91
Shortwave Broadcast / VoA Botswana English
« on: April 19, 2017, 0442 UTC »
15580 BOTSWANA. VoA - Moepeng Hill. English to Af at 0415 with current affairs show, short path across the Indian Ocean, fair signal, Apr 19.
Shortwave Pirate Radio In North America And Around The World, And Other Signals That Go Bump In The Night
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92
Shortwave Broadcast / VoKorea Testing with Strange Data Txion
« on: April 19, 2017, 0432 UTC »
15105 UNID. Presumed to be VoKorea (D.P.R.K) - Kujang with a test transmission as there is no broadcast scheduled at 0305. Korean sounding song with female vocal when I first tuned in. Suddenly no audio at 0308 - just carrier. Then a transmitter test tone at 0322. Next at 0326, some sort of strange unidentified data transmission on the carrier. Finally, the VoK interval signal began at exactly 0330 and into the usual Mandarin service to SEAs. Monitored both here at Mount Evelyn (fair signal) and through the remote SDR in Chiba, Japan (excellent signal). Quite odd! Apr 19.
93
Shortwave Broadcast / 9490 Mahajanga
« on: April 14, 2017, 2228 UTC »
9490 MADAGASCAR. World Christian Broadcasting - Mahajanga. Mandarin at 2205, pop music and preaching. Fair signal, Apr 14.
94
Shortwave Broadcast / RRI - Ternate
« on: April 14, 2017, 2227 UTC »
3344.90 INDONESIA. RRI - Ternate. Easy listening music and Indonesian anncts at 2027, weak signal, Apr 14.
95
Shortwave Broadcast / Four Africans Logged This Morning
« on: April 14, 2017, 2226 UTC »
3320 SOUTH AFRICA. R. Sonder Grense - Meyerton. Classical music program at 2020, Afrikaans ID at 2030, weak signal Apr 14.
4930 BOTSWANA. VoA - Moepeng Hill. Learning English programming at 1955, poor signal on Apr 14
4965 ZAMBIA. Voice of Hope - Makeni Ranch. American preaching on Good Friday in English at 1945, weak signal and rarely heard here, Apr 14.
5915 ZAMBIA. Zambia NBC - Lusaka. Radio 1 service in a local language, chat and great Afro music at 2135, fair signal, Apr 14.
Local Noise Level - High (courtesy of our new neighbour)....
4930 BOTSWANA. VoA - Moepeng Hill. Learning English programming at 1955, poor signal on Apr 14
4965 ZAMBIA. Voice of Hope - Makeni Ranch. American preaching on Good Friday in English at 1945, weak signal and rarely heard here, Apr 14.
5915 ZAMBIA. Zambia NBC - Lusaka. Radio 1 service in a local language, chat and great Afro music at 2135, fair signal, Apr 14.
Local Noise Level - High (courtesy of our new neighbour)....
96
Clandestine Stations / 3480 VoP Not Jammed!
« on: April 14, 2017, 2219 UTC »
3480 KOREA REP. Voice of the People - Goyang. A very good clear signal with no evidence of jamming at 2035 in Korean with ma/fa announcers. All other parallel freqs for this service (3912, 4450,4557, 6518 and 6600 kHz) were also heard but heavily jammed on this occasion. Operated by the South Korean National Intelligence Service. Apr 14.
97
Shortwave Broadcast / 3219.92 KCBS
« on: April 14, 2017, 2215 UTC »
3219.92 D.P.R.KOREA. KCBS - Hamnung. Scheduled to be relaying Pyongyang BS (but I'm not so sure about that….) at 2015 with orchestral music, very weak signal. Running // 3250 at this time where it was much stronger, Apr 14.
98
Shortwave Broadcast / Kuwait Returns!
« on: April 09, 2017, 2316 UTC »
Reports are coming through from Mauno Ritola, Dan Robinson and Rich Nowak that R. Kuwait has returned, using 15540 between 1800 and 2100 in English. I haven't heard them myself yet. Just thought I'd let everyone know. Nice to see a station return, instead of departing!
Rob VK3BVW
Rob VK3BVW
99
The RF Workbench / Standing Inside a Broadcast Transmitter While it's ON!
« on: April 01, 2017, 2235 UTC »
I stumbled across a YouTube video from the fabulous Mr Carlson's Lab channel. If you haven't check out this channel before, and you are really eager to learn more about electronics, this is a wonderful YouTube site.
