Topics

91

Clandestine Stations / Korea - Oct 4 (Monday)

« on: October 04, 2021, 1327 UTC »

KOREA SOUTH. Monday (Oct 4) observations at 0725 UT:

Echo of Hope - VOH, start of the weekday audio feed from a TV program called "Wang cho bo yeong-eo" (translated into
English - Beginner's English); intro & exit theme song is the "Party Will Come Alive" by Wizardz Of Oz (with Ruben Martinez);
the usual intro with announcer saying "English trainer" and gives his name ("Mayu"), then the woman announcer says her name
("Mini"), then they both say in English, "Good morning everybody." Program will be repeated again at 1125 & 1525 UT.

The new VOH frequencies for this week: 3980 // 4885 (strong Brazil QRM) // 5990 (leaving Mali on 5995 in the clear!) // 6250
// 6348 // 9100 kHz.

Voice of the People - Oct 4 (Monday), at 1205 UT; no change of frequency for this week: 3910 // 3930 // 4450 // 6520 // 6600 kHz.

VOP on 3480 continues to be off the air! Have they moved to a new frequency?

Voice of Freedom, on 5920, at 0725, heard North Korea pulsating jamming and VOF open carrier before their *0753 UT sign on.

There is ongoing news of better relations: "North and South Korea restore cross-border hotline" (Oct 4 -  http://bit.ly/2WBRaQk )

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif. (near Monterey)
Etón E1; external antenna of 100 ft. long wire

92

Shortwave Broadcast / PBS Yunnan - IDing as "Yunnan Radio International" on 6035 kHz.

« on: September 30, 2021, 1508 UTC »

CHINA. 6035, "Yunnan Radio International" (PBS Yunnan), Sept 30 with unusually good reception; tuned in at 1315 UT,
expecting to hear Chinese, but instead clearly with Vietnamese (1300-1330?), so assume a new language schedule; in
the past, 1000-1030 was their Vietnamese segment, followed by all Chinese; today 1315-1330 was in Vietnamese, then
nice clear IDs (one in English - "Yunnan Radio International"); then into programs in Chinese. Was very pleased to find
they are still giving IDs in English. My audio, starting with IDs - http://bit.ly/3kXPIBn .

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif. (near Monterey)
Etón E1; external antenna of 30m long wire

93

Clandestine Stations / Korea Sept 27 (Monday)

« on: September 27, 2021, 1243 UTC »

KOREA SOUTH.

Echo of Hope - VOH, Sept 27 (Monday), change of frequencies; 0850, news headlines in English; only on three frequencies; for this
week on new 3985 // 5995 // 6350; rare to find them free of North Korea jamming; all fair-good.

Later 1000+ UT, all frequencies fair-good; no jamming; new frequencies this week; 3985 // 4880 // 5995 // 6245 // 6350 // 9095 kHz.

No super jamming from NK on 6045; clear frequency.

Voice of Freedom (5920) jammed; usual pulsating noise; not white noise jamming (0753+ till probably off about 1100 UT)

Voice of the People, jammed as usual (3480 [not heard?] // 3910 // 3930 // 4450 // 6520 // 6600).

94

Clandestine Stations / Korea: Echo of Hope - VOH: anomaly with frequency changes on both Monday & Tuesd

« on: September 22, 2021, 0439 UTC »

KOREA SOUTH. 9105 (same frequency as last week), Echo of Hope - VOH, Sept 20 (Monday), at 1535, the weekday TV audio feed
for the English language lesson ("Wang cho bo yeong-eo" - Beginner's English); in Korean and English; this conforms to their four hour
program loop; these programs can be heard at 0735 & 1135 & 1535 UT.

Earlier at 1430, VOH noted with interesting anomaly this week; instead of all frequencies changing on Monday as usual, this week only
three frequencies changed from last week (3990 [ex 3985] // 6000 [ex 5995] // 6355 [ex 6350]; while three remained the same as last
week (4890 // 6255 // 9105).

But then the next day (Sept 21 - Tuesday), at 1440, the three unchanged frequencies had changed (4885 [ex 4890] [Ralph, you did well
to catch them on their first day here!] // 6250 [ex 6255] // 9100 [ex 9105]). So VOH has divided up the changes between Monday and
Tuesday, something that has never happened before!

