KBS World Radio Calendar - March 2018

KBS World Radio Calendar for month of March 2018

QSLs for Month of February 2018

Radio Nikkei 1. Chiba-Nagara, Chiba Prefecture. Japan.
All India Radio Tezu.  Lohit District, Arunachal Pradesh, India.
All India Radio Jeypore. Odisha, India.
i-Dream Radio. Kota Depok, West Java, Indonesia.
Radio Free Asia. Tinian. Northern Mariana Islands.
Voice of Vietnam. Hanoi, Vietnam.
Ozy Music Radio. Razorback, New South Wales, Australia.
Radio Taiwan International, Taiwan.

Radio Nikkei 1 (Chiba-Nagara)

Radio Nikkei 1 in Chiba-Nagara, Japan was logged on 11 October 2017.  A Japanese  language broadcast with Electronica and Japanese pop music was monitored from  14.15  till 14.45 UTC.  Reception  on the short-wave frequency of 3.925  kHz rated a SINPO of 34333 - poor to fair signal, occasionally clear audio despite atmospheric noise and occasional fading. HERE and HERE is Radio Nikkei 1.

Reception report was initially emailed the day after reception. A follow-up email was submitted online in December 2017. QSL card arrived on 26 February 2018.

All India Radio Tezu (Arunachal Pradesh)

All India Radio Tezu (Akashvani Tezu) in the Lohit District, Arunachal Pradesh  was observed from 17.15 till 17.30 UTC, on 10 January 2018 with folk/traditional Indian music. Reception on the medium-wave frequency of 1332 kHz was (SINPO) 23322 -- weak signal strength but with audible and clear content  depending on duration of fading (which on average was approximately two minutes apart) and QRM from a Thai station.

Reception report was emailed and posted to Spectrum Managemrnt & Synergy on the following day. QSL card arrived on 26 February 2018.

All India Radio Jeypore (Odisha)

 All India Radio Jeypore in the eastern Indian state of Odisha,  was logged on 22 February 2018, 17.10 till 17.40 UTC.  A selection of Hindi music, presumably from Bollywood films, along with a female moderator was observed. This was followed by national news in English and Hindi, then closure of transmission. Reception on the medium-wave frequency of 1467 kHz rated a (SINPO) of 23322 -- signal strength was weak to fair depending on duration of fading, some co-frequency interference from a station in Thailand, and terrible QRN from a thunderstorm in my quarter. Otherwise signal was audible most of time with occasionally discernible speech. HERE is  AIR Jeypore medium-wave transmission. This a new 100 kW transmitter.

Reception report was emailed to AIR Jeypore and Spectrum Management & Synergy on the following day. AIR Jeypore confirmed a few hours later.  Report was also posted to Spectrum Management & Synergy. 

Email:
airjeypore@rediffmail.com

i-Dream Radio (West Java)

i-Dream Radio in Kota Depok, West Java Province, Indonesia was logged on 11 February 2018, between 16.35 and 17.05 UTC. Sign-off is probably some time after 17.00 UTC, as signal has not been observed after 18.00 UTC. The relatively new MW station is dedicated exclusively to Islamic programming, i.e. Quran recital, tafsir and various topics from an Islamic perspective.  Reception on 1044 kHz (MW) rated a SINPO of 34433 -- fair to good signal strength, sometimes distorted or over modulated, fading every three to four minutes. HERE is iDream Radio with Quran recitation and station jingle/promotion/ID.

Reception report, submitted in Indonesian, along with audio files was emailed and Facebook messaged on the following day. On 21 February 2018, the i-Dream Station Manager replied with the above Facebook message. While it is a far cry from the traditional QSL, it is an acknowledgement that infers their MW transmission was received. The Manager went on to encourage me to try their internet streaming link at the i-dream website. In any event, this reply was unexpected and I am grateful, knowing how difficult it is to get any Indonesian broadcaster to reply nowadays. On 8 March 2019, iDream Radio replied to my emailed reception report.

Radio Vatican Retrospective

Radio Vatican was another short-wave broadcaster first logged and QSLed in the late 1960's. There signal was always quite strong in western North America, and equally powerful in South East Asia. And with the interval tune "Christus Vincit" (Christ Reigns), they were for many years readily identified when tuning the short-wave bands.

