DXing.info presents

DXpedition to Masset 26 Dec 2013 to 3 January, 2014

I have just spent the above period at my DX cottage near Masset, BC on the remote islands off of the north-west coast of British Columbia on Canada’s west coast. Conditions, for the most part were not particularly good, with a total absence, almost of any TA activity. There were a couple of good mornings for TP activity, especially the morning of December 30th, and to a lesser extent January 1, 2014. With conditions not up to par, I did venture much more than normal into the shortwave, especially tropical bands for some pretty good DX. With the near absence of any local noise, there were many stations heard that would never be possible in an urban environment, such as my home in Victoria, BC.

The weather was particularly mild, and often quite nice with blue skies and starry nights occasionally being seen. The average temperatures were in the 7 to 9 degree C range. This compares to other years where I have experienced – 15 to – 20 deg C temperatures, during the same period of time! The normal would be in the – 5 to + 3 deg C. No complaints from me, especially since I took part in the local polar bear swim on January 1st!

One advantage of sub-standard conditions is that it allows for other activities, such as erecting different antennae, or making repairs. I erected 4 antennae for this DXpedition. My stalwart is always the NW BOG, about 700’ long and aimed about 300 deg, perfect for Asia. It was my go to antenna for almost all of my serious TP DX. My reference antenna, and quickest

to erect is a double large diameter loop aimed NE/SW ALA 100LN, an excellent antenna for all frequencies from LW to the top of the MW band. I cannot recommend this antenna highly enough. Nick Hall-Patch gave me an Eavesdropper antenna a few years ago, and on my second day, I erected it about 40 feet high between a couple of evergreens near my cottage. In the past, I would climb these trees to attach the supports, and this would have taken many hours (and place myself at risk), but this time, I used the antenna sling-shot device which I purchased a few years ago on eBay, but have never used. Such simplicity! It worked the first time for both trees, and within minutes, the antenna was exactly where it was supposed to be! The results of this antenna in almost all cases were inferior to the ALA 100LN, and next to useless for anything but the SW broadcast bands (after all, it is a trap dipole). How technology has changed! I don’t even know if this antenna is still commercially available.

To fill out the other antennae, I resurrected a previous favourite, a mini-Beverage which runs along the property line, due north. I was hoping for more TA activity, which never really materialized, although in many circumstances, it was a good performer for the LW band, and for some Alaskans (for instance KBRW 680 Barrow often was heard with this antenna, and absent or mixed with other domestics on the others). The length was about 450’, with the last 150’ running along the beach and buried in the sand to anchor the antenna. At high tide (and they were very high during this visit), it would be totally submerged, and usually buried by a few inches of sand, and often displaced by the currents. At low tides, I would repair the antenna, and place it on top of the sand, in line with the rest of the antenna. On at least one occasion, someone “kindly” gathered up the beach antenna into a ball, which took me a few minutes to untangle! An advantage of my cottage, especially this time of the year, is that virtually no one is around, so the antenna tangle surprised me!

For the future, I brought up my newly purchased from eBay 4 antenna Wellbrook array, which should be fun to try out for it’s 360 degree capabilities. In the winter, I have to contend with a lot of domestic splatter from the lower 48 states and Canada. Next time!

Before I start into the loggings section, I should mention the adventure of just getting here. We flew on Pacific Coastal Airlines from Vancouver aboard their very small 9 or 10 seat Beech 1900C twin engine aircraft. These are fine for very short haul flights, but not so for longer flights, like to Masset. Normally these are about 2 hours (and usually using a much larger Saab 340 aircraft). The flight was fine until just before touch down, when it was noted that the airport in Masset was enveloped in a very thick blanket of fog. The pilots attempted to land three times, twice from the south, and once from the north, but each time we could not see the airport in time to land. We finally diverted to Sandspit, where conditions were marginally better, after 3 hours in a tiny airplane (and no bathroom!!). I was happy to see the ground. Some negotiations followed for transport to Masset, and thankfully, a van was arranged for transport (Sandspit is a very sleepy little town, with just a few hundred people). 2 ½ hours later and one ferry trip from Moresby to Graham Island, and I finally made it to Masset. That first evening, I just quickly laid out the coax to the ALA 100, and started things from there.

One of the first things that I couldn’t get over, was the total domination of China on the SW bands. Just terrible, and no reason for it, IMHO. They ruin so many other stations to be heard.

Also there’s a big increase in intrusions into the SW bands from OTH radars which continuously pollute the bands. The world has changed, and not for the better.

Before I post the loggings, I’d like to give you a morning’s worth of TP DX recorded on January 3, 2014. It was a particularly good morning for Asian MW DX, and so I recorded over an hour of Perseus SDR wav files for future reference. I’d be happy to share them with anyone. Just drop me a line at canswl@gmail.com and I’m sure we can arrange either a USB stick or a hard drive transfer to you. You would just have to send me the hardware and postage, and I’d take care of the rest! Here goes: I monitored between 14:50 and 18:30 UTC. Primarily used my 700’ BOG to the NW, and my Perseus SDR, although I also have an AOR 7030+, and a NRD 535D as well. The Solar Indices were not promising: SF: 161, A: 20, K (15:00): 3, with geomagnetic storms, and blackouts occurring. I still like to use the 10 point scale, with 10 being absolutely armchair, and 1 just a very weak het. 5 is barely audible, without content, and so forth.

LW: The Russian Longwave stations continue, at least for now with 3 on this morning, compared to the 31st, when there were 6 on the air (153, 189, and 279 compared to 153, 171, 180, 189, 234, and 279). All very strong! 9 levels.

MW: 531 JOQG Morioka 7 with cochannel music.

549: 7 level, not NHK1

558: 8.5 level Probably HLQH with music.

567: JOIK Sapporo, at 9 level.

576: NHK 1, 3 listed but JOHG Kagoshima has 10 kW 7 level.

585: // to above most likely JOPG Kushiro at 8 level. Other cochannels too.

594: JOAK Tokyo, 9 level, but also some good strength cochannels.

603: JOOG Obihiro over HLSA at 9 level.

612: JOLK Fukuoka at 8 level at 15:09

621: Earlier Pyongyang Bangsong, at 8 level. At 15:25, echo +++, so now probable Heilongjiang RGD, China.

639: 8 level CNR 1, then later at 16:26, JOIP Oita, // to 594 and 567.

648: 6.5 level

657: 8 level Pyongyang Pangsong. // 3250. Not as strong as in past years, it seems.

666: JOBK Osaka, 9 level, plus others.

675: 8 level Voice of Vietnam My Van

684: 8 level (no comment added)

693: 9 level JOAB Tokyo

702: 8.5 level KCBS, Chongjin. Off frequency.

711: 9 level HLKA, plus pulse jammer at 15:11

720: 8 level Strong Chinese at 15:32. May be CNR 2. Multiple stations earlier. ?KOTZ with open carrier this morning?

729: JOCK at 7 level, but a lot of 730 Vancouver splatter!

738: 8 level 2 cochannels at 15:34. Didn’t stay to see who they were.

747: 9 level JOIB Sapporo

756: 8 level with a lot of splatter. At 15:40 echo +++ CNR 1

774: JOUB Akita at 9 level. Also cochannel at 15:41. After NHK2 sign-off, noted American oldies at 17:00, followed by an English ID for DWWW, Quezon City, Philippines! A real highlight for me, and the first Filipino heard this DXpedition.

783: 8 level Chinese echo ++, so presumed Hebei RGD at 15:48

792: 8 level Chinese at 15:51

819: 9 level KCBS, // 2850

828: 9 level JOBB Osaka

837: 9 level NHK 1 station (2 listed, 10 kW JOQK Niigata, but a 1 kW closer station in Nayoro, Hokkaido), much stronger than CC cochannel at 15:57.

