Tropical Bands from a Tropical Land - Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Guy Atkins
to Puerto Vallarta (Nov. 7-14). It was my first trip out of the country
(other than visits to nearby Canada) since my 1993 travels to Rarotonga. The
newest post at www.sdr-1000.blogspot.com has a couple of photos of Puerto
Vallarta and a few additional comments.
¡Degen Si, Flex-Radio No! On this trip, I had opportunity to tune around on
my small Degen DE1103 receiver, before and after local sunrise. I could only
dream of taking the SDR-1000 and laptop computer along, but it was out of
the question. I nearly took an Eton E1 instead of the Degen, but I didn't
want to risk losing such a nice receiver to possible loss, theft, or damage.
The antenna used with the DE1103 was an 80-foot random wire, strung atop a
low row of bushes. It was an idyllic setting beneath palm trees, situated
between large swimming pools complete with waterfalls and islands, and the
Pacific Ocean literally 20 feet away on the other side.
Even before the sun rose above the jungle-covered mountains to the east, the
tropical bands collapsed abruptly; no slow fadeout like I'm accustomed to in
the Northwest USA. Within 10-15 minutes after sunrise the tropicals were
gone, and the 31 and 25 meter bands came alive. The rapid change in
conditions each morning seemed to skip 41 and 49 meters; only a few signals
were noted.
25 meters was amazing-- like flipping a switch after sunrise, it came alive
with mostly Arabic and sub-contintental signals! A majority of them were
strong to very strong. I did not bring a WRTH or Passport with me, just a
printout of the DSWCI's Tropical Band Monitor, and the Pacific Asian Log
(PAL) for references. So, without clear IDs I was just guessing at the
source of most signals on 25 meters. It was quite a kick to hear the
languages and music from (or broadcast to) the Middle East and India... a
completely different band and propagation conditions than I've ever
experienced for 25 meters.
Trans-Pacific MW was nearly unheard. I don't know if it was conditions, my
location, or the modest receiver. Other than a weak hets on a few split
frequencies and weak audio on 1566, nothing of note was logged. The local
Puerto Vallarta MW stations are a real circus of over-processed and
splattering signals all trying to out-shout one another; much worse than the
USA broadcast band scene, in my opinion. I found quite a few 2X and 3X
harmonics of locals appearing in the tropical bands (two are noted below).
As elsewhere in Central America, many of the broadcast towers I saw are
perched atop modest downtown Puerto Vallarta buildings.
I was surprised to find the local noise levels so low; I'd expected
difficulty with RFI from powerlines, PCs, appliances, etc., but the
background level on all bands was low.
Each day as the sun rose in the early morning sky, distractions in the form
of bikini-clad ladies began to appear. Such is the life of a visiting DXer
in Puerto Vallarta!
The view from Google Earth: If you have the Google Earth program on your
computer, try these coordinates to see the exact DXing spot: 20°37'29.91"N
105°13'55.25"W
On to the bandscan...
-----------------------------------
675 Unid. - weak het noted at 1305 on 11/12.
747 Unid. - Weak het heard here at 1300 on 11/13.
774 Unid. - Weak het at 1302 on 11/13.
1566 HLAZ, South Korea (pres.) - Weak Chinese lang. (per sked) with a female
announcer noted on 11/11 at 1300, followed by what sounded like a hymn with
piano accompaniment. Only a het heard here on 11/12 and 13.
1575 Unid. - Weak het noted here at 1701 on 11/11. In the Pacific Northwest,
we usually have VOA Thailand on this frequency.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: I was very surprised to find *no* hint of the PNG stations
at all, from the 11th through the 13th. I was monitoring prior to 1200 UTC
(when they should still be on the air), but nothing was heard on the usual
frequencies, not even on the 4890 kHz national outlet (NBC Port Moresby).
120 METER BAND AUSSIES: The usual three stations here were weak but audible
on the 11th and 12th, and quite a bit stronger on the morning of the 13th.
3240 - 3 X 1080 kHz harmonic noted each morning, plus a spur on 3270. 1080
kHz was very strong, so I presume a local Puerto Vallarta station, just like
1110 kHz.
3325 R. Nikkei, Japan - strong as ever! I expected a weaker signal than the
flamethrower reception we get of Nikkei in the Pacific Northwest USA, but I
was wrong. It was just booming in each morning while in PV.
3330 - 3 x 1110 kHz harmonic noted on 3330 each morning, at a strong level.
I did not catch the callsign, but the promo was "La K Buena", and was
parallel to 1110 kHz. Probably a network, though, as I heard a quick string
of "X..." callsigns given at the top of the hour.
