NEWS AND DX QUICK TIPS! - February 22, 2025



 

NEWS AND DX QUICK TIPS!
February 22, 2025


Well...! My blog post last week, QSL CHEATING: A BLIGHT ON THE SWL HOBBY, certainly received a strong response from readers. Many took the time to air their views in the blog comments and, of course, on Facebook. Thanks to everyone who participated in a respectful discussion on the issue. I received only one unprintable comment! 😏😁 I will write a post summarising the readers' thoughts and feedback shortly.


Radio Japan QSLs

It was bound to happen! One of the best QSLing stations on shortwave for decades has decided to cease its QSL card service. Radio Japan has always been noted for its beautiful cards and card designs. So, NHK's press release of February 14 came as a shock to many SWL enthusiasts. In case you haven't read it yet, here is the announcement from their website:

Click on the image to read at a larger size (if required).

Needless to say, some listeners responded with anger, others with sadness. However, I believe we should react with gratitude for all the beautiful QSLs Radio Japan has issued over many years, long after other stations stopped the practice. As a former Radio Japan monitor (back in the '70s and '80s), I can say that this broadcaster has always valued its listening audience. And it continues to do so. 

No explanation is given for the "no-QSL" policy. We can only surmise that it probably involves the station using its own means of monitoring its broadcasts (Read: Kiwi SDRs and other remote facilities), reduced government funding, or perhaps costs of staffing, printing, postage and other resources. Or a combination of all these issues! NHK is still requesting listener feedback and comments on its programming. The "Gimme QSL" crowd will stop listening and sending reports. However, the more faithful and trusted listening audience will remain.

Xing Xing!

Several weeks ago, I posted a short video of the Taiwanese numbers station, Xing Xing (a.k.a. "Star Star" or "New Star"). This is one of the few remaining voice transmitting numbers stations. Watch out for the April issue of The Spectrum Monitor magazine, where I will publish my recent research on this station, including the current transmitting schedule. Here is the video:




DX QUICK TIPS - Week ending Feb 22, 2025

Equipment: Yaesu FTDX3000 transceiver, Kenwood R5000 receiver, Kenwood TS2000 transceiver. Kiwi SDRs are occasionally used for reference and spectrum monitoring, as stated in specific loggings below.

Antennas: 100m long horizontal sky loop antenna, a delta loop antenna for 10 MHz, a double bazooka antenna for 14 MHz and a 5/8λ centre fed vertical for 21 MHz and above.


⭐⭐ 2310   AUSTRALIA. Shortwave Australia - Bendigo VIC. 1022 Wailing rock guitar solos - 80s style! This is a fine example of random, eclectic programming that makes this station so interesting for listeners. Upon tuning in, you never know what you will hear. Fair signal. // 4835, where it was a monster signal. Interestingly, 4835 is also well-heard via various NZ Kiwi remotes. Traces of the signal can even be heard on the excellent VE6JY Kiwi using its magnificent horizontal loop. Feb 21.

⭐ 3900   INNER MONGOLIA. Hulun Buir RTV - Hailar. 1050 Mandarin news and talks. 1059 Clear station ID (Hulun Buir, not CNR), then two minutes of canned anncts. 1103 Chinese pop ballad. Fair signal from this low-powered (listed as 10 kW) txer. Feb 21.

4755   INDONESIA. VoInvonesia - Cimanggis. 1525 Mandarin, with songs and chat. Fair signal, and nothing was heard on 3325. Feb 17.

⭐ 5020   SOLOMON ISLANDS. SIBC - Honiara. 0910 English with Island music in a Reggae style. It was a weak signal at first but slightly stronger after 0945. Feb 13.

⭐  5050   CHINA. Voice of Beibu Bay R - Nanning. 1528 Mandarin into Thai at 1531, music programming and anncts. Good signal, Feb 17.

⭐ 5985   MYANMAR. Myanma R. - Yangon. 1420 Burmese in the National service with continuous Burmese pop songs with no anncts. A surprisingly good signal on Feb 17.

⭐⭐ 6050   ECUADOR. HCJB - Pico Pichincha. 1110 Spanish with morning information programming and talks, punctuated by bursts of music. At an equally poor strength with co-channel Lhasa, Tibet. Feb 21.

⭐ 6090   ETHIOPIA. Amhara State R. - Geja Jewe. 2030 Amharic to EAf. Talk and East Afro music programming. Clearly heard at almost equal strength to co-channel KBS's 250 kW via Woofferton in Arabic to NAf. Feb 18.

⭐ 6110   ETHIOPIA. R. Fana - Geja Jewe. 2012, in either the Amharic or Oromo language. East African music, 2015 telephone interview, 2023 Afro song. Good signal, Feb 18.

6170.10   D.P.R.KOREA. VoKorea - Kujang. 2035 Korean to Eu with KCBS programming, classical Korean songs and commentaries. 2048 Closing anncts and anthem, off at 2050. Fair to poor signal, Feb 18.

⭐ 6200   CHINA. Voice of Jinling - Nanjing. 1448 Mandarin to Taiwan with music programming. S/off with no annct at 1501, revealing Xizang BC-Lhasa with the Tibetan domestic service. Very good signal, Feb 17.

