ANTENNAS & EQUIPMENT:

750 ft. SW & W Beverages, 950 ft. NW Beverage

Guy Atkins: modified ICOM R-75 / modified Racal RA6790GM / Timewave DSP-59+
Ergo receiver control / Kiwa MAP / RecAll Pro software / Sony MZ-R50 Mindisc

John Bryant: Ten-Tec RX340 / Ten-Tec RX320 / Timewave DSP-599ZX
Total Recorder Pro software

JOHN BRYANT WRITES:

Guy Atkins and I managed one of our brief Grayland DXpeditions to celebrate the end of summer and to try to catch the local IDs of the pesky NHK-2 synchronous stations on 702, 1125, 1152, 1377, 1386, 1593 and 1602. The latter weeks in August are one of the few times of the year that the local IDs on NHK-2 network at 1320UTC coincide with dawn enhancement on the Washington coast.

As usual, we traveled to Grayland (two to three hours from Seattle-Tacoma and unlike those Puget Sound locations, on the open Pacific coast of Washington State) on Thursday afternoon and got the three beverages out and our receivers up prior to sunset. It was then to early bed so that we could arise at 2:30AM local time (0930 UTC) when the sunset terminator had traveled across the central Pacific. The period 0900-1100 UTC is generally the time that we hear the nations of the Pacific, if the DX gods are smiling. In recent years, this middle of the night exercise has generally been fruitless.... for reasons we don't really understand. After 20 minutes of band scanning, Sack Rat Bryant generally headed back to bed for another two hours of shut-eye, while Guy continued to turn the knobs. His persistence was rewarded by brief receptions of 1035 Solomon Islands, the 1 kw Kosrae, FSM outlet on 1503, and 1098 Marshall Islands.

In general, the conditions were much improved over the awful MW conditions that we experienced in mid-July, 2004. Indeed, the conditions were among the best that we've had in recent years. The conditions between 1130 UTC and band fade near 1400 varied in geographic blocks, with conditions seeming to switch from one area of the Pacific Rim to another with the abruptness of a light switch:

Friday, August 20

Our first morning saw the conditions until actual dawn (1314 UTC) focused almost exclusively on Japan and Korea, with China noticeably absent. Almost all of our catches during this period tended to be high-band stations. Very soon after actual dawn, the Japanese/Koreans fell away and the lower part of the dial was literally covered with Aussies. Uniquely, about 80 percent of these stations (the ABC Metropolitan Service and ABC "Local Radio" a.k.a. RR "Rural Radio" Service) were running the same ABC Olympic coverage. This allowed us to identify quite a few of the stations by inference a least, very rapidly. Handily, ABC's National Radio Service was running a very distinctive World Music program, further improving our chances of inferring station IDs.

Best catches were 639, 8RN Katherine in Northern Territories, Australia and a local ID on one of the NHK-2 Synchros, JOTB, Matsue on 1593. Other notables were 1035 Radio Hapi Isles, Honiara, Solomon Islands and a couple of non-regular Korean stations. The swap from Northern to Southern Hemisphere a few minutes after dawn was really remarkable.

Saturday, August 21

The first half of dawn enhancement was a bit more broadly cast than our first morning, with New Zealand stations, primarily deep South Island stations present at the same time as Japan and Korea Unlike the first morning, major Chinese outlets were also noted during this first half of dawn enhancement. Like Friday morning, conditions abruptly switched to Australia at about local dawn here in Grayland. Again, ABC Olympic programming seemed to cover the lower half of MW. Another distinguishing characteristic of Saturday morning was the return of truly "local level" signals on some of the Big Gun stations. VOA Thailand, 1575, China National Radio's Korean Service on 1206 and FEBC's HLAZ, Cheju Island, Korea on 1566 were each well over S-9 during the heart of dawn enhancement. The more notable loggings included 675 3YA Christchurch and 864 4ZA Invercargill, NZ and 540 4QL Longreach, QSLD under the vestiges of CBK, Regina at the end of max. dawn.

