM Galeria. 1048 Long Somali song, brief ID and s/off 1100, service to EAf, poor signal, July 12.

⭐ 17810. GERMANY. AWR - Nauen. *1330-1400* Hmong to Thailand. Tip-off thanks to Jose Jacob (India). This is supposed to be replacing 15550 kHz via Tashkent due to transmitter fault at that site. However, perhaps someone forgot to tell Tashkent as that freq is still on the air and sounding fine! An excellent signal from both outlets. Noted on both July 14 and 15. The schedule reads as Hmong (Thu/Fri), Assamese to NE India (Sun/Wed), and Indonesian to Malaysia (Mon/Tue/Sat).

17850 FRANCE. R. France Int'l - Issoudun. 1850 to s/off 1859 (5:59 am here!) French to CAf, weak signal, noted on a high solar flux day (171), July 15.

⭐⭐ 21525 USA. R. Africa Network (Pan American B'casting) via WRMI - Okeechobee. Wisps of audio with preaching in English coming through between 2040 to s/off 2100 (7:00 am here). The signal picked up just before 2100 for me to get the PAB ID anncts. On a day with higher SF index (171). Shades of good things to come! July 15.

73 and have a great weekend everyone!

Rob Wagner VK3BVW