846: 7 level NHK 1 (Many listed between 0.1 and 5 kW)

873: JOGB, Kumamoto 8 level, with cochannels at 15:58

882: 7.5 level Chinese station plus het from 882.428, presumed North Korea

891: 7.5 level JOHK Sendai

909: 8 level JOCB Nagoya (NHK2) over JOVX Abashiri (STV), but equal at 16:10

918: 6.5 level

945: 9 level CNR 1, but at 16:10, NHK 1 (?JOIQ Muroran, Hokkaido) stronger than CNR 1

954: JOKR Tokyo at 9 level at 16:12

963: 7 level NHK 1 (5 between 1 and 5 kW) at 16:12

972: 9 level HLCA Dangjin, and CC cochannel at 16:15

981: CNR 1 at 9 level

990: 9 level JORK Kochi

999: 8 level NHK 1 at 16:18 (7 outlets between 0.1 and 1 kW) at 16:18

1008: 9 level JONR Osaka

1017: JOLB Fukuoka 9 level, with NHK 2 sign-off at 16:20

1035: 8 level NHK 2 (7 outlets 0.1 to 1 kW) and CNR 1

1044: 7 level KBS 1 (2 - 10 kW outlets) // 711 at 16:24

1053: JOAR Nagoya 9 level, // 720

1062: HLKQ Cheongju at 7 level // 711 at 16:31

1071: JOFK Hiroshima (NHK 1) at 9 level at 16:32 (and not JOWM Obihiro, Hokkaido)

1089: 8 level Chinese echos, presumed Liaoning RGD

1098: 8 level Japanese. Didn’t wait to figure out which (8 different transmitters and different networks)

1107: 7 level Japanese at 17:51

1125: 8 level at 16:40. ? further info.

1134: 8 level JOQR Tokyo, but faded and a Chinese sounding music (not CNR 1) became dominant.

1143: 7 level JOBR Kyoto, // 1485

1161: 8 level with call-in show, I think NHK 1 (many 0.1 kW transmitters), and way over CNR 1

1170: 9 level HLSR Gimje, way over KJNP, // 972 at 16:53

1179: 9 level JOOR Osaka

1188: 9 level JOKP Kitami

1197: 7 level Japanese, not // to 1440

1206: 6.5 level

1215: 7 level, // 1143, so either JOBW Hirnoe, or JOBO Maisuru

1224: 7 level with EZL music

1233: 7 level Japanese at 17:06 (5 transmitters 0.1 to 5 kW)

1242: 8 level JOLF Tokyo at 17:50

1269: Measured frequency and noted the following transmitters: 1269.000, .004, .008, .111. // to 1287, and music with the off-channel station. JOHW Obihiro or JOFM Esashi, both on Hokkaido

1278: 7 level JOFR Fukuoka // 1287

1287: 9 level JOHR Sapporo, and 1 cochannel at 17:42

1296: 7 level with several CC, as well as JOTK Matsue (NHK1 with 10 kW)

1305: 6.5 level ? CC

1314: 9 level JOUF Osaka at 17:38

1323: KBS 1 (2 transmitters here). At 17:22 recheck KBS 1 plus another cochannel

1332: 9 level JOSF Nagoya

1341: 7 level NHK 1 station (23 transmitters, all 100 watts only!)

1350: 9 level JOER Hiroshima

1359: 7 level CNR 1

1368: 9 level 1 cochannels at 17:33: NHK 1 (12 transmitters 0.1 to 5 kW) and also JOTS Wakkanai with HBC network // 1287)

1386: 7 level CC vocal, not CNR 1

1395: 7 level CC and cochannel

1404: 9 level JOQL Kushiro, // 1413, and 1287 at 17:28, later not in //

1413: 8 level JOIF Fukuoka, // 1485

1422: 7 level 2 cochannels

1431: 7 level JJ

1440: JOWF Sapporo 9 level at 17:24

1449: 9 level JOQM Abashiri (and only 5 kW), // 1287

1467: 9 level HLKN Mokpo // 711

1485: 8 level no info recorded

1494: 8 level live concert at 17:17, not //1287 ? JOYR Okayama

1503: 9 level NHK 1 JOUK Akita at 17:15

1539: Open carrier 17:14. NHK 2 (17 – 100w transmitters)

1557: 7 level big carrier, but no or little modulation

1566: HLAZ Jeju always 9 level!

1575: 8 level AFN with music. Only heard a single station. Other days could hear 2 separate AFN feeds, at much better levels. Do we know which station carries which feed?

1584: 8 level NHK 1 at 17:09 (28 – 100 watt transmitters)

1593: 8 level CNR 1 at 17:08

1602: 8 level NHK 2 OC at 17:07 (28 – 0.1 to 1 kW transmitters)

No X-band activity this morning. Conditions took a sudden dive at 18:15 UTC.

That’s a taste of what was heard on a single morning. Of course, there will be a lot to mine from the Perseus wav files! Now on to the loggings for the period:

ALBANIA 7245, 0232-, Radio Tirana Dec 27 Open carrier at 02:29 UTC. I had just set up my ALA 100 loop antenna after arriving a few hours late. Three missed approaches to Masset airport resulted us in diverting to Sandspit, and from there 2 vans, a ferry and about 2 extra hours to

get to the cottage. Glad to be here! Excellent reception, with a mild transmitter hum. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

NEW ZEALAND 17675, 0253-, RNZI Dec 27 100% copy with DRM service. Playing 'Spinning Wheel' at 02:54, which happened to be the first 45 I ever bought! SNR 9f 21.5 dB. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

RWANDA 6055, 0256-, Radio Rwanda Dec 27 Open carrier, then must have joined a network with music in progress, but switched to a vocal national anthem at 02:58 to 03:00:15. High life music, and an indecipherable woman, then a male with muffly audio, so can't be sure of the language (although not English). Music is very enjoyable!. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

RUSSIA 5930, 0612-, Radio Rossii Dec 27 Tuned in at 06:12 to hear indiginous language, rather than language. Lot's of mentions of 'Kamchatskyi Krai'. Excellent reception. S 9 + 10. Checked 7320 just in case to hear a very strong carrier, but barely any audio and network Radio Rossii programming. Certain Russian words like 31st of December noted. ' Radio Rossii, Kamchatka pogoda' (weather) at 06:24, back into Russian. 'Muzyka' at 06:25:30, and into a popular Russian vocal. Local ID in Russian with time check for 19:30. No English noted (which used to be used at the BOH). Seems to be back into network Radio Rossii programming. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

VATICAN CITY 3975, 0637-, Vatican Radio Dec 27 Very good reception with Latin Mass. Surprised with the strength noted. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

UNITED KINGDOM 3955, 0646-, BBC World Service Dec 27 Can't quite demodulate the signal, although Dream software clearly shows the title and also BBC WS News on the second data stream (labelled Journaline 0.54 kbps), although nothing seems to be coming through at my end. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

LIBERIA 4760, 0654-, ? ELWA Dec 27 A tentative logging at very weak level, but seemingly English religious programming. I don't know who else it could possibly be but ELWA. American accented preaching at 06:57. Nothing noted at the top of the hour. Monrovia is in daylight just now, so I'll need to check again a bit earlier tomorrow! Fair at times. Possible ID at 07:02:30 after some piano music. No sign of them up to 05:45 on the 28th. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

SOLOMON ISLANDS 6080, 0706-, SIBC Dec 27 Fair reception from 06:30 tune-in, and gradually growing in strength as darkness nears the Solomon Islands. English news at this time (?relay of Radio Australia?). (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

RUSSIA 11635, 0712-, Voice of Russia Dec 27 Listed in English with DRM. Clearly seen on waterfall on the Perseus, but too weak to demodulate anything. RNZI also noted higher on 11690, but with a rapidly falling MUF, no chance to demodulate anything. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

ROMANIA 9450, 0715-, Radio Romania International Dec 27 Almost able to copy. DRM software shows 'SNR Tiganesti E1'. Listed in German. 300 kW listed to W. Europe at 307 degrees. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

