![AIH103 DXpedition to Aihkiniemi, Sept 28-Oct 12, 2019](../photos/AIH103_banner_480x.jpg)
The novelty on this DXpedition had nothing to with
DXing
but
it was just as much fun. I brought along a Mavic
Air drone to get the first aerial photos and videos
of our DX cabin. Inside the cabin, an average amount
of interesting catches was made from all around
the world, especially from Japan, Australia, Mauritius,
Argentina and Peru.
On
a crisp and sunny September afternoon I was packing
my Auris in Vantaa for the journey up north. Stormy
solar weather in the form of a large coronal hole
hit the Earth that same Friday, so I made sure to
include books and some new camera gear to be ready
for alternative activities besides mediumwave DXing.
The previous couple of days had
been some of the worst in my life, but it wasn't
related to DXing, so I'll save it for later. There
was nothing I could do about the unlucky chain of
events, so I might just as well try to enjoy my
previously arranged two-week slot in Aihkiniemi,
far above the Arctic Circle.
![Fly northeast over Turvelompolat](../photos/AIH103_aerial_video_tracking_northeast_300.jpg)
Follow the waterway next to Aihkiniemi, flying
low for one kilometer! Click to open the video
in YouTube and choose the best quality (1080p
HD). |
As has become customary, I drove
my car to the Pasila train station in Helsinki to
be transported overnight to Rovaniemi. Major construction
projects are changing the face of the Pasila transportation
hub, but while waiting for the new railway station
and Finland's largest shopping mall to be opened,
the only snack option remained Subway. So, a tuna
sandwich for dinner. And some chocolate to be consumed
later in the evening.
The IC265 train departed as scheduled
at 7 PM. A bit further north in Riihimäki,
fellow DXer Lauri Levanto (LAL) came on board and
shared the cabin. I knew Lauri from the time we
both lived in Hämeenlinna over 30 years ago,
but later on Lauri took a long break from the hobby.
Lauri was a newcomer in Aihkiniemi,
returning to the hobby after his retirement, and
he hadn't been on a DXpedition in Lapland since
1981, so he was bound to get at least hundreds of
new catches.
![Mika, Jorma, Ronny and Lauri meeting in Ivalo](../photos/AIH103_MTM_JM_RAK_LAL_300x.jpg)
From the left: Mika Mäkeläinen,
Jorma Mäntylä, Ronny Klemets and Lauri
Levanto |
The train arrived in Rovaniemi
almost on time. After a delicious breakfast with
salmon and smoked vendace, we started driving north
at 8 AM sharp. There were lots of reindeer along
the way, but we managed to navigate around them.
The road was dry and traffic was light, this being
off-season.
Fall colors were still quite
pretty in southern Lapland, but in Aihkiniemi the
leaves were mostly gone. We met departing DXers
Jorma Mäntylä and Ronny Klemets in Ivalo
where we shopped for groceries. The final pit stop
was a kebab at a Neste service station in Inari.
Just
as before, I had Perseus type SDRs with Jaguar software,
but Lauri was using an SDR Play RSP2 receiver. Our
antenna selection remained the same as on previous
DXpeditions, with 13 Beverage antennas, each 3,000
ft/1 km in length. These are the antenna directions
in Aihkiniemi:
![Aihkiniemi antenna directions](../images/map_finland_aihkiniemi_antennas_2017_AIH72_480x480.jpg)
Here's a daily summary of our observations on the
AM dial.
Saturday,
September 28, 2019
We arrived
at the cabin at 14:30 local time on Saturday, and
got our first gear working arfter 1300 UTC. The
AM band was dead quiet, so we had ample time to
investigate what appeared to be new sources of interference.
A new 5V power supply brought along by me turned
out to be the biggest cause of interference, eliminated
by the evening.
![Fall colors along Highway 4](../photos/AIH103_fall_colors_along_highway4_300x.jpg)
Fall colors close to Highway 4 on the way north. |
Luckily
we didn't miss anything. At 1540 UTC a few Japanese
stations were heard at the sign-off time of NHK2,
and at 1600 UTC a bunch of Chinese stations were
heard. I was happy to log Guangdong on 846 AM until
I realized that I had captured the same station
already in March this year on my previous DXpedition
AIH98.
