This paper QSL from the Sudan Broadcasting Service (a.k.a. Radio Omdurman)
is not in great shape. Time is taking its toll. But I still have it!
This was for 11835 kHz, transmitting in Arabic and English.

OPENING THE LOGBOOK - JANUARY 1972

In October, we launched a new series on our MEDXR blog, which received strong positive reactions from our regular readers. Each month, I open up the old records to see what I (and others) heard during that month. It has been fun looking back at old issues of the Australian DX News (the newsletter of the Australian Radio DX Club), bringing back lots of memories. Here are some memories from January 1972—54 years ago! 

All frequencies in kHz; all times are UTC (or GMT, as we used to say in those days!).

An early QSL card for 15315 kHz from the religious station
 Radio Veritas in the Philippines.

The Logbook

Some very unusual midsummer propagation was unearthed by Bob Padula and reported in the Australian DX News (ADXN). Normally, between mid-December and February, very little would be heard on frequencies below 11 MHz in the summer daytime period (between 11 am and 3 pm - 2300 to 0500 UTC). But on January 22 and 23, a highly unusual Asian opening occurred with strong signals from Colombo 9720 and 11800, Singapore 9635 and 11940, Saigon 11950, Pakistan 11885, VOA-Colombo 11740 and All India R. 11850.

Then at 0300 UTC (1 pm in high summer!!), a track to Africa opened up, revealing VOA-Monrovia 7195, 7280 and 9740, and DW-Kigali 9565 signing on at 0315, completely obliterating VOA-Greenville on the same frequency. Also heard was an unknown station on 7215 between 0230 and 0300, which was thought to be the 24-hour Angolan "Radio Ecclesia". A follow-up two-page article appeared in the February ADXN speculating on what type of propagation activity could prompt such unusual reception conditions.

The following are a few of the observations from my logbook during January 1972:

3240    Baghdad, Iraq. At 1850 with local songs and Farsi anncts on Jan 18.

3264    Lourenço Marques, Moçambique. At 1915 with pop songs and English anncts. QRM from nearby utility stations on Jan 18.

4972    Yaoundé, Cameroon. West African vocals and French anncts at 1928 on Jan 8. 

4975    R. Pakistan. English news at 2003, but with a het from Yaoundé three kHz below on Jan 13.

5026    Kampala, Uganda. English anncts and pop songs at 1944, a fair signal on Jan 8.

5047    Lomé, Togo. West African music at 2010, fair signal on Jan 6.

7180    Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. English news at 1105 on Jan 12. Appears to be a NF for this service, but severe QRM from R. Australia-Shepparton on 7185.

11735    Belgrade, Yugoslavia. At 1535 in English featuring a New Year's speech from President Tito, Jan 1.

21695    Rome, Italy. S/on 0830 in Italian to Aus/NZ. New Freq and new time (ex 0600 UTC), good signal on Jan 27.

 

A verification letter from Ondas del Meta, Villavicencio, Colombia,
for reception on 4885 kHz. The report was written in my faltering Spanish!

Front and back of this QSL from Radio Norway for 21655 kHz. In those days,
the 13mb always provided strong, quiet reception (little atmospheric noise).
QSLs from this station highlighted the beautiful Norwegian countryside.

United Nations Radio on 5955 kHz via the old
VOA Dixon, California, transmitter site.

Reception Reports

As January is a major summer holiday in Australia, I went "nuts" once again and sent out nearly 70 reception reports.  Highlights included:

R. Ghana 21545 (Yes! Ghana did once operate on the 13mb! See the QSL below), R. Bougainville 3322, R. Veritas 15315, R. Nacional, Lima 9562, R. Libya 8630, R. Lebanon 11705, R. Yaoundé 4972, R. Damascus 15290, R. Senegal 11895, R. Sabah 7180, R. Timor, Dili 3268, FEBA Seychelles 15270 and many of the big international broadcasters (too many to list here).

Although not my main focus, there were some early dabblings in mediumwave during that month as well. They included R. Moscow 1250, VOA-Philippines 1140, JOAK Tokyo 590, R. Singapore 790, 9PA Port Moresby 1250, and HLKA Seoul 710. All of those were heard from my home in suburban Melbourne.

The classic Voice of Kenya "picture aerogram" verification for 4915 kHz.

The large, no-details card from Radio Rwanda for a report sent in September 1971
for 6055 kHz with the QSL received in January 1972.

QSLs in the Mailbox

It was a bonus month for QSLs, too! The letterbox received 62 QSLs in January! Some of the highlights were 

RN-Talata 15330

Aden, Yemen 5060

RTVC, Brazzaville 9715

Algeria 9685

Ondas del Meta, Villavicencio 4885

R. Rwanda, Kigali 6055

Bougainville, PNG 3322

R. Sabah, Kota Kinabalu 7180

Nairobi, Kenya 4915

R. Omdurman, Sudan 11835

Radiodiffusion Télévision Algérienne could be heard on many frequencies in the 60s and 70s, mostly with relays of the domestic service in Arabic, French and Kabyle. In later years, there was a small service for "international listeners" in Arabic (Voice of Palestine Revolution) and English.

Radio Ghana on 21545 kHz in the 13 mb. To my memory, this was one of the few
 African stations at the time (along with SABC) to utilise this part of the HF spectrum.
In the mid-70s, it would often ID as "This is External Service
of Radio Ghana, the Voice of the Revolution."

Other News in January 1972

• The 1972 World Radio TV Handbook was on sale from ARDXC for $5.00, including postage!! Yes, you read that correctly! It certainly was another era entirely.
• R. Nederland announced that a new shortwave propagation course would start on March 9. Listeners needed to enrol with applications going to DX Jukebox, R. Nederland, PO Box 222, Hilversum (that well-known postal address!). Printed text materials would be made available to active participants, including the first four lessons. I wonder if anyone still has that propagation course in their archives?
• The second ARDXC National Convention was held in Sydney over the weekend of January 29-31 at the Astor Motor Hotel in Woolloomooloo. Yep! There is such a place. Woolloomooloo is a historic harbourside suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, located just 1.5 kilometres east of the Central Business District (CBD). It is an indigenous name meaning "Place of Plenty". Convention activities included presentations, awards, tours of Sydney and the transmitters of mediumwave stations 2GB and 2KY in Homebush, competitions, lots of discussions, and much eating! The event was attended by 26 members, two wives and two non-members.
• It was announced that the club would develop French and Spanish report guides, with the possibility of Portuguese coming at a future date.

I hope you enjoyed this walk down memory lane. Next month, we will open the logbook on February 1972.

73 and good DX,

Rob Wagner VK3BVW

Current local time in
Mount Evelyn, Australia

 

CLICK HERE for VK3BVW Live Stream (Clublog)

QRZ callsign lookup:

© Rob Wagner, Mount Evelyn DX Report, and contributors 2012-2026