Sunday, August 22

Our last morning, though offering some wonderful DX, was much more what we expected to find during "summer conditions:" at Grayland: conditions focusing on Down Under, with a scattering of loggings from the Pacific Islands. It must be said, though, that the quality of the conditions was much more like the Glory Days of the early 1990s. We made some memorable catches and also got to revisit several long-absent old friends. Among the more memorable catches were TWO presumed Northern Territory loggings, 8RN, Katherine-639 again and 8AL, Alice Springs-783. Another tantalizing very tentative was mega-watt AIR Chinsura-594. We also celebrated 666-Radio Nouvelle Caledonie, Noumea heard very well for our first logging of this old friend in a decade.

Our July 2004 visit to Grayland produced the poorest MW loggings from there in many years. This visit, five weeks later, produced some of the very best. What a fascinating hobby.

GUY ATKINS WRITES:

Some DXers "hang up the headphones" in the Summer, figuring that there is no DX worth pursuing. My experience, though, says otherwise. Especially from a quiet DXpedition location, every month of the year offers opportunity for interesting targets.

Guy Atkins (left) and John Bryant at Grayland, WA

This weekend's 3-night DXpedition at Grayland with John Bryant produced trans-Pacific MW DX from both hemispheres. The geographic regions that were "in" at any given moment toggled from one to the other within a minute or two. It would be fascinating to know what propagational mechanism causes DX to begin the evening "Down Under", flip suddenly to Japan/China/Asia for much of the night, and then finish with a sudden return to Aussie/Kiwi mediumwave DX just past local sunrise! Please see John's DXpedition report for an interesting and detailed account of these fluctuating conditions.

Sunday, August 22nd provided a totally different mediumwave reception pattern compared to the previous evenings. Once the grayline had shifted far enough to the west, both Southern and Northern hemispheres propagated signals to our receivers. On frequencies such as 594 and 828, Australian/New Zealand and Japanese/Korean/Chinese stations were fighting for our attention at the same time. Overall signal levels were lower on the 22nd, often making it difficult to identify anything more than the languages and potential countries on the frequency.

My DXpedition highlights on mediumwave were the 1 kw Kosrae, Micronesia station V6AJ on 1503 (a new MW country for me) and catching an elusive local ID of JOTB Matsue, Japan on 1593.

I spent little time on the tropical bands as mediumwave was so productive. Most interesting catch on shortwave was an unidentified NHK feeder on 3970 USB, which is likely the 600 watt Sapporo station rather than the weaker, further south Nagoya outlet. The usual Indonesians on 90 meters such as RRI Palangkaraya and RRI Ternate provided excellent listening with their strong, clear signals.

I also found Radio East New Britain (3385 kHz) on late past 1200 with an excellent quality broadcast of the "New Guinea Top Ten Countdown" of Melanesian pop music, sponsored by Coca-Cola. A number of advertisements, promos, and PSAs added to the local flavor. MP3 recordings of this intercept can be streamed or downloaded from here (26 minutes, 3.05 Mb) or just the first half (13 minutes, 1.54 Mb). The MP3 files are analog copies of my original minidisc recorded on the ICOM R-75.

John and I set up our usual three Beverage antennas on this DXpedition: 750 ft. terminated wires running southwest and west, and 950 ft. in the northwest direction. We also experimented with a remotely-adjusted termination for another western Beverage. The orientation of the Grayland DXpedition site limits our antenna lengths. In the past we've extended the wires a few hundred feet further over the beach during the night but found no worthwhile improvement; the risk of the wires being caught by passing vehicles on the beach is too great.