So, in the latest episode, Mr Carlson takes us on a tour of a very large Gates BC-250-GY broadcast transmitter from the 40's era. Lots of big tubes, transformers and capacitors! This is an old mediumwave transmitter that he has restored. Although the technology has changed markedly since the 1940s, the basic principals of transmission are still present. And, interestingly, he points out that this particular unit was in regular service right up until as recently as 2003!
It's an interesting show and even if you can't grab onto all the technical information presented, I think you will enjoy looking at technology from a past era.
https://youtu.be/ZzpVhCL5aPg
73 and good DX to you all,
Rob Wagner VK3BVW
So, in the latest episode, Mr Carlson takes us on a tour of a very large Gates BC-250-GY broadcast transmitter from the 40's era. Lots of big tubes, transformers and capacitors! This is an old mediumwave transmitter that he has restored. Although the technology has changed markedly since the 1940s, the basic principals of transmission are still present. And, interestingly, he points out that this particular unit was in regular service right up until as recently as 2003!
It's an interesting show and even if you can't grab onto all the technical information presented, I think you will enjoy looking at technology from a past era.
https://youtu.be/ZzpVhCL5aPg
73 and good DX to you all,
Rob Wagner VK3BVW
100
Clandestine Stations / Behind the Curtain - eBook by Mark Fahey
« on: April 01, 2017, 0037 UTC »
BEHIND THE CURTAIN
Preview of an Exciting New Book about North Korea by Mark Fahey
I did a review of Mark's eBook, which may be of interest to some here. He's done a fine job at peering closely into North Korean life. But there is also an excellent section on broadcasting into and out of the D.P.R.K. All the main clandestine stations are listed as well as providing a really good understanding of NK radio and television. A really good read - and very interactive, too. The review is at:
http://medxr.blogspot.com.au/2017/03/behind-curtain-exciting-new-book.html
73, Rob VK3BVW
Preview of an Exciting New Book about North Korea by Mark Fahey
I did a review of Mark's eBook, which may be of interest to some here. He's done a fine job at peering closely into North Korean life. But there is also an excellent section on broadcasting into and out of the D.P.R.K. All the main clandestine stations are listed as well as providing a really good understanding of NK radio and television. A really good read - and very interactive, too. The review is at:
http://medxr.blogspot.com.au/2017/03/behind-curtain-exciting-new-book.html
73, Rob VK3BVW
101
Equipment / Tecsun S-8800 Receiver - The Birdie Issue
« on: April 01, 2017, 0030 UTC »
Thomas Witherspoon reviewed this new receiver on his SWLingPost.com site several months back. It highlights a serious issue with birdies appearing all over the dial. From the followup comments to his post, it appeared that several readers were somewhat fuzzy as to what a birdie was. So I've tried to shed a little light on the topic:
http://medxr.blogspot.com.au/2017/03/tecsun-s-8800-birdie-problem.html
Interestingly, I've since heard that the receiver has now been pulled from the market while the Tecsun techs try to remedy the problem. Thant's a very good thing!
73, Rob VK3BVW
http://medxr.blogspot.com.au/2017/03/tecsun-s-8800-birdie-problem.html
Interestingly, I've since heard that the receiver has now been pulled from the market while the Tecsun techs try to remedy the problem. Thant's a very good thing!
73, Rob VK3BVW
102
Equipment / Retro Receiver - Selena Vega B206
« on: April 01, 2017, 0024 UTC »
RETRO RECEIVER REVIEW #9 : SELENA VEGA B206
This time, Craig Seager visits a receiver that was popular during the days of the Cold War….and built in the former Soviet Union. I think you will find this a very interesting Retro Receiver Review!
http://medxr.blogspot.com.au/2017/03/retro-receiver-review-9-selena-vega-b206.html
73, Rob VK3BVW
This time, Craig Seager visits a receiver that was popular during the days of the Cold War….and built in the former Soviet Union. I think you will find this a very interesting Retro Receiver Review!
http://medxr.blogspot.com.au/2017/03/retro-receiver-review-9-selena-vega-b206.html
73, Rob VK3BVW
103
Shortwave Broadcast / A17 - Many Frequency Changes - Here's just a few!
