Ham Radio wise, last Sunday started like the usual one, with an early QSO on 40 mt., working an Italian special call (it seems, in our Country, everything leaves the ordinary on week-ends). However, I then recalled I saw e-mail reports about 10 mt. being wide open the day before. So, at 8.20 UTC I gave it a try. The band was alive, despite being late september, and stations heard were already more distant than the "standard" 28 MHz opening in Aosta Valley. It wasn't about Ukraine and Romania, but Europen Russia, for QRBs in the surroundings of 2600 km from IX1. Also, stations sounded loud and not showing any QSB (another uncommon element). It didn't seem Es, to be completely sincere. Tried a couple calls, as barefoot as ever (40 watts into the vertical), and in ten minutes scored full 5/9 reports from UA6HRR (in Stavropolsky, LN15me), and RO3G (in Lipetsk, KO92tp). I rejoyce of simple things, so was already glad, but the best had yet to come. Thinking conditions were challenging enough to test the waves /P, I took PRC-320 to the courtyard, connecting it to the Outback HF-1899 antenna on my mom's car, parked close. 15 meters sounded promising. The final log confirmed that feeling: 5/8 from LZ2RS (from Gabrovo), 5/9 from RN6HCX, 5/7 from RX6FW (in Stavropol), and 5/4 from UR3IF (in Enakievo: the closest one, getting me the weakest!). If you find all these QSO to be standard performances, I might agree with you, but don't forget we're talking a 30 watts radio, built some thirty years ago. Once back home, I turned on again the main station, and the moment to realize the real state of things went. Stations were blasting in on 10 mt., but from outside Europe! In particular, I had crystal clear copy of VU2ATN, Atanu from Gurgaon, India. In the last five years, extra EU colleagues did came in on 10 just another time. I called, but as I suspected (being received with such a signal here, had Atanu dealing with a monster pile-up), I wasn't heard. It didn't matter, however, as such an opening made me feel like an OM located in an environment not so depressed for radio ops, as being surrounded by mountains is. It wasn't over! One hour and the skip became even longer. South-east Asia knocked Europe's door this time, with calls I didn't even knew. I was aware Indonesia being YBx, but YF1AR – Java Island – was a complete new one for me. It came so well I could hear him also with the Degen DE1106 and the telescopic, like in the video here, shot at 13.14 UTC on 28480 kHz.
 

The same happened with 9W8AWT, even if I couldn't find a route for him on QRZ.com, nor through other web services. I had to leave the radio for a while, and at around 14.30 UTC, propagation took off again, to land in Brazil and Argentina. Time for another 320 /P round in the grounds, this time with the 2.4 mt. whip (and its counterpoise). The most simple set-up possible provided incredible receptions: for example PY2VA from Sao Caetano do Sul sounded times stronger than local stations calling him. Some calls hadn't me lucky on 28 MHz, but I went succesful on 15 mt. once again, with EW8A (at 15.42 UTC), and my first ever QSO on 12 mt.: SV1NJA on 24955 kHz, at 15.55 UTC. Packed up portable set, and once upstairs, after another pause, at 18.00 UTC, despite darkness outside, on 28620 MHz a station was announcing his QTH "in Maryland…". Considering I was short of radio time, I left MultiPSK on autolog mode on 28100 (PSK31). Results were, once again, above (local) average. Last QSO was logged at 19.21 UTC, then the band closed. Decoded calls include: PY3IP, N9JLY (in Winsconsin, so not on the east coast, which is the area you get most often in JN35pr), LW9EKA, and WP3PH in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. That was it, and I still wasn't dazzed by the amount of 10 mt. DX in just one day I witnessed. Unprecedented for my location (I heard Australia earlier this year, but opening didn't last so long, nor toured the whole world), I'm puzzled on this having to be related to high geomagnetic activity of the last days (saturday's XL flare, and as I type we're under storm), but for sure it's been an instructive experience, on how 10 mt. can be charming in places where opening are usual. Let's hope in more propagation presents like this one.

73,
Chris

Italian MW springtime brings  new stations, but also their confirmations. My report to Media Veneta Radio (for this reception, on 1233 kHz), sent on 21st September to the address mediavenetabroadcast[at]libero[dot]it went answered. On 25th September, I got an acknowledgement e-mail. The short message, signed "MediaVenetaRadio 1233", states "low power tests", with a "quarter wave antenna", from the "Padova province". Most of all, it's interesting to note, since I put in my report a (negative) comment about the possible switch to 1305 kHz (as per an anonymous comment on Andy Lawendel's blog, "Radiopassioni"), how the station referred to this as to "someone else's fantasy". So, expect to find Media Veneta Radio still on 1233 kHz. The mail came with the above image attached, in which the Venitian lion is shown, and the station's name and frequency appear along an AM/DRM mention. However, the latter broadcasting mode doesn't seems active and looks like another mystery, among many others, in the Italian MW springtime!

