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Hi Bogdan,
Seems as though the aurora has been stirring things up in
the Southern Hemisphere too. Yesterday, shortwave propagation above 7 MHz was
hopeless with lots of fluttery signals.
During last evening Fri 30 May, there was an E
Skip opening between Wellington, NZ and New South Wales, Aust. There were strong
signals, strong enough for a picture to form behind the local stations on
Ch1 (45.25mHz) and ch 2 (55.25mHz).
This afternoon sat 31 May, I checked on the Shortwave
bands and found strong signals up to 21MHz, There was also a lone ham on 10
metres.
Last night around midnight the whole of the Southern
Horizon was a reddy colour which I think was an Aurora. Not having seen the
Aurora Australis before, what I saw could have been street lights.
Paul
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Saturday, May 31, 2003 2:34
PM
Subject: [HCDX] Huge Aurora - Almost no
MW skywave signals the past ev. here in Mtl., targets talk
Hello !
The past evening I was surprised even tough there
was an hour or so before sunset to not being able to hear at all WPTR Legends
15-40 wich is a short-skip "pest" usually here, from Albany, NY.
Then two hours after dark they were not audible
at all either and semi-local WICY on 1490 kHz had an interference-free
signal.
Until just after 10:30 PM when I got a very
threshold US talk programk on 1180 out of WHAM on my Sangean 606 barefoot (I
expected to get Cuba, but the time of the year along with huge AU condx
meaned, I think, southern domestics, Caribbean and South Americans were
absorbed too by the D layer). Also WQEW Radio Disney 1560 was poor and fadey
playing Pink - Get the Party Started around 10:28 PM. They are usually
excellent, tough slightly WEAKER than WPTR-1540. I wonder why I couldn't get
WPTR-1540 at all. During the most severe AUroras in the 2000-2001, 2001-2002
and the last 2002-2003 seasons I could still get them weakly with lots of
fadings, but that wasn't the case at all. Due to the D layer absorption of
long-haul MW signals at this time of the year, unfortunatly, I couldn't hear
ZNS at all and it would have been a new log here. RIght now, the ZLS
morse-code beacon in Stella Maris, on 526 kHz, is my only Bahamian
catche.
I go to bed around 11:30 PM unfortunately and I
missed a likely Au induced E-skip opening on the FM band, to South Dakota,
that many WTFDAers reported. I didn't had much luck this FM season yet with
Sp-E-skip and the batteries on my Sangean 606 aren't fresh either and I get a
lot of E messages each few minutes, especially when I put the volume high.
SOmetimes, I cannot open the radio several times in a row, even when the VOL
is at MIN. I get the same E (for Error) message. And I don't have any other
decent FM rx. Just in passing, my 89.9 unID wasn't Bahamas, but tropo-scatter
from a new Dance-music station in Ottawa, CHIT. I got them with a steadier
signal on the car-radio with my father this Monday !
MWDXer John Plimmer in South Africa had, on the
other hand, a lot of luck with the recent solar flare. He got WWRL-1600, over
12000 kilometers from his location. A very big amount of congratulations to
him ! I'd LOVE to hear any South African MW signal from anywhere. I think, if
I could just get the Radio Xhesa 846 kHz radio station wich have been received
a few times in NF and Mark Connelly tentatively got them in MAssachussets,
then it would be super-fun ! Unfortunatly I haven't heard the faintest TA MW
audio yet, and only some really faint ones on LW (from, I think, the 183 and
189 kH stations), so I think a much better receiver and a DXpedition to an
excellent coastal QTH would be the best things to do in order to log South
Africa from eastern North America. I think Bermuda would be the ebst QTH for
that.
