New logging

Mediumave was noisy last night, but the one station to stand out was Athmik Yatra Radio, based in Kerala (India) but coming out of Trincomalee (Sri Lanka) on 1548 kHz. The signal was at fair-good strength but was subject to deep fades every couple of minutes. Conditions were generally noisy.

This is what it sounded like (at its best!).

States verified

I had an hour or so to spare this morning so I did a bit of work on my Mediumwave logs. I was interested to work out how many states of the USA I have verified. The answer is 35 plus Washington DC (logged in England coincidentally).

The states I am missing are: Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont and West Virginia

I may well have verified stations in Kansas and Montana, but my log books are in storage. I have been able to update lists from my QSL cards, but there are letters and log books stored away. I have certainly heard New York - WHAM in Rochester, but getting a verie is a different matter. Unsurprisingly most states are on the east coast. I have also heard a South Dakota station and verified it, only to find that the transmitter is about a mile into Illinois!

This can become a project of mine - perhaps via a remote SDR?!

New Loggings

All India Radio is a good source of QSLs and I enjoy listening to Indian classical music, which is often what they carry.

This morning I managed to log 2 frequencies: 15120 in their Kannada service to West Asia. The advertised 13695 was excellent, while 15120 was fair to average. Kannada is the language of about 40 million people in south western India.

Later I logged 11560 in the Dari language service to Afghanistan. 9910 was inaudible and 11670 was under a Chinese station. 11560 itself was pretty good, but the signal deteriorated, I suspect as the sun rose in India.

Both the West Asian and Dari services beam at about 180 degrees form here, so we get the back end of the signal.

A new verification

Adrian Sainsbury has obliged with a follow up report to RNZI for reception on 5995 kHz back in March.

Thank you, Adrian,

A new logging

Radio Romania International was received today at 0545 on 17760 and 21500 kHz. Reception was not great. There is a lot of noise around at present and in LSB with a wide filter, I was just able to hear most of what was said. This broadcast is designed for Australia/ New Zealand and India. Therefore the signal comes from Europe over India and Malaysia and on to Australasia. It is daylight much of the way. You would expect a reasonably good signal if it is being beamed in this direction. The earlier broadcast to India at 0300 on 11825 was of a much better quality. The DRM broadcast is inaudible here.

In SINPO terms 17760 was S3 I5 N3 P4 O 2/3; 21500 was S2 I5 N2 P4 O 1/2.

I don't know why, at the present time, international broadcasters persist in broadcasting on the 16 and 13 metre bands. The signal quality is generally poor.

Broadcast Trail

Where I live conditions on MW are very noisy - it cannot be avoided and you just have to live with it, annoying though it is. On nights of good reception, the signals come in so well that they override the noise and lots of good DX can be heard.

Such a night was July 20th 2017. I turned on the radio and checked 531. Normally all I hear is noise, but I know that if I hear anything else I am in for a good evening.

I decided to do a broadcast trail and this is what is posted below. Reception started at 1445 (10.45pm). Things become even more interesting after 1700 UTC (1 am local) when a lot of the Chinese, Thai and Indonesian stations go off, revealing things lurking beneath. I don't like staying up late, so set the recorder going in the hope that something appears. Nothing much appeared this night, alas, apart from an interesting Chinese station I still have yet to identify.

