French Creek DXpedition
no. 17
December 14-16, 2003
By Rich D'Angelo
Our second DXpedition of the season
and our seventeenth overall to French Creek State
Park is now history. This DXpedition was a Sunday
through Tuesday affair. Rich Cuff, John Figliozzi,
Ed Mauger and Tracy Wood rounded out the group.
This was the first time that Rich, John and Tracy
made a French Creek DXpedition. John Figliozzi was
delayed a day due to massive amounts of snow that
attempted to keep him from this rendezvous with
destiny.
![Group picture](../photos/usa_frenchcreek17_group.jpg)
Left to right - Ed Mauger,
Tracy Wood, John Figliozzi, Rich D'Angelo and
Rich Cuff |
In December we made another visit
to our favorite DXpedition site fighting not only
propagation but also the weather.
Massive amounts of snow in New
York resulted in John Figliozzis postponement
with his rendezvous with Destiny at French Creek
(after the weather cleared he trekked down from
New York State without a hitch). Instead of a DXpediton
on Sunday, he had to settle for Christmas shopping
with his wife, a different rendezvous with destiny.
By Monday afternoon, all was well in the DX world
as John pulled into the DXpedition site.
![Cabin](../photos/usa_frenchcreek17_15.jpg)
An outside view of the cabin |
Tracy Wood experienced significant
traveling problems getting to the cabin. The weather
beaten crew consisted of Rich Cuff, John Figliozzi,
Ed Mauger, Tracy Wood and myself. This was the first
time that Rich, John and Tracy made a French Creek
DXpedition.
I was the first to arrive and
began unloading in extremely slippery conditions.
The early morning snow changed over to sleet and
freezing rain and then all rain during the day.
The French Creek area dodged a forecasted big snow
but icy conditions made antenna work adventuresome.
After hauling my gear into the cabin, I began the
journey up the back slope to erect my main antenna,
a 500-foot long wire. Normally I can get that done
in 15 minutes but on this day with slippery conditions
from the snow on the ground and the ice on everything
else, it took between 35-40 minutes. I immediately
dismissed all thoughts of putting up a second antenna
as I had no plans to further battle the weather
conditions.
![Chef D'Angelo](../photos/usa_frenchcreek17_17.jpg)
Chef D'Angelo preparing the Monday night "banquet"
of pasta, meatballs and Texas Toast |
Ed arrived as I finished my antenna
work so I had the opportunity to watch him slide
all over the mountain doing his antenna work. Oh
what fun! Rich Cuff was next to arrive but his antenna
set-ups were a little more modest so he wasnt
very entertaining. Ed brought along a spare
R-8, which Rich Cuff put to good use along with
his Sony 2010.
After darkness fell, Tracy magically
appeared at 1900 local. Finding the cabins can be
difficult in daylight but being a first timer and
finding them at night merits the tough guy
award for bravery, or should that be for foolishness?
John sent world through Richs Blackberry that
he was marooned in the greater Albany area for the
foreseeable future.
![Rich D'Angelo and John Figliozzi](../photos/usa_frenchcreek17_18.jpg)
Rich D'Angelo and John Figliozzi discussing
the finer points of pasta preparation |
Early afternoon Africans were
pretty good with Zambia on 4910 pinning the s-meter
prior to sign off shortly after 2200. I noted Radio
Táchira signing on at 2200, which surprised
me. A few Chinese regional stations were noted but
for the most part the awful weather was accompanied
by poor propagation, as Indonesia was non-existent.
Latins were fairly quiet early but eventually
things opened up a bit with some interesting Peruvians
such as Poderosa and Frecuencia VH making appearances
during the evening.
![RAD cleaning up after dinner](../photos/usa_frenchcreek17_14.jpg)
RAD cleaning up after dinner |
Monday morning saw Ed and Tracy
up extra early at 0300 local/0800 UTC so they enjoyed
an outstanding opening to Brazil. This was followed
by a great opening to Perú. Unfortunately,
we didnt hear much from Indonesia or Papua
New Guinea. However, Indians were numerous with
reception noted from Kurseong and Lucknow. The snow,
sleet, and rain mix from the day before left an
icy feel to the outdoors as folks headed out to
run errands.
Our snowbound DXer, John
Figliozzi, arrived mid-afternoon on Wednesday to
complete the cabin. Afternoon conditions were far
from ideal but a few decent logs were made. As is
customary, the last night was our banquet, the traditional
pasta dinner. As usual, it was a big event and a
group digital photo closed out the formal activities.
We returned to our rigs as conditions seemed to
improve as the evening wore on.
![John Figliozzi reading with Tracy Wood DXing](../photos/usa_frenchcreek17_22.jpg)
John Figliozzi reading with Tracy Wood DXing
|
Get away morning saw another
good opening to Latin America with Bolivian, Brazilian
and Peruvian stations everywhere. Once again Indonesia
was quiet but Indians cooperated for some nice logs.
The three Australian regional stations on 120 meters
were heard with 2310 kHz booming around 1200 UTC.
