Resulting from my recent Seefontein4 DXpedition, I thought I might share
some verification woes with you.

I love DXing U.S. stations not only because they are so far away -
7,800miles/12,500 kilometers, but also because they tend to identify well
and speak English. But to the South African ear, the various American
accents can prove problematical.

I heard a station on 1510MW that ID' as WRAT, but could not find it anywhere
in WRTH or other lists. I asked web friends, but no one had ever heard of
WRAT, although I replayed my MiniDisc recorder back endlessly it still came
up WRAT = bamboozled. Only after I started working on program details and
did extensive web searches of all the stations on 1510 it became apparent
that the ID is actually WLAC Nashville TN - I just couldn't grasp the
announcers American accent.

Then on 1050MW I got a very clear what sounded like CSVN. Now Canada has the
callsign's starting with "C" so I thought whoopee! I've got a very rare
Canadian station, but alas, a search of WRTH and the web revealed no such
station. So I played the recording to my super DXer friend Gary Deacon and
he also felt it sounded like CSVN = really baffled now??? Then we played the
recording to my other DX mate Vince Stevens and he immediately ID' it as
ESPN, a syndicated sports program that is relayed on many U.S. stations.
WRTH revealed that this had to be WEPN N.Y., N.Y. and a later web search
confirmed it and that that they were running ESPN at the time I recorded it.

Syndicated programming can be a hellava problem for us DXer's here, as some
stations play their Ads and programs for 55 minutes solid with no station
ID, except for the FCC mandatory station ID just on or before the top of the
hour. As serious DXer's will know, trying to get a station to come in
clearly only at the top of the hour can be an impossible task, as often the
really rare far off exotics may only appear for as little as five minutes
and then fade away. The top of the hour can have a great burst of static
from far off thunderstorms, or an interfering station may rise above your
target station = difficult.

I got a nice QSL verification from 1700 KVNS Brownsville TX, 8,600 miles
away without getting the station ID. I took a careful note of the
programming from the recorder and did the web searches and was certain that
the program content at that time matched KVNS's schedule exactly and so
fired off a QSL request and they came back and verified. I cannot stress the
importance of getting as much program content recorded as you can to help
you verify that station ID.

Web searches today are a great assistance, as even some extremely small
stations have websites, many containing detailed program schedules and
program content to help you with your ID.

Lastly, an anecdote from the past - one or two South African DXer's got
Tahiti, French Polynesia on 15 megs when they used to transmit there.
Although I tried very hard, I never got that Tahiti station, but one day
another DX friend phoned to say he had got it. I was green with envy so
tried in the next couple of days for something to come in, and lo and behold
I got a French language broadcast of what sounded like Pacific news. I was
elated, but being a stickler for getting a proper station ID I waited and
waited and eventually they ID' as Radio Beijing with a transmission for the
French Pacific regions !#$%^&, so my friend had jumped the gun and assumed
the wrong ID. Motto of the story is that you must get those program details
clear and a good station ID before you can go crowing about that great catch
you think you've got.

Have fun fella's and good DXing.
--
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, Braun T1000, Sangean 818 & 803A.
GE circa 50's radiogram
Antenna's RF Systems DX 1 Pro, Datong AD-270
Kiwa MW Loop
http://www.dxing.info/about/dxers/plimmer.dx

John Plimmer wrote:

Resulting from my recent Seefontein4 DXpedition, I thought I might share
some verification woes with you.

I love DXing U.S. stations not only because they are so far away -
7,800miles/12,500 kilometers, but also because they tend to identify well
and speak English. But to the South African ear, the various American
accents can prove problematical.

I heard a station on 1510MW that ID' as WRAT, but could not find it anywhere
in WRTH or other lists. I asked web friends, but no one had ever heard of
WRAT, although I replayed my MiniDisc recorder back endlessly it still came
up WRAT = bamboozled. Only after I started working on program details and
did extensive web searches of all the stations on 1510 it became apparent
that the ID is actually WLAC Nashville TN - I just couldn't grasp the
announcers American accent.

Then on 1050MW I got a very clear what sounded like CSVN. Now Canada has the
callsign's starting with "C" so I thought whoopee! I've got a very rare
Canadian station, but alas, a search of WRTH and the web revealed no such
station. So I played the recording to my super DXer friend Gary Deacon and
he also felt it sounded like CSVN = really baffled now??? Then we played the
recording to my other DX mate Vince Stevens and he immediately ID' it as
ESPN, a syndicated sports program that is relayed on many U.S. stations.
WRTH revealed that this had to be WEPN N.Y., N.Y. and a later web search
confirmed it and that that they were running ESPN at the time I recorded it.

