QSLs for January 2017

All India Radio Najibabad (QSL Card) transmitting on medium-wave from Bijnor District, Uttar Pradesh, India


Voice of Radio Amara (Email QSL) transmitting from Addis Abba, Ethiopia  


Radio Taiwan International (QSL Card) transmitting from Paochung, Taiwan

All India Radio Gangtok (QSL Card) transmitting from Gangtok, Sikkim, India



Radio Pushka* (QSL Card) transmitting from Channel 292 in Rohrbach, Germany

Radio Free Asia (QSL Card) transmitting presumably from Ulanbaator-Kronkor, Mongolia


Vatican Radio (QSL Card) transmitting from Talata-Volonodry, Madagascar

 Adventist World Radio via WRMI (QSL Card) transmitting from Okeechobee, Florida (USA)


Sapporo TV Hoso - JOWF (QSL Card) transmitting on medium-wave from Sapporo City, Hokkaido, Japan


ABC Sydney (eQSL) transmitting on medium-wave from Preston, New South Wales, Australia


ABC Adelaide (eQSL) transmitting on medium-wave from Pimpala, South Australia

 
FRS Holland (QSL Card) transmitting from The Netherlands

 
Japan Short Wave Club/Wavescan via WRMI (QSL Card) transmitting from Okeechobee, Florida (USA)


Voice of Vietnam (QSL Card) transmitting from Hanoi-Sontay, Vietnam




Promised:
Voice of Vietnam - VOV4 (QSL) transmitting from  Thành phố Cần Thơ, southern Vietnam


 *Logged using a remote SDR receiver in Bedford, England which was monitored in Malaysia  

All India Radio Najibabad

All India Radio Najibabad (Akashvani Najibabad) in Bijnor District, Uttar Pradesh (India) was heard on 4 January 2017, between 17.15 till 17.40 UTC. Classical/devotional Indian music, followed by news in English and Hindi, then station ID just before sign-off was observed. Overall reception on the medium-wave frequency of 954 kHz rated a (SINPO) of 33423 -- fair signal, clear audio when not fading (every 3 minutes) and interference from Sathaanii Witthayu Krajaisiang Thahaan Aakaat (Thai Air Force Radio Station) in Phitsanulok Province.

HERE and HERE is an audio file of AIR Najibabad

Reception report with audio files was submitted on the following day. QSL card arrived in the mail on 31 January 2017.

Radio Taiwan International (via Paochung)

Radio Taiwan International  Indonesian Service via Paochung was logged at 10.30 UTC on 11.600 kHz and rated a SINPO of 55555. Selection of pop tunes, including ABBA's "Happy New Year" and a feature on the MyDin Hypermarket. At 11.00 UTC, RTI English Service to South East Asia followed.

Reception report was emailed and submitted online on the RTI on the following day. QSL card arrived on 25 January 2017. 

Souvenirs from Radio Habana Cuba

2017 New Year's greetings from Radio Habana Cuba.

QSL from Radio Pushka*

After being promised a QSL card in December of last year, Radio Pushka* via Channel 292 arrived in the mail today. As I recall the station focused primarily on the music of the Republic of Kalmikiya and songs from other regions in Russia.  If one has not yet heart this station, I heartily recommend listening to them via Channel 292. The station was nearly overlooked until I logged onto a remote SDR receiver in Bedford, UK. Another interesting aspect of this QSL card is the postage from Portugal. Thank you very much for this lovely QSL card, Radio Pushka. 73.

*Logged using a remote SDR receiver located in Bedford, England.

Radio Free Asia (Ulanbaator-Kronkor)

Radio Free Asia via presumably Ulanbaator-Kronkor (Mongolia) was observed on 17.750 kHz from 01.25 till 02.10 UTC. A Tibetan broadcast of current event reports and contemporary Tibetan music, along with RFA station ID at the top of the hour was noted. Reception  initially was quite good with no interference from China, rating a SINPO of 54555. Although, I hasten to add by 01.45 UTC, RFA signal was faintly audible under a dominant Chinese broadcaster. at this point, RFA only occasionally broke through the co-frequency interference to rate a SINPO of 22532. A 02.00 UTC, reception was still a muddled mess, but RFA managed to pull through at times to rate a SINPO of 33543.  

