Report from Mark Connelly, WA1ION - Times / dates = UTC / 2000

*** Summer 2000 Roadtrip DX Report #1 ***

(logs 24 JUN - 13 JUL 2000)

[Connelly*E-MA] = Eastham, Cape Cod, MA
(GC= 69.950 W / 41.857 N)
(Nauset Light Beach)

[Connelly*rw-MA] = Rowley, MA
(GC= 70.829 W / 42.745 N)
(end of Stackyard Road at Parker River Nat. Wildlife R.: salt-marsh)

[Connelly*Y-MA] = West Yarmouth, Cape Cod, MA
(GC= 70.223 W / 41.682 N)
(mother's house)

Homepage = weblink.htm

Receivers: Drake R8A, Palstar R30

Antenna systems: APW-1 active whip, two BBL-1 broadband loops, pennant antenna, Superphaser-1 phasing unit

======================================================

*** TRANS-ATLANTIC DX ***

153 | ALGERIA | ENRS, Bechar, JUL 7 0238 - initially a blank carrier with Germany under, then Arabic talk and strings at a low audio level on a good carrier. [Connelly*Y-MA]

153 | GERMANY | DeutschlandRadio, Donebach, JUL 7 0238 - classical music; under Algeria. [Connelly*Y-MA]

162 | FRANCE | Allouis, JUL 7 0235 - French business talk with a price in dollars; good. [Connelly*Y-MA]

171 | MOROCCO | R. Mediterranee Inter., Nador, JUL 7 0237 - pop male Arabic vocal, flutes; good. [Connelly*Y-MA]

183 | GERMANY | Europe No. 1, Saarlouis, JUL 7 0240 - French talk about "Grand Bretagne" and "tourisme"; excellent. [Connelly*Y-MA]

198 | UNITED KINGDOM | BBC WS synchros, JUL 7 0241 - English teletalk; mixed with second station and "DIW" beacon. [Connelly*Y-MA]

207 | MOROCCO | RTM, Azilal, JUL 7 0242 - man in Arabic; poor with "QI" beacon interference. [Connelly*Y-MA]

216 | FRANCE | TWR Monaco, Roumoules, JUL 7 0243 - French talk and music; fair with "CLB" beacon. [Connelly*Y-MA]

234 | LUXEMBOURG | RTL, Junglinster, JUL 7 0244 - rock music; poor to fair. [Connelly*Y-MA]

531 | MADEIRA | RDP, Porto Santo, JUL 13 0052 - bits of Portuguese talk by man; slightly over Spain, Algeria, and het from RVC-530. [Connelly*rw-MA]

549 | ALGERIA | Les Trembles, JUL 13 0051 - Arabic talk by man with guitar and violin interludes; loud. [Connelly*rw-MA]

549 | GERMANY | JUN 25 0151 - // 1422 with classical music; slightly over Algeria. [Connelly*E-MA]

558 | SPAIN | RNE5 synchros, JUL 13 0050 - // 774 with folk usic, then woman in Spanish; poor over a second station believed to be Portugal; through tough WGAN slop. [Connelly*rw-MA]

567 | IRELAND | RTE, Tullamore, JUN 25 0155 - good with English talk, then weird electronic psychedelic music like something from a college or pirate station ... not the typical mellow pops, Irish folk, or old C&W that RTE usually plays. [Connelly*E-MA]

567 | SPAIN | RNE5 synchros, JUL 13 0049 - // 774 with Spanish female folk vocal and guitar; only fair, but well over Ireland. [Connelly*rw-MA]

576 | CANARY ISLANDS // SPAIN | RNE5 synchros, JUL 13 0048 - woman in Spanish // 774; poor, in slop. [Connelly*rw-MA]

585 | SPAIN | RNE1, Madrid, JUN 25 0054 - piano and saxophone jazz // stronger 738. [Connelly*E-MA] + JUL 13 0047 - Spanish teletalk; fair through WEZE/VOCM slop. [Connelly*rw-MA]

594 | PORTUGAL | R. Renascenca, Muge, JUL 13 0053 - man in Portuguese, into teletalk show; to fair peak. [Connelly*rw-MA]

603 | SPAIN | RNE5, Sevilla / Palencia, JUL 13 0045 - fast talk in Spanish by a woman; mixed with a second station (likely Madeira) with apparent Portuguese talk. [Connelly*rw-MA]

612 | IRELAND | Athlone, JUN 25 0058 - pop music; mixing with Morocco. [Connelly*E-MA]

