Blog Logs

All times UTC *sign-on sign-off*

Canada
6030, Calgary, CFVP relaying CKMX (MW 1060), 0433-0504, Apr 28, the usual clear Monday with both Martí and jamming off, C&W and bluegrass songs, promo for listeners to play "radio chicken" and win up to $20,000, ID "Classic Country AM 1060. An Astral Media radio station. Astral Media, entertaining the world", mostly fair. (Howard)

Central African Republic
7220, Radio Centrafrique, Bimbo, 1013-1635, May 03, Vernacular talks, Afropops, talks, 35443 but later under other stations, e.g. Vietnam at 1630. It was poorer the next day, Su May 04, at around 1000. (Gonçalves)

Colombia
5910, Marfil Estereo, Lomalinda, 0104-0223 and 0603-0625, Apr 24 and 28, May 01 and 07, Latin American songs, ID: "La hora en Marfil Estereo, es la 1 y 19 minutos" and "Marfil Estereo", 34333. (Bernardini, Méndez and Ronda)

Dominican Republic
5009.8, Radio Pueblo, 2353-0001*, Apr 30, lively Latin pop vocals with ann and Spanish talk, ID, some guitar music. A man began speaking at 0000 but carrier was cut while he spoke. Poor to fair in noisy conditions. (D'Angelo)

Ecuador
6125, HCJB, Pifo, 0925-0935, Apr 29, Ecuadorian Folk music and Quichua comments, very weak which should not be the case, if they are using 100 kW as the PWBR says? Possibly I am in the skip zone or there is a transmitter problem? (Bolland)

Gabon
7270, Radio Diff. TV Gabonaise, Melen, 1017-1415, May 03, French live report on some women held cultural exhibition, speeches, talks, 35443, very weak at 1400. Distorted spur noted 94 kHz above and below 7270, and while that the
harmonic on 14540 was still heard. (Gonçalves)

Guinea
7125, Radio Guinée, Sonfonya, 1040-1415, May 03, Vernacular talks, African songs, 35422 and almost inaudible at 1400. (Gonçalves). Also noted at 2200-2210, Apr 25, news in French from Guinea, 34333. (Méndez)

India
4970, All India Radio-Shillong, 1207-1258, May 10, sub-continental music, occasional ann, talk or news segment at 1230, 1245 English, ID: "This is the North Eastern Service of All India Radio with our Western music program broadcasting from Shillong", pop songs in English, fair to poor. This program has been in this time slot from at least 2006. (Howard and Wilkins via DXplorer)

9470, All India Radio-Aligarh. For some days the AIR National channel at 1320-0043 was not heard. Instead some spurious signals were noted around 9510. This was informed to the concerned officials on May 12 and since then 9470 was found OK. (Jacob)

North Korea
3960, KCBS, Kanggye, 0957-1005, May 11, instrumental music, 1000 time pips, Korean talks, 23322. (Bobrowiec)

6250, PBS, Pyongyang, 1831-1842, May 10, Korean, songs, 25332. No trace of co-ch. Equatorial Guinea. (Gonçalves)

Mexico
4800, XERTA, Radio Transcontinental de América, Cd. de México, 0437-0955, Apr 22, May 01, 02, 04 and 07, Religious talks in Spanish: "Dios es amor, Dios nuestro salvador", "Palabras de amor", hymns, program of "live" vocals with brief Spanish talks, CODAR QRM, best heard in LSB 24322. (D'Angelo, Bobrowiec, Méndez and Wilkner)

Swaziland
4775, Trans World Radio, Mpangela Ranch, 0412-0435, May 01, religious talk in German alternating with choir vocals, ID 0429 including e-mail address. Language change at 0430 with English "Insights for Living" program. Good with slight CODAR QRM. (D'Angelo)

Uganda
4976, R Uganda, Kampala, 1745-1750, Apr 23, English talks, 34333. (Méndez). Also heard at 0337-0407, May 07, pop and African vocals, news at 0400 in English, poor signal. (D'Angelo)

