10–14 January 2003 SWL Weekend

CIDX Special Feature #10

By Don Moman

10–14 January 2003

Participants:
Mickey Delmage, editor, CIDX Messenger's "DX programme guide" and "QSL" columns, CIDX vice-president,
Don Moman, editor, CIDX Messenger's "Technical Talks" column,
Nigel Pimblett, editor, CIDX Messenger's "Broadcast Band" column
and last but not least Joe Talbot.

This is a bit of a long rambling recount of 4 days spent with good friends and good propagation. DX highlights were, at times, coming fast and furious and not always obliging with an ID while I skimmed by, so some can only be an educated guess. Times are all UTC, most frequencies are in kHz, dates start Friday afternoon 10 January.

Our group of four have been getting together for these DX weekends for many years now and the routine is pretty familiar. Nigel Pimblett has about a 7 hour drive to get here, Joe Talbot about 2 hours and Mickey Delmage just 30 minutes away. My location is near Edmonton, Alberta in western Canada. The antennas are located on 80 acres of rural farmland with generally little man-made noise. Routinely we expect the "K" index to soar whenever we plan these things but even if conditions are terribly disturbed (we are at 53 degrees North latitude, so even a small solar disruption can disrupt everything) we have always found that somewhere on some band there is a bit of unusual DX just waiting to be discovered. The forecast looked pretty good for this time around, another bad sign. While waiting for the gang to arrive I check out the bands.

It's Friday afternoon here and I remember the religious service from the Canary Islands on 6715 kHz for Korean fisherman is on late only on Fridays. Sure enough, there is talk and church music audible. Not great but it's only 100 watts and at 2200 UTC, we are 1.75 hours before local sunset. The signal improves as I listen while getting the radio shack ready for the others.

A bit of background on what is involved: the antenna distribution system is the main item — I need to make sure all the coax cables to the various listening positions are functioning. The main SWL antenna is a rotatable log periodic covering 4 thru 30 MHz. For amateur radio use there are many towers supporting full size beams for 10, 15, 20, 40 and even 80 metres. Some pictures can be seen at narc.net/ve6jy/. There are also a number of beverages for the lower bands. All receiving antennas are routed through their own 32-channel multicoupler, a device that amplifies, isolates and splits the signal so that up to 32 receivers can be connected without interaction. Each listening position has 2 coax feeds, one directly to the 4–30 log and another to an antenna selector that lets one choose between the log and the various beverage antenna.

Everybody brings their own radios — Nigel travels with a pair of Kenwood R-5000s, Mickey with his Icom R71A and Sony ICF 2010 and Joe lugs his heavy Collins HF-2050 (Nigel and Mickey leave theirs at home!). I use a pair of Icom 756PRO transceivers; they have an excellent receiver for SWL and the spectrum displays are a huge asset in spotting signals. While hooking things up I check 6715 again at 2330 and find the signal is gone. Nearly all signals are gone. Suspecting I made a wrong connection I check things, but nothing is wrong other than a bit of a solar flare has knocked the bands for a loop. Just then Joe arrives, for a typical start to our weekend — a flare just at the beginning. Once Joe gets settled in I notice the bands are recovering a bit.

They continue to recover slowly and at 0345 Joe hollers that 4820 must be Botswana. I'm skeptical, but after listening agree it must be them. The bands have recovered after all. VOA Sao Tome on 4960 is also in with sports news at 0425 with a good signal. Zambia on 6265 has English news past 0500. By then Mickey and Nigel have also arrived and everyone gets down to the serious business of chasing DX. I notice that Liberia on 5470 at 0600 has a good signal. I rotate the log periodic from Africa to the South Pacific. At 0830 ZLXA New Zealand on 3935.1 is putting in a fair signal. Vanuatu on 7260 is noted just past 0900 (2 AM local), as I turn in for some sleep. While there are many prime listening times, some are "primer" than others and one of my favourite times in December and January when daylight hours are short is the English news at 1530 from the various All India Radio regionals on 90 and 60 metres. Propagation at that time of morning to India can be excellent and today is no exception. The others tell me about the good DX catches they made earlier. While I don't make notes it has been a good morning to lose sleep.