73,
Chris

When I've no success in QSLing a station, I quite never send a follow-up. Let's make it clear: nowadays broadcasters have automatic, modern and reliable systems to verify their signal quality in the coverage area. So, our reports are no more so useful, and – most of all (or, consequently) – it's not mandatory to answer them. The way radio things are going, it's mainly a PR thing, than a relationship undergoing between the station engineer and radio hobbysts.So, if such an attempt misses the target, I see no reason why pestering someone (that's what a follow-up is about, to my eyes) would increase your QSL/feedback chances. I always preferred (if we're not talking a meanwhile decommissioned station, or a special unique broadcast) sending in a new report. With WEWN (the shortwave outlet of Eternal Word Television Network, transmitting from Alabama) I had to go this way something like three or four times, but this week my success came. This reception, from 15th June 2011, at 23.27 UTC, on 15610 kHz, went confermed by a station card (you see above the front). The report was sent to the e-mail address given on the "Contact us" page of EWTN website) on 26th August 2011, and the card was in my mailbox on 21st September. Less than a month! Remember: don't follow-up, but report again. Let the station see you love radio (and their programmes), not only QSLs.

73,
Chris

This week-end weather was fine (altough a bit cloudy), but previous one was rainy and humid all the way. One of those couple days you're forced to stay home, like a prisonner. When things seem to go completely wrong, what you have to do is to completely reverse your perspective. So, I told myself that if below clouds I had no joy, to find some it was necessary to chase something in the heavens above. Launched "Orbitron", checked "ARISSat-1/KEDR" tracking for my area, and was lucky enough to have a good pass within minutes. I tried to get this bird when it was still in its "high power" days, soon after deployment, but it didn't awarded me so much satisfaciton in terms of signal quality. Anyways, I made as if it didn't happen, and decided to play it funny this time, with my newly arrived Baofeng UV-3R bi-band HT. At AOS, ran out (and luckily enough rain wasn't falling in that very moment), aimed the rubber bi-band antenna I got at a recent fair (forget the "dedicated" antennas the HT comes with, or sooner or later, forgetting you're on the band opposite to the aerial you have on, you'll burn your radio), and Baofeng's DSP did the trick you can check below. This time, considering my very basic set-up (and the really low power from up there), I was satisfied. I already sent my ARISSat-1/KEDR reception certificate request, and who knows if I'll get one. Matter of fact is that you can still receive the ISS deployed satellite with a minimal rig. Don't miss your pass!
 

73,
Chris

Summer is over, as I’m typing these lines, but on Medium Wave, in Italy, it’s springtime. Yes, new stations are growing like mushrooms, and it could turn out an interesting exercise for DXers in countries bordering with our (and also in the rest of Europe, why not!). It all started with Radio Studio X, in the Pistoia area (Tuscany), on 1584 kHz, several years ago. This station reigned alone (or almost so, given some very irregular experiments in Verona) for years, and it's still on the air, as you can see below.
 

Italian authorities doesn’t release licenses for Medium Wave broadcasting (the only authorised presence there is Rai, the national radio, with several transmitters on the whole band), but the law looks like keeping an “open door”, as it mentions “experimental broadcasts”, although without specifying what characteristics have to be fulfiled. So, on that horizon line, even if pretty thin, new stations are venturing. This makes them quite elusive on their set-up, or location, and force to a partial programs grid, but some details have surfaced so far, and many of those have given feedback to listeners.
 

First one to add its name to the list, a couple years ago, has been Challenger Radio, on 1368 kHz. The main transmitter is at Villa Estense, in Padova, with a 10 kW power. After a long test phase, with mainly children songs on the air, they now have a more rich schedule, including the relay of Voice of America, IRRS, and European Gospel Radio. More recently, Challenger – which on 1368 kHz simply blasts, reaching well outside Italy (see above) – added a second frequency. 1566 kHz. It’s said to be from Rome, but with lower power (1 kW). The night I managed to receive this transmitter (really hard to get in northern Italy, due to a very crowded channel), it was in parallel with 1368. I’ve yet to send my report, but the station do QSL, as it can be shown on this blog. A third transmitter should also have been switched on, always from Rome, on 1575 kHz (with the idea to bring it also, at a later date, on 1566).

Two others stations that started with Challenger – and they even syndicated themselves under the “Progetto AM Italia” insignia (this article tells it all) – are Onda Media Broadcast on 1512 kHz (in the Bologna area), and BroadcastItalia on 1485 kHz. Former is said to relay Voice of Russia in Italian, while latter should offer a variety of programs, as announced on its website (that also streams the signal on the net). The guys in Rome, as shown on this clip, seem to have particular care for the technical side. Further than the new antenna, they also plan a power upgrade from the current 1 to a future 2,5 kW. Bologna tx is reported to put out 1.2 kW. However, I never had a chance to hear these two. Here, 1512 has IRIB Ardabil strong as ever just after sunset kicks in, and 1485 is simply overloaded with Spain (and many other countries). E-qsls have been sent out from BroadcastItalia, and Onda Media has confirmed with an SMS, within 21 minutes, the report of a listener (the phone number is on the site hosting the news).