6350   KOREA, REP. Echo of Hope - Hwaseong. Fade in 0920 Korean with commentaries. Weak and noisy at first but improved an hour later. No jamming. Feb 13.

9610   TURKEY. VoTurkey - Emirler. 2200 English to SAs, commentary and Turkish pop songs. Good signal and seems to be direct from VoT studios rather than relays of TRT TV audio. Feb 19. 

9630   KOREA REP. KBS-WS - Kimjae. 1440 English to India, discussion program. Fair signal, Feb 17.

⭐⭐ 9665   BRAZIL. Voz Missionária - Camboriu, SC. 0805 Portuguese with folk songs and anncts. Returning to the frequency after an absence for a few weeks. Fair signal and // 11749.80, where it clashed with a much stronger 11750 CNR 1 - Shijiazhuang. No signal on 5040. Feb 13.

15160   KOREA REP. KBS WR - Kimjae. 0935 Korean to ME, talks and occasional music interludes. Some noise jamming appeared to be present, spreading across almost 15 kHz. The signal was fair. Feb 20.

😕❓15410   INDIA. Akashvani - Bengaluru. 0923 Nepali to Nepal. Indian song followed by a commentary. I'm sure a Nepalese speaker would find the poor, distorted audio quality impossible to interpret. Also noted at the target area's Kiwi SDR with a booming signal, but again, dismal audio. Feb 20.

⭐ 15580   PHILIPPINES. FEBC - Bocaue. 0910 in Makassarese to Indonesia. Gospel songs, then preaching.  Good signal. Makassarese is spoken mainly in the South Sulawesi province of Indonesia. There are estimated to be 1.2 speakers of Makassarese. Dialects can also be found in the province. Feb 20. 

17600   ALGERIA. Ifrikya FM - Bechar. 0835 French to CAf. A mix of chat, interviews and background Affro music. Fair signal with some splash from a strong CNR 1 - Shijiazhuang on 17595. Feb 13.

17700   MADAGASCAR. KTWR - Talata-Volonondry. 1414 Hindi (Tues) to SAs. Good signal until s/off 1429, Feb 17.

17770   TURKEY. VoTurkey - Emirler. 0902 in Turkmen to CAs with news. Fair to poor signal and only occasionally heard here. Feb 20.

⭐ 17790   USA. R. Africa (Pan American BC) - Okeechobee FL. 1520 English to Africa (theoretically), but beamed to SAm. American preaching, fair signal, Feb 17.

⭐ 17790   TAIWAN. R. NUG - Paochung. *0200-0230* Burmese to Myanmar. ID and schedule annct in English and Burmese. News and commentaries in Burmese. Fair to good signal, Feb 22.

17820   PHILIPPINES. R. Pilipinas - Tinang. 0310 English to ME with a history program. Fair signal, Feb 20.

17865   U.A.E. IBRA R. - Dhabayya. 0855 Dari to AFG. Songs, then 0900 preaching. Fair signal, Feb 20.

21690   FRANCE. R. France Int’l - Issoudun. 0825 French to CAf with commentary, fair signal. // 21580 (weak signal), 17850 (good signal), 15300 (very good signal) to WAf. Feb 13.

21690   FRANCE. R. France Int’l - Issoudun. 1500-1600 Swahili to EAf. Good signal, Feb 17.

21710   FRANCE. R. France Int’l - Issoudun. 1505 French DRM, intermittent decodes, good signal, Feb 17.


73, and have a great week!

Rob Wagner VK3BVW



CLICK HERE for VK3BVW Live Stream (Clublog)



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© Rob Wagner, Mount Evelyn DX Report, and contributors 2012-2025

Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 26, 2025 at 2:01 AM

    Beibu Bay on 5050 often good into Central Texas at my sunrise!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dan Greenall VE3HLCFebruary 26, 2025 at 4:45 AM

    Thanks for the great tips, Rob. Shortwave Australia is a most entertaining station. I listened to their Swinging 60's program on the weekend with Paul Peters. Of course, I am using the various Kiwi receivers located around southeast Australia, but I had them today coming in nicely via the VK6SEG Kiwi on both frequencies. There is also an interesting Youtube video that gives a station tour and has the owner/operator checking a number of Kiwis (as I did) to see how his station is being received. 73 Dan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rob WagnerMarch 9, 2025 at 2:33 PM

      Thanks, Dan. I'm glad you found Shortwave Australia. It would be some serious DX if you could get it via your home QTH! The owner, Dave, knows what he is doing. All that cobbled-together gear does a great job. I remember him mentioning about increasing the power at some stage in the future. Fingers crossed. Cheers, Rob VK3BVW

      Delete
  3. AnonymousMarch 9, 2025 at 11:53 AM

    Hi Rob, Sad to hear NHK ending QSLs. They have always been one of the most reliable verifiers. While I don't tend to send out reception reports any longer I have gone through my old reports of many years ago and picked out any from Radio Japan where I never received a response. Some are quite a few years old. Re-sent these in the hope of a final resolution before the policy comes into effect.
    Regards,
    Laurence H

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rob WagnerMarch 9, 2025 at 2:34 PM

      Thanks, Laurence. Over the decades, NHK issued some of the most attractive QSLs of any broadcaster.

      Delete

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