Radio Australia and New Zealand on 19 Meters

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jwt873

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For the last few nights I've been listening to Radio Australia on 15.240 and Radio New Zealand on 15.720 around 9:30 - 10:00 PM CDT.

They've been very strong with little fading.

While I was listening to the south pacific went down to 15.000 and caught WWVH in Hawaii. It was coming in strong as well. Out of interest, I could hardly hear WWV in Fort Collins CO underneath the Hawaii signal.
 

majoco

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Strange as it may seem, WWV is probably too close for you to receive in California from Colorado at 10.00PM local time.
 

jwt873

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Yea, that frequency would go long after dark.

I just tried them again at 5:30PM local time.. Both are broadcasting right now. They're not quite as strong as they were last night, but no problem copying.
 

ka3jjz

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When posting logs, please use UTC (or if you prefer, GMT) time - it's a de facto standard on many HF related boards, and we try to mimic that here. As you were hearing WWVH (which uses it), you have a nice ready reference.

Here's an explanation of UTC, for those that might not know about it...

UTC GMT Conversion

Thanks for the logs and your future cooperation...Mike
 

majoco

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...but also please continue to state your local time as it is local time that determines your propagation conditions.
 

jwt873

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I guess it should be in UTC. The forum is read internationally.... Plus my radio has a clock that reads local and UTC :)

So I did some more listening for south Pacific signals this morning and got Radio Australia loud and clear on 9.580 Mhz at 14:00 UTC (9:00 AM local time). And darned if I'm not hearing Radio New Zealand at a solid 10 over S9 as I type this at 23:20 UTC, (6:20PM local time).

Seems I can tune in Oz and Kiwi Land at will in the mornings and evenings, just like they're local AM broadcast band stations :)

I've been SWLing for a lot of few years, (but not that much lately) and don't recall being able to pick up these stations so easily.
 

majoco

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1400 UTC is just getting light in NZ but still bogey dark in OZ, RNZ will fade out first, 2 hours or so before RadOZ. RadOZ goes up to 17840khz in the morning, I guess RNZ goes to their 16m band frequency too but they are too close for me to hear. Both of these broadcasts are really intended for the Pacific Islands.
If I wanted to listen to RNZ it's a relay of their domestic BC band service! Propagation is a very unpredictable science!
I've been SWLing for a lot of few years, (but not that much lately) and don't recall being able to pick up these stations so easily.
RNZ moved some of their transmitters and antennas up to Rangitaiki from Titahi Bay near Wellington in the last few years so perhaps the better site has improved your reception.
 

ka3jjz

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Speaking of R Australia it looks like budget cuts have shut down the Northern Territory services from Alice Springs, Katherine and Tennant Creek (to keep things on the up and up, I first read about this on the DXLD Yahoo group reported by Bob Padula). I've never heard them, but I bet a lot of West Coasters are going to miss having these stations as targets...Mike
 

Boombox

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Australia and NZ often come in well into the US and Canada because they beam a lot of their signal in our general direction because that is the same direction as their target area -- the islands of the South Pacific.

And in between them and us is nothing but saltwater. :)

We here on the west coast have always had a good reception of the Pacific, Glad to hear the signals are making it further inland as well.
 

a29zuk

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I guess it should be in UTC. The forum is read internationally.... Plus my radio has a clock that reads local and UTC :)

So I did some more listening for south Pacific signals this morning and got Radio Australia loud and clear on 9.580 Mhz at 14:00 UTC (9:00 AM local time). And darned if I'm not hearing Radio New Zealand at a solid 10 over S9 as I type this at 23:20 UTC, (6:20PM local time).

Seems I can tune in Oz and Kiwi Land at will in the mornings and evenings, just like they're local AM broadcast band stations :)

I've been SWLing for a lot of few years, (but not that much lately) and don't recall being able to pick up these stations so easily.

Radio Australia's 9580 is an old standby. It always has boomed in here since I've been listening back in the 1970s.
Over the years Radio New Zealand has bounced around on different frequencies in the morning here(1100 to 1300 UTC).

Jim
 

majoco

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Strangely enough, I get Radio Oz very well on 17.840MHz in my daytime, say 2200UTC onwards which I would have thought was a bit too close. I'll have to see where that transmission is beamed towards, probably the South Pacific, so you should be getting some of that in the US west.
 

Boombox

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Well, get it on 9580 while you can. They'll be off the air by February. :-(
 

majoco

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The ABC announced this week its three HF shortwave radio transmitters at Katherine, Tennant Creek and Roe Creek (Alice Springs), would be switched off on January 31, 2017.
You have to realise that Australia is a huge country - the outback has been serviced by HF radio for years, mainly in the lower bands as they work fine in the tropics. I don't think they are going to stop their Pacific Islands/International services - they are much like the NZ international service, just a relay of the domestic national programmes. Katherine, Tennant Creek and Roe Creek are really outpost towns with only a few residents but they do support a large area of 'farmlands'. My niece got married to a DOC ranger in Katherine in 1992, the wedding party outnumbered locals and we drank the pub dry over a period of ten days!
 

Boombox

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^^^^ From what I've read on other boards (including comments from Australian DXers) Radio Australia is going away, period.

They may have some online broadcasts, but they are shutting down.

I hope you're right, that the South Pacific service stays on the air. But I fear the opposite.
 

majoco

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I see no mention of the main HF transmitters at Shepparton closing down, only those three in the Northern Territories on the ABC website.
 
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