Grapevine News on FEBA India Test Transmission

FEBA India is celebrating their 50th Anniversary this year. Although my first exposure to FEBA was in the early 1970s, with a transmission from Seychelles, I quite probably would have missed this event had it not been for news through the radio grapevine. More precisely, fellow DXers Jose Jacob in India and Rob Wagner of Mount Evelyn DX Report in Australia must be credited for alerting me of this news. Secondly, I most certainly would have missed FEBA India's test transmission had  their tip gone unnoticed. It was with this input I tuned in last night and caught FEBA India's broadcast, the second of two known test transmissions. 

FEBA India in a test transmission, originating from Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, was logged in Malaysia on 6 March 2014.  The broadcast from 13.30 to 14.00 UTC opened with the long recognised FEBA interval tune, station ID and announcement of their test transmission. It was followed with a radio drama on the life of Christian acolyte Matthias and his meeting of Jesus. Thirty minutes later the broadcast closed with announcement of an email and phone number to submit "feedback" on their transmission. Reception of this test transmission on 9.720 kHz was relatively good with excellent signal strength, despite persistent QRM from weaker stations transmitting either on the same or adjacent frequency, thus yielding a  (SINPO) of 53554.

HERE is a sound file of how FEBA India sounded at sign-on in this test transmission.

I followed up with a reception report and emailed FEBA India shortly after the broadcast. Alison Bateman, Supporter Relations Assistant at FEBA (UK), replied with this email on 28 March 2014: "Thank you for your interest in the reception and for listening. I'm afraid since Feba no longer broadcast directly we do not have QSL cards to pass on to you and I cannot help with your request. Every blessing." This means FEBA India is my last hope for QSLing the station. FEBA India did indeed confirm on 3 April 2014 with this eQSL.

Email:

kenneth@febaindia.org

febaindia@vsnl.com

Website:

febaindia.org/

Voice of Islamic Republic of Iran (via Kamalabad)

Voice of Islamic Republic of Iran, transmitting with 500 kW from their Kamalabad site (in Semnan Province - northeast of Tehran), was logged with relative ease on 4 March 2014, here in the Kuala Lumpur area. Between 15.35 and 16.17 UTC (broadcast time 15.30 to 16.17 UTC), VOIRI presented  "News Magazine", a programme that featured their analysis on events in Ukraine and Crimea, Israeli-Palestinian inaction to reach a peace deal, the UN Secretary General's request to send UN troops to Central Africa, Israeli air strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon and renewable energy (wind, water and sun power) in Spain and possible government/corporate exploitation. Transmission closed abruptly during a surprisingly excellent and in-depth report on renewable energy. As I mentioned above, reception was superb  with a (SINPO) of 55555 on the short-wave frequency of 15.525 kHz.

Although I have QSLed VOIRI numerous times in the past, I nevertheless emailed another reception report shortly after their broadcast, hoping to receive a QSL from their new series. A few days later an email from VOIRI promised a QSL card. It was announced on their mailbag programme it would also be sent. On 4 June 2014, their QSL card arrived in the mail.

Email:

englishradio@irib.ir

Radio VOR - Voice of Russia (via Novosibirsk-Oyash)

2nd QSL

Radio VOR - Voice of Russia, transmitting from Novosibirsk-Oyash, was logged on 4 March 2014. With all eyes on Russia following the Sochi Olympics and now developments in the Ukraine, I decided to tune into VOR. I caught the last ten minutes of their "Live from Moscow" programme at 13.50 till 14.00 UTC, broadcast time being 13.00 to 14.00 UTC. In the brief time I listened, I heard VOR analysis on US-Israeli relations regarding Palestine and Russia-China agreement on crude oil. Frequent promotions for VOR programmes and FaceBook, much like the format presented on BBC and VOA, was observed until closure.  Reception on 9.560 kHz (SINPO) was 54554 with excellent signal strength and clarity, despite some minor unidentified interference under their transmission.

