A month of logs from Newfoundland, Mar. 26 - Apr. 25

[newfoundland dxer]

Hi everyone:

It has been a long time since I have been able to post my logs. A combination of very long work hours, travel and family left very limited hobby time, which I just spent listening.

I have spent the last couple of days reviewing audio files, and I have been amazed at how good the conditions have been in the evenings for the past 2 weeks. I have had my best receptions ever of Galaxy, Jan van Gent, Bogusman, Borderhunter and Black Bandit in the past 2 weeks, plus many other good receptions. 76m, 48m and 19m have all been performing well in the late afternoon and evening. Mornings, however, have been very poor. It appears that the morning path has closed for the summer.

The highlight of the month was definitely hearing B52 and other pirates from Greece on April 1 on 1710. B52 was in Iann's chat, so it was very nice to finally report to a station from Greece. I have heard many stations that I have suspected were Greek, but this was my first confirmed reception. I have been checking the mediumwave since, but darkness does not come here until about 2300 UTC now, and I have not had any luck.

There are lots of logs of US stations this month, partly due to my available listening times being late evening here. Captain Morgan, Outhouse, Ronin and WEAK have all been very active.

It was nice to hear a few new stations this month, including Magnetar, Fidel, WLDJ (Voice of the Last DJ), CYOT and Festivum. And it was also very nice to hear Spider back on the air, and to hear Relmus back on shortwave.

Friday, March 26
3905,0 . . 2042-2315 . Skyline International Radio, rock music tonight, ID and greetings (thanks) at 2140, 44443, also heard in QSO with Sallandse Boer at 2331, SB barely audible.
3932,0 . . 2046-2234 . Radio Jan van Gent, old style country and gospel music, 33342 up to 34343, depending on ham QRM, ID and greetings (thanks) just before 2234 c/d.
6553,3 . . 2114-2215 . Radio Galaxy, techno pop music, jingle IDs and email, 34442
6912,0 . . 2200-2250 . Radio Blue Star, weak music and talk, confirmed by op, 24341
6210,7 . . 2224-2303 . Radio Spaceshuttle, weak music and talk, including tent. ID 2225, occassional ute and ssb QRM, 23341,
6309,5 . . 2239-2245 . Radio Altrex, barely audible music, ID via Iann's chat

Saturday, March 27
1665,0 . . 0005-0013 . Relmus Radio, very weak music, ID via Iann's chat
6960,0u . 0013-0020 . Outhouse Radio (US), fast guitar piece, ID, organ music, 34343
6930.0u . 0042-0056 . Magnetar Radio (US), echo ID, talk by a computer voice, techno music, ssb QRM, 33442
6925.0 . . 0059-0108 . WHYP (US), music with a lot of organ/synthesizer, ID 0107, 24342
6220,0 . . 2205-2215 . Playback International via Mystery, live show, pbi jingle ID, "These Boots were Made for Walkin", 34342

Sunday, March 28
6925,0u . 0029-0037 . Radio Station XXP (US), ID and email, music, 24341
5820,0 . . 0744-0911 . Orion Radio, barely audible music (I knew right away that it would be a poor morning, winter conditions seem to be finished), ID via Iann's chat
6200,0 . . 0910-0920 . Radio Geronimo, just traces of music, ID via Iann's chat
6224,0u . 0931-0947 . Taupo Maritime Radio (New Zealand), not a pirate, but an interesting example of how conditions can be horrible in one direction (Europe) but fantastic in the other. This 1 kW station from 16,000 km away was perfectly readable, 34342
6923,2u . 0950-0955 . UNID, very weak music, c/d or fade out 0955

Thursday, April 1
1710,0 . . 2243-2330 . Radio B52 (Greece) plus at least 2 unid Greek stations in QSO, B52 heard fairly clearly at 2243-2245, 2300-2302 and 2325-2329, with greetings to MRF and myself (thanks!), talk in mostly Greek with some English, lots of laughter, echo effect, 34342, other stations in QSO with B52 were much weaker. (It was great see Greek pirates in chat, and even nicer to hear them!)

