Storm static on the decrease and a few days with improving propagation
provide a bit of hope this week.

3912 NORTH KOREA. Voice of the People, 1150, 8/21/08. Patriotic vocals and
impassioned chatter extoling the virtues of North Korea. Fair on peaks but faded into the noise by 1208 (Strawman-IA).

3925 JAPAN. R. Nikkei, 1154, 8/21/08. S6 on peaks w/ extended tlk by OM into semi-classical mx @ 1156 (Strawman-IA).

4412.6 LAOS. Lao National Radio (p), 1209, 8/21/08. Moderate het today under better than usual conditions, so only a matter of time until audio pops through(Strawman-IA).

4830 CHINA. Chian Huayi BC Corp (p), 1202, 8/21/08. Commercial sound here also. Fast-paced news-like delivery by OM. S6 signal faded down by 1226 (Strawman-IA).

4900 CHINA. Voice of Strait, 1204, 8/21/08. Very commercial sound, with
alternating OM & YL in singing jingles/ announcements. S6 on peaks (Strawman-IA).

4920 INDIA. AIR, 1211, 8/21/08. Threshold Hindi vocals battled t-storm static (Strawman-IA).

5910 COLOMBIA. Marfil Estereo, 0350, 8/24/08. Up-tempo ballads were a near armchair level (Strawman-IA).

6055 JAPAN. R. Nikkei, 1240, 8/22/08. Semii classical organ mx was fair-good (Strawman-IA).

7110 ETHIOPIA. V. of Ethiopia, 0306, 8/23/08. Smooth jazz feel blended w/ local instruments in jazz-inflected mx that reached near armchair level on peaks. ARO calling CQ in CW right on frequency. Same conditions 0355, 8/24/08 with more excellent mx (Strawman-IA).

7160 CHINA. CRI via listed Nanning, 1200, 8/23/08. IS and Mandarin ID @ TOH. News followed ID. Signal fair on peaks. Listed 100KW tx (Strawman-IA).

7260 RUSSIA. VOR via listed Krasnodar, 0237, 8/21/08. S7-8 signal. YL doing announcements. Violin mx behind studio audio followed by folk mx selections (Strawman-IA).

9430 PHILIPPINES. FEBC, 1219, 8/23/08. Fair signal w/ Chinese vocals and sparse announcements (Strawman-IA).

11785 THAILAND. VOA via Udon Thani, 1235, 8/18/08. On top of Firedrake and rumble/ het from VOI. Fair signal w/ OM & YL in nx format (Strawman-IA).

11815 BRAZIL. R. Brasil Central, 0135, 8/18/08. Poor to fair w/ long ad strings (Strawman-IA).

12085 RUSSIA. TWR via listed Novosibirsk, 0045, 8/23/08. Tuning tones prior to 0045 into listed Dzongkha. Searching under Dzongkha shows it to be the national language of Bhutan. Very distinctive spoken sound. English ID @ 0115. Several announcements and audio out @ 0130. Fair signal (Strawman-IA).

Jerry Strawman, Des Moines, IA, Drake R8, Drake R8B, Microtelecom Perseus SDR, Wellbrook 330S One Meter Loop, Alpha Delta SWL Sloper

5910 COLOMBIA. Marfil Estereo, 0232, 8/17/08. Fair signal with romantic
pop  ballads and a few announcements (Strawman-IA).

7240 AUSTRALIA. R. Australia, 1414, 8/11/08. Fair with Olympics sports
coverage. Some slop from adjacent ham radio activity (Strawman-IA).

9710 AUSTRALIA. R. Australia, 1620, 8/17/08. Poor to fair with typical
nx feature (Strawman-IA).

9860 VATICAN. V. of Russia via Santa Maria di Galeria, 0240, 8/13/08.
English service was a solid S9 and featured nx commentary re: conflict
in Georgia. (Strawman-IA).

11620 INDIA. AIR, 2140, 8/12/08. English service playing pop-style mx.
Reached S6 on peaks but suffered fading until 2230* (Strawman-IA).

