2DU Dubbo NSW 1251 QSL

New South Wales is received here on rare occasions. I was fortunate to hear 1251 2DU Dubbo during the excellent reception conditions experienced on the 13th April 2007.

It was a pleasant surprise to receive the following reply form Peter Leslie who kindly verified my e-report this morning :

" ... It was a real thrill to hear from you in South Africa and this e-mail verifies your reception of Radio 2DU in the Central West of New South Wales Australia. I hope you don't mind but we have forwarded your report to our local paper and if used we will send you a copy of the story. You can find us on the net at http://www.2du.com.au/

Regards, Peter Leslie for and on behalf of the Management and Staff of 2DU ... "

5RPH Adelaide SA 1197 QSL

5RPH Adelaide is a reading and information service for the print handicapped. Assistance to the station is provided by over 180 dedicated volunteers.

I managed to hear their 2 kw signal under Family Radio, Lesotho on previous occasions. However, it was great to finally hear an "11-97 AM RPH Adelaide" id in betweeen their overnight BBC programming. Co-channel Family Radio, Lesotho seemed to be having transmitter problems and were off air at the time.

I received an e-mail reply this morning from station manager Hans Reimer who kindly verified my e-report from the reception on the 13th April 2007.

Fish Hoek DXpedition Report 13th April 2007

Fish Hoek is an excellent location for the reception of stations from Australia thanks to the mostly sea water path.

Favourable reception from down under usually consists of stations from Western Australia which are the most consistent. South Australia and Queensland are heard less frequently. Victoria and New South Wales are not heard that often. The Northern Territory and Tasmania are rarely heard.

Excellent reception from Australia on the 13th April 2007 produced 75 stations from across the continent ! It was unusual to be able to hear all states during a single evening's listening !

Highlights included 8 stations heard for the first time : 540 4QL Longreach (10 kw), 549 2CR Orange (50 kw), 612 4QR Brisbane (50 kw), 657 2BY Byrock (10 kw), 747 4QS Toowoomba (10 kw), 801 5RM Berri (2 kw), 981 3HA Hamilton (2 kw) and 1530 2VM Moree (2 kw).

Loggings :

Freq Time Call Location

531 1835 6DL Dalwallinu w mx interlude // 720 Perth - poor/fair

540 1835 4QL Longreach // 720 Perth - very poor *

549 1835 2CR Orange // 720 Perth - poor *

558 1836 6WA Wagin - fair with side splatter from 567 Cape Talk

585 1927 6PB Perth w BBC relay - fair

594 1836 3WV Horsham // 720 Perth - very good

603 1836 6PH Port Hedland // 720 Perth - poor (presumed)

612 1837 4QR Brisbane // 720 Perth - poor *

612 1837 6RN Dalwallinu w disscussion // 1296 Wagin - fair

630 1838 4QN Queensland - poor

639 1845 5CK Port Pirie // 720 Perth - fair

657 1845 2BY Byrock // 720 Perth - very poor under Meyerton (presumed) *

675 1846 6BE Broome // 720 Perth - fair

702 1846 6KP Karratha // 720 Perth - poor

720 1855 6WF Perth w report on offloading cargo of cars at Sydney - excellent

729 1835 5RN Adelaide w profile on musician Chris Miller - very good

747 1857 4QS Toowoomba w report on offloading cargo of cars at Sydney - poor/fair *

747 1830 6SE Esperance w local ads and mx // WA Radio West stations except for local ads - fair

756 1830 6TZ Margaret River w local ads and mx // 747 Esperance - poor

765 1847 5CC Port Lincoln w mx - poor

774 1831 3LO Melbourne w mx - very good

783 1832 6VA Albany w local ads and mx // 747 Esperance - fair

783 1829 8AL Alice Springs w ABC local radio id - poor (presumed)

792 1905 4RN Brisbane w wx and Radio National id - fair

801 1830 5RM Beri w ads and id : " 5RM, the only station with a blend of community information, entertainment and the best songs of all time - poor/fair *

810 1820 6RN Perth - fair w good peaks

828 1818 6GN Geraldton w mx interlude // 720 Perth - very good

837 1818 6ED Esperance // 720 Perth - poor

846 1818 6CA Carnarvon // 720 Perth - very poor under Komga

864 1817 6AM Northam w mx // 747 Esperance - poor/fair

882 1816 6PR Perth w ads, id and John Lewis' px - excellent

891 1810 5AA Adelaide - fair under Radio Lesotho

900 1815 6BY Bridgetown w mx // 747 Esperance - poor

918 1814 6NA Narrogin w mx // 747 Esperance - good

927 1810 4CC Gladstone w pops - poor (tentative)*

936 1850 7ZR Hobart w mx // 720 Perth - fair

963 1807 6TZ Bunburry w local ads and mx // 747 Esperance - fair

981 1804 3HA Hamilton w wx and id - poor *

981 1805 6KG Kalgoorlie w discussion - good peak

990 1802 6RPH Perth w BBC relay - very good

1044 1755 5CS Port Pirie w ads and id - good

1053 1747 2CA Canberra w mx - very poor

1062 1706 5MV Renmark w ABC local radio id - fair

1080 1747 6IX Perth w mx - good

1098 1746 6MD Merredin w mx // 747 Esperance - fair

1116 1745 6MM Mandurah w mx - good

1125 1708 5MU Murray Bridge w mx and id : " The best songs of all time. 5MU " - fair/good

