My DX Archive: Spring 1998

WELCOME to the first post of 2019, taking a trip back twenty-one years to Spring 1998, for my radio logs of the time. These broadcasts were heard on the Short Wave band, by a method known as 'DXing'. For an introduction to DXing, please click here [Credit goes to the British DX Club for the link].
Housekeeping notes: Times in UTC (GMT), frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz). Transmission power in watts or kiloWatts (kW). Logs transcribed from the original notes.

March 1998: Short Wave

• 11 March [1998]: 1905 UTC: 5940 // 5965 kHz: Voice of Russia Strong to fair reception. News: Kosovo. Chile. 'Commonwealth Update' Chechnya. Armenian election. Moldovan general election.
• 11 March: 1928 UTC: 5960 kHz: Voice of Turkey English to Europe via 'CAK' transmitter site. News: EU security organisation. Good to poor reception. Albanian Serbs in Kosovo. Red Cross statement. 'Review of the Turkish Press': Kosovo, Cyprus. 'Review of the Foreign Media': Kosovo, Turkey. 'Letterbox': Japan, England (Mike Swift in Surrey), USA.

Voice of Turkey QSL verification, 11 March 1998

• 11 March: 2002 UTC: 6035 kHz: Voice of America News: Uganda, Senegal, security, Free Trade. Fair to poor reception. Nigeria, Ghana. English to Africa via Botswana or 'G r' transmitter. 'Africa World Tonight' Freetown (Sierra Leone), Kenya. Nairobi. Japanese aid for Rwanda.
• 11 March: 2027 UTC: 6165 kHz: Swiss Radio International 'Newsnet' Strong to good reception. Sports report from Spain.
• 11 March: 2035 UTC: 6180 // 6195 kHz: BBC World Service Good to fair reception 'Newshour' interference, noise.
• 11 March: 2055 UTC: 6280 kHz: High Adventure Ministries - The Voice of Hope Postal address:PO Box 109 Hereford HR4 9XR Fair to poor reception. Preacher, announcements, close.
• 11 March: 2109 UTC: c.7 MHz: Vatican Radio Basilica of Rome, St Peter, St Paul. Opera music.
• 11 March: 2116 UTC: 7195 kHz: Radio Romania International Poor to fair reception. 'Cultural Survey' violence against women.

Radio Romania International QSL, 11 March 1998

• 11 March: 2137 UTC: 7200 kHz: Voice of Turkey to Australia, Asia.
• 11 March: 2144 UTC: 7235 kHz: Radio Canada International 'Spectrum' via Skelton, England, 41.47m, 300 kW, 180° to Europe, Africa, English. Good reception. Jim Craig. News, 'CBC World At Six'.
• 11 March: 2207 UTC: 7325 kHz: BBC World Service Strong to good reception 'Newsdesk' report from Baghdad.
• 11 March: 2211 UTC: 7415 kHz: Voice of America (VOA) Botswana transmitter. Good to fair reception 'Now Music USA'.
• 11 March: 2224 UTC: 9410 kHz: BBC World Service Strong to good reception 'Newsdesk' Chime of Big Ben at 2230 UTC. Also 12095 kHz, strong to good reception 'The World Today' Sao Paulo.

April 1998: Short Wave

• 9 April: 1830 UTC: c.6 MHz: Sunrise Radio London. Ad break: The Army, Neighbourhood watch. Dedications telephone number, Asian music.

Sunrise Radio verification letter, April 1998

• 9 April: 1834 UTC: 6055 kHz: Radio Slovakia International US armed forces minister in Slovakia. Latvian links with Slovakia. Visits by Slovakian personnel to South America and Ireland. 'Topical Issue': Compensation for those who suffered in World War II. Strong to good reception. 'Back Page News' Collectors of calendar cards, Tall people club, Mystical, scary creatures, USA-UFO's Festival. 'Slovak Kitchen'.
• 16 April: 1821 UTC: 5840 kHz: Radio Vlaanderen Internationaal, Belgium. Strong to good reception. Flemish language. Malcolm Mclaren 'Madame Butterfly' Sex Pistols. Rwanda.
• 16 April: 1845 UTC: c.6 MHz (c.5900 kHz): Sunrise Radio Ad break: Alcohol problems. Strong to good reception. Cinema, 'Communications 2000' telephone. Music: 'I Just Called To Say I Love You'. Female host. Asian music. 'Happy Birthday to Oliver'. Write to Sunrise Radio, Sunrise House, Cross Lances Road, Hounslow, Middlesex TW3 2AD Telephone 0181 569 6666 'Happy Birthday To You' "On air on 1413 and 1458 kHz" Ads: Banqueting suite, carpets. News: George Michæl, Pol Pot. Sport: Chelsea v Vincenza at Stamford Bridge, 0-0.
• 16 April: 1922 UTC: 6165 kHz: Swiss Radio International 'Ban on genetic engineering'? Peter Heller reports. Strong to good reception. Separation anxiety pill for dogs. Contact details.
• 16 April: 1951 UTC: 7285 kHz: Polish Radio Warsaw 'A Day In The Life' Discussion regarding medical conditions of pilots. 41.18m, good to poor reception 'Focus' The Culture Magazine: Beethoven Easter Festival.
• 16 April: 2004 UTC: 7325 kHz: BBC World Service News: Bill Clinton, P W Botha, David Trimble, death of Pol Pot. Strong reception via Skelton, England.

