“THE HISTORY OF SHORTWAVE RADIO IN AUSTRALIA”

To all Collleagues,

Official opening broadcast of "Australia Calling", 1939, Melbourne

Radio Australia Mailroom - 1969 - Melbourne

My free, on-line, engineering research dissertation, "THE HISTORY OF SHORTWAVE RADIO IN AUSTRALIA" has now been published.

It's 55 Chapters include video, audio, text and several hundred images, chronicling the development and evolution of shortwave broadcasting in Australia, spanning the years from 1846 to the present day.

Many of the images are not available on the Internet, having been sourced from internal printed publications of the former Postmaster General's Department,  the Australian Post Office, or from my own private collections.

It is registered and licenced as a Creative Commons work.

I compiled this work mainly as an endeavour to bring together a large amount of historical print and on-line material essentially for my own interest, concerning the development and evolution of shortwave radio in Australia.

As the Project evolved, I decided to make it "public access", rather than leave it buried in my own system, so that anyone, anywhere, could access it and learn from it.

My initial research quickly led me to the conclusion that the project would benefit by the incorporation of additional content concerning the invention and development of land-based telegraphy, leading to the subsequent discovery of wireless telegraphy and wireless telephony.

It is my view that an appreciation of the early development of non-shortwave wireless broadcasting technologies is important in gaining an understanding of the manner in which shortwave transmission evolved.

Those themes have been included, acknowledging that regular wireless broadcasting technology itself didn't appear in Australia until just after the end of World War One.

I have also included material concerning Australian Shortwave Military Broadcasting, which occurred during the years of World War Two. The Army and Air Force had set up many transmitting and receiving bases in locations in and close to Melbourne, some being integrated facilities with the US, Dutch and British military. The Melbourne region had been selected by the Government as it was believed that this location constituted the least threat to airborne attacks as compared with areas further north.

The Project may be accessed at

http://bpadula.tripod.com/australiashortwave

I would welcome your feedback through the Guest Book at the site, and you will find an invitation there to make a small financial donation to assist with site hosting expenses.

If you would prefer not to post a comment in the Guestbook area, then you may contact me privately at the Email link at the site.

Hope you find the Project of interest!

Regards from Melbourne

Bob Padula

[Robert J. Padula OAM, MIEAust,  CPEng(ret), Chartered Professional Engineer(ret)]

Australian DX Report, episode 147 available

The latest episode, no. 147, of the Australian DX Report, a weekly audionews magazine with news and information about shortwave broadcasting, propagation, monitoring notes and schedule updates, is now available.

It's 13 mins 10 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 embeddedmini-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 at0200-0215 on 5070 and on Mondays 1145-1200 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. 147!

Bob Padula, Melbourne

Good propagation continues on 11 MHz

Still no sunspots and it's been a month since the last "official" spot was recorded by NOAA!

In the meantime, continuing good daytime propagation into Melbourne on 11 MHz in our early to mid afternoon:

Americas shortpath
Middle East longpath
Europe longpath
Asia shortpath
Africa longpath

I was in the Warrandyte State Park, 25 km east of the Melbourne CBD, on Thursday April 9. Here are some selected entries from one of my favourite field sites, Norman's Reserve, opposite Pound Bend at the west of the Park, adjacent to the Yarra River,in the window 0500 to 0530.

11520 USA WEWN English
11530 USA WYFR Portuguese
11685 IRAN VOIRI Turkish
11775 ALBANIA CRI-Cerrick Arabic
11820 CYPRUS BBC Arabic
11875 GERMANY RL-Lampertheim
11890 SPAIN REE Spanish
11980 TURKEY VOT Turkish
12070 RUSSIA VOR Russian

Good shortpath propagation also in our pre-sunrise period on 49, 41 and 31 mbs from Europe, ME, Asia and Africa. These are some of the occupancies between 2000 and 2030 on April 9, with considerable clumping in the extended band area below 5955:

5820 GERMANY RFE-Biblis Belarusian
5830 KUWAIT R. Farda Farsi
5850 SWEDEN R. Sweden Romani (not Romanian!)
5860 THAILAND VOA-Udorn Farsi
5875 FRANCE R. Algeria Issoudin
5905 MADAGASCAR RN English
5910 IRAN VOIRI Italian to 2030*
5920 SLOVAKIA R. Sl. Inter French to 2000*
5930 VATICAN RN via Vatican Arabic *2100
5940 ZAMBIA CVC English
5955 ROMANIA RRI
5990 S. AFRICA VOA-Meyerton English
7465 ALBANIA R. Tirana English
7490 UZBEKISTAN R. Free Chosun Korean to 2100*
9690 SPAIN REE French
9695 SLOVAK REPUBLIC R. Slovakia Inter, Spanish

Regards from Melbourne!