« on: April 01, 2017, 0012 UTC »
Monitoring over the past five days has resulted in numerous new frequency allocations for the A17 transmission season. Here's a partial list of what I have so far:
5875 ASCENSION IS. BBC - Ascension. Hausa service to WAf 0630, NF and a weak signal, Mar 28
5890 SINGAPORE. BBC - Kranji. English to SEAs at 2200-2300, NF (ex 9740), weak signal, Mar 26.
5950 OMAN. BBC - Al Seela. English to SEAs, NF (ex 5840), weak signal, Mar 26.
5970 OMAN. BBC - Al Seela. Dari service to SAs 1830-1900 s/off, NF (ex 5875), poor signal and heavy QRM from the dominant co-channel CRI with its French broadcast, Mar 27.
5975 AUSTRIA. R. Japan - Moosbrunn. 30-min English service to WEu at s/on 0500, NF (probably ex 13640 Dhabayya), surprisingly good signal using a non-directional antenna, Mar 28.
6080 NTH MARIANA IS. RFA - Tinian. Mandarin at s/on 2000, NF and a weak signal under heavy Firedrake jamming, Mar 26.
6105 FRANCE. R. Japan - Issoudun. Japanese to CAm 0435, NF (ex 5960) and a weak signal here (but should be strong in CAm!), Mar 28.
7235 IRAN. VOIRI - Sirjan. Italian service to Eu 1925, NF (ex 7305), fair signal, Mar 27.
7245 CHINA. CRI - Baoji. Russian at 2015. NT (ex 1900-2000), weak signal, Mar 26.
7255 CHINA. CRI - Kashi. Mandarin 2010, NF (ex 7245), weak signal, Mar 26.
7365 THAILAND. VOA - Ban Dung. Korean service 1935, NF (ex 5875??), fair signal, Mar 27.
9410 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES. BBC - Dhabayya. Arabic to EAf at 0330, fair signal. At 0400, changes over to the Moosbrunn relay for continuation of Arabic till 0500, but the signal is considerably weaker after the switchover. In B16, English was heard between 0300-0500 via Oman. Mar 30.
9450 PHILIPPINES. FEBC - Bocaue. Believed to be in the Mein language or similar at 2320, NF (ex 9455), weak signal, Mar 26.
9460 CHINA. CRI - Kunming. Cantonese at 2325, NF and poor signal on Mar 26.
9480 JAPAN. R. Japan - Yamata. English to Oc, s/on 1930, NF (ex 9625) and very good signal, Mar 27.
9535 ROMANIA. RRI - Galbeni. DRM service to Eu at 2025 in French, then English at 2030, NF on Mar 26.
9535 KUWAIT. RFA - Umm al-Rimam. At 2305 in Mandarin to EAs. In B16 this was Tibetan at this time. Poor signal and jamming, Mar 26.
9570 CHINA. CRI - Kunming. Cantonese to Aus/Oc at s/on 1100, NF (ex 13580), excellent signal, Mar 26.
9610 CHINA. CRI - Kunming. Mandarin to Aus/Oc at 1110, NF (ex 15440), excellent signal, Mar 26.
9610 ROMANIA. RRI - Tiganesti. English to ENAm at s/on 2030, NF and poor signal, Mar 26.
9620 TURKEY. VoT - Emirler. English s/on 2030 English to Asia and Aus, NF (ex 9610) and one hour earlier, good signal, Mar 26.
9655 FRANCE. R. Algerienne - Issoudun. Arabic to NAf at 2040, NF (ex 9810), fair signal, Mar 26.
9685 AUSTRALIA. Reach Beyond Aust - Kununurra WA. Slow English at 1120, NF, poor signal and heavy QRM CNR jammer 9680, Mar 26.
9820 MADAGASCAR. MWV - Mahajanga. Russian at 1918, NF (ex 9495) and a weak signal. No sign of the scheduled BBC WS via Oman on this day, Mar 27.
9880 CHINA. CRI - Kashi. S/on 2200 in Esperanto (only one of about two stations still offering a service in this language), NF (ex 9860), fair to poor signal, Mar 26.