Thursday, April 8
3905,0 . . 2119-2125 . MRF Radio and Cupid Radio QSO, missed Cupid's show but caught a little of MRF's report (barely audible) plus Cupid's reply, including greetings (thanks!), 34332
6925,0u . 2354-0003 . WLDJ (US), weak music and talk, clear ID on a fade up. SSTV at 0002 (but I cannot decode), 24341

Friday, April 9
6960,0 . . 2030-2142 . Radio Jan van Gent, old time country and gospel music, weak at first, but improved to an amazing 44343 at 2142 c/d. No ID heard, but confirmed in Iann's chat.
6912,0 . . 2039-2109 . Continental Radio, Dutch music, ID, email and greetings (thanks) at 2045, moved to 6908 at 2103 to avoid QRM from WYFR on 6915, 24342
3905,0 . . 2109-2236 . Skyline International Radio, lots of hard rock tonight, IDs, greetings, weak at first but up to 43443 at 2236 c/d.
6924,5 . . 2120-2130 . Radio Ronin Shortwave (US) (tent), barely audible music
6940.0 . . 2145-0017 . WEAK (US), rock music, jingle IDs, parody ads, barely audible at first but up to 34342 by 2330.
3905,0 . . 2241-2250 . Sallandse Boer, report to Skyline, music, barely above the ham QRM, 22441
6924,5 . . 2335-2344 . Radio Ronin Shortwave (US) (tent), very weak music, apparently Ronin was back on this freq.

Saturday, April 10
6925,0u . 0034-0050 . Radio Marlene (US), pop music, ID and email at 0036 and 0046, 34443
6950.0 . . 0132-0144 . WLDJ (US), weak music, ID by woman at 0142, 34342
6925,0u . 0215-0225 . Outhouse Radio (US), great guitar music, ID 0221, 34342
6850,8 . . 2034-2040 . MAC Shortwave (US), Beatles "Ticket to Ride", Ultraman, 34342
6420,0 . . 2051-2110 . Premier Radio, very weak music, heard a bit of "Downtown" at 2055, talk (including tentative ID) at 2100, instrumental music 2108 (maybe the theme from an old TV show?), c/d 2110, pulsing ute QRM, positive ID via Iann's chat
6924,7 . . 2148-2155 . Captain Morgan Shortwave (US), great blues tonight, ID and email 2151, 34442
6240,2 . . 2218-2231 . Free Radio Victoria, op singing along with the music, IDs, "testing", Eagles "Lyin Eyes", greetings (thanks!), 34442
6925,0u . 2232-2242 . Spider Radio, 80's pop, ID, QRM from Cuban phone patches (could hear the phone rings), 23441
7630,0 . . 2243-2259 . Cactus Jack Radio, jazz style music, jingle ID, 24342
7670,0 . . 2259-2310 . Cactus Jack Radio, music, jingle ID, 34332

