[HCDX] DXpedition Loggings from OCSP, Washington State USA, Jan. 11-12

["Guy Atkins" <dx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I was fortunate to hit a window of decent weather for this 2-night
DXpedition to Ocean City State Park, WA. This park is north of the Grayland
DXpedition location, and across Gray's Harbor from the fishing village of
Westport. See map for location: http://short.uigui.com/524 The previous
weekend, a major snowstorm hit the Puget Sound area and even the coast was 2
to 3 inches deep in snow with temperatures in the 20's. However, within a
couple of days the weather returned to the more seasonal upper 40's
temperatures for the WA coast during the winter.

This was my first DC-only DXpedition in nearly three years, so I spent
considerable time making sure I had all the power cables, connectors, etc.
needed, and that my two deep-cycle RV batteries could still hold a good
charge. (Since the "technology boom" hit Pacific NW DXpeditions a few years
ago, the total power requirement for "necessary" equipment <g> has
skyrocketed.) I fired up my flameless catalytic propane heater to make sure
it still worked, and also bought a new set of foul weather raingear to help
me survive the sideways rain that often blows across the Washington beaches
in winter.

Propagation on this outing was definitely in favor of shortwave, despite
repeated bandscans on mediumwave throughout the DXpedition, looking for
juicy possibilities. Reception mostly favored the Pacific Islands region on
mediumwave, but the countries heard included: New Zealand, Japan, China,
Tahiti, Kiribati, Tonga, Marshall Islands, South Korea, Thailand, and a
Papua New Guinea beacon on 1737 kHz.

I was expecting the usual longpath African reception from the coast this
time of year and I wasn't disappointed. Unfortunately, DX didn't linger long
enough after local sunrise to provide any West Africans other than Nigeria
on 4770.


-------MEDIUMWAVE------------

549 NEW ZEALAND 2XC Gisborne, Jan 11 1524 - Tentatively this Radio Rhema
religious outlet, with mentions of Auckland at 1525. Male and female
announcer hosting what sounded like a phone-in show. Poor. (Atkins-WA)

558 UNIDENTIFIED , Jan 11 1533 - Soft Easy Listening pops music to 1538
female announcer in lang., fading by 1547. JOCR Kobe in background with
Japanese announcer, and also 3rd unid. station at times, with piccolo (!)
version of 'William Tell Overture'. (Atkins-WA)

567 JAPAN JOIK Sapporo, Jan 11 1548 - Good signal with male announcer in
Japanese; mentions of Tokyo 1550. (Atkins-WA)

594 JAPAN JOAK Tokyo, Jan 11 1550 - Blasting in with excellent S-9 signal.
Japanese announcer and light instrumental music. Parallel 666 Osaka. MD
tracks #3 and 5 = AR7030, #4 = R75. (Atkins-WA)

666 JAPAN JOBK Osaka, Jan 11 1604 - Male announcer with quick talk, then
into classical piano music, parallel 594 Tokyo. Very good signal before deep
fade. (Atkins-WA)

738 CHINA Unidentified, Jan 11 1608 - Poor signal of female announcer in
Chinese, possibly parallel 4990, but signal faded quickly and did not
return. Hunan Satellite Broadcasting Service?. (Atkins-WA)

738 TAHITI RFO Papeete, Jan 12 0349 - Het first noted at 0349, one hour
prior to Papeete local SS. Low-level audio noted at 0509, and into good
level of French talk at 0940 recheck. (Atkins-WA)

738 TAHITI RFO Papeete, Jan 11 0556 - Nice Tahitian language island music to
woman announcer in French at 0600 with mentions of Papeete. Good signal
during brief peaks. (Atkins-WA)

846 KIRIBATI T3K1 Tarawa, Jan 12 1012 - Nice signal rising from noise at
1012 with guitar and male vocals in presumed Kiribatese. R&B version of
'Happy Birthday' song at 1029; Woman announcer with mentions of Kiribati
(pronounced 'Kiri-baass'), Tarawa, and 'kilohertz' at 1030; a capella hymn
by female choir 1031, and sign-off 1034. (Atkins-WA)