My ICOM R-75 was my favorite receiver during the DXpedition, and it proved to be more flexible in tough DX situations than the Racal RA6790GM. The ICOM was better with split frequency MW signals thanks to the INRAD crystal filters in the 2nd & 3rd IFs which improve the R-75 twin PBT control's performance over stock. On the trans-Pacific MW catches in particular, once again I found myself wishing for PBT on the Racal. The RA6790GM has great selectivity, but the R-75 has an edge in audio recovery and signal readability with its PBT adjusted precisely. The PBT's superiority is due to its ability to peak crucial voice frequencies for best intelligibility, when signals are severely overlapping (often the case with foreign mediumwave stations close to domestic MW channels). The R-75 is also easier and quicker to tune than the RA6790GM, with the ICOM's keypad buttons providing a tactile feedback compared to the membrane keys on the Racal. In addition, if I want to use the full selection of voice bandwidth crystal filters in the RA6790GM I need to be in CW mode, adjust the BFO to 1200-1500 kHz, and offset-tune by an appropriate amount for clear audio.

On signals without co-channel interference however, the Racal is my first choice for cleaner audio. Particularly with very weak signals having at least one sideband in the clear, the RA6790GM reveals more nuances of the audio for better intelligibility. The Racal is also my first choice for pleasant program listening to moderate and strong signals.

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MEDIUMWAVE

531 NEW ZEALAND Radio 531 PI, Auckland, Aug 22 1143 - This Pacific Island peoples station heard at truly local level at turn-on, running a Christian church service in Polynesian language. The hymns were wonderful. Mentions of Tonga 1145. (Bryant/Atkins-WA)

540 AUSTRALIA 4QL Longreach, Aug 21 1340 - Heard here at end of max. dawn with ABC Olympic coverage, under the vestiges of CBK, Regina. Very pleased with this new one. Presumed only, unfortunately. (Bryant-WA)

558 FIJI R. Fiji 1, Aug 22 1150 - Island music chorus rising out of the noise at 1150, but inaudible by 1158. At 1232, I found 684 Fiji at a nice level and parallel with 558, but only briefly. Poor to fair level overall. (Atkins-WA)

576 AUSTRALIA 2RN Sydney, Aug 20 1341 - Radio National at good level running a program of classical world music hosted by male. Not // 9580, but // 792 4RN Brisbane as well as 8RN Katherine on 639. Also noted on Aug. 21. (Bryant-WA)

594 AUSTRALIA 3WV Horsham, Aug 20 1345 - Noted as part of very late low band Aussie opening with ABC Local Radio + Metro Service Olympic coverage (cycling). Good level. Also noted on Aug. 22. (Bryant-WA)

594 AUSTRALIA 3WV Horsham, Aug 22 1212 - Australia Olympics coverage by two announcers in Aussie English, parallel to 684 8RN 2KP Kempsey. Poor, and signal soon replaced by other low-level stations in the sonic muck. Noted later at 1334 with more Olympics at good level. (Atkins-WA)

594 UNIDENTIFIED , Aug 22 1245 - At 1250, John and I heard music on this frequency that sounded East Indian or Tibetan; it may have been a Chinese outlet, but the CNR shortwave frequencies were not in parallel. Could it be the Indian East External Service from Chinsurah (1 megawatt), peaking just past East Indian sunrise? The signal faded just after 1250, and JOAK Tokyo took its place. UPDATE AUG. 25: John listened closely to his recording of 594 and clearly heard brief bits of Chinese language. This was not the Chinsurah outlet, unfortunately. (Bryant/Atkins-WA)

594 JAPAN JOAK Tokyo, Aug 22 1255 - Earlier in the hour, a real muddle on this frequency with 3WV Horsham mostly dominating with Australian team Olympics coverage. A tantalizing unidentified station (India?) made an appearance at 1250, but JOAK appeared alone on 594 just prior to 1300. Male talk in Japanese, then NHK1 time pips at 1300 and into news read by woman announcer. Fair to good. (Atkins-WA)

612 AUSTRALIA 4QR Brisbane, Aug 20 1349 - Noted as part of very late low band Aussie opening with ABC Local Radio + Metro Service Olympic coverage (cycling). Good level. Also noted on Aug. 21. (Bryant-WA)

639 AUSTRALIA 8RN Katherine, Aug 20 1348 - Heard here clearly with classical Indian flute music. Parallel to other Radio National frequencies 576//792, Very pleased with this one. Other Northern Territory stations were checked but unheard on 20th. Also noted on Aug. 22. (Atkins/Bryant-WA)