Vietnam
4740, Radio Son La, Son La (presumed), 1220-1326, May 11, sounded like Vietnamese, indigenous chanting/singing, phone conversations, fair. (Howard)
(Source: DSWCI/DX Window #350 via Anker Petersen, Denmark)

Bulgarian National Radio begins digital broadcast for listeners abroad

The Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) yesterday began trial DRM digital broadcasts for listeners abroad. Presenting the project, BNR Director General Valery Todorov said “We hope to be able to attract attention to the need for more accelerated rates in joining the digital era”.
The digital trials will continue with a six-hour long mix of BNR’s three channels - Horizont, Hristo Botev and Radio Bulgaria in five languages. The broadcasts are designed for citizens of Central and Western Europe as well as the extensive Bulgarian Diaspora there.
The new technology will make it possible to effect substantial cutbacks on BNR broadcasting costs, improve the quality of the service and transmit an integrated multimedia product, Valery Todorov said.
(Source: Radio Bulgaria)
According to the DRM website, the schedule is:
0600-1200 Fri-Sun on 11900 kHz
0900-1200 Mon-Thu on 11900 kHz
1300-1600 Mon-Thu on 9700 kHz
All beamed 306 degrees, with 20 kW power
(Source: R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Voice of Russia World Service celebrates jubilee

This year marks 30 years since the launching of theVoice of Russia World Service in English, formed aspart of the English-language Service of Radio Moscow that was on the air since 1929. On October 3, 1978,the new service began round-the-clock broadcastsbeamed throughout the world.In the run-up to the anniversary we invite you toshare with us your most vivid memories andimpressions, reminiscences of your first encounter with the World Service broadcasts on the airwaves,your impressions of our programs, both of the past andthe present day, recollections about our broadcasters,staff writers, announcers - anything you would like toshare with us and other listeners of the World Service in English. Your letters may be sent to us by the regular mail, bye-mail or voice e-mail. You may record them on a CD or audio cassette. Anything you wish to contribute iswelcome. Your most interesting entries will beincluded in our programs and posted on the web site,and your voice letters - played in our programs on theair. Write to us at: the Voice of Russia World Service, Moscow, Russia, or e-mail to us at: world@ruvr.ru Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
(Source: Sakthi Vel)

Security tightens at Malagasy radio and TV over coup rumors

Security has been tightened around the premises of the Malagasy state TV and radio stations following rumours that some military officers were planning to stage a coup, the independent newspaper Les Nouvelles web site reported on 27 May.
About eight armed soldiers have been deployed around the offices of the Television Malagasy (TVM) and Radio Nationale Malagasy (RNM) in the capital Antananarivo in a bid to control movements by staff. The Les Nouvelles web site said details are “still sketchy” on the alleged plot.
An unnamed official of the radio downplayed the deployment and termed the exercise “a simple security measure”.
A renowned presenter with the state TV confirmed the cir rumorsculation of rumours that “some high-ranking army officers were planning to forcefully get in and go live”, while a high-ranking officer with the national gendarmerie confirmed knowledge of the alleged plot, which he said “could be a move to destabilize the country”. He added that “this should not be taken lightly”.
BBCM observed that state TV did not mention any coup rumours and proceeded with normal programming in its 27 May 1000 gmt bulletin.
(Sources: Les Nouvelles website, Antananarivo, in French 27 May 08; Television Nationale Malagasy, Antananarivo, in Malagasy 1000 gmt 27 May 08, both via BBC Monitoring/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Pirate activity from Free Radio Weekly

Today's pirate logs are a sampling from the last two Free Radio Weekly newsletters. Thanks to the FRW gang.
Gayle VH

All times UTC *sign-on sign-off *

Captain Morgan
6925USB 5/18 0100-0125* Fair to good signal. ID as Captain Morgan in the pirate zone. Transmitter had some drift to lower frequencies. Songs by Jimmy Hendrix, Buffalo Springfield and a parody song Hillary with other sixties and seventies music.
(Majewsk CT)

MAC Radio
6850.84AM,5-11-08,0130. Signal poor with static. Music tune "It's So Easy To Fall In Love" and others. (Hassig-IL)