Joe has been exchanging emails and has set up a ham radio schedule with a SWL friend KG4TUY David Hodgson in Tennessee. Another SWL we know, Bill W5USM, also calls in to say hello. Our sked frequency was 28740 in the 10 metre band which provided excellent signals between us but not between David and Bill (too close, the signals skipped over them) so we couldn't make a good round table QSO. We chat with Bill and then David for the better part of an hour, exchanging some of the DX catches we've made on the first night.

Up here, 49 metres is open all through the daylight hours and if things are good, 60 metres is open as well. One of the targets is Bayrak Radio, Cyprus, on 6150. Earlier I heard Russian there at 1933 and Chinese at 2130; at 2200 the channel is clear but no sign of Bayrak. I do note a extremely weak heterodyne at 2153 on 6139.1 as I was checking for UNAMSIL, Sierra Leone. Another solar disturbance hits and the bands shut down.

The rotator for the big log periodic antenna is a home made affair and doesn't have a directional indicator built in. Instead I use a small video camera at the base of the tower, looking upwards, to see where it is pointing. At night I have a spotlight I can switch on, but the bulb ceased to function last night, so I need to replace the bulb. While the bands have taken a bit of a fade, the tower work is done.

We are now beamed south-east from here, which seems to be the best path (long path) for India in the late afternoon. Just after 0010 UTC (12 January) Nigel mentions that AIR 4790 has signed on and has an excellent signal. It's way stronger than the CODAR sweeper that bothers that part of the band, a good sign. Other AIR signals on 5010, 5040, and 4990 come on shortly with their haunting interval signal. The bands have recovered! Two signals which we didn't have a "best guess" for were 4880 (Bangladesh?) and 4980 (maybe China).

0700 UTC, midnight local time, so while turning the log again to the Pacific, the Solomons on 5020 rises out of the noise to a solid S9. It's the pilot signal from that part of the world as sunset reaches it first. Thankfully the recent typhoon hasn't seemed to have affected its antennas. No sign of the new HCJB Australia on 11755 near 0700 though. Time to sleep. Up at 1330. Tashkent on 5060 is parallel 9715 with good signals, 6025 is much tougher. Nepal is good on 5005 but parallel 6100 is poor. Nigel mentions that they had English news at 1415. Myanmar on 5040.5 doesn't seem to have English near 1445 but Nigel and Mickey discover their other frequency 5985 does. After the news, some oldies like "Speedy Gonzales" and "Lipstick on your collar" are nice to listen to. No sign of 4725. Another good morning for AIR regionals as 1530 rolls around. 4635 (presumed Tadjikistan) is audible now too. Cheking near 1600, I note 6940 (Ethiopia) with weak audio, 6570 (Burmese Defence FBS) with good signals. Mickey is chasing 5010 Madagascar which has a good signal in the morning long path African opening. He reports an ID at 1600. I was chasing the signal on 5050. I suspect Tanzania to be the one with the Burl Ives song under the dominating Chinese station at 1620. SIBC on 5020 is still solid with BBC news. It lasts until 11 AM local (1800 UTC).

The marine weather broadcast from VMW Wiluna, Western Australia on 6230 USB was like a local at 1630. Geez, those forecasts sound a lot nicer than our -23 deg C weather currently. Still, we have had a mild winter so can't really complain. I check out another ute frequency: 4610 USB from LaRonge, Saskatchewan, a remote radiotelephone service for the north country. They give a short weather broadcast at 1800 — they are talking about -35 deg weather. We're not so cold after all.

