[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
[HCDX] Loggings from the Amazon
My apologies for the tardiness of this report, but hopefully it may be of some interest to you as reports from the Amazon and the Galapagos Is. are rather sparse. I spent three weeks in Quito, Ecuador and environs, the Napo River (a major tributary of the Amazon), and finally the Galapagos Is during three weeks in March. My listening equipment consisted of a Kaito/Degen 1103 receiver (highly recommended!), with a RS wind up antenna of about 5 or 6 meters in length. I recorded many hours (still to be listened to, by the way) on a tiny iRiver mp3 recorder which was capable of recording some 70 or more hours of time in mono mp3 format. Pretty amazing compared to the old days of cassette tapes, and then MD. I did occasionally encounter some noise from the mp3 display, but this was usually alleviated by moving the mp3 recorder away from the receiver. The jungle was quite amazing (radio wise) as it was exceptionally quiet, especially during times of no local power. At our jungle location, we had generator power from 1800 to 2200 local only, which was quite nice. Although not noticeable for the most part, there still was a slight amount of noise during those hours, but still far far less than what I experience in Victoria. It's like going back in time to the days without the myriads of electronics that pollute our RF environment these days. Quito generally was pretty quiet in our location as well. The Galapagos, for the most part were a write-off, as being on a boat made it next to impossible to do any serious listening. Hope you enjoy the report. One day I'll create some audio links to the various stations heard. Keep your eye on www.dxer.ca. ..........Walt Salmaniw, Victoria,BC.
BRAZIL 5035, 1030-, unid Mar 16 Again 2 stations listed on 5035.1, Radio Aparecida, and Radio Educacao Rural. Good at times, with mentions of Amazonas, so I'm leaning with the latter station as a possible. Portuguese programming. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
BOLIVIA 4409.8, 0315-, Radio Eco Mar 15 A presumed logging, still on in Spanish. My lists showed a 0200 sign off. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
BOLIVIA 4409.8, 0013-, Radio Eco Mar 13 Fair to good reception with muddy audio. Pretty sure I heard an ID for Radio Eco at 0015. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
BOLIVIA 4900, 1002-, Radio San Miguel Mar 16 Nice ID, and again at 10:08. The only QRM was from my mp3 recorder, otherwise good reception in Spanish. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
BOLIVIA 6155, 2311-, Radio Fides Mar 14 Fair reception with Spanish talk. I sometimes hear this one better in Victoria. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
BOLIVIA 6165, 1044-, Radio Logos Mar 16 I spent some time searching for this one. At 0857 only a Chinese station could be heard. At this check, indeed there was some religious and possibly Spanish programming. At 10:53 there was a clear ID for 'Radio Trans-Mundial'. At that time, the language sounded more indigenous than Spanish. Perhaps someone with more information about this station could shed some more light about their scheduled programs. An open carrier came on at 10:57, but the presumed Radio Logos programming could still be heard. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
BRAZIL 3375.1, 0237-, Radio Municipal Mar 15 I was looking for the Peruvian, but instead heard Portuguese talk at 0243 and otherwise mostly EZL music. At poor to fair level only. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
BRAZIL 4754.4, 0322-, Radio Educacao Rural Mar 15 Presumably them with Portuguese talk, with many mentions of Brasil. Off in mid-sentence at 0337 without an ID. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
CANADA 6160, 0857-, CKZN Mar 16 Local CBC St. John's ID and CBC programming at fair level. Not bad at all, all the way down to the Amazon jungle! Nice to hear news from home. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
CANADA 9625, 1203-, CBC Northern Quebec Service Mar 12 Again, interesting to see how this domestic service is reasonably well heard way down in Quito. Radio One ID followed by Montreal and Quebec weather forecasts. (Salmaniw, Quito, Ecuador)
CHINA 17490, 1220-, China Radio International Mar 12 Very good reception of CRI with English business news. (Salmaniw, Quito, Ecuador)
COLOMBIA 6010, 1645-, La Voz de tu Conciencia Mar 14 Very good signal in mid day with an 'Egglesia Cristiana' ID at 1657. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