666 AUSTRALIA 2CN Canberra, Aug 20 1350 - Noted as part of very late low band Aussie opening with ABC Local Radio + Metro Service Olympic coverage (cycling). Fair to poor as band faded. New station for me. (Bryant-WA)

666 NEW CALEDONIA Radio Nouvelle Caledonie, Noumea, Aug 22 1335 - Very happy to find FF dominating 666 after a decade of hoping to hear this station a second time. Was running France-Inter as per schedule (Atkins paralleled this to very poor 738, Tahiti.) Signal levels at times were near local level. WOW!. (Bryant/Atkins-WA)

675 NEW ZEALAND 3YA Christchurch, Aug 21 1154 - Presume this one heard on SW antenna only with light classical music at poor level. In most of AM. Not heard here in several years. (Bryant-WA)

684 AUSTRALIA 2KP Kempsey, Aug 20 1355 - Noted as part of very late low band Aussie opening with ABC Local Radio + Metro Service Olympic coverage (cycling). Noted at poor level as band faded. Also noted on Aug. 21. (Bryant-WA)

684 AUSTRALIA 2KP Kempsey, Aug 22 1218 - Olympics coverage with Aussie accent announcers in English, and parallel to 594 3WV Horsham. Poor, and faded down to mix with other unidentified stations. (Atkins-WA)

684 FIJI R. Fiji 1, Aug 22 1224 - Nice bits of island choral music and hymns heard during fade troughs of 2KP Kempsey, and at times mixing equal level with the Australian. At 1231 I found parallel 558 Fiji rising up nicely in parallel with 684. Poor-fair, but good level with island string music and vocals at 1313 recheck. (Atkins-WA)

684 FIJI Radio Fiji 1 Labasa, Aug 22 1310 - Heard well with Fijian talk and beautiful island singing. No sign of 2KP Kempsey with Olympic coverage. (Bryant-WA)

702 AUSTRALIA 2BL Sydney, Aug 21 1250 - Continuing Olympic coverage on ABC MS and RR outlets, parallel 774. Good level. Also noted on Aug. 22. (Bryant/Atkins-WA)

738 AUSTRALIA 2NR Grafton, Aug 20 1346 - Noted as part of very late low band Aussie opening with ABC Local Radio + Metro Service Olympic coverage (cycling). Good level. Also noted on Aug. 21. (Bryant-WA)

738 AUSTRALIA 2NR Grafton, Aug 22 1350 - Olympics commentary by female announcer, parallel 594 3WV Horsham. Fair to good. (Atkins-WA)

738 NEW ZEALAND Radio Pacific, Christchurch, Aug 21 1308 - Possibly this news talk station with female in English, beneath 2NR Grafton carrying ABC Olympics coverage. Fair. (Atkins-WA)

738 TAHITI R. Tahiti, Mohina, Aug 20 0938 - Noted in passing several times in FF at good level. Since the installation of their new transmitter, Tahiti has become our most predictable Trans-Pac station. Also noted on Aug. 22. (Bryant-WA)

738 TAHITI RFO Papeete, Aug 21 0433 - Weak signal just past Papeete sunset; female announcer in French. (Atkins-WA)

756 NEW ZEALAND 1YA Auckland, Aug 22 1211 - Noted in passing with DUnglish discussion at fair to poor level. (Bryant-WA)

756 NEW ZEALAND 1YA Auckland (pres.), Aug 21 1345 - Presume this in DUenglish on SW wire with promo for news. Mention of Wellington. Fair only. Also noted on Aug. 22. (Bryant-WA)

774 AUSTRALIA 3LO Melbourne, Aug 20 1347 - Noted as part of very late low band Aussie opening with ABC Local Radio + Metro Service Olympic coverage (cycling). Good level. Heard all three AMs of DXpedition. (Bryant-WA)

