ABC Radio National Busselton WA on 1269 khz (ex 1224 kHz)

ABC Radio National, Busselton WA was heard on a new frequency of 1269 kHz at Fish Hoek this week. The station has been transmitting on 1269 khz (ex 1224 kHz) since 14th April 2010.

The following notice was posted on the ABC website :

New Frequency for Radio National from 14 April 2010

The ABC would like to advise listeners the Radio National service broadcasting from Busselton will relocate from 1224 AM to 1269 AM in the early hours of the morning on 14 April . All listeners will need to retune their radio from this date to continue to receive their Radio National broadcast.

This frequency change is necessary to prepare for the introduction of ABC News Radio to the region later this year.

It is important to note, there will be no frequency changes to any other ABC radio broadcasts.

Google Earth Image of the 6RN ABC Radio National 183 metre mast at Busselton (33° 39' 39"S, 115° 13' 39"E). The mast is situated approximately 500 metres from the coast.

ABC News Radio Busselton WA Test Transmission on 1152 kHz

A test transmission from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation was heard at Fish Hoek this week. The transmission is being broadcast from Busselton WA on 1152 kHz and is a new proposed ABC News Radio service for the Bunbury-Busselton area. 

A loop of the following pre-recorded announcement by ABC News Radio Breakfast announcer Glen Bartholomew was heard over a music bed : 

" ... Hi. I'm Glen Bartholomew, breakfast presenter with ABC News Radio and this is a test transmission for ABC News Radio in the Bunbury-Busselton area on 1152 AM. If you think this test transmission is interfering with other broadcasts please contact the ABC's Reception Advice Line on 1300 13 9994 - that's 1300 13 9994. ABC News Radio will commence broadcasting on this frequency once the test transmission is complete. If you would like to know more about ABC News Radio, why not visit our website at abc.net.au/newsradio. Thanks for listening and make sure you spread the news ... " 

An audio clip of the announcement heard at Fish Hoek during the evening of the 23rd June 2010 is available here or by clicking onto the play icon below :

 

The test transmission, heard via the Sony SRF-M37V and 220 metre BOG directed towards Perth WA, was verified this morning by Graham from ABC Master Control. 

Hi Gary, I am happy to confirm your reception of our test transmission on 1152kHz at 1935UTC on June 23 of our new News Radio service at Busselton, Western Australia. Unfortunately being a test service I don't have details of the transmitter for you, but can confirm your reception report. I'm also impressed you've managed to feed a beverage antenna into a portable radio without overloading it - well done! Regards, Graham 

The Australian Federal Government has pledged additional funding for the expansion of new ABC News Radio services into all centres around the country with populations of more than 10,000 (subject to the availability of spectrum) and will include over 80 frequencies by the end of 2010, according to the ABC News Radio website. ABC NewsRadio is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's national radio network providing continuous news and information 24 hours a day.

WKIX Raleigh NC 850 kHz QSL and Audio

The interesting QSL letter and bumper sticker was received from Chief Engineer Steven Boucher who kindly verified my report. 

WKIX on 850 kHz made it through to Pinelands for the first time (A South African First) on the 24th January 1986. 

The station turned out to be a rare guest - to the best of my knowledge WKIX has not been logged in South Africa since. 

Chief Engineer Steven Boucher was surprised to receive my reception report and indicated that this was the first dx report received from outside the U.S.

Audio 

The original cassette tape recording of the reception has fortunately been preserved. A brief extract of the recording is available here or by clicking onto the play icon below.

 

The recording was made at 0339 UTC on the 24th January 1986 and consists of a time check for 10:39 in addition to two WKIX ids during a promo for a high school basketball match, between Smithfield-Selma and Athens Drive, that was due to occur at 7:45 pm on Friday that week.

WHDH Boston MA 850 kHz QSL

WHDH Boston MA on 850 kHz was heard on the 24th January 1986 via the FRG7 and 30 metre longwire antenna at Pinelands.

Broadcast Engineer Alan Carp kindly responded to my reception report with a friendly verification letter, QSL card, stickers and information brochures.


WHDH information brochures were included with the reply in 1985.

WHDH operated on 850 kHz until August 1994 when it signed off permanently and was replaced by WEEI.

U.K. LBC London 1152 kHz QSL and Audio

It was a pleasant surprise to hear LBC London on 1152 kHz for the first time (A South African First) on the 13th November 1985 via the FRG7 and 30 metre longwire antenna at Pinelands.

Head of Engineering, Roger Francis, kindly responded to my reception report with a QSL card (on which "record distance" was indicated), sticker and station brochure.

Google Earth image showing LBC's 23.5 kw signal path from Saffron Green across the African continent to Pinelands (a distance of 9 648 km).


The LBC brochure above was received with the QSL in 1985.

AUDIO CLIPS also available on the right hand side of the web page.

The first recording of a weather report for London and an advertisement for a car auction establishment was made on the 13th November 1985 via the FRG7 and 30 metre longwire antenna at Pinelands.

The second recording of a clear LBC id was made on the 6th June 1988 via the FRG7 and 1 km beverage antenna at Swartriet.