COLOMBIA 6010.1, 1558-, La Voz de tu Conciencia Mar 15 Excellent reception throughout the day with a slightly overmodulated signal. One of a handful of tropical band and 49 meter band stations heard all day in the Napo jungles. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
COLOMBIA 6035, 1605-, La Voz del Guaviare Mar 15 Excellent reception and ID at this time in Spanish. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
COLOMBIA 6035, 1650-, La Voz del Guaviare Mar 14 Very good reception with a full ID in Spanish. Local ads for Guaviare at 1656, then ID as 'La Voz del Graviare, la revolucion'. No ID at TOH, though. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
ECUADOR 690, 1728-, HCJB Mar 14 One of few MW stations audible in the jungles of Ecuador during the day. Good reception with Spanish religious programming. Very slick and professional compared to the numerous SW stations I've heard. Noted to be parallel with 6050 at 19:45. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
ECUADOR 3279.6, 0355-, La Voz del Napo Mar 12 Very good reception, as I would expect, since I was in the middle of the area for a number of days. Mentions of Ecuador's largest city and port, Guayaquil. Ecuadorian news, with mentions of the presidente. At 0358 gave a Radio Maria Ecuador ID, then mentioned Radio Maria Paraguay. (Salmaniw, Quito, Ecuador)
ECUADOR 3279.6, 0229-, La Voz del Napo Mar 15 As expected, excellent reception with Radio Maria IDs. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
ECUADOR 4814.9, 0232-, Radio El Bien Pastor Mar 13 One of relatively few Ecuadorians still on SW. Very good reception with modern LA music. (Salmaniw, Quito, Ecuador)
ECUADOR 4919, 0310-, Radio Quito Mar 13 Excellent reception, as I would expect with Andean EZL music, and ID at 0322 as 'Radio Quito, La Voz de la Capital', as I heard it. (Salmaniw, Quito, Ecuador)
FRANCE 3965, 0404-, RFI Mar 12 Good reception of Radio France International with French news. (Salmaniw, Quito, Ecuador)
GALAPAGOS ISLANDS 88.70, 1245-, Radio Santa Cruz Mar 19 Just a brief comment on the Galapagos. During the day, the entire MW spectrum is simply absent of any signals. None. My FM bandscan showed nothing at all in common with my 2005 WRTH. I do hope that the newer versions are more accurate. Nice ID for Radio Santa Cruz at 12:45. Other FM stations noted were: Radio Maria on 100.70 in mono (heard at 0500), 101.9 (something Estacion) sterio, 95.9 in stereo with classical music, 97.1 in stereo weakly heard, 98.3 in stereo with an open carrier only. I never did hear anything else but an open carrier. 98.9 in stereo at fair level, with an ad for 'Wilson's' at 12:36. 100.70 mono station with low modulation but good reception otherwise. Due to the very early starts and long days in the water and hiking on land, plus the limitations of trying to listen on a boat, I did very little monitoring during this part of my trip. SW was often quite good especially on the higher bands during the day. (Salmaniw, Galapagos Is, Ecuador)
GUATEMALA 4780, 0229-, Radio Cultural Coatan Mar 13 Nice ID at 0230, with 'Buenos Noches' and s/off at 0232. Good reception. (Salmaniw, Quito, Ecuador)
HONDURAS 3250, 0345-, Radio Luz y Vida Mar 12 Very good reception with English religious programming, with a generic ID at 0348 as the 'International broadcast of the Evangelistic Faith Mission, Bedford, Indiana'. They gave several addresses, including www.efm-missions.org. Then switched over to Spanish at much lower modulation, and sign off announcements. Finally, Buenos Noches, then a long NA and off at 03:52. (Salmaniw,Quito, Ecuador)
HONDURAS 3340, 0402-, HRMI Mar 12 Fair reception with EZL Spanish music. (Salmaniw, Quito, Ecuador)
HONDURAS 4820, 0305-, La Voz Evangelica Mar 14 Spanish evangelical programming, and easy listening LA music. Spoiled by Codar, and a presumed logging. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
HUNGARY 3975, 0406-, Radio Budapest Mar 12 Fair to good reception of Radio Budapest's Russian service. Interesting to see how well they propagate to South America!. (Salmaniw, Quito, Ecuador)
INDIA 4830, 0112-, AIR Jammu, Kashmir Mar 16 Fair to good reception with Indian music and then a possible ID at 0120. Time pips at 0130 and into news in a local language. When rechecked at 0215 there appeared to be cochannel interference from what sounded like illegal hams. Interesting feeling lying under a mosquito netting in the Amazon jungle, listening to All India Radio!!!. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