Reception report was emailed on the following day. Apparently delivery to Malaysia was delayed when the card was mistakenly routed to Sri Lanka. Needless to say it eventually reached its destination, albeit much later than expected on 23 January 2017.

QSL in the from AIR Gangtok (Sikkim)

A long-sought-after QSL from All India Radio in Gangtok (Sikkim) finally arrived in the mail today. This 10 kW station was an extremely difficult one to catch, owing that the much stronger 50 kW transmitter of VL8A - ABC Katherine (in the Northern Territory of Australia) had made reception impossible, and even with ABC Katherine down at the time of reception AIR Gangtok was terribly weak until nearly sign-off. I suppose with VL8A - ABC Katherine's short-wave service slated to end on 31 January, reception again may be possible. I for one am glad to have received this prized QSL. Thank you, Spectrum Management & Synergy and All India Radio.

 

Vatican Radio (via Talata-Volonodry)

Radio Vaticana African Service, transmitting from Talata-Volonodry (Madagascar),  was heard on 1 January 2017. An English language broadcast featuring mostly current event reports and news about the Catholic Church in the Congo was featured from 17.30 till 18.00 UTC. Reception on the short-wave frequency of 11.625 kHz rated a (SINPO) of 35433 -- fair signal strength, fading under atmospheric noise, but audible and clear. Reception began to worsen around 17.45 UTC, then completely disappeared under  the noise at 17.50 UTC.

Reception report was emailed to Radio Vaticana on the following day. QSL card with multiple postcards of Pope Francis and Vatican Radio stickers arrived in two envelopes, on 23 January 2017.

Logbook for 21 January 2017

Xizang People's Broadcasting Station in Lhasa // 4.920 kHz // 35443 //16.45 UTC in English with tourist related information about Tibet

Xizang People's Broadcasting Station in Lhasa // 4.820 kHz // 44444 // 17.10 UTC with English pop songs moderated in Chinese

ABC Katherine in Northern Territory of Australia // 4.835 kHz // 44444 // 17.15 UTC with talk in English

Radio  Farda transmitting from Kuwait // 5.860 kHz // 45454 // 17.20 UTC with music and Persian announcers

Voice of Vietnam 2 in Can Tho // 783 kHz // 45444 // 16.40 UTC with traditional Vietnamese instrumental music

Voice of Turkey // 5.965 kHz // 35443 // 17.23 UTC with  interval tune until sign-off at 17.25 UTC

China Radio International  via Xian // 7.225 UTC // 45444 // 17.25 UTC with Chinese programming and surprisingly the song "Supermassive Black Hole" by Muse

Radio New Zealand International  (presumed) // 7.335 kHz // 34433 // 17.30 UTC with folk tales in English

Receiver used: Tecsun S-2000. Antenna: 1/4 wave. RX location: Central West Malaysia

QSL from Adventist World Radio (Via Okeechobee)

Here's a novelty. It's a QSL card from Adventist World Radio for a Wavescan programme that aired from WRMI in Okeechobee, Florida. The uniqueness of the card is that it was issued from Thailand; note the postage stamp and postmark. Unfortunately, the frequency is wrong; it should be 9.955 kHz, not 5.950 kHz. In any  event, thank you AWR for this verification!

ABC Sydney (Station 2BL)

ABC Sydney (Station 2BL), transmitting from Prestons, New South Wales (Australia), was received on the medium-wave frequency of 702 kHz. The programmes "Overnights" with Rod Quinn and ABC National News & Weather was heard from 18.04 till 19.05 UTC. Interestingly, one of the topics Mr. Quinn  discussed with his listeners included tales of shark attacks. Signature ABC News jingle was noted at the top of the hour and read by a female announcer.

