Guy Atkins has just completed an outstanding DXpedition from Conrod Meadow, Washington, using an Eton E1 and Degen DE1103 portable receivers. Antennas consisted of PA0RDT Mini-Whip and Wellbrook ALA 100 antennas at 40-ft height. To learn more about Guy's DXpedition please refer to his blog at http://www.sdr-1000.blogspot.com/. Thanks Guy, for allowing MT Shortwave Central to share your logs with our worldwide blog readers.
GVH
For the first time in many years, I traveled inland within Washington rather than to a coastal site for a DXpedition. My intent was to concentrate on tropical band DXing for a change, as trans-Pacific MW DX is the primary target from the WA coast DXpedition locations such as Grayland and Ocean City State Park.
Conrad Meadows is a beautiful spot in the Mt. Rainier area, and is the starting point for hikers and packhorse trips heading into the Goat Rocks Wilderness. I set up camp in a nearby "dispersed camping" area, where you are free to set up camp in whatever spot looks inviting. I picked a location a short stone's throw from the South Fork of the Tieton River, and between two conveniently-placed pine trees (for antennas).
The area is green and lush during the spring, but this part of the state is bone-dry at the moment...still, it's a pleasant location to camp next to the burbling waters, string up some antennas, and DX completely free from local noise or interference sources.
This was the 3rd DXpedition I've used the PA0RDT Mini-Whip antenna, and it was great to find that it always equalled, and usually exceeded, my Wellbrook ALA 100. The Mini-Whip clearly performs best in a noise-free location and mounted as high as possible. At the campsite I was able to raise the Mini-Whip to a 40-foot level in the branches of a Ponderosa pine; the ALA 100 antenna was erected similarly, with the flat-top portion of an inverted delta loop also at 40 feet. Total loop circumference was 100 feet; probably overkill but the loop was still a fine performer.
Please see my latest blog entry for photos of the antennas and the Eton E1 setup during the trip to Conrad Meadows: http://www.sdr-1000.blogspot.com/, and further details on the performance of the antennas.
AUSTRALIA 2310, 1115-1120, VL8A Alice Springs Sep 3 English announcer with music and talk about John Denver. Very good signal parallel to 2325 VL8T Tennant Creek; 2485 VL8K Katherine not heard, but noted the following night 9/4 with a good signal parallel to the other two 120mb Aussie outlets. (Atkins-WA)
BRAZIL 4885, 0218-0223, R. Clube do Para Sep 4 Male announcers with lively talk in Portuguese and lots of reverb effects. Advertisement at 0220; ID as 'R. Clube' 0221, with mentions of Para at 0222. Excellent signal. (Atkins-WA)
BRAZIL 4915, 0224-0232, R. Anhanguera Sep 4 Portuguese talk by male announcer to 0230 Brazilian jazz vocals. Possible ID sung in Portuguese at 0234. Good level. (Atkins-WA)
BRAZIL 4985, 0236-0240, R. Brasil Central Sep 4 Faint signal of male talk, but definitely Portuguese. Very tentative. (Atkins-WA)
COSTA RICA 3350, 0316-0320, R. Exterior de Espana Sep 4 Male and female announcer in Spanish with telephone program. Very good signal; presumed. (Atkins-WA)
ECUADOR 3280, 0258-0302, LV del Napo Sep 4 Devotional program or prayer reading by man and woman in Spanish. Possible mentions of Napo at 0300. Poor to fair signal; tentative log. (Atkins-WA)
GUATEMALA 4780, 1215-1219, R. Cultural Coatan Sep 3 Male announcer noted in Spanish, followed by campesino folk music. Good signal, and also heard 9/4 at 0205 with mentions of Coatan. (Atkins-WA)
GUATEMALA 4800, 0208-0216, R. Buenas Nuevas Sep 4 Female announcer in Spanish, followed by instrumental Latin music. Nice ID by woman at 0212. Good level. (Atkins-WA)
HONDURAS 4819, 1133-1136, LV Evangelica Sep 4 Male preacher in Spanish with sermon. Fair to good level. (Atkins-WA)
INDONESIA 3345, 1044-1048, RRI Ternate Sep 4 Man and woman in Indonesian language, with mentions of Indonesia. Indo pop music 1047. Fair signal, and no sign of Radio Northern on the frequency. (Atkins-WA)
INDONESIA 3976, 1106-1109, RRI Pontianak Sep 4 Female speaker in Indonesian with ID, brief jazz music, and into talk by soft-spoken male announcer. Very good signal. (Atkins-WA)
INDONESIA 4605, 1121-1131, RRI Serui Sep 4 Fantastic signal with soft Indo pops 1121-1129, followed by male announcer in Indonesian with time check and RRI Serui ID at 1130. (Atkins-WA)
INDONESIA 4750, 1207-1208, RRI Makassar Sep 3 At tune-in, a female announcer in Indonesian was heard, with a number of mentions of Indonesia. Quite strong signal, but struggling with badly distorted audio, as is often the case with Makassar. On 9/4, their audio was much better when heard at 1135. (Atkins-WA)
INDONESIA 4790, 1220-1223, RRI Fak Fak Sep 3 Male and female speakers in Indonesian, and Indo pop music; patriotic-sounding public service announcement or advertisement at 1223. Good level. (Atkins-WA)
INDONESIA 4870, 1225-1227, RRI Wamena Sep 3 Male announcer in Indonesian; content appeared to be brief news items from around the country. Presumed. (Atkins-WA)