1017 TONGA A3Z Nuku A'lofa, Jan 12 1008 - Tentative, with island music at
low level. Gone by 1011. Poor. (Atkins-WA)

1098 MARSHALL ISLANDS V7AD Majuro, Jan 12 1140 - Island music with
distinctive male vocals, definitely different than music from Tahiti, Tonga,
or Hawaii. Only in audio for 1/2 minute at a time. Female with talk 1152,
then sign-off or perhaps faded for final time. Poor-fair. (Atkins-WA)

1287 JAPAN JOHR Sapporo, Jan 12 1619 - Male announcer in Japanese. Poor-fair
signal during a brief peak above the noise. (Atkins-WA)

1332 JAPAN JOSF Nagoya, Jan 12 1623 - Two male announcers in Japanese with
interview or discussion.Instrumental easy-listening music 1626. Brief peaks
to fair-gd signal. (Atkins-WA)

1566 SOUTH KOREA HLAZ Chenju, Jan 11 1622 - Female announcer in Chinese, per
sked in Pacific Asian Log. Poor-fair signal; this one is usually a
powerhouse at the Washington State coast. (Atkins-WA)

1575 THAILAND VOA Ayutthaya, Jan 12 1629 - Tuned in at very end of female
announcer's talk in presumed Bangla, which included some English phrases or
excerpts. VOA trumpet fanfare 1630, mentions of 'Washington' and then into
phone interview, which seemed to be on the subject of Pakistan. Trumpet
fanfare again 1636, then mention of 'Saudi' by female and into Arabic music.
Fair-good signal. Best on West Beverage. (Atkins-WA)

1737 PAPUA NEW GUINEA KUT Kutubu, Jan 12 1048 - CW aero beacon with repeated
'KUT' ID. Fair-good. (Atkins-WA)

-----------SHORTWAVE-------------------

AUSTRALIA 2310, 1509-1523, VL8A Alice Springs Jan 11 Excellent signal of
jazz tunes, including Louis Armstrong number and a jazzified version of 'The
Old Rugged Cross' hymn, by Aussie musician James Morrison. Male host of
program gave interesting comments about jazz history at 1521. Noted parallel
2325 VL8T, but the usual 2485 VL8K parallel was absent. Checked at 1644 Jan.
12, and all three outlets were in at excellent strength, with announcer
taking answers/guesses on 'Who was the first person to break the sound
barrier?' question (Chuck Yaeger). (Atkins-WA)

AUSTRALIA 5049.95, 0905-1000, ARDS (Australian Resource Development Service)
Jan 11 I was intrigued with Walt Salmaniw's DXpedition logging of this last
October, so I was anxious to try for ARDS this trip, despite disappointing
news in the hobby press that the ARDS planned to switch to a '1/2 wavelength
dipole set 1/8 wavelength above earth plane' on Dec. 1 to provide better
local reception (per John Wright, ARDXC). At 0905 tune-in, a weak het was
heard on the Western Beverage, right on 5049.95, as displayed with both the
AR7030 and R75 (Walt reported 5049.94). Would the het break into audio?
Despite regular checks, the het never rose above moderate strength, with no
indication of any audio. The Chinese station signed on at 1000 and ended my
wishful thinking. Unfortunately, it may take phenomenal DU conditions to
bring ARDS in again, if their new antenna is indeed working as ARDS hoped.
(Atkins-WA)

ECUADOR 3220, 1055-1103, HCJB Jan 12 Acoustic guitar tune to ID in Spanish
at 1100; huaynos music at 1102. Fair. (Atkins-WA)

INDIA 4840, 0119-0125, AIR Mumbai Jan 12 Drama or narrative reading by two
male announcers in Hindi; brief organ music and singing (hymn?); sounded
like a religious program. Good signal during grayline conditions between
Mumbai and Washington coast. (Atkins-WA)