But, programming-wise, I think the Venezuelan AM
stations have better programming than the South Afro ones. More tropical
music, more proffessionnal sounding announcers, more IDs... Of course, it
would be a once-in-a-lifetime thing If I get SOuth African MW, but I get quite
some YVs and would dearly like to log all the 22 (or 23 ?) YV states. Right
now, for the next season, I really need the Carabobo state. The best bet in my
opinion is YVKK Radio Nacíonal Antena Popular on 770 kHz in Valencia. WHen AU
condx are in, during the fall and winter months, I seem to get mostly the 100
kW RCN Bogota station, when WABC is poorer or not there, but once this fall I
got a woman in SS with a fair signal, under a somewhat subdued WABC with no
Colombians audible, so this may had been a good sign. During really severe
auroras, hearing the other Valencia outlets on 1220 and 1470 should also be
possible, but less likely. I do know that there is a strong Floridan on 1470
kHz, so hearing Vibracion or Latina won't be easy. But 1220 should be even
harder. The only reports I saw are of Radio Globo in Rio de Janeiro heard over
a Latin American. Was this unID Latin American YVVM ? For exemple,
take a look at:
1220 BRAZIL R.Globo, Rio de Janeiro OCT 8 0028 - Fair; Globo
jingles, whistling, man in Portuguese, and Billy Idol song over an unID Latin
American station. [Conti-ME]
I think the unID Latin American station that was under Globo was YVVM wich
makes YVVM-1220 worth chassing the next season for me. I think YVVM and XEB
would be the easiest SS LA's to hear on 1220, in my opinion and easier for me
inland than Radio Globo wich is only reported right on the coast. Using the
Sanyo MCD-S830 I heard a second SS station on 890 under Cuba, but I think this
was WBPS rather than Radio America (YVLW). 890 Valencia has been heard by
Bruce Conti in Oct. '00:
890 VENEZUELA
R.America, Valencia OCT 9 0040 - Poor; shouting Radio America IDs heard
through R.Progreso-Cuba. [Conti-ME]
Two of the easiest YV states, both with strong stations on 860 are YVOL
Mundial Ocho-Sesenta (from the Mundial network, they relay sometimes the 550
Caracas station, I think, wich I haven't heard yet either !) from San
Cristobal, Tachira and YVYE Enlace 8-60 in Valle de Pascua, Guarico. Another
possible Guarico station, when KYW get blowed away by AUroras, would be YVLN
with 10 kilowatts. And there are other 1060 kHz Latins that I should look for,
like CMDX, XEEP Radio Educacíon (wich is in // with 6185 wich is very, very
regular here) and a seldom-heard Colombian, HJLY Radio Delfin in Riohacha wich
is the most reported Riohacha station in North America, altough HJZW (on 780,
Radio Armonia) has been heard on Cape Cod by Mark Connelly. I only heard
Radio Coro on 780.
There is also Nueva Esparta (the state of Isla Margarita !). One of the
easiests Nueva Esparta stations to hear would be YVQX-920 in Porlamaar, wich
is 20 kHz away from my 940 local. YVQE is even more widely reported, but they
are a very tiny 10 kHz away from the extremely strond and unnulable CKAC. 1020
would be even easier, but the next season may bring a new "pest" as the Turks
and Caicos station has reactivated. La Voz del Caribe on 1140 is one I
tentatively received a few times and should be very easy to hear during the
right conditions.
Another YV state that I haven't heard yet and that I'd like to hear the
next season is Lara. YVMR-690 (R. Barquisimeto) and YVMT-730 (R. Universo)
have extremely strong co-channel locals on them, so I can't forget about them,
but I should really try to hear YVXY Radio Cristal on 610 kHz with 10
kilowatts; it would be a really good catche, especially since during the
2000-2001 season I used to hear HJKL Radio Difusora Nacíonal de Colombia - La
Voz de la Cultura on a semi-regular basis. There is also the Radio America
network in Tegucigalpa, Honduras on 610 kHz wich is by far the best bet for
Honduras on MW, for eastern North America.
If you have any other thoughts about logging the YV states of Carabobo,
Tachira, Guarico, Nueva Esparta and Lara, as well as for hearing the
Venezuelans in the Amazonas states, from wich I haven't seen any logs at all,
you're welcome.
I would like to log all the 23 Venezuelan states. Right now, my best
Venezuelan catche (from a rarely reported state !) is Rumbos on 570 kHz,
in the Aragua state, out of Villa-Cura. I think also, it's the only Venezuelan
not on a coastal location, yet for me.
Well, that's it for now !
It's almost 10:30 PM and I haven't DXed yet, I will got to eat and after
wards I'll try to get, at least Cuba-1180 or wherever I can pick up on MW
tonight and maybe try to do some FM DX after I'll find batteries for my
Sangean 606,
73 and good DX !
Bogdan Chiochiu
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