The picturesque False Bay coastline en route to Betty's Bay (Photograph Gary Deacon).After a pleasant overnight stay at the Sunbird Guest Lodge, adjacent to the Steenbras River Mouth, we proceeded along the picturesque False Bay coastline to our next destination : The Bayside Beach House at Betty's Bay.
The Bayside Beach House at Betty's Bay (Photograph Gary Deacon).The Guest House is situated at the foot of the Kogelberg mountains with an impressive panoramic view of the ocean.
After spending some quality time with the family, I set up a modest 60 metre BOG towards the north west along the mountain slope during the early evening.
Evening propagation favoured Western Australia and included 400 watt narrocasters from that region. A consistent signal from a Christian station on 1629 kHz was received for the first time and proved to be the highlight of the dxpedition. An internet search this evening revealed a pleasant surprise. 3ABN (Three Angels Broadcasting Network) broadcasts on 1629 kHz with an output of 400 watts from Busselton WA.
A limited opening from the U.S.A. occured around the top end of the band from dawn until local sunrise.
An additional highlight was the positive identification of "15-60 The Game" KGOW Bellaire TX which brought a conclusion to another brief and enjoyable holiday dxpedition!
Highlights :
Time (UTC) Freq (kHz)
1560 0344 U.S.A. KGOW Bellaire TX with a station id slogan as "15-60 The Game". Commercials aired at 0502 UTC included "Venom Energy Drink" and "The Matt Swanson School Of Golf". A recent nighttime power increase from 1 kw to 15 kw with a favourable nighttime antenna pattern would help explain the recent reception for the first time (a distance of 13 936 kilometres).
1611 1902 AUSTRALIA 6GS Wagin with a newscast - fair peak (presumed)
1620 1620 AUSTRALIA Promo Radio Perth in CC - fair peak
1629 1755 AUSTRALIA 3ABN Busselton WA w EE religious programming including "Lift Him Up" at 1830 UTC - fair peaks. The most consistent of the X-band stations heard that evening * personal first.
AUDIO CLIP * Available on the right hand side of the webpage
A recording of 3ABN Busselton on 1629 Khz is also available here and includes the beginning of the Christian programme "Lift Him Up". The 400 watt signal was fairly consistent and made it through over a distance of 8 500 kilometres to Betty's Bay with surprising peaks.
Receiver : Sony SRF-M37V Ultralight
Antenna : 60 m BOG directed towards the north-west
Fynbos flowers on the mountain slope (Photograph Gary Deacon).
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