Reception throughout this period rated a paltry SINPO of 24321. Station 2BL's signal was weak and suffered from occasional atmospheric noise and scratchy static burst from a local thunderstorm. Signal faded in and out approximately every two to three minutes, sometimes with discernible content.  Transmission was detected as early as 17.15 UTC, but it was barely audible on an otherwise clear frequency.

HERE is an audio clip of 2BL recorded around 18.58 UTC.

Reception report was emailed to various contacts and mailed days after initial reception. This particular eQSL was confirmed by veri-signer, Graham Himmelhoch-Mutton, on 19 Januaty 2017. A follow-up email verification from ABC was received on 27 March 2017. 

Follow-up email verification

Original email

Sapporo TV Hoso - JOWF (Hokkaido)

Sapporo TV Hoso (STV Radio - JOWF), transmitting from Sapporo City, Hokkaido, (Japan), has been observed for a few months on the medium-wave frequency of 1440 kHz. Reception has been generally quite poor when not fading and buried in co-frequency interference from a much stronger station in Thailand. These factors, along with simply weak signal, have made it a difficult station to catch. Finally, around 20.00 till 20.15 UTC (05.00 till 05.15, Japan Time) a friendly and lively conversation between a man and woman in Japanese was heard, just barely breaking above atmospheric noise to rate an overall SINPO of 25431.

Reception report was emailed on posted on the following day. QSL arrived in the mail on 19 January 2017.

Logbook on 17-18 January 2017

Medium-wave reception over the past few days has favoured stations located in Australia and the Philippines. Chinese, Indonesian and Thai broadcasters continue to dominate the band, and often as is the case in South East Asia one must wait until the wee hours of the morning for these stations to sign off. Below is a log of stations heard from the Philippines, including DWUN, DWIZ and DZMM, none of which have replied to emails, nor for that matter have Philippine stations previously logged in August 2016. Happy DXing and 73.

DWUN / Progressive Broadcasting Corporation "UNTV Radio La Verdad" (Manila, Philippines) was heard from 17.05 till 17.35 UTC. Religious programming about the Holy Spirit presented in the Filipino language was observed during much of the broadcast. Reception on 1350 kHz was SINPO 44434 -- fair to good signal strength, clear audio, occasional co-frequency interference and static bursts from local thumderstorm, moderate fading (approximately every 3 minutes).

Presume DWIZ  (Manila, Philippines) was received from 19.00 UTC. Mostly non-stop pop songs. Reception on 882 kHz was SINPO 34433 -- poor to fairsignal strength, clear audio, static bursts from local thunderstorm and moderate fading (approximately every 6 to 8 minutes)

DZMM 630 (Manila, Philippines) was logged from 17.25 till 19.35 UTC. Mostly English pop songs -- music requests from listeners -- were played by a male DJ speaking in the Filipino language. Reception on 630 kHz was SINPO 44434 -- fair to good signal strength, clear audio, slight co-frequency interference and static bursts from local thunderstorm and moderate fading (approximately every 8 minutes).

Receiver used: Sangean ATS-909. Antenna: internal ferrite rod. RX Location: Central West Malaysia

Logbook on 9-10 January 2017

ABC Sydney (Station 2BL) was received on the medium-wave frequency of 702 kHz. The programmes "Overnights" with Rod Quinn and ABC National News & Weather was heard from 18.04 till 19.05 UTC. Reception during this time was (SINPO) 24321 -- weak signal and occasionally buried in atmospheric noise and scratchy static burst from a local thunderstorm. Signal faded in and out approximately every two to three minutes, sometimes with discernible content. Signal was detected as early as 17.15 UTC, but it was barely audible on an otherwise clear frequency.