Jerry Strawman, Des Moines, IA
Drake R8, Drake R8B, Microtelecom Perseus SDR
Wellbrook 330S One Meter loop, 70′ Inverted-L

5900 RUSSIA. VOR via Krasnodar, 0122, 8/8/08. Russian service featured ling-
winded tlk by OM. Good signal from 500KW (Strawman-IA).

6170 NEW ZEALAND. RNZI, 1319 8/9/08. English nx about art exhibition in
Melbourne, Australia. S5-6 was a good signal if at listed 50KW (Strawman-IA).

6190 JAPAN. R. Japan (p), 1322, 8/9/08. Chinese service had OM/ YL alternating in
presumed nx feature. Poor signal (Strawman-IA).

9735 TAIWAN. RTI, 1309, 8/9/08. Japanese service featured OM & YL in possible
nx. Fair signal (Strawman-IA).

9780 SRI LANKA. VOA via Irana Wila. English nx by OM suffered heavy slop from
CRI/ Sackville on 9790. Poor to fair signal (Strawman-IA).

9885 MADAGASCAR. VOA via Volata-Talandry, 1414, 8/10/08. English nx magazine
was poor w/ fading (Strawman-IA).

11605 N. MARIANAS. VOA via Tinian, 1303, 8/7/08. Listed Tibetan service. YL in
extended dialogue was only fair (Strawman-IA).

11785 THAILAND/ CHINA/ INDONESIA. VOA/ Firedrake/ VOI jumbled together,
1242 8/7/08. VOI was about 11784.94 causing low het on 11785. VOA and
Firedrake took turns dominating frequency. VOA clearly ahead by 1300 when VOA
went into nx (Strawman-IA).

15150 THAILAND. VOA via Udon Thani, 0115, 8/8/08. Chinese service was equal
with Firedrake. Jumble was S3 strength (Strawman-IA).

Jerry Strawman, Des Moines, IA
Drake R8, Drake R8B, Microtelecom Perseus SDR
Wellbrook 330S One Meter Loop, 70′ Inverted-L

9760 PHILIPPINES, VOA via Tinang, 1256, 7/26/08. End of World NX Now and Press Conference USA.
Mention upcoming Jazz America pgm. Into English nx @ 1300. Fair S4 signal (Strawman-IA).

11735 TANZANIA, R. Zanzibar, 2050, 7/22/08. Swahili pgm with local mx was up and down in
strength peaking at S7 (Strawman-IA).

12080 AUSTRALIA (p), 0115, 7/24/08. Typical nx feature, but fading in and out of storm static.
Very weak signal (Strawman-IA).

15475.96 ANTARCTICA. LRA 36 RN San Gabriel, 2006 7/22/08. Surfaced briefly after months of inaudibility.
Poor at best due to local noise. Could distinguish between Spanish ballads and  announcements. Faded out
after less than 15 minutes (Strawman-IA).

Jerry Strawman, Des Moines, IA, Drake R8B, 70′ Inverted L, Wellbrook 330S 1 meter loop

Embarrassing selection, but glad to hear anything this week…………………

9760 PHILIPPINES.  VOA via Tinang, 1405, 6/29/07. NX
about North Korea in English. F-G signal (Strawman-IA).

11540 N . MARIANAS. RFA vis Tinian, 1415, 6/29/08. Burmese
service. OM & YL in possible nx. F-G on peaks with fading
(Strawman-IA).

11985 JAPAN. R. Japan, 1418, 6/29/08. Pop music pgm/
English service. Transmission schedule @ 1429 and off at 1430.
Fair signal on peaks w/ fading (Strawman-IA).

17595 SPAIN. REE, 1656, 6/29/08. Pop mx during Spanish
transmission. William Tell Overture theme @ 1700. P-F
signal (Strawman-IA).

17850 FRANCE. RFI, 1648, 6/29/08. French service was fair
with, what else, pop mx (Strawman-IA).

21740 ASCENSION ISL. BBC, 1648, 6/29/08. English pgm
featuring European soccer commentary. Fair signal (Strawman-IA).

Jerry Strawman, Des Moines, IA
Drake R8, NRD JRC-545
ALA-100 68′ Vertical Loop
Wellbrook 330S 1 Meter Loop

9475 AUSTRALIA. R. Australia, 1225, 6/1/08. Two OMs in discussion re: aboriginal people. Fair signal via Shepparton (Strawman-IA).