AUSTRIA 7355, 0720-, BBC World Service Dec 27 Again, not quite enough oomph to decode. Listed as either 40 or 100 kW directed 300 degrees to the UK. The most DRM signals at the same time as I've seen in a long time!. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

DIEGO GARCIA 4319, 1310-, AFRTS Dec 27 Wasn't sure when AFN switched to 4319. But, there it is at weak strength, but with the ute adjacent. Perhaps 13:00? Rechecked at 17:22, and it's much stronger. Good with rap music. Rechecked the next evening, and 4319 still in use at 00:49 28/12 at poor level. But on 12759U at 01:30 recheck. So likely 01:00 change over. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

RUSSIA 5900, 1316-, Voice of Russia Dec 27 One of the languages being cut is Mongolian. Excellent reception, with listed 100 kW aimed 270 degrees, so must be getting the back end here. 13:00 to 14:00 listed. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

RUSSIA 5930, 1324-, Radio Rossii Dec 27 Fair reception in definite Russian, so presumed Monchegorsk. Perhaps a local program at 14:10? Worth checking!. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

BANGLADESH 7250, 1344-, Bangladesh Betar Dec 27 Listed in Nepali, although what sounded like Koran recitations continued through 13:45. Signal would be quite good except for extreme splatter from China 5 kHz above. Very good at recheck at 14:50, in the clear. Not 100% sure of the language, though. ?Bangla. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

INDONESIA 9690, 1348-, RRI Jakarta Dec 27 Good/very good level noted on tune-in. I was expecting Chinese from KNLS, but no sign of them, although there are some weak cochannels present. Frequency seems a bit wobbly, but centered on 9680.026. Indonesian. A lovely sing-song language. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

PAPUA NEW GUINEA 3905, 1400-, NBC New Ireland Dec 27 Good reception with sign-off announcements. Mentioned PNG and Merry Christmas, then into a child choir's rendition of assumed National Anthem until 14:02:40. Open carrier remained but off when rechecked at 14:14. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

MYANMAR 6165, 1414-, Thazin Radio Dec 27 Good reception with local EZL vocals. Slightly on high side of the frequency, measuring 6165.010. Best using LSB to avoid slight splatter from Voice of Korea in Russian 5 kHz higher. Hoping for the scheduled English program at 14:30, but the same music continued past 14:33. I see CNR 6 listed as well, so it could very well be this station possibly?. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

TIBET 4920, 1600-, Holy Tibet Dec 27 Superb reception, with IDing as Holy Tibet. Very good modulation, and much easier to follow compared to the past. I can actually follow the accent, with many different presenters. // include 4905 (excellent), 6110 (good/very good), 6200 (good, with a cochannel: VOIRI listed). ' China Tibet Broadcasting company, Holy Tibet', is the ID. Weather for Tibet at 16:20. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

JAPAN 5975, 1608-, Shiokaze Dec 27 Checking 5910, with jamming and nothing else, I checked Shiokaze's previous frequency to hear them loud and clear, without jamming. Not in English, but sounds Japanese instead of the listed English. A very different program compared to the 13:30 to 14:30 program. Much less monotonous, without the names being read, etc that one hear's earlier. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

SUDAN 9505, 1646-, Voice of Africa Dec 27 Both BBC WS from Oman, and Sudan are here cochannel, and about equal in strength (fair). African/Horn of Africa music cochannel with BBC WS English talk. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

SWAZILAND 4760, 1649-, TWR Dec 27 Presumably them with African singing at fair level. Perhaps a hint of Port Blair in the backgound. Program off at 17:00, so matches TWR. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

RUSSIA 7320, 1703-, Radio Rossii Dec 27 Pretty much an open carrier, with only a hint of modulation. S7 signal. Definitely having transmitter issues at Magadan. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

SOUTH AFRICA 15235, 1708-, Channel Africa Dec 27 Excellent reception, with slight long path/short path echo. English. Talking about climate change. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

SOUTH AFRICA 4880, 1715-, SW Radio Africa Dec 27 AIR Lucknow dominates, but there is cochannel talk as well as a grinding jammer. Fair. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

PHILIPPINES 9825, 1731-, Radio Pilipinas Dec 27 ID'd as 'PBS, Radyo Pilipinas', at very good level, but with phone quality audio feed. //11890 just audible, and 15190 is just an open carrier. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

KOREA 1566, 1742-, HLAZ Dec 27 Fair reception, still, with English lessons noted. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

RUSSIA 5930, 1757-, Radio Rossii Dec 27 Multiple Radio Rossii IDs, then into the Russian anthem. Very good reception. Time pips at TOH (about 6 sec late), then time check for Moscow, and into news. No local programming at 18:10. Instead a program about Mary Poppins. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

GERMANY 7375, 0042-, The Mighty KBC Dec 28 Superb reception in northern BC compared to Victoria, which is often hit or miss. Stong S9 + 10 strength, and no cochannel bother, although both 7365 (Radio Marti, Greenville, and only minimal jamming) and 7385 (WHRI). (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

TAJIKISTAN 4765, 0052-, Radio Tajikistan Dec 28 Domestic service at very good level on off-channel (as always) 4765.064. Strange Jews Harp music and presumed Tajik. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

MONGOLIA 4830, 0056-, Mongolian Radio Dec 28 Good/very good reception in presumed Mongolian with only slight CODAR interference. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

CHINA 4850, 0057-, PBS Xinjiang Dec 28 Very powerful PBS Xinjiang in Kazakh. A language not like anything I've heard. Not at all close to Chinese in any way. Did hear them say 'Beijing' at the TOH. Most powerful station on 60 meter band at this time. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

RUSSIA 5930, 0105-, Radio Rossii Dec 28 I can definitely hear 2 streams of Russian, so one is P-K, while the other must be Monchegorsk. Thanks to Glenn Hauser for pointing this out recently. Transmitter hum too (from the 5930 transmitter, presumably). (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

RUSSIA 6085, 0123-, Radio Rossii Dec 28 Possibly a local program in Russian. Call in program, possibly a fund raiser, since they mentioned invalids and veterans. Svetlana Fedorova is the MC. Radio Rossii network ID at 01:26. Into ads at 01:28. As I continue to listen, I'm now thinking it's just a network program. Nothing local heard (at least after the ads). Rechecked at 02:11, and sure enough, local programming. 'Novosti Krasnoyarsk' at 02:13. Excellent reception. Local weather when I first tuned back again. Luckily, I'm recording the 49 meter band on Perseus just now. At 02:19 further weather, and Radio Rossii Krasnoyarsk ID at 02:19:35. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

SRI LANKA 11905, 0138-, SLBC Dec 28 Transmitter issues, as the very powerful SLBC with south Asian music keeps cutting out. No English heard, just presumed Hindi. Cochannel CNR 6 from Beijing in listed Amoy. is clearly heard cochannel and quite strong when SLBC cuts out. Seems to have fixed the problem, since no further drop outs after a few minutes. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

TAJIKISTAN 7245, 0202-, Voice of Tajikistan Dec 28 National anthem at the top of the hour, followed by ID's in presumed Tajik, but also a brief Russian ID. A tone is audible both on USB and LSB, so this spoils an otherwise powerful signal. Best in AM, so I switched to that. S9 signal. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

RUSSIA 5930, 0400-, Radio Rossii Dec 28 Interesting at 04:00. Dead air at the TOH with loud hum (the P-K transmitter). Cochannel weaker Radio Rossii ID (from Monchegorsk), and then P-K came on with local programming, but no fanfare, nor IS. Just directly into local programming. Worth waiting for! UT Saturday. Normally these local programs are heard starting at 10 min. past the hour. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

RUSSIA 11790, 0410-, Radio Tatarstan Dec 28 Fair level with usual ID. MUF is too low to hear very well, compared to the summer. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

RUSSIA 5922, 0541-, Radio Rossii Dec 28 Ron Howard mentioned this spur, and here it is in all of it's glory. Ugly, and a good S9 signal strength with a loud buzz, and centered on 5922.258 and spread over about 400 Hz. Ugly!. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

