The IDXCI people are conducting dxpeditions since 80s. We consider dxpeditions as ultimate DXactivity. Recently, our friend in radio Gary DeBock, N7EKX of Puyallup, WA, USA went to Cook Islands for one such expedition. Gary has very kindly permitted us to post his Cook Island DX reports on the IDXCI blog. The report is still hot as it was completed last night only
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April 2018 Cook Island Ultralight DXpedition
Thrilling Long Range DX with "Frequent Flyer" Gear
By Gary Debock, Puyallup, WA, USA - June 2018
Introduction Two years ago a wacky new idea started to be
brought into reality—the design of lightweight, airport-friendly FSL antennas
that could provide serious gain boosts (and serious hobby excitement) for DXers
on exotic vacations. The FSL antennas had already proven that they were the
ultimate compact performers, but could they also somehow provide a major
breakthrough in travel DXing results? If all of a DXer’s gear needed to fit
inside hand-carry luggage and pass through multiple security inspections,
exactly how much performance could a DXer expect on an exotic ocean beach far
away from home?
After a
couple of “warm up” trips to Kona, Hawaii, I was eager to give my “frequent flyer”
DXing gear a “final exam” to answer this question—a 5 day visit to Aitutaki
Island in the Cook group, about 2600 miles due south of Hawaii. This South
Pacific location featured dazzling scenery, subtropical weather, good security
and very friendly island residents. It had no MW transmitters anywhere within
164 miles (264 km)-- the closest one was 630-Radio Cook Islands in
Rarotonga. It certainly seemed like the
ideal “exotic ocean beach” venue to test out the lightweight gear, but little
did I know that I was about to enjoy the most thrilling hobby experience I’ve ever
had!
Somehow
I managed to stumble across a superb sunrise propagation path for South and
Southeast Asian reception, resulting in loggings of 657-AIR ,
693-Bangladesh, 918-Cambodia and 1431-Mongolia—all at over 6,800 miles (10,950
km). As if that wasn’t enough, the same propagation path ignored Japan almost
completely. Usually around sunset I was doing my best to convince my wife that
the main reason for this trip was to celebrate our anniversary (despite the
somewhat different reality), so most of the sunset time was devoted to beach
walks, Polynesian dinners and the like. That didn’t stop long range stations
like 1000-Radio Record in Sao Paulo, Brazil
(7,072 miles/ 11,380 km) from showing
showing up a couple of hours later, though, along
with multiple North American stations. The ocean-boosted propagation seemed to
be phenomenal from sunset to sunrise, to the point where almost any low-powered
New Zealand
TRAVEL TO THE COOK ISLANDS Although Aitutaki and Rarotonga islands are
in a fairly remote part of the Southern Hemisphere, they are actually in the
same time zone as Hawaii, so any jet lag from the west coast is minimal. Air New Zealand Los Angeles Rarotonga in a 9 1/2 hour overnight trip,
and the service and food on our flight was excellent. The Cook Islands have a
subtropical climate with seasons opposite from those in the Northern
Hemisphere, so visitors should expect quite a bit more heat and humidity than
at home. The islands are administered by New Zealand Rarotonga is the
largest island, and upon arrival at the airport visitors will pass through
immigration and customs, receive complimentary flower leis and bottled water, and
if they are staying on the island (as most do), proceed to their motels.
Our chosen destination of Aitutaki island is located
164 miles (264 km) north of Rarotonga, so we needed to board an additional Air
Rarotonga flight of about 1 1/2 hours to the gorgeous island. Aitutaki is
famous for a dazzling turquoise lagoon filled with a variety of beautiful
tropical fish, and features many motels with convenient access to the lagoon.
Because of its unique beauty it has the nickname of “Honeymoon Island Cook Islands is
that Air New Zealand requires visitors to have a confirmed motel reservation
before they can purchase a ticket—apparently because of some tourists who
thought that setting up tents on the beach would provide the ultimate travel
bargain.
“FREQUENT FLYER” LIGHTWEIGHT DXING GEAR Both the 7.5 inch loopstick C.Crane Skywave
SSB portable and the 5 inch (13 cm) TSA-friendly FSL antenna carried along for
this trip had been used in previous transoceanic DXpeditions, and both are
designed to fit easily within hand-carry luggage. Because of exceptional ocean-boosted
propagation the modified portable was used alone for the North and South
American reception, along with those for the Pacific islands, Hawaii ,
New Zealand and Australia .
The 5” FSL antenna was used only to boost the Asian signals during the sunrise
sessions, although even then the modified portable typically could receive many
of the Asians all by itself. For this trip a 4 foot (1.3m) breakdown PVC base
was also carried along to elevate the FSL antenna right next to the salt water
edge, and this did seem to boost its performance somewhat. In comparison to
John Bryant’s 500 foot Beverage antennas at Easter Island during his 2007 trip
this was a very humble setup indeed, although the long range performance of
these lightweight DX chasers was about to be demonstrated in pretty convincing
fashion.
ASIAN LOGGINGS
Checking
out transoceanic DX propagation at an exotic ocean beach site can provide the
hobby thrill of a lifetime-- if a DXer is lucky enough to choose the ideal
time, place and gear to make the chase. All of these fell into place in an
amazing way during the 5 day trip to Aitutaki Island with Ultralight radio
gear, resulting in the reception of MW stations in India, Bangladesh, Mongolia
and Cambodia.
Because of extensive QRM from Australia and New Zealand the total number of Asian stations received was limited, but it was definitely a case of quality over quantity. Phenomenal propagation around sunrise shut down Japanese signals almost completely, but boosted up those from the exotic countries in east and south Asia. Korean station reception was limited to the big guns, which was also primarily true for Chinese signals. Except for the ANZ pest QRM, the conditions seemed custom-designed for a west coast DXer to go after the exotic stations which rarely-- if ever-- show up in BC, Washington or Oregon (even though the Cook Islands' distance to them is greater).
Ocean-boosted
propagation at sunrise was strong enough to bring in both 693-Bangladesh and
1431-Mongolia at S9 levels almost every morning on my Ultralight gear, and
allow both 657-AIR and 918-Cambodia to break through ANZ QRM on April 12th. No
doubt many more of these exotic stations could have been logged except for
Australian QRM on 576, 594, 872, 883 and 1566, but this only added to the
thrill of the chase. The overall results were exceptional for a DXer using only
a 7.5 inch loopstick Ultralight radio and 5 inch "Frequent Flyer"
FSL-- all designed to fit within hand-carry luggage, and easily pass through
airport security inspections.
657
All India Radio Kolkata, India, 200 kW (8,075 miles/ 12,995 km)
Recorded by accident during a sunrise check of the Korean big guns at
1641 on April 12, reception of this longest-distance station went unnoticed
until file review after return to the States. The female speaker (in the
Bengali language) is the third station in the recording, after the female vocal
music from Pyongyang BS and the Irish-accented male preacher from NZ's Star
network. Her speech peaks around 40 to 50 seconds into the recording. The
isolation of the Star network at the 55 second point was done by the
Ultralight's loopstick, not by the propagation. Thanks to Alokesh Gupta for the
language and station identification https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ix71clk446ad5d5bkzbn3e0q94fe18wu
657
Pyongyang BS Pyongyang, N. Korea, 1500 kW Like most east Asian
signals the N.K. big gun sounded pretty anemic in the Cook Islands. Its female
vocal music at 1641 on April 12th shared the frequency with NZ's Star network
(Irish-accented preacher) and AIR's female Bengali speaker https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ix71clk446ad5d5bkzbn3e0q94fe18wu
693
Bangladesh Betar Dhaka, Bangladesh, 1000 kW (7,960 miles/ 12,810
km) Probably the biggest surprise of the DXpedition, with S9 signal
peaks on 4 out of 5 sunrise sessions. Frequently snarling with the Oz pest 3AW,
it usually managed a few minutes on top of the frequency each morning from
1630-1700 UTC. Exotic South Asian music was the usual format, and was very easy
to distinguish from the talk-oriented format of 3AW (and other Oz co-channels).