Daytime propagatin excellent in Melbourne!

The present solar cycle, no. 23, remains in a state of limbo, with still no sunspots for the past several months.

Despite this, propagation continues to be excellent on frequencies below 12 MHz during the various "windows" which become available throughout the day and night.

Here in Melbourne, one of these "windows" is in the period 0400 to 0600, with very good propagation now observed on 6, 7, 9, and 11 MHz, dominated by longpath transmission from Europe, Africa and the Middle East, and shortpath from the Americas.

I was in the Dandenong Ranges National park today, in the Olinda Forest, 20 km from here, and I spent some time with the Eton E5 connected to a 10m antenna on the Olinda Creek Rd, at the junction with gated Road 19. Road 19 leads to an abandoned farmhouse, now owned by Parks Victoria. This is a location where there is no power line interference.

Of particular interest in the period 0400 to 0530 were some Brazilians on 9 and 11 MHz - propagation from Brazil is rather rare during our daytime, and signal strength was good.

I believe that the "sunspot propagation myth" has now been exploded - good long-distance propagation below 12 MHz during the appropriate periods of the day does not require any sunspot activity at all, and here in Melbourne, the 9 MHz band is now open for the full 24 hours as autumn proceeds.

When sunspot activity resumes, this will of course extend the upper frequency usage for distance propagation, with transmissions on darkness or semi-darkness paths on frequencies up to 30 MHz, and higher!

In the meantime, HF operations over long distances over darkness, or semi-darkness paths, will be more reliable on frequencies below about 12 MHz.

This is a sample of my entries of today between 0430 and 0500, unless stated otherwise - several new relay operations are included:

5810 USA WEWN
5850 USA WHRA 0510
5865 FRANCE R. Algeria - Issoudin Arabic
5890 USA WWCR 0505
5915 ENGLAND DW-Rampisham Russian
5925 GERMANY RL-Lampertheim
5935 USA WWCR
5955 PORTUGAL RN-Sines 0505 Dutch
5965 VATICAN VR
5965 RUSSIA VOR (co-channel Vatican)
6000 BULGARIA R. Bulgaria, Bulgarian
6050 ECUADOR HCJB Spanish
6130 GERMANY NHK-Wertachtal Russian
6155 AUSTRIA AWR-Moosbrunn French *0430-0500*
6185 VATICAN VR
7205 GERMANY RL-Biblis
7300 ROMANIA RRI Russian
7395 *** FRENCH GUYANA VOR-Montsinery, Spanish (interesting new relay
operation for A09!)
9565 *** BRAZIL R. Tupi 0430-0500
9770 GERMANY VOA-Nauen Kurdish 0510
11775 ALBANIA CRI-Cerrick Arabic 0505
11780 CHINA CNR8 Kazakh 0510
11790 ROMANIA RRI French 0500
11815 *** BRAZIL R. Brasil Central 0515
11970 FRANCE NHK-Issoudin English 0515

Latest shortwave QSLs received - lots of them!

Here are details of my latest shortwave QSLs, received recently.

They include QSLs from 14 stations for transmitter sites not previously verified, bringing my “Station Tally” to 1033.