BELARUS 7255, 0600-, Belaruskaye Radio Dec 28 Poor/fair reception with time pips and ID in Belarussian (I'm pretty sure they said 'Horizont'. A tough catch at this time of the night. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

BULGARIA 7535, 1633-, Radio Dreamland Dec 28 Very good reception here in Masset, from 16:23 tune-in with mostly modern American, especially by Afro-American female singers. German announcements in between. Diana Ross with 'Tell me that you love me' to 16:53, then a song that has something to do with radio (as announced by DJ). Occasional ute interference, but switching from USB/LSB often solves this. Presumably Met Fax from VMW Wiluna Australia. Continued to check from time to time, and continues at good level at 18:30 recheck, with VMW continuing to send weather faxes (which I'm also copying on a different laptop, and different antenna beam!). Starting to fade a bit as we're several hours after LSR here in Masset. Carrier cut at 19:00:25. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

INDIA 4760, 1729-, AIR Port Blair Dec 28 Very good reception with a network program from Delhi in Hindi, and then in English at conclusion of the music program. Then a woman came in with further announcements. Not sure whether local Port Blair, or still via Delhi. Transmitter cut just after 17:31 UTC. No sign of ELWA for the 2nd day. Seems like a number of broadcasters left at 17:30 including 4750 (China). 4765 Tajik Radio remains, just above. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

INDIA 4810, 1735-, AIR Bhopal Dec 28 End of English news, and then back into Hindi. Good reception. Noted 'Bhopal', and mentions of 'kHz' at 17:37, so probable sign-off imminent? Transmitter cut at 17:41:00. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

TIBET 4820, 1742-, PBS Xizang Dec 28 Superb reception with Chinese traditional instrumental music. Just a hint of a cochannel, so presumably AIR Kolkata. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

AUSTRALIA 4835, 1744-, ABC Northern Territory Service Dec 28 Very good reception with a talk show (call-in). Intermittent ute interference on high side of the frequency. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

CHINA 4850, 1745-, PBS Xinjiang Dec 28 Kazakh service listed. Very strong reception with presumably a Kazakh male vocalist. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

SOUTH AFRICA 4880, 1746-, SW Radio Africa Dec 28 Fair reception, with very noisy Chinese supplied Zimbabwe tone jammer. Take them away, and reception would be fairly good. Seems in English. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

TIBET 4905, 1749-, PBS Xizang Dec 28 Tibetan service of CNR at excellent level with piano recital. Interesting to watch the Perseus waterfall with // 4920 exactly in parallel. Also equally strong. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

BOTSWANA 4930, 1751-, VOA Dec 28 Fair/good reception with listed Shona language. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

ANGOLA 4950, 1753-, Radio Nacional Angola Dec 28 Reasonable carrier, but nothing audible. Measured at 4949.755 kHz. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

TAJIKISTAN 4960, 1756-, Voice of Russia WS Dec 28 English broadcast, which will come to an end at the end of the year. Fair reception. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

CHINA 4980, 1758-, PBS Xinjiang Dec 28 Fair reception of the Uighur service. Also listed as CNR 13. Transmitter cut at 18:00:50. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

JAPAN 5006, 1801-, JG2XA Dec 28 Pretty strong carrier, and very weak CW audible at the top of each minute. // 8006 as well. Tried various modes to hear the CW better, but to no avail. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

ZANZIBAR 11735, 1809-, Zanzibar Broadcasting Corporation Dec 28 Fair to good reception. Not on the air for the last day or two, but back with ID at the end of the news in English. No more 'Spice Radio' IDs, but rather Zanzibar Broadcasting Corporation. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

SOUTH AFRICA 11800, 1813-, Radio Japan Dec 28 Excellent reception in English with the best songs of 2013. So few English programs from NHK anymore. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

SUDAN 9505, 1817-, Voice of Africa Dec 28 Poor/fair reception in English, but too much splatter from Radio Australia on 9500 and cochannel TWR Swaziland!. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

MOROCCO 9575, 1821-, Medi-Un (tentative) Dec 28 Exactly on frequency in Arabic. Not sure who else this might be. Into 'Please don't go'. Takes me back to my teen years! Fair reception. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

KOREA 1566, 1906-, HLAZ Dec 28 Excellent reception with hymn 'Holy, Holy, Holy'. Still S6 to S7 signal, but with no QRM, it sounds like a local! Korean. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

CHINA 1098, 1034-, Guangzhou Diantai Fengyun Tai Dec 28 Tentative logging. Excellent reception in Chinese. Did mention Guangzhou, so it's my presumed logging. Amazing, since it's 11:30 AM local time! Being deep in the winter sure helps!. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

RUSSIA 279, 1943-, Radio Rossii Dec 28 A bad sign, but I haven't seen a peep from any of the Russian LW stations over the past several days. I will keep checking, but there's a chance that they've pulled the plug on them, leaving nothing at all to hear in the mornings. They should be relatively easy catches in Masset. Well thankfully, I checked at 13:25 on 29 Dec, and sure enough, at least 153, 189, and 279 are back. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

NIGERIA 15120, 1951-, Voice of Nigeria Dec 28 DRM 100% copy, but as usual, audio is not very clear. DReaM shows: 'New transmitting station in Abuja. TSW2300D. 100 kW with curtain antenna.'. Only 9.18 kbps, in Mono. 15.8 dB SNR here. Business news, and then into sports news. Then this day in African history. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

USA 15550, 2020-, WJHR Dec 28 Quite good reception with usual preaching. Pure USB. I wonder what the power is? Must just be a few hundred watts, in my opinion. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

CANADA 834, 2022-, 1U Dec 28 Beacon weakly heard is actually the aeronautical beacon at 3 x 278 kHz, and measured on 834.007, so ever so slightly off. Nothing noted on 2 x 278, nor 4 x 278. Airport is located about 10 km to my west. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

GERMANY 7375, 0000-, The Mighty KBC Dec 29 I was wondering what would happen at 00:00, as CNR2 was still very strong right up to the second of the TOH, when they left the air, leaving it wide open for The Mighty KBC. Once again, excellent reception tonight. There is, however, some RTTY type interference 2 kHz low. Best heard on a due North mini-Beverage, about 400' long, terminated into the ocean! Uncle Eric IDing, 'We are the legendary KBC, rocking over the ocean' at 00:05. Thanks, Eric! Not sure what happened, but a real nose-dive occured, and by 00:30, reception is rather poor. ? A sudden coronal mass ejection? Not nice!. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

USA 5745, 0257-, VOA Radiogram Dec 29 Superb reception tonight with lovely copy. Being in an absolutely quiet area sure has it's advantages. Crystal clear images and 100% copy. I noted that Kim Elliot finished a few minutes early, and had fill music, compared to other weeks, which went right up to the TOH. Thanks, Kim!. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

UZBEKISTAN 9975, 0332-, CVC Voice of Asia Dec 29 Expecting to hear KVOH, instead I'm hearing Hindi at good level, which turns out to be CVC from Tashkent! Not a bad signal at all. 'Voice Asia' in English at 03:35. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

SRI LANKA 9335, 0336-, PCJ Radio International Dec 29 Live broadcast with IS and the last show for 2013. Good reception, surprisingly at this early hour with S7 signal strengh. Nothing heard from 5995 Nauen. 11880 from Okeechobee is weaker, despite going to out to North America. MUF is a bit too low for 11880 to propagate well out to the north west coast. Sri Lanka is slightly off frequency on 9334.924. Oops, just lost the link for almost a minute at 14:15, but back at 14:16:30. Whew! Interviewing Tom Meyer. Now at 14:21, the phone rang!!! I won the subscription to the Spectrum Monitor. A fascinating story for this one. Listening at the beginning of the program, I heard about the contest. What to do? No internet service here, and no cell service either, but my truck has a cell booster which connects to cell service, just. I have a new iPhone 5s for the last couple of weeks, which I can tether to my iPad mini. Out I went to the car at 6:00 AM and emailed Keith. Lucky! Interesting that conditions deteriorated towards the end compared to the first 30 minutes. Down to S4 to S5 via Sri Lanka, and maybe a little stronger now on 11880 (about S6). Transmitter cut a few seconds after 14:30 for SL, while 11880 continued with an ID for WRMI, and into something else, but now too weak to be sure. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