774 AUSTRALIA 3LO Melbourne, Aug 21 1003 - Presumed this stronger of the two Aussies on 774; female announcer in Aussie English with news of Iraq, before signal faded into the mush again. Poor-fair. (Atkins-WA)

783 AUSTRALIA 8AL Alice Springs (tent.), Aug 22 1317 - Very distinctive piano concerto at near local level briefly (2 minutes or so) which was parallel to but slightly delayed from next channel over, 792 ABC Radio National, 4RN, Brisbane. Unless there is a new Radio National outlet on this frequency, this was tentatively 8AL Alice Springs, the only ABC outlet there.. which should probably have been running ABC Olympic coverage. Will contact 8AL immediately. Did not check SW possible parallel. As soon as concerto faded down, 783 Wellington dominated channel. (Bryant-WA)

783 NEW ZEALAND 2YB Access Radio, Aug 21 1328 - Folk music to 7-note xylophone music stinger and male announcer in English at 1229 ('Listen to the Irish Radio Program every Sunday, here on Access Radio...with news from Ireland and local news with Travis Davis, who will tell you what's happening and news from pubs...'), 1330 ID again including 'Access Radio 783 AM, celebrating the ethnic diversity of Wellington'. Good signal. (Atkins/Bryant-WA)

792 AUSTRALIA 4RN Brisbane, Aug 20 1405 - Noted as band faded (almost 1 hour after Grayland's dawn) with Radio National classics world music program hosted by male announcer. Noted all three AMs of DXpedition. (Bryant-WA)

828 AUSTRALIA 3GI Sale, Aug 21 1335 - More ABC Olympic coverage at good level. Also noted on Aug. 22. (Bryant-WA)

828 JAPAN JOBB NHK2 Osaka, Aug 20 1221 - Noted in passing at fair level with typical NHK2 program. (Bryant-WA)

828 JAPAN JOBB NHK2 Osaka, Aug 22 1155 - Male announcer in Japanese at good level, mixing with 3GI Sale, Australia. Interesting conditions at this time with stations from both hemispheres audible. (Atkins-WA)

855 AUSTRALIA 4QB Pialba (pres.), Aug 22 1155 - This directional station (to north as per 2003 QSL) is presumed the one heard here at fair level with the Aussie ABC Olympic coverage. (Bryant-WA)

864 NEW ZEALAND 4ZA, Invercargill, Aug 21 1201 - Presume this one on SW antenna only with Down Under news at fair to poor level. Not heard here in several years. (Bryant-WA)

891 AUSTRALIA 5AN Adelaide, Aug 20 1348 - Noted as part of very late low band Aussie opening with ABC Local Radio + Metro Service Olympic coverage (cycling). Good level. Also noted on Aug. 21. (Bryant-WA)

936 7ZR Hobart, Aug 21 1350 - Noted here at band fade with ABC Olympic coverage. Fair but fading fast. First time heard here in several years. (Bryant-WA)

963 UNIDENTIFIED , Aug 22 1357 - Low level signal briefly peaking to fair with gospel music. Noted only on southwest Beverage antenna. Possibly Southern Star, Christchurch, New Zealand, a religious network. (Atkins-WA)

972 REP. OF (SOUTH) KOREA HLCA Dangjin, Aug 20 1145 - Noted several times in passing at good to excellent level. Male talk in KK. Heard all three mornings of DXpedition. (Bryant-WA)

972 SOUTH KOREA HLCA, Aug 22 1317 - Female talk in Korean at a good level, but only briefly at 1320. Tentative. (Atkins-WA)

1035 SOLOMON ISLANDS SIBC Radio Hapi Isles, Aug 21 0950 - Solomons making a brief appearance; male Pidgin announcer and island music with drumming and female chorus. Fair during peaks. (Atkins-WA)

1053 REP. OF (SOUTH) KOREA Jammer, Aug 20 1148 - This very usual bubble jammer noted most of the night on its normal perch. Its actually quite a good propagation indicator for the Korean peninsula. Also noted on Aug. 21. (Bryant-WA)