Voice of the People, as usual, remains the same for this week (3480 [still the best reception by far] // 3910 // 3930 // 4450 // 6520 // 6600).

95

Other / Japan - HFD Radio Station JG2XA, 5006 // 8006 kHz., now with about 60W of power

« on: September 06, 2021, 1955 UTC »

JAPAN[non-log]. 5006, HFD Radio Station JG2XA. Sept 4 (Saturday), at 1150+ UT. Have not checked on this
frequency or // 8006 recently, but today clearly off the air. What is the status of these low powered stations
carrying out the HF-Doppler (HFD) project?

Sent off an email to Professor Keisuke Hosokawa (University of Electro - Communications) reporting the
absence of both 5006 and 8006 kHz. Received the following informative email on Sept 6. He is now
broadcasting with about 60W, so much lower than the former 200W.

Email received from <keisuke.hosokawa@uec.ac.jp> and <hfd-all-ml@uec.ac.jp>:

"Dear Ron,

Thank you very much for your message!

During the last weekend, our institute had a planned power outage. We have restarted the transmission
since ~15:30 JST [~0630 UTC] on Monday [Sept 6]; thus, I guess you are able to listen now. If you do not
hear our morse, please let me know.

You may know very well, but JG2XA had been operative since 2001 by Prof. Tomizawa at my institute, who
retired a few years ago. After his retirement, I took over his project and have continued operating the Tx station.
For the power being, the power of the transmission is ~60W for both the frequencies.

You may get some information about the project at the following web site:

http://gwave.cei.uec.ac.jp/~hfd/index.html

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Keep in touch!

Keisuke"

96

Clandestine Stations / Korea - Voice of Freedom

« on: September 03, 2021, 1518 UTC »

KOREA SOUTH. back to alternate frequency of 5920, VOF, (ex: 6045). 0900+ UT, Sept 3.

0900 UT - Time tone; station jingle "jinsil-e soli, huimang-e soli, jayu-e soli bangsong!", "Jayu-e solibangsong-eseo ohu 6 (yeoseos)
sileul allyeodeulibnida" ("Voice of Freedom announces 6pm"), "Bodo gwangjang" (News Plaza). http://bit.ly/2WK6JoS .

0915 - "Ma-eum-e swimpyo" (Resting heart). http://bit.ly/3jEUinl .
 
0920 - “Kkumkkuneun cheongchungeug“ (Dreaming youth drama). http://bit.ly/3yHpmHk .

0930 - http://bit.ly/3DUQeHM - ?"Hanminjog tong-illo milaelo"? (Korean people, to unity, to the future)

1000 - "Maeil geudaewa" (Everyday with you). http://bit.ly/3DO3mOW .

1050 - “Ulisoli hanmadang“ (Our sound festival). http://bit.ly/2YgbIhI .

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif.
Etón E1, external antenna: 100 ft. long wire

97

Clandestine Stations / Korea - August 23 (Monday)

« on: August 23, 2021, 1619 UTC »

KOREA SOUTH. VOP and VOH observed frequencies on August 23 (Monday) for this week:

Voice of the People: 3480 // 3910 // 3930 // 4450 // 6520 // 6600, at 1140 UT; another week with no change of frequencies.

Echo of Hope - VOH: 3985 // 4880 // 5995 // 6245 // 6350 // 9095 (please see change below), at 1123 UT. Weekday English
language lesson. Thanks to the outstanding research done by Amano (Japan), I can report the following info about this
program. Is an audio feed from a TV program called "Wang cho bo yeong-eo" (왕초보 영어- translated into English, it is
Beginner's English); it is produced by EBS English (Educational Broadcasting System); intro & exit theme song is the
"Party Will Come Alive" by Wizardz Of Oz (with Ruben Martinez); at the beginning of the lesson, the announcer says
"English trainer" and gives his name ("Mayu"), then the woman announcer says her name ("Mini"), then they both say in
English, "Good morning everybody." I love listening to the woman, as she is so animated about the lesson. Very entertaining!
Today with "We do not have that item," "If I order it now, can I get it on Friday?".

Later, after 1225+, found VOH's 9095 silent, but at 1353, heard VOH instead on 9100. Have never noted such a change of
frequencies, after they had changed all the frequencies for the week. All the other VOH frequencies remained constant today.
Will have to check this week to see which is actually used during the week - 9095 or 9100?