9890 SINGAPORE. BBC - Kranji. Burmese 0000-0030, NF (ex 9560), poor signal and // 11700 also heard, Mar 27.
11650 ROMANIA. RRI - Galbeni. Romanian to SEu at 0940, NF and on Sundays only, poor signal, Mar 26.
11660 ENGLAND. BBC - Woofferton. Hausa s/on 0630 for 30 min service to WAf, NF and weak signal, Mar 28.
11665 MALAYSIA. RTM Wai FM - Kajang. Malay with pop music programming 0945, fair signal, Mar 26.
11700 ROMANIA. RRI - Tiganesti. Spanish to SAm s/on 2300, NF (ex 9610?) and // 11800. Now on one hour earlier than for B16, weak signal, Mar 26.
11710 CHINA. CRI - Xian. English to EAs at 0900, NF and fair signal, Mar 26.
11720 GERMANY. VOA - Lampertheim. Tigrinya service to EAf at 1905, NF (ex 12040-Ban Dung) and good signal, Mar 27.
11785 THAILAND. VoA - Ban Dung. Mandarin 0950, NF and a weak signal under heavy CNR jammer, Mar 26.
11800 ROMANIA. RRI - Galbeni. Spanish to SAm s/on 2300, NF (ex 7325?), weak and under much stronger co-channel CNR, Mar 26.
11825 JAPAN. R. Japan - Yamata. Japanese to EAs 0705, NF and fair signal, Mar 28.
And there's plenty more, but too long to list here. The list continues at the Mount Evelyn DX Report: http://medxr.blogspot.com.au/2017/03/a17-schedule-changes.html
Receiver: Yaesu FTDX3000
Antennas: 3.5, 7 and 14 mHz coax dipoles, and Par SWL End Fed
Location: Mount Evelyn, 45 km east of Melbourne, Vic, AU
Hoping there's something of interest to readers here. 73 and good DX everyone!
Rob VK3BVW
5875 ASCENSION IS. BBC - Ascension. Hausa service to WAf 0630, NF and a weak signal, Mar 28
5890 SINGAPORE. BBC - Kranji. English to SEAs at 2200-2300, NF (ex 9740), weak signal, Mar 26.
5950 OMAN. BBC - Al Seela. English to SEAs, NF (ex 5840), weak signal, Mar 26.
5970 OMAN. BBC - Al Seela. Dari service to SAs 1830-1900 s/off, NF (ex 5875), poor signal and heavy QRM from the dominant co-channel CRI with its French broadcast, Mar 27.
5975 AUSTRIA. R. Japan - Moosbrunn. 30-min English service to WEu at s/on 0500, NF (probably ex 13640 Dhabayya), surprisingly good signal using a non-directional antenna, Mar 28.
6080 NTH MARIANA IS. RFA - Tinian. Mandarin at s/on 2000, NF and a weak signal under heavy Firedrake jamming, Mar 26.
6105 FRANCE. R. Japan - Issoudun. Japanese to CAm 0435, NF (ex 5960) and a weak signal here (but should be strong in CAm!), Mar 28.
7235 IRAN. VOIRI - Sirjan. Italian service to Eu 1925, NF (ex 7305), fair signal, Mar 27.
7245 CHINA. CRI - Baoji. Russian at 2015. NT (ex 1900-2000), weak signal, Mar 26.
7255 CHINA. CRI - Kashi. Mandarin 2010, NF (ex 7245), weak signal, Mar 26.
7365 THAILAND. VOA - Ban Dung. Korean service 1935, NF (ex 5875??), fair signal, Mar 27.
9410 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES. BBC - Dhabayya. Arabic to EAf at 0330, fair signal. At 0400, changes over to the Moosbrunn relay for continuation of Arabic till 0500, but the signal is considerably weaker after the switchover. In B16, English was heard between 0300-0500 via Oman. Mar 30.
9450 PHILIPPINES. FEBC - Bocaue. Believed to be in the Mein language or similar at 2320, NF (ex 9455), weak signal, Mar 26.
9460 CHINA. CRI - Kunming. Cantonese at 2325, NF and poor signal on Mar 26.
9480 JAPAN. R. Japan - Yamata. English to Oc, s/on 1930, NF (ex 9625) and very good signal, Mar 27.
9535 ROMANIA. RRI - Galbeni. DRM service to Eu at 2025 in French, then English at 2030, NF on Mar 26.
9535 KUWAIT. RFA - Umm al-Rimam. At 2305 in Mandarin to EAs. In B16 this was Tibetan at this time. Poor signal and jamming, Mar 26.
