DXers meet at Kolkata

(Photo by : Babul Gupta)

Oh ! What a DX meet ! It was Babul Gupta's idea, triggered by Jyoti P Chakravarty's suggestion. It brought together 14 Kolkata DXers whose DX seniority ranged from first QSL received in 1967 (Babul Gupta) to first QSL received in 2006 (Soumya). We were meeting on a Sunday afternoon (4th September 2011) at our Jodhpur Park residence where my wife Paromita served us plenty of tea and snacks.

In this meet there were some former DX buddies who were meeting after thirty odd years! While looking at the digital DX gears of today one senior DXer ,who is now dormant, wondered aloud how different and difficult it was in the yesterdays. TRB brought along the wedding day photo of Dipankar Dutta which showed many a IDXCI member in 1979 when they were much younger. Surajit Kumar Dey who was the technical section editor of our former IDXCI and is a present ham, interfaced with the younger DXers on some of the technical issues.

As Babul Gupta was showing off his e QSLS ranging from TWR Benin on mw to Cross Radio in the tropical band, Pratap Shankar Mazumdar regretted that he had misplaced his Iceland qsl. It would have been such an interesting viewing today. For me it was a surprise to be reminded that I was in touch with Jyoti P Chakravarty way back in 1985. I had simply forgotten that he had picked up an old WRTH from my Medical College Hostel for Rs 125. But we had never met earlier and this afternoon we were meeting for the first time.

Those of us who had participated in the Chandipore DX peditions of 1984-85 had reasons to feel proud. In the meet were at least four young DXers who were introduced and motivated into DXing by the article on DXing published in the Bengali periodical " Anandamela". This article which was published later in a book form around 1995 had dramatically portrayed the Chandipore DXpeditions and captured the imagination of the youngsters.

As for the afternoon listening session, the attempt at DRM reception of AIR Vibidh Bharati 6100 kHz was a failure and so was New Zealand on 9655 kHz. However, Mongolia on 12085 at 1040 UTC with SIO 232 was the saving grace. Toying with various possible DX locations for the forthcoming DXpeditions also elicited excited response.

Sanjay Sutradhar narrated his visit to Radio Nepal .I repeated the story of my visit to Voice of Tamil Elam recording studio and Offices in Chennai in 1985. Swopan Chakrabarty was candid about his initial difficulty in getting into Radio Bangladesh Dhaka and how he finally managed it. However, Jyoti Charavarty's vivid description of his visit to Bhutan Broadcasting Service studio was the best. He found his way into the BBS studio and transmitter site during his honymoon trip to Thimpu in 1995 where he not only got a QSL card impromptu, but had an overwhelming reception by the engineering staff. Sudipto Ghose was mild about his visit to the erstwhile Radio NYAB in Thimpu in 1984.
With so many former IDXCI members around there was a clamor for a rerun of the bulletin. However, in view of the digital age which we are in, it was decided to plan for a different type of bulletin which will cover different issues. Debanjan who had been to the Talsari DXped was eager to join the next but was wary of the January timing because of his work schedule. Rajdeep who still has not put up an external antenna was strongly advised about a long wire with matching transformers home brewed. Babul Gupta praised the hombrew 9:1 transformers done by Partha Sarathi Goswami for him which has dramtically cut down the noise.
Babul Gupta deserves special thanks for reving up the old Kolkata DX group!

Supratik Sanatani
Kolkata
4th September 2011

Oct DXing from Assam, India

Hi, I am Prithwiraj Purkayastha from Jorhat (Coordinates: 26.75°N 94.22°E), Assam, India. I am a new Dxer and learning this fabulous electronic hobby for last seven years. I am using a Plhilips Analogue Four band Radio with a telescopic antinna for SW listening.

October is always a special month for me. Its on this beautiful month I came to this earth twenty nine years back. On this October itself I also revealed the great word of Shortwave Radio in 2003. So for making this year's October I have planned a OctoDXing and I was little bit successful too through some very interesting SW logs, QSL received and three interesting interviews with BBC (Bengali), VOA (Bengali) and IRIB R. Tehran (Hindi) services. I also ordered an ANJAN DTS 10 receiver from China for more interesting logs in future and to explore this wonderful world of SW Dxing.