9495 IRAN. VOIRI, 0136, 5/31/08. English service w/ nx by YL. Fair-good (Strawman-IA)

9525.95 INDONESIA. VOI, 1218, 5/31/08. Back close to 9526 after a couple of days closer to 9525. Pop mx was fair-good (Strawman-IA).

9665 RUSSIA. VOR, 0150, 5/31/08. English service via Kishinev, Moldova w/ vocal mx. Web site URL, schedule, and IS @ 0158. Into nx at TOH. Good signal (Strawman-IA).

9740 SINGAPORE. BBC via Kranji, 1255, 6/1/08. Always a good propagation indicator. Was poor-fair this date with English nx (Strawman-IA).

9830 JORDAN. R. Jordan, 1958, 5/27/08. AA comment by OM in vocal mx. Off- freq RTTY signal was causing substantial interference. Fair-good signal (Strawman-IA).

9880 GUAM. KSDA, 1239, 6/1/08. Korean service w/ YL in extended comment or sermon. Religious-style vocal @ 1253 when signal started to fade. Fair overall (Strawman-IA).

9915 CYPRUS. BBC via Limassol, 1954, 5/27/08. Arabic service had fast-paced tlk by OM. Fair-good signal (Strawman-IA).

12085 RUSSIA. TWR-India via Novosibirsk, 0110, 5/31/08. Tnx Jim Ronda tip. Hindi service w/ vocals and possible sermon. Audio out @ 0130. Good signal level (Strawman-IA).

15455 RUSSIA. VOR via Krasnodar, 2000, 5/27/08. French service featured nx by YL. Signal was poor-fair due to t-storm static (Strawman-IA).

Jerry Strawman, Des Moines, IA,
Drake R8, JRC NRD-545,
Wellbrook ALA-100 68′ Loop

9605 SINGAPORE. BBC via Kranji (p), 1652, 5/25/08.
Bengali service listed. OM & YL trading comments in nx format. Poor signal (Strawman-IA).

9870 INDIA. AIR Bangalore, 1645, 5/25/08. Typical Hindi
vocals were just above noise level. More recoverable audio on R8 than on NRD-545 (Strawman-IA).

11710 NORTH KOREA. VOK, 1450, 5/25/08. Fair signal w/ splatter from 11715, KJES, New Mexico. Whine on trans-
mitted carrier. OM & YL trading comments. Martial music @ 1453. Organ IS and English ID @ 1500. Stronger signal
at 1642 retune during French service. Further retune at 1722 shows fair signal holding up with choral mx. Seems
to be right on 11710.00 at this time (Strawman-IA).

Jerry Strawman, Des Moines, IA
Drake R8, JRC NRD-545
Wellbrook 330S Loop, 70′ Inverted L

3250.05 HONDURAS. R. Luz y Vida, 0240, 4/29/08. Local vocal ballads at S9(Strawman-IA).

4716.6 BOLIVIA. R. Yura, 0055, 4/29/08. Lots of mx w/ excited comment. Professional commercial sound was S8 on peaks (Strawman-IA).

4754.92 BRAZIL. R. Imaculada Conceicao, 0149, 4/29/08. Mix of pop-style vocals and interviews. Good signal level dropped after 0211. Hindered by CODAR swisher (Strawman-IA).

4905.01 BRAZIL. R. Anhanguera (p), 0248, 4/29/08. Extended tlk by OM. Reverb on audio. Noisy band limited copy of details (Strawman-IA).

6134.8 BOLIVIA. R. Santa Cruz, 0100 5/4/08. Best ever reception peaked at S8. At least four “Radio Santa Cruz” IDs on either side of 0105, followed by small men’s choral group doing a ranchero style ballad to 0108*. R. Aparaceida left on 6135. Brazilian clear but very weak (Strawman-IA).