1161 1652 5PA Naracoorte w cricket commentary - fair/good

1188 1915 6XM Exmouth // 720 Perth - poor

1197 1759 5RPH Adelaide w BBC program, promo and id : " You're listening to the BBC World service on 11-97 Adelaide where the time is 29 past 3 " - poor/fair. Pleased to be able to hear and identify 5RPH as Family Radio, Lesotho seemed to be having transmitter problems and were off air at the time.

1224 1837 6RN Busselton // 1296 Wagin - fair

1242 1744 5AU Port Augusta w mx - good

1251 1924 2DU Dubbo w id : " 12-51, 9-7-2 2DU " followed by country mx - very poor

1278 1915 3EE Melbourne w mx - poor

1296 1837 6RN Wagin w discussion - excellent

1305 1743 5RN Renmark w interview - fair

1323 1909 5DN Adelaidee w mx - good

1332 1930 3SH Swan Hill w ads including "Swan Hill Toyota" - poor/fair

1377 1915 3MP Melbourne w mx - poor

1395 1912 5AA Adelaide w ads and talkback - fair

1404 1742 6TAB Busselton w racing results // 1449 Mandurah - poor

1422 1720 6GS Wagin w mx - poor

1449 1742 6TAB Mandurah w racing results - good

1467 1912 3ML Mildura w mx - good

1512 1715 6BAY Morawa w id as "The Spirit" and mx - fair

1521 1658 2QN Deniliquin w mx - poor

1530 1704 2VM Moree w wx and Country Music Radio px - poor/fair *

1539 2001 5TAB w sports results - fair/good

1548 1702 4QD Emerald w cricket - good

1566 1952 3NE Wangaratta w ads - poor

1602 1736 UNIDENTIFIED ABC station(s) w talkback - very poor. Interesting low-power frequency with 2CP Cooma (50 watts), 5LC Leigh (100 watts) and 3WL Warmambool (250 watts).

1611 1938 6MX Albany w ads which included id : " ... supported by Albany's only 100 percent locally owned commercial radio station - AM 16-11. Gold Coast MX ... " - fair peak

1611 1937 6GS Wagin w mx - poor under 6MX (presumed)

1620 1901 UNIDENTIFIED w news read by female - very poor

1638 1742 NTC Radio 16 Armidale/Sydney w AA mx - very poor

1647 1940 NTC Radio Canberra w mx - very poor (presumed)

Location : Fish Hoek sportsfield

Receiver : Yaesu Musen FRG 7

Antenna : 220 m BOG towards Perth

Check out http://www.dxing.info/dxpeditions/fishhoek_2006_03.dx

for a March/April 2006 Fish Hoek DXpedition report and pics.

6MX Albany WA 1611 QSL

Pleased with the reception of 6MX Albany, Western Australia which is normaly under 6GS Wagin on 1611 kHz most of the time here in Fish Hoek. I dxed from the sportsfield location and received a clear id on the 29th March at 1831 hours UTC : " Good times and classic hits. Albany's Gold MX. "

Station Manager Warren Mead very kindly replied via e-mail to my reception report. The station runs 400 watts into a 94 foot Valcom free standing fibreglass tower. He also confirmed that their official call sign is 6MX (ex 6AY).

Fellow dxer Vince Stevens recently included a brief video clip of the receiving location on Youtube which may be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApWiXK4MWjM

3EE Melbourne VIC 1278 QSL

The solar indices @ 2100 UTC on the 21st March : Solar Flux 73
A = 1 and K = 0

Encouraged by the very low A/K indices that evening, I decided to set up the 220 BOG (Beverage on Ground) at the sportsfield location in Fish Hoek. Although it is another 2 km futher to the west from the site opposite my home, the location has an advantage in that it is completely free from local electrical noise sources.