Some of my Logs of October, 2010.

03/10/10 – DW English, UTC 1600-1700, 9485 Khz,, SIO 544
03/10/10 – Radio Taiwan Int., UTC 1630-1700, 11550 Khz, SIO 344
03/10/10 – AWR (Wavescan), UTC 1600-1630, 11720 khz, SIO 333
03/10/10 – NHK R. Japan (Bengali), UTC 1300-1345, 11965 khz, SIO 433
04/10/10 – Radio Thailand (English), UTC 0030-0100, 15275 khz, SIO 454
05/10/10 – Radio Philipinas (Eng), UTC 0300-0330, 15510 khz, SIO 444
05/10/10 – IRIB Hindi Radio, UTC 0230 – 0300, 13750 Khz, SIO 343
07/10/10 – AIR Guwahati (Mahalaya), UTC 2300-0000, 4940 khz, SIO 232
07/10/10 – HCJB, Australia (Eng), UTC 1230-1300, 15400 khz, SIO 544
07/10/10 – B'Desh Betar (Home Service), UTC 1245-1330, 4750 Khz, SIO 243
07/10/10 – Voice of Turky (Eng), UTC 1245-1330, 15520 Khz, SIO 433
08/10/10 – Radio Pakistan (Urdu), UTC 0100-0130, 15490 khz, SIO 433
08/10/10 – IRIB (Bengali), UTC 1430-1530, 13800 Khz, SIO 333
08/10/10 – Voice of Russia (World Service), UTC 0900-0930, 15170 Khz, SIO 444
09/10/10 – AWR (Bengali), UTC 1300-1330 UTC, 11860 khz, SIO 444
10/10/10 - Radio Canada International, UTC 1500-1530, 11675 khz, SIO 544
10/10/10 – HCJB (Eng), UTC 1230-1300, 15400 Khz, SIO 433
14/10/10 – NHK R. Japan (English), UTC 1000-1030, 9605 khz, SIO 343
14/10/10 – Radio Philipinas (Eng), UTC 0300-0330, 15510 khz, SIO 444
14/10/10 – Voice of America (Eng), UTC 0100-0130, 9780 Khz, SIO 444
17/10/10 – Voice of Tibet, UTC 1330 – 1400, 15430 Khz, SIO 433
19/10/10 – Voice of Korea (Eng), UTC 0230-0300, 15100 Khz, SIO 444
24/10/10 – RCI, UTC 1500-1600, 11675 khz, SIO 544
24/10/10 – Voice of Malaysia (Eng), UTC 0700-0800, 15295 khz, SIO 322
26/10/10 – Radio Natherlands Worldwide, UTC 1400-1530, 11835 khz, SIO 544
27/10/10 – Voice of Vietnam (Eng), UTC 1600-1630, 9550 khz, SIO 544
27/10/10 – Radio New Zealand Int. , UTC 1600-1630, 9615 khz, SIO 333
28/10/10 - KBS World R. Korea (Eng), UTC 1600-1645, 9640 Khz, SIO 333

and last but not the least, the DW Bengali and Hindi historic final broadcast on Shortwave.
30/10/10 – DW Hindi, UTC 1500-1530, 9655 khz, SIO 433
30/10/10 – DW Bengali, UTC 1530-1600, 9655 Khz, SIO 444

QSL Received in October:

A very interesting and surprising QSL card received from Bangladesh Betar on 28th October, 2010 for my MW log to their Home Service on 693 khz, UTC 1500 hr dated 17th September, 2010. It is a beautifully pictured QSL card and actually I was uncertain to get such beautiful response from B'desh Betar.

Some other QSL cards received for my October logs are:

03/10/10 – Japan SW Club (Painting of Kim Yeong II) – Stn logged- AWR.
09/10/10 – Radio Free Asia ( 14th Anniversary QSL) – Language Vietnamese, UTC 0000 on 15560 Khz.
08/10/10 – The Voice of Russia ( 80th Aniversary QSL) – UTC 0900 -0930 on 15170 khz.
10/10/10 – HCJB, Australia ( QSL Pic: Sunset) – UTC 1230- 1300 on 15400 khz
10/10/10 – RCI ( QSL Pic: Maple Leaf Mailbag)- UTC 1500-1530 on 11675 Khz
09/10/10 – NHK R. Japan ( QSL Pic: Daybreak) – UTC 1345-1430 on 11825 Khz.