612 | MOROCCO | Sebaa-Aioun, JUN 25 0058 - Arabic talk; over/under Ireland. [Connelly*E-MA] + JUL 13 0044 - Arabic public speech in an echoey room; excellent, way over Spain and Ireland. [Connelly*rw-MA]

621 | CANARY ISLANDS // SPAIN | RNE1 synchros, JUL 13 0043 - Spanish discussion // 855; fair through WZON splash. [Connelly*rw-MA]

639 | SPAIN | RNE1, La Coruna, JUL 13 0043 - // 855 with woman in Spanish; good, getting by CBN/YVQO-640. [Connelly*rw-MA]

648 | SPAIN | RNE1, Badajoz et al., JUL 13 0055 - // 774 with entertainment-related Spanish talk; fair, over others. [Connelly*rw-MA]

657 | SPAIN | RNE5, Madrid, JUL 13 0042 - song "Tom's Diner" by Suzanne Vega, then R. Nacional de Espana ID; huge, equal in strength to WFAN-660. [Connelly*rw-MA]

666 | PORTUGAL (t) | RDP, Lisboa, JUN 25 0131 - bouncy music, possible Portuguese talk. [Connelly*E-MA]

675 | NETHERLANDS | R. 10, Lopik, JUN 25 0130 - soul oldie "Solid as a Rock"; good to excellent. [Connelly*E-MA]

684 | SPAIN | RNE1, Sevilla, JUN 25 0046 - tropical style music (piano and flute jazz); good with WRKO phased. [Connelly*E-MA]

693 | SPAIN | RNE1 synchros, JUL 13 0039 - // 855 with fast Spanish talk by woman; good / dominant. [Connelly*rw-MA]

693 | UNITED KINGDOM | BBC, Droitwich et al., JUN 25 0129 - interview with US-accented man about health and the environment. [Connelly*E-MA]

711.04 | WESTERN SAHARA | Laayoune, JUN 25 0042 - Arabic moaning vocal; in slop. [Connelly*E-MA]

729 | SPAIN | RNE1 synchros, JUL 13 0034 - // 738 with bits of Spanish talk by woman; badly hacked by WJTO/CKAC. [Connelly*rw-MA]

738 | SPAIN | RNE1, Barcelona, JUN 25 0041 - US oldies, then Spanish talk by man; through CHCM slop. [Connelly*E-MA] + JUL 13 0032 - end of '50s type song, then two women chatting in Spanish; loud, easily getting by CHCM/WJIB. [Connelly*rw-MA]

765 | SWITZERLAND | RSR, Sottens, JUL 13 0117 - French version of Elton John's "Candle in the Wind"; poor. [Connelly*rw-MA]

774 | SPAIN | RNE1 synchros, JUL 13 0026 - man & woman laughing and joking; excellent, apparent Arabic music station under. [Connelly*rw-MA]

783 | SPAIN | COPE, Barcelona, JUL 13 0108 - // 837 with teletalk; fair. [Connelly*rw-MA]

801 | SPAIN | RNE1 synchros, JUL 13 0107 - // 774 with acoustic guitar, then soft-spoken man in Spanish; fair. [Connelly*rw-MA]

810 | SPAIN | SER R. Madrid, Madrid, JUL 13 0110 - // 873 with Spanish talk, light music; over WGY, no sign of CJVA or Latin Americans. Surprisingly loud ! [Connelly*rw-MA]

819 | EGYPT | Egyptian R., Batra, JUL 13 0105 - shrill Arabic male Koranic vocal; loud, way over Morocco. [Connelly*rw-MA]

819 | MOROCCO | RTM, Rabat, JUN 25 0103 - man in Arabic; over Spain/Egypt. [Connelly*E-MA] + JUL 13 0105 - // 612 with male Arabic vocal; under Egypt Koran. [Connelly*rw-MA]

836 | AZORES | RDP, Pico da Barrosa, JUN 25 0104 - Portuguese news; at weak audio level on fair carrier. [Connelly*E-MA] + JUL 13 0023 - progressive rock instrumental with classical influences; light audio but fat signal stronger than 837. [Connelly*rw-MA]

837 | CANARY ISLANDS // SPAIN | COPE synchros, JUL 13 0019 - Spanish teletalk by man & woman, // stronger 882. [Connelly*rw-MA]

846 | ITALY | Rome, JUL 13 0104 - news by man in Italian; fair signal through WEEI splash. What power is this running now ? [Connelly*rw-MA]