JAPAN 5910, 1347-, Shiokaze Dec 29 Shiokaze confirmed along with the North Korean jammer. Good reception, with the jammer being just a nuisance. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

THAILAND 2965, 1443-, Bangkok VOLMET Dec 29 Very good reception with local aviation forecasts including Yangon, and Bangkok. 'Bangkok VOLMET out' at 14:45. Surprised to hear them so well. Noted that Nick in Sydney confirmed that Radio Symban is back, which is why I was down in the area, but absolutely nothing propagating this way. The 2 120 m Northern Service frequencies were coming in well, though. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

INDIA 4990, 1507-, AIR Itanagar Dec 29 About the strongest Indian on 60 meters this morning with very phone-like audio, though, with the usual exotic Indian stringed instrument and male vocal. Hindi ads at 15:12. Into English news at 15:30. Parallels noted were: 4760 (?Open carrier strong, with weak AIR EE news underneath, so wonder whether both AIR stations on the air, with one having tech issues?), 4800 (Hyderabad weakly under much stronger CNR1), 4810 AIR Bhopal (fair), 4835 (AIR Gangtok under cochannel Alice Springs), Loud buzzing from 4850 to 4910 ruins that portion of the band. Seems like OTH radar, but not intermittent. I hope it's nothing at my end! Several stations in this range, just audible through the noise. 4920 AIR Chennai under Lhasa. 4970 AIR Shillong also quite strong. 5010 AIR Thiruvananthapuram seems to have a different feed, and cochannel with Madagascar on 5010.396. AIR Jeypore on 5040 fair with some CODAR interference. Headlines at 15:44. To 15:45. Tone, then into an ad.

Further commentary about India/Pakistan relations continues on most of the frequencies. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

USA 15670, 1930-, VOA Radiogram Dec 29 Another excellent decode for the late morning transmission. 100% copy and good decode of the images, as well as Flmsg. About equal to last night's 5745 results. Thanks, and Happy New Year, Kim!. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

PIRATE 6977, 2253-, CW321 Dec 29 Using USB, I noticed this presumed intruder with a call CW321. Back and forth bantering. Seems sem-legit and said, 'nothing further here, CW321 clear', and left the air. Mean anything to you? Sounds like he was using a remote receiver in Maine as well. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

LITHUANIA 9875, 2300-, Radio Free Asia Dec 29 What a mess of a frequency for me. There are 3 stations all at once. First, I'm hearing the Voice of Korea with it's prolonged signing-on process. Then, there's the CNR 1 Jammer, very loud, and finally RFA weakly. A terrible mess, but fun to test the various antennae I've erected. First there's my 700' BOG aimed north-west. Very strong Beijing pick-up! Then the ALA-100 LN aimed North/South, also very good, and better at picking up some of RFA, then a newly erected Eavesdropper (given to me new some years ago by Nick Hall-Patch: thanks, Nick!) which is reasonably good, but clearly not in the same league as my ALA 100, but still pretty decent, but deaf on frequencies outside the Broadcast SW bands, and finally a North directed mini-Beverage of about 450' and terminated directly into the ocean (Dixon Entrance) without any resistance. The last 100' are buried an inch or so into the sand. It's the weakest of the lot, but has done well for stations in Alaska, with excellent back end rejection. Fun!. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

ROMANIA 7395, 2323-, Radio Romania International Dec 29 Superb reception, answering listeners questions and comments. I believe this is beamed to Japan? Listeners' Letterbox program. // 7220 (good, with cochannel pres CRI) to Europe, 9620 (excellent, also to Japan, way over REE Noblejas in Spanish). Program finished at 23:35, followed by 'All that Jazz'. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

ARMENIA 9395, 2342-, Voice of Russia Dec 29 Excellent reception of the almost to be gone English service from the Voice of Russia. Highlights of 2013 including Obamacare, Khodorovsky release, Radio VR mentioned frequently. S9 + 10, and in the clear. Travel Russia at 23:49. Describing Voronezh, near the Ukrainian border, where the first Japanese VCR clone was made. Radio VR, with FM/MW in US mentioned at 23:59. Continued into English news at 00:00 until 00:00:55, when switched to Spanish. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

USA 7385, 0002-, WHRI Dec 30 Just happened to come across Bob Padula with his ADX Report. This is on UTC Monday at midnite UTC. Might this be Cumbre DX? It's been many months since I've heard this program, and had assumed that it was no longer being produced. Excellent, of course. Went on until 00:13, and switched to Pirating with Cumbre. Pretty much all there is to Cumbre DX for some time now have been these 2 segments. At least it's a current program. Finished at 00:25. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

UKRAINE 7545, 0017-, TWR Dec 30 Open carrier with a bit of polar flutter. Otherwise strong. Could this actually be the Ukrainian transmitter warming up near Mykolayiv, and listed erroneously as Simferopol? But, the carrier cut at 00:19 again. Listed to India, and there's no one else at this time, so is it from TWR, and is it still from Ukraine, where SW seems to have gone the way of the Dodo bird! Carrier returned at 00:27:30. Crash start into TWR programming at 00:30:45 without any ID or IS. Very good reception. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

RUSSIA 5930, 0304-, Radio Rossii 49 and 41 meter channels Dec 30 Checked the various Radio Rossii transmitters tonight. Very good with hum. // 5940 (Magadan) excellent! 6085 Krasnoyarsk, very good. 6100 (Kyzyl, Tuva poor. Left program feed after 03:10), 6160 Archangelsk often over CBC, or is this Monchegorsk? Nothing heard on 6195 for certain (Ulan Ude). 7230 Yakutsk (excellent). 7325 Magadan (excellent), By 03:25 5930, 5940, 7230, and 7320 all in //. 6085 clearly not, while the others were too weak to be sure. Checked after 04:10, and only 7230 is with a local program. 'Sakha' heard at 04:12, and when tuned in, they were not in Russian. Again at 04:14 not in Russian. I'm assuming it's in Yakutian. Sounds kind of Scandinavian to me, although with some Russian sounding words, and of course Russian names. Weak co-channel also there, which is most likely CNR, although Channel Africa is also listed. 'Visti Sakha' at 04:20 and back into Russian. Nice Radio Yakutia ID at 04:25. Excellent reception. ' Radio Rossii Sakha pogoda' (weather) at 04:27, but in Yakutian. Repeated in Russian at 04:28:30. - 31 deg C noted! Brrr! Into local Yakutian vocal ballad at 04:30. Rechecked at 04:36 and they had returned to the network program (// to 5930, 5940 and 7320. Krasnoyarsk again went into local programming at 05:10 on 6085 'Radio Rossii Krasnoyarsk'. Ulan Ude on 6195 audible at 05:13 check, very weakly. Rechecked Krasnoyarsk on 6085, and they continued local programming to 06:00 with Radio Rossii Krasnoyarsk ID just before the TOH. TC for 20:00 and Radio Rossii ID. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

ALASKA 850, 0527-, KICY Dec 30 Old time radio with local announcements 'telegraph messages'. Always fun to listen to this rather than the usual network programming on so many frequencies! Local ID only at 06:02, and into network news. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

ALASKA 1170, 0606-, KJNP Dec 30 Excellent reception with weather forecast and advisory not to travel the Dalton Highway after dark. Into Voice of Hope program. KPUG Bellingham,

occasionally fades up cochannel, but otherwise KJNP totally dominates the frequency on the North mini-Beverage. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