With Voice of Russia transmitting less on short-wave, Irkutsk and Novosibirsk remain the only non-DRM transmitter sites operational. VOR appears to have turned their attention towards DRM, with transmissions emanating from Kaliningrad and Moscow-Taldom. Even with this I have to wonder how much longer the world's oldest short-wave broadcaster will remain on air. So, with this in mind, I set out to submit yet another reception report to VOR, which I emailed shortly after filling this report.

Elena Osipova, in the VOR Letters Department, sent this email confirming the aforementioned reception report, on 11 March 2014: "This is to thank you for your reception report. Please be informed that we have found it to be correct and gladly verify it by a QSL card which will be sent to you by regular mail. We wish you good and enjoyable listening and look forward to hearing from you soon again."   

I received VOR's QSL card in the mail on 14 April 2014. As it turns out, VOR terminated their short-wave service at the end of March 2014. A second QSL fro the same transmission arrived in the mail on 15 May 2014. So, ends the glorious short-wave era of Voice of Russia (Radio Moscow). Glad I have this QSL for one of their last transmissions.

E-mail:
world@ruvr.ru

19 Metre Tuning on 2 March

19 Metres is a favourite band of mine to DX here in Malaysia. Under normal conditions, around 14.00 to 23.00 UTC, I find it relatively clear of noise and clutter with stations from Africa, America, Asia and Europe present. On a random band scan from 18.00 to 20.45 UTC, on 2 March 2014, I observed a variety of languages, songs and topics.

GERMANY

NHK World - Radio Japan via Nauen // Japanese from 18.45 to 19.00 UTC // 15.445 kHz // (SINPO): 45454 - good signal strength, excellent audio clarity with minor atmospheric noise // Traditional Japanese songes, possibly from the 1930s, plus a few contemporary songs were noted until sign-off at 19.00 UTC

GREECE

Voice of Greece via Avlis // Greek from 20.15 UTC onward // 15.650 kHz // SINPO: 45444 -- good to fair signal and audio quality with slight fade and noise // A wonderful selection  Greek singers accompanied by bouzouki music made me want to sing, dance and break some old pottery a la Zorba the Greek

PHILIPPINES

Radio Pilipinas via Manila // Filipino and English from 18.30 UTC (broadcast time 17.30 to 19.30 UTC) //  15.190 kHz // SINPO 45544 // Current event programme with a mix of Filipino pop music was heard

MADAGASCAR

Adventist World Radio via Talata Volondry // Arabic from 19.05 to 20.05 UTC (broadcast time 19.00 to 21.00 UTC) // 15.480 kHz // SIO: 444 -- good signal strength and audio quality throughout broadcast // An interesting mix of contemporary Arabic pop music, traditional instrumentation for Christian religious programmes and frequent reference to AWR's Arabic language website was observed

Adventist World Radio (via Talata Volondry & Guam)

Adventist World Radio was founded in 1971 and is the "radio mission arm" of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It utilizes AM, FM, Shortwave, satellite, podcasting, and the Internet broadcasting in 77 major languages with a potential coverage of 80% of the world's population. AWR's headquarters is based in Silver Spring, Maryland with studios and transmitters located throughout the world.

MADAGASCAR
Adventist World Radio, transmitting from the Talata Volondry relay site, was logged on 2 March 2014. An interesting mix of Arabic pop music, religious sermons and frequent announcements of the AWR Arabic language website was monitored from 19.05 to 20.05 UTC (broadcast time 19.00 to 21.00 UTC). Reception  on  15.480 kHz (SIO) was 444 -- good signal strength and audio quality, despite slight atmospheric noise throughout transmission.

Reception report was emailed to AWR Frequency & Monitoring Department in Germany on 3 March 2014. 


 GUAM

Adventist World Radio - KSDA, transmitting from Agat, was logged on 4 March 2014. A Chinese language broadcast with sermon from a female announcer and occasional selection of music was monitored from 22.40 to 22.59 UTC. Reception was weak to fair signal with atmospheric noise on 15.685 kHz, earning an (SIO) rating of 232. 

Another reception report was emailed to AWR Frequency & Monitoring Department on 4 March 2014.