855 | SPAIN | RNE1, Murcia et al., JUN 25 0106 - Spanish news by man & woman; jumpy fades. [Connelly*E-MA] + JUL 13 0021 - sports-related Spanish talk by man & woman; HUGE ! [Connelly*rw-MA]

864 | EGYPT | Santah, JUL 13 0106 - Koranic vocal sounded parallel (or at least very similar) to that on Egypt-819. In jumble with Spain/other. [Connelly*rw-MA]

873 | SPAIN | SER synchros, JUL 13 0020 - // 1044 with woman in Spanish; good. [Connelly*rw-MA]

882 | CANARY ISLANDS // SPAIN | COPE synchros, JUL 13 0019 - // 837 with Spanish teletalk; loud. [Connelly*rw-MA]

891 | ALGERIA | Algiers, JUN 25 0108 - female Arabic vocal, strings; through WBPS slop. Het noted as early as 2330 UTC. [Connelly*E-MA] + JUL 13 0017 - Arabic vocal and flute at light audio on monster carrier. There were hints of second audio (Portugal ?) under. WBPS-890 was phase-nulled to nearly nothing. [Connelly*rw-MA]

909 | UNITED KINGDOM | BBC, Moorside Edge et al., JUN 25 0111 - bits of English talk; in bad WABI slop. Over several others (one Arabic, another either Spanish or Portuguese). [Connelly*E-MA]

918 | SPAIN | R. Intercontinental, Madrid, JUL 13 0016 - bits of Spanish teletalk; in CJCH slop with WHJJ phased. [Connelly*rw-MA]

954 | SPAIN | R. Espana, Madrid, JUL 13 0015 - Spanish talk, then romantic female vocal; excellent right after local WROL-950 sunset power cut. [Connelly*rw-MA]

999 | SPAIN | COPE, Madrid, JUL 13 0007 - fast emotional Spanish talk by man & woman; through CKBW slop. [Connelly*rw-MA]

1044 | SPAIN | SER synchros, JUN 25 0119 - woman in Spanish; to fair peak. [Connelly*E-MA]

1053 | UNITED KINGDOM | Talk Sport synchros, JUN 25 0121 - English advertising with phone numbers; over presumed Spain. [Connelly*E-MA]

1089 | UNITED KINGDOM | Talk Sport synchros, JUN 25 0133 - telephone interview; fair to good through YVSZ slop. [Connelly*E-MA]

1098 | SLOVAKIA | Slovensky Rozhlas, Nitra, JUN 25 0133 - Slavic talk; excellent. [Connelly*E-MA]

1134 | CROATIA | HR, Zadar, JUN 25 0135 - Balkan folk music mixing with Spain. There was more slop from the Venezuelan on 1140 than from easily nulled (!) WBBR-1130. [Connelly*E-MA]

1134 | SPAIN | COPE synchros, JUN 25 0135 - Spanish talk; over/under Croatia. [Connelly*E-MA]

1179 | CANARY ISLANDS // SPAIN | SER synchros, JUL 13 0009 - woman with Spanish teletalk show; very good, much stronger than the feeble cluster of stations on 1180. [Connelly*rw-MA]

1215 | SPAIN | COPE synchros, JUL 13 0004 - man with Spanish news; fair. [Connelly*rw-MA]

1215 | UNITED KINGDOM | Virgin R. synchros, JUN 25 0137 - '80s hit "Alive & Kicking" by Simple Minds; very good, over Spain. [Connelly*E-MA]

1296 | SPAIN | COPE, Valencia, JUL 13 0120 - // 837 with somewhat echoey Spanish talk by man; poor. [Connelly*rw-MA]

1341 | NORTHERN IRELAND | BBC R. Ulster, Lisnagarvey, JUN 25 0138 - English talk, possibly a drama; poor with CJLS/WNBH/WMID-1340 slop. [Connelly*E-MA]

1413 | SPAIN | RNE5 synchros, JUN 24 2348 - operatic Spanish vocal; poor, just starting to fade up. [Connelly*E-MA]

1422 | GERMANY | DeutschlandRadio, Heusweiler, JUN 25 0140 - classical music; fair, some slop from C&W music on CKDY-1420. [Connelly*E-MA]

1521 | unID | JUN 24 2315 - het here long before sunset, either from Saudi Arabia or Spain. [Connelly*E-MA]

1550 | ALGERIA | RASD Clandestine, Tindouf, JUN 25 0001 - female Arabic vocal with drums and flutes; just over the remnants of the phase-nulled CT/NY/PA domestic jumble. [Connelly*E-MA]