9735 TAIWAN. RTI, 1307, 5/1/08. Japanese pops w/ YL announcer. Fair w/ deep fades (Strawman-IA).

Jerry Strawman, Des Moines, IA, Drake R8, JRC NRD-545, 70′ Inverted V

Propagation Note: Conditions have improved from one week ago. Despite the improvement, the upper midwest/ plains area is still subject to overall low signals, compared to the left and right coasts. Most low band signals that make their way to the coasts, show up only as hets at this QTH. Seasonal noise levels are increasing due to t-storms in the southern plains.

3345 INDONESIA. RRI Ternate (p), 1156, 4/19/08. Series of presumed announcements separated by musical bumpers. Studio audio lower than recorded audio. Poor signal (Strawman-IA).

4605 INDONESIA. RRI Serui, 1220, 4/20/08. OM & YL in extended Indo tlk reached good S6 on peaks (Strawman-IA).

5910 COLOMBIA. Marfil Estereo, 0220, 4/16/08. Spanish ballads peaked at S9. Very good signal (Strawman-IA).

6110 N MARIANAS. VOA via Tinian, 1222, 4/19/08. Mandarin service over Firedrake. Overall good signal (Strawman-IA).

7110 ETHIOPIA. V of Ethiopia, 0301, 4/16/08. OM delivering presumed nx. Good signal reached S8 on peaks (Strawman-IA).

7220 SAO TOME. VOA, 0322, 4/16/08. Amharic service. YL taking phone calls. Fair to good with HRO splatter (Strawman-IA).

7225 THAILAND. VOA via Udon Thani, 1209, 4/19/08. Korean service w/ nx that contained English actualities. S9 on peaks (Strawman-IA).

9780 SRI LANKA. VOA via Irana Wila, 0148, 4/15/08. English business nx had rapid fading but overall F-G (Strawman-IA).

11980 CHINA. CRI via Kunming, 1306, 4/19/08. English nx was very good. Signal reached 5/S9 on peaks. Listed 150KW (Strawman-IA).

12030 RUSSIA. VOR via Irkutsk, 1308, 4/19/08. Russian nx w/ low audio (Strawman-IA).

12065 RUSSIA. VOA via Chita, 1310, 4/19/08. Cantonese service had YL on nx. Signal had fading (Strawman-IA).

12080 AUSTRALIA. BBC via Brandon, 2207 4/16/08. English nx about Pope’s visit to USA. 10/S9 on peaks with fading. Great signal for listed 10KW (Strawman-IA).

12110 GERMANY. VOA via Lampertheim, 1312, 4/19/08. OM & YL presenting apparent nx in Somali service. Poor to fair on noisy band (Strawman-IA).

Jerry Strawman, Des Moines, IA, Drake R8, JRC NRD-545, 70′ Inverted L, Wellbrook 330S Loop

2325 AUSTRALIA. ABC Northern Territory, Tennant Creek, 1141, 4/12/08. Weak w/apparent sporting event // weaker 2310 & 2485 (Strawman-IA).

3985 CROATIA. Croatian Radio, 0353, 4/13/08. Spanish vocals at threshold level (Strawman-IA).

3990 CHINA. PBS Xinjiang via Urumqui (p), 1219, 4/13/08. Listed Uighur service. Signal very weak w/ chanting-like vocals that had Koranic quality. Lots of HRO slop (Strawman-IA).

6110 ETHIOPIA. R. Fana (p), 0345, 4/13/08. HOA vocals were fair but studio audio was muffled. Frequency was clear but signal suffered from fading (Strawman-IA).

6165 INDIA. AIR Delhi, 1252, 4/13/08. Listed Sindhi service featured vocals at fair level (Strawman-IA).

11710.73 ARGENTINA. RAE, 0055, 4/12/08. Portuguese service w/tlk by YL and ballads.Many mentions of Buenos Aires. IS & ID loop at 0059:18. 6 time pips leading to TOH were accurate. 0200 ID (Strawman-IA).

11730 IRAN. VOIRI, 1248, 4/12/08. Pashto service listed. Nx-like presentation by OM. Fair signal (Strawman-IA) .

Jerry Strawman, Des Moines, IA, Drake R8, JRC NRD-545, Perseus SDR, 70′Inverted L, Wellbrook 330S Loop