Sunday, April 11
6925,0u . 0021-0028 . WLDJ (US), "You are listening to the last DJ, WLDJ. This is Crystal." by female, Tom Petty "The Last DJ",
6950,5 . . 0032-0114 . CYOT (US or Canada?), weak music, ID and email 0044, "Do I Dig That Girl", "All Right Now", ID at 0111, "Some Kind of Wonderful", 24341
6925,0u . 0053-0059 . WPON (US), Bohemian Rhapsody (parody I think), ID "WPON, The Weapon", by female, 24342
6925,0u . 0141-0152 . Radio Marlene (US), "Last Train to Parksville", IDs, "96 Tears", 34443
5820,0 . . 0719-0807 . Orion Radio, very weak music and talk at tune in, high noise level made details impossible, ID via Iann's chat
6400,6 . . 0735-0815 . Radio Star Int., classical music at tune in, pop music later, "Soldiers Who Want to be Heros", ID and phone number 0812, 34342
7620,0 . . 0748-0749 . Cactus Jack Radio, about 1 minute of instrumental music at 24342, then faded out completely, ID via Iann's chat.
9290,3 . . 0818-0830 . Radio Spaceshuttle Int., talk at tune in, could pick out a few words, including ID, then faded, some traces of music, then faded back in at 0823 for another minute with talk, 60's song (i recognize it, but cannot name it), more talk, 24331
6295,0 . . 0831-0840 . Radio Develon, barely audible muusic and talk, ID via Iann's chat
12257,1 . 0843-0940 . WR International, barely audible at tune in, gradually improved until ID heard on fade up at 0930, followed by soul song by woman, 24331
6203,1 . . 0847-0854 . Radio Scotland Int., barely audible music and talk, ID via Iann's chat.
6660,0L . 1820-1821 . UNID, SSB pirate, caught the end of some yodelling (quite good!), no announcement, 34342
6304,8 . . 1909-2123 . Radio Merlin Int., very weak at first, but improved to 34343 by 2118 with "House of the Rising Sun", jingle ID, and "Rider's on the Storm"
6325,0 . . 1926-1932 . Mustang Radio, barely audible music and talk, too early for best reception on 48m, ID via Iann's chat
6925,0u . 1940-1956 . Spider Radio, very weak music, heard Led Zepplin (Kashmir?) at 1950, "El Silencio" at 1953 before c/d, 24341
6924,0 . . 2004-2010 . Radio Black Arrow, very weak music and talk, fairly sure I heard a greeting at 2006 (thanks!), ID 2009, 24331
3899,3 . . 2140-2245 . Polaris Radio, very weak music and talk, a few fade ins where I could here the music clearly, but nothing I recognized, surprisingly free of ham QRM, ID via Iann's chat, 24341
3932,0 . . 2220-2238 . MRF Radio, music, ID and email at 2228, unknown song by woman, same ID and email, "Ventura Highway", 21341 up to 24342 (variable ham QRM)

Monday, April 12
6925,0u . 0022-0027 . Radio Fidel (US), Spanish rap song, ID, email and c/d, 34443
6925,0u . 0028-0035 . Radio Marlene (US), on with ID and "House of the Rising Sun", ID and email, "Magic Carpet Ride", 34443
6924,9 . . 0056-0110 . Captain Morgan Shortwave (US), great blues music again tonight, Twilight Zone theme, ID and email 0105, 24342

Friday, April 16
6925,0 . . 0015-0025 . Captain Morgan Shortwave (US) (tent), instrumental music, Twilight Zone theme, strangely distorted at times, 24342
3932,0 . . 2200-2340 . Radio Baken 16, very weak at first, gradually improved to 23341, sometimes 24342, "Smoke on the Water" at 2333.
3945,1 . . 2206-2322 . Bogusman, long talks with the occassional word copyable, music, signal gradually improved, but so did the ham QRM, ID via Iann's chat
1665,0 . . 2340-2350 . Relmus Radio, "Little Green Bag", long slow fades, 24332

Saturday, April 17
6960,0 . . 2030-2040 . Radio Jan van Gent, continuous slow country music, 24342, ID via Iann's chat
6553,3 . . 2048-2140 . Radio Galaxy, music, clear IDs and emails, my best reception of Galaxy ever, 34342 to 34343
6942,0 . . 2100-2115 . Radio Black Arrow, ID 2204, "Eye of the Tiger", "Brown Eyed Girl", ID and greetings (thanks!) at 2114, faded up to 34342
6208,1 . . 2115-2200 . Radio Scotland Int., ID, dance music, ID and greetings (thanks!) at 2119, more dance music, talk about the volcanic ash helping reception at 2126, Led Zepplin, 34343
6923,9 . . 2139-2219 . Radio Black Arrow, Stray Cats "Rock this Town", multiple IDs, c/d 2219
3931,6 . . 2150-2255 . Bogusman, amazing signal, IDs, talk about the "mainstream" song just played, and story about removing a sign prohibiting drinking in public, 34443
6260,1 . . 2201-2313 . Free Radio Victoria, pop music at tune in, ID 2204, country, "Crocodile Rock" at 2256, occassional ssb QRM, 33342 to 34343
3905,1 . . 2223-2232 . Radio Fox 48, barely audible music under a very loud ham, 22441, ID via Iann's chat