There was no sign of even the most common Australian
stations. Today's recordings were checked and erased
quickly.
Sunday, September 29, 2019
Overnight propagation conditions
remained auroral. Stations from the northeastern
corner of Brazil appeared briefly at 2200 UTC, and
a few stations from the Great Lakes region were
noted at 0200 UTC, but just about the only interesting
opening was between 0300 UTC and 0400 UTC towards
Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay. Unfortunately
the stations nosedived just before 0400 UTC, and
during the daytime there was not a single AM station
on the band.
As it was a stormy weekend in
the Sun, I made some overnight recordings with the
south-pointing 160-degree wire. A pleasant surprise
was to catch Botswana on 1350 AM, and two stations
from Malawi on 756 and 1404 AM.
![Video from cabin to 150 meters](../photos/AIH103_aerial_video_directly_up_to_150m_from_cabin_door_300x.jpg)
Rising from the front
door to 150 meters in the air. Click to open
the video in YouTube. |
Even more importantly, I scored
a new country when BBC from Mauritius was briefly
audible on 1575 AM, giving an ID at the top of the
hour. BBC has become possible once again as Radio
Farda is off the air on 1575 AM, and an Iranian
jammer is only airing its carrier wave. BBC's Mauritius
relay is a station and a country that I had been
hunting for over 20 years. I visited Mauritius last
year with my wife, and even paid a visit to the
local broadcaster MBC. At least back then the two
MBC transmitters on 684 and 819 AM were active.
In Aihkiniemi we have just the right antenna for
Mauritius (160 degrees), but for some reason they
still haven't been heard here.
In the afternoon, the first Far
East stations from Japan emerged at 1330 UTC. They
remained fairly strong until NHK2 closing today
at 1530 UTC. It was remarkable how quickly the AM
band recovered from the solar storm. Or, so it seemed,
since by 1700 UTC the AM band offered only European
and Middle Eastern stations.
In between, however, there was
our first opening to Australia. I got several new
catches, including 2SM Sydney NSW on 1269 AM, and
the same programming relayed on 2GF (1206 AM) and
2VM (1530 AM). A few Queensland stations were remarkably
strong, including 4RO on 990 AM. Surprisingly, there
was no evening opening to Asia at all.
Monday, September 30, 2019
During the night, some mostly
Brazilian stations were heard around 2200 UTC and
again around 0100 UTC, but well before sunrise Latin
American stations just faded away. North America
was slightly better, peaking at 0200 UTC and at
0400 UTC, but around sunrise (0419 UTC), most stations
just vanished. No new ones have been found so far.
![Aihkiniemi cabin from above](../photos/AIH103_aerial_cabin_from_above_300x.jpg)
A drone photo of the Aihkiniemi cabin from directly
above. |
From sub-Saharan Africa, Lesotho
on 639 AM, Khartoum on 747 AM and Malawi on 756
were some of the strongest stations. It is also
worth mentioning that Rádio Moçambique
from the capital Maputo is nowadays on the air on
738 AM, almost spot on on the frequency, and giving
a jingle ID at the top of the hour. Just like other
stations in the region, it is heard best just before
local sunrise, in this case at 0300 UTC.
It was raining lightly for the
second day in a row, but we started checking the
antennas anyway. During these two weeks, we'd need
to go through all the 13 Beverage antennas in a
very challenging terrain.
The first signs of life from
the Eastern Hemisphere appeared at 1330 UTC, but
this opening to Southeast Asia lasted no longer
than ten minutes. The second peak at 1410 UTC wasn't
any more viable. Propagation favored a much more
southern route than yesterday, and there was no
sign of Japanese stations. This kind of on-off propagation
could at best be very rewarding, but now it was
just plain crappy. A bit later signal levels improved.
