AUSTRALIAN DX REPORT audio shortwave news magazine, episode 135

The latest episode, no. 135, of the professionally compiled weekly AUSTRALIAN DX REPORT audio shortwave news magazine contains detailedprofessional monitoring research from Melbourne, schedule changes, and news about international broadcasters.

It's 13 mins 40 secs, and may be downloaded from

http://airm.edxp.org

The site allows you to listen to the ADXR and other audio features directly (streaming audio) via your MP3 player, or via the site's embedded mini-player. Podcasts, iTunes capability, full RSS/XML/Atom feeds, and free subscriptions are supported - full details are at the site.

The ADXR is compiled from the resources of the Electronic DX Press Radio Monitoring Association.

Your comments and feedback are particularly important!

You can also hear the episodes on-air, via WWCR Nashville, every Sunday at 0300-0315 on 5070 and on Mondays 1245-1300 on 15825. The WWCR release is also available as streaming-audio, live, from http://wwcr.com

Good listening to the Australian DX Report Episode No. 135!

Daytime Propagation Research, 7MHz and 9 MHz

Today in 37 degree heat I went out to the Olinda Forest, Dandenong Ranges National Park, 40 mins drive from here. This was primarily a bushwalking trip along the Olinda Creek Track.

Very good signals at one of my favourite field sites, at the junction of Olinda Creek Rd and gated Road 13. I leave an antenna in a gum tree there - saves reinstalling it each visit!

These are the important key Asian/African/ME signals which were present during the 0300 to 0400 window:

7210 VIETNAM VOV nat net
7295 MALAYSIA RTVM English
9500 CHINA CNR1
9505 CHINA V. of Strait
9520 SRI LANKA R. Farda,Iranawela, Farsi
9530 VIETNAM VOV nat net
9595 JAPAN R. Nikkei
9685 CHINA CNR5
9720 CHINA CNR2
9730 MYANMAR Nat Net
9745 S. AFRICA Channel Af, Meyerton, French *0400
9760 JAPAN R. Nikkei
9835 INDIA
9850 VIETNAM VOV Dialects network 0300-0310* new schedule, reopens 0400
9865 IRAN VOIRI
9870 INDIA huge level 0400
9875 VIETNAM VOV Dialects network 0300-0310* new schedule; reopens 0400
9910 INDIA

60 metre band propagation notes

The 60mb has become somewhat sparse of activity in our sunrise period, as observed here in Melbourne.

This is what the band looked like between 1800 and 1900 on Jan 18, 2009:

4765 TAJISTAN Tajik Radio, domestic network
4770 NIGERIA R. Nigeria, Kaduna
4780 DJIBOUTI R. Djibouti
4845 MAURITANIA R. Mauritania
4860 INDIA to 1930*
4880 S. AFRICA SW Radio Africa, Meyerton to 1900*
4905 TCHAD RD Tchadienne
4925 INDONESIA RRI-Jambi, on extended schedule with Puppet Shadow Plays
4930 BOTSWANA VOA
4965 ZAMBIA The Voice, Lusaka
4976 UGANDA R. Uganda
5010 MADAGASCAR RTV Malagasy

AUSTRALIAN DX REPORT audio shortwave news magazine episode 134

The latest episode, no. 134, of the professionally compiled weekly AUSTRALIAN DX REPORT audio shortwave news magazine contains detailed monitoring research from Melbourne, schedule changes, and news about international broadcasters.

It's 13 mins 30 secs, and may be downloaded from

http://airm.edxp.org

The site allows you to listen to the ADXR and other audio features directly(streaming audio) via your MP3 player, or via the site's embedded mini-player. Podcasts, iTunes capability, full RSS/XML/Atom feeds, and free subscriptions are supported - full details are at the site.

Some wild world music is included which will have you dancing in the aisles!

Your comments and feedback are particularly important!

This is what Stephen Jeske, one of our listeners in the USA, said about episode 133:

"I'm far from being a 'professional' on shortwave, but have been a listener since about 1961. A very well done audio report, easy to understand, and not sounding like a sports-announcer. Very easy style. Thank you!"

And this is from Yimber, our listener in Colombia:

"Hello from Colombia, Great work!! 73 de Yimber"

And from Michael Stevenson, from Port Macquarie, NSW, said this:

"Hello Bob, I very much enjoyed the DX Report 133 with its interesting and useful information and DX tips, thanks for another terrific report that is up to your usual high and professional standard and also for the enjoyable music! Best regards! Michael Stevenson"

In the past 12 months, there have been 2629 page loads, 1750 unique visitors, 1354 first time visitors, and 396 returning visitors. Not bad, eh? !!

