DX QUICK TIPS
May 26, 2024

As some readers will be aware, the last year has been eventful for me, with five hospital admissions. Now, I am in the middle of almost daily radiation treatment for prostate cancer. There are a few side effects, the biggest being fatigue as the body tries to repair itself after each radiation session.

So, that has resulted in me being home and enjoying time in front of my radios in both shortwave listening and activity on the amateur bands. As we approach winter here in southeastern Australia, a number of interesting shortwave broadcast stations have appeared. Here is a list of what has been heard in the past few weeks:

RECEIVERS: Yaesu FTDX3000, Kenwood TS2000, Kenwood R5000

ANTENNAS: Horizontal Sky Loop 80m long, 10 MHz Delta Loop, 14 MHz Double Bazooka, 5/8 wave centre-fed vertical for 21-30 MHz.

(All times are in UTC, all frequencies in kHz)

3310 BOLIVIA. R. Mosoj Chaski - Cotapachi, Cochabamba. 1035 Weak signal in Spanish (definitely not Quechua on this occasion) with short, rapid-fire news items, each item separated by five seconds of theme music. Occasional mentions of Bolivia. May 25.

4754.83 INDONESIA. RRI - Cimanggis. Nothing was heard at the scheduled 1000 s/on. Finally, it started up very late at 1011 in the middle of English programming. A mix of Indonesian pops and talk. A fair way off frequency (supposed to be 4755 kHz) - they should be able to tighten that up much more! A weak signal at first but strengthened a little by the time I tuned out at 1035. May 15. Then again, at 1003 with a fair signal on May 16. New frequency (ex 4750).

4810 PERU. R. Logos - Chazuta, Tarapoto. 1052 Spanish ballads. Brief anncts and ID at 1100. Then back into soulful music. Weak signal and rarely heard here these days. May 25.

4955 PERU. R. Cultural Amauta - Huanta, Ayacucha. 1103 Happy Peruvian dance music and occasional anncts. Weak signal, monitored to past 1120 when it faded out, May 25.

4985 BRAZIL. R. Brasil Central - Goiânia GO. 0920 Continuous Brazilian ballads, no anncts. Brief canned "Brasil Central" jingle at 0931, then more songs. Weak signal, May 26.

5020 SOLOMON ISLANDS. Solomon Islands BC - Honiara. 1115 pops and messages from listeners in English. 1158 religious segment. 1200 sign-off ID and frequencies: "You have been listening to the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation.....", then the anthem. But, no, not off yet. A small gap of dead air, then into reggae music. Good signal, May 23.

5939.83 BRAZIL. R. Voz Missionária - Camboriú SC. 0945 Gospel rock and pop music, occasional anncts. Faded by 1000 (7:00am Camboriú time), May 19.

6070 CANADA. CFRX - Toronto ON. 0845 HF relay of the mediumwave CFRB. Audience phone-in quiz segment. 0900 News inc. shooting at a local Jewish school, protests at the University of Ontario, etc. Making its traditional pre-winter appearance. Weak signal in noisy conditions, tough listening! Hopefully, should improve in the next month or so. All darkness path of 16209 km across the US and the Pacific, pretty good for a 1 kW signal! May 26.

6184.97 MEXICO. XEPPM R. Educación - Mexico City. 0910 Traditional Mexican ballads and folk music with no anncts. Fair to weak signal, May 26.

6350 SOUTH KOREA. Echo of Hope - Hwaseong. 1155 Korean commentaries, K-pops and canned anncts. Good signal, no jamming. May 23.

7260 VANUATU. R. Vanuatu - Emten Lagoon. 0725 Bislama, sprinkled with plenty of English words and phrases. Live discussion from "Vanuatu Press Klub" on the coming May 29 national referendum. Good signal, May 23.

7289.92 INDONESIA. RRI - Nabire, Central Papua. 0740 easy listening Indonesian pops and occasional anncts. 0800 canned annct and studio announcer. 0807 suddenly off the air. No Islamic prayers were noted on this day, May 23.

9330 USA. WBCQ World's Last Chance—Monticello ME. F/in 0315 with English to NAm, religious talks. The signal was weak initially but improved later, on May 19.

9440 FRANCE. R. Japan - Issoudun. 0320 Japanese to ME, music programming. Weak signal, May 19.

9670 GERMANY. Channel 292 - Rohrbach. At 0400 f/in, our old friend, 292, makes its yearly appearance as we approach winter. It always surprises me how well this low-powered station makes the 23800 km long path journey. Continuous old pops from Elton John, Bee Gees, and Village People. F/out around 0430 (6:34 am in Germany) on this day. This one should improve with earlier fade-ins as we approach deep winter months in the southern hemisphere. May 19.

9740 ROMANIA. RRI - Galbeni. The first of the long path winter afternoon Europeans to fade in with its 300 kW signal at 0310 in English to WNAm. A weak signal on f/in but improves to a good strength by 0340, May 19.

9770 TURKEY. VoT - Emirler. 0352 Interval signal, 0355 anthem, 0357 Turkish service to Eu. Signs on well before the scheduled 0400 time slot. Good signal, May 19.

11650 MADAGASCAR. R. Tamazuj - Talata Volonondry. 0335 in Sudanese Arabic to EAf. Talks and occasional music. Fair signal and can be heard now that winter approaches, May 16.

11760 CUBA. R. Habana - Bauta. 0350 Spanish to NAm with music programming. Fair signal and no sign of co-channel CNR 1, May 16.

11825 MADAGASCAR. WCB African Pathways - Mahajanga. 0400 English to CAf with religious talks. Good signal, May 16.

11905 SRI LANKA. SLBC - Trincomalee. 0215 Hindi to SAs with pleasant local music programming. Suddenly off the air mid-song at 0228 with no anncts. Weak signal, May 19.