Eventually my Asian catches included Qinghai PBS
on 801 AM and Voice of Vietnam on 819 AM. Around
18002000 UTC
some of the most common ABC stations from Western
Australia (such as 720, 810, 1152, 1269, 1296 AM)
were heard, but so far nothing personally new.
![Video of diving towards the cabin](../photos/AIH103_aerial_video_down_towards_cabin_300x.JPG)
Drone video of flying
down towards the cabin. Click to open the video
in YouTube and be sure to choose the best quality
(1080p HD). |
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
The night began with signals
from Brazil, but they soon gave way to US stations.
Late Monday evening would have been the last night
to log some new daytimer stations with favorable
sign-off times, as September close-down times are
calibrated based on mid-month sunset times. No such
luck, but anyhow on this night North American stations
were strong enough that it made sense to start hunting
for new catches.
Propagation favored the Great Lakes and Midwest,
peaking at 0230 UTC. Identified stations included
920 KLMR, 1290 WNBF, 1340 KTOQ, 1370 WFEA, 1400
KBJM & KBRB & KCOW, 1450 KYNT & KGRE
and 1490 KRIB, so nothing new. By 0300 UTC the opening
had moved to the West Coast, with stations such
as 1150 KAGO, 1230 KKOR, 1300 KLER, 1320 KXRO, 1400
KLCK and 1450 KBKW logged. Transatlantic signals
nosedived immediately after 0300 UTC, recovered
partially at 0400 UTC, and then vanished permanently,
even before local sunrise. KKAN Phillipsburg KS
on 1490 AM was a new one for me.
![Lake Turvelompolo](../photos/AIH103_aerial_turvelompolo_300x.jpg)
Lake Turvelompolo
is very shallow and the water level is exceptionally
low this year. Our cabin is located just below
this scene. |
On the African front at sunrise,
Ethiopia produced decent signals for instance on
972 and 1044 AM, and Emissora Provincial de Manica
from Mozambique was exceptionally strong on 1026
AM.
During the day, we caught some more sleep and checked
a couple of antennas. For a change, it wasn't raining,
and temperatures remained marginally above freezing
point.
In the afternoon, the first Japanese stations appeared
around 1400 UTC. Nothing out of the ordinary though,
just a few dozen usual suspects, including stations
from the Koreas and northern China. Later on Chinese
stations dominated the dial, although stations from
Australia to the Middle East could be head. When
propagation favors such a large area, basically
all of Asia, scoring any new catches is very difficult.
In the evening at 20002100
UTC up to 20 Philippine stations were heard, but
I didn't find any new ones.
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
US stations faded in before 2300
UTC on dozens of frequencies, but the joy didn't
last. After peaking at 2330 UTC, signals weakened
until after 0300 UTC, when stations from the entire
Western Hemisphere began improving again. For the
first time, Cuban stations in the lower end of the
dial were part of the mix, and even some Argentinian
stations were heard with the 304-degree wire, indicative
of decent reception also for the southern part of
South America.
![Aerial photo of Sevettijärventie road leading to Aihkiniemi](../photos/AIH103_aerial_Sevettijarventie_300x.jpg)
This road, Sevettijärventie,
leads to the Aihkiniemi cabin. Lake Inari on
the right. |
Reception was strongest around
0400 UTC, and soon after 0500 UTC most stations
were gone. A few upper band stations remained audible
until around 0600 UTC. Just to give you an idea
of the general direction, stations identified around
0400 UTC included 560 WGAN, 1080 Radio Monumental
(from Paraguay), 1260 WCCR, 1440 KRDZ and 1450 WPGG,
so nothing for the history books.
Daybreak revealed snow on the
ground, a first. Funny how going on a DXpedition
shortens the fall. Only a few weeks ago I was still
swimming in a lake, and now it looks like winter
outside. The snow will hardly stay long, as early
October daytime temperatures are normally well above
zero C. During the day we dragged our boat ashore
for the winter and took down one birch tree that
had fallen on our 10-degree wire. Nice sunny weather
for a change in the afternoon.