Sunday, April 18
12257,1 . 0959-1025 . WR International, jingle ID 1000, long talk (heard "here on WR International"), faded to barely audible, 24431
6210,0 . . 1843-1847 . Radio Borderhunter, just caught closing comments, music and c/d 1847, 24442, very early for 48 m.
15310,0 . 1859-1917 . Radio Borderhunter, dance music at tune in, many IDs and greetings (thanks), testing a new antenna constructed for this frequency, more dance, then Elvis 1911, amazing signal, 44444!
6960,0 . . 1958-2005 . Radio Jan van Gent, "Amazing Grace" on harmonica, country song, ID via Iann's chat, 24442
3931,6 . . 2048-2110 . Bogusman, very weak talk and music, definitely the same voice heard last night, but much weaker, 24341
5814,8 . . 2110-2120 . Radio Telstar South, older pop music, talk and ID, announcer frequently shouting, 34342
6850,0 . . 2234-2240 . MAC Shortwave (US), theme song from "Married with Children", jingle ID, Paul Starr comments played backwards!, 34342

Monday, April 19
6924,7 . . 0010-0020 . Captain Morgan Shortwave (US), nice blues tunes again, ID 0012
6930,0u . 2357-0005 . WEAK (US), acoustic blues/bluegrass, 34442

Tuesday, April 20
6930,0 . . 0916-0936 . UNID (perphaps WEAK?), Cars "Bye Bye Love", "Der Kommissar", "Is There Something I Should Know?", "Be Thankful for What You Got", off 0936 without announcemnt, 34433 occassional OTHR
6930,0 . . 0000-0007 . WEAK (US), reggae songs, ID, closing theme from Bug's Bunny, echo ID and c/d
6925,4 . . 0019-0155 . Outhouse Radio (US), very weak music, lots of ssb QRM, 23341
1710,0 . . 0200-0220 . Radio Soleil Int. and UNID, RSI, which serves the Haitian community in Brockton, MA, is a regular here, but I often hear a second station underneath. Tonight, both stations were at an equal level for about 15 minutes, and I heard religious talk and music in an unknown language. One possibility is Radio Moshiach and Redemption, a Jewish religious station in New York City known to use this frequency.
6924,5 . . 2353-0025 . Radio Ronin Shortwave (US), very weak music, almost loud enough to ID songs, but not quite, faded out around 0025 (possibly c/d)

Wednesday, April 21
6925,4 . . 0113-0125 . Outhouse Radio (US), ID, Hendrix tonight, 24342
6930.0u . 0125-0140 . Wolverine Radio (US), "Funkytown", "Emotional Rescue", ID 0136, 44443

Thursday, April 22
6924,5 . . 0014-0025 . Captain Morgan Shortwave (US), "We Didn't Start the Fire", comedy based on Celebrity Jeopardy, "Mr. Bojangles", Hendrix, 34433
6935,0 . . 0021-0030 . WEAK (US), reggae again tonight, 34342
6950,4 . . 0030-0107 . Radio Ronin Shortwave (US), very weak music, could only ID BOC "Don't Fear the Reaper" and Bob Seger "Turn the Page", c/d or complete fade out 0107, posted as UNID on the HFUnderground board, and the op. kindly confirmed my reception.
6925,3 . . 0127-0215 . Outhouse Radio (US), country music at first, ID 0208, instrumental music, c/d 0215, 34342
3931,6 . . 0145-0147 . UNID, heard about 15 seconds of very loud classical music, 44443, carrier stayed on for two more minutes, either an American ham fooling around or a very loud European pirate testing.