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif. (near Monterey)
Etón E1; external antenna of 100 ft. long wire

98

Clandestine Stations / language lessons

« on: August 13, 2021, 1729 UTC »

KOREA SOUTH. 9475, National Unity Radio, from 1244 to 1245 UT, on Aug 12. Good reception of a brief Chinese language lesson;
started and ended as usual with Joyce Chu singing "Hao xiang ni - I Miss You“; mostly in Korean, with a few Chinese words and
a sentence. This program will be repeated again about two hours later.

Today's lesson: Jīnhòu wǒ yīdìng tīng nǐ de - 今后我一定听你的 (I will listen to you from now on). My audio is posted at http://bit.ly/3jSEbBg .

Echo of Hope - VOH (희망의메아리): On 9105, from 1050 to 1100 UT, on August 12, with the weekday EBS (Educational Broadcasting
System) produced English news, which is also a language lesson; today's news was originally broadcast via EBS FM on July 26; transcript
at http://bit.ly/3jNCGVg . My eleven minute audio at http://bit.ly/3lW36qv . At 1100 UT, news in Korean. VOH continuing with a repeating four
hour program loop.

Later at 1123 UT, VOH had an English language lesson. My audio at http://bit.ly/3jNdu13 . 

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif. (near Monterey)
Etón E1; external antenna of 100 ft. long wire

99

Clandestine Stations / Korea - August 9, 2021

« on: August 09, 2021, 1818 UTC »

KOREA NORTH/SOUTH. Pyongyang BS, 3320 // 6160 (ex: 6400 silent), at 1350 UT, Aug 9.

National Unity Radio, 9475, on Aug 9 (Monday). Confirming weekdays only Chinese language lesson 1442-1443;
yesterday confirmed no weekend language lessons.

Echo of Unification, 3945 // 5905, at 1310, on Aug 9.

Voice of Freedom, 6045, at 1305, on Aug 9. Mixing with the usual super jamming from N. Korea; ex 5920 in the clear.

VOP and VOH observed frequencies on August 9 (Monday) for this week:

Voice of the People: 3480 // 3910 // 3930 // 4450 // 6520 // 6600, at 1300; another week with no change of frequencies.

Echo of Hope - VOH: 3985 // 4890 // 5995 // 6255 // 6350 // 9105, at 1255.

100

Shortwave Broadcast / Bangladesh Betar - July 31 - anomaly with no CNR1 QRM on 4750 kHz.

« on: July 31, 2021, 1450 UTC »

BANGLADESH. 4750.0, Bangladesh Betar (External Service), with major anomaly on July 31. CNR1, which
usually is well heard here, was off the air (CNR1, on 4800, was heard normally!); extremely rare for CNR1 to
be silent here; BB xmtr on at 1223 UT and immediately started their test tone; 1227-1230, distinctive IS; 1230,
time pips; 1231, start of news in English (not very readable); some nice selections of subcontinent music/singing;
a segment about the "Father of the Nation" (Sheikh Mujib) and Pakistan/Bangladesh history.

Would be wonderful if CNR1 stayed off the air on this frequency! Before 1223, did hear a very faint carrier (no audio)
on 4749.95, which must have been from the Voice of Indonesia, via Cimanggis/Jakarta (BTW - VOI on 3325, via
Palangkaraya, had a strong carrier today, but no audio at all).

101

Shortwave Broadcast / Sarawak Independence Day - special broadcast 9835 // 11665 kHz.

« on: July 22, 2021, 1526 UTC »

MALAYSIA. 9835 // 11665, Sarawak FM, via Kajang (on the west coast of the Malaysia peninsular -
not from Sarawak), in // from about 1220 to 1313 UT, July 22, which is Independence Day in Sarawak;
1250-1313, aired a national speech by Chief Minister for Sarawak, Abang Johari; mostly in vernacular,
with some English; pointing out developments in the country (for energy development, a joint venture
agreement to develop onshore Block SK433 field in Sarawak, etc.); after 1313 not //; 11665, back to
Wai FM programs; 9835 continued on with the Independence Day celebrations; ID for "Sarawak FM";
at times had fair reception, but also some adjacent QRM. My local sunrise was at 1306 UT.