1098 MARSHALL ISLANDS Radio Marshalls, Majuro , Aug 21 0950 - Noted here with fair audio. Continuous island music and under-modulated, as usual. Open carrier after 1100 recheck. OC noted all three AMs of DXpedition, as usual. (Bryant/Atkins-WA)

1116 AUSTRALIA 4BC Sydney, Aug 21 0953 - Heard here all three mornings of DXpedition, as usual, with one of the most reliable TP signals on the band. General talk commercial programming. (Bryant-WA)

1152 JAPAN NHK-2 Synchros, Aug 21 1245 - Noted here briefly with JJ talk // to 1593. Was gone by 1320 (local ID time). Had hoped for the strongest, Naha, Okinawa. (Bryant-WA)

1188 JAPAN JOKP NHK1 Hokkaido, Aug 22 1201 - First noted 1201 with female Japanese talk, then signal gave way to a male announcer in English (possible Olympics coverage) and both were at equal level at 1203. Presumed JOKP rose to the top again at 1207, only to fade away again, giving way to *two* unidentified stations this time (English talk and island choral music). A three-way traffic jam on 1188! (Atkins-WA)

1197 UNIDENTIFIED , Aug 21 1016 - A real jumble on 1197--first noted female talk in Japanese, followed by Aussie or Kiwi-accent English mixing with Chinese. Poor level for four minutes, then deep fade. (Atkins-WA)

1197 JAPAN JOWL Ashikawa, Aug 21 1215 - Heard here at good level. // to key station, JOWF, Sapporo, 1440. Usual pops programming. (Bryant-WA)

1206 CHINA CNR FS Yanjin (Jilin RGD), Aug 20 1230 - Excellent level Korean telephone interview by two males from this outlet in southern Manchuria. Heard at local level on Aug 21. (Bryant/Atkins-WA)

1215 CHINA (TENT.) CNR2 (tentative), Aug 21 1225 - Tentative this here at fair to good level. Was clearly in Standard Chinese, not the KK heard here on August 20th. Was not // 3985, a normal CNR2 outlet. Will send tentative report. (Bryant-WA)

1215 REP. OF (SOUTH) KOREA HLAK Jinju, Aug 20 1235 - Korean lang. popular commercial programming with M+W chatting. This only one listed. Fair to poor. (Bryant-WA)

1242 JAPAN JOLF Tokyo, Aug 20 1332 - Excellent with All-night Nippon program of interviews, talk and pop music. (Bryant-WA)

1287 JAPAN JOHR Sapporo, Aug 20 0955 - Heard throughout most of darkness path at fair to good levels. Programming sounded like 'All-night Nippon.' Also noted on Aug. 21. (Bryant-WA)

1305 REP. OF (SOUTH) KOREA KBS Ulgin (presumed), Aug 20 1158 - Presume this one noted at good level in KK. New one for me. Normal speed talk until TOH, then brief (uncaught) Net ID (pres.) followed by rapid-fire KK after. (Bryant-WA)

1332 JAPAN JOSF Nagoya, Aug 20 1205 - Noted here very steady at good level for last two hours of morning. Running happy talk and music, somewhat over-produced. Was likely 'All-night Nippon' program. (Bryant-WA)

1377 JAPAN NHK2 Synchros, Aug 20 1210 - NHK2 news/weather programming noted after TOH. Heard at fair to poor level until band fade at 1345. (Bryant-WA)

1386 JAPAN NHK2 Synchros, Aug 20 1306 - Heard at fair to poor level //1377//1593 and low band powerhouses. Also noted on Aug. 21. (Bryant-WA)

1422 JAPAN JORF Yokohama, Aug 20 1208 - Noted in passing at fair level with JJ talk by two men. Also noted on Aug. 21. (Bryant-WA)

1422 JAPAN JORF Yokohama, Aug 21 1030 - Bouncy female announcer in Japanese to 1033, then signal faded away. Tentative, but JORF is the only Japan station listed in PAL for 1422. (Atkins-WA)