This first appearance at 1652 on 4-10 featured a "Bangladesh Betar"
ID by a male speaker at 8 seconds into the recording (thanks to Chuck Hutton
for listening) https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/94j756mjptm1fuaij381dw2wbsqkre91
This
was followed by a lot of exotic music until 3AW claimed the frequency just
before the 1700 TOH https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ltl5f8aeo5w2qm3bf2n02x06xsu9fb9r
The
next day (4-11) the exotic station was back with S9 peaks, including this
typical music and female speaker at 1625 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/3fu4wo3efoj34dfjm4c6jvg4mzb3nrcv
The
exotic music from Bangladesh was in an S9 snarl with 3AW (and another Oz pest)
from 1659 throughout the 1700 TOH on April 11th https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/pa29z92iqim2y6ps40qlv08q84gtxbqv
774
JOUB Akita, Japan, 500 kW Oddly enough, this was the only
Japanese signal making it to the island during the entire trip. Mixing with a
goofy-sounding 3LO announcer at 1613 on 4-11, the Japanese female speech
concerns a "doobutsuen" (a "zoo" in Japanese, similar to
what the frequency sounded like with the 3LO announcer) https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/57lu1aeb7u77kjwub1v7gr1id66xho7l
819
KCBS Pyongyang, N. Korea, 500 kW The N.K. big gun managed a
potent signal for its 3+1 pips across its "TOH" at 1630 on 4-12 but
never could shake off RNZ's Tauranga transmitter https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/4x2b670b8p2b2edy9xw19ns1eftnbg1w
909
CNR6 Quanzhou, China, 300 kW Strong signal with CNR ID (1:08) and
Mandarin speech by male and female announcers. NZ's Star network was apparently
off the air at the time, since it was a real blaster when transmitting https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/kgvitthtofeqvphnve4yoi35q1nxfypn
918
RNK Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 600 kW (6823 miles/ 10,981 km)
Breaking through the Shandong and Oz QRM at an ideal time to dominate the
frequency, its sign off transmission with the National Anthem peaked just
before the 1700 TOH on April 12. Female speech in the Khmer language and exotic
music are featured just before the anthem (thanks to Hiroyuki Okamura and
JariLehtinen for listening, and identifying the National Anthem) https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/8ji74eayhau8ttjv25pv6zlmcnt0jyai
Chuck
Hutton's improved audio file of the same reception (thanks) https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/qams92h5ktn7ki93u3qlvbzvyl3y8rru
918
Shandong RGD Synchros (Multiple) The dominant Asian signal on the
frequency, it rarely allowed Cambodia to sneak through. Here it is with female
Mandarin speech at 1647 on 4-11 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ml1vqzmgl35q9gfzpzlsepvvmz1l1shw
Shandong’s
5+1 time pips were recorded mixing with another station’s 5+1 time pips at 1700
on 4-12, resulting in bizarre, two-tone time pips at the 1700 TOH on 4-12
(during Cambodia's National Anthem at 1:40, in the MP3 linked below). The sound
effect sounded similar to that of a "cuckoo clock," resulting in some
initial confusion about their sources. Thanks to Nick for his assessment that
these must be Shandong’s pips mixing with those of RNZ National (a regular on
the frequency each evening and morning)—an explanation that makes sense to me
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/8ji74eayhau8ttjv25pv6zlmcnt0jyai
972
HLCA Dangjin, S. Korea, 1500 kW The South Korean big gun played
the part on most mornings, including this S9+ Korean female speech at 1631 on
4-12 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/gynxilf8rpe762f0y5wbj85k0krh1dvb
981
CNR1 Synchros Changchun/ Nanchang, China, 200 kW/ 200 kW The
first of three CNR1 frequencies which usually produced strong signals, this
music // 1377 was received at 1624 on 4-12 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/tybl0tglmfqkec7u2u1udhgncd4sc5d5
1377
CNR1 Synchros (Various) Overall this was not only the strongest
Chinese frequency on the band, but was the strongest Asian station on the band
as well. Awesome S9+ signals were typical each morning, as with this male
speech and music at 1622 on 4-12 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/5eh6zami9876vajyjjfoaqz764lcmo1a
Another
potent signal from this Chinese blaster at 1640 on 4-12 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/8jlbyscbxe4i8ed1n4admt01f66gt7jt
1431
Mongolia (Relay Station) Choibalsan, Mongolia, 500 kW This
station was easy to receive on the first attempt, with very little competition
on the frequency. It typically managed an S9 signal after 1630 daily with the
BBC's Korean service, which seemed to be broadcast during the peak sunrise
enhancement time in Aitutaki's ocean-boosted propagation. Here is BBC's Korean
male announcer at an S9 level at 1632 on 4-11, with the BBC interval signal at
47 seconds into the recording https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/bfl4ohbfmhf9fdvfa6mx6jnxapaayk4a
The
Mongolian relay program prior to 1630 was also in Korean, with this female
Korean speech at 1627 on 4-11 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/5892chd20zbxs3w7r1q1f2qx39f6l7gm
1566
HLAZ Jeju, S. Korea, 250 kW A very poor signal was typical during
this trip, with the Chinese service barely showing up under 3AW and two other
DU English stations (probably 4GM and Norfolk Island). Whenever 3AW was in a
fade it had a chance, since other two co-channels were running very low power.
Here is the latter situation, with the weak Chinese barely audible under the DU
English snarl at 1641 on 4-12 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/hysvrh4f7i8u16f3740ch5azam0iervx
1593
CNR1 Changzhou, China, 600 kW This was another Chinese blaster,
with S9 signals typical every morning. Here it was at 1641 on 4-12 with male
Chinese speech and music // 1377 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/unn7d4h3wa9ro7g7wespunkqeaay6f6e
PACIFIC
ISLAND LOGGINGS
Chasing
DX from the center of Polynesia was an ideal chance to track down exotic DU
island stations that rarely, if ever, show up on the west coast of North America.
From my location on the Aitutaki lagoon beach obscure stations like 630-Cook
Islands and 990-Fiji Gold were pounding in at S9 levels every evening, while
other exotic island stations were the strongest ones on the MW band. Phenomenal
ocean beach propagation was routine-- except that the North American pest
stations (that TP-DXers love to hate) never managed even a whimper.
Close-in
DU propagation was so favorable that only the 7.5 inch loopstick CC Skywave SSB
Ultralight was necessary to track down most of these exotic stations at S9
levels, and make all the MP3 recordings linked below. The vacation was also an
ideal chance to investigate and record what is possibly the most obscure MW-DX
station still transmitting in the Pacific-- 630-Radio Cook Islands, with an
underperforming 2.5 kW transmitter in Rarotonga. Overall the entire experience
was a real thrill for a west coast DXer who rarely hears these stations, let
alone at such powerful levels.
