Waianakarua DXpedition 2000
March 13-18, 2000

by Paul Ormandy

Once again, Bryan Clark from Auckland and myself left our loved ones behind for what some people call "male bonding"… I prefer the term "radio-therapy". The event was our annual splurge on DXing at Waianakarua, Bryan has been a regular participant at these events since 1986, missing few years between then and now. Laurie Boyer from Invercargill was to join us but was unfortunately prevented from doing so because of a spot of bad health.

And it didn't get off to a good start. I went down the day before Bryan arrived to set up the listening area and put up a couple of temporary aerials. The day dawned with heavy rain, which continued for the next 24 hours turning into a real deluge with 125mm over that period. Three of the aerials cross the Waianakarua river and drop onto a river-flat which was a few feet under water as a result of the torrential rain, and two of the wires were down… one of which was a major aerial for North America… and because of the flood levels I wasn't game to cross the river to resurrect them till 4 days afterwards… as it turned out, conditions from the USA weren't great and we lost little from the 'disaster'.

Setting an exact date began back in January with careful monitoring of solar activity to pick a date which coincided with a low A-index and avoiding a coronal hole which would have plagued reception, suggested that a week prior to the 20th of March would be wise. Indeed, the 22nd onwards would have led to disturbed conditions so we did get it right.

Well, as we were nearing the maximum of the solar-cycle I wasn't expecting too much DX-wise. I had recently researched the effects of auroral conditions on long-path trans-polar mediumwave signals and had ruled out the possibility of hearing long-path Europeans and deep South Americans (i.e. Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina). How wrong I was! I now have to add a postscript to the article that even when the solar cycle is nearing it's maximum, it's still possible to hear those rare signals… if the A index is low enough and towards the end of the week it dropped as low as 1!

To categorise reception geographically, signals from Europe were very poor in the mornings with only Vatican R 1611 and TDF Allouis 162 being heard. The real surprise was the appearance of antipodal evening signals via long-path, i.e. Spain on 1107 & 1485kHz. Morning reception from the Middle East and Asia was very poor, Africans non-existent as usual. North America (including Mexico) was very poor… with the odd short-lived opening on a couple of nights. Longwave wasn't great, even the Far-east Russians weren't their usual selves. Alaskans in the 1500z time-slot were a no-show and Hawaiians also poor. Caribbean signals were likewise… though Caribbean Beacon did become a regular on 1610 and even one night on 690kHz. Northern South America (Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador) were uncharacteristically muted though Peruvians were exceptionally good, especially CPN Radio 1470. Deep South Americans were where all the action was, Argentines, Brazilians, Uruguayans and one Paraguayan made it all worthwhile.

Equipment wise, the MFJ-1026 phaser made the difference time and time again. I was very impressed when I could log Latins through normally-dominant New Zealanders, e.g. Radio Rivadavia 630kHz through 2YZ Napier, Radio la Luz (an as yet unidentified Peruvian) 1080kHz through 1ZB and Uruguayan 'Radiomundo' through 1ZW on 1170kHz.

I have been a devotee of the Drake SPR-4 for many years now and have always wondered what receiver I would buy if it 'croaked'… and hadn't been terribly impressed by the various makes and models which had festooned the benches at Waianakarua over the years… however, Bryan brought his AOR 7030+ with him and I was very impressed… so much so that I now know the answer to that earlier question…

We didn't only DX mediumwave and overall I would consider SW to be below par… some reasonable reception of Africans on the tropical bands around sunrise but evening Latins weren't the greatest… a real contradiction to MW… for example, Radio Monte Carlo 930kHz was far stronger than SW 6140 or 11735. The best SW catches would have been R Liberte 15725 USB and a good signal on several mornings from Argentine Antarctica 15476kHz.