INDIA 4840, 0131-, AIR Mumbai Mar 16 Good to excellent reception with an ID as '100.7 FM' at 00:35. They mentioned a 'Consumer hotline number' at 01:31. The best heard Indian that night. Much better than I can ever hear them in Victoria. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
INDIA 4860, 0140-, AIR Delhi A Mar 16 Fair to good reception of this one. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
INDIA 4910, 0141-, AIR Jaipur Mar 16 Fair reception with Indian music. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
INDIA 4920, 0142-, AIR Chennai A Mar 16 Fair reception. They mentioned, 'visit us at www.????'. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
INDIA 11620, 2045-, All India Radio Mar 13 Very good reception of the English service of AIR heard signing on at 2045 shortly after our arrival in the Napo Valley...a major tributary of the Amazon in Ecuador. Had some strange looks when the AIR interval signal wafted across my jungle hut! Parallels included 7410 (poor to fair), 9445 (superb), 9950 (fair), and 11715 (fair). (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
PERU 3234.9, 1206-, Radio Luz y Sonido Mar 14 Spanish religious programming at fair level. Tentative, as no ID heard. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
PERU 3329.6, 1215-, Radio Ondas del Huallaga Mar 14 Interesting to listen to this Spanish broadcast, with many mentions of Inca and 'sol'. A speech or sermon of sorts. Again a presumed logging as no ID heard, although I left the MP3 recorder going if possible, and these need to be studied. (Salmaniw, Napo River , Ecuador)
PERU 4386.6, 0249-, Imperio Radio Mar 15 Very good reception with Spanish religious sermon which went on until 0259 and then was cut off. A time check followed, although I didn't hear any ID. They mentioned 'Santiago', and 'Iglesia', and 'manana'. Reception became even better when the local power shut off at 0300 (2200 local). Excellent full ID at 0312. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
PERU 4386.6, 2342-, Imperio Radio Mar 13 Peruvians dominated the tropical bands in the Ecuadorian Amazon region. This logging is presumed, since I heard no ID. Fair to good reception. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
PERU 4386.6, 1102-, Imperio Radio, La Voz de Salvacion Mar 16 Many ads with mentions of Lima. Good except for some deep fades. Nice ID for La Voz de Salvacion at 11:21. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
PERU 4486, 0016-, Radio Frecuencia Mar 13 Good level except for buzzing audio, with Andean music. Much better using SSB. Modulation was low. The transmitter cut out at 0023, but came back shortly after. I left the MP3 recorder on, so I'll have to check the recording for any good ID. Checked at 0032 when the modulation was much better. They then went into announcements which was still going on at 0115. Similar style to what I've heard from the Solomon Is and PNG with the radio being the best way to reach family members. (Salmaniw, Quito, Ecuador)
PERU 4746.8, 2358-, Radio Huanta 2000 Mar 12 Lovely full ID heard. As luck would have it, I didn't have my MP3 recorder hooked up to get the ID, but managed to snag a few later on. This station was heard at the Thermal Spa at Papallacta near Quito, but at higher elevation still....somewhere around 13000 feet ASL! Still there at 0117, but off when rechecked at 0220. (Salmaniw, Quito, Ecuador)
PERU 4775, 0250-, Radio Tarma Mar 14 Quite a good signal except for a buzzing utility QRM. Full ID at 0300 as 'Transmitte Radio Tarma, desde ?'. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
PERU 4824.4, 2346-, La Voz de la Selva Mar 15 Good reception. An interesting station as much of the music was English, which is a rarity in the Andes region. I heard 'Don't you love me baby?' initially. Slight het from 4825, probably Brasil. They mentioned 'Rock n' Roll'. An ad at 2358 mentioned Iquitos, and then a Peruvian congress ad for a Norman ???. No obvious ID at the TOH, but as I was off to supper, I left the mp3 recorder running. The carrier cut suddenly at 0102, so presumably I'll find an ID somewhere in there. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
PERU 4835, 0130-, Radio Maranon Mar 16 A presumed logging with Spanish music at fair levels. I rechechecked at 02:47. Good reception at that time with many political ads. Did suffer from a buzzing utility. Still there at 0305, but shortly afterwards either gone, or overwhelmed by the ute. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