SOUTH AFRICA
Adventist World Radio, transmitting from the SUNTECH facility in Meyerton, South Africa, was logged on 29 March 2014. African choral music and talking (possibly sermon) in Masai was heard from 17.30 to 18.00 UTC. Reception on 11.770 kHz was (SIO) 343 -- fair signal strength with slight fading and atmospheric noise. 

Reception report was emailed to AWR Frequency & Monitoring Department on 30 March 2014.

Source: Wikipedia

NHK World - Radio Japan (via Nauen, Ascension Island & Palau Medorn)

NAUEN

NHK World - Radio Japan, transmitting from Nauen, Germany, was logged on 2 March 2014. A Japanese language broadcast of traditional and contemporary Japanese music was observed from 18.45 to 19.00 UTC. The music was a delightful rendition of performances from early recordings quite possibly from the 1930s, a period of 20th century history that's of interest to me. Reception was remarkably good from the famed Nauen transmitter site on the 19 metre band at 15.445 kHz. (SINPO) was 45454 - good signal strength, excellent audio clarity with minor atmospheric noise.

A reception report was submitted on-line at NHK World - Radio Japan on 3 March 2014. This lovely QSL from NHK World via Germany arrived in the mail on 13 March 2014.

ASCENSION

NHK World - Radio Japan, transmitting from relay site in Ascension Island, on 17 March 2014. A Japanese language broadcast with sporting events, news and features was monitored from 08.25 to 09.25 UTC (broadcast time 8.00 to 10.00 UTC). Reception on 12.015 kHz was (SINPO)  34443 -- fair signal, slight transmitter drone and minor atmospheric noise, otherwise clear and discernible speech

Reception report was sent online to NHK World - Radio Japan shortly after the broadcast.

PALAU MEDORN
NHK World - Radio Japan, transmitting from Palau Medorn, was logged on 28 March 2014. An English language broadcast of news and programme called "Welcome to Amazing Japan" was heard from 14.00 to 14.30 UTC. Reception on 11.925 kHz was (SINPO) 55444 -- excellent signal strength with minor flutter and atmospheric noise. 

Reception was submitted online and emailed at the first of the week. QSL arrived in the mail on 31 March 2014. QSL card arrived in the mail on 14 April 2014.

  Online Form:
www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/contact/index.html

Special PCJ Radio International 12 March 2014

Special PCJ Radio International on 12 March  2014

 PCJ Radio International will be celebrating their 5th Anniversary of The Happy Station Show. A special broadcast will air on 12 March 2014. This is a very important day for PCJ Radio International. It was on this date that after an absence of 14 years The Happy Station Show returned to the airwaves. A few months after that happened PCJ added other programmes to their schedule.

For the 5 year anniversary PCJ Radio International will present a special programme looking back at the past 5 years and revisit some of the fun moments over the last 1,825 days.

It should be mentioned that this is not a Happy Station Show. But rather a special anniversary programme.

Times & Frequencies:

North America - 0130 to 0230 UTC on 7.730 kHz

Asia - 1330 to 1430 UTC on 9.335 kHz

Europe - 1330 to 1430 UTC on 5.995 kHz

Europe - 1330 to 1430 UTC on 15.455 kHz

If you would like to send PCJ Radio International a recorded message to use in the show, please contact Keith Perron no later than March 7, 2014. Include your phone number and he can call you back. Alternatively you can send him an MP3 file up to 2 minutes. The email address is pcj@pcjmedia.com.

PCJ Radio (PCJ) International is a private international radio station and syndicate founded in 2008. The station is based in Taipei, and they produce and transmit programmes for local and international audiences. PCJ has also distributed content via web technology since 2009. The station is owned by Canadian-born announcer and producer Keith Perron.

The Happy Station Show is the world's longest-running international radio programme, having originated in 1928 on shortwave radio. Its run has been interrupted twice - from 1940 until 1946 due to World War II and again from 1995 when it was cancelled until its revival in 2009.

If you've not heard PCJ Radio International, now's the time to tune in!

Archived PCJ Radio International broadcasts may be downloaded at this LINK.

Source: Wikipedia and PCJ Media