We then come to more recent birth station. On 1233 kHz (but on Andy Lawendel’s blog a bird tweeted they’ll start/move also on 1305 kHz) you can find Media Veneta Broadcast, that lately changed in Media Veneta Radio. Transmitter is reported, by Herman Boel on his EMWG, to be in Piove di Sacco, near Padova, with a 0.1 kW output. It might be a paradox, but thanks to a quite Europe free channel (with the only exception of Absolute Radio, but hard to hear before darkness) it’s the one I received better in my north-western corner. Transmissions are currently made of 70/80’s non stop music and the station looks to confirm via e-mail (stating also a quarter wave antenna) from the address mediavenetabroadcast@libero.it.
 

The already mentioned 1566 kHz is home also for Radio Kolbe, a religious broadcaster that added AM to its huge offer (including FM, satellite, DVB-T, and Internet). Daytime coverage is provided in the Padova/Vicenza/Verona area, as shown in this map, including also FM tx areas. Night, as usual, increases chances of a reception, but this service is still being experimented at low power (0.5 kW), so it really has to struggle with the many others stations on the frequency. Kolbe has been received in Austria, however. Listeners’ reports have been confirmed by the station’s technical engineer, Mr. Alberto De Pretto, who is also an OM (IW3IJI). E-mail: alberto[at]depretto.it.

Remaining on 1566 kHz, it has to be underlined that some reports are existing for a station named Melody Radio. See, for example, this video (shot in august 2010), and another one here, from last July. The signal is a CQuam stereo, but searches on the net haven’t revealed much on the station. Judging from the daytime reception locations of the two clips, and looking at details given by EMWG, the transmitter should be in Ravenna, with a power of 0.25 kW. QSLs aren’t reported. More than Melody, a mystery!

Last, but only in chronological order, Radiomarina, which is testing on 1071 kHz. Schedule is very erratic. So far, it has been heard mostly during week-ends. The name of the station, along with the picture on the QSL (displaying Goro’s lighthouse), and with the answers received by some listeners, situates this transmitter in the Venezia Province. Radiomarina is using an LPB-Communications AM-150 tx, generating some 150 watts, and a sixty meters long wire antenna. The gear is minimal, but it has to be very well set-up, as at 19 UTC the station has been heard in Ligury, so at a 250 kilometres distance from the transmitter. It remains, anyways, also due to the irregular transmissions, a rare catch. So, should you hear it, don’t hesitate to send your report to radiomarina[at]wifi4all.it.

To make this as complete as possible, the tests started by two stations in Sicily have to be added to the bunch. First one is Radio Poggio Lupo, on 1503 kHz, in the Catania Province, with the other being Radio Gold Italia, on 1593 kHz. These look to have been on the air not that much, but some week-end they did. Check Bclnews.it, from time to time, as it seems the appropriate source for announcements on those.

Now, you’ll agree on Italian MW springtime. For sure, the band here is not dying. To be completely true, however, the main point remain unsolved. We have a bunch of wave adventurers performing “test transmissions” (basically, non stop music with IDs each two songs), with not always coverage linear results (as per the chart opening this story, in Aosta I received just three of all the mentioned stations… and if a signal originating at no more than 300 kms from you gets buried under Iran, something is wrong somewhere!), with regular transmissions start being incognito. Leaving aside the “who pays?” question, one can only wonder which added value to the listeners can be provided by all these “spring gems”. However, that’s another story, as this piece was about reception, and time will tell who’ll resist winter.

73,
Chris

I think that owning an amateur radio license is something more than being allowed to switch on a radio, and connecting people close or far from you. It's also about explaining to the world why this is a unique and beautiful hobby, mixing notions and feelings like a few others. If, like for yours truly, journalism is the dish of the day, you're committed even more to this task. That's why, following my experience with the tv broadcast “Les Chevaliers des ondes” (about the ham experiment conducted in Sottens, Switzerland, earlier this year), a new video is born. Sixteen minutes and thirthy-three seconds focusing on the activities (related to DX, but also to emergency comms, and to supporting sport events) by the OMs of my area, Aosta Valley (the mighty IX1 land), that can be viewed online, thanks to the Bobine.tv webtv. The above is just the trailer (the first 1.48 of the broadcast), intended as an appetizer, but you can check the whole thing. Follow this link, then put “radioamatori” (OMs in italian) on the search bar below the screen, and just one result will show up. Double click on it, sit back, relax and enjoy… it's us, starring characters of endless radio adventures. So, in a way, it's like if it was you too!

73,
Chris