PERU 4950, 0144-, Radio Madre de Dios Mar 16 Fair to good with Spanish programming, mostly over cochannel AIR. Brief announcement at 02:02 with an ID, I beleive, and then off. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
PERU 5014.6, 0317-, Radio Altura Mar 14 Good to very good reception except for a very weak het with modern Spanish music. Nice ID at 0327 and again at 0330 as 'Radio Altura, musica'. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
PERU 5015, 1014-, unid Mar 16 Two Peruvians are listed here, Radio Juliaca on 5014.5 and Radio Altura on 5014.6. Fair level with Andean music. Not sure which of the two. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
PERU 5460.3, 2340-, Radio Emisora Bolivar Mar 14 Presumed reception. Fair to good with Latin music, but quite a bit of static crashes and low modulation making reception more difficult than it should have been. Time check at 2353 and then the ID: 'Este es, Radio Bolivar'. So not a presumed logging after all!. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
PERU 5470.8, 1115-, Radio San Nicolas Mar 16 Looking for the sign-on. Nothing at 11:15, but instead signed on at 11:30, but unfortunately spoiled by the choppy ute station adjacent. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
PERU 5470.8, 1120-, Radio San Nicolas Mar 15 Good reception except for a choppy utility station immediately adjacent ruining reception. A presumed logging. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
PERU 5486.7, 1705-, La Reyna de la Selva Mar 14 A presumed logging at 1:05pm local with fair to good reception. The frequency is approximate and presumed as the Kaito 1103 only has 1 kHz resolution, although with SSB one has an idea of approximately where above or below the the kHz reading the station is transmitting. Spanish talk, with mentions of 'Policia Nacional' and 'Ecuador'. Also heard 'nostra patria'. I recorded via the mp3 recorder past 1800. At 1805 I noted music and ads and mentions of 'Amazonas'. One of the regulars heard during the daytime in the Napo jungles. At 18:06:30, mentioned 'Departemente de Amazonas', and 'La congress Nacional'.(or something like that....Spanish is not a language I understand). There are elections upcoming, and therefore many many ads for congressmen. Finally caught an ID at 19:42. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
PERU 6114.9, 2315-, Radio Union Mar 14 Good reception except for a het, with Radio Union ID at 23:18. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
PERU 6173.8, 2309-, Radio Tawantinsuyo Mar 14 Not really a logging. Rather a good het audible on this frequency, but I couldn't make out any audio. I listened again at 11:03 on March 15th and heard them with fair to good reception except for the het, while in the Napo jungle, and before the local power came on. This would be an easy logging with a better receiver. (Salmaniw,Napo River, Ecuador)
PERU 6193.5, 2307-, Radio Cusco Mar 14 Relatively strong signal, but with a het from 6195 making life unpleasant. There's no USB/LSB on the Kaito, just SSB and no notch, of course, making it impossible to get rid of the het. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
PERU 6520.4, 2301-, Radio Paucartambo Mar 14 A tentative logging as no ID heard. Generally poor reception with barely audible voice. (Salmaniw,Napo River, Ecuador)
PERU 6895, 1615-, La Voz del Campesino Mar 14 Excellent reception with Cuban sounding music. At 1622, a TC for 22 past. ID at 1632, followed by many political ads. I heard many many such ads in the days to come, as there are congressional elections upcoming in Peru. One of the strongest stations heard in the Amazon. I remember them as regulars on their old frequency above 6955. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
PERU 9720, 2325-, Radio Victoria Mar 14 Nice ID at 23:28. Good reception, but not as good as parallel 6020.2 which was good to very good. Listening in the jungle at 11:20 on March 15th, 6020.2 was heard with very good to excellent reception except for a het. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
RUSSIA 7320, 0444-, Radio Rossii Apr 14 How times have changed! Radio Rossii with the soundtrack of the 'Phantom of the Opera'. Fair reception from Magadan. In parallel with 5920, also Magadan under WBOH, 5940 poor/fair (Magadan). (Salmaniw, Victoria, BC). Sorry, this is a logging back here in Victoria!
