WLAC Nashville TN 1510 QSL

Programme Director Tom Peace from WLAC kindly responded to my verification request with this attractive email attachment from the golden days of radio ! Click onto the above image to obtain a more detailed resolution.

I was fortunate to hear the station via the internal antenna of the Sony SRF-M37V ultralight, during the great reception conditions experienced on the 13th January at Noordhoek.

WLAC Nashville has been heard fairly regularly since the early 1970's when I first began DXing. Despite two or three previous attempts over the years, I never managed to obtain a QSL from the station until yesterday. Thank you Tom for kindly inlcuding the great email verification attachment too !

Google Earth Images of the Noordhoek DX Location

The satellite image above (34 06'29.00 S 18 22'42.66 E) shows the low density housing and farmland in the area (Click onto the image for a more detailed view).

This is an excellent, quiet location with no / negligible domestic electrical noise sources to contend with. By additional good fortune a gravel road runs from the DX location towards North America. This allows for a quick and easy set up of the 220 metre BOG along the left hand side of the road.

The DX location is less than 2 km from the NW coast and only about 5 km from my QTH in Fish Hoek :


The FRG 7 and SRF-M37V 's selectivity issues don't seem to present a problem here in the Cape Peninsula, especially during good reception conditions. Propagation peaks are received with astonishing clarity via the wide bandwidth on AM, as indicated by the audio clips on the right hand side of the web page.

WTAM Cleveland OH 1100 QSL

WTAM made it through over a distance of 13 197 km / 8 200 miles via the 5 cm internal ferrite antenna of the Sony SRF-M37V ultralight, during the excellent reception conditions experienced on the 13th January.

Dave Ramos from WTAM kindly verified the reception :

" Gary, this is fantastic. I, too, am a "DXer"...but I couldn't imagine hearing a station from the other side of the world. This has been forwarded to our station manager. I'll be sure to send over (via postal mail) something nice from our station...an autographed photo or something like that of our morning team, Wills and Snyder. That's the show that I work with. Try tuning in super early on a Sunday morning...you might even hear my show! It would be 5am to 8am in your time zone. Thanks so much for writing! "

Dave Ramos
WTAM 1100, Cleveland

Many thanks for you kind reply Dave !

WCRN Worcester MA 830 QSL

General Sales Manager Chris Thompson kindly verified the ultralight reception of 830 WCRN during the excellent T/A conditions on the 12th January 2009 at Noordhoek.

The station was heard with some surprising peaks over a distance of 12 507 km / 7771 miles (A personal first).

Audio  

KMOX St. Louis MO 1120 QSL

News Director John Butler kindly verified the unusual barefoot ultralight reception of 1120 KMOX :

"Gary,That’s pretty amazing. From your description it certainly sounds like you had KMOX on.I’m forwarding this on to our engineering team. Again,Thank you."

John M. Butler
News Director
KMOX/CBS

Ultralight Reception of 1120 KMOX St. Loius MO

I thought I'd share the surprise reception of 1120 KMOX, St.Loius with the Sony SRF M37V via its internal 5 cm loopstick antenna !

The station made it through to my QTH here in Fish Hoek this morning at 0305 UTC with an id and 5 day wx forecast. I nearly fell off my chair as KMOX is not often heard even via a conventional receiver and beverage antenna !

At over 13 776 km / 8560 miles this appears to be the most distant of the 9 North American AM stations to make it through "barefoot" to this part of the world so far.

KQV Pittsburgh PA 1410 QSL

Today I was fortunate to receive my first QSL from T/A reception on an ultralight.

The reception occurred at Noordhoek, Cape Peninsula via the Sony SRF-M37V and 220 m BOG. The 5kw signal from 1410 KQV managed to make it through over a distance of over 13 000 km. Also a personal first.

News Director Frank Gottlieb kindly verified the reception and recognised KQV announcer Bruce Sakalik's voice with their station id at the end of my attached audio clip.