Finally, we packed our gear,
tore down our antennas and said our good-byes putting
yet another DXpedition in the record books. Without
any snow or ice to hamper this activity, things
moved along smoothly. Overall, conditions were pretty
good making this outing well worth the awful weather
we had to contend with to get to the park. First
timers, Rich Cuff, John Figliozzi and Tracy Wood
enjoyed the visit although next time we need to
have John around more than 18 hours!
![](../photos/usa_frenchcreek17_19.jpg)
Ed Mauger and John Figliozzi actually DXing
|
Other highlights:
AIR Gangtok (tentative)
Kyrgyz Radio
Radio Hargeysa (presumed)
Heilongjiang PBS
The only lowlight was not hearing
any Europirates.
Equipment:
Ten-Tec RX-340 and a Drake R-8B, 500 foot wire essential
north, 200-foot wire essentially south, Datong FL3.
Logs
AUSTRALIA
2310, ABC Northern Territories, Alice Springs (VL8A),
1120-1210 Dec 16, aboriginal music followed by a
man with English talk with a woman reading ABC News
at 1130. Fair but improving to good by 1200. //2325
Tennant Creek (VL8T) was poor and 2485 Katherine
(VL8K) was very weak. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
BOLIVIA
3310, Radio Mosoj Chaski, 2248-2310 Dec 15, program
of rustic vocals hosted by a woman announcer in
Quechoa. Formal Spanish ID and frequency announcement
at 2257 and again at 2300. Poor. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
5952.5, Radio Pio Doce, 0946-0957
Dec 15, talk in Spanish by a woman announcer with
numerous IDs and TCs. Rustic female vocal selection
followed by another ID and TC and more music. Fair
signal until WYFR opened on 5950 making this a mess.
Fair. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
BRAZIL
4865, Rádio Verdes Florestas, 1055-1120 fade
out Dec 16, group singing with nice ID and frequency
announcement noted at 1103. Mix of talks by a man
and woman with another ID at 1107. Some brief musical
segments. Fair. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
5055, Rádio Difusora Cáceres,
0918-0941 fade out Dec 16, man with Portuguese religious
talks, brief musical segments, more talk and choir
vocals. ID at 0939 as beginning to fade out. Weak.
(DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
11785, Rádio Guaíba,
0242-0305* Dec 15, nice program of instrumental
music hosted by a man with ID and frequency announcement
at 0245. Time pips at 0300 followed by quick ID
and announcement at 0305 as carrier was terminated.
Poor to fair but in the clear. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
CLANDESTINE
5945, Democratic Voice of Burma via Deutsche Telekom
Jülich, *2327-2350 Dec 15, male vocal opening
followed by opening ID and announcements. News in
Burmese by a man and woman. Poor to fair with some
growling noise. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
11530, Voice of Mesopotamia via
Moldova, 1250-1345 Dec 15, continuous Middle Eastern
music with nice ID, website address at 1305 and
multiple IDs over music. Mix of music and Kurdish
talks. Fair signal. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
INDIA
4820, AIR Kolkata, 1233-1242 Dec 15, flute music
with Hindi talk by a woman announcer. More flute
music. Poor. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
4860, AIR Delhi, 1230-1236 Dec
15, English news read by a woman announcer noted
//4895. Fair. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
4880, AIR Lucknow, 1223-1235
fade out Dec 15, group singing with Hindi talk at
1225 and more group singing. Poor to air but fading
quickly. Noted from 1210 on Dec 16 with open carrier
and IS from 1213 with woman announcer giving ID
and opening announcements at 1215. Weak on this
day. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
4895, AIR Kurseong, 1203-1233
Dec 15, nice mix of group vocals, flute music and
an Hindi version of Jingle Bells. At
1230 ID in English followed by the news. Fair signal
with swisher QRM //4860 for news. Noted again on
Dec 16 at 1140 with Hindi vocals at fair level.
(DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
INDONESIA
3976, RRI Pontianak (tentative), 1127-1142 Dec 15,
mix of vocals and Indonesian talks by man announcer.
Poor and smothered by ARO QRM. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
4790, RRI Fak Fak (tentative),
1138-1147 Dec 16, vocals followed by Indonesian
talk by a man. Weak signal and gone almost immediately.
(DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
LESOTHO
4800, Radio Lesotho, 0358-0416 Dec 15, easy instrumental
music to 0400 ID and news in Sesotho by a man. At
0405 a series of public service announcements including
one in English about crime activity.
Poor to fair signal with heavy swisher QRM. Thanks
to a Tracy Woods alert. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
MYANMAR
5040.6, Radio Myanmar, 1116-1210 Dec 15 and 16,
regional vocals hosted by a woman announcer in Myanmar
language. Poor to good both days. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
5985.9v, Radio Myanmar, 1132-1205
Dec 16, Main Program news read by a man in Myanmar
language. ID at 1138 followed by local instrumental
music. Program of vocals hosted by a woman announcer.