JAPAN 3925, 1208-1212, R. Nikkei Sep 3 Excellent S9+10 dB signal with English lesson, using world news items as examples, given by male and female announcers in Japanese. Heard throughout the weekend at pounding levels, often with jazz music selections. (Atkins-WA)
NEW ZEALAND 3935, 1103-1106, ZLXA Levin Sep 4 Faint signal of male announcer with slow reading, possibly news items. Ham radio QRM at times. Tentative; it's been a long time since I've had a definite logging of ZLXA. (Atkins-WA)
NORTH KOREA 2850, 1138-1140, KCBS Pyongyang Sep 3 Korean female vocals with orchestral accompaniment; strong signal. (Atkins-WA)
NORTH KOREA 3250, 1145-1147, Pyongyang BC Sep 3 Male announcer in Korean, with heavy-handed orchestral music. Good signal. (Atkins-WA)
NORTH KOREA 4450, 1112-1120, KCBS Sep 4 Passionate political-sounding speech in Korean by male, followed by dramatic vocals and orchestral music at 1117. Good level, and clearly parallel with 4557 (Haeju). 4450 was accompanied by a warbler jammer, but 4557 was in the clear. Likely KCBS on these frequencies, rather than the Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front, as it's been reported elsewhere that the clandestines are not using thesetransmitters currently. (Atkins-WA)
PAPUA NEW GUINEA 3260, 1147-1150, R. Madang Sep 3 Old-time Gospel music selection at tune-in; male announcer in Pidgin with time check 'Come up long seven o'clock' at 1149. PSA or advertisement at 1150. Good level. (Atkins-WA)
PAPUA NEW GUINEA 3275, 1151-1152, R. Southern Highlands Sep 3 Male announcer in Pidgin, possibly with a sermon. Poor to fair signal, but heard at good level on 9/4 with ID at 1140. (Atkins-WA)
PAPUA NEW GUINEA 3315, 1154-1200, R. Manus Sep 3 PNG pop music tune, followed by male announcer with news items in English at 1200 re-check of frequency; mentions of Papua New Guinea. Fair level. (Atkins-WA)
PAPUA NEW GUINEA 3345, 1157-1200, R. Northern Sep 3 Female vocals in possible Pidgin language. Music style sounded like typical PNG Melanesian folk music, but signal was poor-fair. No break at top of hour. Tentative. (Atkins-WA)
PAPUA NEW GUINEA 3365, 1202-1203, R. Milne Bay Sep 3 Male announcer with talk or news in English and mentions of Papua New Guinea. Into R&B pop music at 1203. Good signal. (Atkins-WA)
PAPUA NEW GUINEA 3385, 1203-1204, R. East New Britain Sep 3 Good to very good signal of contemporary Christian music, heard on a good night for PNG reception. Presumed. (Atkins-WA)
PAPUA NEW GUINEA 4890, 1228-1230, NBC Port Moresby Sep 3 Excellent, clear signal of reggae music, and male announcer in English at 1230, mentioning Karai Network. (Atkins-WA)
PAPUA NEW GUINEA 4960, 1234-1235, Catholic Radio Network Sep 3 Very faint signal of English talk by a female announcer; it seemed to be a religious devotion or prayer. Tentative. (Atkins-WA)
PAPUA NEW GUINEA 7120, 1230-1233, R. Wantok Light Sep 3 It was great to hear this station loud and clear again; probably the best reception I've heard since logging their multi-hour inaugural day celebration broadcast in June, 2005. Noted female announcer with ID, ad into contemporary Christian music. Despite Wantok's 'NVIS' antenna, designed to restrict radiated power to the region, their signal clearly reaches far past Papua New Guinea!. (Atkins-WA)
PERU 3235, 1020-1035, R. Luz Y Sonido Sep 4 Male announcer in Spanish, and campesino music to 1030 ID. Into sermon or religious talk at 1031. Fair. (Atkins-WA)
PERU 4790, 0203-0205, R. Atlantida Sep 4 Male talk in Spanish, and into what sounded like a live, outdoor political speech. Fair level; presumed. (Atkins-WA)
PERU 4835.4, 1138-1143, R. Maranon Sep 4 Male announcer in Spanish language, with occasional mentions of Cajamarca. Weak signal. (Atkins-WA)
RUSSIA 279, 1123-1135, R. Rossi Sep 3 Likely R. Rossi from Sakhalin Island here, the only LW frequency noted in audio, with Russian talk and EZL music. Announcements and possible ID at 1130. Fair to good signal, and MUCH better on PA0RDT Mini-whip antenna than the Wellbrook ALA 100 loop!. (Atkins-WA)
SOLOMON ISLANDS 5020, 0958-1003, SIBC Sep 4 A very good signal tonight from one of my personal favorites--SIBC Honiara. Female announcer in English with 'nine o'clock' time check at 1000, SIBC ID, usual bamboo pipes interval signal, and into news items. At later re-tune, I caught the sign-off at 1159 with ID, announcements, and national anthem. Immediately after the anthem, SIBC began their BBC relay. (Atkins-WA)
SOUTH AFRICA 3320, 0305-0314, R. Sonder Grense Sep 4 Pop music in Dutch or Afrikaans at 0305; male & female talk in Afrikaans at 0308; Simon and Garfunkel's 'Mrs. Robinson' at 0313. Good signal. (Atkins-WA)
SOUTH AFRICA 3355, 0321-0323, BBC Meyerton Sep 4 Talk by man and woman in English, with political commentary on UK affairs. Poor to fair signal, peaking sharply at 0322. (Atkins-WA)
SWAZILAND 4775, 0359-0400, Trans World Radio Sep 3 Announcer noted in English with mention of upcoming German language program, and ID 'You are listening to TWR, broadcasting from Manzini, Swaziland.' Into German program 0400. Good signal. (Atkins-WA)
VANUATU 3945, 1003-1007, R. Vanuatu Sep 4 Very weak signal of possible news items, read by a man in English. Tentative. (Atkins-WA)
(Source: Guy Atkins, Puyallup, WA, USA and Cumbre DX)