At 1300 UTC there was a very
short and weak opening towards Japan, and by 1400
UTC a more permanent propagation path had opened
towards Southeastern Asia. The most common South
Australian stations were strong at 1730 and 1830
UTC, a couple of Indonesian signals were detected,
as well as a bunch of Thais, and over a dozen Philippine
stations, but still it was impossible to find any
definite new ones. Hopefully this fairly crappy
Asian scene is compensated by an improving western
front.
![Fall colors at Ivalo River](../photos/AIH103_Ivalo_River_fall_colors_300x.jpg)
Fall colors at the banks of Ivalo River |
Thursday, October 3, 2019
Overnight was very poor. US stations
barely surfaced above noise level with short and
modest peaks at 0100 and 0315 UTC. Recordings on
my other radio failed, but I probably didn't miss
anything. WOSH on 1490 AM was the only identified
graveyard station. Daybreak around 04000500
UTC was more interesting, with the same East Coast
antenna (304 degrees) picking up stations from Denver
to Havana and from Lima to Buenos Aires. I suspect
there should be something interesting waiting from
Ecuador or Peru in the files. In the morning some
US signals lingered on past 0600 UTC, which was
later than before during this DXpedition. So far
the best catch was LV20 Radio Laboulaye (1440 AM)
relaying LV3 Radio Córdoba. Unfortunately
I haven't managed to find anyone at LV3 to confirm
reception of their affiliates.
During the daytime hours our
biggest chore was to dismantle an unused Beverage
antenna. We originally had a 1000-meter long wire
pointing at 250 degrees, but it never worked really
well, and it has since been replaced by a much better
255-degree wire. As our wires are extremely directional,
even a small change in the direction can make a
huge difference. So, the 250-degree wire has remained
unused, and today we finally took it down in one
piece. The job of reeling in the wire turned out
to be quite arduous
sweating for over three hours and trying to untangle
the wire from all the tree branches. The copper
wire is still as good as new, so maybe we could
put it back to work in the future. Personally, I'd
like to see an antenna pointing at roughly 210 degrees
targeting
Gibraltar, Nigeria and Angola.
![Mika reeliing in an antenna](../photos/AIH103_Mika_reeling_antenna_300x.jpg)
Mika reeling in the old
250-degree antenna wire. |
In the afternoon, the first weak
signals from Asia were detected already around 1200
UTC, but only around 1300 UTC did the Japanese stations
begin to have readable signals. They dominated long
enough so that when NHK2 closed down at 1540 UTC,
I was happy to nail down three personally new local
stations on 1125, 1359 and 1476 AM. On other NHK2
frequencies, Aomori tended to dominate where it
had relay transmitters. After that I just went to
bed early, exhausted from today's exercise in the
swampy forest.
When I woke up before midnight,
I discovered that there was nothing of interest
in the evening's recordings. After 1600 UTC the
Middle East and Europeans overshadowed the few common
Asian stations. Barely a trace of Australia either.
Friday, October 4, 2019
Latin American signals were initially
very weak, but gained somewhat after 2200 UTC on
Thursday evening. North American stations were equally
slow to emerge, with hardly any activity before
midnight UTC. Signal levels shot up and down, and
unfortunately overnight low points tended to coincide
with the top of the hour.
![Flying towards Turvejärvi](../photos/AIH103_aerial_video_towards_Turvejarvi_300.jpg)
Flying towards Lake Turvejärvi. Click to
open the video in YouTube. |
Around sunrise, both Latin America
and North America were in full swing, and it was
difficult to choose what to focus on. I was surprised
to find a new Brazilian station, ZYI441 Rádio
Itaí de Rio Claro from Rondonópolis,
Mato Grosso, on 1030 AM. If anyone can find an email
for this IPDA-owned station, please let me know.
This station is not even listed in the WRTH, but
it was pretty easy to catch the name from a fabulous
ID. Incidentally, I'm planning a reporting trip
in November with a starting point in Mato Grosso,
but it's a big state, and I won't be going near
Rondonópolis.
North American stations were
the last to vanish due to daylight at around 0530
UTC, but made a brief comeback at 0700 UTC, after
which only silence was left on the AM dial. Identified
stations included 610 KDAL, 1240 KJCR and 1370 WLJW,
so no rarities.