 ABC Adelaide (Station 5AN), transmitting from Adelaide (Pimpala) in South Australia, was received on 10 January 2017. "Summer Breakfast" with Spence Denny and guests was observed from 19.05 till 19.35 UTC. Reception on the medium-wave frequency of 891 kHz was (SINPO) 34522 -- poor to fair signal depending on the length of fading, otherwise clear audio. Signal peaked to its best audio level approximately 20 minutes apart; at other times it was heard throughout the time monitored, but at much weaker strength and audible level.

TBS Radio Ltd - JOKR, transmitting from Tokyo, was received on 9 January 2017. A selection of (presumably) traditional Japanese music with vocal accompaniment was observed from 17.55 till 18.25 UTC (02.55 till 03.25 Japan Time). Reception on the medium wave frequency of 954 kHz was (SINPO) 25421 -- poor signal when not fading every three to four minutes. Despite these conditions content was audible, given there was no co-frequency interference at the time. Reception was best from 17.55 till about 18.10 UTC.

AIR Imphal (India) was heard with devotional music on 882 kHz with a SINPO of 34423, at 17.10 UTC.

SSB Weather Station in Taiwan was logged on 5.170 kHz in SSB with a SINPO of 24432 at 18.20 UTC, providing weather and shipping details in Taiwan 

ABC Adelaide (Station 5AN)

ABC Adelaide (Station 5AN), transmitting from Adelaide (Pimpala) in South Australia, was received on 10 January 2017. "Summer Breakfast" with Spence Denny and guests was observed from 19.05 till 19.35 UTC. Reception on the medium-wave frequency of 891 kHz was (SINPO) 34522 -- poor to fair signal depending on the length of fading, otherwise clear audio. Signal peaked to its best audio level approximately 20 minutes apart; at other times it was heard throughout the time monitored, but at much weaker strength and audible level.

HERE and HERE is how ABC Adelaide sounded in Malaysia.

Reception report was emailed to multiple contacts on the following day, and eQSL arrived some hours later. Thank you veri-signer, Graham Himmelhoch-Mutton! A follow-up QSL card with letter, stickers and fridge magnet arrived in the mail on 16 February 2017. Thank you ABC Adelaide!!!

FRS Holland QSL in the Mail

FRS Holland in The Netherlands was received in Malaysia on the 31 meter band (short-wave), using a  transmitter output power of 350 watts (eQSL stated 500 watts). Either one is incredible!!! This feat is VERY RARELY accomplished over thousands of miles, but given good atmospheric propagation, grey-line path from TX to RX, the right frequency and receiver/antenna, reception is possible. This was certainly the case when their August 2016 broadcast was heard, albeit poorly, but audible enough to identify some content. Thank you for this QSL card and  sticker, FRS Holland and Peter Verbruggen. I can't begin to tell you how elated and grateful I am to have these.

FRS Holland Tribute to Chris Watson.

On January 2nd, we were completely taken by surprise on hearing the sad news that a long time friend and colleague at Geronimo Shortwave, Chris Watson, had passed away at home in France, on Wednesday 28th December. We are sad, shocked and deeply moved.

Chris was involved in shortwave free radio for over 30 years operating a number of stations under different names: Anchor Radio, Radio Caroline East, Radio 48 (as Howard Bell) in the 80's, and then Geronimo Shortwave from the 90's through to recently. He had a passion for shortwave and even though it became more difficult for him to broadcast via his own transmitter in more recent times due to his domestic circumstances, he kept Geronimo Shortwave going through various relay stations. He was rarely on the air himself. While others presented the shows, Chris was dedicated to the technical side of the SW hobby. In the 1980s several Radio 48 broadcasts came from the same site being used by then well known FR station Radio Apollo, in those days operated by FRS’ Dave Scott. Both stations were often running from the same woodland either in Staffordshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire or Wales. Dave continued recording shows for Geronimo until a couple of years ago when his work on his prog rock show took over more of his radio time. Also Peter Verbruggen has presented Geronimo shows in the past. Over all these years contacts with Chris remained regular. Late November Chris revealed his (Geronimo) plans for 2017….these will never come true.