You can hear the episodes on-air, via WWCR Nashville, every Sunday at 0300-0315 on 5070 and on Mondays 1245-1300 on 15825. The WWCR release is also available as streaming-audio, live, from http://wwcr.com

Good listening to the Australian DX Report Episode No. 134!

Asian Daytime Mode - new occurrences noted

On two successive days, January 12 and 13, there were remarkable appearances of the Asian Daytime Mode between 0400 and 0500 on 7 and 9 MHz.

These Modes were monitored on:

Jan 12: The Mt Cannibal Reserve, Garfield, 60 km east of Melbourne
Jan 13: Witton's Reserve (the canoe launching area!), Warrandyte State Park,
20 km east of the Melbourne CBD

I was in those places primarily for bushwalking training!

Of particular importance was the appearance of three transmitters from China:

7280 Voice of the Strait
7275 PBS-Xinjiang, Uighur
7165 PBS-Nei Menggu, Mandarin

This is the first occasion that I have noted China on 7 MHz during the Asian Daytime Mode openings!

As for previous Asian Mode events, these signals became audible abruptly, with no actual "fade-in" gradient. In the space of a few milliseconds, these signals suddenly appeared - some were audible for only two or three minutes - others were audible for up to 30 minutes and longer.

This is a summary of reception, showing the overall time spans at which these signals were audible, until the close of research at 0515, with composite observations integrated for the two days:

7165 CHINA PBS-Nei Menggu, Mandarin 0430-0500
7210 VIETNAM VOV 0445-0515
7260 VANUATU Vila 0445-0515
7275 CHINA PBS-Xinjiang, Uighur 0440-0500
7280 CHINA V. of Strait, Mandarin 0430-0500
7295 MALAYSIA RTM-Kajang, English 0445-0515
9460 CHINA CRI English 0445-0500
9500 CHINA CNR1 0400-0515
9505 CHINA V. of Strait, mandarin 0400-0500
9530 VIETNAM VOV, national network 0445-0515
9540 SOLOMON ISLANDS 0455-0515
9595 JAPAN R. Nikkei, Tokyo 0505-0515
9665 N. KOREA KCBS Pyongyang 0450-0515
9680 INDONESIA RRI Jakarta national network 0400-0515
9685 CHINA CNR5 0400-0515
9720 CHINA CNR2 0435-0515
9730 MYANMAR Yangon 0440-0515
9750 MALAYSIA V. of Islam, Kajang English 0400-0515
9760 JAPAN R. Nikkei, Tokyo, 0440-0515
9850 VIETNAM VOV domestic sign-on 0400 to 0515
9875 VIETNAM VOV domestic sign-on 0400 to 0515
9810 CHINA CNR2 0400-0515

As I have mentioned earlier, these Asian mode signals often originate randomly from various countries - on these two days, no signals were audible from the Indian sub-continent or from Sarawak! Signals from the same transmitter location on different frequencies tend not to propagate at the same times!

7 MHz Propagation Research

There continues to be strong propagation on 7 MHz in our post-sunrise period.

Congestion and multiple-occupancies on many frequencies is commonplace, with little effective coordination evident.

Note that ALL broadcasting services will be required to vacate the 7100-7200 spectrum by March 29, as that band area will be exlusively allocated to the amateur service worldwide from that date.

This is a sample of spectrum occupancy, showing the dominant transmissions, in the 7100-7200 range as observed here in Melbourne on Jan 9, 2009, between 1900 and 2000:

7100 N. KOREA R. Pyongyang, operating illegally s its lower sideband falls within the existing ARO exclusive allocation.

7105 ENGLAND BBC Rampisham
7110 CHINA CRI
7115 RUSSIA VOA-Moscow
7120 MADAGASCAR RN-Talata
7125 ROMANIA RRI
7130 CHINA CRI
7135 THAILAND IBB-Udorn
7140 ROMANIA RRI
7145 ENGLAND DW-Wofferton
7150 CHINA CRI
7155 RUSSIA VOR-Samara
7160 ----
7165 IRAN VOIRI
7170 CHINA CRI
7175 ----
7180 ALBANIA CRI-Cerrick
7185 ----
7190 TURKEY VOT
7195 RUSSIA VOA-Moscow
7200 RUSSIA CRI-Moscow

That's a lot of broadcasting services which will have to be cleared out of 7100-7200 by March 29!

The next meeting of the HF Coordination Conference (HFCC) will be in Tunisia, Feb 2-6 2009, at which time the master schedule for the A09 season will be developed. This will be a joint meeting with the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) and the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU-HFC).

The HFCC is a body endorsed by the ITU.

No doubt, that meeting is aware of the need NOT to allocate ANY broadcasting operations in the 7100-7200 spectrum beginning March 2009 A09, and it will be interesting to see how this meeting of over 150 people will respond to these new ITU regulations!