Initially their transmissions originated from Santa Maria de Galeria and, of course, still do. In recent years, their broadcasts have also been relayed from Talata-Volondry (Madagascar), Tashkent (Uzbekistan) and Tinang (Philippines). Further, international broadcasters such as VOA, Radio Canada International, NHK Radio Japan, Radio Tamajuz, Radio Dibanga, and Radio Netherlands Worldwide have used their transmitter facilities at Santa Maria di Galeria.

In addition to QSL cards, Radio Vatican over the years passed along numerous stickers, calendars and literature on their facility. QSL cards often depicted the Pope, images of St Peter Basilica and Radio Vatican studio/headquarters. 

Radio New Zealand Retrospective

One of my all time favorite short-wave broadcasters is Radio New Zealand International (RNZI). The first time I tuned in and caught their unmistakable bellbird interval I was mesmerized. The year was 1969. Back then the station broadcast with two 7.5 kW transmitters from Titahi Bay. These capable transmitters, which had been left behind by the US military after the Second World War, operated on the 25 and 31 meter bands from 1948 till 1990. Their signal carried well into the wee hours of the morning, between 06.00 and 09.00 GMT, reaching beyond New Zealand to the Rocky Mountains where I lived.

What a delight it was to hear Radio New Zealand, as the station was then known. The regional news and weather, Pacific island languages, insightful programmes on New Zealand to contemporary music with quotations interspersed between songs seemed all too exotic, at least fascinating enough to entice me to listen frequently.

When I resumed the hobby of short-wave listening I rediscovered Radio New Zealand International. And their programming was just as captivating as it was all those years ago. One additional bonus was their attractive and creative series of "Sounds Like Us - Kiwiana Radio" QSLs. While I had the fortune to QSL Radio New Zealand twice in the late 60s and early 70s, on separate frequencies, I was sufficiently impressed to submit several reception reports just to collect this RNZI QSL series.

All India Radio Retrospective

All India Radio was first logged and QSLed in the early 1970s when I lived in Colorado (USA). All India Radio was heard regularly on 11.620 kHz (SW), just before sunrise, as I recall. A few months after sending my first reception report to All India Radio I received a QSL card, depicting India's famed landmark, The Red Fort.

In Malaysia, a total of 47 All India Radio stations were QSLed from 2010 till 2018. Initially All India Radio confirmed a few stations, and then later, Spectrum Management & Synergy verified the majority of the stations listed below.

MEDIUM-WAVE (30 AIR stations QSLed):
Cuttack (Odisha)
Jeypore (Odisha)
Imphal (Manipur)
Ahmedabad (Gujarat)
Diburugarh (Assam)
Diphu  (Assam)
Raipur (Chhattisgarh)
Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh)
Indore (Madhya Pradesh)
Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh)
Cuddapah (Andhra Pradesh)
Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh)
Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh)
Najibabad (Uttar Pradesh)
Ranchi (Jharkhand)
Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu)
Patna (Bihar)
Chinsurah (West Bengal)
Siliguri (West Bengal)
Kolkata (West Bengal)
Suratgarh, (Rajasthan)
Jodhpur (Rajasthan)
Rajkot (Rajasthan)
Parbhani (Maharashtra)
Nagpur (Maharashtra)
Pune (Maharashtra)
Jalandhar (Punjab)
Port Blair (Adaman & Nicobar Islands)
Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir)
Tezu (Arunachal Pradesh)

SHORT-WAVE (17 AIR stations QSLed):
Aligarh  (Uttar Pradesh)
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh)
Bangalore (Karnataka)
Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh)
Chennai (Tamil Nadu)
Hyderabad (Telangana)
Kurseong (West Bengal)
Jaipur (Rajasthan)
Jeypore (Odisha)
Mumbai (Maharashtra)
Shillong (Meghalaya)
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala)
Port Blair (Adaman & Nicobar Islands)
Panaji (Goa)
Srinagar (Kashmir & Jammu)
Leh (Kashmir & Jammu)
Gangtok (Sikkim)

This video contains several AIR verification cards (QSLs) from the above stations and the signature AIR interval tune, which was composed by Walter Kaufmann or Thakur Balwant Singh and which has been used since 1936.