Poor with signal right on 5986 at tune in but drifted
down while listening. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
PERU
3235, Radio Luz y Sonido, 1008-1021 Dec 16, music
program hosted by a man with Spanish talk and canned
echo effect ID at 1015. Fair. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
3329.7, Ondas del Hullaga, 1032-1052
Dec 15, man with news in Spanish followed by ID
at 1042 by a woman announcer and vocals. Fair signal
and best in LSB to avoid CHU. Almost faded by 1050.
Noted again on Dec 16 around 1030 with lively music
programming and a fair signal. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
4386.6, Radio Imperio, 0213-0245
Dec 15, man preaching in Spanish before a live church
service crowd. Back to studio at 0228 with a man
announcer giving station identification followed
by choir vocals. Another ID and TC at 0236 followed
by more choir singing. Fair. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
4485.9, Radio Frecuencia VH,
0113-0142 Dec 15, program of rustic vocals hosted
by a man announcer with Spanish announcements, ID
and TC. Poor. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
4746.9, Radio Hunata 2000, 0957-1030
Dec 15, long talks by a man in Spanish, frequent
IDs, news. Fair and steady signal. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
4991, Radio Ancash, 1039-1050
Dec 15, ad string followed by man announcer with
Spanish chatter, vocal selections and ID at 1044
over music. Seemingly returning to this frequency
from 4992.5 with Apintie on 4990. Fair. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
5019.9, Radio Horizonte, 1130-1142
Dec 15, caught ID by man announcer at tune in with
Spanish talk, noticias, another ID by a woman at
1136 followed by a vocal. Fair but beginning to
fade. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
5025, Radio Quillabamba, 1006-1015
Dec 16, vocals followed by a man with Spanish talk
and ID over bells. Rustic vocal by a woman followed.
Fair. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
5486.7, Reina de la Selva, 1048-1110
Dec 15, fast talking man in Spanish, echo effect
announcements, ads, mentions of Chachapoyas
flute music and vocals with an ID at 1057. Fair
but starting to fade after 1100. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
5626.3-5627.2v, Radio Cielo,
1100-1124 Dec 15, man playing Peruvian vocals with
nice IDs between each selection with brief Spanish
chatter. Nice ID at 1122: Este es Radio Cielo.
Fair signal but unstable and overmodulated. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
5906.4, Radio Panorama, 0940-1010
Dec 16, morning program with two men bantering back
and forth. Nice Radio Panorama ID and TC at 0944
followed by group singing. Another Radio Panorama
ID and frequency announcement at 1002 followed by
an ad string. However, at 1004 I heard what sounded
like a Radio Melodia ID. I have seen reports for
both stations around this frequency. Could there
be some sort of joint programming of some sort?
Maybe a program on Melodia is called Panorama?
Confusing. Weak. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
6536, Radio Poderosa, 0044-0104*
Dec 15, man in Spanish hosting a program of rustic
Peruvian vocals. Nice ID and mention of Huancabamba
at 0052 and 0057. ID and sign off announcements
at 0102 followed by choral National Anthem. Weak.
(DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
PIRATE (No. Am.)
6950, Sunshine Radio, 2108-2114 and 2210 re-check
Dec 14, program of continuous music with woman giving
ID at 2112: This is Sunshine Radio.
She wished every one a Merry Christmas and back
to the music on Sunshine Radio. Fair signal
but being overwhelmed by a Chinese station when
re-checked at 2220. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
6950 usb, Voice of Captain Ron
Shortwave, 0108-0114 Dec 15, Captain Ron and his
encounter with a card board box followed by rock
music. Fair to good. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
6955, WMPR, 2340-0001* Dec 14,
Christmas music, ID by a man and woman: WMPR,
6-9-5-5 followed by instrumental version of
The Twelve Days of Christmas. Another ID at 2349
followed by more music. Fair. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
RWANDA
6055, Radio Rwanda, 2048-2100* Dec 14, in the clear
with continuous highlife music until ID and sign
off announcements in French by a man followed by
orchestra national anthem at 2055 and choral national
anthem at 2058. Fair signal with no QRM. (DAngelo-PA)
URUGUAY
9595, Radio Monte Carlo and Radio Oriental, 2346-0012
Dec 15, program of vocals with mentions of Uruguay.
Ad string at 0000 followed by the news in Spanish.
Nice ID at end of the news mentioning both stations.
Poor to fair and seemingly best in LSB. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
VENEZUELA
4830, Radio Táchira, *2200-2212 Dec 14, opening
choral National Anthem followed by regional anthem.
A woman with Spanish ID and announcements followed
by a man with formal opening announcements. Into
a program of Latin vocals. Fair to good signal and
first time Ive noted sign on at this hour.
(DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
ZAMBIA
4910, Radio Zambia, 2130-2201* Dec 14, man hosting
telephone call in program in local language with
some tribal musical selections. Announcer gave ID
after time pips at 2200. Re-check shortly thereafter
and they were gone so presumed sign off after ID.
Fair with swisher QRM. (DAngelo/FCDX-PA)
Posted on December
25, 2003
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