INDIA 4880, 0133-0138, AIR Lucknow Jan 12 Woman announcer with possible news
items, parallel 4860 Delhi. Into subcontinental music 0136. Fair.
(Atkins-WA)

INDIA 4950, 0139-0145, AIR Srinagar Jan 12 Powerful signal of
mysterious-sounding subcontinental tune with male vocals in Hindi. Male
announcer with mentions of India 0144. Near-grayline conditions. Like other
Indian signals tonight, Srinagar was best on the SW Beverage. 'Bent path'
reception around the auroral "donut" seems most common on 60mb Indians heard
over the years at the WA coast. (Atkins-WA)

INDIA 5010, 0114-0119, AIR Thiruvananthapuram Jan 12 Subcontinental flute
and tabla music at tune-in; male announcer in Hindi at 0115. Poor-fair.
(Atkins-WA)

INDIA 6155, 0146-0150, AIR Delhi Jan 12 Hindi film music (not parallel 4860
Delhi program). Deep-voiced male announcer in Hindi at 0150. Very good
signal. (Atkins-WA)

INDIA 7125, 0149-0201, AIR Delhi Jan 12 Female announcer in Hindi, and at
equal strength with Voice of Russia. Presumed; possible ID 0201. Poor
reception. (Atkins-WA)

INDIA 9595, 0203-0215, AIR Delhi Jan 12 Superb S-9 signal with lively tabla,
flute, and female vocals in Hindi. The 'pseudo-stereo' effect of Delhi's
audio from two receivers and stereo headphones--via John Bryant's very
useful audio switching network--was quite enjoyable!. (Atkins-WA)

INDONESIA 3215, 1624-1639, RRI Manado Jan 11 Choral hymns in lang., similar
to PNG 'sing-sings'. Woman announcer in Indonesian at 1630 with mention of
'..Gospel...'. Into more traditional Christian hymns with organ. Excellent
signal level. (Atkins-WA)

INDONESIA 3976, 1555-1600*, RRI Pontianak Jan 12 Gamelan music with female
vocals to male announcer  at 1559 with local IDs, frequency, and sign-off
with national anthem 1600. Fantastic signal!. (Atkins-WA)

INDONESIA 4860, 0132-0533, AIR Delhi Jan 12 Woman reading script or news
items in Hindi; mentions of Delhi and other cities. Very good level during
grayline conditions. (Atkins-WA)

LESOTHO 4800, 1711-1713, LNBS Jan 11 Presumed, with African choral music;
fair level, but  in background of strong swisher interference. Much better
on Jan. 12 with very good signal of African choral music overpowering the
swisher QRM. (Atkins-WA)

MAURITANIA 4845, 0055-0106*, R. Mauritanie Jan 12 Koranic recitations
continuous to National Anthem, and off at 0106, without ID or announcements.
Excellent signal. (Atkins-WA)

MYANMAR 5770, 1605-1618, Burmese Defense Ministry Jan 12 Tentative. Talk or
commentary by male announcer in SE lang.; Asian pop music in poss. Thai or
Burmese 1611. Brief talk by female announcer, short boogie-woogie piano and
guitar music, and back to female announcer 1617. Poor signal. (Atkins-WA)

NIGERIA 4770, 1703-1707, V. of Nigeria Jan 12 Lagos and Nigerian news items
in English read by man to V. of Nigeria ID at 1705. Good level. (Atkins-WA)

NORTH KOREA 3320, 1649-1654, PBS Pyongyang Jan 12 Typical ethereal, lush
instrumentals and soaring female vocal music heard on Pyongyang outlets.
Solemn announcer in Korean 1653. Huge, steady signal dominating both
antennas. (Atkins-WA)