1440 JAPAN JOWF Sapporo, Aug 20 1218 - This 'on channel' key station for STV was a good indication that the 20th was a good/excellent high-band opening to Japan. JOWF heard at fair to good level. Also noted on Aug. 21. (Bryant-WA)

1503 JAPAN JOUK Akita, Aug 21 1035 - Female talk in Japanese at tune-in; after the signal returned 1038 from a fade, Asian orchestral music and talk heard with flute music 1043. Unidentified station began mixing at 1044, then Japanese language again 1059 with NHK network ID. Fair during peaks, and only on Northwest Beverage antenna. JOUK likely, as it's the strongest by far Japanese station shown for the frequency. (Atkins/Bryant-WA)

1503 KOSRAE (FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA) V6AJ Voice of Kosrae, Aug 21 1044 - South Pacific island style music heard briefly 1044, then soft religious or EZL female vocals in unid. language with piano accompaniment at 1048. Male singer with old time Gospel song 1049, and woman in Polynesian-sounding lang. with prayer or brief talk 1052. At 1055, definite island music heard again, with male announcer in English apparently closing out an evangelical program (mentions of 'broadcasts...thousands won to Christ'). Upon reviewing the recording, it sounds like the announcer is giving the program name as 'Jesus Can Save Radio, with James R. Hiney'. Shortly after this phrase he mentions 'Continue With Christ is broadcast in association with...'. I did a Google search for these possible program names but could not locate any clues. The beautiful island choral music peaked and went off at 1057, then silence for four seconds prior to a different male announcer saying, I believe, 'V-6-A-J'. The possible callsign is *extremely* weak and much lower level than the earlier programming, and no further content after that was heard. I didn't notice it until reviewing the minidisc. Bruce Portzer's latest Pacific-Asian Log shows English & Kosran languages for V6AJ, and a sign-off of 1100*. The music sounded very similar to Cook Islands native church hymns that I heard during a 1993 trip to Rarotonga. Best on Southwest Beverage. I also noted a very short peak of island music and drumming August 22 at 0803 on 1503. Very pleased with this 1 kw station, and potentially a new MW country for me. (Atkins-WA)

1557 CHINA-TAIWAN WYFR, Kouhu (pres.) , Aug 21 1237 - Presume this the one in briefly with standard CC and seeming Christian program. Poor level and brief semi-log. (Bryant-WA)

1566 REP. OF (SOUTH) KOREA HLAZ Cheju Island , Aug 20 1005 - Heard throughout the DXpedition most hours of the darkness path, sometimes at amazingly good levels. (Bryant/Atkins-WA)

1575 THAILAND VOA Ayutthaya, Aug 20 1216 - Heard here for the last two hours of the night with fair to poor signal in SEA langs. VOA IDs, etc. Heard all three AMs of DXpedition. Sometimes at amazing levels. Should be audible elsewhere in NAm. (Bryant/Atkins-WA)

1593 CHINA Heilongjiang RGD, Harbin (pres.) , Aug 20 1217 - This one the usual CC here. Heard at very poor level but clearly in Putongwha Standard CC. (Bryant-WA)

1593 JAPAN JOTB NHK2 Matsue Synchro , Aug 20 1315 - Heard at fair to poor level //1377//1593 and low band powerhouses. At 1319 local ID, Guy Atkins recorded local ID. We both heard 'JOTB Matsue' clearly, with some echo. The echo was likely the announcer giving 'JOQB Niigata' ID. We never would have noticed this ID if we were still using cassettes for recording, as it would be lost in the tape hiss. Minidisc and MP3 recordings provide much better S/N ratio for weak signal capture.(Bryant/Atkins-WA)

1629 AUSTRALIA 4DB Dalby, Aug 20 1240 - Tentative. Continuous country rock music at a very low level, often fading into noise level. Female announcer with Aussie accent 1251; into 'Small Town, Saturday Night' tune. 4 time pips heard at 1300, but no other audio heard due to fading. Best on SW Beverage. (Atkins-WA)