Maple Leaf Radio
6925USB 5/11/8 23:21 SIO 423. SIgnal very noisy, but strong. "Clap for the Wolfman" to ID at 23:23, "No Time", "These Eyes". Station off at 23:31 with ID.(Fansome, PA)

Radio Appalachia
6924.8AM 5/11/8 00:15 SIO 231. Just above the noise with Jerry Garcia and bluegrass music. No ID noted, this is very similar to their last broadcast. Stooges “Quiet numbskulls, I'm broadcasting". Station ID at 00:42 (Fansome, PA)

The Wave
6925USB 0106-0116 5/18/08 SIO=141+. Program of rock mx including Riders on the Storm by the Doors, I'm Your Captain by Grand Funk Railroad, and other rock tunes. IDs during show by male announcer giving the Belfast address and mentioning the 6925 frequency. I was actually unid on this transmission, but it was followed by a repeat of the same show, where the IDs were definite. (Zeller-OH)

Voice of the Angry Bastard
6925.3 AM 05/14/08 23:43 SINPO 25332. Tuned in to hear "Hell Yeah, Your listening to the Voice of the Angry Bastard." Into very angry punk music. Gloria, faint signal in lots of noise. (Ragnar-MI)

Wolverine Radio
6925USB 05/15/08 00:10- SINPO 43434. Hey Hey Goodbye, Strange Love, Do You Realize, Into The Mystic. Strong signal with a slight AM hum of second station playing techno music. (Ragnar-MI)

6925USB 5/18 02:27 SIO 333. Been listening for quite a while now,program of Motown music, several IDs. "What's Going On", "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" (Fansome, PA)
(Source: FRW #640 via Ed Insinger & FRW # 641 via Greg Majewski)

Additional pirate logs:

Channel Z
6925USB 0227-0233*. 25 May 08. English. First log of this station. The last few minutes of the bx. Music by Alice Cooper, “Elected”and The Sex Pistols, “Anarchy in the UK.” ID and uncopied email address. SIgnal fair to poor quality. (J Wood, TN)

International Shortwave
6925USB 0237-0249/0311-0315. 25 May 08. English. First log of this station. “Turn up the Radio” heard twice along with “Funky Town.” Several IDs. Signal fair-poor. (J Wood, TN)

Liquid Radio
6925,000.0 0227-0248, May 17, English, Poor signal quality. I was QSLed on this one, Transmitter power is 4 watts. (Rohde-OH/NASWA Flashsheet #329 via Rich d'Angelo)

Radio First Termer
6925USB 1740-1936. 25 May 08. English. First log of this station. Male announcer “Dave Rabbit” with show reminiscent of AFRTS Vietnam era broadcasts. IDs as “Radio First Termer, 69 megacycles.” music included items from Bloodrock, Led Zeppelin, Three Dog Night, Jimi Hendrix, and others. Faint but clear signal that improved in strength as the show progressed. Fair. (J. Wood, TN).

The Crystal Ship
5385.0 0052, May 12, English, No sign of them on 6.845, Obama sound bits, "Rock & Roll All Night" by KISS to "Cat Scratch Fever". Fair signal quality. (Rohde-OH/NASWA Flashsheet #329 via Rich d'Angelo)

IBB frequency changes

All times UTC
NF new frequency

USA(non)
Some frequency changes for IBB:
0200-0300 NF 12025 IRA 250 kW / 348 deg, ex 9460 Radio Liberty (Uzbek)
1000-1200 NF 9585 LAM 100 kW / 055 deg, ex 21530 Radio Liberty (Russian)
1230-1330 NF 12140 TIN 250 kW / 267 deg, ex 11870 Radio Free Asia (Khmer)
1400-1500 NF 9345 PHX 050 kW / 285 deg, ex 15185 Voice of America (English)
1400-1500 NF 12005 UDO 250 kW / 316 deg, ex 11715 Radio Liberty (Uzbek)
1400-1600 NF 7430 PHT 250 kW / 270 deg, ex 7125 Voice of America (English)
1500-1600 NF 9345 IRA 250 kW / 049 deg, ex 13735 Voice of America (English)
1530-1600 NF 12110 IRA 250 kW / 315 deg, ex 11665 Voice of America (Persian)
(Source: DX Mix News #522 via Alokesh Gupta & wb, Germany)