Deutsche Welle Retrospective

In 1968, one of the first short-wave stations to be QSLed was Deutsche Welle, or the Voice of Germany, as they referred themselves back in the days when Germany was still divided. At the time, Deutsche Welle transmitted from Jülich, West Germany. Their English broadcast was heard on 9.540 kHz, in the late evening hours, when I lived in the western United States.

I especially enjoyed listening to Larry Wayne's weekly segment called "Random Selection: Living in Germany".  Larry would regale his listeners with a "random selection" of current events, newspaper stories and his own observations of happenings around him in Germany, albeit from a tongue-in-cheek perspective. He had a delightful way of telling a story, certainly enough to at least pique my interest and to listen to him regularly. I recall one particular story about a dachshund. The cute little canine imbibed sizable quantities of liquor along with his owner on a daily basis. The poor pooch eventually succumbed to alcoholism and died. Sad tale, but humorous and touching in the manner in which Larry reported the story. 

By the early 1970s, I was able to receive Deutsche Welle via their relay site in Kigali (Rwanda). Their German language could be heard in the afternoons, and what a powerful signal it was! By the time I resumed listening to the short-wave bands in 2007, DW was relaying their broadcasts from multiple locations: Yerevan-Gavar (Armenia), Bonaure (Netherland Antilles), Sines (Portugal), Issoudun (France), Wertachtal and Nauen (Germany), Rampisham and Woofferton (UK), Ascension Island, Trincomalee (Sri Lanka), Krasnodar (southern Russia), Dhabbaya (UAE), Kranji (Singapore), Pinheiro (Sao Tome), Meyerton (South Africa), and Tolata Volondry (Madagascar). 

For my part, DW passed along not only QSL cards, but tote bags, pens, a DVD set on the Berlin Wall and calendars. I recall particularly a commemorative calendar for the 1972 Munich Olympics and brochures profiling each of the states in West Germany. Good times!!!

This video contains some of these QSLs and souvenirs I received from Deutsche Welle QSLs during these two DXing periods. The interval tune is from Es sucht der Bruder seine Brueder from Fidelio by Ludwig van Beethoven.

Voice of Vietnam Retrospective

This short video on the Voice of Vietnam features their station interval tune and verification cards (QSLs) issued between 2011 till 2018. After submitting reception reports of their medium-wave (MW) and short-wave (SW) broadcasts, originating from Dac Lac (MW), Con Tho (MW), Hanoi-Sontay (MW/SW), as well as Dhabbaya (UAE), Moosbrunn (Austria), Skelton and Woofferton, UK (SW), these cards were posted to me.

Besides programmes in Vietnamese and ethnic Vietnamese dialects, Voice of Vietnam offers programmes in English, French, German, Russian  and other languages. One will note this video features verification cards in some of these languages. This is a common practice among international broadcasters, not just the Voice of Vietnam.

Further, Voice of Vietnam occasionally distributes different souvenir/PR items, i.e. pocket calendars, wall calendars, New Year's cards, bookmarks and postcards. I have included a few examples of these in this video. In the early years, Vietnam used to post their letters with colourful postage stamps depicting the flora, fauna, landmarks and traditional attire of Vietnam.

Interestingly, when I resided in the US and listened to the short-wave bands in the 1960s-1970s, neither Hanoi nor Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) could be heard in Colorado (Denver). Although, in recent years, I have heard archived material. And, these recordings provide an excellent backdrop to the mood and events in North and South Vietnam during the Second Vietnam War.

Radio Free Asia Retrospective

Radio Free Asia’s mission is to provide accurate and timely news and information to Asian countries whose governments prohibit access to a free press. RFA is mandated to broadcast to China, Tibet, North Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Burma.  RFA’s programming primarily comprises domestic news and information of unique and specific interest to its listeners.  All broadcasts are solely in local language(s) and dialects. 

I have been a regular listener of RFA since 2011. Over the years I have monitored their broadcasts in Burmese, Chinese, Laotian, Khmer, Korean, Tibetan, Uighur and Vietnamese. Of these broadcasts, the ones usually affected are their Chinese, Tibetan and Uighur programmes. China -- more precisely, China Radio International and China National Radio --  regularly and deliberately squats on the same frequency(ies), during the duration of these RFA broadcasts, in an effort to block reception.