540
2AP Apia, Samoa, 5 kW Located only 866 miles (1,394 km) from my
DXing site, this was always an S9 powerhouse every evening. Samoan island music
was common, along with male and female Samoan speech. The station does have
some issues with the transmitted signal cutting out, an intermittent microphone
and (occasionally) the announcer allowing 30 seconds of dead time after a song,
as in the third MP3 below.
Male
Samoan speech, background music and advertisement at 0718 on 4-9 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/vfsisz3n9gx6869eejbh116y3dwnrn20
Samoan
news (with mentions of Samoa at the 1 second and 9 second points) at 0702 on
4-9 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/3y9puecegkb6ikgppv9s8coxgq23ifam
Beautiful
Samoan island music at 0716 on 4-9, followed by 28 seconds of dead time. When
programming resumes with an advertisement the transmitter (or microphone) cuts
out twice within 30 seconds, with the microphone apparently having an
intermittent low output issue https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/akv3p4ds5rnz0kcta1k4rixnht5c3hqf
558
Radio Fiji One Suva, Fiji, 5 kW Both this native language station
and its English-oriented sister station on 990 were solid powerhouses each
evening, as well as during sunrise enhancement sessions. S9 signals were the
norm, and a wide variety of local island music was the usual format.
Typical
Fiji island music on the station's overnight program at 1605 on 4-9 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/iui5tnz71kfie3mtznaiey0taowcf0b3
Island
music and the usual ID, "Radio Fiji One, Na Domoiviti" at the 24
second point of this recording at 1622 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/iui5tnz71kfie3mtznaiey0taowcf0b3
Apparent
storm coverage of Tropical Cyclone Keni at 0718 on 4-9; the cyclone caused
extensive damage on Fiji https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/hj0vi3yc9zut8pll2vs8kgtyc6cu6i81
621
Radio Tuvalu Funafuti, Tuvalu, 5 kW Usually very strong but
occasionally pestered by 3RN QRM, this exotic island station typically hit an
S9 level about an hour after local sunset. A lot of island music is played by
the usual female announcer, featured in this recording in her native language
at 0720 on 4-12 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ht4fhwj9htzcrtmuby6930664yc9uj56
630
Radio Cook Islands Rarotonga, Cook islands, 2.5 kW Located 164
miles (264 km) south of my DXing site, it was pretty obvious why this obscure
station is so tough for distant DXers to track down. After sunset it had
multiple strong co-channels on the frequency (RNZ and ABC), and even just after
its sign on at 1556 the 5+1 pips from RNZ were clearly audible at 1600. The
station has multiple issues, with a disastrous live microphone, audio amplitude
varying widely between different programs, noticeable audio hum on the signal,
etc. It signs on at 1556 and signs off at 0958, unless there is a weather
emergency in the area (as there was with tropical cyclone Keni on April 9), in
which case it switches to an RNZ satellite feed overnight until sign on at 1556
(thanks to Bryan Clark for ID of the station). The station is obviously a low
budget operation, with no special sign on or sign off message, automated time
mentions, and (typically) strings of recorded island music with no live
announcer. The only live announcers I heard during the week were during a
Sunday morning recorded church service on April 8, and just after sign on (with
the dreadful microphone) on April 12th.
Here
is the full sign on routine at 1556 UTC on April 12, with the horns, apparent
national anthem, English ID, drums, and finally the live female announcer with
the dreadful microphone (cutting off almost all the high frequencies, resulting
in legendary poor audio). The weakness of the signal at 1600 allows the 5+1
time pips from RNZ to be clearly heard at the 4:30 point in the recording
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/xqonh9iz57w22ebzxwz42krugu3rvykx
This
recording of a church service at 1724 on April 8 was the only one I made on
Rarotonga, the site of the transmitter. It features a live male announcer at
1:10 into the recording with an English "It's 7:25, that's your time with
your National Voice" ID. At 1:44 into the recording one of the station's
major issues is on full display-- the sudden amplitude increase of the
transmitted audio https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/rfe2u3m3px4xmossujtxilzw8vlk3jtg
During
most hours of the day the station runs a fully automated operation, with
strings of recorded island music interspersed with recorded male-voiced station
ID's and female-voiced time checks, as at 0706 on 4-9 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/oegfjznhbgw0evy9xuzqbu428xd31l4y
There
is no special sign off message at 0958 (2358 local time), when the power is
cut. There is a recorded station ID and time check at 0957, though, as in this
recording at 0956 on April 9th. The weakness of the station around local
midnight can be heard, with a strong co-channel pestering the signal before the
unceremonious switch to the RNZ satellite feed at 0959, This was due to the
tropical cyclone Keni weather emergency in the South Pacific area on April 9th;
on normal days the transmitter power is simply cut off at 0958 (2358 local
time), with no warning or fanfare https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/bqwt5lm0ezhdyqayqkfjj8j8fbirysar
846
Radio Kiribati Christmas Island, Kiribati, 10 kW Not quite as
strong on Aitutaki as it was in Kona, Hawaii last December, this station was
one of the first to fade in at sunset, but was pestered by ANZ co-channels
later in the evening. It has apparently corrected the transmitter cutout issues
noticed last December, and features an open carrier overnight after sign off
around 1006. The time delay with its 1440 parallel wasn't checked during this
trip (mainly because both of these Kiribati stations had trouble holding their
frequencies), but in December it was very unpredictable. Since the 846
transmitter apparently doesn't sign on until it gets the programming from 1440
in Tarawa (significantly to the west), 846-Kiribati was silent during my
sunrise DXing sessions in the Cooks from 1600-1700, although the semi-local
630-RCI (at approximately the same longitude) signs on at 1556.
The
best time to receive the station was around local sunset, before the ANZ
co-channels showed up. Here it was at 0650 on 4-9, playing some American
country music (a format which seems very common on the playlist) https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/e965m3zcy13t3auije44zn344x5q8fw9
Later
on in the evening it was pestered by multiple ANZ co-channels, as demonstrated
when the loopstick bearing is shifted at the 16 second point in this recording
at 0834 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/f6kd11wrj2lunrcjzlss1nnnr9i8v39m
900
Radio Fiji Two (Fiji Gold) Suva, Fiji, 10 kW The English-language
sister station to the native language 558-RF1, this interesting station plays
classic pop hits, and is a favorite with expats and NZ listeners alike. Very
tough to receive on the west coast because of its "domestic"
frequency and the 5 kW Hawaii co-channel KIKI, its signal had no trouble
pounding in to the Cooks at an S9 level each evening, although the 1 kW Kiwi
co-channel TAB Trackside did attempt to make it somewhat of a horse race at
times. Because of Tropical Cyclone Keni there was extensive weather coverage on
the station during my visit, which is reflected in all of the MP3's linked
below.