![Winding](../photos/AIH103_aerial_winding_stream_300x.jpg)
In the middle you can see the small walkbridge
that we need to use to get across the winding
stream. |
During the day we checked a few
more antennas, and I took some time to fly my new
toy (and workhorse, as you will see on TV next year)
the Mavic Air drone. I took the first aerial
shots of the Aihkiniemi cabin. This part of Lapland
is relatively flat, so it is stunning to be able
to rise above the trees and get a bird's-eye view
of the landscape just as winter is starting to get
a hold of it. For instance the form of rivers and
streams can be quite pretty, as you can see above.
For the first time this fall,
we heard several Alaskan and Hawaiian stations after
1300 UTC. Nothing new for me, but Lauri enjoyed
the opening. The Asian front opened also around
1300 UTC. Initially there were some Japanese and
Korean stations (like AFN on 1440 AM), but from
14001500 UTC
the band was dominated by Chinese stations, such
as Nanjing Jingji Guangbo on 900 AM and Shandong
on 1485 AM. Later on there seemed to be some magnetic
disturbance, as only European and Middle Eastern
stations were heard.
![Red bilberry leaves](../photos/AIH103_red_bilberry_leaves_300x.jpg)
This is the time that leaves of bilberries (wild
blueberries) turn red. |
In the evening we drove to Inari
to catch up with Jari Ruohomäki and his spouse
Ritva who had spent the week in the Lemmenjoki DX
cabin, as well as their host Aslak, for a steak
dinner at Hotel Inari. Afterwards we shopped for
groceries at a fairly large and new "Sale"
supermarket, where Coke Zero costs twice as much
as in southern Finland. Addiction can become expensive
but let's not even begin to estimate the
costs of the DXing addiction.
As we left the restaurant, as
last customers, there were nice northern lights
arching and dancing across the entire star-studded
sky above Inari. Unfortunately it was all gone by
the time we got back to the cabin, so no photos
this time.
Saturday, October 5, 2019
Part of my continuous overnight
recording (at 00000300 UTC) was never made,
because my PC decided to update Microsoft Security
Essentials and restarted. Oh well, looks like I
didn't miss much. US stations were pretty weak,
but at daybreak the most common Colombian stations
offered neat signals. There were also other stations
from the region, for instance 1080 Sistema Dos (Ecuador),
1290 RPP (Peru) and 1440 Radio Impactante (Dominican
Rep). Signal levels nosedived at sunrise (0440 UTC),
earlier than yesterday. Cuban Radio Revolución,
probably broadcasting via Radio Baraguá,
on 1520 AM, was a neat surprise and saved the day.
![Aurora borealis](../photos/AIH103_northern_lights_300x.jpg)
Aurora borealis was very modest, and the weather
was cloudy almost every night. |
In the afternoon we visited our
neighbor, author Janne Utriainen and his family,
who are the only permanent residents living on the
shores of Lake Turvejärvi about 3 km away from
our cabin. Their homestead and subsistence lifestyle
was last year featured in Finland's biggest daily
Helsingin
Sanomat, where it was one of the most read stories
of the year. You can use Google Translate to get
an idea of the report. I had met Janne just once
briefly before, so it was very interesting to get
to know him better. Afterwards our next-door neighbor
Liisa invited us for a sauna, a first on this DXpedition.
Our lake was now covered with
thin ice, but there was no longer any snow on the
ground. Daytime temperatures were just above freezing
point, but during the nights temperatures dipped
below zero C.
![Reindeer on the road](../photos/AIH103_reindeer_on_road_300x.jpg)
This old reindeer bull thinks he owns the road,
in no hurry to cross over. |
The afternoon opening to Asia
began quite early with some signals already after
1200 UTC. Only after 1300 UTC were the signals strong
enough to merit recording, however. Unfortunately
stations from all over Asia were present, so it
was impossible to find anything of interest behind
the dominant stations, which were mostly from China.
