STATION NEWS AND DX QUICK TIPS
July 23, 2025

STATION NEWS

INDONESIA

Some unusual occurrences have been reported this week, including the sudden appearance of a Radio Republik Indonesia transmission on 7300 kHz. So, I listened for myself. I tried a few times to hear it here at Mount Evelyn and through some of the Indonesian KiwiSDRs, but without success. Finally, I got lucky on July 22. Here are my log notes:

7300 UNIDENTIFIED. First noted at 2310 with a commentary and interviews on the health of children in Indonesia. Some parts of the interviews were conducted in English. This could possibly be Pro 3 national programming content. 2316 - a series of anncts and a clear ID as Radio Republik Indonesia. 2327 - Sudden cutoff of audio mid-sentence, and the carrier disappeared 2 minutes after that. Not audible at Mount Evelyn, but a decent signal was received at both the VK5ARG and YB3TE KiwiSDRs. Jul 22.

UPDATE - July 23: Tuning in at 1159, I hear the old RRI "Song of the Coconut Islands" theme. 1200 - Time pips and RRI ID. Then the news. Underneath are voices, sounding like the chatter of Indonesian hams, right on the frequency. At 1207, some unidentified music was present under the RRI signal. By 1212, the interfering stations have disappeared and RRI is on the frequency unopposed. Importantly, I'm now hearing RRI here at Mount Evelyn as well as via the VK5ARG and YB3TE remotes.

UPDATE #2 - Now on 7335 kHz. The programming is R. Republik Indonesia, but we still don't have a fix on the transmitter site.

So....where is the transmitter site? This one needs further investigation!

KURDISTAN/TURKEY

For a few years now, the Kurdish station Radyoya Dengê Gel and the programming of "the Turkish jammer" via the Voice of Turkey's Emirler transmitters have been playing cat-and-mouse on the 25mb, on a range of frequencies between 11510 and 11580 kHz (mainly). However, Wolfgang Bueschel, DF5SX, advises in this week's BC-DX newsletter (#1624) that both stations have ceased broadcasting. He explains:

Total switch off of both radio war services noted this week, no signals also July 18 and 19 anymore: nothing from Emirler site of Erdogan's security forces Osmanic culture program / music jamming, and also nothing observed of Kurdish national radio program 'Denge Gel' from probably Yerevan Gavar relay site in Armenia anymore.

This is a side event of the recent peace efforts between the Kurdish nationals opposition since the mid 70s in Turkey and their armed struggles against the Osmanic-Turkish nation state of 1922 and present President Erdogan, who wants to use this to secure votes for the next presidential elections; in order another term for Erdogan then.

I've checked that part of the 25mb and, yes, both stations have disappeared. Is that the end? Maybe. Maybe not! Who knows!

NIGERIA

The Voice of Nigeria website reports that the station intends to reactivate its shortwave service to increase its presence across the African continent. In part, the report says:

The Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mallam Jibrin Baba Ndace, has announced a strategic plan to reposition the station as a leading continental broadcaster, beginning with the reactivation of its rotating antenna to significantly enhance broadcast coverage across Africa.

Mallam Ndace outlined his vision to reposition VON as a leading voice in Africa, highlighting plans to:

– Reactivate the Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) shortwave rotating transmitter, the largest in Africa

– Add three new languages to its broadcast lineup: Chinese Mandarin, Bahasa Indonesia, and Portuguese, bringing the total to 11 languages

– Recruit freelance reporters across major cities in Africa

– Create high-quality content that will showcase the rich cultural heritage of Nigeria and Africa

– Highlight the importance of peace, security, and stability in Nigeria and Africa.

(Read the full report HERE )

However, they will face significant challenges at the Abuja transmitter site. Many listeners will recall the station operating intermittently in the years between 2018 and 2022 - sometimes there, sometimes not, with mixed audio quality and transmitter hum, before finally seemingly vanishing for good! Reports from a few years ago, when visiting international RF engineers attended the site, indicated that the transmitters were in severe decline and might even be beyond repair. The Director General may well need to spend some serious cash on new transmitters before a signal can reach across the African continent.

Here is my last YouTube video of VON in 2018, comparing the signal on two receivers - the Kenwood R5000 and the Yaesu FTDX3000.

DX QUICK TIPS

Some pleasing DX catches and new frequencies observed this past week.

RIGS: SDRPlay RSPDuo, Yaesu FTDX 3000, Kenwood TS2000, Kenwood R5000, Yaesu FRG100, Tecsun PL-680

ANTENNAS: Horizontal Sky Loop 80m long, 10 MHz Delta Loop, 14 MHz Double Bazooka, 5/8λ Centre-fed vertical for 21 MHz and above.

⭐⭐ 3955 GERMANY. Radio DARC - Rohrbach. 1845 German to Eu. Occasional music selections, but mainly radio news, with the program ending with a parting “Gut DX”! 1855 - Full ID and frequency annct for Radio DARC. 1858 - Channel 292 anncts in German and English. “You can be on the radio all over the world”. 292 station ID, then rock music. A weak signal, but it makes the distance quite well considering its low power. Confirmed via the DL9KCE Wabern KiwiSDR. Jul 22.