ALASKA 780, 1542-, KNOM Dec 30 Excellent reception. Heavilly modulated. Local Nome information at 15:43 (pool is closed), then back into modern music 'I was a dinosaur'. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

ALASKA 1080, 1834-, KUDO Dec 30 Massively strong, but with a transmitter problem. Clear modulation, but a regular broad band noise pulse, about once per second. Not sure of the cause otherwise. PSA against smoking pot. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

RUSSIA 6100, 0119-, Radio Rossii Dec 31 OK, there's a question. At 01:00, I'm hearing Radio Rossii quite well, parallel to other Radio Rossii transmitters, including 6085 from Krasnoyarsk. I was hoping this was from Kyzyl (a place I visited a couple of summers ago), but I also see Krasnoyarsk listed. Is there a way to tell the 2 apart? Reception was fair/good, while 6085 is much stronger. Searching through Stationlist, I see that Kyzyl is just 500 w, while Krasnoyarsk is 5 kW. Pretty good catch in either case. Krasnoyarsk 6085 is listed as 50 kW, which makes sense. I suspect that I'm hearing Krasnoyarsk, and not Kyzyl. I'll need to listen for local programming on 6085 to be sure, I suppose. As for Ulan Ude, it's listed as ND with 50 kW and was well heard up to 01:00 when BBC Oman comes on and spoils things!. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

RUSSIA 7230, 0200-, Radio Sakha Dec 31 Fun to listen to the various Russian SW sites. Yakutia seems to have the highest number of local programs, including from 01:10 to 02:00, with a local ID right before the TOH. Back into network news a second or two later. Included presumed Yakutian as well as Russian during these 50 minutes. Very good reception. No local programming at 02:10 noted. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

PIRATE 3255, 0206-, YHWH Dec 31 Presumably them, and thanks to Ron Howard for posting earlier today. Only very poorly heard in Masset so far. Will see if they get any stronger. I haven't heard them before. Tweaking further at 02:19, I can make out the fellow and most of his words, with concentration. Kind of monotonous delivery, though. Mentions of Yahweh. Fair now. I have to admit that my 7030+ has the edge in those really difficult in the mud stations. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

USA 9955, 1442-, WRMI Dec 31 Harry Robbins, chief engineer of WYFR and now WRMI interviewed by Jeff White on tune-in. Excellent reception. ID at 14:44:50. with email address of info@wrmi.net. Moments in Bible Prophecy follows. Nice to hear them well after a lot of years!. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

RUSSIA 180, 1504-, Radio Rossii Dec 31 Perhaps a last hurrah, as 6 Russian LW are heard this morning. Will they be there tomorrow? 153: Komsomolsk/Khabarovsk 1200 kW at fair/good level, 171 Yakutsk with 150 or 500 kW at fair level, 180 Petropavlosk-Kamchatskyi at excellent level (Z Novom Godom! just as I'm tuning at 15:10 UTC) listed with 150 kW. 189 Belogorsk with 1200 kW at good/very good level, 234 Magadan with 1000 kW at good level, and finally 279 Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk with 500 kW at very good level, except for Aerobeacon cochannels which are very plentiful in this area. That makes for 6 Russian LW channels on the same time which is very unusual. On top of that, Mongolian Radio on 164 was heard before 15:00 at fair level in addition, and very weak when rechecked at 15:22. The surprise of the morning, which generally was below average was the longevity of the LW channels. At 17:27, 153 and 180 are going strong, but with different feeds. 180 is // to 7320 and 5930 and 234. 153 is // to 189 and 279 with a rock music show. 171 seems to be very undermodulated, but is also // to the rock music show. The show was announced at 18:44 as EZ Tops, 'Live from Texas.'! Interesting, indeed! Still at good level on 189 at 18:45 (10:45 AM local time). (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

MYANMAR 5985.834, 1518-, Myanma Radio Dec 31 A very difficult channel here with too much splatter to comfortably listen. If they were in the clear, they would be at a comfortable level, but as it stands, there's splatter from CRI Russian (Huhhot), and CRI Xian in Japanese (exceptionally strong). Western music only during my listening period. The woman announcer has a very soft voice (like what Holy Tibet used to sound like) which also makes it very difficult for me to follow. Transmitter seems a bit unstable, with the signal smeared over the Perseus waterfall between 5985.819 and .849. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

JAPAN 828, 1550-, JOBB Dec 31 Just happened to be listening to JOBB when they ID'd at 15:50, and went into their usual sign-off procedure. Very good reception, but not at the same level as yesterday's excellent levels. A lot of domestic splatter this morning, it seems. Cochannel station(s) are heard weakly beneath. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

PAPUA NEW GUINEA 3365, 1605-, Radio Milne Bay Dec 31 Still going and improving as we approach LSR. Good reception. Not much else to be heard from PNG, if anyone else at all. Western music only. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

AUSTRALIA 2325, 1609-, ABC Northern Territorial Service Dec 31 Excellent reception, interviewing a pop group performer. 2485, Katherine is even better, and 4835 Alice Springs at armchair level. Nothing from Radio Symban since I've arrived. A fair amount of presumed power line noise this morning, too. Also static on the tropical bands. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

DIEGO GARCIA 4319, 1627-, AFN Dec 31 Almost good reception this morning, and the best I've heard them recently. Non-stop music. Rechecked the following evening at 02:00 and they're quite strong on 12759U at that time (2 Jan 2014). Already on this channel when checked at 01:37 UTC 3 January, 2014. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

SOUTH AFRICA 11800, 1759-, Radio Japan Dec 31 Excellent reception of English program. Transmitter came on just before 17:59, obliterating an otherwise strong Radio Liberty in Russian from Biblis. Nice to hear them at armchair level. After news, mostly reading letters and correcting African students learning Japanese. Transmitter cut out just before 18:29, before the ending of the show. Not very professional. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

RUSSIA 5940, 1910-, Radio Rossii Dec 31 I was checking for local Magadan programming as listed, but nothing but normal Radio Rossii programming at this time, // to 5930 and 7320. All very strong. Might just be due to the holiday?. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

RUSSIA 189, 2033-, Radio Rossii Dec 31 Still going strong at fair/good level, and I can also still hear 153 (poor), 171 (threshold), 234 (poor). Despite reports that Magadan is gone, I'm still hearing audio, so perhaps it's the other listed transmitter in Angarsk, Irkutsk?. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

ZANZIBAR 11735, 2056-, Zanzibar Broadcasting Corporation Dec 31 Excellent reception. Earlier, I think they had some transmitter issues, but all normal now. At 20:58 I'm sure I was listening to a New Year's count down, 2 minutes early??? Very enjoyable east African music. Continued until 21:00:25 when transmitter cut suddenly. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

UAE 1575, 0049-, Radio Farda Jan 1 Finally! After doing my antenna repairs (it's now 4:50 PM local), I'm hearing reasonable audio from UAE Dubai. First TA recorded since UTC 27 Dec 2013. Good audio, but only on my due north mini-Beverage. With each low tide, I have to go out and retrieve the wire that's under the sand, and usually skewed at right angles to the direction it's supposed to be. Now playing the Men from Down Under (at 00:52:45). Happy New Year to all!. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

SOUTH AFRICA 3320, 0306-, Radio Sonder Grense Jan 1 About the best I've ever heard them at good level. Earlier, I was hearing quite a lot of English, despite this being an Afrikaans service. Dawn approaching South Africa just now. Despite their strength, 3345, Channel Africa in English is only fair at best (but 100 kW beamed 5 degrees). 6155, however, is heard very well with a story about Nelson Mandela (250 kW/19 degrees). A nice way to round out 2013! Interesting that after an ID for Channel Africa and the purpose of the station, they went into multilingual IDs, including Portuguese and several others. Gongs at 03:23 followed by a speech

by Nelson Mandela. Started to fade a bit towards 03:30, with a lot of splatter from super powerful CKZU on 6160. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