The early evening was even more miserable, with
European and Middle Eastern stations dominating,
but at least I had time to edit more of my drone
videos.
Sunday, October 6, 2019
North American signals remained
absent until long into the night, reaching decent
audio only at 0300 UTC, when I identified for instance
1200 WMUZ and 1290 WNBF. Fortunately South American
stations showed more oomph. Especially the low end
of the AM dial was crowded with Argentine stations
around sunrise, and I was happy to catch Somos Radio
on 530 AM, probably previously unheard in Finland,
and a couple of personally new Radio Nacional outlets.
![Mika's equipment](../photos/AIH103_Mikas_equipment_300x.jpg)
I was using Perseus hardware and Jaguar software
to record the AM band. |
By 0530 UTC almost everything
was gone, although today some stations from the
Rockies and the US West Coast lingered on with very
weak signals for a few more hours. So in practise
we had intercontinental reception almost through
the day, since a few Alaskan and Hawaiian stations
put out weak signals in the early afternoon, and
Asian stations began flowing in after 1220 UTC.
A small drizzle continued throughout
the day, so we saved the remaining outdoor chores
for the future. There's plenty to review in our
recordings, so that kept us busy not only this afternoon
but will keep us busy for months to come.
By 1300 UTC there were already
stations from Central China and the Philippines.
For a couple of hours it was a semi decent opening
without too much European or Middle Eastern interference,
but I still haven't found any new ones. By late
evening I had found Australian ABC on about ten
frequencies.
In the evening, propagation on
northern latitudes was better than average, so that
Heilongjiang dominated many frequencies (873, 900
and 927 AM), but the local slots of NHK1 (2000 UTC)
and NHK2 (at 2100 UTC) offered only some familiar
stations in the lower end of the dial.
![Lauri Levanto listening](../photos/AIH103_LAL_listening_300x.jpg)
Lauri Levanto enjoyed the Aihkiniemi DXing paradise
for the first time, and will be able to send
reports to hundreds of new stations. |
Monday, October 7, 2019
Initially Brazilian stations
were quite strong and persisted for many hours,
but around daybreak everything from Buenos Aires
to Barranquilla and beyond was heard not
with particularly strong signals, but at least the
selection was wide. One of the nicest catches was
to pick up Radio Reforma from Panama loud and clear
on 860 AM, even though I already have it verified
from decades ago. In live listening I happened to
catch HJAS La Cariñosa from Barranquilla
with a local ID on 1400 AM a new station
for me. Latin American signals were not as strong
as they can be typically on winter mornings, but
there was more variation, with signals coming and
going, so a closer inspection of recordings can
eventually be quite rewarding.
US stations for the most part
only emerged after 0230 UTC. I stopped recording
them after 0630 UTC, but just like on the previous
day, a bunch of common stations from the Rockies
and the West Coast persisted on the dial for several
more hours.
During the day we checked the
remaining antennas. In cloudy weather the temperature
had lingered above freezing point. All the snow
was gone and our small lake was again free from
ice.
![Mika monitoring the AM band](../photos/AIH103_MTM_listening_300x.jpg)
Mika monitoring the AM band. |
The eastern front opened early,
with the first South Pacific stations of this fall
noted. V7AB on 1098 AM was heard just barely with
audio already around 1015 UTC, but Tonga on 1017
AM was surprisingly strong at times from 1140 UTC
onwards. The first Japanese station (JOUB on 774
AM) had audio already at 1020 UTC, and at around
1230 UTC most frequencies were occupied by common
East Asian stations.
Consequently, also European and
Middle Eastern stations appeared early. After 1600
UTC there was not much else left as Iranian and
Romanian stations were heard on most frequencies.
Late in the evening nothing was heard from East
Asia, making it the poorest evening in that sense.
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
By around 2300 UTC on Monday,
Brazilian and Argentinian stations were relatively
strong, and there was also an opening to the US
East Coast, peaking conveniently at 2300 UTC, but
there weren't any new catches to be made. Interesting
signals for instance on 1510 AM were just too weak.
Then US signals vanished until 0200 UTC.