Longwave

162 1726 FRANCE TDF Alouis, never fails to amaze with its consistency, heard mostly w/French talk up to 1900. Ormandy Mar 14

171 1816 RUSSIA R Rossii, poor with talk in RR. Other Russkies heard on 180 & 234 midst heavy static crashes. Ormandy Mar 13

180 1806 TURKEY TRT Polatli, presume the weak station w/Turkish sounding music. Ormandy Mar 15

189 1502 RUSSIA R Rossii, poor w/news in Russian, heavy static. Noted parallels on 180 & 234 both marginally better. Ormandy Mar 16

Mediumwave

Europe

1107 0637 SPAIN RCE Net, amazing long-path signals so close to the solar maxima. Usual all-news format with familiar music-bridge. Ormandy Mar 13

1485 0635 SPAIN SER Net, even these 2kW stations made a mockery of the maxima. Heard with poor signals with all-news format. Ormandy Mar 16

1611 1839 VATICAN Vatican R, up o/Aussies w/Interval Signal then sign-on in Latvian. Ormandy Mar 18

Middle East & Asia

756 1825 JAPAN JOGK Kumamoto, presume the station heard briefly in Japanese mixed NZ & Aussie stations. Ormandy Mar 13

760 1800 YEMEN R Yemen, Mukalla, fair signal in Arabic with talk program interspersed with music bridges. Ormandy Mar 13

1521 1845 SAUDI ARABIA BSKSA Duba, pres. the one here w/Arabic weak mixed NZer. Ormandy Mar 17

1548 1829 SRI LANKA DW Trincomalee, poor with talk in German mixed NZer. Ormandy Mar 14

1557 1850 UNID pres. Family R, Taiwan, back-back gospel music very short annc in CC by female announcer at top of the hour but quickly lost. Ormandy Mar 17

1566 1825 INDIA AIR Nagpur, level-pegging w/Aussie with female announcer in Hindi. Ormandy Mar 14

North America (incl. México & Hawaii)

690 0815 HAWAII KQMQ Honolulu, ids as "Hawaii's Radio Disney", callsign 0859, mixed CBU Vancouver on classical music on and XETRA. Ormandy, Clark Mar 16

690 0857 MEXICO XETRA Tijuana in English with ident/promo for "All Sports Radio, X-Tra Sports 6-90". Clark Mar 16

750 0936 USA WSB Atlanta GA, fair signal w/extensive traffic report "WSB, your 24 hour news station" then forecast. Ormandy Mar 13 0750 Weather on "750 WSB" Clark Mar 16

870 0822 HAWAII KAIM Honolulu, fair w/ "We need some listeners.." and asking for phone-callers. Ormandy Mar 15. Also heard 1509 on Mar 16th.

870 0916 USA WWL New Orleans LA with promo for Nascar Coca Cola 600 race, then Interstate Highway Conditions. Clark Mar 16

880 0623 USA KRVN Lexington NE, poor-fair w/weather for truckers & C&W music. Ormandy Mar 13 1112 promo for National Agriculture Month, in clear. Clark Mar 18

890 0629 USA WLS Chicago IL, "Chicago's news-talk 89, WLS" id then promo for Art Bell Show. Ormandy Mar 13

940 0842 USA KFRE Fresno CA, now running all-Spanish with "Radio Unica" program. Ormandy Mar 13 0636 network ident, mixed other Spanish language stations. Clark Mar 17

1030 0606 USA WBZ Boston MS w/ news and ‘WBZ Weather’, fair but clear. Clark Mar 18

1040 1425 HAWAII KLHT Honolulu, poor in 1044 slop w/light instrumental music. Ormandy Mar 16

1050 0754 USA KTCT San Mateo CA w/all sports format, recorded commercials, ident as "The Ticket 10-50". Clark Mar 15 Also heard at 1107 Mar 18

1060 0611 USA KYW Philadelphia PA with own "All News Radio" format, regular idents as "KYW Newsradio", past 0635. Clark Mar 18

1180 0526 USA Radio Marti Marathon FL fair in Spanish to Cuba, one of the earliest fade-ins, followed quickly by KOMA 1520. Clark Mar 18

1320 0751 MEXICO XEJP Radio Variedades Mexico City with ident, fair. Clark Mar 15

1510 0715 USA WLAC Nashville TN, poor-fair w/list of stations on truckers network including one in Victoria BC. Ormandy Mar 13

1560 0747 MEXICO XEFAJ R Consentida, México City, good signal w/ time-check then canned id & Mexican ballad. Ormandy Mar 13

