This is the second group of Australian and New Zealand MW station loggings
made during our April 8-13 trip to Aitutaki in the Cook Islands-- a location
with superb sunset skip propagation to New Zealand. As a result over 100 Kiwi
station recordings were made during the trip, which have been taking some time
to sort out.
The original Cook Island plan had been to investigate every MW frequency
during sunset skip over five days, but extra Polynesian dinners scheduled by my
wife ate up some serious time, causing several frequencies to go unrecorded.
Despite this the greater portion of the MW band was indeed checked during
sunset skip propagation, resulting in the greatest number of DX recordings I've
ever made during any DXpedition. All of these sunset skip loggings were made
with a hand-held 7.5" loopstick C.Crane Skywave SSB model on the Aitutaki
lagoon beach.
Whereas the Kiwi stations dominated the sunset skip sessions, the
Australian MW stations dominated at sunrise, especially on frequencies like
576, 594, 693, 918 and 1566-- all of which had exotic South and Southeast Asian
target stations. 693-3AW and 1566-3NE even had the same "Ovenight Australia"
program running each morning, managing to foul up two priority frequencies with
the same long-winded announcer each session (although 693-Bangladesh had enough
power to silence him at times). 918 also had an Oz talk program fouling up the
frequency (presumably 4VL) along with RNZ and Shandong, but Cambodia did
finally break through with its National Anthem on 4-12. Overall the experience
of DXing down under was a big thrill at sunrise, though, with long range South
Asian propagation that North American DXers can only dream about!
630 4QN Townsville, Australia, 50 kW Oz big gun was easy to hear in the
null of Radio Cook Islands' open carrier at 1500 on 4-12 with trumpet fanfare
and ABC news at the TOH; it was also easy copy in RCI's null (with RNZ) every
evening https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ceiaw26agqd4h15jv0j0xipexd7oryy6
630 RNZ Hawkes Bay, NZ, 10 kW 5+1 time pips and female announcer mixing
with 4QN in the null of Radio Cook Islands' open carrier at 1500 on 4-12; this
station was the dominant co-channel of RCI in the evening
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ceiaw26agqd4h15jv0j0xipexd7oryy6
639 2HC Coff's Harbour, Australia, 5 kW Local ads (mentioning the suburb
"Umarra" at 1:08) and "100.5 FM, 639 AM" ID at 1:18
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/cgv1vb0g8twz4vl6j8660hdjj53d1mmx
657 Star Wellington/ Tauranga, NZ, 50/ 10 kW A real powerhouse with its
Christian programming each evening, its signal tapered off somewhat around
sunrise, allowing Pyongyang and AIR (Kolkata) to sneak through on 4-12. This
signal (at 1651 on 4-12) starts off with the Asians nulled for a few seconds
(after AIR had hit its peak), with Star's Irish-accented preacher hitting an S9
level briefly https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/3o4kd9pkall7oyrzzhy0n2hnx3o8ypfx
675 RNZ Christchurch, NZ, 10 kW Another evening powerhouse with a traffic
report during the rush hour at 0630 on 4-12
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/o7fldq2j27j3xdpfmwn7yienzn11kq9l
693 3AW Melbourne, Australia, 5 kW This was the major pest for Bangladesh
reception (and much more troublesome than Radio Sport). This recording of the
"Overnight Australia" program at 1703 on 4-10 was during a mix with news from
Bangladesh, and features multiple promotions (initially) for the 3AW smart
phone and the 3AW app (I don't think I'll apply for these!)
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/39r5556vdg04sasruqfqgqkyyr8wkm7v
693 Radio Sport Dunedin, NZ, 5 kW Usually dominant around 1600 daily, only
to lose out to 3AW and Bangladesh as 1700 approached. This Yankee-accented
program (Fox Sports News relay) was at 1608 on 4-10
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/e921kcqxno63geffbqi3t6hq97l31vey
702 2BL Sydney, Australia, 50 kW The Oz big gun had a rough time going up
against Kiwi Magic in the Cooks. Here it was at almost equal strength (with
male-female conversation under Magic's "See You Later, Alligator") at 0740 on
4-9 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/j4xkzd773528d4ekr3ibjw184j5hev0i
702 Magic Auckland, NZ, 10 kW Magic's flagship station ruled the frequency
each evening, with awesome signals around the Kiwi sunset, such as at 0730 on
4-10 with this very creative oldies song medley ID
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/n0bnhm6yay3w0nwbfj7mez8foxuo7tvb
729 Radio Sport Whangarei, NZ, 3 kW Dominant over a real crowd at 1648 on
4-13 with Yankee-accented Fox Sports News relay
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ykyl4b029h1xynq0vea1w8ttz0nk7peh
738 2NR Grafton, Australia, 50 kW Dominant over Magic (a pretty rare
occurrence in the evening) at 0745 on 4-9 with male speech
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/synliotkd983zc7ch57rcx84xwswuwas
738 Magic Christchurch, NZ, 5 kW The usual sunset skip leader on the
frequency, with strong music // 702 over 2NR at 0731 on 4-10
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/vp58j5scujemjzn59ua6tebzk7c56awl
756 RNZ Auckland, NZ, 10 kW This was one of the strongest RNZ signals each
evening, although for some reason it never was recorded. Usually at equal
strength with its 567 and 675 parallels.
