Mount Evelyn DX Report

  RECENT RECEPTION CONDITIONS & DX QUICK TIPS September 20, 2024 After several weeks of variable propagation conditions, including significant geomagnetic storms and corresponding radio blackouts, it looks like we might see some quieter conditions in the short term. While monitoring the shortwave bands has, on several occasions, been frustrating, it pays to keep trying. Let me give you an example. One of these radio blackouts on September 18, I worked multiple JA and US hams on 10 and 12 metres during my late afternoon radio session. Although these two bands were a little quieter than usual, there were still plenty of stations on the waterfall, and my signal was certainly getting out. 20 metres was somewhat busy, but again, not up to its usual jam-packed state that I see in the late afternoons. Yet, the 17-metre band was virtually dead, and 15 metres wasn't much better. Strange! So, what's going on here? Why were signals non-existent between the 18 to 22 MHz frequency range...

RETRO RECEIVER REVIEW #22 The front panel of the HCR-62 (You can click on all photos in this article for a close-up view) E.I.L. HCR-62 (a.k.a. Sanwa NR-409) by Craig Seager VK2HBT Now, here’s something uncommon; a general conversion communications receiver sold only in Australia by E.I.L during the early 1960s, but with a pedigree that is anything but Aussie. Never heard of E.I.L?  Think again! Rod Smith’s excellent book Just Astor (ISBN 0-9579092-1-7) recalls the formation of Radio Corporation of Australia Pty Limited during the 1920s from an amalgam of several smaller entities based in Melbourne.  The company went on to produce some of Australia’s most iconic valve domestic receivers, under the Astor branding, including the Mickey Mouse (quickly dropping the “Mouse” part after Disney took umbrage), followed by a long line of distinctive consoles and Bakelite mantle sets (my vintage radio collection needs an Astor Baby Grand!).  In 1939, a larger group was formed, in...

  A Saudi Arabian QSL from 1976 when 350–kW transmitters enabled the station to maintain a global reach. Although I heard the station at 2000 UTC, the card lists the time as 1600 to 2300, clearly the entire transmission period. (Author’s collection) SAUDI ARABIA: Broadcasting Troubles in the Kingdom by Rob Wagner VK3BVW This article first appeared in my World of Shortwave Listening column in the August 2024 issue of The Spectrum Monitor magazine. Further details on this excellent publication are available at www.thespectrummonitor.com The Middle East has long been home to political volatility, and conflicts are regularly staged. The largest country in the region is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, covering an area of 2,150,000 sq km (830,000 sq mi). It boasts ancient cultures and civilizations and possesses a rich and colourful history. In the early 7th century, the world’s second-largest religion, Islam, grew out of the area we now know as Saudi Arabia. Public radio broadcasting in Sa...

  TALES OF A VAGABOND DXER A New Book Review Don Moore, a name that will be known to many long-time North American DX enthusiasts, is a true expert on the Latin American broadcasting scene. Intricately woven with the threads of DXing and extensive travels throughout Central and South America, his life is a story worth telling.  Last year, Don shared his journey in a book titled "Tales of a Vagabond DXer," a captivating narrative of how one man's passion for DXing and connecting with people led to extraordinary adventures. Don's discovery of shortwave radio began in September 1971 (for me, it was three years earlier, in 1968. We are of a similar age). As a teenager and then into his twenties, he loved listening to and QSLing as many shortwave and mediumwave stations in the Americas as possible.  He recounts his early activities in the DX hobby, his support for major U.S. DX clubs such as NASWA and SPEEDX, going on fun DXpeditions and the lasting friendships he made alo...