1620 0712 USA KAZP Bellevue NE, presume the one here dominant with ESPN sports promos. Ormandy Mar 13 Clark Mar 18

1640 0734 USA KDIA Vallejo CA with Catholic Family Radio talkshow, good. Clark Mar 14,16

1650 0957 USA KGIL Beverley Hills CA dominant with station promos, commercials, jazz music format. Clark Mar 18

1670 0652 USA WTDY Madison WI with Art Bell talkshow, news 0700, local ident 0706. Clark Mar 14

1700 0749 USA KTBK Shermans TX with idents for ‘Sports Radio 13-10’ and KTCK Dallas-Fort Worth’, good. Dallas area commercials, ‘Sports Center’ promos Clark Mar 14

Caribbean

690 0725 ANGUILLA Caribbean Beacon, poor in 693 slop w/relig prog //1610. Ormandy Mar 14 0728 Dr Gene Scott’s telephone numbers // SW 6090 good but soon under glorious mix of CBU, XETRA and KQMQ. Clark Mar 16

710 0734 CUBA R Rebelde, good w/ballads, better than //5025. Ormandy Mar 13

800 0821 NETHERLANDS ANTILLES PJB Radio Transmundial, Bonaire, still a dominant signal even if power has been reduced to 100kW and antenna bearing changed. Ormandy Mar 13

830 0639 ST KITTS Trinity Broadc Net with usual tele-evangelism programming… //7510 not on air. Ormandy Mar 16

1610 0612 ANGUILLA Caribbean Beacon, poor-fair but clear w/usual Dr Gene Scott relig. Ormandy Mar 13

Gran Colombia

540 0919 PERU R Inca del Perú, Lima, fair signal w/NZers phased, running relig prog. Ormandy Mar 15

580 0643 PERU R Maria, Lima, dominant w/benedictions till 0700 then syndicated relig. Ormandy Mar 15

620 0914 PERU R Ovación, Lima, poor-fair w/het from 621 semi-local though phaser produced loggable audio, all-relig prog. Ormandy Mar 15

640 1005 PERU Radio del Pacifico, Lima with folk songs // SW 4975. Clark Mar 18

660 0631 PERU Unid w/Radiomar programming in // 760… any ideas? Clark, Ormandy Mar 15 Also hrd at 1102 with Radiomar ident. Clark Mar 15

730 0729 PERU R Programas, Lima, fair signal w/all-talk format, news and interviews etc. Ormandy Mar 16

750 0632 COLOMBIA HJDK CARACOL Medellín, good w/"La Radio de Colombia" id & news stories. Ormandy Mar 15

760 0633 PERU Radiomar, Lima, w/tropical music, shouted id over music in // 660. Ormandy Mar 15

770 0623 COLOMBIA HJKH RCN Bogotá, fair signal with talk on technology in Colombia. Ormandy Mar 15 0630 dominant with RCN network idents. Clark mar 16

780 0756 PERU R Victoria, Lima "La Voz de la Liberación" weak signal, not as strong as in the past. Ormandy Mar 16

790 1019 PERU R Programas, Lima, fair signal w/ male announcer & female announcer swapping news stories. Ormandy Mar 18

820 0642 COLOMBIA CARACOL Cali, good o/R Libertad w/music prog, introducing members of a group. Ormandy Mar 18

840 0859 COLOMBIA HJKK Neiva, fair signal at apparent sign-on, full id & promo. Ormandy Mar 15

860 1013 VENEZUELA R Mundial, San Cristóbal, up w/ time-check then id & lively music. Ormandy Mar 18

880 0640 PERU Radio Union, Lima fair with pops, parallel SW 6115 being much stronger. Clark Mar 16.