Oldies
music and tropical cyclone weather update at 0712 on 4-10, after the storm had
just passed trough the center of Fijian waters https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/b5may3rbr5kuuwbus18lr4hala57x1vb
Oldies
music, local advertisements and Fiji news at 0700 on 4-12, including the
President's warning against corruption in repair construction contracts after
the tropical cyclone https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/rs70dcbhco94arepnnv6othl3b5z27hw
Long
version of the first MP3, as co-channel TAB Trackside (1 kW in Nelson, NZ)
tries to make it a horse race with Fiji Gold at 0710 on 4-10, but folds in the clutch
to Melissa Etheridge https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/devsen4lrp2pul0m92m0r638yb6yj79i
1017
A3Z (Tonga B.C.) Nuku'alofa, Tonga, 10 kW Much stronger in
the Cooks than in Hawaii, this station was only 1,014 miles (1,632 km) from my
DXing site on Aitutaki. Coverage of Tropical Cyclone Keni dominated the
programming, which featured both English and native language updates on the
storm. Despite the station's S9 strength it was easily nulled out with the
Ultralight's loopstick, bringing in the 2.5 kW Radio Sport co-channel in
Christchurch (as demonstrated at 1:23 into the first video linked below).
In
a Tropical cyclone update in English and Tongan languages at 0712 on 4-9, Radio
Tonga is nulled out by the Ultralight's loopstick at various points, bringing
in the Kiwi co-channel Radio Sport (2.5 kW) at an equal S9 level around the 4
minute point https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/h4hbmh1ro3xydm0h6g4tlfkwxfqp3mjd
Tongan
island music at S9 level at 1607 on 4-11, but with Yankee-accented Radio Sport
(relaying Fox Sports Network) and another DU English co-channel (2KY?) https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/3771cas3q9mdqvsn8phy2c96esghlchi
1098
V7AB (Radio Marshalls) Majuro, Marshall Islands, 25 kW Not
nearly as strong as in Hawaii, this was another island station easily nulled
out with the Ultralight's loopstick to bring in an S9 Kiwi co-channel (Newstalk
ZB). It was strongest prior to sunset in NZ, but couldn't hold the frequency
after that unless the Kiwi station was nulled out (as demonstrated in the MP3
linked below).
Radio
Marshalls and Newstalk ZB fight it out at 0724 on 4-9, with the island station
holding the frequency as long as the loopstick favors it (and getting plastered
otherwise) https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/32p2a8stc0ci9m1f7cyrmxfkkpa9rhk8
Radio
Marshalls plays some beautiful music, which made for enjoyable listening as
long as Newstalk ZB was nulled out (as at 0746 on 4-10) https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/3f589i8odtcu98ky45agyz4gqex29qzg
1170 UnID
Religious format station (with a mention of “with your pastor” is at the
25 second point) featuring island-accented English female speech having a
motivational theme at 0707 on 4-12. Although no ID was recorded, the
programming details all seemed to point to Eagle Christian Radio in the
Marshall Islands, but Mika Makelainen talked with one of the station personnel
who said that the station hasn’t been broadcasting recently. As such, the
reception remains the ultimate mystery, since the details don’t seem to fit any
other possibility https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/7pof6qol9hnub400ncq3ele32dlf4vy4
1440
Radio Kiribati Bairiki, Tarawa, 10 kW Reasonably strong on most
nights in the Cooks, although occasionally (and amazingly) troubled by the
flea-powered (200w) Kiwi co-channel Te Reo O Tauranga Moana. Having a
variable-delay parallel arrangement with its 846 kHz sister station on
Christmas Island, all of the programming originates from this station. The
music format features a lot of Kiribati island tunes, along with a surprising
amount of American country music.
Radio
Kiribati with the usual female and male announcers at typical strength at 0708
on 4-9 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/bwsm9wdte9qap0anqw3wt8rgtsg9d9j0
One
of the distinctive ways to identify the station is the 4-bong time signal on
the half hour, as at the 13 second point in this recording at 0730 on 4-10
(with the male announcer) https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/0jdxn3mm3v1da9a659nvyvd47ek7qryo
The
usual female announcer has a strong signal until around 51 seconds into this
recording at 0805 on 4-11, when the 200w Kiwi co-channel Te Reo O Tauranga
Moana provides some serious competition in Maori (thanks to Theo for language
identification) https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/f9m9z6aqpacsolti5l3eevgsq72dnabo
NORTH
AMERICAN and SOUTH AMERICAN LOGGINGS
The
closest point on the USA mainland is 4,550 miles (7,323 km) away from Aitutaki
island, and there was a straight ocean path to North America from my DXing spot
on the lagoon beach, resulting in several strong transoceanic signals across
the Pacific. The closest point in South America (Chile) was about 5,550 miles
(8,930 km) away, although there was a 480’ (150m hill) between my lagoon spot
and that direction.
Because
of various tourist activities scheduled by my wife around sunset and a
lingering mindset that North American signals weren't exactly top priority DX
to chase, no deliberate effort was made to go after these stations while in the
Cook Islands. Despite this 7 USA mainland stations and one South American
(1000-Radio Record in Sao Paulo, Brazil) crashed the Kiwi sunset skip DXing
sessions about 2 hours after sunset, wiping out the adjacent 9 kHz-split
frequencies that I was trying to receive. The most distant of the USA stations
was 1170-KFAQ in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at 5,642 miles (9,080 km). All were received
on the 7.5" loopstick CC Skywave Ultralight alone, which provided good
reception of these stations because the reciprocal bearing of New Zealand was
ideally directed at North America on the 7.5" loopstick-- so that the DX
from both directions was received at optimal strength concurrently.
No
doubt many more of these North and South American stations could have been
received if a deliberate effort had been made to go after them, especially
around sunset if the 5 inch "Frequent Flyer" FSL antenna had been set
up to provide a gain boost (as it was for long range Asian DX, at sunrise).
Strangely enough, none of the usual TP-DXing pests in Vancouver, Seattle,
Portland or San Francisco made this North American DX list (although to be honest,
I really didn't miss them at all!).
610
KEAR San Francisco, California (5 kW at 4,610 miles/ 7,419 km)
"Family Radio for the West Coast," Christian religious format
received at fair level at 0835 UTC on 4-12 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/jq81e11f3tq5o4slbe6ytsv477ffwg36
640
KFI Los Angeles, California (50 kW at 4,570 miles/ 7,355 km)
Strong (S9) level with commercial ads at 0633 UTC on 4-12 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/vxrj7014eqhrbok88pw8a3e1y32qerka
1000 Radio Record Sao Paulo, Brazil, 200 kW Thought at first to be a foreign-language DU
on 999, this Portuguese recording at 0751 on 4-10 was a mystery at first. After
asking for online help I was fortunate to have Ivan Dias of Sorocaba, SP,
Brazil identify the station, and the “Manha Record” program. At 7,072 miles
(13,382 km), this was the fourth most distant reception of the trip https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/wiuc8rlk3q1ylt6580kh2m016c8jblsg
1070
KNX Los Angeles, California (50 kW at 4.570 miles/ 7,355 km)
Powerful (S7) level with "1070 Newsradio" ID at 3 seconds,
followed by national news at 0730 UTC on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/81cy1nzyzr4dokk489sdgh34is3lp4ww
1160
KSL Salt Lake City, Utah (50 kw at 5,144 miles/ 8,278 km)
Powerful (S7) level with weather and station ID at 33 seconds, followed by
public service ads at 0901 UTC on 4-12 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/4ymewhcz6x28hikjtcd77y99e85ji2u4
1170
KFAQ Tulsa, Oklahoma (50 kW at 5,642 miles/ 9,080 km)
Strong signal over apparent DU English co-channel with
"Coast-to-Coast" ID at 44 seconds; thanks to Richard Allen for confirming
the broadcast of the program on the station at 0845 UTC on 4-12 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/u5gtxk6l5qggu2xuf2q09thdnj44sfo8
1430
KMRB San Gabriel, California (9.8 kW at 4,577 miles/ 7,366 km)
Cantonese Chinese format at S7 level with commercial ads at 0830 UTC on
4-12 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/au8ru485mfr57cvspeo0qp4zjvq5pekg
1640
KDIA Vallejo, California (10 kW at 4,633 miles/ 7,456 km)
"1640-KDIA" ID at 6 seconds with Christian religious format at S5
level at 0807 UTC on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/k3a631palnk7ntv4xsgrjnv8bciio611
HAWAIIAN
STATIONS
As
with North American DX, these stations were not exactly high priority DX in the
Cook Islands, and no special effort was made to go after them. After two Kona,
Hawaii DXpeditions in 2017, there was a lingering memory of too many Hawaiian
MW stations running too much power in too few small, congested communities.
