SteppIR antenna: up and running! Chasing the LRA36.

Living on a small city block is a challenge - there is only a room for one small tribander + a vertical. After 3 years (and many thousands of QSOs) the time has come to replace the good trustworthy Cushcraft A3S tribander with a directional antenna which will provide access to more than just 20/15/10m. Ideally, one which will cover it 'all': from 20m-6m. Obvious solution: SteppIR !

The SteppIR arrived on Monday and took me ten hours over 3 days to lower the tower, rebuild the rotor, assemble the new antenna and to get it all up in the air. SteppIR does not look large on the photo, but each element is 11m long.

One man job!

The wiring of the 3 motors which 'drive' the elements and connection to control box went smoothly (SteppIR motors can be tested on the ground which is a cool thing).

Even at the modest height of just 12 meters, the new antenna performs well.

Unfortunately, on the first scan, no traces of Argentina LRA36 from Antarctica (15476 KHz) or the Israeli Galei Tzahal Radio, but will continue for look for these two from now on.

QSL #5 RTM Malaysia

QSL #5 arrived from Radio TV Malaysia RTM for a music program received on 9835 KHz (TraxxFM). Full data QSL card was kindly signed by Mr. Othman Bin Md. Said, Director of Technical Network Section. Transmitting site is Kajang.

My QSL card is numbered 166 / 2013. Nice touch!

The QSL request was sent by email and the card arrived 2 weeks later.

Great service, thank you RTM!

QSL #4: Radio Nikkei, Japan

What a lovely QSL card! Radio Nikkei 1, by Nikkei Radio Broadcasting Corporation, Japan. Logged on 3925 KHz.

Nikkei is the largest business newspaper publisher paper in Japan , which NR1 is part of.

NIKKEI RADIO BROADCASTING CORPORATION 1-9-15 Akasaka, Minato-ku Tokyo 107 -8373 JAPAN

Website www.radionikkei.jp (In Japanese only) RN1 is a domestic station, and as such, transmits in Japanese only. Except for a program called: "Let's read Nikkei in English" . 22:30 - 23:00 JST [Thursday] and 17:30 - 18;00 [Saturday] for "...Japanese business man learning English".

Other RN1 frequencies are 6050KHz and 9595 KHz. RN2 ('second program') is on 3945KHz / 6115 and 9760 KHz.

All TX are 50KW.

QSL #3: HCJB Australia

Transmitting form Kununurra in Western Australia, HCJB Australia is an International Broadcaster with a broadcast service to the South Asia / Pacific region in 20 languages. With the motto "Be the Voice and Hands of Jesus", HCJB is Christian-based religious radio station.

QSL confirmation arrived promptly after direct request was mailed to Melbourne address: HCJB Melbourne, PO Box 291 Kilsyth, VIC 3137, Australia.

QSL #2: Radio New Zealand

My second QSL card arrived today: Radio New Zealand, The Voice of the Pacific. Prompt service with quick turnaround time of just 10 days.

R NZ Int is a shinning example of a broadcaster who cares about it's listeners.

They even provide a printable form to accompany your request. Make sure to enclose $2 for return postage.

Weak signal, strong message: HPONS Graveyard

Small guys who want to make the difference: low power broadcasters with a strong message!

Also known as HPON transmitters, these small radio stations are located at the very edge of the AM band. These broadcaster produce program for ethnic communities, or of religious nature - or like in case of Station X from Gold Coast - they just play great music. Stuff you won't hear on the big radio.

It goes without saying that HPONS transmitters are very difficult to catch. With intended coverage under 100 Km (and with many transmitters sharing one frequency) hearing them well over 1,000km distance is nothing but a miracle. Look for broadcasts in Italian, Arabic, Greek and of course English, at the edge of the medium wave band, around 1600-1700 KHz.

Here is the recording of a 100W broadcaster Station X Gold Coast on 1692 KHz as heard in Sydney last night.

Update:

Below is the information to listeners, posted on Station X website in relation to expected coverage. I am sure the station owner would be pleased to hear how well the signal is received in Sydney, 700 Km south :-)

"1692 Khz Frequency Up & Running On 100 watts
Northern Gold Coast suburbs should have satisfactory coverage on AM 1692 khz. The signal should be ok for anyone with a good radio and good aerial. Satisfactory coverage starts near the Strawberry Farm on the M1 and extends down to Miami High. This is a radius of about 19-20 km from the transmission site at Bailey Crescent. There are areas outside this where reception is still ok and tolerable (as far as 35km radius). The opposite is also true as within this area there are some very electrically noisy areas! Always remember AM radio works totally different to FM.

The current power level is 100 watts. Strong (above satisfactory) coverage is within 3-5 km of Bailey Crescent and depends on the electrical noise around you. While transmission comes from Bailey Crescent low power will always be used due to limitations where the transmitter is located."

Clandestine Broadcasts: the battle of radio signals

Clandestine Broadcasts are politically motivated broadcasts produced by groups opposed to the government of targeted country. Other targeted broadcasts are produced by governmental and non-governmental organizations and targeted at zones of regional or local conflicts. Some of those transmissions are irregular, inactive or on variable frequencies. Majority transmits only on one frequency, for a short period of time. As such, definitely not an easy catch!

As one would expect, 'targeted country' does it best to jam and interfere with such broadcasts. One could say that the short waves are real battlefield where weapon of choice is powerful radio signal.

Recently heard:

9960 KHz KPPM Radio transmitting from Palau. In Khmer. Target country: Cambodia.
13480 KHz SOH Xi Wang Zhi Sheng, Taiwan. In Chinese. Target country: China.
5910 KHz JSR Shiokaze, Tokyo, Japan. In Korean. Target country: North Korea.
6348 KHz Echo of Hope VOH, Jeongnam, Korea. In Korean. Target country: North Korea.