Chris was a true stalwart of shortwave free radio, with a genuine passion and enthusiasm which never dimmed. Shortwave will certainly be worse off for his absence.

Our sincere condolences go out to his wife Pat & his family.

Rest in Peace Chris. And may that big transmitter in the sky get a SINPO of all the 5's!

Dave Scott & Peter Verbruggen/ FRS Holland Source: www.frsholland.nl/…/103-chris-watson-passes-away.html

JSWC QSL in the Mail

This QSL card from JSWC (Japan Short Wave Club) is for their AWR Wavescan DX Report, which aired over WRMI (Okeechobee, Florida) on 5 December 2016, from 23.20 till 23.25 UTC. Verification card with letter on club details arrived in the mail on 9 January 2017. Thank you, Toshi Otake!

Souvenir from Voice of Vietnam

This Year of the Rooster wall calendar from the Voice of Vietnam arrived in the mail, today. Thank you very much, VOV!

Logbook on 4 January 2017

Radio Taiwan International  Indonesian Service via Paochung was logged at 10.30 UTC on 11.600 kHz and rated a SINPO of 55555. Selection of pop tunes, including ABBA's "Happy New Year" and a feature on the MyDin Hypermarket. At 11.00 UTC, RTI English Service to South East Asia followed.

Radio New Zealand International, out of Rangitaiki,  was heard with a contemporary jazz programme at 10.30 UTC. Reception on 9.765 kHz rated a SINPO of 35543.

NHK World - Radio Japan via Yamata was heard in Japanese on their long-standing frequency of 11.815 kHz, with an excellent SINPO rating of 55555 at 10.15 UTC.

FEBC Asia,  transmitting from Bocaue (Philippines), presented an Evangelical Christian programme in the Lu language at 10.30 UTC. Transmission was observed near the end of the 25 meter band on 12.095 kHz, and it rated a SINPO of 45444.

Radio Australia at the  Shepparton site was received on 12.065 kHz with a SINPO of 45554. A programme on a community for senior citizens was observed at around 10.30 UTC.

All India Radio Najibabad (Akashvani Najibabad) in Bijnor District, Uttar Pradesh (India) was heard between 17.15 till 17.40 UTC. Classical/devotional Indian music, followed by news in English and Hindi, then station ID just before sign-off was observed. Overall reception on the medium-wave frequency of 954 kHz rated a (SINPO) of 33423 -- fair signal, clear audio when not fading (every 3 minutes) and interference from Sathaanii Witthayu Krajaisiang Thahaan Aakaat (Thai Air Force Radio Station) in Phitsanulok Province

UNID station was heard on the medium-wave frequency of 954 kHz and rated a SINPO of 54535. A selection of non-stop, possibly Indonesian, instrumental music was noted from 18.00 UTC and well after 18.30 UTC. A much weaker Asian station, either TBS Radio - JOKR (in Japan) or Chien Kuo Broadcasting Station (in Taiwan), was noted when this stronger station faded out.

Zhejiang PBS, Zhejiang News Radio "Cutting Edge 988" Gouzhuang Town, Zhejiang Province (China) was received on 1530 kHz. A weak signal with SINPO of 24422 was detected from 17.55 UTC till 18.05 UTC. Chinese pop music and time pips (similar to most Chinese stations), followed by station ID was heard at the top of the hour. Before 17.00 UTC, a Thai station -- presumably Witthayu Prajaam Thin (Local Radio, Communications Division, Army Signals Department) in Uttaradit Province (Thailand) was the dominant broadcaster.

Sapporo TV Hoso (STV Radio - JOWF), transmitting from Sapporo City, Hokkaido, (Japan), has been observed for a few months on the medium-wave frequency of 1440 kHz. Reception has been generally quite poor when not fading and buried in co-frequency interference from a much stronger station in Thailand. These factors, along with simply weak signal, have made it a difficult station to catch. Finally, around 20.00 till 20.15 UTC (05.00 till 05.15, Japan Time) a friendly and lively conversatioon between a man and woman in Japanese was heard, just barely breaking above atmospheric noise to rate an overall SINPO of 25431.