⭐⭐ 5035 BRAZIL. R. Educação Rural de Coari - Coari, Amazonas. 1012 Excited Portuguese talk for the early morning service (6:12 am in Coari). Mainly chatter between announcers, but with occasional lively dance music selections. Sometimes appears to announce as simply “Radio Coari”! The location is in the far western part of Brazil, so its fade-out is always much later than eastern PY stations. Weak reception at Mt Evelyn and confirmed via the OA4DFF Kiwi in Lima, Peru, where it was only slightly stronger. Lost the audio around 1050, but the carrier hung on until 1110 before disappearing. Last heard here back on July 7, 2024, so great to see it making the distance to Mount Evelyn again. July 14.

⭐ 5915 MYANMAR. Myanma R. - Naypyidaw. 1208 Local pops, 1216 Burmese anncts and extended talk. 1222 - back into easy listening music. Fair signal on this clear channel. Jul 19.

⭐ 5985 MYANMAR. Myanma R - Yegu. 1215 Traditional Burmese music with vocalists and Burmese instruments. Pleasant listening to the highly complex melodic and harmonic structures of each song. Brief anncts between selections. Fair signal, Jul 19.

⭐ 5995 MALI. RTV du Mali - Kati. 1912 Bambara anncts and Malian songs. Pleasant listening! Fair signal on this now-clear channel. Jul 22.

⭐⭐ 6160 GERMANY. Shortwave Radio Gold - Winsen. 1925 English to WEu. “Stafford’s World with Mark Stafford” music program, 70s songs such as “Baby Come Back” by Player. A weak signal and confirmed via the DL9KCE Wabern KiwiSDR. I rarely hear this station. It’s a remarkable reception for a (listed) 1 kW ND output over the 16,233 km short path. Nothing heard on the 3975 outlet, but I’ll keep trying! Jul 22.

7410 ESWATINI. TWR - Mpangela Ranch. 1908 Portuguese to SAf with preaching. Good signal, Jul 22.

7445 VATICAN. BBC - SM Galeria. 0040 Dari to AFG with news. Surprised to hear this at 10:40 am here. A weak signal and the only one on the band at this time. Jul 18.

⭐ 9670 TAIWAN. R. Dáp Lòi Sông Núi - Paochung. 1227 before s/on, there was a strong txer hum. 1230 s/on in Vietnamese with clear IDs and commentaries. Good signal except for the hum and adjacent channel splash QRM from the super strong CNR 5 Cross-Strait R. on 9665. Jul 19.

⭐ 9750 UZBEKISTAN. BBC - Tashkent. *0000-0200* English WS to SAs. NF (ex 9670). Fair signal, Jul 16.

9955 USA. R. Prague - Okeechobee. 0305 English to SAm with a mix of news, sports news and current affairs. Fair to poor signal, Jul 16.

11665 MALAYSIA. RTV Malaysia - Kajang. 0318 Wai FM programming in the Iban language. Music and chat. Fair to poor signal, Jul 16.

13760 D.P.R.KOREA. VoKorea - Kujang. 2310 KCBS programming with news, beamed to Eu. Weak signal and // the off-freq 15245.25 kHz, where it was barely audible. Jul 17.

⭐ 13780 CUBA. R. Habana - Quivicán. 2302 Spanish, anncts and laid-back music. From 2315, extended talks. NF - I’m assuming ex 15230 (also Quivicán) as that freq is silent, so probably beaming to SAm. Fair signal and very clean, too (no distortion). Jul 21.

15265 ENGLAND. KBS WR - Woofferton. 1840 Russian to Eu. Surprisingly good signal early morning reception here, Jul 22.

⭐ 15420 ENGLAND. R. Ndarason Int’l - Woofferton. 1820 Kanuri to CAf. Afro music, interviews and current affairs. NF (ex 12050 via Ascension), and then returns to the usual 12050 between 1900 and 2100. Poor signal. Jul 22.

15440 GERMANY. AWR - Nauen. 1835 Amharic to EAf, preaching. Fair signal, Jul 22.

⭐⭐ 15540 FRANCE. R. Zamane Bidari (Omid Iran) - Issoudun. 1917 Farsi to Iran. New station noted this month. It appears to be one day a week only. Commentary. Then station ID at 1926 with many mentions of Iran. 1927- Unaccompanied vocal, then cut off at 19:27:45 UTC. Thanks to tip from Paul Walker. Excellent signal, Jul 17.

17650 AUSTRALIA. Reach Beyond - Kununurra. *2230-2300* Japanese to Japan. Prayers and preaching. Strong, Jul 17.

17650 GUAM. KSDA - Facpi Point. *0000-0030* Burmese to SEAs. Good signal, Jul 22.

⭐ 17675 NEW ZEALAND. ABC Wantok - Rangitaiki. *2210-2240* Tok Pisin service for Papua New Guinea. In reality, beamed across the Pacific at 35 degrees from Rangitaiki. PNG current affairs program. Back into regular RNZP programming at 2240. Strong signal, Jul 17.

73 and good DX,

Rob Wagner VK3BVW