Google satellite image of KQV's impressive five antenna tower array. A favourable night time pattern using all five towers would have contributed greatly to the reception of the station at Noordhoek.

Ultralight DXing with the Sony SRF-M37V

Fellow dxer Vince Stevens visited us on Sunday evening (11 January), during our annual holiday at Noordhoek (20 km south of Cape Town). He kindly presented me with a Sony SRF59, aligned by Gary DeBock and a Sony SRF-M37V. These radios are part of a generous collective contribution of ultralights from dxers John Bryant, Guy Atkins & Gary DeBock. Thanks again guys !

Right from the beginning of briefly trying out the Sonys during that first evening, I relized that, despite their size, these are very capable receivers ! The barefoot reception of numerous African MW stations from Botswana, Lesotho and Mozambique via the SRF59 was a real surprise. The SRF-M37V has a nice feel about it and produced my first barefoot ultralight TI reception of Radio Mayotte on 1458 kHz and CNR1 on 1134 kHz !

The following morning Vince and I headed down the road for what turned out to be an interesting dxpedition.

I decided to use the SRF M37V and simply wrapped a few turns of the near end of the 220 metre BOG around the set.

The results were quite astonishing with strong peaks from the USA and a few Canadian stations across the dial !

Highlights included :

680 WRKO Boston MA

690 CINF Montreal QC

730 CKAC Montreal QC (personal first)

800 CKLW Windsor ON

830 WCRN Worcester MA (personal first)

900 CHML Hamilton ON

The following morning (13 January), I deceided to visit the same location in order to have a go at possible barefoot reception with the M37V.

The main "reference" receiver was an ICOM R71 which I conncected to a 220 BOG directed towards North America.

It was a real surprise to receive my first TA signals from the USA on the barefoot M37V, during some serious propagation peaks !

1100 WTAM Cleveland OH

1140 WRVA Richmond VA

1500 WFED Washington DC

1510 WLAC Nashville TN

1530 WCKY Cincinatti OH

I also heard a "flutter" from CHML on 900 kHz but could not quite resolve the audio.

Another highlight during a brief listen that evening (13 January) was the barefoot reception of Taiwan on 1503 kHz.

More loggings to follow as time permits.

3ML Mildura VIC 1467 QSL

AM stations from Victoria are not often heard here in Fish Hoek. Apart from 3LO on 774 kHz, 3ML on 1467 kHz is the most consistent station from Victoria to make it through during the few occasions when reception conditions permit.

Ted Guinea kindly verified my follow-up email report from 1 May (the first time I managed to hear the station) and 2 May 2006. Ted included the comment " ... We knew that 3ML had good coverage but we never expected it could be heard over 10 000 kilometres away !"

Thank you Ted for your interest and kind response !

WZNZ Jacksonville FL 1460 QSL

It was a pleasant surprise to hear and identify WZNZ as "Jacksonville's ESPN 1460" from home on the 1st Jaunary 2006. However, I was not able to verify the reception during the time of the station's sports talk format.

The difficulty in trying to obtain a verification has been compounded by the fact that WZNZ has since undergone two ownership/format changes with a third change due this week ! The ESPN format gave way to religious programming (http://www.1460theriver.com/) which in turn became Jacksonville's Progressive Talk.

A few days ago, I was fortunate to receive an email verification from ex NFL Jacksonville Jaguar's middle linebacker/radio host Tom McManus who recognised his voice on my audio clip from January 2006 ! The clip included a promo for his program, "The Rumble" on "Jacksonvile's ESPN 1460".

Thank you for the verification Tom and the best of luck with your two new shows on 1010XL !

KGED Fresno CA 1680 QSL

Today I received a very nice QSL letter from Patrick Martin
(A higher resolution is available by clicking onto the QSL).

Patrick also forwarded my report to the Chief Engineer of KGED who remarked : "That was quite a haul". It certainly was. The 1 kw night time signal and distance of 16 250 km (over 10 000 miles) would make KGED one of the most surprising AM stations to get through here in many years.