President of the United States, Bill Clinton, featuring on BBC World Service news, 16 April 1998

• 16 April: 2012 UTC: 7375 // 7415 kHz: Voice of America News: Tutsi rebels, Burundi. Trial of P W Botha. 'Africa World Tonight' Sport. Ugandan elections. Good to fair reception. Tony Blair in Cairo. Middle East peace process.
• 16 April: 2044 UTC: 9410 kHz: BBC World Service Strong to good reception. News headline: Death of Pol Pot. Sport: Chelsea 3 - Vincenza 1 (Aggregate score: 3-2).
• 16 April: 2055 UTC: 9850 kHz: Radio Australia Weather in Wellington, NZ. Good to fair reception. 'Pacific Beat' with Rob Hoskin. News headlines at 21 UTC: United Nations, Pol Pot, Korea, Bill Clinton. USA call for Pol Pot autopsy. North and South Korea meet for talks in Beijing, China. Strong to good reception.
• 16 April: 2141 UTC: c.15 MHz: HCJB 'Night Sounds' Strong to good reception.
• 16 April: 22 UTC: 15600 kHz: Radio Taipei (Voice of Free China) National Anthem. Strong to good reception. News: China summit meeting.

May 1998: Short Wave

• 15 May: 1945 UTC: 5850 kHz: Sunrise Radio Strong to good reception. Music, speech, ads. Address: Sunrise House, Cross Lances Road, HOUNSLOW, Middlesex TW3 2AD Transmission from Deutsche Telekom, Germany, to Europe.

Vatican Radio QSL Verification card, 15 May 1998

• 15 May: 1950 UTC: 5880 kHz: Vatican Radio Memories of John F Kennedy, 1964, US troops in Vietnam. Chinese revolution, June 1966. Middle Eat war, 1967. Martin Luther King. Neil Armstrong, 1969. Test Tube Baby, 25 July, 1978. Pope Paul VI. Strong to good reception. 'Popes of the 20th Century'. 'Ask The Abbott': The Crucifixion.
• 15 May: 2020 UTC: 5930 kHz: Radio Prague 'Between You And Us' letters programme: Swedish invasion of Prague, 1648 AD. Edmund Birt emails from Kingston-Upon-Thames, UK. Strong to good reception.
• 15 May: 2030 UTC: 5935 kHz: Radio Latvia Strong to good reception.
• 15 May: 2057 UTC: 6035 // 6040 kHz: Voice of America Music from the Late Mr Frank Sinatra, who passed away today, Friday 15 May 1998. 21 UTC News: Rioting in Jakarta, Indonesia. 'World Report'. 6035 kHz to Africa, 6040 kHz to Middle East, North Africa, Europe. Good to fair reception. Nuclear proliferation in South Asia. President Yeltzin on tour. Clinton meets Japanese delegation.
• 15 May: 2130 UTC: 6155 kHz: Radio Austria News: New nuclear power station. Freedom Party. Government Budget for 1999. Environment group action: 12-13 June 1998. Postal service strike. 'Report From Austria' Murray Hall and Joanna King. Strong to good reception. English to Europe. Newspapers' 150th year.
• 15 May: 2150 UTC: 6195 kHz: BBC World Service Strong to good reception 'People And Politics' Northern Ireland Peace Process.

BBC World Service logo, taken from a letterhead.

• 15 May: 2217 UTC: 7340 / 7375 / 7415 kHz: Voice of America English to Africa. Music from Garth Brooks. Strong to good reception. 'Country Music USA' Music: 'Anonymous' and 'This Ain't Tennessee'.
• 23 May: 1238 UTC: 9410 kHz: BBC World Service Fair to poor reception. 'A Jolly Good Show' Dave Lee Travis. Music: Richard Marx 'Right Here Waiting', Neil Diamond 'Dancing In The Street', Natalie Imbruglia 'Torn'. To 1245 UTC.

Thank you for visiting this first post of 2019!

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