The morning was much better.
Around 04000500 UTC I had one of the best
Columbia/Peru openings in many years. I immediately
found five personal new ones, including Radio Unión
(880 AM) and Radio Felicidad (900 AM) from Lima,
as well as Radio María from Bogotá
(1220 AM), but I'm sure there are others as well.
Other more common identified stations included for
instance Radio Rumbos 670, Radio Latina 990, Sistema
Cardenal 1010, Radio Paisa & Panamericana 1140,
UCSG Radio 1190, and WDEP 1490.
US East Coast never amounted
to much and stations vanished almost as soon as
Latin American signals did. The strongest West Coast
stations however continued to be heard throughout
the day, albeit sometimes very weak. Still, it was
nice to enjoy classic country on 1520 KKXA while
having salmon for lunch.
![A peat moss goahti](../photos/AIH103_peat_moss_goahti_300x.jpg)
A goahti made of logs and peat moss is a
traditional Sami dwelling for temporary use.
This collapsed one is located right next to
our cabin. |
The first Asian signals arrived
already around 1130 UTC, but unfortunately for a
long time I had a wrong antenna! What an elementary
mistake. I was just happily monitoring atmospheric
noise when I could have been listening to and recording
to a potentially great opening... So I also missed
any Pacific stations that might have been available
at least Tonga on 1017 AM was audible, which
I discovered as soon as I connected the right antenna.
By that time it was however too late for most other
island nations. Looks like sleep deprivation is
taking its toll.
Anyway, the Asian opening was
not very focused; Japanese stations in the beginning,
with Chinese stations taking over soon. And gradually
stations from all over Asia, including a couple
of weak signals from Australia. It is next to impossible
to find any new ones without a more narrow propagation
path.
Today's video is an aerial pan
of Lake Inari at sunset. Lake Inari was recently
chosen by CNN as the first on their list of 20
most beautiful places.
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
Overnight propagation was fairly
poor to all directions. A few US stations in the
upper band were audible from around 0100 UTC, and
a bunch of Brazilians through the night, but nothing
compared to the previous night. Even daybreak was
a disappointment. Signals just fizzled out at sunrise
around 0500 UTC. Half a dozen most common stations
from Paraguay (such as Radio Fé y Alegría
on 1300 AM) and Uruguay had decent signals just
before all Latin American signals evaporated.
A few of the most common West
Coast stations lingered on through the daylight
hours, but signal levels were generally very weak,
and nothing was heard on graveyard channels.
![Antenna landscape](../photos/AIH103_aerial_video_ponds_and_swamps_slow_pan_300.jpg)
This video shows the landscape where most of
the antennas are. Click to open the video in
YouTube. |
For the past couple of days KBRW
Barrow (680 AM) which at 4,400 km (2,700
miles) away can be considered semi local
had been heard throughout the daylight hours. After
1200 UTC the most common other Alaskan stations,
as well some Asian stations, began to rise from
the noise. This time I made sure to monitor the
30-degree wire, but aside from what I presumised
to be Tonga on 1017 AM there was no signs of life
from the southern Pacific.
I have yet to take even a superficial
look at early evening recordings from Asia, because
I caught up on sleep, but anyhow by that time Wednesday
felt like a day wasted. Fortunately late in the
evening before sunrise in East Asia, Chinese and
Philippine stations sounded surprisingly robust,
and I even found one personally new Philippine station,
namely DYKB Bacolod on 1404 AM. I was sure to check
both NHK1 (2000 UTC) and NHK2 (2100 UTC) local ID
slots, and found two personally new NHK1 stations:
JOLG Tottori via JOLQ Yonago (963 AM) and JOJK Kanazawa
via Wajima (1584 AM). So, a very nice evening after
a very boring day.