Receivers used: Tecsun S-2000 and Sangean ATS-909. Antenna: 1/4 wave and MW loop. RX location: Central West Malaysia

QSL from Voice of Vietnam

 

This lovely QSL card from the Voice of Vietnam is the first verification to be received for the New Year. The card depicts the Ban Gioc Waterfall in Cao Bang, and it is for a reception report that was submitted in December 2016. Thank you, VOV! 

Logbook on New Year's Day 2017

Radio Free Asia via presumably Ulanbaator-Kronkor (Mongolia) was observed on 17.750 kHz from 01.25 till 02.10 UTC. A Tibetan broadcast of current event reports and contemporary Tibetan music, along with RFA station ID at the top of the hour was noted. Reception initially was quite good with no interference from China, rating a SINPO of 54555. Although, I hasten to add by 01.45 UTC, RFA signal was faintly audible under a dominant Chinese broadcaster. At this point, RFA only occasionally broke through the co-frequency interference to rate a SINPO of 22532. A 02.00 UTC, reception was still a muddled mess, but RFA managed to pull through at times to rate a SINPO of 33543. 

Voice of Korea via Kujang (DPRK) was monitored on 6.185 kHz with a SINPO of 34433. An English broadcast was observed from 10.45 till 11.15 UTC.  A baritone voiced announcer, in a monotone inflection, read the news, which included reports about Kim Jung Un's New Year message, a Communist Congress Meeting, Children's Festival, Korean Peoples' Army and a selection on North Korean 'pop' music and muzak.

Radio Vaticana African Service, transmitting from Talata-Volondry (Madagascar),  was heard from 17.30 till 18.00 UTC. An English language broadcast featuring mostly current event reports and news about the Catholic Church in the Congo was featured. Reception on the short-wave frequency of 11.625 kHz rated a (SINPO) of 35433 -- fair signal strength, fading under atmospheric noise, but audible and clear. Reception began to worsen around 17.45 UTC, then completely disappeared under  the noise at 17.50 UTC.

Voice of Turkey, transmitting from Emirler, was heard in an English language broadcast featuring a selection of English pop songs (by Queen, Yusof Islam) and news about terrorist attack in Ankara and Syrian conflict from 17.55 till 18.23 UTC. Reception on the short-wave frequency of 11.730 kHz rated a SINPO of 45444 -- good signal strength and audio quality despite occasional fading under noise. By 18.21 UTC, signal was completely inaudible.

WRMI in Okeechobee, Florida (USA) was logged from 23.30 till 00.00 UTC. During this time segment, an episode of Wavescan featured KVOH Operation's Manager (Ray Robinson) discussing the history of the Voice of Nigeria and the operations of Voice of Hope (in Zambia), Jeff White profiled 'Chocolate Music' and the 'Wrong QSL', along with  the JSWC DX Report that was presented by Yukiko Tsuji. Transmission was observed on 9.955 kHz.  SINPO rated 25322 -- weak signal, with occasionally clear content, despite atmospheric noise. Transmission was best received in LSB mode.

Voice of Vietnam (VOV-4) / [Đài Tiếng nói Việt Nam] in Thành phố Cần Thơ, (former South Vietnam) was logged from 23.00 till 00.00 UTC. Reception on the medium-wave frequency of 873 kHz, during this period, rated a SINPO of 55545 -- excellent signal strength and clarity of audio, slight fading every 6 minutes. Content of Vietnamese programming featured news, current events and Vietnamese pop music.

Receiver used: Tecsun S-2000. Antenna: 1/4 wave and MW loop. RX location: Central West Malaysia

RMRC Calendar for January 2017

The Rhein Main Radio Club Calendar for month of January 2017