958.7 0911 UNID tent. Peruvian R Líder del Norte, weak signal w/huayños. Ormandy Mar 15

960 0744 PERU Radio Panamericana, Lima with Latin rhythms, ident 0745. Clark Mar 15

1000 0600 COLOMBIA HJAQ Caratagena presumed the RCN Network station with time pips, RCN jingle, fair. Clark Mar 15

1080 0644 PERU Unid station relaying "Radio La Luz" an evangelical program. Mentioned a rally in Coliseo Amauta (Lima). Used the phaser to minimise 1ZB to barely audible. Ormandy Mar 17

1110 0707 COLOMBIA HJJP Villavicencio presumed the CARACOL network station with news programme, net ident 0710. Clark Mar 15

1110 0951 PERU Radio Antarqui, Lima, w/relig prog, announcer must own the station as he wouldn't get behind the mic with a voice like his! Ormandy Mar 16

1230 0619 COLOMBIA HJLK R Calidad, Cali, fair signal w/ballads, despite 1233 QRM. Ormandy Mar 13

1300 0830 UNID pres. Peruvian, R. Misericordia (R Mercy). Carried relig programming and tuned out at 1054z… which is sunrise at Cuzco so could be a new call-sign for R Onda Imperial. Ormandy Mar 18

1319 0942 UNID weak Latin w/non-descriptive instrumental music, faded before long. Ormandy Mar 15

1340 0648 COLOMBIA Radio Cadena Nacional 'Radio Uno' Bogota, with popular Latin vocals, RCN ident 0658. Clark Mar 16

1460 0647 COLOMBIA Emisora Nuevo Continente, Bogotá, fair signal w/syndicated relig. Ormandy Mar 13

1470 0614 PERU Antena Uno, Lima, consistently the best Latin signal, usually with all talk, ph callers and interviews. Not bad for listed 25kW. Ormandy Mar 13 0702 strong with idents for CPN Radio, then news. Clark Mar 15

El Cono Sur

610 0922 URUGUAY Radio Capital, Montevideo, tlk about "El Teatro de Verano" being held in the capital. Ormandy Mar 17

630 0727 ARGENTINA R Rivadavia, good signal right o/NZer with relig prog. Phaser was the magic ingredient. Ormandy Mar 18

640 0800 ARGENTINA R Nacional Río Grande, sat here waiting for something to appear out of the large carrier, never eventuated, though I did get a nice id for this one at 0817, which was running all-tlk. Ormandy Mar 17

670 0905 ARGENTINA R Mar del Plata, poor-fair in 3YA slop w/id & weather brief. Ormandy Mar 17

680 0845 BRAZIL R Farroupilha, Porto Alegre, up poor-fair mixed R Cerealista w/PP relig prog. Ormandy, Clark Mar 17

700 0830 ARGENTINA LV3 R Córdoba, good signal w/id then news program. Ormandy Mar 14 Solid signal 0707 past 0845 with talkback format, occasional tangos. Clark Mar 17-18

750 0835 ARGENTINA R Nacional, Córdoba, w/report from correspondent then newsreel feature. Ormandy Mar 14

760 0859 CHILE CB76 R Cooperative, Santiago, up nicely w/list of station locations in network. Ormandy Mar 17

790 0838 ARGENTINA LR6 R Mitre, Buenos Aires, up nicely w/jingle id then ads. Ormandy Mar 14

830 0900 ARGENTINA LU14 R Provincias, Santa Cruz, beautiful signal at sign-on with call-sign etc. Used Copland’s "Fanfare for a Common Man" as theme tune. Ormandy, Clark Mar 17

840 0916 ARGENTINA R Bahía Blanca, poor-fair w/news stories including a report from Hollywood. Ormandy Mar 14. Also heard sign-on at 0900 using sea-bird calls as background. Clark Mar 17

850 0903 URUGUAY R Carve, Montevideo, vgd signal w/ads etc, slogan "Carve de noticias" then news. Ormandy Mar 17 0931 ident as ‘Radio Carve en Montevideo’ Clark Mar 17

870 0919 ARGENTINA LRA1 R Nacional, Buenos Aires, poor-fair in 873 slop, female announcer with sombre presentation. Ormandy Mar 14 Good 0916. Better on // SW 6060. Clark Mar 17

920 0904 PARAGUAY R Nacional del Paraguay, Asuncion, poor signal w/male announcer and mx, noted // of 9737 but didn't last. Clark, Ormandy Mar 18

930 0823 URUGUAY Radio Monte Carlo regular with news, tangos, frequent spoken and sung idents, past 0930. Clark Mar 17