TAJIKISTAN 4635, 0235-, Tajik Radio Mar 16 Fair reception in presumed Tajik, with many static crashes. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
UKRAINE 5880, 0340-, Radio Ukraine International Mar 12 More historical interest, now that the A06 season has begun, but still interesting to see how well RUI was heard in Ecuador, including the Amazon and Galapagos Is. I regularly monitored them. Normally at excellent levels with 5-5-5 SIO levels. The 0400 English broadcast was heard perfectly, while the 0100 broadcast suffered somewhat from adjacent splatter from 5875, apparently from BBC Cyprus. This night, there was a music by request show in Ukrainian at this time. (Salmaniw, Quito, Ecuador)
UKRAINE 5880, 0305-, Radio Ukraine International Mar 16 Very good reception in Ukrainian except for slight adjacent splatter from 5875, which I think was the BBC in Dari from Cyprus (also very strong). Rated a 5-5-5 signal when rechecked at 03:35. Truly amazing! I never hear them this strong in Victoria, unless on-line. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
UNID 4469.5, 0312-, unid Mar 15 Unidentified station on approximately this frequency weakly heard in Spanish. No idea who or from where. (Salmaniw, Napo River, Ecuador)
UNITED KINGDOM 7110, 0259-, Radio Republica Mar 11 Excellent reception with barely a hint of jamming with nice ID at 03:00, in Spanish, of course. Woofferton, UK site listed. (Salmaniw, Quito, Ecuador)
USA 6925, 0320-, Commander Bunny Mar 12 While relaxing in Quito, I was surprised to hear Commander Bunny with a game show parody. Transmitter cut at 03:24, but was back within 30 seconds. Heard him say, 'Pirate broadcasting, that's what it is'. The Bozo family were one of the contestants. 'OK, so the Bozo family is ahead...last question...The question is.....The correct answer! We have a tie.' At 0332, they ask the listener to tune in next time. Reception was quite good. I've never heard them on the west coast, so a first for me. (Salmaniw,Quito, Ecuador)
USA 9985, 0335-, Family Radio Mar 12 Never knew that Family Radio had a mailbag program. Excellent reception with them signing off of the show. ID as 'Family Radio, The sound of the New Life'. They gave an Indian and US address. (Salmaniw,Quito, Ecuador)
--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.1.385 / Virus Database: 268.4.1/312 - Release Date: 4/14/2006
---[Start Commercial]---------------------
World Radio TV Handbook 2006 is out.
Order yours from http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0823059367/hardcoredxcom/
---[End Commercial]-----------------------
________________________________________
Hard-Core-DX mailing list
Hard-Core-DX@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://arizona.hard-core-dx.com/mailman/listinfo/hard-core-dx
http://www.hard-core-dx.com/
_______________________________________________
THE INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE IS FREE. It may be copied, distributed
and/or modified under the conditions set down in the Design Science License
published by Michael Stutz at
http://www.gnu.org/licenses/dsl.html