I shall be happy to receive your comments and feedbacks on this report and shall be grateful for any type of advises for future Dxing.

Prithwiraj Purkayastha
Pub Bongalpukhuri
Ward No. 17
Jorhat 785001-23
Assam, India
Email: prithwi20062006@yahoo.co.in
prithwiraj.purkayastha@gmail.com

(Via bangladx list)

Russian Dxer in Delhi

Few days back a Russian dxer "Igor Sannikov" from Kirov, Russia came to India & some of us from the delhidxers group had a chance to meet him at Connaught Place. The photo of our meeting alongwith an audio file has been posted on Voice of Russia Hindi home page, here's the link :

http://hindi.ruvr.ru/index.php?lng=hin

(scroll down & u can see the news item "rusi bhartiya radio shrotao ki mulakat" )

Direct Link :
http://hindi.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=hin&q=1972&cid=52&p=21.10.2009

AWR 2008 QSL ALPHABET DX CONTEST

ADVENTIST WORLD RADIO
2008 “QSL Alphabet DX Contest” 2008
April 2008
In response to numerous requests from a multitude of listeners in many different countries throughout the world, Adventist World Radio is pleased to announce the re-introduction of our popular DX contests in association with our DX program, “Wavescan”. It is planned that the DX contest for this year will be conducted during the month of April and it will be staged under the title, “QSL Alphabet DX Contest”.
In our 2008 DX contest, listeners are invited to search their own personal QSL collections and to choose 26 QSLs, one for each letter in the English alphabet. Listeners are also invited to submit at least 3 reception reports on AWR transmissions, and to provide at least 3 radio cards. Here are the full details for the four parts in this year’s big DX contest.

* PART A: Alphabet QSL List
Search your own personal collection of QSL cards and identify 26 QSLs, (preferably QSL cards, though QSL letters will also qualify), with each QSL representing the 26 consecutive letters in the English alphabet. These QSLs, all in your own personal collection, should confirm the reception of broadcasts from radio stations on shortwave, mediumwave, longwave, FM, TV and utility communications, but not amateur nor CB. For example, you can choose one QSL to represent the letter A, and it could be a QSL from Austria, or Australia, or Argentina, or Ahmedabad in India, or ABC Radio, etc, etc. Representing the letter B, you could choose for example, BBC, or Belgium, or Berlin, or 2BL, or Radio Butterworth, etc. And so on down through each letter of the alphabet. For the letter X for example, you could choose, CFRX, or XEW, or 3XY, etc; and for the letter Z, you could choose Zambia, or Zimbabwe, or 2ZB, or Zed Radio, etc. You should then make up a tabulated list of the 26 QSLs that qualify, giving the letters of the alphabet, the radio station, the station location, the year of the QSL, and a brief description. (Remember, in Part A, it is not necessary for you to send the QSLs to the AWR office, just your tabulated list.) Here is a sample for the tabulated list of QSLs:-

EXAMPLES ONLY

Letter QSL Station Location Year Description
A Austria ORF Vienna 1995 Color picture of Vienna palace
B Bonaire RN Bonaire 1996 Photo of studio building
C Canada RCI Sackville 1997 Old anniversary card
D and all subsequent letters down to
X CFRX Toronto Canada 1994 White card with large red letters
Y YVTO Caracas Venezuela 1968 Light green card, black print
Z 2ZB Wellington NZ 1956 Old gray card, red flash

* PART B: Copy 5 QSLs
Where possible, photo copy what you consider are the 5 best cards in your list, preferably in color, though black & white from some countries is acceptable, and enclose these copies with your contest entry.

* PART C: Submit 3 Reception Reports
Submit at least 3 reception reports on any AWR transmissions from any location in any mode.