940 0804 BRAZIL Sistema Mundial LBV, very good signal with plenty of ids etc. Great listening! Clark, Ormandy Mar 18

1010 0859 ARGENTINA R Rio Cuatro, dominant o/unid co-channel with morning show, using cock-crows. Ormandy Mar 14

1060 0722 CHILE R Santa María de Guadalupe, Santiago, tuned onto an id then gospel music. Ormandy Mar 17

1090 0923 URUGUAY R Imparcial, Montevideo, poor-fair w/tangos in het from 1089. Ormandy Mar 14 0816 dominant this day on news format. Clark Mar 17

1100 0705 BRAZIL R Globo, São Paulo, w/heavy echo on id then music, poor-fair in 1098 slop. Ormandy Mar 17

1120 0707 ARGENTINA R Atlántica, Mar del Plata, fair signal w/beautiful tango. If you hear a Latin on 1120, very good chance it's this one as nothing else dominates here. Ormandy Mar 17. Dominant with news, talk & tangos 0711 past 0800 when ident given. Clark Mar 18

1130 0906 URUGUAY Radio Nacional, Montevideo, mostly spoken prog, dominant over several nights. Clark, Ormandy Mar 14, 18

1150 0923 ARGENTINA R Brigadier Lopez, Santa Fé, fair signal on peak with string of ads for local businesses, heard well over subsequent nights. Ormandy Mar 14 0741 music and talk format, ident and temperature check 0747. Clark Mar 16

1170 0711 URUGUAY Radiomundo, Montevideo, pres.the one here w/relig prog giving details of a rally in Montevideo. Ormandy Mar 17

1190 0704 ARGENTINA R America, Buenos Aires, fair signal w/news items. Ormandy Mar 14

1220 0827 BRAZIL R Globo, Rio de Janeiro, poor in 1224 slop though did peak for an id and surfaced during the evening with the odd announcement. Ormandy Mar 18

1270 0652 ARGENTINA R Provincias, male announcer & female announcer DJs, chatty show, time-check & temperature. Ormandy Mar 18

1280 0624 BRAZIL Super R Tupi, Rio de Janeiro, lively music then id & quick fade. Heard over several nights, best on Mar 18. Ormandy, Clark Mar 16, 17,18

1308.3 0935 ARGENTINA R Nacional, Gualeyguachu, noted during quiet music on semi-local 4XD Dunedin, w/female announcer and ads. Also noted on 18/3 signing on at 0900. Ormandy Mar 14

1320 0832 BRAZIL R difusora Boas Novas, Riod e Janeiro, tent. the on ehere w/Portuguese relig programming. Worth a tentative report at the least. Ormandy Mar 18

1350 0553 ARGENTINA R Buenos Aires, poor signal in apparent Portuguese, or a Brazilian with heavily accented Spanish, into Spanish after 0600. Ormandy Mar 17 0655 smothering Radio Sport, full ident 0702. Clark Mar 17

1380 0601 CHILE CB138 R Corporación, Santiago, good, clear signal in Spanish despite local stn on 1395. MA w/id then fanfare & tlk. Ormandy Mar 15

1620 0557 ARGENTINA R Tropical, Buenos Aires, weak to start with but gaining in strength, heard past 0620 w/relig all the way. Ormandy, Clark Mar 18

Shortwave

3288 1840 MADAGASKAR R Madagaskar, Antananarivo, one of the strongest 90mb Africans at this time. Also noted signals from: BBC Meyerton 3255, TWR Swaziland 3200 & 3240, MBC Blantyre 3380. Ormandy Mar 13

3456.2 1853 UNID presume Indonesian 'amatir' with snatches of Indonesian-sounding music between heavily distorted announcements, and transmission kept breaking up. Ormandy Mar 13

4463.6 1037 UNID presume Peruvian, weak signal w/huayños getting splattered by China 4460. Ormandy Mar 17

4534.1 1030 PERU Radio Horizonte audible with fair reception. Ident in Spanish at 1048. Clark Mar 17

4760 0600 LIBERIA ELWA Monrovia, weak sign at sign-on, in English with relig but never getting much above thresh-hold level. Other evening Africans heard in the 0530-0630 were: Nigeria 4770 (Id: "…the network of the millennium"), Mali 4835, Upper Volta 4815, Sao Tome 4950, Togo 5047. Ormandy Mar 13

