[HCDX] Wantok Radio 7120 signal in Alberta

["Don Moman" <ve6jy@xxxxxxxx>]

Just back from the Dayton HamVention and one of the first messages I saw
when I re-enabled my email subscriptions were the messages from Guy and Walt
on this new PNG target.  Thought I would prop up the eyelids and stay up
rather than set the alarm and get up.  Had the sound card program Spectran
running and the radio set to 7121 and looking for a trace of carrier as I
waited for them to fade in - wasn't sure of when they actually turned up the
SW tx every night.   Saw a faint trace of  a carrier there around 0600 or so
but very weak.  Band very quiet with the antenna pointed west, no static
crashes this evening.  Quite a shock when they turned up the SW at 0728 as
they were a true S9 plus a bit. That's on a ICOM 756PROIII - no preamp
engaged so S9 is close to the traditional 50 uv level.   No need to hunker
down over the headphones on this one.   The arrival angle must have favored
the horizontal polarized  beams - the 4-30 log and the 3 el 40m yagi are
both fairly high (120 feet).  The K9AY and the beverages didn't perform very
well on this particular path.

 Listened from 0728 to a bit past 0900, treated to lots of ids, some in
pidgin, some with frequency 7120 mentioned.  Some of the local ads for
program sponsors helped to give it that local sound.  The signal wasn't
getting any better - when I shut things down around 0900 it was down to an
S7 and hearing a few static crashes.  But still a healthy signal and well
above the almost nil background noise. I am in a rural setting here - the
only noise issue being power line at times but it was very quiet this
morning.  I'm about 1000 km inland so no hope of any sea gain up here.

73 Don
VE6JY





----- Original Message -----
From: "Guy Atkins" <dx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Patrick Martin" <mwdxer@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: <hard-core-dx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2005 13:41
Subject: Re: [HCDX] Wantok Radio 7120


> Patrick,
>
> Wantok Radio Light's power is 1 kW into a NVIS antenna that is "supposed"
to
> restrain most of the energy for local coverage, and reduce the skywave
> propagation. I have a PDF signal coverage map that was sent to me by the
> engineer at Wantok Radio, and it shows the signal dropping to "< 20 dBu"
> just past the Solomon Islands.
>
> I'm surprised you are hearing the station at S5-S8, as I'm not that much
> further away from the transmitter than you are, and I've been hearing
signal
> barely above threshold with my Beverage antenna aimed right at Port
Moresby
> (265 degrees). Perhaps sea gain (the coastal effect) does have an effect
on
> the higher bands.
>
> Guy Atkins
> Puyallup, WA
>

---[Start Commercial]---------------------

World Radio TV Handbook 2005 is coming out. Preorder yours and support open communications for DXers:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0823077942/hardcoredxcom

---[End Commercial]-----------------------
________________________________________
Hard-Core-DX mailing list
Hard-Core-DX@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://dallas.hard-core-dx.com/mailman/listinfo/hard-core-dx
http://www.hard-core-dx.com/
_______________________________________________

THE INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE IS FREE. It may be copied, distributed
and/or modified under the conditions set down in the Design Science License
published by Michael Stutz at http://dsl.org/copyleft/dsl.txt