PAPUA NEW GUINEA 3260, 1103-1120, R. Madang Jan 12 Woman announcer reading
news items in pidgin, with mentions of Papua New Guinea. Fair level. Other
PNGs heard this evening: 3275 R. Southern Highlands (fair, with news and
reggae music); 3290 R. Central (news items from PNG cities); 3325 R. North
Solomons (tentative-- mixing w/Palangkaraya); 3335 R. East Sepik (good, with
rock and roll, parallel 4890); 3355 R. Simbu (vy good with sing-sing music);
3905 R. New Ireland (presumed this-- exc. with pidgin lang. pop music); 4890
NBC (exc. with pidgin rock and roll, parallel 3335). (Atkins-WA)

PAPUA NEW GUINEA 9675, 0606-0626, NBC Port Moresby Jan 11 Heard with old
rock & roll tunes including Byrds and Hendrix. Woman announcer in English at
0615 with mentions of Port Moresby and NBC. Warbling audio at 0625, and
suddenly off in mid-song at 0626. Very good signal, but interference from
pres. co-channel R. Cancao Nova with sermon in Portuguese. (Atkins-WA)

SINGAPORE 3915, 1729-1731, BBC Kranji Jan 11 Sportcast of soccer game, with
announcers in English. BBC ID at 1730. Excellent signal. (Atkins-WA)

SOLOMON ISLANDS 5019.9, 0959-1008, SIBC Jan 12 Near-local quality signal
with male announcer giving IDs and promos in English ('SIBC... your window
on the world', etc.) at 0959. Local Solomon Islands news items read by
woman, including trade news, Honiara city council elections, AIDS report,
and political office openings. ID at 0707: 'This news is coming to you from
the SIBC, Radio Hapi Isles, Honiara'. String of ads at 1026, including
'Hubba Bubba' bubble gum, and job opening announcements. (Atkins-WA)

SOUTH AFRICA 3255, 0350-0353, BBC Meyerton Jan 11 Male announcer in English,
discussing African regional trade issues. Fair to good signal. (Atkins-WA)

SOUTH AFRICA 3320, 0403-0405, R. Sondergrense Jan 11 News items by male
announcer in presumed Afrikaans. Mentions of Johannesburg. Fair. (Atkins-WA)

SOUTH KOREA 3985, 1639-1647, Echo Of Hope Jan 11 Woman speaker in Korean to
1644 English R&B pop song. Excellent S-9 signal. (Atkins-WA)

UNIDENTIFIED 3340, 0435-0503*,  Jan 11 English and Spanish Christian praise
music continuous to 0501 presumed ID, but buried in noise and poor
modulation. Off at 0503*. Fair. HRMI-R. Misiones, Honduras? In 2002, this
was a planned freq expansion for HRMI. (Atkins-WA)

VANUATU 7260, 0944-0958, R. Vanuatu Jan 12 Mix of choral sing-sing music and
reggae tunes, with female announcer in Bislama or pidgin. 'R. Vanuatu' IDs
at 0954 and 0958 with mentions of 'Vila' and phone numbers. Excellent
signal. (Atkins-WA)

ZAMBIA 4910, 0406-0415, ZNBC Jan 11 Very good signal of soukous music to
0410, then male announcer or DJ with excited 'One Zambia, One Nation!'
exclamation. Back to afropops music at 0411. (Atkins-WA)

ZAMBIA 4910, 1648-, ZNBC Jan 11 Excellent signal of lively, dance hall
Soukous music; even better signal than earlier shortpath reception. Male
announcer in lang. 1655 with mention of 'Zambia National Trade Union' and
'National Assembly'. 3 time pips at 1700 and time check by male as '19
hours' followed by ID. Parallel 6165, good level. 4910 still going strong at
1725 recheck, 1-1/2 hours past local SR. (Atkins-WA)

ZAMBIA 4965, 1702-, R. Christian Voice Jan 11 Tuned in just in time to catch
full ID and promo: 'You're listening to Radio Christian Voice, bringing you
Good News and a good message all day long... Radio Christian Voice, the
radio for Africa'. Into a capella vocals by male. Good signal. (Atkins-WA)

Guy Atkins
Puyallup, WA USA
DXing at Ocean City State Park, WA
R75 / AR7030 / Kiwa MAP / ERGO / SW & W Beverages at 750 ft.


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