590
KSSK Honolulu, Oahu (7.5 kW at 2,781 miles/ 4,476 km)
"Variety, 92.3, KSSK" ID at 2 seconds, followed by pop music at 0701
UTC on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/1j20fcstcfhnoon4cq46kctber04ztzt
1420
KKEA Honolulu, Oahu (5 kW at 2,781 miles/ 4,476 km) ESPN
sports format at strong level at 0715 UTC on 4-11 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/dz0s8yxdf9l7cttwuaeewanqlwm5c71q
NEW
ZEALAND and AUSTRALIAN LOGGINGS
As
reported previously, the salt water-enhanced propagation from Aitutaki island
to New Zealand was outstanding every evening after local sunset, resulting in
over 100 Kiwi MW-DX recordings made during the trip. Australian signals ruled
at sunrise, however, as a collection of Oz talk-format pest stations on 567,
594, 693, 918 and 1566 did their best to make it a challenge to track down
exotic South and Southeast Asian DX on their frequencies.
All of the following stations were received with the hand-held 7.5"
loopstick C.Crane SSB Ultralight radio alone, which was more than sensitive
enough to track down scores of Kiwi and Oz stations every evening on the lagoon
beach next to our motel. The master plan during the trip was to check all the
MW frequencies in the evening after sunset, splitting up the frequencies to
cover in pre-planned DXing sessions every evening. That worked fairly well
until my wife discovered some special Polynesian dinner offers on the last two
days, causing some of the higher frequencies to be foregone in favor of South
Pacific luaus and Cook Maori dancing entertainment. As I watched the Maori fire
dancing, it seemed like my master plan to cover the entire MW band was going up
in smoke.
531
2PM Kempsey, Australia, 5 kW Dominant during most sunrise
sessions, but pretty wimpy in the evening. Here it was with call-in talk on the
SRN network (// 639) at 1627 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/dt3qb3g23xzqjnn6crsztf7x5xajmiby
531
4KZ Innisfail, Australia, 10 kW Occasionally dominant around
sunrise, but usually under 2PM. This recording at 1559 on 4-10 has mentions of
Innisfail at 20 and 23 seconds, a 4KZ promo, and "4KZ National News"
at 1:21 in the MP3 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/bo65gzy106b6p3mf0gju4xhq14pgizig
531
More FM Alexandra, NZ, 2 kW Despite its rare reputation on the
west coast the low-powered station had no trouble making itself heard each
evening in the Cooks. Here it is with typical modern rock music at 0714 on 4-9,
with a choppy, sandwiched "More FM" Yankee-accented female ID (also
typical) at the 6 second point https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/dapiipgz0y3fcgkwqyg163zlr6l46h56
531
PI Auckland, NZ, 5 kW Usually in a snarl with Kiwi co-channel
More FM each evening, this Samoan language broadcaster was sometimes dominant
in the sunrise sessions, such as at 1633 on 4-10 (over 2PM's call-in talk)
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/v7vd48wj50wh850xzqwdde60nguomfmi
540
Rhema Taranaki/ Christchurch, NZ, 2/ 1 kW) Usually covered by
Samoa's 2AP in the evening, it had a clear shot during the sunrise sessions
before the Samoan sign on, such as at 1603 on 4-9 (with Rhema ID at 40 seconds)
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/niou2j8yrtih0ntgyu59a0bwdyyisnfo
549
TAB Trackside Radio Hawkes Bay, NZ, 1 kW For some reason this low
powered horse racing station ruled the frequency each evening, although there
were higher powered NZ and Oz co-channels. This recording at 0733 on 4-10
features an entire horse race at a strong level, along with a musical break
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/udp96gpbxvdu26wrvbgy2ri224pps64h
558
Radio Sport Invercargill, NZ, 5 kW Barely audible (under a
thunderous Radio Fiji One) with Yankee-accented Fox Sports News relay at 1624
on 4-10, this station always had a very rough time with the Fiji co-channel
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/pue1kl4p7uvohelwt5hdr45jbjp0aau3
567
RNZ National Wellington, NZ, 50 kW With a relatively wimpy west
coast signal after its old tower was demolished, this station sounded far more
energetic in the Cooks. Here was parliamentary news at 0717 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/y4uy1yjnfvg5kboq7e1celolmrkysd33
576
2RN Sydney, Australia, 50 kW A real blaster every morning around
sunrise, it usually wiped out any chance of hearing something exotic on the
frequency, such as at 1619 on 4-13 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/bkwh5w1vg3xufbe63f3yefbaav7afvlg
576
Star Hamilton, NZ, 2.5 kW If 2RN didn't wipe out the frequency
during the sunrise sessions then the "Dwarf Star" usually would. Here
it was in a relatively equal mix with the Oz big gun at 1618 on 4-13 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/x1od4xf71d9nxpgzpz21h7sqvevretiw
585
7RN Hobart, Australia, 10 kW Usually in a mix with a presumed
2WEB in the evening, the station was easy to ID with its 576 parallel, such as
at 1607 on 4-9 with female and male speech in an RN network program https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/43n8cxjbesp75bk6t63tedovm3pkfo7h
585
Radio NgatiPorou Ruatoria, NZ, 2 kW A Kiwi Maori station with
legendary weakness, on the west coast it has only been heard at Rockwork 4
(where it has now been MIA for 3 years). In the Cooks it was barely audible,
such as at 1610 on 4-9 (with the 603-Waatea parallel playing "In the Misty
Moonlight" for the first 3 seconds, followed by the same music way under
7RN from the rare station, and finally the 603-Waatea parallel again at the 35
second point). The parallel check was only successful on one out of four
attempts, with the wimpy signal usually MIA https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ayxdvibx0u0hpecasdx9xuqd4pu6bwod
585
UnID-Oz This station received at 0738 on 4-9 was not // 576, and was
also not // 603, so most likely it was David Sharp's "Outback Radio,"
2WEB in Bourke. It was usually in a running battle with 7RN each evening in the
Cooks https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/8768a9n9y3wf1ibz51yi1lqj2pkhla04
594
3WV Horsham, Australia, 50 kW This was another huge blaster during
sunrise sessions, wiping out any chance at Southeast Asia. In tandem with the
Star network, the Oz big gun plastered anything weak, such as at 1629 on 4-13
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/89kmglgoez1eh25ljbvtf0u625t4lm93
594
Star Timaru/ Wanganui, NZ, 5/ 2 kW The Christian hymn network
dominated in the evenings, but lost out to the Oz big gun at sunrise. This
weather report was received at 1622 on 4-13 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/z54n53zsf262e5d10jmcdegqz2yatzhr
603 RadioWaatea Auckland,
NZ, 5 kW The strongest of the Maori language stations in the Cooks, it
provided a convenient parallel signal to check for the wimpy 585 Maori station.