4820 1455 INDIA AIR Calcutta, poor-fair in English w/political item. Some co-channel QRM from China. Ormandy Mar 16

4885 1900 KENYA Voice of Kenya, Nairobi, noted back here after being on 4935 the day before in addition to 4915, the latter closed shortly after 1900 but 4885 was heard past 2000z. Ormandy Mar 13/14

4990.9 0604 SURINAME Radio Apinte fair nightly with all-night music prgm, jingle and spoken idents. Audible past 0730 when both Hindi and Dutch type languages used. Clark Mar 14-16

5015 1855 TURKMENISTAN Turkmen R, Asgabat, presume the one here w/instrumentals and RR-sounding language… much better in RR on 4930. Ormandy Mar 13

5027 1900 UGANDA R Uganda, Kampala, noted w/news in English in // to 4976, then back into vernacular later on. Other sunrise Africans noted were: Madagaskar 5009.6, Tanzania 5050, Christian Voice 4965, VOA Sao Tome 4950, Angola 4950, Mali 4835, Lesotho 4800, Mali 4783 & 4835, Togo 5047, Zambia 6265 & 6165, Rwanda 6055, Tanzania-Zanzibar 11734. Ormandy Mar 13

5055 0558 COSTA RICA TIFC Faro del Caribe, poor w/sermon in Spanish, heavy het from presumed Fair Guyana. Ormandy Mar 13

5678 1058 PERU Radio Ilucan with long string of recorded commercials in Spanish. 1102 ident as ‘Radio Ilucan… la Voz de los Andes’. Good, clear reception. Clark Mar 17

5985.7 1430 MYANMAR Myanmar Radio, Yangon opening English programme with ident, frequencies and talk on coffee production. Clark Mar 16

6105 0550 COSTA RICA Radio Universidad with classical music daily mixed Radio Liberty. Audible as early as 0440. Sign off announcements in Spanish at 0559 with distinctive theme, the end of which is in the clear after Liberty closes at 0559:30. Clark Mar 16-18

6134.8 1019 BOLIVIA Radio Santa Cruz opened abruptly with strong signal, educational prgm. Ident in Spanish 1042. Next day noted strong at 0952 with identification as ‘Radio Santa Cruz, la Primera’. Clark Mar 16-17

6140 1002 URUGUAY Radio Monte Carlo with poor signals 2 consecutive days. News format prgm. Best before Radio Santa Cruz Bolivia opens on adjacent 6135. Clark Mar 15-16

6190 0426 GERMANY Deutschlandfunk, Bremen, poor-fair in German, mostly talk prog though some QRM from BBC 6195. Ormandy Mar 13

6895 0428 ISRAEL Galei Zahal very good with string of recorded commercials in Hebrew, news at 0430. Clark Mar 14

6900 0543 TURKEY Turkish Meteorological Radio, Bandirma(?). tent. the one here with Turkish music, far too strong to be the Somalian. Ormandy Mar 13

6995 0404 CLANDESTINE Voice of the People of Kurdistan, Sulaymaniyah, poor-fair w/AA (?) prog, heard past 0500 in what seemed to be another language. Ormandy Mar 13

7100 1759 ERITREA VOBME Asmara fair with apparent news on the hour. Closedown 1830. Clark Mar 14

7125 0642 GUINEA RTV Guinéenne, Conakry, amazingly good signal with spoken prog till o655 then music till 0715 when a newscast followed for 15 minutes. Ormandy Mar 14

7210 0300 BELARUS Radio Minsk with interval signal, multi-lingual ident in Belarussian, Russian, English & German. English news, comment and folk songs followed till 0329. Also audible in English but much poorer reception at 2030. Clark Mar 14

7335 2018 CANADA CHU Ottawa, amazing long-path signal propagating Eastwards to reach NZ. Weak but audible with time-pips. Ormandy Mar 13

7465 1910 BULGARIA Radio Bulgaria with frequent idents in Russian, very good, with parallel 5865 good strength. Clark Mar 17

9489.7 0319 UNIDENTIFIED C.I.S Russian type language with apparent ‘Radio Kiev’ ident. At 0347 ident given as ‘Radio Rossi’. Looks like the Abkhazia relay here has gone. Clark Mar 14.