Radio Algeria schedule from May 24

Algeria (non)
Radio Algeria Holy Qur'an in Arabic via TDF from May 24:

All times UTC
0500-0557 on 7305 ISS 500 kW / 162 deg CeEaAf
0600-0657 on 9535 ISS 500 kW / 194 deg NoWeAf
0700-0757 on 11620 ISS 500 kW / 194 deg NoWeAf
0800-1057 on 13650 ISS 500 kW / 194 deg NoWeAf
1700-1857 on 13570 ISS 500 kW / 162 deg CeEaAf
1900-2057 on 12025 ISS 500 kW / 194 deg NoWeAf
2100-2257 on 7295 ISS 500 kW / 194 deg NoWeAf
(Source: DX Mix news #522 via Alokesh Gupta, India & wb, Germany)

Additional updates from DX Mix News

All times UTC

Canada (non) Radio Republica in Spanish to Cuba Mon-Fri from May 20:1000-1100 on 9490 SAC 250 kW / 227 deg, co-ch FNKR in Korean via TWN

Egypt
Frequency change of Radio Cairo in English to WeAf:
1900-2030 NF 9300 ABZ 100 kW / 250 deg, ex 9380

Germany (non)
Some Media Broadcast changes:
Radio Republica in Spanish to Cuba Tue-Sat from May 16:
0100-0200 on 5955 NAU 125 kW / 285 deg

Russia
Voice of Russia started a transmisson in Kurdish from May 19:
1600-1700 on 5925 NVS 500 kW / 240 deg
7325 ARM 100 kW / 190 deg + MW 1314 ERV 1000 kW

Sri Lanka
Frequency change for Deutsche Welle in Chinese from May 17:
1300-1330 NF 13735 TRM 250 kW / 060 deg, ex 13840 to avoid CNR-1 in Chinese

United Kingdom (non)
Some changes of VT Communications relay:
West Africa Democracy Radio to WeAf in English/French/English/French:
0700-1100 on 17875 SKN 300 kW / 180 deg, cancelled from May 19

IRIN Radio(Integrated Regional Information Network) in Somali to Somalia
0830-0845 NF 13685 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg, ex 1730-1745 on 7290 MEY 100 kW
(Source: DX Mix News #522 via Alokesh Gupta, India & wb, Germany)

WWCR multilinugal frequency update

USA
Frequency change of WWCR:
1100-1600 NF 7490*WCR 100 kW / 040 deg, ex 7465
* co-ch RFA in Korean from 1500

USA(non) Some frequency changes for IBB:

All times UTC - NF new frequency

0200-0300 NF 12025 IRA 250 kW / 348 deg, ex 9460 RL Uzbek
1000-1200 NF 9585 LAM 100 kW / 055 deg, ex 21530 RL Russian
1230-1330 NF 12140 TIN 250 kW / 267 deg, ex 11870 RFA Khmer
1400-1500 NF 9345 PHX 050 kW / 285 deg, ex 15185 VOA English
1400-1500 NF 12005 UDO 250 kW / 316 deg, ex 11715 RL Uzbek
1400-1600 NF 7430 PHT 250 kW / 270 deg, ex 7125 VOA English
1500-1600 NF 9345 IRA 250 kW / 049 deg, ex 13735 VOA English
1530-1600 NF 12110 IRA 250 kW / 315 deg, ex 11665 VOA Persian
(Source: DX Mix News #522 via Alokesh Gupta, India & wb, Germany)

Radio Sweden multilingual frequency changes

Sweden

Frequency changes of Radio Sweden from May 18 and 25:

All times UTC - NF new frequency

1500-1530 NF 11595 HB 500 kW / 120 deg to WeAs, ex 11590 in Swedish
1530-1600 NF 11595 HB 500 kW / 120 deg to WeAs, ex 11590 in English
1600-1630 NF 7480 HB 500 kW / 085 deg to EaEu, ex 7485 in Swedish
1630-1700 NF 7480 HB 500 kW / 085 deg to EaEu, ex 7485 in Russian
1700-1730 NF 11555 HB 500 kW / 120 deg to WeAs, ex 11540 in Swedish Mon-Sat
1730-1800 NF 11555 HB 500 kW / 120 deg to WeAs, ex 11540 in Arabic Mon-Fri
(Source: DX Mix news #522 via Alokesh Gupta, India & wb, Germany)

Spain adjust multilingual frequency

Today's DX Mix News reports the following frequency changes from Spain.
GVH

Spain
Frequency change of Radio Exterior Espana in French and English to CeAf Mon-Fri: 1900-2100 UTC. New freq 11620#NOB 250 kW / 161 deg, ex 11625 to avoid Vatican Radio # co-ch All India Radio in English/Hindi
(Source: DX Mix News #522 via Alokesh Gupta, India & wb, Germany)

Frequency change in Dutch for Radio Netherlands

Netherlands(non) Frequency changes of RNW in Dutch :

All times UTC

0700-0757 on 9625 BON 250 kW / 230 deg to AUS/NZ, cancelled from May 3
0900-0957 on 9795 SAI 100 kW / 195 deg to AUS/NZ, new transmission from May 3
1200-1257 new freq 17740 MDC 250 kW / 065 deg to SoEaAs, ex 17745 from May 13
(Source: DX Mix News #522 via Alokesh Gupta, India & wb, Germany)

WYFR Family Radio adds transmissions

WYFR Family Radio, additional transmissions to South Asia from May 13 and 19:

All times UTC

1400-1500 on 15640 NAU 500 kW / 095 deg in Marathi
1500-1600 on 15715 WER 500 kW / 090 deg in Kannada
1600-1700 on 15370 WER 500 kW / 090 deg in Tamil
(Source: DX Mix News #522 via Alokesh Gupta, India & wb, Germany)

New schedule for Chile's CVC Voz Cristiana

Chile
New schedule of CVC Voz Cristiana in Portuguese to Mexico and Central America.

All times UTC

0000-0100 on 11745 SGO 100 kW / 060 deg, ex 0000-0400
0900-1100 on 6110 SGO 100 kW / 060 deg, ex 0400-1100
1100-2400 on 15410 SGO 100 kW / 060 deg, no change
(Source: DX Mix News #522 via Alokesh Gupta, India & wb, Germany)

Bulgarian National Radio testing DRM

DRM tests of Bulgarian National Radio. Program Horisont from May 26

All times UTC

0900-1200 on 11900 SOF 020 kW / 306 deg to WeEu Mon-Thu
1300-1600 on 9700 SOF 020 kW / 306 deg to WeEu Mon-Thu
0600-1200 on 11900 SOF 020 kW / 306 deg to WeEu Fri-Sun
(Source: DX Mix News 522 via Alokesh Gupta and wb, Germany)

Evidence found of corruption at Radio Kuwait

A committee formed by the Ministry of Information to investigate irregularities at Radio Kuwait has recommended that the case file should be referred to the Public Prosecution, reports Al-Jareedah daily. A report submitted by the said committee stated that, as a result of the irregularities, the project to strengthen the mediumwave band at Radio Kuwait was delayed for four years. Moreover, the suspects are said to have violated the terms and conditions of the contract.
(Source: Arab Times/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Radio Euro goes online, on air in Poland

Today sees the first broadcasts of Radio Euro, which takes over from the now defunct Radio BiS. Radio Euro is the first fully multimedia radio station run by public broadcaster Polskie Radio.

Polskie Radio Euro is to include more news services, including sports bulletins. The station also offers information on the upcoming Euro 2008 championships and ongoing preparation in Poland for the Euro 2012 football championships to be held in Poland and the Ukraine.