And a really special QSL it is too. Thanks Patrick !

1680 KGED Fresno CA received in South Africa !

I was fortunate to hear and identify KGED Fresno CA for the first time after reviewing a recording from my second visit/dxpedition to the Cape Of Good Hope National Park last week. The reception of the 1 kw signal occurred over a distance of 16 250 km !

Apart from a tentative appearance of former 1680 KVAT in 2006, It's been over 20 years since I've managed to hear and identify California on medium wave (640 KFI Los Angeles, 680 KNBR San Francisco and 1070 KNX Los Angeles made it through in 1986).

KGED Reception Manager/International Dxer Patrick Martin kindly verified the reception :

" ... Gary, I am impressed!!! The first report from Africa for the station. A very excellent catch. Bravo!!! I tried the last time, but unfortunately there were two Radio Disney stations on 1680 and I could not ID the audio you sent. This time, there are no doubts. I can catch the calls easily. I will mail you out a QSL. Thanks for giving it such great try. You did it. Fantastic. 73, Patrick ... "

Thank you for the kind comments Patrick. I look forward to receiving your QSL !

BENIN TWR Parakou 1566 QSL

Trans World Radio, Benin on 1566 kHz is regularly heard here in Fish Hoek with a good consistent signal.

Lorrain Stavropoulos very kindly responded today to my email request for a verification from reception on the 9th May (during the DXpedition at the Cape of Good Hope) with a very nice pdf QSL (Click onto the image above for a detailed view).

Thank you to dxer Vince Stevens for providing the email address.

Cape of Good Hope Dxpedition 9th - 11th May

The picturesque Cape of Good Hope National Park was the destination for a brief family weekend break/dxpedition. The Cape of Good Hope (pictured above) is the most south-westerly point on the African continent. We had a pleasant stay at Eland family cottage, situated a few kilometers to the north.


There is plenty of space for beverages, particularly towards the NW (North America) and SW (South America). The proximity to the Atlantic coast (3 km towards the west) and False Bay coast (8 km towards the east) provides another important dx advantage.

Highlights :

660 0518 USA WFAN New York NY (50 kw)

680 0504 USA WRKO Boston MA (50 kw)

700 0530 USA WLW Cincinnatti OH (50 kw)

700 2320 ST VINCENT NBC Kingstown * Audio clip included *

710 0353 USA WOR New York NY (50 kw)

730 2358 COLOMBIA Radio Lider Bogata (100 kw)

750 0104 VENEZUELA RCR 750 Caracas (100 kw)

770 0005 COLOMBIA RCN SF de Bogota (100 kw)

790 0522 USA WNIS Norfolk VA (5 kw)

850 0453 USA WTAR Norfolk VA (25 kw)

870 0510 USA WWL New Orleans LA (50 kw)

880 0512 USA WCBS New York NY (50 kw)

900 0606 VENEZUELA Mara Ritmo 900,Maracaibo (25 kw)

980 0519 USA UNIDENTIFIED w discussion

1000 0514 USA WMVP Chicago IL (50 kw)

1010 0334 USA WINS New York NY (50 kw)

1017 1608 AUSTRALIA Vision Radio, Bunbury w hymn (tent)

1040 0404 USA WHO Des Moines IA (50 kw)

1050 0442 USA WEVD New York NY (50kw)

1060 0425 USA KYW Philadelphia PA (50 kw)

1130 0428 USA WBBR New York NY (50 kw)

1140 0406 USA WRVA Richmond VA (50 kw)

1160 0547 USA KSL Salt Lake City UT (50 kw)

1170 0345 USA WWVA Wheeling WV (50 kw)

1190 0350 USA WLIB New York NY (50 kw)

1200 0450 USA WOAI San Antonio TX (50 kw)

1460 2203 BRAZIL Radio Aqreste Sousa (250 watts)

1500 0515 USA WWWT Washington DC (50 kw)

1510 0543 USA WLAC Nashville TN (50 kw)