WPTF Raleigh NC 680 kHz QSL

WPTF Raleigh NC on 680 kHz was heard on a few occasions via the FRG7 and 30 metre longwire antenna at Pinelands.

The QSL card above was received in response to my reception report from the 12th November 1985.

Gogle Earth image showing the three WPTF antenna towers (One tower is used during the day and two at night).

WHAS Louisville KY 840 khz QSL

WHAS on 840 kHz made it through to Pinelands on a few occasions during good propagation conditions from the U.S.A.

I was fortunate to receive the above QSL card and car bumper sticker in response to my reception report from the 7th November 1985.

CBD Saint John NB 1110 kHz QSL and Audio

It was a pleasant surprise to hear CBD Saint John NB on 1110 kHz for the first time on the 27th October 1985 via the FRG7 and 30 metre longwire antenna at Pinelands.

I was fortunate to recieve the above QSL card in response to my reception report to the station.

SWARTRIET

Google Earth image showing the close proximity of the Swartriet holiday cottages to the coast. The cottages are situated just north of Saldanha Bay on the west coast of South Africa.

AUDIO CLIP

A memorable dxpedition to Swartriet in June 1988 with dxers Vince Stevens and James Arm included a sensational opening from North America and Europe. Strong signals from North America included CBD on 1110 kHz over a distance of 12 080 km via the FRG7 and 1 km beverage antenna.

A recording of the historical reception has been preserved and is available here. The recording was made during station sign-off on the 6th June 1988. CBD ceased broadcasting on AM later that year.

NETHERLANDS Radio 1 Hilversum 1008 kHz QSL

Google Earth Image of the two MW antenna masts at Flevoland.

NOS (Nederlandse Omroep Stichting) Radio 1, Hilversum, The Netherlands on 1008 kHz was heard via the FRG7 and 30 metre longwire antenna at Pinelands.

The above QSL card, signed by Carel Hagen, was received in response to my reception report from the 14th October 1985.

TRINIDAD NBS Port of Spain 610 kHz QSL and Audio

Mayaro Beach coconut palms on the east coast of Trinidad (Photograph Wikimedia Commons). 

It was a pleasant surprise to hear NBS Radio 610 from Trinidad for the first time (A South African First) on the 29th September 1985. 

I was fortunate to receive the NBS for about 45 minutes, until increasing co-channel QRM occurred from the usually dominant Brazilian station, Radio Itatiaia, while dxing with the FRG7 and 30 metre longwire antenna at Sandbaai. General Manager Frank Thompson kindly verified my reception report with a QSL letter.

  The QSL letter from NBS General Manger Frank Thompson (click onto the image for a higher resolution). 

AUDIO CLIP 

The historical recording of the first time I heard the NBS on 610 kHz from across the Atlantic Ocean has been preserved and is available here or by clicking onto the play icon below :

 

The recording was made at 2215 UTC on the 29th September 1985 via the FRG7 and 30 metre longwire antenna at Sandbaai and includes the beginning of the news programme , "The Caribbean Today". 

THE END OF A CARIBBEAN AM RADIO STATION 

During the 1990's, Radio 610 progressively lost its traditional listening audience due to a weakening of the quality of its broadcast signal and a diminishing of allocated financial resources to upgrade equipment and programming. Both radio and TV broadcast entities of the National Broadcasting Network / NBN (a name change in 2001) ceased operations at midnight on January 15, 2005.

St.Kitts Radio Paradise 825 kHz QSL

Looking towards the island of Nevis from the peninsula on the south-east tip of St. Kitts (Photograph Wikimedia Commons).

Radio Paradise from the Caribbean island of St.Kitts used to be a regular guest at Sandbaai during the 1980's.

The above QSL card and car bumper sticker was received in response to my reception report from the 26th September 1985.

KXEL Waterloo IA 1540 kHz QSL

KXEL on 1540 kHz made it through to Pinelands over a distance of 14 030 km on a few occasions during good propagation conditions from the U.S.A.

I was fortunate to receive the above QSL card and car bumper sticker in response to my reception report from the 20th September 1985.

WMAQ Chicago IL 670 kHz QSL

WMAQ on 670 kHz made it through on the 12th September 1985. A QSL form letter (signed by Michael J Bock) was received in response to my reception report. Included was a coverage map with an A4 folder of promotional material.

A 1985 promotional brochure for "The WMAQ Dancing Dollars".

An aerial view of the WMAQ antenna tower situated at Bloomingdale, Illinois ( photograph courtesy Bart Shore). 

The AM 670 transmitter is now in use by WMAQ's successor, WSCR and remains under CBS radio ownership.

WABC New York NY 770 kHz QSL

The interesting QSL letter was received from WABC Chief Engineer Winston Loyd who kindly responded to my reception report from the 3rd September 1985.

CYPRUS TWR Cape Greco Relay 1233 kHz QSL

Choirokoitia, an archaeological site on the island of Cyprus, was occupied from the 7th until the 4th millennia BC. The site is known as one of the most important and best preserved prehistoric sites in the eastern Mediterranean (Photograph Wikimedia Commons).