Good listening!

AUSTRALIAN DX REPORT audio shortwave news magazine no. 133

The latest episode, no. 133, of the professionally compiled weekly AUSTRALIAN DX REPORT audio shortwave news magazine contains detailed professional monitoring research from Melbourne, schedule changes, and news about international broadcasters.

It's 16 mins 40 secs, and may be downloaded from

http://airm.edxp.org

The site allows you to listen to the ADXR and other audio features directly (streaming audio) via your MP3 player, or via the site's embedded mini-player. Podcasts, iTunes capability, full RSS/XML/Atom feeds, and free subscriptions are supported - full details are at the site.

Good listening to the Australian DX Report Episode No. 133!

Your comments and feedback are particularly important!

Propagation, Monitoring and Information

This is an edited extract from the latest ARRL Propagation Bulletin, January 8, 2009:

2008 was a year of very low solar activity. More than 40 percent of this year's ARRL propagation bulletins reported zero sunspots for their respective weeks. The average daily sunspot number for the year was 4.7; in 2007, it was 12.8. The yearly averages of daily sunspot numbers for 1999-2008 were 136.3, 173, 170.3, 176.6, 109.2, 68.6, 48.9, 26.1, 12.8 and 4.7.

Sunspot numbers for December 25-31 were 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 and 0 with a mean of 0. The 10.7 cm flux was 69.3, 69.2, 9.4, 69.8, 69.8, 68.5 and 69.3 with a mean of 69.3. The estimated planetary A indices were 3, 1, 1, 2, 0, 1and 10 with a mean of 2.6. The estimated mid-latitude A indices were 2, 2,1, 1, 1, 1 and 8 with a mean of 2.3.

Two years ago we wrote, "This is the first bulletin of 2007, the year we'll likely see the end of sunspot Cycle 23, the beginning of Cycle 24, and the minima between cycles." One year ago in the first bulletin of 2008 we noted the same quote from the previous year, and wrote, "Now a year later we might say the same about 2008." This is probably still true for past year, because since early 2008, we saw Solar Cycle 24 spots, and what looks like a slow increase in activity toward the end of the year, although a week of sunspots at the end of December would have helped to sustain the upturn. (end)

There have been no sunspots visible since December 13, 2008.

This has resulted in continuing depression of Maximum Usable Frequencies and Optimum Working Frequencies for long-distance transmission over darkness or semi-darkness paths.

Despite the zero sunspot count, the ionosphere continues to supportl ong-distance propagation over darkness or semi-darkness paths on frequencies below about 12 MHz.

Here in Melbourne, there is excellent reliable shortpath (darkness zone) propagation on 6, 7, 9, and 11 MHz from Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asiain the period 1600 to past 2200.

Occupancy in the 7 MHz band is very high in this period. Very few channels are vacant in the 1800-2000 period - these are 7185, and a cluster in the extended-band spectrum including 7370 7405 7430 7440 7460 7470 7485 75007505 7515 7535 7545 7550 7555 7560 7575 7585 and 7600.

Now, some information...!

ENGLAND

On 49 metres, a new extended band usage for the BBC is 5790, from Rampisham, carrying Russian 1700-2100, and audible here with super strength signals since early January.

CROATIA
The Voice of Croatia is now using 15360 from Kranji (Singapore) for its services to Australia/NZ, 0600-1000, from Jan 1. This is in parallel with Wertachtal on 11690 and 9470. Here in Melbourne, excellent propagation on 15360 for the full timespan, but not so reliable on 11690 and satisfactory on 9470.

GERMANY

DW new frequencies since Jan 1:

6040 Sines 0400-0430 Arabic

7145 Wooferton 1600-1700 Russian

7145 Dhabaya 2000-2100 Russian

9475 Dhabaya 1300-1600 German

9690 WOF 2000-2100 English

9775 Ascension 0000-0200 German

15275 Sines 1900-2100 various incl English

VATICAN

Vatican Radio introduced/deleted these frequencies on Jan 1:

6140 Chita 1315-1400 to ITU 49 (new)

12070 Novisibirsk 0200-0330 to ITU 41 (new)

13785 CANCELLED Khabarovsk 2355-0045 to ITU 43/44

VOICE OF MESOPOTAMIA (via Simferopol, Ukraine) Kurdish, new schedule from Jan 1:

5890 1900-2100

7540 1500-2100

11530 0500-1515

For the latest monitoring notes from Melbourne, listen to the weekly Australian DX Report audio shortwave news magazines, either on-line http://airm.edxp.org or on-air (WWCR Nashville Sundays 0300-0315 on 5070 and Mondays 1245-1300 on 15825) The WWCR release is also simulcast live as streaming audio from http://www.wwcr.com