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif.
CR-1, antenna: 100' long wire

102

Shortwave Broadcast / Solomon Islands - SIBC on 9545 kHz. from 0730+ UT (former 5020 silent) 19 July

« on: July 19, 2021, 1011 UTC »

SOLOMON ISLANDS. 9545, SIBC, anomaly from tune in 0730+ UT, July 19. Normally this frequency
closes at 0500*; In Pijin; some commercial announcements; 0801, calliope and news (sound bites from
the national address to the nation, with update about the situation with COVID-19); "This news comes to
you from the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation"; 0813, National Anthem, followed by a major
national speech in English, with updated info about COVID-19 cases and COVID-19 vaccination info;
heavy QRN (static). My audio is posted at http://bit.ly/36I80ys , with one minute of NA, followed by 11
minutes of the COVID-19 speech.

103

Shortwave Broadcast / Radio Vanuatu 7890 (2nd harmonic) // 11835 (3rd harmonic) *0559 UT 13 July 2021

« on: July 13, 2021, 0934 UTC »

July 13 - An enjoyable day of Radio Vanuatu reception; 7890 (harmonic) // 11835 (harmonic); suddenly on at *0559 UT, with
song already in progress (The Doobie Brothers - "Listen to the Music"); 0602-0605, "News Update" in Bislama; 0605-0659,
DJ in Bislama playing C&W and pop songs in English (The Police - "Every Breath You Take," Hank Williams - "Jambalaya -
On the Bayou," etc.); 0700-0719, news/sports in Bislama. Port Vila sunset was at 0626 UT; moderate QRN (static). Only a
carrier heard on 3945; CNR2 (11835) only produced low level QRM today. Between 0630 and 0650, heard them play their
distinctive station's singing jingle four different times ("Radio Vanuatu" and "Voice of Papua New Guinea"). BTW - The 4th
harmonic on 15780 was not heard.

104

Clandestine Stations / Korea - July 12 (Monday)

« on: July 12, 2021, 1510 UTC »

KOREA SOUTH. Echo of Hope - VOH, observed July 12 (Monday), with frequencies for this week:

3985 // 4890 (never jammed) // 5995 // 6255 // 6350 // 9105 (never jammed), at 1050 UT, with the EBS-FM (Educational
Broadcasting System - https://www.ebs.co.kr/main ) news in English and Korean; but more than just the news, as they
explain the meaning of some of the English words, so it's really the news and a language lesson; with outdated news,
as today's program was originally broadcast over EBS-FM back on June 28 (item - UK ran a campaign called "grab a
jab" to further drive up vaccination rates, etc.). Later at 1127, heard the weekday English language lesson, whereas on
the weekend they have a reading in English of "Harry Potter and the Magician's Stone," along with an explanation in
Korean, during that same time period; VOH continues to have a four hour program loop.

Voice of the People, on July 12, again with no change of frequencies for this week; noted at 1055 UT; 3480 (never jammed)
// 3910 // 3930 // 4450 // 6520 // 6600.

Voice of Freedom, 5920, on July 12, at 1130 UT with program "Aneun geos-i him-ida" (Knowing Is Power), which ID again
at 1156; then at 1200, a single tone; VOF ID and station singing jingle; program "Bodo gwangjang" (News Plaza); clear of
any jamming, so good reception, whereas there was strong N. Korea jamming that ended about 1100; later the NK jamming
starts up again about 1358, in anticipation of the *1405 start of Shiokaze (5920); shortly after Shiokaze signs off (1435*), the
N. Korean ends, but at 1430, there is the strong start of Vatican Radio (5920). So for me, the best time for VOF reception is
between about 1100 to 1358 UT.

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif. (near Monterey)
CR-1, antenna: 100' long wire

105

MW Loggings / Half Moon Bay, Calif. - KHMB (1710-AM), with one watt of power!

« on: July 09, 2021, 2024 UTC »

U S A. 1710-AM, KHMB, an excellent night here on July 9, at 0703 UT. Lightly mixing with the Travis AFB emergency
announcement; pop songs (John Denver - "Annie's Song" [You Fill Up My Senses], Len Barry with "1-2-3," Peggy Lee -
"Till There Was You," etc.). Not often I have such good reception of this one watt station, 90 miles up the coast from
me. A point of interest - John Denver died when he crashed into Monterey Bay, while piloting his experimental amateur
aircraft, at a location very close to where I do my DXing ( http://bit.ly/3yH3a0u ).

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif. (near Monterey & Pacific Grove)
CR-1, antenna: 100' long wire