9570 CHINA. CRI - Kunming. Cantonese to Aus/Oc at s/on 1100, NF (ex 13580), excellent signal, Mar 26.
9610 CHINA. CRI - Kunming. Mandarin to Aus/Oc at 1110, NF (ex 15440), excellent signal, Mar 26.
9610 ROMANIA. RRI - Tiganesti. English to ENAm at s/on 2030, NF and poor signal, Mar 26.
9620 TURKEY. VoT - Emirler. English s/on 2030 English to Asia and Aus, NF (ex 9610) and one hour earlier, good signal, Mar 26.
9655 FRANCE. R. Algerienne - Issoudun. Arabic to NAf at 2040, NF (ex 9810), fair signal, Mar 26.
9685 AUSTRALIA. Reach Beyond Aust - Kununurra WA. Slow English at 1120, NF, poor signal and heavy QRM CNR jammer 9680, Mar 26.
9820 MADAGASCAR. MWV - Mahajanga. Russian at 1918, NF (ex 9495) and a weak signal. No sign of the scheduled BBC WS via Oman on this day, Mar 27.
9880 CHINA. CRI - Kashi. S/on 2200 in Esperanto (only one of about two stations still offering a service in this language), NF (ex 9860), fair to poor signal, Mar 26.
9890 SINGAPORE. BBC - Kranji. Burmese 0000-0030, NF (ex 9560), poor signal and // 11700 also heard, Mar 27.
11650 ROMANIA. RRI - Galbeni. Romanian to SEu at 0940, NF and on Sundays only, poor signal, Mar 26.
11660 ENGLAND. BBC - Woofferton. Hausa s/on 0630 for 30 min service to WAf, NF and weak signal, Mar 28.
11665 MALAYSIA. RTM Wai FM - Kajang. Malay with pop music programming 0945, fair signal, Mar 26.
11700 ROMANIA. RRI - Tiganesti. Spanish to SAm s/on 2300, NF (ex 9610?) and // 11800. Now on one hour earlier than for B16, weak signal, Mar 26.
11710 CHINA. CRI - Xian. English to EAs at 0900, NF and fair signal, Mar 26.
11720 GERMANY. VOA - Lampertheim. Tigrinya service to EAf at 1905, NF (ex 12040-Ban Dung) and good signal, Mar 27.
11785 THAILAND. VoA - Ban Dung. Mandarin 0950, NF and a weak signal under heavy CNR jammer, Mar 26.
11800 ROMANIA. RRI - Galbeni. Spanish to SAm s/on 2300, NF (ex 7325?), weak and under much stronger co-channel CNR, Mar 26.
11825 JAPAN. R. Japan - Yamata. Japanese to EAs 0705, NF and fair signal, Mar 28.
And there's plenty more, but too long to list here. The list continues at the Mount Evelyn DX Report: http://medxr.blogspot.com.au/2017/03/a17-schedule-changes.html
Receiver: Yaesu FTDX3000
Antennas: 3.5, 7 and 14 mHz coax dipoles, and Par SWL End Fed
Location: Mount Evelyn, 45 km east of Melbourne, Vic, AU
Hoping there's something of interest to readers here. 73 and good DX everyone!
Rob VK3BVW
104
Shortwave Broadcast / AIR on Unscheduled Freq....
« on: March 18, 2017, 1056 UTC »
15770 INDIA. AIR - Bengaluru. Found this in unscheduled English at 1040 with music programming, then a commentary on China at 1050. News at 1055 before ID and s/off at 1100. Fair to poor signal and running // to the somewhat stronger 13695 kHz.
105
Shortwave Broadcast / AWR via Moosbrunn on the R5000
« on: March 18, 2017, 1055 UTC »
Yesterday, I fired up the old Kenwood R5000 receiver for the first time in a long time, to ensure that it was still going....and it was!
9630 AUSTRIA. AWR - Moosbrunn. Hausa service to CAf at 0510 with some wonderful choral African chanting, very good signal. Yay! The R5000 still works OK!
I made a YouTube clip of the final announcements of this broadcast: https://youtu.be/DWLeulf7qPY
9630 AUSTRIA. AWR - Moosbrunn. Hausa service to CAf at 0510 with some wonderful choral African chanting, very good signal. Yay! The R5000 still works OK!
I made a YouTube clip of the final announcements of this broadcast: https://youtu.be/DWLeulf7qPY