ALBANIA: CRI 11710 9435 Cerrick, col cds of National Indoor Stadium

ALBANIA: R. Tirana 7460, 6005, 6010, 9345 col cds of dancer in national costume

BELARUS: R. Minsk 7390 col cd shows National Academy of Sciences, 7135 cold cd shows views in Minsk

BULGARIA: R. Sofia 5900, 9800 col cds show Bulgarian Monasteries

CHINA: CRI, 15110 Kashi col cd Olympic Sports Centre Stadium; 5985 Beijing 7295 Urumqi col cds of National Stadium, 6135 Beijing 9600 Urumqi col cd shows Worker’s Indoor Arena

CZECH REP: R. Prague 9700 9730 col cds show former Czech gymnast, 9445 col cd shows Czech soccer player

ENGLAND: DW 11865, 9715 Rampisham col cds show Brandenburger Tor and stylized map of Europe

ENGLAND: RTI 6045 Rampisham col cd shows Taiwan Aborigines

FRANCE: Polish Radio via Issoudin 7345 col cd shops scene in Warsaw

FRANCE: RN 9690 Issoudin col cd of Windmill on River Gaasp

GERMANY: Bible Voice Broadcasting 6130, 6015, 9470, 6110 Wertachtal col cds show world map

GERMANY: NHK 9825 Nauen col cd shows Fisherman

GERMANY: Pan American Broadcasting 9515 Wertachtal col PDF document shows transmitter towers Emailed from Media Broadcast transmission provider

GERMANY: Voice of Russia 6145 Wertachtal col PDF document Emailed shows transmitter towers from Media Broadcast transmission provider

GERMANY: Polish Radio Wertachtal 6175 col cd shows Town Hall at Night, 5975, 6135, col cd shows Cathedral at Night, 7135 old cd shows views of Warsaw, 6050 col cd shows city buildings, 5850 col cd shows Krakow

GERMANY: WYFR 5970, 9635, 6115 Nauen col cds of 30th anniversary

GERMANY: WYFR 9620 9610 Wertachtal col cd 30th anniversary

MARIANAS IS: RFA Tinian 9865, 9850 col cds for RFA 12 anniversary, shows children’s’ painting

MOLDOVA: 6040 RN Kishinev col cd of Canal in Dremen

PHILIPPINES: R. Pilipinas 9395 Tinang plain card shows colored logo

ROMANIA: RRI 9655, 7215, 7130, 9525 col cds show Flowers in Botanical Gardens

RUSSIA: DW 5945 Krasnodar col cd shows DW 1953-2003 50th anniversary

RUSSIA: RFA 15535, Vladivostok 15635 Irkutsk col cds for RFA 12th anniversary, shows childrens’ painting

RUSSIA: WYFR 7440 Moscow, 6320 Samara col cds 30th anniversary

RUSSIA: Vatican Radio 12035 Irkutsk col cd shows rotating antenna

RWANDA: DW 6150 Kigali col cd shows Schweriner Dom

SOUTH AFRICA: 9735 Channel Africa Meyerton letter from Santech Broadcast Planning

SOUTH AFRICA: DW Meyerton 9825, letter from Sentech Broadcast Planning

SOUTH KOREA: KBS World 9805 Kimjae col cd show weightlifter

TAJIKISTAN: RFA 17510 Dushanbe col cd for RFA 12th anniversary, shows childrens’ painting

TAJISTAN: R. Prague Dushanbe 5870 col cd of Czech soccer player

THAILAND: VOA 9670 Udorn col cd shows Delano facilities

UAE: WYFR 9485 Dhabbaya col cd 30th anniversary

UKRAINE: R. Kiev International 7420 col cd shows country scene

USA: VOA 9575 Greenville col cd shows transmission towers

VATICAN: VR Santa Maria di Galeria 5910 col cd shows rotating antennas

ZAMBIA: Christian Voice 9430 Lusaka col cd shows station emblem

STATISTICS

Total SW QSLs received: 8296 (no duplicate frequencies, no utility stations, no time signal stations, no pirate stations)
Total SW Stations QSLd: 1033
Total Current Radio Countries QSLd: 229
Total Deleted Radio Countries QSLd: 24
Total SW reception reports sent out (since 1954): 10,842
Total response rate: 77%

Note: Achievements and statistics based on Standards developed by the former Australian DXing Federation.

Did someone say that SW broadcasters no longer issue QSLs?!!!

Regards from Melbourne!

Bob Padula

Monitoring from the Sherbooke Forest

On March 14 2009 I was in the Sherbrooke Forest, Dandenong Ranges National Park, about 35 km east of the Melbourne CBD.

This Park has now been reopened after the terrible bushfires - all fires across Victoria have now been contained, due to heavy rain in the past two days.

Propagation on 9 MHz in the period 0430 to 0500 at Sherbrooke was excellent, and this is a summary of longpath signals from Africa and the Middle East, using the Eton E5 and a 3 m antenna in a fern tree.