1575 | SPAIN | SER synchros, JUN 24 2340 - teletalk starting to fade up. [Connelly*E-MA]

1583.6 | CEUTA | RadiOle, JUN 24 2341 - group vocal; over het from SER-1584 synchros. [Connelly*E-MA] + JUL 12 2343 - early fade-in. [Connelly*rw-MA]

1584 | SPAIN | SER synchros, JUL 12 2352 - Spanish talk; poor, hetted by stronger Ceuta-1583.6. [Connelly*rw-MA]

1602 | SPAIN | JUN 24 2345 - EI Vitoria evenly mixed with SER stations. More interesting was an unID third station (... is Ascension Island still here ?). A low growl was present. [Connelly*E-MA]

 

*** PAN-AMERICAN DX ***

526 | BAHAMAS | ZLS, Stella Maris, JUL 4 0116 - "ZLS" code beacon; copyable in 1.8 kHz filter position, lower sideband through tough RVC-530 slop. [Connelly*Y-MA]

530 | TURKS & CAICOS | R. Vision Cristiana, JUL 2 0344 - Radio Vision Cristiana ID // NY-1330; very good. [Connelly*Y-MA]

535 | GRENADA | GBC, St. George's, JUN 25 0150 - calypso style music with lots of percussion; to fair peak. [Connelly*E-MA] + JUL 2 0215 - R&B group vocal with a blend of Motown and Caribbean influences; very good. [Connelly*Y-MA]

540.3 | unID | JUL 7 0444 - low het against the 540 mess (WQTM/WLUX/2 Latins). [Connelly*Y-MA]

550 | VENEZUELA | Mundial, YVKE, Caracas, JUN 25 0147 - Spanish political speech about the future of Venezuela; strong, over RI/VT domestics. Parallel 880 had the speech delayed about a half second from 550. [Connelly*E-MA]

555 | ST. KITTS & NEVIS | ZIZ, Basseterre, JUN 25 0056 - tinny electric organ, high-energy drumming, and Caribbean English vocal; good. [Connelly*E-MA]

570 | CUBA | R. Reloj, JUN 25 0248 - Reloj news and time program; huge, crushing WMCA. [Connelly*Y-MA]

580 | PUERTO RICO | WKAQ, San Juan, JUL 7 0442 - Puerto Rico news with local events discussion; through phased WTAG. [Connelly*Y-MA]

600 | CUBA | R. Rebelde, CMKV, Urbano Noris, JUN 25 0918 - dominant with mellow Spanish vocal // 620, 710. [Connelly*Y-MA]

600 | VENEZUELA | R. Sucre, YVQB, Cumana, JUN 24 0053 - fast Spanish talk with local Venezuelan mentions; eventually losing out to C&W music from CKCL-NS. [Connelly*E-MA]

620 | CUBA | R. Rebelde, Colon / Moa, JUN 25 0918 - under WZON groundwave: light vocal // 600, 710. [Connelly*Y-MA]

630 | CUBA | R. Progreso, JUL 4 0110 - // 640 with mellow Spanish vocal; under WPRO, over WSKN/CFCY. [Connelly*Y-MA]

630 | PUERTO RICO | WSKN, San Juan, JUN 25 0051 - baseball coverage in Spanish, mention "segunda base", ads with prices in dollars; loud, annihilating WPRO/CFCY. [Connelly*E-MA]

640 | CUBA | R. Progreso, Guanabacoa / Las Tunas, JUN 25 0246 - slogan "La Onda de la Alegria", then song "Rhythm Divine" by Enrique Iglesias; good. [Connelly*Y-MA]

640 | VENEZUELA | Union R., YVQO, Puerto La Cruz, JUN 25 0050 - Union Radio ID; over CBN and others with a fat het from Spain-639 also present. [Connelly*E-MA]

650 | COLOMBIA | RCN Antena Dos, HJKH, Bogota, JUL 6 0718 - ID "Antena Dos, Colombia", then a folk-style vocal with accordion; good / dominant, best South American signal at the time. [Connelly*Y-MA]

650 | DOMINICAN REPUBLIC | R, Universal, HIAT, Santo Domingo, JUN 25 0050 - R. Universal ID; well over Venezuela and Colombia. [Connelly*E-MA]

670 | CUBA | R. Rebelde, CMQ, Arroyo Arenas, JUN 25 0243 - folk music // 710; mixed with YVLL. [Connelly*Y-MA]

670 | VENEZUELA | R. Rumbos, YVLL, Caracas, JUN 25 0059 - Rumbos ID, doorbells; good / dominant. [Connelly*E-MA]

680 | VENEZUELA (t) | R. Continente, YVQR, Cumana, JUN 25 0048 - more likely this than WAPA: many Venezuela mentions in Spanish talk; under phased WRKO. [Connelly*E-MA]

690 | ANGUILLA | Caribbean Beacon, The Valley, JUL 7 0431 - discussion of various Bible translations, particularly the King James; good with Montreal phased. Program was // 6090. [Connelly*Y-MA]

690 | BRAZIL | R. Dragao do Mar, ZYH587, Fortaleza, JUN 25 0044 - Portuguese talk, seemingly religious, over English-language station (either Anguilla or WOKV-FL). [Connelly*E-MA]

700 | BRAZIL | ZYK686, Sao Paulo, JUL 13 0037 - most likely this with Portuguese talk; fair, alone on channel before YV fade-up. [Connelly*rw-MA]

700 | COLOMBIA | R. Net, HJCX, Cali, JUL 7 0433 - several Bogota news items; over others. [Connelly*Y-MA]

700 | VENEZUELA | R. Sur, YVPQ, Puerto Ordaz, JUL 7 0123 - Venezuela and Radio Sur mentions; poor, barely over presumed Jamaica/Brazil/YVMH/HJCX/WLW melange. [Connelly*Y-MA]

705 | ST. VINCENT & THE GRENADINES | Kingstown, JUL 13 0115 - sounded like old standards format (Sinatra, etc.); poor. [Connelly*rw-MA]

710 | CUBA | R. Rebelde synchros, JUN 25 0243 - uptempo folk music // 670 & others. Signal was over/under WOR. + JUL 2 0113 - // 600 with phone call about "americanos"; under WOR. [Connelly*Y-MA]

720 | VENEZUELA | R. Oriente, YVQE, Porlamar, JUL 7 0109 - folk music with steel drums and Spanish vocal, then talk with Oriente and Venezuela mentions; to fair peak, mixed with CHTN. [Connelly*Y-MA] + JUL 13 0035 - live political rally with shouts of "Vamos por Venezuela" and "Viva Venezuela Libre !", then patriotic songs including the Venezuelan National Anthem were sung, and Radio Oriente ID followed. HUGE signal, like a local, totally blowing away CHTN. [Connelly*rw-MA]

750 | VENEZUELA | RCR, YVKS, Caracas, JUN 25 0100 - coverage of a Venezuelan sports team; slightly over CBGY and a Brazilian. [Connelly*E-MA]

760 | BRAZIL | R. Record, ZYH888, Fortaleza, JUN 25 0040 - Portuguese religious sermon; loud ! [Connelly*E-MA]

760 | COLOMBIA | RCN, HJAJ, Barranquilla, JUN 25 0241 - man in Spanish about a musical performance in Bogota; atop Cuban Reloj and WJR. + JUL 2 0209 - (measured frequency 759.92) ID "RCN, La Radio de Colombia"; good. [Connelly*Y-MA]

760 | CUBA | R. Reloj, Las Mercedes & Guanabacoa, JUN 25 0913 - Reloj news, ticks, code "RR"; dominant. + JUL 2 0336 - Reloj program over HJAJ/WJR. [Connelly*Y-MA]

770 | COLOMBIA | RCN, HJJX, Bogota, JUN 25 0031 - RCN ID; over other with WABC phased. [Connelly*E-MA]

780 | VENEZUELA | R. Coro, YVMN, Coro, JUN 25 0101 - reverberated Spanish talk, Radio Coro ID; huge, way over ZBVI/CFDR. [Connelly*E-MA] + JUL 7 0105 - R. Coro ID, mentions of Falcon province; good. [Connelly*Y-MA]

800 | NETHERLANDS ANTILLES | Trans-World Radio, PJB, Bonaire, JUN 25 0103 - Spanish Christian music; burying WCCM and Canadians. [Connelly*E-MA]

820 | VENEZUELA | R. Guayana, YVSH, Upata, JUN 25 0038 - Upata mentions; slightly over a mix of 2 or 3 others (certainly WNYC and R. Guadalupana, maybe Apintie in there too). [Connelly*E-MA]

830 | ST. KITTS & NEVIS | TBN, Basseterre, JUN 25 0024 - talk about the forgiveness of sins; good, over phased WCRN. [Connelly*E-MA]

840 | BRAZIL | R. Bandeirantes, ZYK687, Sao Paulo, JUL 13 0112 - Portuguese talk; in pile-up with Spanish-language stations. [Connelly*rw-MA]

840 | CUBA | CMHW, Santa Clara, JUL 4 0128 - 1977 hit "When I Need You" by Leo Sayer, then a woman in Spanish read poetry to a folk guitar accompaniment, then a man mentioned Cuba, Santa Clara, and sounds in the night; loud, alone on channel. [Connelly*Y-MA]

859.57 | unID | JUL 7 0409 - het, bits of vocal noted after HILR sign-off. [Connelly*Y-MA]

860 | DOMINICAN REPUBLIC | R. Clarin, HILR, Santo Domingo, JUL 7 0405 - "Radio Clarin" ID, "La Voz en el Camino" and "la mas potente" slogans, then anthem going to sign-off; good. [Connelly*Y-MA]

860 | VENEZUELA | R. Enlace 860, YVYE, Valle de la Pascua, JUN 25 0033 - Spanish ad for appliance store with color TV's, two "Valle de la Pascua" mentions; excellent / dominant. [Connelly*E-MA]

880 | VENEZUELA | Mundial, YVYM, Puerto Ordaz, JUN 25 0147 - political speech (// 550) about Venezuela's future; dominant with WCBS in deep cardioid phase null. [Connelly*E-MA]

890 | CUBA | R. Progreso, CMDZ, Santiago de Cuba, JUN 25 0300 - // 640 with classically-trained style male Spanish vocal; mixed with WBPS's Spanish show. + JUL 4 0108 - // 640, 690 with Progreso mention, mellow vocal; atop WBPS. [Connelly*Y-MA]

895 | ST. KITTS & NEVIS | VON, Bath Village, JUN 25 0109 - drumming and Caribbean-Afropop style vocal with a bit of doo-wop '50s influence; huge signal. [Connelly*E-MA]

900 | CUBA | R. Progreso, JUL 4 0129 - // 640, 890 with light pop vocal; over CKTS ("CJAD"), others. [Connelly*Y-MA]

939 | unID | JUN 25 0112 - het. [Connelly*E-MA]

940 | CUBA | R. Reloj, JUL 7 0412 - Reloj program over other Latin American; Montreal nulled. [Connelly*Y-MA]

940 | PUERTO RICO | WIPR, San Juan, JUL 2 0209 - Estados Unidos and local Puerto Rican mentions; dominant. [Connelly*Y-MA]

1020 | VENEZUELA | Mundial Margarita, YVRS, La Asuncion, JUN 25 0115 - big band, bongos, and male group vocal; huge, equal strength to adjacent WBZ-1030 Boston ! [Connelly*E-MA]

1020 | VENEZUELA | R. Calendario, YVMX, Maracaibo, JUL 7 0418 - reverberated Radio Calendario ID, merengue music; fair over KDKA. Usual YVRS was off at the time. [Connelly*Y-MA]

1039.6 | VENEZUELA | La Voz de Carabobo, YVLB, Valencia, JUN 25 0118 - sports mentioning Carabobo, Caracas; excellent, creaming the 1040 jumble. [Connelly*E-MA]

1050.3 | unID | JUL 7 0420 - bits of Spanish vocal, het on WEVD. [Connelly*Y-MA]

1060 | CUBA | CMDX, Baracoa, JUL 4 0104 - Cuban folk music with guitar, over KYW and het from something on 1060.3. [Connelly*Y-MA]

1060.3 | unID | JUL 6 0104 - seemed to be Spanish talk; poor with slop from Cuba-1060. [Connelly*Y-MA]

1080 | VENEZUELA | R. Barcelona, YVQJ, Barcelona, JUN 24 2354 - Latin American music, Barcelona ID; over/under WTIC. [Connelly*E-MA]

1090 | VENEZUELA | Union R., YVSZ, Caracas, JUN 25 0132 - Spanish political talk // 640; loud. [Connelly*E-MA]

1100 | ANTIGUA | R. ZDK, St. John's, JUN 25 0019 - Caribbean English talk with reverb; over nulled WHLI-NY daytimer. [Connelly*E-MA]

1110 | VENEZUELA | R. Carupano, YVQT, Carupano, JUN 25 0017 - Venezuela and Carupano mentions; good with WPMZ-RI Spanish daytimer phased. [Connelly*E-MA]

1139.6 | unID | JUN 25 0013 - bits of high-energy Latin American music; losing to Porlamar on 1140.0. [Connelly*E-MA]

1140 | VENEZUELA | La Voz del Caribe, Porlamar, JUN 25 0015 - fast Spanish talk, coverage of outdoor event with crowd noises, Venezuelan anthem sung in echoey stadium, announcer said music was "himno nacional de la Republica Venezuela", then Porlamar was mentioned; loud, way over CBI and growl from unID on 1139.6. [Connelly*E-MA] + JUL 2 0200 - "Porlamar, La Voz de la Caribe" jingle in a folk style; excellent. [Connelly*Y-MA]

1170 | COLOMBIA | CARACOL, HJNW, Cartagena, JUL 2 0342 - Colombia mentions, '40s style Spanish vocal with big-band accompaniment; good / dominant. [Connelly*Y-MA]

1200 | VENEZUELA | YVOZ, Caracas, JUN 25 0010 - Spanish talk and Caracas mentions / adverts; mixed with WKOX (also in Spanish). [Connelly*E-MA]

1375.02 | ST. PIERRE ET MIQUELON | RFO, JUN 24 2310 - Judy Garland or similar old-time female vocal, then French talk by man; up to about S7 more than an hour before sunset. Daytime groundwave strength at this outer Cape Cod site is about S5 with minor slop from WDEA-ME-1370 and WMYF-NH-1380. [Connelly*E-MA] + JUL 2 0345 - French disco; local-like. [Connelly*Y-MA]

1500 | VENEZUELA | YVRZ, Cumana, JUN 25 0006 - old-fashioned C&W style Spanish vocal (like Mexican ranchera), then Radio Dos Mil ID; good, surprisingly loud over WFIF/WTOP on pre-sunset reception. [Connelly*E-MA]

1620 | unID | JUL 12 2350 - Haitian French Creole talk; fading up from weak to almost local quality. [Connelly*rw-MA]

 

Notes from Eastham, MA outing

On Saturday afternoon (24 JUN) I had a little time to explore outer Cape Cod looking for potential DXing sites with good ocean views: sites also usable for other hobbies like photography and swimming. In the town of Eastham, I came upon three locations that are part of the Cape Cod National Seashore. Parking is permitted until midnight, good enough (even on the longest days of the year) for Trans-Atlantic and Pan-American DXing which is typically best in the first 3 hours after sunset.

The sites visited were:

Fort Hill Park (GC= 69.962 W / 41.819 N) - great view from an elevation of about 100' / 30 m above sea level. You could probably string out some good wires here in autumn / winter.

Coast Guard Beach (GC= 69.946 W / 41.843 N) - somewhat crowded, and suited for car-roof antennas only. Worth visiting in the off-season.

Nauset Light Beach (GC= 69.950 W / 41.857 N) - a bit roomier than the nearby Coast Guard Beach. Not to be confused with Nauset Beach in Orleans to the south. This is where I finally set up for a DX session from 2300 to 0200 UTC.

DX started out with a few Spaniards on the high end of the MW dial (1602, 1575, etc.) and some surprisingly early (pre-sunset) Venezuelan stations such as R.Barcelona-1080 over/under WTIC and R.Dos Mil-1500 over WFIF/WTOP. Earliest Trans-Atlantics were from the usual western end of the Mediterranean area. UK, Germany, Slovakia, Croatia, Ireland, etc. peaked up during the 0100-0130 UTC period. Brazil was heard with good signals from Fortaleza on 690 and 760. Venezuelans were "all over the place", at least between 600 and 1200 kHz. Off-frequency Carabobo on 1039.6 was really booming in; demolishing the 1040 pack. Usual Caribbean signals on splits (535, 555, 895) were all good. Early on, ZDK-1100 was coming in with daytimer WHLI-NY nulled into the mud with the loop/whip cardioid array. Overall, for a date so close to the longest day of the year, there was a nice variety of DX from Europe, North Africa, the Caribbean, and South America. Deep Africans were sought but not found other than a hint of Angola-1502 (chewed up by local-like Venezuela on 1500).

  

Notes from Rowley, MA outing

On the early evening of 12 JUL 2000, I decided to revisit a local DXpedition site in a national wildlife reservation. The location hadn't been used for DXing for awhile because of instances of park rangers chasing people out after the posted sunset closing time. The site - the parking area at the eastern end of Stackyard Road near Nelson Island in Rowley, MA - is in the middle of a huge coastal salt-marsh behind Plum Island, a narrow barrier beach.

This location (GC= 70.829 W / 42.745 N) has been used for some legendary receptions over the years by members of the Boston Area DXers. Loggings include India-1566 and numerous rare Middle East stations, Greeks, etc.

Though the site has room for near-Beverage length antennas, I stuck to the active whip / broadband loop cardioid array clamped to the car's roof-racks, as I figured I might have to leave the site in a hurry if law officers or a car load of beer-blasted carousing teenagers suddenly appeared. I arrived on site at 7.35 p.m. local (2335 UTC) with a plan of staying no more than 2 hours. Sunset time was about 8.20 p.m. (0020 UTC).

Not too many others showed up at the site: basically bird watchers in a few cars and on one motorcycle. Luckily, neither law enforcers nor hell-raisers were encountered right up to 9.30 p.m. EDT / 0130 UTC when I left for home. The biggest problem I encountered during the outing: insects. "Greenheads" (large biting flies common in salt-marshes) and "no-see-'ems" (irritating little gnats) dive-bombed me any time I was out of the car for more than a few seconds. After all, it's mid-July.

Now on to the interesting stuff: the DX. Right at the start, 45 minutes pre-sunset, Trans-Atlantic heterodynes were noted across the medium-wave dial. Ceuta on 1583.6 got the award for first readable audio, easily beating up the synchro SER Spaniards on 1584. I was surprised to find that low-banders like Algeria-549 were punching in big signals well before sunset. Often, especially in summer, the band tends to open from the top of the dial downward. It didn't take long for things to really get rocking. By 0020 sunset, the "doors flew open" and Trans-Atlantic signals were boiling in. Spain ruled supreme and just about every low-band frequency from that country was pushing big audio across. The "surpriser" was SER on 810 beating back WGY; there was almost nothing from co-channel CJVA and Latin Americans. Northern Europe didn't offer much: indeed 567 had Spain solidly atop with not much evidence of Ireland at all. Morocco on 612 was local-like and if Ireland was under them on that channel, it would be hard to prove it. 693 was all Spain // 684: no UK there. Aside from Spain and Morocco, I heard Madeira-531, Azores-836, Egypt-819 (over Morocco), Italy-846 (fair: back on at what power level ??), and several from Canary Islands, Portugal, and Algeria among others. More northerly European reception was pretty much limited to a relatively weak Swiss signal on 765 and sporadic appearances of Croatia-1134 and Slovakia-1098 popping through generally bigger Spaniards. I didn't note anything from southern Africa (1197 had Spain, not Lesotho). Conditions across the band slowly deteriorated after 0100 UTC with the higher band Trans-Atlantics weakening before the low band signals did.

Latin American DX, though not especially abundant, did yield a nice signal from Brazil on 700 (all by itself for awhile before Venezuela mixed in). On 720 I had a pipeline to Radio Oriente in Venezuela: it totally crushed normal dominant CHTN. I checked for Bruce Conti's possible Suriname on 600, but the channel was just a "stew pot" containing (apparently) CKCL, WICC, YVQB, ZYK278, and CBNA.

Another thing I checked was the Haitian-French Creole station on 1620. It wasn't there at 2335 UTC (so no groundwave), but by 2350 UTC it was booming in. Coincidentally, on 1650, the Logan Airport (Boston) TIS was dominant at 2335 via groundwave, but a few minutes later it got buried by skip from the coastal VA station. This would seem to indicate the likelihood of the 1620 station being in the northeastern USA somewhere farther away than Boston (unless, if in Boston, it's using a horizontal antenna giving poor groundwave but good short skip).

The Rowley outing was a good midsummer DX success. The location has less southern / southwestern exposure than Cape Cod QTH's and static was almost non-existent. Also, not ONE signal from Cuba was audible ... hurrah! Another advantage over the Cape is the greater ease with which New York City stations can be nulled with the cardioid phased array. Even pesky WQEW-1560 can be nulled more than 20 dB with co-located loop/whip and maybe more than that with two broadband loops spaced 50 m on a NE/SW axis. Such null depth on 1560 would be unheard-of on Cape Cod on an average night. It would be great if the Rowley site can be used for DX activities on a regular basis once again.

During the first full week of July, I and the rest of my family were down at West Yarmouth, MA. Plenty of Cuban signals there ... too many I'd say. I did some encouraging experiments there with a Pennant antenna, recently written up in QST magazine by Earl Cunningham (K6SE). My version uses a remotely-controllable (Vactrol) termination resistor. I'll have more about this later after a battery of further tests.

For anyone in the Caribbean and Latin America, here's a brief list of unidentified off-channel signals heard from Cape Cod: 540.3, 859.57, 939, 1050.3, 1060.3, and 1139.6. Also off-channel are Colombia on 759.92 (only slightly off) and Radio Carabobo in Venezuela on 1039.6 with a big messy het against the 1040 group.



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