[HCDX] great trans-Atlantic and tropical logs

[Aurel Chiochiu <aurelchiochiu@xxxxxxxxx>]

Report from the Verdun // Lasalle border in Montréal, Québec, Canada using
the Grundig G5 with 2 assorted PK loops for long and mediumwave and the
telescopic antenna for shortwave DXing

The last night I was very tired after participating in a car wash... On the
other hand, the other night, while LW and MW were only above average to
North Africa with Eastern Europe very poor and Scandinavia inexistent, SW
(a place that I seldom find interesting) offered very nice results. Also I
heard a Spanish gospel pirate on 1710 kHz mixing with a domestic TIS...
Enough chatter, into the logs:

Trans-Atlantic DX

153 ALGERIA   Jil FM, Bechar OCT 1 0104 - Man talking clearly in Arabic,
above growl and suspected Germany / Romania mix. New for me ! (Chiochiu-QC)

153 ROMANIA  Antena Satelor, Bod OCT 1 0255 - pre-morning show test tone
getting very weakly through the Algeria / Germany mix. If I didn`t knew
(from previous listening to them both on longwave and on the Internet),
that they carry such tones, I would not be able to relog them. SINPO 12221,
awful SINPO (Chiochiu-QC)

162 FRANCE   France Inter, Allouis OCT 1 - by the time I got to my DX spot,
they were already off for maintenance like each Tuesday morning (European
Time). (Chiochiu-QC)

171 MOROCCO   Médi 1 // Radio Méditerranée Internationale OCT 1 0200 -
tuned to this frequency to find a brand new Arabic talkshow (?) leading to
the 0200 UTC eclectic Arabic music broadcast with female announcer, playing
among others Cheb Bilal at 0142 UTC. Generally near excellent reception
with Russian man talk fading up way Under barely audible around 0118 UTC
(surprising since Bolshakovo do not propagate during this type of mid to
low latitude geomagnetic conditions). This was the strongest
trans-Atlantic. (Chiochiu-QC)

177 GERMANY   Deutschlandradio Kultur, Zehlendorf OCT 1 0149 - playing a
nice jazz fusion number, followed by more classic jazz, then "Nachristen"
about the calling of the Iran leader by Barak Obama and also about the US
gouvernment which is shut down. Only fair, but very listenable if you
understand German and / or if you enjoy jazz. SINPO 35443. (Chiochiu-QC)

189 ICELAND   Rikisutvarpid, Gufuskalar OCT 1 - not propagating here the
other night, either off for maintenance (like the 162 kHz French
blockbuster broadcaster) or conditions toward Scandinavia inexistent. This
one is usuaaly the strongest TA here unlike Morocco-171 which is slightly
weaker, usually. (Chiochiu-QC)

198 ENGLAND   BBC Radio 4, Droitwhich OCT 1 0250 - noted in passing with
man and woman alternating in British accented English with apparent news.
Surprisingly good considering the poor reception conditions to that
specific part of Europe (north of Germany). (Chiochiu-QC)

207 GERMANY   Deutschlandfunk, Münich OCT 1 0149 - bits of apparent German
news through rough NDB QRM coming from 206 kHz. Better detuned to 209, but
still a difficult catche, nevertheless. (Chiochiu-QC)

225 POLAND   Polski Radio Ervan, Solec Kujawski OCT 1 0148 - Polish
folk-rock music getting through fair-strength NDB QRM. SINPO 33442
(Chiochiu-QC)

252 ALGERIA   Alger Chaîne 3, Tipaza OCT 1 0154 - tentative with some music
all alone on 253 kHz to prevent splatter from 248 kHz NDB UL (Pierre-Eliott
Trudeau airport in Dorval, Montréal, Québec, Canada). No sign of Ireland
here the other night ! (Chiochiu-QC)

531 ALGERIA   Jil FM OCT 1 0123 - Man in Arabic cleanly separated from CIAO
Toronto on 534 instead of 533 kHz and with the same voice and the same
apparent speech as on 547 (with splatter mostly from WEVD 550 and
heterodyne too). NEW and sometimes stronger / sometimes weaker than 549
(547 in my case, because of heavy 550 heterodyne). (Chiochiu-QC)

549 ALGERIA   Jil FM, Les Trembles OCT 1 0123 - Man in Arabic heard when
detuned to 547 kHz instead of actual 549 kHz and huge het on 550. // 531
and sometimes stronger / sometimes weaker than 531 because of fading.
(Chiochiu-QC)

Pan-American DX comments

Two interesting signals on 1710 with mild local 1690 kHz splatter on the
regular mediumwave band, though on the top of the expanded MW band, several
ZYs on 60 meters including a brand new Brazilian on 4755, Radio Nacional
something that, surprisingly enough, was not // 11780 kHz (25 meters). Also
1 or two Peruvian or Bolivian signals at fair and almost listenable levels.
I don`t keep a detailed SW log like I do for LW or MW, but for the first
time in ages I had more fun hunting for SW than LW or MW DX. 60 meters was
like a South American candy store, and the Eton G5 from Grundig has the
largest telescopic antenna I ever saw on an ultralight.

Ham Radio listening

Two noteworthy events: I tuned into a weak conversation about an aircraft
driver who saw an UFO and tried to follow it and I heard some Spanish hams
on 80 meters, because this gorgeous Grundig G5 also has SINGLE SIDE BAND.
I`m gonna try to catch some signals out of Nibiru between 20 and 30 MHz
which is almost empty here nowadays. I used to have issues in the past with
it because of internal mixing products but using the right loop really
makes a difference. This issue is still an issue between the 80m ham
segment and the 120 tropical band though, but I suspect the QTH also has a
role to play. In Pierrefonds, I have two moderately powered (1 to 10 kW)
but NEARBY AM broadcasters on 1450 and 1570 kHz). They are causing some
receiver generated spurs and IF QRM 450 kHz below sometimes, but I can
phase out the 1450 local from 550 while on my home QTH and log the 549
Algerian, nevertheless.

That`s it for now, DX-Wise !
May the good DX be with you !
Bogdan Chiochiu
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