The station went online today at 0600, with its new breakfast show ‘Po bandzie’, hosted by Witold Odrobina, a known radio journalist who has previously worked for RMF FM and AntyRadio. Radio Euro offers new services, including a new website, which is to include podcasts and provides a webcam for listeners to see what’s going on live in the station’s studio.

Many programmes have adopted a new format, although one show has been rolled over from Radio BIS, being Bis Up, a show that concentrates on popular culture and foreign languages.
The station’s website includes audio, radio, and society portals for listeners to interact with the station. Polskie Radio Euro has taken over frequencies once used by Radio BIS, and can be found at www.polskieradioeuro .
(Source: Polskie Radio/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Malawi suspends all private radio stations

The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) has suspended all broadcasts by private radio stations in Malawi as riots and protests erupted in parts of the country over the arrest of former president Dr Bakili Muluzi at Lilongwe airport after he returned from Great Britain. Mr Muluzi is accused of planning a coup d’état against incumbent President Bingu wa Mutharika.
(Source: Nyasa Times/RNW News/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Radio Veritas Asia antennas damaged by typhoon

RVA antenna's damaged by typhoon CosmeRadio Veritas Asia informs that during the height of the typhoon Cosme nine out of fifteen antennas in Palauig transmitter site were destroyed. To cope up with this deficiency some of RVA broadcasts have been substituted with available spare antennas (as given below). With this signal deterioration is expected in some of target areas. RVA is trying their best to restore allthe antennas in their normal working condition in the soonest possible time.

Temporary Antenna Substitution

Morning broadcast SW1:
Mandarin program at 10/280 instead of 11/350
Filipino program at 8/331 instead of 7/331
Sinhala/Hindi programs at 5/280 instead of 9/280
Urdu program at 16/300 instead of 13/300
Vietnamese program at 16/300 instead of 16/280

Morning Broadcast SW2:
Vietnamese program at 10/280 instead of 9/280
Russian program at 8/331 instead of 12/030

Morning broadcast SW3:
No Changes

Evening Broadcast SW1:
Mandarin program at 8/332 instead of 17/355
Hmong program at 10/280 instead of 9/280
Vatican program at 10/280 instead of 17/355
Filipino program at 10/280 instead of 14/300

Evening Broadcast SW2:
Hindi/Bengali/Urdu programs at 16/300 instead of 15/300
(Source: Alokesh Gupta, India)

DXers Unlimited Weekend edition - May 24-25

DXers Unlimited

Radio Havana Cuba
By Arnie Coro, CO2KK

Hi mis amigos radioaficionados around the world and those of you now orbiting our planet!!! Welcome to the weekend edition of your favorite listener oriented, and surely technically minded radio hobby program... YES... you are listening to Dxers Unlimited, the one and only short wave program devoted to each and every aspect of our wonderful passtime...not just to boring lists of stations that can be heard only at a certain specific location...

When you spend part of your spare time with your radios... you can, like during this weekend enjoy the thrill of a two way ham radio contact half way around the world using a very low power QRP transmitter in the middle of one of the year´s most important CW contests,the CQ Magazine sponsored WPX CW prefix contest, or you can have a lot of fun during a 2 meters band fox hunt at one of your city's parks... but that´s not all, you can also spend many hours optimizing your new TV Dxing antenna system now that sporadic E layer openings are happening every day....

SI AMIGOS, YES MY FRIENDS..OUI MES AMIS,.radio is unique in the sense that there is always something to learn, to experiment with, and to enjoy... I am Arnie Coro in Havana, my ham radio call sign isCO2KK, and you can hear my amateur radio station often on the 40, 30 and 20 meter bands CW segments using my new 2 Watt rig, connected to a wideband antenna that is working very well indeed.

Now here is item one of today's Dxers Unlimited... As the summersolstice is approaching, now less than a month away, we are seeing late evening band openings on the 30 and 20 meter amateur bands, and very good reception of international short wave broadcasts on the 31an 25 meter bands.