Conditions tend to favour Australia during our local evenings with the very low auroral activity such as that experienced that evening. Very good reception from Australia, despite moderate static crashes, included rare stations from New South Wales and Victoria. 3EE Magic 1278, Melbourne was received for the first time. Station Manager Gary Hoffman kindly verified my e-report and added : " ... It's quite amazing that our AM signal can travel so far when we are restricted to broadcasting at just 5,000 watts (as are all commercial AM stations in Melbourne) ... "

5AN Adelaide SA 891 QSL

Excellent reception from South Australia on the 21st February 2007 included a huge signal from 5AN Adelaide which managed to get through Radio Lesotho, the usual dominant station on 891 kHz. Although I've heard 5AN on a few occasions, it was unusual to hear the station with such a strong signal from home via the ALA1530. Producer Debra Tribe kindly verified my e-report. She listened to the attached audio clip and added : " ... The reception was remarkably clear given the incredible distance (10 140 km) ... "

I also received a surprise request for a live interview on the 6th March 2007 with John Kenneally and Tony McCathy on the Bald Brothers Breakfast program. The interview, together with some photographs and a short story has also been included on the ABC website : http://www.abc.net.au/adelaide/stories/s1870547.htm Although the conversation seemed to cover the lifestyle in Fish Hoek and the music scene in Cape Town more so than dxing from home, it was really cool to be able to chat.

KCJJ Iowa City IA 1630 QSL

U.S.A. X-Banders can be a challenge to receive and identify, even under good reception conditions, with the usually low signal levels experienced here in South Africa due to the long haul over the Atlantic Ocean.

It was a pleasant surprise to be able to receive and identify KCJJ Iowa City on 1630 khz on the 5th February 2007. It was also encouraging to hear the 1kw night-time signal, over 8 680 miles / 13 970 km away at home in Fish Hoek via the ALA1530. This active loop antenna also helps to effectively reduce the interference from electrical noise sources usually experienced in the home/urban environment.

KCJJ General Manager Tom Suter kindly verified my reception report via a brief e-mail on the 7th February 2007.

The 1630 KCJJ Antenna Mast situated at the transmitter site in southeast Iowa City (photograph courtesy Steve Bridges).

Google Earth image showing the KCJJ signal path from the transmitter site at southeast Iowa City, to Fish Hoek - an impressive distance of 8 680 miles / 13 970 km !

CHML Hamilton ON 900 QSL

CHML Hamilton ON is the most regular Canadian MW station to make it through to my QTH. The favourable night time antenna pattern over Lake Ontario and an almost all-sea water path to Fish Hoek probably has a lot to do with being able to occasionally receive the station at over 13 000 km.

I mailed a report last year for reception on the 24th December 2005. A follow-up e-mail report on the 31st January 2007 resulted in enthusiastic replies from Program/News Director Jeff Story as well as announcers Bob Bratina and Scott Thompson.

On the 6th February 2007 Scott Thompson hosted a 5 minute interview which he broacast on the drive show. I really enjoyed chatting about the radio listening experience here in Fish Hoek. Producer MJ kindly sent an mp3 of the interview which contains my first ever "on air" verification !

RVI Wolvertem Belgium 1512 QSL

A good opening from Europe during the early hours of the 29th January 2007 included a huge signal from RVI Wolvertem, Belgium on 1512 kHz. It was quite surprising to hear the station at that level from my QTH.

Wim Jansen kindly verified my reception report and remarked that it was quite astonishing to receive my e-mail and audio clip.

WWRL New York NY 1600 QSL

1600 WWRL New York is one of the more regular of the USA stations heard from home during the early hours, usually around transmitter dusk. The station peaked on the 29th January 2007 at around 0100 hours UTC with a really clear id.

I tried unsuccessfully in the past for a QSL so was really pleased with a friendly e-mail reply from Adriane Gaines.

Thanks to Bjarne Mjelde for kindly provinding the e-mail address.

I was also fortunate to recieve another friendly verification from Amy Winslow of Air America. WWRL is their New York City affiliate.

WCNZ Marco Island FL 1660 QSL

Chapmans Peak Caravan Farm in Noordhoek is a picturesque location which is approximately 2 km from the Atlantic coast and only 6 km from my QTH at Fish Hoek. However the scenery is so different, one might as well be 1000 kilometres away. Wife Sandy and daughter Nicole both enjoy the camping experience, so this is becoming the place of choice for our regular annual January getaway. I also took along the FRG7 and ALA1530 and set up a separate radio tent.

The reception of 1660 WCNZ/Relevant Radio on the 13th January 2007 was a pleasant surprise as WWRU Elizabeth NJ is normally the dominant station on this frequency during the Xband openings from the USA. Manager/Chief Engineer Bob Ladd kindly verified my reception report via e-mail. He added that my report was most unusual as most reports come from Sweden and that part of the world.

A short story concerning the reception has also been included in the latest Relevant Radio Newsletter : http://www.relevantradio.com/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?&pid=1054

KOA Denver CO 850 QSL

It was a real surprise to hear 850 KOA, Denver (over 15 000 km) on the 5th January 2007 from home via the FRG7 and ALA1530 suspended from my cupboard door !

I sent in an e-report and received a very nice QSL letter from Chief Engineer Jan Chadwell.

This is my fourth QSL from the USA on this frequency, the other three being WHDH Boston, WKIX Raleigh (received back in 1986) and WTAR (received in 2006).