765 Radio Kahungunu Hawkes Bay, NZ, 2.5 kW This Maori-language
overachiever was competitive with its 603 parallel on most evenings, but like
756-RNZ accidentally went unrecorded (most likely due to an unscheduled
Polynesian dinner).
774 3LO Melbourne, Australia, 50 kW The Oz big gun was a potent presence
during most sunrise sessions, such as at 1611 on 4-9 (booming in over NZ's
Radio Sport) https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/krxsxdkps64zbmlnm0m0wuoeivqmp4yd
774 Radio Sport New Plymouth, NZ, 5 kW Yankee-accented Fox Sports news
relay almost at equal strength with 3LO at 1612 on 4-9, but usually way under
the Oz big gun around sunrise
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/5xqrmwv1n3866u2rotzxq9oa3wa4o8lz
792 4RN Brisbane, Australia, 25 kW Not very impressive for the power level
on most mornings, usually in a lackluster mix with NZ's Yankee-accented Radio
Sport (such as at 1614 on 4-9, playing music // 576)
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/eg72jxaf03tdxu4l70vbg52231ixckn5
792 Radio Sport Hamilton, NZ, 5 kW Dominant over a weak 4RN with Fox
Sports News relay at 1615 on 4-9
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/6pdsb8j64gdmb7882rwh1jhy8eixkco2
810 2BA Bega, Australia, 10 kW Female speech // 774 (along with RNZ and a
possible KGO) at 0850 on 4-10
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/1opl0zzodp01jhbfu2sv2o0fzqyttqhd
810 RNZ Dunedin, NZ, 10 kW Male speech // 819 in a three station mix at
0850 on 4-10; co-channels were 2BA and a possible KGO
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/1opl0zzodp01jhbfu2sv2o0fzqyttqhd
819 RNZ Tauranga, NZ, 10 kW Strong signal all alone with male conversation
// 810 at 0848 on 4-10
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/qa751yhhwxlosyi1po1zgqdrbzd7e047
828 TAB Trackside Radio Palmerston North, NZ, 2 kW You can almost smell
the horses as the low power TAB Trackside leaves the Aussie 3GI way down in the
dust at 0835 on 4-10
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/t73cumjyelggta9dgk94nyu23lv3wzol
828 3GI Sale, Australia, 10 kW Female and male speech // 774 way under
NZ's TAB Trackside at 0835 on 4-10
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/t73cumjyelggta9dgk94nyu23lv3wzol
837 RNZ Whangarei/ Kaitaia, NZ, 2.5/ 2 kW Male speech // 819 in a mix
with 4RK at 0840 on 4-10
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/nx22gapusqquzotjoo873l7itbmf9hkv
837 4RK Rockhampton, Australia, 10 kW Female speech // 774 in a mix with
RNZ at 0840 on 4-10
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/nx22gapusqquzotjoo873l7itbmf9hkv
846 Newstalk ZB Masterton, NZ, 2 kW The usual co-channel in the null of
Radio Kiribati (on Christmas Island), it was at a fairly strong level with
female and male speech // 1035 at 0833 on 4-10
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/4lxwj5239ug4rsdwzju2k7136zv7h67f
855 Rhema Hamilton, NZ, 2 kW "Focus on the Family" promo and commercial
ads at 0830 on 4-10, followed by the "Focus" program in Yankee-accented English
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/s0xxgxqg94043ycr861gijkaotgjltw3
864 Newstalk ZB Invercargill, NZ, 10 kW Modest signal with female speech
// 1035 over a weak co-channel at 0827 on 4-10
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/1385lejm7f82qu2wc61bfxn1dsbabzwj
(TO BE CONTINUED)
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