1520 0515 USA WWKB Buffalo NY (50 kw)

1530 0542 USA WCKY Cincinnati OH (50 kw)

1540 0540 USA KXEL Waterloo IA (50 kw)

1590 0546 USA UNIDENTIFIED w sports comm

1590 2207 BRAZIL Radio Globo Joinville (500 watts)

1600 2132 BRAZIL Radio Nove de Julho, Sao Paulo (20 kw) Regularly heard here with an impressive "local quality" signal on this occasion ! * Audio clip included *

1660 0415 USA WWRU Elisabeth NJ (1 kw)

1700 0222 USA KVNS Brownsville TX (880 watts)

Receivers : FRG7 and ICOM R71E

Antenna : 220 m BOG towards North America
120 m BOG towards South America

Vision Radio Margaret River WA 1611 QSL

It was a pleasant surprise to hear and identify Vision Radio Network on 1611 kHz for the first time at Fish Hoek on April 15th. The 400 watt Christian station from Margaret River WA is relatively new (The station commenced broadcasting in December 2007).

Broadcast Operations Manager Phil Edwards kindly verified my email report this morning. Thanks Phil. (My third WA narrowcast verification on 1611 kHz. I was also fortunate to receive verifications from 6GS, Wagin and 6MX, Albany).

Visit http://ucbmedia.com/blog/2007/12/19/ucb-australia-margaret-river/ for some additional information and pics regarding the station. Check out the pic of the shed housing the transmitter, including a brave broadcast engineer climbing the 46 meter high mast in order to inspect the fittings !

CBA Moncton NB 1070 QSL and audio

CBA Moncton NB, Canada will be signing off permanently from their mediumwave frequency of 1070 kHz and moving to 106.1 FM within the next few hours.

As a tribute, I've included a QSL from the reception of CBA on 30 January 1986 and audio from part of their sign/off announcement on 6 June 1988.

Sylvia Roy from Audience Relations was kind enough to include a friendly verification letter and other CBC related material including sticker and coverage map back in 1986. The station was last heard in South Africa during the late 1980s.

Jongensgat DXpedition - 10th to 14th March

Another enjoyable visit to Jongensgat with fellow dxers Vince Stevens, John Plimmer and Derrick Du Plessis produced some interesting dx, particularly from South America, despite a fair amount of static. (Click on pic above for higher resolution).

Dxing from Jongensgat provides a refreshing change from the regular reception of Brazilian stations heard across the MW band during the early hours in Fish Hoek. Instead, stations from Argentina tend to get through remarkably well.

Highlights included stations from Uruguay and Paraguay, some of which were noted for the first time :

550 0430 URUGUAY Radio Colonia, Colonia w id

590 0500 ARGENTINA Radio Continental, Buenos Aires w id and news

610 0501 URUGUAY Radio Rural, Montevideo w pr promos and id

700 0439 ARGENTINA Radio Cordoba (tent) w pop music

710 0352 ARGENTINA Radio Diez, Buenos Aires w id

790 0429 ARGENTINA Radio Mitre w ann and telephone no.

840 0407 ARGENTINA Radio Salta w id

870 0422 ARGENTINA Radio Nacional w ann by female presenter

900 0158 ARGENTINA Radio Provincia de Corrientes w id and accordian mx

910 0428 ARGENTINA La Red, Buenos Aires w 'Crockodile Rock' by Elton John

920 0252 PARAGUAY Radio Nacional del Paraguay, Asuncion w mx

940 0420 ARGENTINA Radio Chajari w multiple ids and promos

950 0356 ARGENTINA Radio Belgrano, Buenos Aires w id

990 0301 ARGENTINA AM 990 Formosa w 'Noche de Gallos'

999 1647 INDONESIA RRI Jakarta w id

1000 0432 UNIDENTIFIED (USA) w religious sermon

1020 0400 PARAGUAY Radio Nanduti, Asuncion w id and news

1030 0452 ARGENTINA Radio del Plata w id and anns

1050 0229 URUGUAY Radio Uruguay, Montevideo w jazz music including “I Love Paris” id at 0259 UTC as “La Radio Difusion Nacional de Uruguay” over nylon acoustic guitar music bed.