This is one of the obvious reasons RFA operates on multiple frequencies from various transmitter sites, among these being either Kuwait, Germany (Biblis and Lampertheim) UAE (Dhabbaya), Tajikistan (Dushanbe), Taiwan (Fangliano and Kouhu), Mongolia (Ulaanbaator),  Northern Mariana islands (Tinian Island Agignan Point), Sri Lanka (Iranwilla and Trincomalee), Armenia (Yerevan), Lithuania  (Vilnuis), even Russia (Vladivostok).  

Whether one is a radio enthusiast or the intended Asian listener, RFA rewards with not only timely and relevant news but also sends out verification cards (QSLs). These cards often commemorate their anniversary, the Chinese New Year or Olympics with their mascot, the panda. Past issues have depicted traditional Asian musical instruments and their (International Broadcast Bureau) transmitter sites. Although I hasten to add, and perhaps for obvious reasons, not their more clandestine/leased sites.

It is with this background I offer up the following video compilation, featuring my RFA verification cards  for reception reports relating to their medium-wave and short-wave broadcasts. Enjoy and 73!

Radio Free Asia (via Tinian)

Radio Free Asia, transmitting from Tinian (Northern Mariana Islands), was logged on 22 January 2018. A Korean language broadcast was observed from 18.15 UTC onward. Reception was observed on 9.985 kHz.

Reception report was submitted online at their QSL bureau on the following day. QSL card arrived on 14 February 2018.

Logbook January - February 2018

As I mentioned in a previous blog entry I will occasionally post QSLs, log entries and souvenir items, as and when they arrive, and time permitting. Briefly, the medium-wave band continues to be the most active and interesting place for DXing in South East Asia. Short-wave has had its moments, and I have managed to catch Ozy Music Radio, Birinchi Radio and Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation. Radio 4KZ, even with reduced power of 250 watts, can be received, albeit a faint carrier, on rare occasions now. Below are a few log entries from January 2018 onward.

INDONESIA

Radio Republik Indonesia Bandar Lampung (PRO-1) in Lampung Province was received on  5 February 2018, between 16.30 till 17.00 UTC, with Indonesian programming of Indo pop music and promos/adverts in bahasa Indonesia. Station is  heard regularly in the Kuala Lumpur area, under good conditions in the late evening hours.  Reception on 1035 kHz (MW) on this particular night rated a SINPO of 34433 -- fair signal strength, occasional interference from other stations when signal faded, some  atmospheric noise. HERE is RRI Bandar Lampuung.

i-Dream Radio in Kota Depok, West Java Province was logged on 11 Februari 2018, between 16.35 and 17.05 UTC. Sign-off is probably some time after 17.00 UTC, as signal has not been observed after 18.00 UTC.The station is dedicated exclusively to Islamic programming, i.e. Quran recital, tafsir and various topics from an Islamic perspective.  Reception on 1044 kHz (MW) rated a SINPO of 34433 -- fair to good signal strength, sometimes distorted or over modulated, fading every three to four minutes. HERE is iDream Radio with Quran recitation and station jingle/promotion.

MYANMAR
Myanmar Radio, transmitting from Naypyidaw, was logged on 14 February 2018, from 03.00 till 03.30 UTC during their English language broadcast of news and Western pop music. Reception on 9.730 kHz rated a SINPO of 35443. Burmanese broadcast followed at 03,30 UTC. HERE is Myanmar Radio interval and ID.

PAKISTAN

Radio Pakistan (Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation) via  their medium-wave transmitter sites in Islamabad (585 kHz) and Peshawar (540 kHz) radiated well beyond Pakistan into central West Malaysia, on 22 January 2018. Reception on both frequencies was observed after 18.35 UTC until 19.05 UTC. Signal strength gradually improved and programming was best heard from 18.50 UTC onward. Reception on 540 kHz (Peshawar) was (SINP0) 34322-- fair signal strength, clear audio content, with occasional audio despite atmospheric noise. Reception on 585 kHz (Islamabad) was (SINPO) 34332 -- fair signal strength, initially some co-frequency from a regional station in Southeast Asia when signal faded. Signal gained strength after 18.50 UTC. HERE and HERE is PBC Islamabad and HERE is PBC Peshawar

REPUBLIC OF KOREA
KBS World Radio via Gimje City, North Jeolla Province was received on 1170 kHz (MW) with Japanese language programming  of pop music, moderated by a male announcer,  was observed on 11 February 2018, from 18.45 until 19.10 UTC. Reception rated a SINP0 of 24322 -- fair to good signal when not fading and affected by atmospheric noise, some co-frequency interference as well was noted. HERE is KBS Japanese programming on MW frequency of 1170 kHz.

