Kiwi DXer in Asia

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.