1100 0402 ARGENTINA Radio de la Ciudade Beunos Aires w news and wx

1130 0410 ARGENTINA Radio Nacional (tent) w ads

1140 0413 PARAGUAY w tent id ann including mention of 'Paraguay' and tx frequency

1150 0449 ARGENTINA Radio Brigadier, Sante Fe w anns

1160 0445 UNIDENTIFIED (South America) with song 'I'm Only Human'

1170 0418 URUGUAY Radiomudo, Montevideo (tent) w frequent mention of Uruguay

1190 0446 ARGENTINA Radio America, Buenos Aires w 'Marieta' by Francisco Tarrega performed by classical guitarist Naciso Yepes. Station and program id at 0446 by male presenter preceded continuation of classical orchestral music. Excellent signal
* Audio sample on the right hand side of the web page *

1210 0415 UNIDENTIFIED (South America) w 'Clocks' by Coldplay.

1215 0212 UK Virgin Radio w 'Kiss Form A Rose” and id at 0220 UTC

1270 0235 ARGENTINA Radio Provincia de Beunos Aires w mx

1287 1634 UNIDENTIFIED (Far East) w EZ listening music

1341 1748 UNIDENTIFIED in EE w old testament reading concerning the Israelites

1395 0155 HOLLAND BIG L w promo for “BIG L's Singles Connection”. Also noted the previous evening on 12/3 at 1820 UTC w 70's rock mx

1413 1755 JAPAN JOIF, Fukuoka w “All Night Nippon” id

1458 0200 UK Sunrise Radio w station id jingle, time check for 2 o'clock and news

Receiver : Icom R71

Antenna : 220 m BOG towards South America and 300 m Beverage towards the UK.

WJXL Jacksonville FL 1010 QSL

A surprise appearance of WJXL Jacksonville FL on 1010 kHz was noted for the first time (A South African First) during the early hours on the 1st November. The reception occurred at my QTH in Fish Hoek, via a recently acquired ICOM IC-R71E and an ALA 1530 loop antenna, suspended from my cupboard door. Co-channel WINS New York NY is the usual dominant station from the USA to make it through under favourable propagation conditions from North America.

I received a friendly email reply last night from WJXL's Programming Consultant, Tom Fridley who kindly verified my audio clip and reception report :

" ... Gary, What a pleasant surprise it was to read your thoughtful note and listen to the sound clip – indeed, it is our station in Jacksonville, FL. I am fascinated by your account and the detail with which you presented the information. I also took a quick look at your web site and was very impressed. And what a beautiful place it appears that you live ... I will share your email with others here at 1010 XL ... Thanks so much for your thoughtfulness! ~ Tom ... "

Thank you Tom for your interest and kind response !

4QL Longreach 540 QSL and Audio

A rare appearance of 4QL Longreach on 540 kHz on the 11th October 2007 included a local ABC Western Queensland id and weather report at the beginning of the breakfast programme.

 

Kevin McAlinden from the ABC kindly verified my reception report this morning and added : 

" ... I can confirm that you received the ABC Western Queensland Local Radio service that broadcasts on 540 kHz from our transmitter site at Longreach, Queensland. This is a 10kW ERP omnidirectional service with vertical polarisation. Thank you for the great photos and links. Best wishes to South Africa in this weekend's Rugby World Cup final ... "

Thanks Kevin for the reply and well wishes for the Rugby World Cup !

Audio

4RO Rockhampton QLD 990 QSL

The excellent reception conditions from Australia on the 11th October included 10 stations from Queensland which managed to make it through to Fish Hoek.

It was a surprise to receive 4RO Rockhampton for the first time (Another South African first). The station was heard with co-channel 6RPH Perth, the usual dominant Australian station on 990 kHz.