9410 CYPRUS BBC
9675 S. ARABIA BSKSA Arabic
9700 TURKEY VOT *0458 Turkish
9704 ETHIOPIA Amharic
9745 S. AFRICa Channel Af French
9755 RWANDA DW Kigali Arabic
9780 YEMEN R. Sanaa Arabic
9820 IRAN VOIRI Hebrew
9865 IRAN VOIRI Azeri
9875 IRAN VOIRI Dari
9885 MADAGASCAR VOA Talata
9895 IRAN VOIRI Arabic

The 6 and 7 MHz bands were not propagating very well in this time period!

Some photos from where I went!

AUSTRALIAN SHORTWAVE GUIDE (ASWG) EDITION 23 — A09 SEASON

AUSTRALIAN SHORTWAVE GUIDE (ASWG) EDITION 23 — A09 SEASON

* Available mid-April 2009
* A4 commercially printed format
* Produced in conjunction with the Australian Electronic DX Press Radio Monitoring Association
* Postal mailed
* Author: Bob Padula

The ASWG Edition 23 is a no-frills reference, covering the seven–month international shortwave transmission period commencing March 29 2009, and concluding on October 26 2009, known as the “A09 International Transmission Season”.

With several hundred entries, it provides comprehensive information of shortwave broadcasting schedules for transmissions intended for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, for broadcasts in all languages. The complete schedules for Radio Australia and CVC-Australia are also included.

The data is arranged in two sections, by studio country and starting time.Each entry shows broadcasting organization, frequency, starting time,finishing time, language, target area, transmitter site, transmitter country, studio country, and days of operation.

The ASWG is compiled from an extensive worldwide network of broadcasters, frequency planners, engineering consultants, professional monitors, and members of the Electronic DX Press Radio Monitoring Association.

Information is also included from the detailed research by the author, himself a communications engineer and journalist, with over 47 years experience at both the professional and hobby level.

The ASWG has been around for 27 years, and was first published in 1982 as a supplement to an early Australian commercial electronics magazine. When that magazine ceased operations in 1992, ASWG became an independent self-funded project and is now published twice a year.

Proceeds from sales assist with costs of research, marketing, printing,packaging and mailing.

ORDERING FROM AUSTRALIA
$10 - cash, personal cheque, bank cheque, Australian Money Order, financial institution cheque, mint Australian stamps, PayPal - see below.

Payment may also be made via direct transfer to the following Bank Account

ROBERT JOHN PADULA
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA
RICHMOND, VICTORIA
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 06 3441 10008133

(Note: If paying via direct credit to the CBA, it is imperative that you flag your payment as "ASWG23” and advise me with your name and address details, at bobpadula@mydesk.net.au

ORDERING FROM OUTSIDE AUSTRALIA
US$10 / 10 Euro / 6 British Pounds / A$10 - cash, five international reply coupons, Australian mint stamps to the value of A$10, international bank transfer, international bank draft, PayPal – see below.

Cash payment in any other currency is acceptable, to the equivalent ofAUS$10.

ALL CHEQUES MUST BE IN AUSTRALIAN DOLLARS, AND DRAWN ON AUSTRALIAN BANKS

WHERE TO SEND YOUR PAYMENT
Orders and payments should be sent to:

ROBERT J. PADULA, 404 Mont Albert Road, Mont Albert,Victoria 3127, AUSTRALIA

PAYPAL ORDERS
Please use this E-mail address when ordering through PayPal,

bobpadula@mydesk.net.au

and advise your name and address details so I know to whom and where your copy should be sent! On-line ordering via PayPal is very quick and easy, and there is a direct PayPal Link at the home page of the EDXP
http://edxp.org

NOTE TO NEW ZEALAND LISTENERS
The ASWG may be ordered in New Zealand from Burnet Pollard Books, PO Box 5589, Papanui, Christchurch, New Zealand. Please telephone 03 3544997, or E-mail to radiobooks@xtra.co.nz, to check on availability and pricing.

Best regards from Melbourne, Australia!

Bob Padula

Australian DX Report, episode 138 available

All of Australia is in mourning after the catastrophic bushfires which have ravaged our State of Victoria - nearly 200 people perished as well as over 1million animals - over 7000 people are homeless, and nearly 2000 houses were destroyed.