* PART D: Submit 3 Radio Cards
Where possible submit at least 3 radio related postcards for the Indianapolis Historic Collection, old or new, and these can be picture cards, text cards, QSL cards, etc. (Not valid are amateur QSL cards nor CB QSL cards.)

========================================
Things to Remember

*1. All entries must be sent by post and they should be postmarked during the month of April and received in Indianapolis by the end of May. In some cases, early entries will be accepted. Late entries will not qualify for the awards, but the reception reports will be verified with the special contest endorsement. Entries by email will not qualify for the awards, but the reception reports will be verified with the contest endorsement.

*2. Where possible, please provide a strong self addressed envelope.

*3. Where possible, please provide return postage, preferably in an acceptable form of international currency notes, though mint postage stamps or IRC coupons will also be appreciated.

*4. The only valid address for contest entries is:-
Alphabet DX Contest
Adventist World Radio
Box 29235
Indianapolis
Indiana 46229
USA
======================================
QSL Alphabet DX Contest Awards

*1.The world winner in our “QSL Alphabet DX Contest” will receive a copy of Jerry Berg’s very interesting volume, “On the Short Waves”.
* 2. Additional continental winners will be awarded a copy of their choice, “Passport to World Band Radio” or “World Radio TV Handbook”, 2008 or 2009.
*3. Additional awards will be sent to qualifying entries and these will include AWR souvenirs and other similar items.

AWR DX Contests – Previous World Winners
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Year World Winner Country City Name of Contest
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2008 Who? Which? Where? QSL Alphabet
2004 Guntur Jacob Germany Passau QSLs with a Theme
2003 Guntur Jacob Germany Passau Unique QSLs
2002 Peter Boeck Germany Offenbach My First QSL
2001 Achraf Chaabane Tunisia Sfax Most Beautiful QSL Cards
2000 Jose Jacob India Hyderabad AWR QSL Stamps
Thomas Drescher Germany Rosrath AWR QSL Stamps
1999 Ron Killick New Zealand Christchurch Largest QSL Collections
1998 Hans Gosdschan Germany Cottbus World’s Largest QSL Cards
1997 John Wilkins USA Denver World’s Smallest QSL Cards
1996 William Matthews USA Columbus AWR QSL Collections
1995 Arthur Cushen New Zealand Invercargill Five Best QSLs
1984 Salvatore Placanica Italy Cairo RMI DX Program Content
Johannes Weidlein Germany Schorndorff RMI DX Program Content
1983 Andrew Ellwell Australia Sydney DX Club Programs
1982 Andrew Ellwell Australia Sydney Logging DX Programs
1981 Bryan Marsh New Zealand Auckland Answer Ten Questions
1980 Bryan Marsh New Zealand Auckland Identify Shortwave Stations
Gordon Darling England Caversham Identify Shortwave Stations
1979 Ashok Kumar Bose India Kolkata Spot the Mistake
1978 Douglas Doull New Zealand Auckland Identify ID Signals
Victor Goonetilleke Sri Lanka Colombo Identify ID Signals
1977 Victor Goonetilleke Sri Lanka Colombo AWR Program Outlets
==========================================================
ADVENTIST WORLD RADIO
2008 “QSL Alphabet DX Contest” 2008
Summary of Contest Rules
Part A: List 26 of the QSLs in your own collection, representing each letter of the English alphabet.
Part B: Copy the 5 best QSL cards in this list.
Part C: Submit 3 reception reports on AWR transmissions.
Part D: Submit 3 radio cards.

Dr Adrian Peterson
DX Editor
Adventist World Radio

Russian Dxer in Delhi

Igor V. Sannikov from Kirov (European part of Russia, 900 km East of Moscow) was in Delhi on 25th & 26th Jan, 2008 during his trip to India. We had a get together of dxers from Delhi on 25th evening at a restaurant "Fast Trax" in New Friends Colony, New Delhi.

About Igor Sannikov :
A DXer since mid-1970s, active participant in Soviet DX clubs movement, author of DX programs for several language sections of Radio Moscow External Services, author of articles about DXing in the USSR in "Monitoring Times" and "Popular Communications", former correspondent of "World Broadcast Engineering". http://sannikovs.tripod.com/