Item Two: Many e-mail messages keep coming in to my inforhc@enet.cu account every day, and it's really nice to see how Dxers Unlimited's listeners worldwide continue to enjoy this program and bring in so many new ideas, suggestions and questions for me to review. Among the most recently revived ideas was to create at least one CD ROM disk with the best of Dxers Unlimited for the past several years... and then make it available to those interested... Sure it's a good idea that will require a lot of work on my part, something I am just starting to do during this weekend...

Item Three: Simple wire antennas continue to fascinate many of you amigos, among them the ultra compact two element QUAD antenna for the two meters amateur band, that can be built in a few hours using standard PVC insulated wire used for household installations and PVC plastic pipe and standard fittings for it. But be aware of an interesting phenomenon... if you don't strip the wire of its plastic insulation, the dimensions of the antenna will be different than those coming from the standard two elements VHF QUAD antenna formula... And also there is a very nice and easy to use software program to calculate a VHF QUAGI antenna, a neat ombination of a two element QUAD and several linear parasitic director elements...

By the way that program, which is freeware, is available by just sending me an e-mail message requesting the QUAGI antenna design program... send your request to inforhc@enet.cu , again inforhc@enet.cu , and I'll e-mail the software to you as a small dot zip attachment attachment...

Item Four: A simple, rugged, flexible, roll up ,easy to transport solar photovoltaic panel, a lead acid gel cell accumulator and a simple home brewed voltage regulator will power up your low power amateur radio station and your short wave receiver at anytime... The solar energy option is excellent for your emergency communications kit, and you will be pleasantly surprised how even in somewhat dark days, the silicon solar cells can provide enough energy to charge up the battery for nighttime use.

A five or ten watt power solar panel is ideal for this application, and let me add that many ham radio contests have now special entry categories that provide bonus points for stations using solar or wind energy for powering the equipment during the contest. Amateur radio contests participants . like the many hams involved during this weekend worldwide CQ WPX CW prefixes ontests, learn a lot about fast and efficient communications procedures and field installations, something that is extremely useful when actual emergencies come up to your community .

Item Five: The number of amateur radio stations in some countries is extremely small. This is seen especially in the African continent, where the presence of DX expeditions of people visiting from developed nations is often the only possible source of a two way contact with that DX entity. My perception is that helping to develop amateur radio in Africa will be extremely useful for the people of that continent, and this is an effort that could be very well linked to already ongoing projects designed to provide Internet access from remote locations using satellite
technology.

Item Six: Tropical Band DX season is now, for all practical purpose over in our northern hemisphere... high noise levels, typical of the summer months make Dxing on the 120, 90 and 60 meters Tropical Broadcast Bands extremely difficult during the evening hours. Nevertheless, very early morning monitoring of the 4.6 to 5.1 megahertz segment of the short wave spectrum will still make possible some nice catches, because at that time there is minimal ionospheric absorption and the daily distribution of thunderstorm activity is also at a minimum...

One not too nice thing happening to Tropical Band Dxers is that many of their favorite stations
are going off the air, due to many different reasons, among them the rapid velopment of FM broadcast stations in areas forming served by Tropical Band broadcasts, and the high cost to broadcasters of keeping on the air old vacuum tube transmitters for which replacement parts are more and more difficult to find, and when found are extremely expensive. Cuba uses the Tropical 60 meters band for providing a nationwide service to so called silence zones, especially nations four main mountain regions, where night time AM and FM coverage is not as good as it should be ...

In areas of mountains and especially in the valleys where AM and FM broadcasts do not reach or provide a very unreliable service, the Near Vertical Incidence Skywave tropical band signals provide excellent service. That's whey the Cuban Broadcast Institute now operates a 50 kilowatt high tech transmitter for broadcasting Radio Rebelde's network national program on 5025 kilohertz, using a near verticalncidence sky wave antenna system to provide optimum service up to a distance of 1000 kilometers around the transmitter site...

For Dxers there is a bonus... thantenna does have a small low angle lobe that makes possible listening to Radio Rebelde in many far away places too!!!
......

