Reach Beyond Australia - QSL Verification

Reach Beyond Australia is a prompt verifier of reception reports. Thanks to the untiring efforts of Shelley Martin, Listener Correspondent for Reach Beyond Australia, listeners across the globe can get access to updated broadcast schedule of Reach Beyond at the onset of every broadcasting season, and she also responds ‘real fast’ be it on Facebook or via emails. At the onset of A16 broadcast season I was monitoring Reach Beyond’s frequencies (as I often do twice every year after seasonal frequency changes in March and October), only this time I happen to note that I haven’t heard their Rawang broadcast anytime before, although it’s been around for quite a few years now. Rawang (as per Wikipedia entry) is a Sino-Tibetan language of India and Burma with over 63,000 native speakers. On 14^th April (which happened to be Bengal New Years day and hence a state holiday) I made fruitful use of my leisure and tuned in to Reach Beyond Australia’s Rawang broadcast on 15575 KHz between 1145-1200 UTC. Programming consisted of gospel talk and religious hymns and music. Reception at my QTH in Kolkata on my portable Tecsun PL310 was SIO 454.

Nowadays with the availability of web SDRs (Software Defined Radio) it has become easier for DXers to monitor local/global listening conditions, signals strength, propagation of broadcasts from around the world. I tuned in to WebSDR at Twente, Nederlands to compare listening conditions of Reach Beyond’s Rawang broadcast in Europe with that audible over my Tecsun radio at my QTH. Promisingly, the signal from Kununurra was moderate to fair in the Nederlands. A detailed reception report was mailed to Shelley Martin with a video file of the broadcast and screenshots of web SDR. In just over 3 days I received a nice acknowledgement with E-QSL verifying my report. Indigenous (Aboriginal)Australian Art is featured on the full data verification e-card.

E-QSL from Reach Beyond Australia

Reach Beyond Australia monitored via Web SDR @ Twente, Nederlands

Reach Beyond Australia, Rawang Service as received in Kolkata, Apr 14, 2016

HCJB Australia Vintage E-QSL (2004)

I have been listening to Reach Beyond from the days when the station started broadcasting to Asia-Pacific region as HCJB Australia which was later changed to HCJB Global Voice. It’s been a long journey of over 12 years! I feel happy to see that in spite of changes in the policy of the parent organization they have stuck to shortwave and still going strong! May the Lord bless them infinitely to carry on their humanitarian mission in the decades to come and may we (the radio lovers) remain ever happy listening to Reach Beyond Australia on shortwave transmitting across the ether from the Great Southland!