Fires are still burning in the mountains near to Melbourne.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of those who have lost loved ones.
A National Day of Mourning has been announced by the Australan Government.

The latest episode, no. 138, of the Australian DX Report, a weekly audio news magazine with news and information about shortwave broadcasting, from an Australian perspective, is now available.

It's 16 mins 22 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 embeddedmini-player. Podcasts, iTunes capability, full RSS/XML/Atom feeds, and freesubscriptions are supported - full details are at the site.

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

Your comments and feedback are particularly important!

You can also hear the episodes on-air, via WWCR Nashville, every Sunday at0300-0315 on 5070 and on Mondays 1245-1300 on 15825. The WWCR release isalso available as streaming-audio, live, from http://wwcr.com

Good listening to the Australian DX Report Episode No. 138!

Bob Padula, Melbourne

AUSTRALIAN DX REPORT audio shortwave news magazine, no. 137

The latest episode, no. 137, of the weekly AUSTRALIAN DX REPORT audio shortwave news magazine contains detailedprofessional monitoring research from Melbourne, schedule changes, and news about international broadcasters.

It's 14 mins 28 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. 137!

Bob Padula,Melbourne

Spectacular Asian midday propagation events!

On Tuesday February 3, 2009, rather remarkable propagation events were observed here in Melbourne, between 0130 and 0230, and 0330 and 0400.

This is during local mid-summer noon and early afternoon periods.

This was represented by extremely strong all-daylight-path signals from Asia, on frequencies as low as 5925, extending up to 10 MHz.

Of particular note were the unprecedented appearances of signals from stations in Laos (6130), Myanmar (7185), India (7125, 7290), Vietnam (5925, 6020), China (6115, 6185, 7170), and Malaysia (Sarawak)(6050).

Some of these signals have never been noted precviously during this time period in Melbourne!

These specialized propagation modes makes their appearances during the Australian summer, with signals appearing and vanishing almost randomly - some are present for a minute or so, others for periods up to an hour or more.

This propagation mode is not confined to Melbourne, and was also observed in central NSW, by my colleague Craig Seager in Bathurst, on Sunday February 1 in the same time period.

There is a reference to the Mode in the Australian Government's Department of Space Services Training Handbook (Ionospheric Prediction Service), as a "Specialized Complex Mode".

The actual propagation mechanism is not clearly understood, and is believed to be supported by reflection off the top layers of Sporadic E clouds, with no intermediate ground reflection, for part of the transmission path. This results in minimal absorption, generating very strong signals, often with no fading, and overriding locally generated power-line interference and noise.

Path lengths are enormous, of over 10,000 km, all-daylight!

The signal patterns resemble those of long-haul VHF reception, mobile telephone reception, or digital broadcasting.

Here is a summary of the events as noted on February 3 - there were two separate events, 0130 to 0230 and 0330 to 0400 - further research continues!

EVENT 1 - window 0130-0230

5925 VIETNAM VOV regional
5975 VIETNAM VOV regional
6020 VIETNAM VOV regional
6050 MALAYSIA RTM Sibu regional
6115 CHINA V. of Strait
6130 LAOS Vientienne, national network
6185 CHINA Chengdu regional network
7125 INDIA Delhi, Sindhi
7170 CHINA Lhasa, Mandarin
7185 MYANMAR Yangon, national network
7197 *CHINA PBS Xinjiang, Urumqui, Uighur (*Note: frequency is actually on
7197, not nominal 7195!)
7210 VIETNAM VOV national network
7225 CHINA PBS Xinjiang, Urumqi, Uighur, parallel 7197, new channel
7230 CHINA CNR1
7250 CHINA CNR8 Urumqi
7270 MALAYSIA RTM regional
7280 CHINA V. of Strait
7285 SRI LANKA DW-Trincomalee German
7295 MALAYSIA RTM Kajang English relaying FM domestic service

EVENT 2 - window 0330-0400:

7160 INDIA Chennai regional
7275 CHINA PBS Xinjiang, Urumqi, Uighur
7290 INDIA regional, huge signal!
9440 THAILAND BBC Nakon, Bengali
9450 CHINA CRI Kashi Mandarin
9570 CHINA CNR1
9630 CHINA CNR1

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

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

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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

Monitoring Notes

No sunspots have been visible since December 18!