This was its typical (S9) strength at 0737 on 4-9, with Maori language
conversation https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/s2hrnllo4jy6khbwlcegqpeym0gbhq0e
603
UnID-Oz One of the Australian ABC stations was mixing with Radio Waatea
at 0752 on 4-10, but a parallel check wasn't made at the time because Radio
Waatea was being used for a parallel check with 585 at that moment https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/xwj9crbo6bhtyn6nx7tiuhp9hd2xdb1l
630
4QN Townsville, Australia, 50 kW Oz big gun was easy to hear in
the null of Radio Cook Islands' open carrier at 1500 on 4-12 with trumpet
fanfare and ABC news at the TOH; it was also easy copy in RCI's null (with RNZ)
every evening https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ceiaw26agqd4h15jv0j0xipexd7oryy6
630
RNZ Hawkes Bay, NZ, 10 kW 5+1 time pips and female announcer
mixing with 4QN in the null of Radio Cook Islands' open carrier at 1500 on
4-12; this station was the dominant co-channel of RCI in the evening https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ceiaw26agqd4h15jv0j0xipexd7oryy6
639
2HC Coff'sHarbour, Australia, 5 kW Local ads (mentioning the
suburb "Umarra" at 1:08) and "100.5 FM, 639 AM" ID at 1:18
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/cgv1vb0g8twz4vl6j8660hdjj53d1mmx
657
Star Wellington/ Tauranga, NZ, 50/ 10 kW A real powerhouse with
its Christian programming each evening, its signal tapered off somewhat around
sunrise, allowing Pyongyang and AIR (Kolkata) to sneak through on 4-12. This
signal (at 1651 on 4-12) starts off with the Asians nulled for a few seconds
(after AIR had hit its peak), with Star's Irish-accented preacher hitting an S9
level briefly https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/3o4kd9pkall7oyrzzhy0n2hnx3o8ypfx
675
RNZ Christchurch, NZ, 10 kW Another evening powerhouse with a
traffic report during the rush hour at 0630 on 4-12 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/o7fldq2j27j3xdpfmwn7yienzn11kq9l
693
3AW Melbourne, Australia, 5 kW This was the major pest for
Bangladesh reception (and much more troublesome than Radio Sport). This
recording of the "Australia Overnight" program at 1703 on 4-10 was
during a mix with news from Bangladesh, and features multiple promotions
(initially) for the 3AW smart phone and the 3AW app (I don't think I'll apply
for these!) https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/39r5556vdg04sasruqfqgqkyyr8wkm7v
693
Radio Sport Dunedin, NZ, 5 kW Usually dominant around 1600 daily,
only to lose out to 3AW and Bangladesh as 1700 approached. This Yankee-accented
program (Fox Sports News relay) was at 1608 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/e921kcqxno63geffbqi3t6hq97l31vey
702
2BL Sydney, Australia, 50 kW The Oz big gun had a rough time
going up against Kiwi Magic in the Cooks. Here it was at almost equal strength
(with male-female conversation under Magic's "See You Later,
Alligator") at 0740 on 4-9 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/j4xkzd773528d4ekr3ibjw184j5hev0i
702
Magic Auckland, NZ, 10 kW Magic's flagship station ruled the
frequency each evening, with awesome signals around the Kiwi sunset, such as at
0730 on 4-10 with this very creative oldies song medley ID https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/n0bnhm6yay3w0nwbfj7mez8foxuo7tvb
729
Radio Sport Whangarei, NZ, 3 kW Dominant over a real crowd at
1648 on 4-13 with Yankee-accented Fox Sports News relay https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ykyl4b029h1xynq0vea1w8ttz0nk7peh
738
2NR Grafton, Australia, 50 kW Dominant over Magic (a pretty rare
occurrence in the evening) at 0745 on 4-9 with male speech https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/synliotkd983zc7ch57rcx84xwswuwas
738
Magic Christchurch, NZ, 5 kW The usual sunset skip leader on the
frequency, with strong music // 702 over 2NR at 0731 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/vp58j5scujemjzn59ua6tebzk7c56awl
756
RNZ Auckland, NZ, 10 kW This was one of the strongest RNZ signals
each evening, although for some reason it never was recorded. Usually at equal
strength with its 567 and 675 parallels.
765
Radio Kahungunu Hawkes Bay, NZ, 2.5 kW This Maori-language
overachiever was competitive with its 603 parallel on most evenings, but like
756-RNZ accidentally went unrecorded (most likely due to an unscheduled
Polynesian dinner).
774
3LO Melbourne, Australia, 50 kW The Oz big gun was a potent
presence during most sunrise sessions, such as at 1611 on 4-9 (booming in over
NZ's Radio Sport) https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/krxsxdkps64zbmlnm0m0wuoeivqmp4yd
774
Radio Sport New Plymouth, NZ, 5 kW Yankee-accented Fox Sports
news relay almost at equal strength with 3LO at 1612 on 4-9, but usually way
under the Oz big gun around sunrise https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/5xqrmwv1n3866u2rotzxq9oa3wa4o8lz
792
4RN Brisbane, Australia, 25 kW Not very impressive for the power
level on most mornings, usually in a lackluster mix with NZ's Yankee-accented
Radio Sport (such as at 1614 on 4-9, playing music // 576) https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/eg72jxaf03tdxu4l70vbg52231ixckn5
792
Radio Sport Hamilton, NZ, 5 kW Dominant over a weak 4RN with Fox
Sports News relay at 1615 on 4-9 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/6pdsb8j64gdmb7882rwh1jhy8eixkco2
810
2BA Bega, Australia, 10 kW Female speech // 774 (along with RNZ
and a possible KGO) at 0850 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/1opl0zzodp01jhbfu2sv2o0fzqyttqhd
810
RNZ Dunedin, NZ, 10 kW Male speech // 819 in a three station mix
at 0850 on 4-10; co-channels were 2BA and a possible KGO https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/1opl0zzodp01jhbfu2sv2o0fzqyttqhd
819
RNZ Tauranga, NZ, 10 kW Strong signal all alone with male
conversation // 810 at 0848 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/qa751yhhwxlosyi1po1zgqdrbzd7e047
828
TAB Trackside Radio Palmerston North, NZ, 2 kW You can almost
smell the horses as the low power TAB Trackside leaves the Aussie 3GI way down
in the dust at 0835 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/t73cumjyelggta9dgk94nyu23lv3wzol
828
3GI Sale, Australia, 10 kW Female and male speech // 774 way
under NZ's TAB Trackside at 0835 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/t73cumjyelggta9dgk94nyu23lv3wzol
837
RNZ Whangarei/ Kaitaia, NZ, 2.5/ 2 kW Male speech // 819 in
a mix with 4RK at 0840 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/nx22gapusqquzotjoo873l7itbmf9hkv
837
4RK Rockhampton, Australia, 10 kW Female speech // 774 in a mix
with RNZ at 0840 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/nx22gapusqquzotjoo873l7itbmf9hkv
846
Newstalk ZB Masterton, NZ, 2 kW The usual co-channel in the null
of Radio Kiribati (on Christmas Island), it was at a fairly strong level with
female and male speech // 1035 at 0833 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/4lxwj5239ug4rsdwzju2k7136zv7h67f
855
Rhema Hamilton, NZ, 2 kW "Focus on the Family" promo
and commercial ads at 0830 on 4-10, followed by the "Focus" program
