[HCDX] Re: Hard-Core-DX digest, Vol 1 #635 : CRI Mediumwave to Australia

["Bob Padula" <bobpadula@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello All,

Bill Whitacre's assessment of mediumwave propagation into Australia is
unfortunately misleading and based on a flawed perception of LF propagation into
Austraia.

For many years, CRI (and before that "Radio Peking", and "Radio Beijing") has
broadcast to Australia on mediumwave during our local evening period, originally
using 1340 kHz, which changed to 1341 kHz when Region 3 moved to the 9 kHz
channel plan in 1978.

I QSLd the 1340 outlet in February 1966.

The transmission is promoted for "Asia and Australia", 1200-1400, for B01
parallel with HF 9730 (1200-1300), 11980 (1200-1400) and 15180 (1300-1400).

It often gives quite good reception across Australia on domestic and car radios,
frequently over-riding the Australian stations co-channel.

MW services to Australia for our evening reception from other Asian broadcsters
also includes the Voice of Vietnam 1242 kHz.

Bill may be interested in learning that the former VOA operation at Okinawa,
1178 kHz, was a regular visitor each night, easily audible on simple household
radios, as was VOA-Philippines 1140 kHz (moved to 1143 kHz in 1978). Radio Free
Asia, Thailand, 1580 kHz (now IBB/R. Thailand 1575 kHz) was easily heard each
night, as it is now.

The conversion to full-time operation for most Australian MW broadcasters from
the 1970's,
the migration to the 9 kHz plan, increased TVI, ozone-depletion effects ove the
Southern Hemisphere (heightened ionospheric absorption), RFI pollution in urban
and suburban areas, Australian allocations on nearly all frequencies, have
virtually killed off serious "foreign" MW DX from this country for most
domiciled hobbyists. Good work has of course been done by folk on DX-peditions,
or with the capability for setting up directional Beverage antennas of several
hundred metres from rural locations, but not all of us are interested, or
willing, to sit huddled in the backs of cars in pouring rain in swamps in the
middle of the night!

In fact there are only three channels on which there are no official Australian
allocations - 1035 kHz and 909 khz. That has been done to avoid problems from/to
the New Zealand
stations Wellington (1035), Auckland (1396) and Napier (909).

I got to 120 MW countries QSLd from Melbourne, but very small returns in recent
years. I'm not in to domestic Australian DX!

Many of us use indoor loops, with some degree of effectiveness, but that will
not magically restore ozone-depleted ionospheric degeneration! If the signals
aren't coming out of the sky, no antenna or super-duper receiver will make them
audible!

Prior to the above destruction, all-day reception here in Melbourne of New
Zealand stations was normal during our winter months, such as Wellington 2YA 570
kHz and 2YC 660 kHz. No fancy receivers or antennas needed!

In the 1960's, during the summer months, we regularly heard several BBC MW
outlets during our sunrise period, such as Westerglen (Scotland) 809 kHz,
Nothern Ireland 1340 khz, and the one on 647 kHz. These were audible on domestic
"mantel" valve radios with only a few feet of antenna - no loops or anything
exotic!

If you're interested, get hold of the 1969/70 edition of "How to Listen to the
World", where I did a story titled "Mediumwave Reception from Australia" - the
principles are still the same some 30 years later!

Regards

Bob Padula, Melbourne.







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