Friday, April 23
3905,0 . . 2100-2206 . Skyline International Radio, pop music, IDs, greetings (thanks!), 34343
3932,0 . . 2132-2142 . Radio Jan van Gent, very weak country music with lots of ham QRM, 23441, ID via Iann's chat
6374,9 . . 2142-2305 . Radio Black Arrow, Tina Turner "Thunderdome", IDs, greetings (thanks!), AC/DC "Thunderstruck", asking for reports at 2207, c/d 2305, 34433
3912,0 . . 2149-2246 . Radio Festivum, barely audible music and talk, bad ham QRM most of the time, ID by op in Iann's chat
3900,0 . . 2254-2256 . Sallandse Boer, voice report to Skyline, 34342

Saturday, April 24
15315,0 . 1745-1842 . Radio Borderhunter, barely audible at first, improved to max 24441 at 1830 with Meatloaf, IDs and greetings barely heard, (amazing compared to last week's 44444 signal)
15324,8 . 1849-1855 . Radio Black Arrow, barely audible music, ID via Iann's chat
6419,8 . . 2005-2015 . Radio Waves Int., mostly barely audible, but clearly heard a woman singing country at 2010, ID via Iann's chat

Sunday, April 25
6924,6 . . 0014-0020 . MAC Shortwave (US), pop music, ID, Paul Starr, played backwards again, 44443
15315,0 . 1500-1605 . Radio Borderhunter, on with dance music, ID, greetings (thanks!), lots of dance music, much better signal than yesterday, 44443
15335,0 . 1610-2030 . Radio Borderhunter, moved here to avoid QRM, rock, pop and dance music, lots of IDs, greetings listeners and requesting reports, 44443 at start, dropped 34442 at 2030 c/d
7610,0 . . 1817-1830 . Playback Int. via Radio Amica, live show, very weak this early, but I could recognize JJ's voice (but not his guest), 24442
15310,0 . 1933-1940 . Radio Black Arrow, instrumental music, ID, short test, "Born to be Wild", "Black Magic Woman", 34342
6400,9 . . 2020-2046 . Radio Black Bandit, "Venus", "Money for Nothing", talk and clear ID "This is Bandit ... Radio Black Bandit" at 2045, 33442, ute QRM
6420,0 . . 2047-2114 . Radio Black Bandit, moved here from 6401, "Every Breath You Take", ID at 2111, said he may be back later, but has to fix antenna first, c/d 2114, 34442
6420,0 . . 2117-2133 . MRF Radio (partly in usb mode), voice report to BB and maybe to a second station, "testing 1-2" several times with long gaps, barely audible at first but improving quickly, clear ID and greetings (thanks!) at 2131, up to 24442 at the end.
6420,0 . . 2201-2240 . Radio Black Bandit, obviously he fixed the antenna, polkas, IDs just before c/d at 2240, 34442
6924,6 . . 2310-2349 . Captain Morgan Shortwave (US), nice blues music, ID and email at 2313, c/d 2349, 24442
6960.0u . 2332-2344 . UNID, Led Zepplin songs, 23441 at best (ssb QRM), faded out about 2344
6925,0u . 2349-2358 . Blue Ridge Radio (US), became audible when Captain Morgan c/d, more good blues heard, ID 2356, 24342

Cheers, Terry

Receivers: JRC NRD-525 & Yaesu-Musen FRG-7
Antenna: 75 m long wire, 30 m from house
QTH: Conception Bay South, Newfoundland, Canada

Abbreviations and references:
(US) = United States
IS = Interval Signal
u = usb (upper side band)
L = lsb (lower side band)
v = variable
tent = tentative
pos = possible
QRM = interference
QSO = conversation
ham = licensed radio amateur operator
c/d = close down (transmitter off)
op = operator
OTHR = over the horizon radar
rfi = radio frequency interference (noise caused by electrical sparking, usually in power lines)
Iann's chat = http://www.easyshopdiscountzone.com/rad ... e/english/

[relmus radio]

Terry thanks for the reports.

And greetings from the waddenseacaust.

[Dave Jones]

Hi Terry,
Thanks for the logging of WR International in your recent logs. It's good to know that it makes the trip to yours now and again how ever weak the signal.
Many thanks, happy dxing
Dave.