I received a prompt friendly reply from Michael Bailey who kindly responded to my email reception report this morning : " ... Well Hello South Africa. Hi Gary Yes that is us from the Land Downunder Well Done. Why don't you send over some of your music and I will give it a spin and best of luck in the rugby. Cheers Michael ... "

Thanks Michael for the reply and well wishes for the Rugby Final !

Radio Larrakia Darwin NT 94.5 FM QSL

Donna Odegaard, Chief Executive Officer of Radio Larrakia, Darwin NT kindly replied to my report regarding the recent reception of their FM station via 6WR Waringarri Radio on 693 kHz. She mentioned that station operations manager Steve Mclachlan would also respond accordingly.

During an internet search this evening I was a surprised to find my report and low res pics on Radio Larrakia's web site !

Check out http://www.radiolarrakia.org/home22222

I guess that this could be regarded as an on-line " FM via AM " verification - certainly my first !

3UZ Melbourne VIC 927 QSL

It was a pleasant surprise to hear 3UZ Radio Sport 927, Melbourne for the first time on the 14th September (A possible South African first). The station also made it through during the following evening on the 15th September with a few clear id's.

Chief Engineer Kelvin Brown kindly verified my report this week and added : " ... The audio quality was not too bad considering the distance and possibly a couple of bounces of the ionosphere ... We use a 5kW Nautel transmitter into a single vertical antenna. The transmitter is located at Lower Plenty which is approximately 15 kilometres from Melbourne Victoria ... "

2BL Sydney NSW 702 QSL

2BL Sydney is the flagship station of the ABC Local Radio Network and the first full-time radio station in Australia, having commenced broadcasting on the 23 November 1923.

6KP Karratha is the usual dominant Australian station on 702 kHz to make it through to Fish Hoek. An interesting one second delay of // ABC programming was noted on 702 kHz during the evening of the 15th September.

A lucky propagation break resulted in a local id from co-channel 2BL Sydney for the first time (A possible South African first). It was also unusual to hear signals from both the east and west coast of Australia simultaneously on the same frequency !

Natalie from 702 ABC Sydney kindly verified my email report.

6WB Kununurra WA 693 QSL

The north-eastern part of Western Australia, including the Northern Territory, can be quite a challenge to receive at Fish Hoek. Situated in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, the town of Kununurra is only 30 km west of the Northern Territory border.

I was fortunate to hear 6WB Kununurra on 693 kHz during two consecutive evenings at the sports field location. Station identifications of 989 FM (14th September)and 94.5 FM Radio Larrakia, Darwin (15th September) were noted for the first time. Relays of both stations are carried during the local early hours.

General Manager Colin Cameron kindly verified my e-report this morning with a friendly reply : " ... Congratulations on taking the trouble in today's modern world to find distant stations on the AM Band. Without doubt that would be one of the best long distant reports I have ever come across ... "

1410 CFUN Vancouver BC received at Seefontein !

The astonishing reception of Canadian MW station CFUN, Vancouver BC on 1410 khz by fellow South African dxer John Plimmer occurred during a recent Dxpedition to Seefontein. In John's own words : " ... Quite the best catch I ever got in my life and the only station I have ever recorded West of the Rockies ... "

A recording of the actual reception on the 14th September has been included at the beginning of the audio clips section. John used his Icom IC-756 PRO III via a 300 m BOG (Beverage On Ground) "over the Shoulder " towards North America.

So far as I'm aware this is a new South African record. 1410 CFUN is the most distant Canadian MW station to reach South Africa at over 16 500 km. It is also the first MW station from British Columbia to be heard in SA. The station is almost 2000 km further away than CBW Winnipeg, Manitoba which I was fortunate to receive over 20 years ago.

Congratulations John on an amazing dx achievement and one of the best dx catches in years !

John also received a reply, on the 21st September, from CFUN Program Manager Stu Ferguson who kindly verified the reception.