AUSTRIA 6155, 0611-, Radio Oesterreich International Jan 1 What a pleasure to hear Austria again with a concert of Bach. German, of course, but a wonderful signal from the heart of Europe. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

NORTH AMERICAN PIRATES 6960, 0619-, Several New Year's eve pirates. Jan 1 Finally a pirate to hear on this visit, and yes, there's a pirate on 6960 in AM. He just mentioned that he didn't think he'd make it out to the west coast, but he's wrong! Hearing him at fair level with some pretty deep fades. Mentions of HF Underground. Several other pirates have popped up as well, including 6940 with a Allen Maxwell re-broadcast. Interesting, this pirate just mentioned him at 06:25:45 UTC. There's a big blob centered on 6953 which is producing a lot of noise. Another pirate just showed up on 6925U. He's the strongest of the lot so far. 6960 is measuring about 20 Hz high. Turtlehead Radio left the air at 06:45 UTC with their email address: turtleheadradio@gmail.com. Thanks for the broadcast! The Allen Maxwell pirate left the air at 06:48 to be replaced with a utility burst. That just leaves the 6960 pirate going, but he's in the big blob I'm getting between 6946.35 and 6960.75. Yuk! 6960 was actually coming up a bit before he signed off at 07:28:30. Happy New Year!. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

RUSSIA 11635, 0810-, Voice of Russia Jan 1 Clearly visible on the Perseus waterfall, but unable to decode anything other than 'DRM RUVR 2A. English Russian Federation. 13.60 kbps EEP. aac+ Mono. + MM (0.96 kbps). It did flip to Japanese for a second. I'm also seeing Kaliningrad but it's much weaker. 15 kW and 220 deg beam here. Interesting that there are several other 31 meter DRM transmissions on now. 9780 has REE from Noblejas, Spain with 50 kW beamed 50 degrees, but too weak to decode, while RNZI is very strong on 9870, but still having some drop-outs with listed 25 kW. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

RUSSIA 12095, 0824-, Radio Tatarstan Jan 1 Very good reception, besides a medium pitched hum. Surprised to hear them on such a high frequency in the middle of winter. In Tatar at tune-in. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

AUSTRALIA 2368, 1518-, Radio Symban Jan 1 Just barely able to make out a carrier slightly off frequency on 2368.471. Presuming this is Symban, but far too weak to hear any audio. First sign of them I've seen during this stay. Australians on 2325 and 2485 are particularly strong today. No one else on 120 meters this morning except for 2850 North Korea. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

INDONESIA 3325 , 1523-, RRI Palangkaraya Jan 1 Particularly strong today, and all alone on frequency. Interesting local music that I'd find hard to place. Lone male vocalist and unusual stringed instrument. Some splatter from too close North Korea on 3320. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

PAPUA NEW GUINEA 3365, 1527-, Radio Milne Bay Jan 1 Very nice reception as well from PNG on this lone channel. NBC ID at 15:27, 'The Voice of PNG'. About the strongest I've heard them in years. Interesting bit at 16:06, with 'NBC National Radio. Celebrating 40 years of broadcasting', and they played a tape from lowering the colonial flag for the last time. Excellent reception. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

AUSTRALIA 4835, 1536-, ABC Northern Territorial Service Jan 1 Extremely strong, armchair copy with Nightline program talking about marijuana use in Colorado (move to legalize recreational sales). 1 300 800 222 is the number to call. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

RUSSIA 5900, 1613-, VOR Jan 1 Good reception in English, but needing to use USB to avoid the DRM signal centered on 5895 from Bulgaria! Interview about the amnesty of Khorodovsky with Boris Makarov. Next on the program was: 'Eric Snowden, what is next?', and Kalashnikov. Sure enough, nothing at all from the previous from 4960. 'Radio VR, news' at 16:20. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

VIETNAM 675, 1700-, Voice of Vietnam 1 Jan 1 Very nice reception this morning. Left the air at 17:00 without any sign off procedure. I suspect there were several other Vietnamese stations on today as well. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

SOUTH AFRICA 4880, 1732-, SW Radio Africa Jan 1 Good reception this morning with heavily accented English. Weak cochannel which may be AIR Lucknow. At 17:36 announced that this was the New Year's Special, and gave internet address at SWRadio.com. No sign of ELWA on 4760 this morning. VOA Botswana was also very strong on 4930. Angola was audible with music as well on 4949.758, weak but in the clear. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

ANGOLA 4949.757, 1739-, Radio Nacional Angola Jan 1 Best I've heard them so far on this DXpedition with low level, but clear music. No one else on this frequency. Portuguese DJ at 17:41. Very lively programming!. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

SOLOMON ISLANDS 9545, 1948-, SIBC Jan 1 I'm figuring this is the SIBC. Open carrier, and a rather broad carrier, centered on 9545.018 kHz. S 3.5 signal. Minimal splatter from BSKSA on 9555 (at good/very good level). I saw the same carrier last night, and didn't put two and two

together, so thanks to the folks at DXLD who solved the mystery (I wondered why I didn't hear anything on 6080 overnight). On UTC January 3rd, I checked again at 04:55 and confirm that the transmitter is right on 9545.000, at a time when there shouldn't be anyone else on this frequency. Signal is too weak to ascertain any audio, though. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

CHINA 1251, 1954-, CNR 1 Jan 1 Quite something. Why I enjoy DXing from Masset in the depths of winter. 11:55 AM local, and I'm hearing Chinese at good level on this frequency. Neat!. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

NORTH AMERICAN PIRATE 6925, 2328-, Radio True North Jan 1 Huge signal, so the first big signal pirate I've heard this time in Masset. Measured on 6924.723. Typical off-channel and strength for BOR or Radio True North. No ID yet. Returned at 00:34 to hear Radio True North booming in on 6944.918. Checked the tape, and at about 00:19, he was asked to move away from 6925 to this frequency, which he proceeded to do. Transmitter is slowly drifting upward. Now on .922 at 00:40. Very strong! Heard in Germany and the Czech Republic. Ran down to the beach to email them, and noted acknowledgement just before 01:00. Thanks!. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

ICELAND 189, 2337-, Rikisutvarpid Ras Jan 1 Nice signal at 3:30 PM in the local afternoon. Several other LW stations from Europe are just at threshold, but only on my due North Beverage. First Icelandic reception on this DXpedition. Checking later after 01:15, I hear a number of LW, but all just barely (except for Iceland): 153, 162 (fair level), 171, 177,198, 207 (fair, if not for aero beacons),. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

ALASKA (NON) 580, 2345-, KRSA Jan 1 Noted the absence of this station, which is usually one of the regulars, and heard just about all year around with the car radio. Not on since I've been in Masset this time. ?Gone for good, or moved to FM?. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

SRI LANKA 11905, 0114-, SLBC Jan 2 Carrier came on at 01:14:15, then an Arabic sounding IS at 01:14:45 in presumed Hindi. Cochannel CNR 6 is a minor nuisance only, and overwhelmed by the strong SLBC signal. Victor Goonetileke is pleased to provide verification to victor.goonetileke@gmail.com. I'll do so once back in Victoria. Strong reception, even a hint of short/long path propagation. Radio Ceylon mentioned at 01:44. Still not a word of English noted. Rechecked at 02:45, and it's now in English with an American accented religious program. Superb reception the next night (UTC 3 January), with just minimal co-channel interference from China, for a change! Tuned in at 01:20. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

TAJIKISTAN 7245, 0155-, Voice of Tajikistan Jan 2 Open carrier with hum noted on tune-in. At exactly 02:00, started with music, then at 02:01 the Tajik National Anthem until 02:03, then into

Tajik, with a short Russian ID. 'Salem Aleichum' heard as well. Marred tonight by hams on frequency. Fair to good only. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

?INTRUDER 3242, 0207-, MMT and MT Net Jan 2 2 ham sounding fellas. One MT and the other MMT. A MARS network? They mentioned a net, but I only hear 2 fellas. Clearly radio amateurs rather than true intruders. They know what they're talking about. Mentioned the air force station in WA, so must be an official network. Well heard. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