TAIWAN

Radio Taiwan International via Paochung was heard on 10 February, between 03.30 to 04.00 UTC (during and East Meets West segment). This particular segment featured Karen Farley, co-founder of KP Kitchen Taiwan, who shared a recipe for brownies topped with candied orange chocolate bark to honour Valentine's Day and the Chinese Lunar New Year (the Year of the Dog). Reception on 15.320 kHz rated a SINPO of 54544 -- powerful signal, despite some transmitter noise and slight fading.

TURKEY

Voice of Turkey was received on the short-wave frequency of 9.610 kHz and initially radiated well in the Kuala Lumpur area, but deteriorated further into the broadcast. An English language programme of news about Turkey and various programmes about Turkey's foreign relations, and Turkish pop music was observed on 8 February 2018, from 21.30 until 22.15 UTC. HERE is the Voice of Turkey

RX used: Sangean ATS-909 (MW) and Tecsun S-200 (SW) ANT used: Loop and ferrit rod (MW) and 1/4 wave (SW) QTH: Kuala Lumpur area

Voice of Vietnam

Voice of Vietnam in Hanoi was heard on the shortwave frequency of 12.020 kHz, under excellent conditions in the Kuala Lumpur area. News, Current Affairs and Economy Segment was observed from 10.00 till 10.27  UTC, on 10 January 2018. HERE as an audio file of this Vov English broadcast.

Rception report was emailed the following day. QSL card with handmade paper bookmark depicting a Vietnamese woman arrived in the mail on 7 February 2018. 

Ozy Music Radio (Razorback-Camden, Australia)

Ozy Music Radio, transmitting from Razorback near Camden, New South Wales (Australia), was logged on 31 January 2018, from 19.00 till 19.30 UTC. While reception was far from perfect, it was unmistakably Ozy Radio. The Aussie accents, the pop/rock format matched the station. Additionally, no other known station operates on this frequency -- 5.045 kHz.

Reception rated a SINPO of 15211 -- initially only carrier signal, fading in and under atmospheric noise, barely audible but content detected nevertheless. Reception before 16.00 UTC was next to impossible owing to station splatter from Beibu Bay Radio (China) on 5.050 KHz and AIR Kolkata (Jeypore, India) on 5.045 kHz. Frequency was clear when BBR signed-off at 16.00 UTC; AIR went off at 17.40 UTC but less of a problem.

It should be noted that Ozy Radio is usually observed -- at least in Malaysia -- around 19.00 UTC and for approximately 30 minutes to an hour.

Reception report was emailed on the following day, and John Wright -- the veri-signer -- confirmedon 2 February 2018 with an email.

Email:
dxer1234@gmail.com

Radio Taiwan International

Radio Taiwan International featured a special  programme in conjunction with the Fisheries Council of Taiwan Government Agriculture Agency was heard from 10.58 to 11.59 UTC. Programmes in 2o-minute segments of Mandarin, English and Indonesia was observed during this time; it featured a mix of pop songs, language lessons and tourism related information. Initially reception on 12.100 kHz rated a SINPO  of 54544 -- powerful signal at sign-on, despite some transmitter hum and slight station splatter from FEBC (Bocaue) when signal faded. Reception deteriorated slighted just before the Indonesian segment of the broadcast to SINPO 44444. HERE is an excerpt from this broadcast. 

Reception report was emailed on the following day, QSL card arrived in the mail on 2 February 2018.

Rhein-Main-Radio-Club Calendar for February 2018

Rhein-Main-Radio-Club Calendar for the month of February 2018

KBS World Radio Calendar - February 2018

KBS World Radio Calendar for month of February 2018