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SHORTWAVE LOGGINGS

2310 AUSTRALIA VL8A Alice Springs, Aug 20 1409 - 'ABC Radio' ID by woman announcer, and into Olympics coverage. Good level and parallel 2325 (good) and 2485 (also good). (Atkins-WA)

3260 PAPUA NEW GUINEA R. Madang, Aug 20 1159 - Caught this one just in time for sign-off, with log drums, ID and frequency announcements in Pidgin by male announcer. National anthem and off 1201. Very good signal. (Atkins-WA)

3315 PAPUA NEW GUINEA R. Manus, Aug 20 1201 - I tuned into Manus just in time to catch the final notes of the PNG national anthem, and the Bird of Paradise call. No sign of NBC relay after sign-off as noted earlier in the week. Excellent signal. (Atkins-WA)

3320 SOUTH AFRICA R. Sonder Grense, Aug 21 0415 - Male and female announcers in Afrikaans; poor signal but seemed to be slowly improving, at Meyerton sunrise. (Atkins-WA)

3325 INDONESIA RRI Palangkaraya, Aug 20 1414 - Excellent, powerful signal at 1-1/4 hours past local sunrise with male announcer and many mentions of Palangkaraya. (Atkins-WA)

3345 INDONESIA RRI Ternate, Aug 20 1419 - Phone interview between male announcer and caller. Very strong signal, almost as clear as Palangkaraya. Conversations seemed to be about the Greece Olympics. (Atkins-WA)

3365 PAPUA NEW GUINEA R. Milne Bay, Aug 20 1208 - Very strong signal with male DJ in Pidgin playing hard rockin' PNG melanesian music. Another PNG outlet on late (not parallel 4890), perhaps for the Friday night youth audience? The following PNG signals were noted earlier at 1145 on August 21: 3260, 3325, 3365, 3385, and 4890. (Atkins-WA)

3385 PAPUA NEW GUINEA R. East New Britain, Aug 20 1205 - On late tonight with female announcer in Pidgin, and R&B pop tune. At 1212, ad for PNG Motors 'Buy and Fly' promotion with '3000 Kina spending money' for chance to win trip to the soccer finals. Excellent signal, and not parallel 4890. On August 21 at 1215, East New Britain was at local quality level, featuring the 'New Guinea Top Ten Countdown' with the latest Melanesian pop tunes and male announcer in Pidgin, and local ads. Station promo announcement as 'R-N-B FM, one great song after another' with children's voices. Mentions of FM and shortwave outlets and PO Box at 1236, with 'good night & God bless'. (Atkins-WA)

3960.9 INDONESIA RRI Palu, Aug 20 1423 - Powerhouse signal with lagu populer of male vocals. Phone interview at 1437. (Atkins-WA)

3970 USB JAPAN NHK, unidentified outlet, Aug 20 1433 - Male announcers in Japanese with Olympics coverage and background crowd noises; sounded echoey like an indoors swimming competition. Surprisingly good signal for 300 watts at 1-1/2 hours past local sunrise. More likely this is the 600 watt Sapporo station (closer to Grayland via great circle route) than the 300 watt transmitter in Nabeta (Nagoya) further South. (Atkins-WA)

3976 INDONESIA RRI Pontianak, Aug 20 1450 - Female announcer with voice-over somber music, reading a poem or drama. EZL music at 1456. ID at 1500 and mention of frequency and meter band by female, followed by ad or promo. Strong signal well past sunrise. (Atkins-WA)

4910 ZAMBIA ZNBC, Aug 21 0422 - Poor but improving signal at Lusaka sunrise, with male announcer in unid. African language; mentions of Zambia and possibly Lusaka at 0428. (Atkins-WA)

7260 VANUATU R. Vanuatu, Aug 20 0945 - I was hoping for Vanuatu, but no sign of it was found on the frequency, only a low-level unid. station playing flute and orchestral music. This is possibly Mongolian National Radio, but the language at 1000 sounded Russian, not the Mongolian as listed in DBS. No sign of Vanuatu August 21 or 22, either. (Atkins-WA)

Posted on September 11, 2004