in Yankee-accented English https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/s0xxgxqg94043ycr861gijkaotgjltw3
864
Newstalk ZB Invercargill, NZ, 10 kW Modest signal with female
speech // 1035 over a weak co-channel at 0827 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/1385lejm7f82qu2wc61bfxn1dsbabzwj
873
UnID-DU Three DU English stations mixing at 0826 on 4-10, all receiving
a salt water enhancement boost to the point where they succeed in creating mass
confusion. Probably a mix of Newstalk ZB, TAB Trackside and an Oz station
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/aw9dn1m2bw39sbwflb4dagenutr95ksi
882
Star Auckland, NZ, 10 kW S9 signal all alone and // 909 with
female speech at 0825 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/n2y76kxspboqnm5bcs2otv3xc3q8i45p
891
4TAB Townsville, Australia, 5 kW Pounding in at a winning level
at 0821 on 4-10, featuring a bizarre "When You're After Your Mate" ad
at 28 seconds, complete with a gambling addiction hotline number. Meanwhile
891-Wellington was left in the dust, barely showing up at the end of the race
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/2t7mn5m32326z3drhyta6dtwnx4y3t5z
891
Magic Wellington, NZ, 5 kW The anemic music station was under
4TAB (as usual) in this recording at 0822 on 4-10, the Kiwi oldies station was
losing the horse race with 4TAB every evening https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/24833qhi3ta0rp284700h85d6tgtm9sr
900
Coast Whangarei, NZ, 2.5 kW Oldies format dominating over Star
for most of this recording at 0819 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/nj1ytafh2dj2fervb0itouzrppdefrx8
900
Star Dunedin, NZ, 10 kW Dominating over Coast at the end of this
recording at 0820 on 4-10 with female speech // 909 (includes a brief 909
segment) https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/nj1ytafh2dj2fervb0itouzrppdefrx8
909
Star Hawkes Bay, NZ, 5 kW Awesome S9 signal with female Kiwi
speech at 0818 on 4-10; this was the preferred Star frequency for parallel
checks every evening https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/nrs8b2xto0tkzxrdx8icqtae9qo13335
The
Christian format station was also a powerful presence every sunrise session,
such as at 1618 on 4-11 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/cgde7y1n3p9w2ll1xdl6tjge5fd4jooi
918
RNZ Timaru/ New Plymouth, NZ, 2.5/ 2 kW Fair level with male
speech // 567 at 0812 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/78f0cf7mjhy66cjb5uryhtw0n2hzsym0
918
UniD-Australian "Midnight, with Merv Starr" program intro at
1702 on 4-12 (30 seconds into the following recording). Strangely, the two
eastern Oz station websites indicate that both should be music-oriented https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/dlhcf700ou82hf7unqwlbn026m7bci52
Note:
The 918 kHz frequency was one of the more interesting in this group. It
received a lot of attention because of Cambodia on the frequency, which finally
broke through with its National Anthem on April 12th. One single MP3 contained
the Cambodian anthem, Shandong in China, bizarre "Cuckoo Clock" time
pips at the 1700 UTC and a mix of two DU English stations after that-- one of
which was the "Midnight, with Merv Starr" program on an Oz talk
station, which remains unidentified. The other DU English signal on the
frequency was the RNZ duo from Timaru and New Plymouth, which routinely showed
up in the evening sessions. After hearing Nick's opinion about the "Cuckoo
Clock" time pips at 1700 UTC (at 1:41 in Chuck's reworked MP3, posted at
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/qams92h5ktn7ki93u3qlvbzvyl3y8rru
) I agree with Nick that they are most likely the Shandong 5+1 time pips
alternating with the 5+1 time pips from RNZ, and not echoes from the Shandong
multi-transmitter system, as originally thought.
927
4CC Gladstone, Australia, 5 kW Presumed the one with a rock
format dominating over Newstalk ZB at the earlier part of this recording at
0807 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/8zjzilbrxolzk4azgz1xqoblx8neu7pd
927
Newstalk ZB Palmerston N., NZ, 2 kW Male speech // 1035
dominating over a presumed 4CC at the end of this recording at 0808 on 4-10
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/8zjzilbrxolzk4azgz1xqoblx8neu7pd
936
Chinese Voice Auckland, NZ, 1 kW One of the major surprises of
the DXpedition, with awesome signals every evening. This TOH recording at 0800
on 4-10 features a Chinese ID, station promos and website information https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/jp8cmpqmmxbjm6bruj601g5y0i4j66f5
936
UnID-Australian Mixing with Chinese Voice at 0731 on 4-9 with DU
English, most likely 4PB in Brisbane https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/0o7oo6i4nd6wunsncdsxs516r3wkyiji
945
Newstalk ZB Gisborne, NZ, 2 kW Good signal // 1035 with sports
news at 0758 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/7dl3volkdjwq4u9wa8eygb166a115lah
954
UnID-DU A single station all alone with news at 0756 on 4-10, but just
not enough content to identify https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/crippbcbus3gw6g27yc767f4nqf3md7m
963
Star Christchurch, NZ, 10 kW Strong signal // 909 with ID at the
10 second point, followed by Christian music https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ltk43q3f8gkj60zwyvbwlfe27zk0ercb
972
UnID For some reason this frequency was overlooked in the evening, but
an apparent DU English co-channel was mixing with HLCA's Korean at 1632 on 4-12
with a talk format-- most likely Rhema, in Wellington https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/rsjxq9ara77rrvdeg4f1dnn5fh9jgs1b
981
RNZ Kaikohe, NZ, 2 kW Female-voiced news // 567 at good level at
0723 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/0lx9tfev0eq7qe9vj054mu60kw1oxthq
990
TAB Trackside Nelson, NZ, 1 kW In a fairly good horse race with
Fiji Gold at the start of this recording at 0712 on 4-10, only to fold to
Melissa Etheridge in the clutch https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/devsen4lrp2pul0m92m0r638yb6yj79i
1008
4TAB Brisbane, Australia, 10 kW Dominating over Newstalk ZB with
live horse racing at 0752 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/oqks7pabb5rjj96eb04c49n5iseb16xv
1008
Newstalk ZB Tauranga, NZ, 10 kW Dominating over 4TAB with
male-voiced news // 1035 at 0753 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/c1qk2124yuu2hhf0cwaqjjg3ev3w6q31
1017
Radio Sport Christchurch, NZ, 2.5 kW The major co-channel of A3Z
in Tonga, it could usually be isolated simply by nulling out Tonga. This was
the case at 0723 on 4-10, with sports-related news from the Kiwi station in the
null of S9 Tonga https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/4yaczeqnvcdqyv6pyuog7707lrh2uifx
1026
Newstalk ZB Kaitaia, NZ, 2 kW Pretty good signal from the 2 kW
station with male conversation // 1035 at 0738 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/6tjlvks46ygt3q8zo92768d2vcrtra1y
1035
Newstalk ZB Wellington, NZ, 20 kW Usually very strong on the
frequency each evening, but a little off at 0737 on 4-10 with male conversation
