[HCDX] DXing at the transmitter site

["Karel Honzik" <karel.honzik@xxxxxx>]

The following text describes my stay at the transmitter site and asks for
help to identify my tentative catch: HLAZ Korea 1566 kHz
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The leadership of the CSDXC held its autumn session at the PODEBRADY
transmitter site, 50 km east of Prague, the Czech Republic (central Europe),
from Friday afternoon (NOV 3) until Saturday afternoon (NOV 4).
The Podebrady transmitter site was built in the 20´s and later it was a very
active SW site. Now the majority of antenna masts have been dismantled. But
still two 150 metres high masts are staying (incl. 4 lower ones) with
dipoles between them. A very sporadic LW utility transmissions are now
running from the site. Its large building is under reconstruction which will
bring it back to its original architectonical shape of the 20´s. It is
planned to open a museum of radio in this building. There is a lot of space
within the site, excellent for beverage antennas. But - first come first
served - a golf club is hiring the fields, converting them to greens. Even
one of the empty transmitter halls is now a training hall for golf. But it
is not the most important thing I want to write about...

We were accomodated in a hostel which is a part of the site. I had with me a
GRUNDIG Satellite 700 and from my room´s window I could run 20 meters of
wire to the only one small tree in reach.
On Friday (NOV 3) at 1720 UTC I started tuning around the MW band. When I
came to its almost top, I found a strong religious music on 1566 kHz. Of
course, the first what came on my mind was HLAZ South Korea (FEBC). I heard
this station in September with a Russian program (1630-1700). At that time
the signal was weak and only thanks to my knowledge of Russian I could
identify the station (clear ID at the end).

But now the signal was strong and clear. I was wondering what I was going to
hear when somebody starts talking. Then the song was over and I heard a
language which was more like Turkish (but not pure Turkish) than Korean
which is on schedule. But then a woman started talking and her language
could be well Korean. It was amazing. The program was religious, no doubt
about it. The signal was fading slowly out and in again and it was strong
and clear in its peaks. The "two languages" were changing again and again.
That one which I thought was Korean was the more frequent one.
There were three other people staying around my table and they were not
believing their ears. Nobody of them ever heard such strong signal on this
(now not so much crowded) frequency of 1566 kHz.

Unfortunately I had no tape recorder with me, so I could not tape what
seemed to be an ID at 1800 UTC. A very clear signal again (that is not usual
at full hour, is it?) and although the woman did not say "HLAZ" exactly, I
think I noticed "Asea" in her announcement. Then an IS followed - tones
played on electronic instrument. I could transcribe them as this:  _ _ - _ -
(low line is low tone and vice versa).

I heard the station from 1730 to 1900, the best signal was until ca. 1830,
then it was getting worse and fadings were deeper. But still I could hear an
IS again at 1900.
At this time our session started so I had to leave my receiver for the next
5 hours...

I would like to ask those who know HLAZ more than I do to write me if it
really was this station I have been listening too. I have no other idea what
it could be, so strong, so clear, with no QRM at all.
But the "two languages" still confuse me quite a lot.

I have been thinking about the possibility of the reception improvement made
by huge antenna systems running just above my tiny wire. The dipoles are
running east-west so maybe their diagrams are advantageous for signals
comming from north-north-east which is the case of HLAZ.

And what more - in the morning I found out that about 20 metres from my
antenna there was a 150 meters long downlead hanging from one of the huge
antennas. Down in high grass it was fixed to a grounding pipe. Did also this
downlead improve the reception? I do not think I ever heard about somebody
DXing at the transmitter site. It would not be possible also at us if the
site was not out of operation. Due to lack of time (filled by monitoring of
this only one station) I have not found any other exceptional signals in the
MW band. But I could watch very good signals of transmitters in Kaliningrad
and Baltic countries (north-north-east direction too).

Will somebody write about his experience and ideas?

GOOD DX,
Karel Honzik
the Czech Republic
************************

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