9490 0359 BELGIUM RTBF Brussells with multi-lingual ident including English, then French prgm from 0400, very good signal. Clark Mar 14

9649.9 0240 UNIDENTIFIED possibly Emisora Ciudad de Montevideo on extended schedule for ‘Teatro de Verano’. Poor improving to fair at 0358 when Deutsche Welle opens on 9650. Mentions of Montevideo. Heard past 0500 but not audible on subsequent days. Clark Mar 17

9705 0425 MEXICO Radio Mexico International vgd in English with full ident, then into Spanish at 0430. USB mode to avoid big het from Ethiopia 9704. Clark Mar 16

9730 0330 SRI LANKA SLBC ‘All Asia Morning Show’ ident, then syndicated religious prgm. Weak, much better on parallel 15425. Clark Mar 17

9737.5 0302 PARAGUAY Radio nacional del Paraguay full ident in Spanish including SW frequency, good and clear. Clark Mar 14

9965 0300 ARMENIA R Yerevan, poor-fair w/multi-lingual ids then prog in Armenian. Ormandy Mar 13

11705 0335 CUBA Radio Havana very good in USB mode with ‘Sports Magazine’ then ‘DXers Unlimited’. Parallel 9820 only fair. Clark Mar 14

11734 1825 TANZANIA Radio Tanzania Zanzibar in clear with Swahili talk though splash from Radio Philipinas 11730. Ident 1900 but reception more difficult from this time. Clark Mar 18

11734.8 0155 URUGUAY Radio Oriental tentatively the Spanish sports commentary here in clear till covered by All India Radio’s Pushto Service from 0213. Still just audible when AIR Dari Service continues from 0300 but lost around 0315. Clark Mar 17

11915 0232 BRAZIL R Gaucha, Porto Alegre, poor-fair w/two DJs and fast-paced char show. Other early afternoon Latins: Bandeirantes 9645 & 11925, Paraguay 9737, Aparecida 9630, XERMX 9705, Gazeta 15325, Guaíba 11785, Tupi 9565. Ormandy Mar 13

13745 2130 IRAN Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran very strong at sign-on in English to South East Asia & Australia. Clark Mar 15

15160 2010 ALGERIA Radio Algiers International very good strength in English with news. Parallel 11750.4 was poor, distorted. Clark Mar 15

15345 2204 ARGENTINA RAE Buenos Aires strong in Italian with full ident, frequency and programme schedule. Clark Mar 16

15355 0330 OMAN R Oman, fair signal in EE, sked 03-0400, running "English FM", lots of EZL English pops. Thanks to Ian Cattermole for the tip. Ormandy Mar 13 0315 Time pips then news in English. Good signal. Clark Mar 14

15476 1922 ARGENTINE ANTARCTIC LRA36 R Nacional, Bahía Esperanza, fair signal w/tangos, slight fluttery fading with noticeable echo… multi-path back over the North Pole??? Ormandy Mar 13 15475.5 Easily audible 3 consecutive days till signoff around 2045, but missing Friday & Saturday. Clark Mar 14-16

15725 2044 CLANDESTINE (Uganda?) R Liberte, weak signal in French in USB mode, w/ mostly tlk though used a Celine Dion CD as background but had the level too high. Id at 2046 and traced through to close just after 2300. Ormandy, Clark Mar 17

25929.8 0437 COSTA RICA Radio for Peace International regular all-day in English. Still good and clear this late, with interview about Gonzales child tug-of-war. Clark Mar 17

25950 0229 USA KFXX Portland OR, with all-sports program "Look who's talking on The Fan" and "Sports Radio 9-10 The Fan" ids, ad for "Buster's Texas-style BBQ" Ormandy, Clark Mar 15

26425 0121 UNIDENTIFIED Latin American music & lively announcements in Spanish till 0135 close. Suspected TexMex location and Citizen Band operator. Clark Mar 17

Posted on December 14, 2002