VORW RADIO vs KNLS - RESOLVED!

I just received a friendly email and eQSL from John Jurasek, the host and operator of VORW Radio International. His new broadcast on 9705 kHz to Asia on October 30 at 0900 UTC was well received at Mount Evelyn....until KNLS, Anchor Point, Alaska, fired up a few minutes into the VORW transmission. It was great to hear his program here in southeastern Australia, as most of the other scheduled times, frequencies and transmitter sites do not propagate well into my part of the world. This is how the broadcast was received here:

I sent John the above video so he could hear the problem for himself. And I wrote:

As you will see, the transmission began well with good reception in Mount Evelyn, Victoria, Australia. However, two minutes in, KNLS came up with their Russian service. I guess you will have to talk to their engineers again! Alternatively, convince Paochung to find a better frequency for your broadcasts.

Importantly, you have proved that reception to Australia is possible at this time. This time slot and metre band is a good choice if you wish to attract listeners in my part of the world. Most of your other broadcasts don’t reach my location near the bottom of southeastern Australia. I hope the clash with KNLS can be resolved.

The receiver is an SDRPlay RSPduo running on an Apple M4 MacBook Pro. The antenna used for this reception is a vertical Delta Loop, cut for 9 MHz (approx 30 m long).

Anyway, I hope you find this report of some interest. Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Rob Wagner VK3BVW

I received John's reply today:

Hello Rob! Thank you for tuning in to VORW Radio International on 9705 kHz and for sending in your reception report! I’ll be happy to send a QSL card your way to confirm your report, and I've noted the technical details you mentioned as well.

The interference issue with KNLS is unfortunate but is still in the resolution process - KNLS has been more than willing to move to 9860 kHz or 9865 kHz but they needed permission from the U.S FCC in order to make that move; and with the ongoing U.S Government shutdown, that process is taking considerably longer than normal - as most FCC workers are presently furloughed.

We will see how things go this week!

I also just wanted to mention that this broadcast isn’t going anywhere—you can continue to count on VORW airing every Thursday at 0900 UTC on 9705 kHz, featuring the latest News Analysis and Listener-Requested Music. I always appreciate having you as a listener!

Thank you again for your report, and I hope you’ll keep tuning in.

Best regards,

John Jurasek (VORW Radio International)

It's good to hear that KNLS was willing to resolve this issue with VORW, especially as John's program airs only once a week while KNLS is beaming to eastern Russia daily. As I write this, I note in the WRTH online web app that KNLS is now listed on 9860 kHz for its 0900 UTC broadcast to eastern Russia. That should now give VORW Radio International a clear channel on 9705 kHz to be heard throughout Asia and the Pacific on Thursdays, using the Paochung, Taiwan transmitter site.

UPDATE: I was away from the radio when the latest broadcast happened at 0900 on November 6. However, I'm seeing reports that VORW has also moved—now on 9740 kHz. Permanent? Who knows?! However, 9705 is clear now that both stations have moved!!

UPDATE #2 (Nov 7): John at VORW has just advised that the November 6th transmission on 9740 kHz was an error at Paochung's transmitter site! We can expect VORW to return to the registered 9705 kHz next week.

This just in from him: