DX Logs from Chandipur Odisha Covering SW MW & FM bands

It's been a long time since I posted here last! The impetus was missing somehow!

After a gap of 3 broadcast seasons, I am looking forward to ending A18 on a warm note and feeling hopeful of rekindling my DX blogging in B18. Now without further ado, allow me to present before you my recent DX Logs from a visit to the coastal town of Chandipur in the state of Odisha.

Date - 21.10.2018
QTH  Chandipur, Odisha (INDIA)

Latitude: 21.439861 | Longitude: 87.014944

Altitude: 7 meters

RX - Tecsun PL 310 (with telescopic whip)

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SHORTWAVE LOGS

15600 KHz 0019 UTC - CHINA RADIO INT. (CHINA) in PORTUGUESE from BEIJING-MATOUCUN (CRI/CNR). SINPO = 34333. Song by YL band retro number. OM & YL talk. song followed.

15435 KHz 0016 UTC - FEBC MANILA (PHILIPPINES) in SHAN from BOCAUE (FEBC). SINPO = 54444. OM talk (gospel discourse?)

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15400 KHz 0015 UTC- REACH BEYOND AUSTRALIA (AUSTRALIA) in ENGLISH from KUNUNURRA WA. SINPO = 43433. Sign off YL with ID & Freq declaration

15320 KHz 0012 UTC- VOICE OF AMERICA (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA) in MANDARIN from TINANG (VOA). SINPO = 32322. YL & OM in talks (firedrake in the background).

11790 KHz 0007 UTC- CHINA RADIO INT. (CHINA) in ENGLISH from XIAN-XIANYANG (SHAANXI). SINPO = 55555. OM & YL in talks "trends in public dancing in the social life of China" (lifestyle mag prog). 

11780 KHz 0006 UTC- CHINA RADIO INT. (CHINA)  in MANDARIN from JINHUA. SINPO = 54344. ID followed by prog highlights by OM. 

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MEDIUM WAVE LOGS 

558 KHz Bangladesh Betar (Khulna) sig tune 0026 UTC SIO 555

621 KHz All India Radio (Patna) 0028 UTC ID then into news (YL) 0030 UTC onwards SIO 433

711 KHz All India Radio (Siliguri) Talk in Bengali followed by (Baul)folk song 0040 UTC SIO 454

747 KHz All India Radio (Lucknow) prog 'krishi karya' heard, prog ends followed by prog id (OM) 0043 UTC then into Govt Ads, Stn. ID at 0044 UTC Prog 'Aalok' discourse on topic - "Gandhiji aur bharat chhoro andolon/ Gandhiji & Quit India Movement" SIO 444

792 KHz Radio Nepal with a talk by OM. 0048 UTC SIO 454

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FM LOGS

76.4 MHz FM (?) Ghazal by YL, host YL 6:20 am SIO 555 (!) Hindi

89.2 MHz ABC Radio, Bangladesh, Bengali song, singer Kishore Kumar entitled "ekdin pakhi urre" 0055 UTC SIO 454

90.0 MHz Saptakoshi FM, Nepal, talk in Nepali by YL RJ 0102 UTC with songs & radio commercials in between. At O115 UTC 'Saptakoshi Time Check' local time announcement followed by 'news in brief' in Nepali then into songs. SIO 433

90.8 MHz Radio Smile, Balasore, sign in 0130 UTC with 'VANDE MATARAM' followed by Odisha's State anthem 'Vande Utkalo Janoni' then stn jingle by YL followed by OM ID. Inspirational msgs followed. SIO 555

Click to listen to my audio recording on Soundcloud

Rajdeep Das · Radio Smile 90.8 FM Balasore Odisha

102.9 MHz All India Radio (Baripada) news in Sanskrit (Delhi relay?) 0127 UTC. News read by OM. SIO 555

FM stations from Kolkata - Aamar FM, BIG FM, Fever 104 FM, Radio Mirchi & Vivid Bharti 101.8 MHz were all audible from the DX location.

Distance between Kolkata and Chandipur Odisha is 256.6 km.

73s 

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!

Gaweylon Tibetan Radio Program QSL'd

Gaweylon Tibetan Radio Program broadcast was recently verified from Kolkata, India. The half hour Tibetan programme from Gaweylon was heard on 4 July, 2015 between 12-1230 UTC, on 15215 kHz in the 19 meter band, relayed via FEBA using 250kW transmitter at Dhabbaya, UAE (Babcock facility).  SINPO for the broadcast was 43433 at my QTH in Kolkata, West Bengal, India using RX Tecsun PL660 with its extended telescopic whip antenna. The magazine program consisted of traditional and modern Tibetan music and songs, including health and general knowledge features.

A reception report along with a five minutes recording of the audio was mailed to their email id on the next day. An email reply was received within a couple of hours from Mr. Anil Alfred (Director) Gaweylon Tibetan Radio Programme thanking my effort and promising a hard copy QSL within a few days.

A package from Gaweylon arrived on 13 July, 2015 consisting of the following collectibles – Hard copy (full data) QSL card (25 yrs spl.) v/s Anil R. Alfred (Director) with Tibetan painting on reverse, a picture post card (depicting Tibetan art), another post card with painting (the original work was done by a Foot and Mouth Painting artist of India), schedule printed on visiting card (in English & Tibetan) and QSL letter v/s Anil R. Alfred (Director).

Those of you who are new to this station let me give you a brief on who they are and what their legacy is. “Gaweylon is a charitable society which exists for the promotion and development of knowledge.” They include charitable, social and cultural aspects of life in their daily programming, with moral and spiritual material based on the teachings of the Holy Bible. They have partnered with FEBA Radio - Far East Broadcasting Corporation

(source: gaweylon.com)

Currently they broadcast daily on 15215 kHz via FEBA/ FEBC hired transmitter facility in Dhabbaya, Uinted Arab Emirates (UAE). Gaweylon has started their broadcast in 1990 and this year they’re celebrating their 25 yrs of on-air broadcasts!

You can send your reception reports to Gaweylon Tibetan Radio Program Broadcast >> gaweylon@gmail.com. 

Their snail mail address is: Gaweylon, Post Box No.286, Dehradun, GPO 248001, Uttarakhand, INDIA.

Happy hunting !! 

73’s

Rádio Nacional Da Amazônia QSL Card Received

On May 22, 2015, I received a QSL card by registered mail from Rádio Nacional Da Amazônia in Brasilia verifying my monitoring report & audio file of their broadcast sent to them in early January 2015. The QSL verifies my reception of their transmission as heard from Mandarmani during ADXL DXpedition on 26^th Dec, 2014 on 11780 kHz at 20:00 Hrs UTC RX Tecsun PL660, 90m long-wire antenna. Listen to my audio recording-

This is the second time that EBC (Empresa Brasil de Comunicação) - the Brazilian government-owned corporation that manages the government's radio and television stations, has verified my reception report. In June 2014 I had my first Reception Verification from Rádio Nacional Da Amazônia However, back then I had to remain satisfied with just email verification as because, EBC didn't had any QSLs in stock! After several follow-ups their reply was quite intriguing “We are unable to give you a date, but a public bidding process has been initiated to select a firm to print the cards.” (Translated from Portuguese)

As it seems now, my second attempt to QSL Rádio Nacional Da Amazônia didn’t go astray. Early in March 2015, I was seeing New EBC QSLs popping up in multiple Facebook groups and some personal blogs of DXers (especially from Japan and Latin America). After a good look I concluded that EBC is issuing the new cards only to fresh reports (those logged from B14 season onwards), Hence, although I was pretty sure that my earlier report (of Jan 2014) would not fetch me QSL card, I certainly kept my fingers crossed for my reception report of 26^th Dec, 2014. Here are snaps taken just after opening the envelope from EBC.

Till next time, 73 from Kolkata, India.

Super Rádio Deus É Amor Logged & Verified from India

Super Rádio Deus É Amor transmitting from Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil with just 10 Kilowatt was logged on Dec 26, 2014 around 20:00 Hrs UTC from Mandarmani, West Bengal, India. Programming was in Portuguese. A male preacher was heard delivering sermon/ prayer to a house full of audience (probably one of the gospel discourses of the Pentecostal Church). The station was heard between 19:56-20:23 UTC with SIO 342-222 after which signal became almost inaudible due to heavy noise. RX used: Tecsun PL 660 Antenna: Longwire (90 mts). Here's the video of my reception:

Reception report was sent via email to IPDA in January and electronic verification was received from IPDA on that same day v/s Marcos Ribeiro (IPDA)

The English translation reads - " Good day, Thank you for listening to the signal of our radio station Super Rádio Deus É Amor (Curitiba/PR) here in Brazil." 

This was one of my farthest logs ever! The distance between the station and my QTH was a staggering 15,617 Kms and that too it transmitted its signal with just 10 KW. All in all, a fantastic DXing experience and a memory to cherish for years.

Here's a little information on the radio station and its background - 

Super Rádio Deus É Amor (God is Love) is a gospel radio station run by the IPDA ministry founded by legendary missionary David Martins Miranda. IPDA (Igreja Pentecostal Deus É Amor) was founded way back in 1962 and is well known in South American countries. IPDA's radio broadcasts are predominantly heard in local FM & AM (MW) channels in Brazil and all other South American countries, most Central American nations as well as in the USA and Canada, in both MW,SW,FM broadcast formats as well as online (worldwide) in Portuguese, Spanish, French and English. 

For details visit their website: http://www.ipda.com.br

Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/igrejadeuseamor

73 & 88

Logs from ADXL DXpedition Dec 2014

The Asian DX League (ADXL) DXpedition at Mandarmani during the Christmas weekend was highly successful for me and our team. I missed one of our core member's absence this time, yet the team spirit was high! To me this time the DXped offered some great learning experiences. 

Reception wise, Mandarmani (our ADXL DXped location) continued to prove it's superiority (Tajpur should come as a close second) as per my personal observation, now that I have toured and DXed at almost every major tourist spot along the West Bengal coastline & in some spots in the neighbouring Odisha coastline. Moreover, our beverage (90x2 & 120 x1 m insulated longwire) worked as expected and we're able to log stations from North and South America with S4-5 as well as from most other continents. 

Among the most notable DX catches I must mention my log(s) of Super Rádio Deus é Amor from Curitiba, Brazil (15,617 Kms away), Radio Nacional da Amazônia from Brasilia, Brazil (15,299 Kms away). Radio Madagasikara (Madagascar), Radio Fana (Ethiopia), WEWN (USA) and many more. 

Here are my detailed logs from the DXpedition -