Thursday, October 10, 2019
This was the night that we had
been waiting for. North American signals showed
up briefly around 2300 UTC, some even before local
sunset (like CFGO 1200 at 2110 UTC), which would
have offered an opportunity to pick up daytime-only
stations. No such luck, but after a bit of a retreat,
US and Canadian stations returned in force before
0100 UTC, and continued with mighty signal levels
through the rest of the night. Signal levels were
really good, considering that it's still early October,
but nevertheless, everything vanished into thin
air after sunrise, which is now at 8:00 a.m. local
time (0500 UTC). By 0530 UTC the AM band was almost
quiet. As is usual, later in the day some West Coast
powerhouses maintained weak signals.
This roughly five-hour opening
was by far the best towards North America on this
DXpedition. Conditions favored Michigan (eg. WWWI
1270, WLJW 1370, WMLM 1520), Wisconsin (WOSH 1490,
WLFN 1490), Minnesota (KBRF 1250) and Iowa (KBOB
1170, KLEM 1410, KCHE 1440), but stations were heard
from coast to coast. KERR from Montana was the most
powerful station on 750 AM for hours. Many Texan
stations were heard, for instance 1440 KEYS and
1530 KGBT. I even got a couple of new ones from
Texas, Illinois and Michigan. Also, I noticed about
a dozen Mexican stations, for example XEDTL alone
on its frequency of 660 AM at sunrise.
![Otsamo fell with snow on top](../photos/AIH103_Otsamo_300x.jpg)
Otsamo fell had a snow cover on the day
of departure. |
Not only for North America, Thursday
turned out to be the best day for Oceania. In the
afternoon, Tonga (1017 AM) was heard with audio
already at 1000 UTC, later improving to a really
enjoyable level. V7AB from the Marshall Islands
(1098 AM) was heard with nice quality for the first
time this fall, signing off at 1132 UTC. The most
common Kiwi station, NewstalkZB on 1035 AM was first
heard with audio at 1140 UTC and at 1200 UTC with
the regular top-of-the-hour newscast: "This
is NewstalkZB News".
During the following two hours,
a few of the most common NZ stations occasionally
showed up. One of the easiest Kiwi catches is 1107
AM with transmitters in Tauranga and Rotorua. The
station has however changed its name, and what I
used to know as Radio Live is nowadays Magic
Talk. Magic Talk aired promotional announcements
also for its sister network Magic Music.
Alaskan and Hawaiian stations
were the strongest they had been so far this fall,
so Lauri had a field day reporting new catches.
Unfortuntely I didn't find any new ones from any
direction. After all this excitement towards other
directions, I didn't pay much attention to Asian
recordings in the evening, but based on a quick
review, I don't expect anything the focus
seemed to shift fast to South Asia and Iran.
Friday, October 11, 2019
Based on the previous night,
expectations were high and they were not
met. The evening began with stronger than average
signals from Brazil, but that was about it. Signals
from the rest of the Americas were weak through
the night, and reached average levels only around
0400 UTC. By 0700 UTC everything was gone, and nothing
of interest from the Pacific or Asian fronts seemed
to materialize until late in the afternoon.
Australian ABC was eventually heard for instance
on 567, 576 and 702 AM, so there is potential for
some new Down Under catches, once recordings are
reviewed.
Saturday, October 12, 2019
![Flying southwest over Turvelompolo](../photos/AIH103_aerial_video_tracking_southwest_300x.JPG)
Here you can fly southwest for a kilometer following
the waterway of Turvelompolo. Click to open
the video in YouTube. |
Overnight was exceptionally poor
to all transatlantic latitudes, but at sunrise Colombian
and Puerto Rican stations suprisingly remained on
the dial for a couple of more hours. No rarities
were immediately identified, but still a nice morning.
After the morning opening we packed our stuff and
headed south. In the morning temperatures had dipped
to -10 C (14 Fahrenheit), which was the lowest this
far. There was some fresh snow between Ivalo and
Inari, but otherwise road conditions were good,
and we had ample time in Rovaniemi before the departure
of the train south.
So goodbye to Lapland, for a
moment. The break from DXing would become exceptionally
short, as I'm planning to return to Aihkiniemi for
yet another DXpedition just before the end of October.
![to Home](../images/nav_backback.jpg) ![to DXpeditions](../images/nav_back.jpg)
|