9535 at 1955 has Thailand just ending their English segment and then into German. I keep an ear on 6150 again, hopeful for Bayrak. Yesterday's pattern of Russian and then Chinese up to 2200 repeats but there is faint audio thru 2200 but no pips and nothing discernable. Afternoon African signals on 60m got hit by another solar flareup so there is a bit of a lull. 4850 with English gets me interested but just turns out to be language lessons from China. Nigel has been chasing the 17835 Radio Imperial, El Salvador, most of the afternoon and finally reports an ID around 0 hours.

Thirteen January and the AIR regionals aren't doing very well at 0020. I must have snoozed off as I'm awakened by Joe telling us he has English news on 4820 — we're sure it's Botswana. Great signal. 6265 Zambia also in like a local. Mickey is chasing Georgia on 11835 for their English at 0630. Strong signal but poor audio and frequent transmission breaks but the ID and schedule come through okay. It's our last morning and the AIR regionals were poor earlier, tricking Joe into going back to sleep. However they rapidly improve by 1530 to the best and longest lasting opening of the 3 days. The low absorption allows an early fade-in for the rare eastern African signals. 4976 Uganda has fair audio thru 2000 (that's 1 PM local time) and the Sao Tome VOA site on 4950 is doing very well. Also hearing Botswana on 4820, we assume. Our daily little solar blip (seems to be about an hour earlier each day now!) prevents the signals from building. Nigel has a 7 hour drive back so is the first to leave. He kids us that signals will improve when he is gone. They do.

By 2245 UTC 60m is full of African, Brazilian and Chinese stations. Mali on 4782 and 4835 are doing very well, I don't recall noting them previous days. Ghana 4915 is huge but starting to lose to the co-channel Brazilian. At 2300 UTC 4800 Lesothso is fighting it out with the Chinese station and winning, Joe reports. I tune by an ID from Angola on 4950 and on my second receiver, note Togo on 5047 doing fairly well, but nowhere near the signal it had in past years. The US station signing on nearby on 5050 isn't appreciated.

I check 90 metres near 2330 using the big 80m yagi, which works slightly better than the log periodic on this band. 3320 South Africa has a great signal with some sort of phone-in show. Several Brazilians, 3205 and 3365 (and nearly co-channel 3366 Ghana) are good, as is 3375 (Brazil or maybe Angola — not sure). 3310 seems too loud to be the listed Bolivian but anything is possible. Mickey hollers that La Cruz del Sur, La Paz on 4876.75 is ID'ing frequently so that helps convince me my 3310 signal is also Bolivian. Our usual 0020 India opening has 4790 AIR Chennai with a huge signal way over the CODAR sweeper. It signs off at 0045. Mickey and I check our unid 4980 again, it has the best signal of the 3 nights and we hear good time tones at 0100 but nothing discernable as far as an ID.

Conditions take a bit of a fade and everyone remaining decides it is time to pack up and get on the road. We all have agreed that it was one of the best listening weekends we've had in some time. I'm not into QSLing so don't keep the detailed notes I might but the others are and they've got enough program details and cassettes to keep them busy until summertime, but that won't prevent us from getting together again around Easter to do it all again.

Loggings

All these loggings are from Mickey Delmage:

Note: EE=English, FF=French, PP=Portuguese, SS=Spanish, AIR=All India Radio, LL=local language, //=parallel, s/on=sign on.

ANGOLA: Radio Nacional Angola 4950, Jan 13/03 at 2303 in PP with talk to 2310 then into music. Mentions of Radio Nacional. Fair.

BOLIVIA: Radio La Cruz Del Sur 4876.75 Jan 13/03 at 2333 UTC. Could not believe my ear with the strength of this one in SS with local Bolivian music and talk by man with many IDs.

BRAZIL: Radio Anhanguera 4915 kHz, Jan 12/03 at 0050 in PP with a couple of men in discussion. Very nice ID given. Very Good signal.

COLOMBIA: La Voz de Tu Conciencia, Bogota 6010.8, Jan 11/03 at 0828 UTC in SS with religious talk, nice ID at 0851. Good, but better after het left at 0900. On Jan 12/03 at 0657 better than the night before. Same again on Jan 13/03 at 0548 UTC with nice ID. Great Signal.