Freq	Time UTC	Details
531	1445	THAILAND – So. Wor. Thor. Tacheng mixed but fair
540	1446	THAILAND – Bangkok on top but mixed - fair
549	1447	VIETNAM – VoV2 My Van good with talk
558	1448	BANGLADESH – Bangladseh Betar Khluna good and clear
567	1450	LAOS – Lao National Radio vg with many mentions of Laos
576	1450	MYANMAR – strong sig, poor modulation Myanma R
585	1451	UNKNOWN – poor modulation v hard to follow.
594	1452	VIETNAM – VoV1 Da Nang fair but mixed
603	1453	CHINA – uncertain who. Definitely Mandarin and it was slow and deliberate speaking.
610	1454	VIETNAM – Ho Chi Minh City excellent strength
630	1456	VIETNAM – VoV1 Dong Hoi fair/ good but mixed
648	1456	VIETNAM – VoV1 Qui Nhon poor modulation – mixed.
675	1456	VIETNAM – VoV1 My Van fair and mixed
684	1457	UNKNOWN – big carrier silencing all noise v small and unidentifiable signal
693	1458	CHINA presumed. Fair but mixed and impossible to distinguish
711	1459	VIETNAM – VoV1 Can Tho – excellent signal and excellent at an hour after sunrise in Malaysia the next morning.
729	1503	VIETNAM – VoV2 Dong Hoi very good
738	1505	TAIWAN possibly – bad het from 740 even with narrow band filter
740	1505	VIETNAM – VOV2 An Nhon fair – suffered from het from 738
747	1506	INDONESIA – RRI Bengkulu good with news
756	1509	INDONESIA – mixed with prayer/ islamic chanting. Possibly RRI Prog 1 Purwokerto. Mixed with another – possibly Taiwan.
765	1510	CHINA – uncertain but possibly CNR5 Fuzhou (600 kw)
783	1511	VIETNAM – VoV2 Can Tho excellent with phone calls
801	1512	INDONESIA – RRI Pro 4 Medan – (close to here) excellent
819	1513	VIETNAM – VoV4 Buon Me Thuot fair with talk
864	1515	INDONESIA RRI Cirebon good with music on trad instruments and chanting
909	1516	THAILAND So. Wor. Thor.Surin Fair and mixed
918	1517	CAMBODIA – RNK Phnom Penh excellent as ever
954	1518	VIETNAM – Vinh Long Radio Can Tho. Fair but noisy. According to Pacific Asia Log it shouldn't be on, but it was. It definitely sounded VV
1017	1520	THAILAND (uncertian) – sounded Thai – fair sig
1026	1520	UNKNOWN – big carrier poor signal
1080	1524	CHINA – CRI Kunming – huge signal in Laotian. Gave web address as lao.cri.com
1215	1527	THAILAND – So. Wor. Thor. Surat Thani// 891. Fair. 891 (Nong Khae) poor.
1224	1530	UNKNOWN – huge carrier no signal
1242	1530	VIETNAM – VoV Ext. Sce Thoi Long – big signal
1269	1530	CHINA – CRI Xuanwei excellent
1287	1531	INDONESIA – RRI Palembang – always there, but not tonight!
1350	1532	PHILIPPINES – DWUN mixed with China or Taiwan - fair at best.
1359	1533	TAIWAN – Fangliao not there surprisingly
1368	1533	THAILAND – one of the So. Wor. Thors fair/ poor
1413	1535	INDONESIA – RRI Sungliat Reg. Prog 2 fair/ poor
1503	1538	TAIWAN – Fangliao good in Thai
1512	1539	INDONESIA - RRI Bukittingi terrible signal, unusually.
1530	1540	PHILIPPINES – DZME fair with relig prog.
1557	1540	UNKNOWN – poor/ fair and mixed – possibly Taiwan (usual suspect) and Thailand
1575	1541	THAILAND – Ban Phachi – excellent as usual
1593	1542	THAILAND possibly – So. Wor. Thor Ratchaburi fair.

More loggings

I set the recorder going late at night and logged All India Radio broadcasting on 9910 and 11620 kHz. The signal on 9910 was 4s all round. 11620 was not as good - a bit noisy.

On Mediumwave I logged Cambodia on 918 kHz. It was a good strong signal, and so it should be for 600kw! This is what the station id sounded like at 1500 UTC

A new logging

Last night the conditions were terribly noisy here in Cyberjaya. It is possibly local noise, but it is problematic nonetheless. Conditions were certainly down on the previous evening as even with noise locally, the MW signals were strong enough to rise above it and offer good reception.