Sunspots are not needed for good HF propagation - there has been some good shortpath propagation from Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia into Melbourne on 5, 7, and 9 MHz in our sunrise period.

These are sample entries of December 29, 2008:

5985 CHINA CRI-Beijing, Swahili, 1840
7160 S. AFRICA FEBA-Meyerton, French, *1830-1900*
7180 GERMANY WYFR-Wertachtal, English, 1850 (new frequency)
7445 GERMANY WYFR-Wertachal, 1830 (new frequency)
9630 SPAIN REE, Spanish, 1905

World Radio TV Handbook 2009

I received my dealer copy of World Radio TV Handbook WRTH09 yesterday, and with 680 pages, it maintains the finetradition of comprehensiveness and coverage established over many years.

Major editorial themes from guest authors discuss and analyse the continuing decline in HF broadcasting, and the standstill for commercial development of DRM-HF.

One contributor says "... we will be very surprised if any flavour of DRMever becomes the mass-market digital mode..."

WRTH professional writers also suggest that HF radio, in any of its forms,may become a lost cause, due to the emergence of Internet, satellite, broadband, and mobile telephone for delivery of content, news, information and entertainment.

They also assert that local digital radio broadcasting has become a hotchpotch of various delivery platforms, standards, and technologies, with some countries now having abandoned this technology altogether.

Equipment reviews are confined mainly to some high-cost software-defined radios, the Racal RA1778 general coverage receiver, a small section ona ntennas, and stories about Internet computer "radios". The writers explain that Internet "radio" is of course not "radio" at all, but the technology is considered to be an emerging field as a subset of "global broadcasting".

A non-technical article on FM DXing is included, from a European perspective.

George Jacobs continues his long association with WRTH through his excellent professionally orientated summary of HF conditions expected during 2009, and suggests that HF broadcasting may not be the "dinasaur" as some people may think, even though the medium is competing with other technologies.

The number of organizations in the listing of "DX Clubs" is reducing steadily year by year. Those located in Asia include many "Listener Clubs", which traditionalists may feel are not "DX Clubs" at all, but groups of people interested in meeting to discuss particular international broadcasters.

The scaled-down page on "Selected Internet Resources" contains details about various on-line services, many managed by private individuals as Email lists ,message boards, or websites, proclaiming to be about some form of "radio" or"broadcasting".

The difficulty in publishing such links in an annual hard-copy reference is that these services frequently tend to disappear when their proponents lose interest.

Comparisons are always made between WRTH and other commercially-produced annual references, which I regard to be misleading. The editorial objectives and coverage of these references differ, and such comparisons are meaningless.

WRTH publishes free updates and new HF schedules on its Website throughout the year, and these support the hard-copy product.

WRTH09 is becoming available through local booksellers, or from the WRTH itself in the UK. Amazon Books is also offering the title, with an estimated release date of Fehruary 3, 2009.

Here in Australia, no shop-front bookseller stocks the product due to negligible demand. I offer the title to Australian readers from my on-line bookshop "Padula Books", for A$45, which includes postage and packing. To order, visit http://edxp.org

Further details and on-line ordering are available from the WRTH Website, http://www.wrth.com

Regards from Melbourne!

Excellent solstice propagation, 11 and 13 MHz, sunrise period

Notwithstanding zero sunspot activity, propagation into Melbourne on 11 and 13 MHz continues to be very good in the post-sunrise period from 1900 to 2000.

This is represented by strong shortpath signals from Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and longpath from the Americas.

This is a sumamry of selected observations made on December 22, 2008, during our summer solstice!

11760 GERMANY AWR-Wertachtal African langs
11940 SPAIN REE Spanish
12045 GERMANY RN-Wertachtal English
13605 INDIA Arabic
13620 INDIA English
13650 CANADA RCI-Sackville French
13685 MALI CRI-Bamako Arabic to 1930 sign-off
13710 SAO TOME VOA English
13720 PORTUGAL RDP Portuguese
13780 SRI LANKA DW-Trincomalee Arabic
13820 GERMANY DW-Wertachtal Arabic
13845 USA WWCR English

Regards from Melbourne!