GEORGIA: Georgian Radio 11805.2, Jan 13/03 at 0627 in Lang(?). At 0629:30 their interval signal was played and then s/on announcements in English at 0629:45. EE news for 30 seconds and then carrier dropped. Back on 0636 (approx). Gave ID as "This is the World Wide Broadcast from Tiblisi Georgia" at 0642. Carrier dropped off for good at 0647. Good signal but bad audio.

INDIA: AIR Chennai 4920, Jan 12/03 at 0035 UTC in EE with news to 0040 then into programming in local language. Poor.

INDIA: AIR Delhi 4860, Jan 11/03. External service in presumed Urdu (or at least mention of) from 1459 to 1600 (fading). Good.

INDIA: AIR Aligarh 9445, Jan 11/03 at 2204 UTC with EE News. Very Good.

INDIA: AIR Shillang 4970, Jan 12/03 at 1355 in EE with a game show (including questions about AIR). Good.

INDIA: AIR Mumbai 4840, Jan 12/03 at 1526 in LL with man and women (news?) talking. Very Good signal but very bad audio.

INDIA: AIR Hyderabad 4800, Jan 12/03 at 1535 in EE with news and sports. Fair with sweeper interference.

INDIA: AIR Ranchi 4960, Jan 13/03. Good.

JORDAN: Radio Jordan 11690, Jan 13/03 at 1700 with world news in English. Very Good.

LESOTHO: Radio Lesotho (presumed) 4800, Jan 13/03 at 2240, Jan 13/03. No positive ID as they thru the hour fighting out with China also on the frequency. Lesotho was winning but as they only played uninterrupted African music for 20 minutes, between songs I heard the Chinese chatter. Top of hour there was an announcement in LL, but I'll have to say I did not hear any ID's. Good

MADAGASCAR: RTVM 5010 (presumed), Jan 12/03 at 1556 to past 1700 fadeout. LL with possibly mention of an ID at 1600. African tunes. The language was not French but close. Good

MALI: Radio Mali 4835.5 (Very Good) // 4782.5 (Fair) Jan 13/03 at 2230 in FF with talk between woman and man.

MAURITANIA: Radio Mauritania 4845, Jan 12/03 at 0625 with tone to 0627 interval signal and s/on announcements in Arabic at 0629 then into Koran reading for 25 minutes. Nice signal.

MAURITANIA: Radio Mauritania 4845, Jan 13/03 at 2200 in Arabic with a HUGH Signal. Need I say more?

MYANMAR: Radio Myanmar 5040.6 Jan 12/03 at 1359 in LL. Signal was Very Good but transmitter had a bad hum. Checked 4725 with nothing and 5985.8 which is now on exactly 5985 and at 1444 with EE news, well under Radio Canada International from Japan. Re-check at 1458 with songs the like of Doris Day, now in the clear but weaker.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: SIBC 5020, Jan 11-13/03 around 0630 in LL and again daily checked around 1400 when they re-broadcast BBC. Always there it seemed, always good.

SOUTH AFRICA: Radio Sondergrense 3320, Jan 13/03. In what sounded more Dutch than Afrikaans, there was a program dealing with world health issues of the day. The health teams were in English (cloning, islets, stem cell research). No positive ID at 0000. Very Good but fading by 0000.

THAILAND: Radio Thailand 9530, Jan 13/03 at 1411 in EE with News. Thai music at 1414 and then at 1417 "Information Thailand" Fair.

THAILAND: Radio Thailand World Service 9535, Jan 12/03 at 1956 in EE with sports and mention of Canadian female hockey player Wickenhueser playing with a men's team in the Finnish League. National anthem at 1958, interval signal at 2000 and s/on in English and then going into the German service. Absolute killer signal.

TOGO: Radio Togo 5047, Jan 13/03 at 2315 in FF. There but lots of splatter from US Station on 5050 kHz.




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Last modified, 1300 UTC, 28 January 2003.
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