SLOVAKIA (NON) 6040, 0100-, Radio Slovakia International Jan 2 Just for completeness, checked the frequencies of the supposed return to SW of RSI. Not a peep so far, especially on 6040 and 9440. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

NORTH AMERICAN PIRATE 6925, 0224-, Undercover Radio Jan 2 Rechecked the pirate band, and noted 6925 in AM active again. This time, it's Undercover Radio. The band has suddenly gotten noisy, and more difficult to follow programming. The transmitter must be having a problem, as Dr. Benway sounds like he's in side band, but the signal is in AM. Acknowledging several reports. Checked WWV at 18 min past the hour and noted: SF: 160 A: 12, and K at 00:00 was 3. Past 24 hours saw moderate activity with R2 blackouts, while the next 24 hours are predicting minor events with G1 geomagnetic storms and R1 radio blackouts, so interesting times. Dr. Benway announced his email address at 02:29, then went off the air, and when he came back he announced 'way lower power' and corresponding more in the mud here. Gave address as undercoverradio@gmail.com. I think he knows he's having problems. He's running 100 watts peak now (02:31). Another pirate came on just now on 6945 in AM. Dr. Benway seems to have increased his power again,as he's way back up at 02:34. He mentions FM mode, so perhaps that's why he sounds strange. Sure enough narrow FM is possible, but he's too weak to do him justice. Nice ID at 02:37. Left the air at 02:39:05 UTC. Nope, I think he's back a few seconds later with music. Nope, my narrow FM simply won't work with the weak signal. AM sounds quite OK. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

RUSSIA 11790, 0610-, Radio Tatarstan Jan 2 Kai Ludwig asks whether 11790 at 04:10 and 9895 at 06:10 is still on (UTC January 2, 2014). I can confirm that 11790 came on at 04:10, and as I type this, there's an open carrier on 9895. At 06:10, the identical transmission began. Interesting, though, is that they always ID'd in Russian, but both of these transmissions were identical, and no Russian noted at the beginning of the transmission. Not sure the significance of this, if any. Mentions of Tatarstan at 06:11:45. Good reception for both. The 04:10 was again confirmed on on January 3rd. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

NORTH AMERICAN PIRATE 6940, 0617-, Radio True North Jan 2 Unidentified station on measured 6939.934 kHz. Very professional sounding, like an international broadcaster, but who? January 10th and January 13th. Then went into Russian. Hold it, I can hear a well known

Ukrainian Christmas carol. 'Oy Radushia zemle, sin Bozhyi narodyvsia', which translates, 'Let the world rejoice, the Son of God is born'. Then went back into English (a Bible reading). Very weak. At 06:25, 'Oh Holy Night' . You are listening to 'Radio True North' ID, darn! I guess they were relaying something from ?Moscow, as I heard mention of Moscow as well. Oh well. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

JAPAN 828, 1557-, Osaka Jan 2 Conditions not that great this morning, so I parked on 828 and noted Russian music, something I normally never hear on Japanese stations. No language lessons this morning, but instead a concert of some sort. Also noted that the NHK2 network did not sign-off at the normal time (by 16:00), as it's still going at 16:01. Signals not particularly strong today, but these first tier stations get through no matter what, at excellent levels. At 16:07 there were in fact Russian lessons, but these seem locally produced, and nothing like the other more traditional language lessons. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

JAPAN 693, 1620-, JOAB Jan 2 Signed off this morning at 16:20. Excellent level, of course. Also heard 702, 774 (but not 747!), 828, 873, 909, 1017, 1089, 1125, 1377, 1386, and 1467 before the prolonged sign-off completed. One of the few times that one can hear the call letters on some of these stations. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

INDONESIA 3325, 1645-, RRI Palangkaraya Jan 2 Surprised at the dawn enhancement, which really improved the signal which earlier had been quite mediocre. Same for 3365, Radio Milne Bay which was only poor/fair earlier, but quite listenable now (08:45 AM local, and just starting to light up outside). The latter has been using 'The Voice of PNG, 90.7' IDs. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

BANGLADESH 4750, 1701-, Bangladesh Betar Jan 2 Nice reception with time pips, and an ID, well over CNR 1 China, for a change. RRI Makassar had signed off already. Both seem to be on frequency, compared to RRI which is always low. I'm not able to differentiate the 2 transmitters with the zoom function of the Perseus. BD left the air at a few seconds past 17:05, leaving CNR 1 as the sole occupant of the channel. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

RUSSIA 648, 1736-, Radio Free Asia Jan 2 Excellent reception of RFA in Korean. Domestic splatter is pretty much gone, and signal is very strong. Not often heard here due to strong 650 KENI Anchorage splatter. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

CHINA 1593, 1740-, CNR 1 Jan 2 Not signing off at 17:35, it seems. Still quite strong, although starting to fade now. // to 6125 and hundreds of others!!. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

ANGOLA 4760, 1751-, Radio Nacional Angola Jan 2 About to report that there were no signs of Angola today, when it suddenly popped up, with it's characteristic low modulation and off channel, measured today on 4949.754. No sign of ELWA for many days now, despite frequent checks. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

UNID 9705, 1800-, VOA Jan 2 I was looking for the recently reported Eritrean back on 9705 to 18:00. But, instead, I heard at 18:00, a VOA ID and sign-off, with transmitter cutting at 18:00:45. Nothing in my current lists. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

RUSSIA 7320, 1814-, Radio Rossii Jan 2 Setting up a timed recording, when I noticed that Radio Rossii was playing an English version of 'New York, New York', sung by a Russian speaker with a heavy accent. Unusual to say the least! These are sick transmitters with loud persistent hum, and the same for the 5930, and 5940 transmitters, with the Magadan transmitters worst, while 5930 has a blob on 5928 which doesn't make for nice listening. All otherwise exceptionally strong. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

INDIA 9870, 0124-, AIR Vividh Bharati Jan 3 Hindi service with superb reception, and lovely Indian music. At first I thought it was a DRM transmission due to the strength, but no, it's just very powerful! Such lovely music, I could listen to it for hours and hours!. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

SOMALILAND 7120, 0350-, Radio Hargeisa Jan 3 I haven't been trying for Hargeisa since coming to Masset, but on my last evening, there they are at fair strength. Just past LSR, so I should have checked at sign-on. Mostly talk in Somali, of course. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

USA 3195, 0430-, WWRB Jan 3 Checked for WOR, and Glenn was already in progress at 04:30, but must have just started, as he was only on Angola. Good with lots of static crashes. Of course, my antennae are not aimed to the US at all. A higher frequency would work better for us, even 60 meters. Concluded at 04:56, with the transmitter cutting off a few seconds later without any ID. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

SOLOMON ISLANDS 9545, 0454-, SIBC Jan 3 Very weak audio, just above threshold, but seemingly improving. Perhaps as Honiara gets to LSS, some greyline enhancement just might occur. Only heard on my BOG, which should cover the South Pacific well. Wish I could listen to an internet audio feed to confirm! Measured exactly on frequency. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

SOLOMON ISLANDS 9545, 1502-, SIBC Jan 3 Quite strong open carrier when first checked at 14:55. Continued to be there, but faded gradually. I was hoping for some content at 19:00, but still an OC, so likely 20:00 start up, but I have to shut down. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

ALASKA 9655, 1503-, KNLS Jan 3 Normally KNLS totally dominates here in Masset, but for the last few days, Radio Romania International in Arabic dominates the channel! We must be getting the back end of the antenna beam from Romania to the middle east. Both are quite strong, and listenable if you ignore the other language. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)

BANGLADESH 4750, 1541-, Bangladesh Betar Jan 3 English news with BD dominating the frequency well over the Chinese and RRI, with RRI being second best, and the Chinese speaker weakest (for a change). Good/very good reception. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)