about gender-changed athletes https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/zbrxgjg5cyvi1xow8nedzv9aoie2x7cq
1044
Newstalk ZB Dunedin, NZ, 10 kW Male conversation // 1035 about
gender-changed athletes at 0739 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/0arbh5wji31myv9vn46r29d07qjgbi8a
1053
Newstalk ZB New Plymouth, NZ, 2 kW Great signal for the power
level with (once again) male conversation // 1035 about gender-changed athletes
at 0740 on 4-10. Newstalk ZB has this part of the band almost monopolized
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/15b7t03n2w5y03tfoqoyk0u2xrms6pzz
1062
Radio Sport Wanganui, NZ, 1 kW Sports play-by-play with good
signal for the power level at 0742 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/9h4ib0fg3in4xnnfqw6ue00zqi3o6lbk
1071
TAB Trackside Ashburton, NZ, 1 kW Believed to be the
Kiwi-accented station at the end of the recording at 1700 on 4-13 under the
dominant UnID Australian (thanks to Bryan Clark for accent assistance) https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/4zu1wp0eykwxyy3598w45dtpjirs5nif
1071
UnID Australian Mention of "Melbourne" at the 18 second point,
but no definite ID clues at 1700 on 4-13 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/4zu1wp0eykwxyy3598w45dtpjirs5nif
1080
Newstalk ZB Auckland, NZ, 10 kW Powerful signal at 0745 on 4-10
with sports-related news over very weak co-channel (KWAI in Hawaii?) https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/f8lqy6xhvv56fdsyauyebt1t28wlxcsp
1089
Radio Sport Palmerston N., NZ, 2.5 kW Sports play-by-play // 1062
at 0746 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/chasv9jgq78avz0gsgsl2760p3b0l707
1098
Newstalk ZB Christchurch, NZ, 5 kW The usual co-channel of V7AB
in the Marshall Islands, it could usually be isolated by nulling V7AB, as in
this strong recording // 1035 (with the gender-changed athlete discussion) at
0749 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/cidqz29yfbvsfqe3xn2e3v5e11tppudt
1107
Radio Live Tauranga, NZ, 1 kW Talk-format station all alone at
0750 on 4-10 with good signal for the power level https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ixt6fum9c0eejx979eps4i1h7pwmzg4k
1116
UnID-DU A mix of a strong UnID music station (RNZ?) and a probable 4BC from
Brisbane at 0752 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/a5pe6fmk17tnr90zlh4irjx2jf36xld9
1125
Radio Sport Hawkes Bay, NZ, 1 kW Great signal for the low power with
local ads and promo for shared sports program on sister network Newstalk ZB at
0753 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/wp65skhg3czwx2sk1i1yzu8k4j5wzllb
1143
RNZ Hamilton, NZ, 2.5 kW Great signal with music and speech //
567 at 0754 on 4-10 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/b2f1mcjbzek1s2147rm2scj1m25nbqeo
1152
Newstalk ZB Timaru, NZ, 2 kW Good signal all alone with male
conversation // 1035 at 0756 on 4-10 regarding (once again) gender-changed
athletes https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/hpf4368fgakui2ivax59ms8pfpnpibww
1161
Radio TeUpoko o teIka, Wellington, NZ, 5 kW Good signal // 603 with
Maori language speech at 0750 on 4-10; a parallel segment on 603 is included at
the end of the recording. On some evenings this station would be wiped out by
1160-KSL in Salt Lake City https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/glyd7t60c5ihz1v9hrydblkslkd36524
1377
Radio Sport Levin/ Kapiti, NZ, 2 kW Local ads and a promo for
Commonwealth Games sport coverage at 0803 on 4-11 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/n10gl1ok4wg4feo69ve999dknb982wde
1386
Radio Tarana Auckland, NZ, 10 kW The Kiwi big gun pounded in with
female-voiced local ads in English and male Hindi speech at 0806 on 4-11 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/9a3myg4nwzptp2jckmdnlpo2datmpdax
1395
Newstalk ZB, Oamaru, NZ, 2 kW Good level with female-voiced news
and male-voiced ID at 1:10, with promo of Commonwealth Games sport coverage at
0810 on 4-11 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/tiesp5tmnigghdog2spx1zxxfxbese86
1404
Rhema Invercargill, NZ, 5 kW Another good signal with Christian
music and local ads at 0813 on 4-11 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/qoxlo02gy396wp5weocmnrmdx3ev2kfi
1413
Newstalk ZB Tokoroa, NZ, 2 kW Male-voiced news // 1035 at 0819 on
4-11 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/td3jhm3ad49uaoiuagzea4zk7r8xbtry
1440
Radio Te Reo O Tauranga Moana, Tauranga, NZ, 200 w In one of the more
bizarre moments of the entire trip, the 200 watt Maori station hijacks the
frequency from Radio Kiribati at the 50 second point in the following recording
(at 0807 on 4-11) https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/2jpcqtll1odzjbrxak8u00brzpqr2uba
1449
RNZ Palmerston N., NZ, 2.5 kW Strong signal with female-voiced
news // 567 at 0837 on 4-11 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/40nmrktl0qgcawrx2iwjwdcziqop7pez
1458
RNZ Westport, NZ, 400 w Amazing signal (for 400 watts) with
female-voiced news // 1449 at 0841 on 4-11 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/9ewn2baonkqjcirnux6toly2m06ccr0q
1476
Trackside TAB Auckland, NZ, 5 kW Horse payout report followed by
live race at 0843 on 4-11 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ekhhx7xmuoteg8p0w4vlr3d5xqd4x4m5
1485
Trackside TAB Gisborne, NZ, 1 kW Good level with horse racing
results at 0846 on 4-11 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ja3gihauoxre7kxxeqe1hvmp05t9u5gx
1494
Radio Sport Timaru, NZ, 2.5 kW Commonwealth Games soccer coverage
(NZ-Australia) mixing with Star's Christian music at 0849 on 4-11 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/6hihjntpnhr02lihpc1dx4rhwrbt6v29
1494
Star Hamilton, NZ, 2.5 kW Christian vocal music under Radio
Sport's soccer coverage at 0849 on 4-11 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/6hihjntpnhr02lihpc1dx4rhwrbt6v29
1566
3NE Wangaratta, Australia, 5 kW This was the major pest blocking
any attempts at reception of India. The "Australia Overnight" program
ID at 1:40 (and Rick Springfield's music prior to that) are at typical strength
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/qdch9evwszf8h0sei1t7gd6x0lhfkvh8
1566
UnID-DU During a rare fade in 3NE's obnoxious signal at 1641 on 4-12 an
attempt was made to record a mix of two other DU English stations, possibly the
100w Norfolk Island and 200w 4GM. This was the wacky result (in a mix with
HLAZ's Chinese) https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/hysvrh4f7i8u16f3740ch5azam0iervx
1701
RadioBrisvani Brisbane, Australia, 100 w Presumed the one with
South Asian music at 1645 on 4-12 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/6pmgn2a89jlr3savncx0axkkigicotxl
73
and Good DX,
Gary
DeBock (DXing on Aitutaki, Cook Islands)
All
New Zealand/ Australian loggings made with a 7.5" loopstick C.Crane
Skywave SSB portable https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/oephl2ru7ejk31saxdq2tijqx9db0ros
ADDITIONAL
RESOURCES
5
inch (13 cm) “Frequent Flyer” FSL antenna demonstration video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRaOnWS-5Ig
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