"Mark" wrote
dxAce,

Thanks for this info. Yes, I hear faint wx info on the hour and then
another
brief transmission on the half-hour, on 9031.

Jack,

I appreciate what you are saying regarding propagation between Britain and
NZ. Surprisingly (or maybe not!) Britain can be received here quite well
at
times. I hear RAF Volmet, West Drayton (west of London) on 11253
occasionally. In fact so much so, I use it as a propagation beacon - if I
can hear it, I know that things are happening from that part of the world
to
here.

That is pretty amazing copy, Mark! The only problem with using some of the
Ute stations as a beacon, is in some cases they are remoted and/or simulcast
from various transmitter locations. Maybe not the case for the Volmets, I
don't know. As you come into summertime (poor props) we are entering
wintertime (great props). Predicting your copy across the world and equator
would be a short-path/long-path headache, for sure. ;-) I think you may
also be in an area that does have particularly good reception all seasons.
ZLM (Taupo Marine) in New Zealand has probably the best worldwide copy of
any maritime station, evidenced by their ability to pick up GMDSS not only
all over the Pacific, but across both coasts of North America as well. I can
receive many of their DSC replies in our summer, and most in our winter.

Cheers,

Jack
Virginia Beach VA