Si amigos, we do QSL, we do verify reception reports and absolutely free of harge... You may send your detailed reception reports and comments about this and other RHC programs to inforhc@enet.cu ,again inforhc@enet.cu , or VIA AIR MAIL send a postcard to Arnie Coro, Radio Havana Cuba, Havana, Cuba... And now la numero uno, the number one most popular section of Dxers Unlimited, ASK ARNIE is on the air...

Today's question sent by listener Dimitri from near St Petersburg, Russia.Dimitri wants to know how he can find the equivalents of solid state devices, so as to make a cross reference between Russian electronic components and those made in Europe, the USA and Asia... Amigo Dimitri, you are not alone , you are facing a huge problem and quite a challenge... because the specification of, for example, bipolar transistors for low signal levels are difficult to match between manufacturers.

Fortunately, there are some general purpose devices that provide a high degree of compatibility, for example I have used here Russian made KT315 NPN low signal transistors to replace many different types made in Japan and Europe with excellent results... I also have created a database that matches to the best possible degree the specifications of many Russian vacuum tubes to their US, Japan and European equivalents...

Second QUESTION... Came from Canada, listener Alex from London, Ontario, is asking about the possible efficiency for short wave reception of a TTFD antenna that in his case,will need to be be only 10 meters or about 33 feet long, as that is all the space he has for his antenna system. Well amigo Alex, here is an important piece of information regarding the TTFD antenna design... the lower cutoff frequency for transmitting is calculated very easily by simple arithmetic...

The TTFD length is calculated by dividing the wavelength by the number three.. so your antenna only 10 meters in overall length will be good for transmitting from 30 meters or 10 megaHertz up... In other words, if you divide 30 meters by 3, your answer will be 10 meters, and that's the length of a TTFD that will be useable for transmitting from 10 megaHertz up... But now the good news, it is a fact of life and fully documented by many users of the TTFD, including yours truly, that a 10 meters or 33 feet long TTFD is certainly a quite useful receiving antenna down to about 5 megaHertz And when used with an antenna tuner it will also put out a useable signal on the 40 meters band, but not as efficiently as the full size half wave dipole antenna cut for that amateur band that has an overall length of 20 meters or 66 feet!!!

So , summarizing, the answer to your question amigo Alex,is, SURE, go ahead and build and then install your 10 meters long TTFD, as per the building instructions that I sent to you sometime ago, and then after using it for a while, please tell me and other Dxers Unlimited's fans around the world about your results !!!

AND remember that the TTFD Antenna's most recent version requires a terminating resistor between 800 and 950 or even one thousand ohms, that it must be a non inductive type of resistor and that it should be properly protected against the weather elements. For transmitting, the TTFD terminating resistor must be rated to a minimum dissipation of one fourth of the transmitter power for average use, and a higher rating if you plan to use full carrier modes like standard RADIO TELETYPE or PSK31 digital keyboard to keyboard mode... My version of the TTFD uses ten 2 Watt 8200 ohms carbon non inductive resistors connected in parallel, to achieve a total termination resistance of near 820 ohms, and with that value, the antenna has worked very well for several years using my 100 Watts transceiver, without any signs of the terminating resistance changing its value...
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And now amigos just at the end of the program, as always here is our exclusive and not copyrighted free for all radio hobby enthusiasts worldwide ..Arnie Coro's Dxers Unlimited HF plus low band VHF propagation update and forecast...The effective sunspot number, ESN, continues to be at a dramatically below 10 units, while the actual sunspot optical count was zero on Friday and Saturday, an indication of the almost endless very low solar activity. The daytime maximum useable frequency curve is barely reaching 18 megaHertz on the East-West daytime paths, and as expected, best HF propagation conditions continue to be available just after local sunset.

Expect a lot more sporadic E layer openings, with possible 12, 10 and 6 meters band openings. Atmospheric noise levels are at a pretty high level, as typical of the northern hemisphere summer months... Hope to have you all join me next Tuesday and Wednesday UTC days for the mid week edition of Dxers Unlimited, and don't forget to take a little time and send me your valuable comments and opinions about this program, to help me make it better for you and all listeners around the world !!!
(R Havana Cuba)