Having had a quick scan through the bands I was about to give up when I heard someone in English saying a prayer on 1350 kHz. There are three stations carrying English on that frequency - V6A in Chuuk (Truk) - FSM; KUSG in Guam (250 w) and DWUN in the Philippines. I began to get excited as V6A is Baptist Radio - it would fit.

Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on your point of view, it turned out to be DWUN in greater Manilla. I got a very good id at 1603 (12.30 am local).

This is a link to the recording. You will hear a man praying and then comes the id (- fades and all).

Verifications - finally

This comes with a back story.  For weeks we have had no mail. I arrived home today to find a pile of post - including the credit card - too late, I reported it missing and so it was cancelled - two veries and a frequency schedule from AIR.

My reckoning is that they were delivered to the empty house next door and they were only discovered by the maintenance man today. At least we have them now.

Conclusion - send everything to my school address. That way it will arrive at the right place on time.

Now, back to the veries:

First up was one for Radio Free Asia broadcasting in Laotian on 26th May 2017 on 15195 at 1104 UTC. It was a card of the IBB Kuwait relay site

The second verie was for Radio Romania International on 27th November 2016 on 11790 at 0430 UTC. The card is entitled Cluj-Napoca, panoramic view.

A new verie

As a result of my DXing in Bali, I have a new verification from 6DB 873 kHz, Derby in Western Australia. I sent a quick email off to the station and Vanessa Mills replied (abckimberley@abc.net.au). Vanessa is the Kimberley Mornings host, it would seem. 

I am very grateful to her.

Broadcast Trail from Bali

We are currently having 4 days away in Bali with a friend from New Zealand. I have bought the Etón E1 with me for a listen. We have a beautiful location looking out over rice fields and little local noise.

I am pasting below a short trail, which I will replace with updated versions as I go along. It is very interesting hearing the Aussies so well from such a great distance away. We do not hear them easily in Malaysia.  Unfortunately I have already verified them all!

Freq	Time UTC	Details
531	1025	AUSTRALIA - poor/fair with talk. 6DL most likely as fits ABC prog format
540	1030	AUSTRALIA - mixed signal - most probably ABC 4QL
558	1030	AUSTRALIA - regular and good around sunset. ABC Radio, so must be 6WA
585	0942	INDONESIA - RRI Surubayah Pro 4 fair/poor in Indonesian
594	1040	AUSTRALIA - ABC Western Victoria (3WV) fair with regional news mentioning Ballarat
603	1036	AUSTRALIA - vg ABC - ABC id given - unsure which one though - possibly 4JK
630	1055	INDONESIA - RRI Makassar Pro 1 - fair with talk
675	0943	AUSTRALIA - ABC NSW Regional Radio Corowa (2CO) with wx forecast for NSW - fair/good
702	0945	AUSTRALIA - ABC R National Sydney (2BL) //675 fair
729	0950	AUSTRALIA - ABC R National Adelaide (5RN) - good with item on the Pop-Up Globe Theatre
846	0939	AUSTRALIA - ABC R National Canberra - fair/ poor - may have been 6CA //702
855	1035	INDONESIA - RRI Pro-1 Mataram (on island next to Bali) good all day
873	1030	AUSTRALIA - 6DB relaying ABC Grandstand - Aussie Rules football - good // 675,702,
891	0940	AUSTRALIA - ABC R National Adelaide (5AN) fair/ good //702
999	1057	INDONESIA - RRI Pro 1 Jakarta - fair/poor with music
1080	1058	INDONESIA - RRI Pro 1 Bali - fair/noisy with talk
1098	1059	INDONESIA - unsure which as there was a large het on frequency
1206	1020	INDONESIA - excellent all day RRI Pro 4, Bali
1287	1022	INDONESIA - Possibly RRI Pelambang - vg with pops and some talk. Indonesia mentioned
1323	1140	AUSTRALIA - 5DN Adelaide vg with pops prog. Lot sof local ads and id given as Cruise 1323
1341	1145	CHINA - CRI vg in EE with jazz mx
1359	1140	TAIWAN - RTI Fangliao vg in EE