3976 RRI Pontianak, Indonesia - Poor to fair signal at 1210 on 11/11, but
improving to good by 1336. Also heard 11/13 with a good signal and ID at
1322.
3995 RRI Kendari, Indonesia - Fair with male talk in Indo at 1337 on 11/11.
4557 Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front, Haeju, N. Korea (pres.) -
Elaborate Korean style orchestral music on 11/13, and male with announcement
in Korean at 1328. Fair to good signal, and into a radio drama.
4740 Son La RTV, Vietnam - Male announcer 11/13 in Vietnamese; poor
modulation but good signal. Primative sounding music and chanting by woman
in tribal language at 1340.
4750 RRI Makassar, Indonesia - Fair on 11/11.
4780 R. Cultural Coatan, Guatamala - Strong signal each night, much better
than I've ever heard them in Washington state. On 11/11, I noted them with a
children's choir signing Christmas hymns (I guess the season comes early to
Guatemala) and IDs at 1225. Coatan was still in audio at 1410 (about 50
minutes past local SR).
4800 CODAR "Swisher" - I was surprised to hear this annoying signal in the
60 meter band, just like we hear it in Washington. My guess is that I was
hearing a CODAR transmitter from somewhere along the southern California
coast. The one we note in the Pacific Northwest is almost certainly near
infamous "Washaway Beach", a stretch of seaside land with a rapidly eroding
coastline, some miles south of the Grayland DXpedition site. Scientists use
the CODAR system to monitor beach erosion and changes.
4810 XERTA, Mexico - poor under the CODAR signal on 11/11; ID at 1229 with
phone number. Noted at very good strength, though, 1345-1415+.
4819 HRVC, Honduras - Fair signal 11/11 with IDs at 1231.
4895 Unid. - strange, quickly repeating and distorted audio loop of Asian
tonal language by female, noted at 1225 on 11/11. I suspect a Chinese or
North Korean jammer here, but I have no idea who they might be targeting.
4940 V. of the Strait, China - heard in Chinese mixing with presumed R. San
Antonio, Peru, in Spanish, on 11/12 at 1310. Fair.
4990 AIR Itanagar, India - Heard at 1343 on 11/13 with nice sub-cont. music
and Hindi talk, but unfortunately co-channel with Hunan PBS. Fair to good
level, though.
5010 AIR Thiruvanathapuram, India - Female talk in Hindi, and sub-cont.
flute music at 1345 on 11/13. Poor.
5020 AIR Delhi, India - Male announcer with commentary in English about
Indian politics, noted at 1350 on 11/13. No sign of Solomon Islands BBC
relay, not even a het.
9440 R. Slovakia International, Slovakia - Amazingly strong signal on 11/11!
Interval signal and ID in English and Russian at 1400, and then into Russian
programming.
11620 All India Radio, India - Noted on 11/12 at 1435 with commentary in
English by male, and ID. Fair signal.
11735 V. of Turkey, Ankara, 1400-1428* - Superb signal on 11/12 and 13! I
was just blown away by the practically local quality signal of VOT.
Programming was in English, with an announcement as "Our English service to
Australia". Turkish language lesson at 1410, about how to tell the doctor
when you're feeling sick, how to ask for a vaccination, etc. The strong
signal was pinning the S-meter on the DE1103 portable. Sign-off at 1428 with
interval signal and ID.
John Plimmer
Seems like you had a great time = well done
--
John Plimmer, Montagu, Western Cape Province, South Africa
South 33 d 47 m 32 s, East 20 d 07 m 32 s
RX Icom IC-756 PRO III with MW mods
Drake SW8 & ERGO software
Sony 7600D, GE SRIII, Redsun RP2100
BW XCR 30, Sangean 803A.
GE circa 50's radiogram
Antenna's RF Systems DX 1 Pro, Datong AD-270
Kiwa MW Loop, PAORDT Roelof mini-whip
http://www.dxing.info/about/dxers/plimmer.dx
"Guy Atkins" <dxNO...@guyatkins.com> wrote in message
news:XvCdnTeLh7T-r_zY...@comcast.com...
Father Mike
vacation
to Puerto Vallarta (Nov. 7-14). It was my first trip out of the country
(other than visits to nearby Canada) since my 1993 travels to Rarotonga.
The
newest post at www.sdr-1000.blogspot.com has a couple of photos of
Puerto
Vallarta and a few additional comments.
=============================================================================
Thank you Guy. wonderful read. i always enjoy your writings.
Father Michael.