Syndicated programming can be a hellava problem for us DXer's here, as some
stations play their Ads and programs for 55 minutes solid with no station
ID, except for the FCC mandatory station ID just on or before the top of the
hour. As serious DXer's will know, trying to get a station to come in
clearly only at the top of the hour can be an impossible task, as often the
really rare far off exotics may only appear for as little as five minutes
and then fade away. The top of the hour can have a great burst of static
from far off thunderstorms, or an interfering station may rise above your
target station = difficult.

I got a nice QSL verification from 1700 KVNS Brownsville TX, 8,600 miles
away without getting the station ID. I took a careful note of the
programming from the recorder and did the web searches and was certain that
the program content at that time matched KVNS's schedule exactly and so
fired off a QSL request and they came back and verified. I cannot stress the
importance of getting as much program content recorded as you can to help
you verify that station ID.

Web searches today are a great assistance, as even some extremely small
stations have websites, many containing detailed program schedules and
program content to help you with your ID.

Lastly, an anecdote from the past - one or two South African DXer's got
Tahiti, French Polynesia on 15 megs when they used to transmit there.
Although I tried very hard, I never got that Tahiti station, but one day
another DX friend phoned to say he had got it. I was green with envy so
tried in the next couple of days for something to come in, and lo and behold
I got a French language broadcast of what sounded like Pacific news. I was
elated, but being a stickler for getting a proper station ID I waited and
waited and eventually they ID' as Radio Beijing with a transmission for the
French Pacific regions !#$%^&, so my friend had jumped the gun and assumed
the wrong ID. Motto of the story is that you must get those program details
clear and a good station ID before you can go crowing about that great catch
you think you've got.

Nice post. I remember Tahiti being on 11825 as well as 15170.

dxAce
Michigan
USA

political correctness now precludes U.S.Winning a War.
www.humanevents.com And I am ****ed OFF!!!!
cuhulin

My brother in law worked at the pentagon.No wonder he wont tell me
stuff! www.miss103.com/main.html
And why am I laying naked on my left side on Blueberry doggys couch and
pulling at them hairs on my ****?
cuhulin

John Plimmer wrote:
Resulting from my recent Seefontein4 DXpedition, I thought I might share
some verification woes with you.

I love DXing U.S. stations not only because they are so far away -
7,800miles/12,500 kilometers, but also because they tend to identify well
and speak English. But to the South African ear, the various American
accents can prove problematical.

I heard a station on 1510MW that ID' as WRAT, but could not find it anywhere
in WRTH or other lists. I asked web friends, but no one had ever heard of
WRAT, although I replayed my MiniDisc recorder back endlessly it still came
up WRAT = bamboozled. Only after I started working on program details and
did extensive web searches of all the stations on 1510 it became apparent
that the ID is actually WLAC Nashville TN - I just couldn't grasp the
announcers American accent.

Then on 1050MW I got a very clear what sounded like CSVN. Now Canada has the
callsign's starting with "C" so I thought whoopee! I've got a very rare
Canadian station, but alas, a search of WRTH and the web revealed no such
station. So I played the recording to my super DXer friend Gary Deacon and
he also felt it sounded like CSVN = really baffled now??? Then we played the
recording to my other DX mate Vince Stevens and he immediately ID' it as
ESPN, a syndicated sports program that is relayed on many U.S. stations.
WRTH revealed that this had to be WEPN N.Y., N.Y. and a later web search
confirmed it and that that they were running ESPN at the time I recorded it.

Syndicated programming can be a hellava problem for us DXer's here, as some
stations play their Ads and programs for 55 minutes solid with no station
ID, except for the FCC mandatory station ID just on or before the top of the
hour. As serious DXer's will know, trying to get a station to come in
clearly only at the top of the hour can be an impossible task, as often the
really rare far off exotics may only appear for as little as five minutes
and then fade away. The top of the hour can have a great burst of static
from far off thunderstorms, or an interfering station may rise above your
target station = difficult.

I got a nice QSL verification from 1700 KVNS Brownsville TX, 8,600 miles
away without getting the station ID. I took a careful note of the
programming from the recorder and did the web searches and was certain that
the program content at that time matched KVNS's schedule exactly and so
fired off a QSL request and they came back and verified. I cannot stress the
importance of getting as much program content recorded as you can to help
you verify that station ID.

Web searches today are a great assistance, as even some extremely small
stations have websites, many containing detailed program schedules and
program content to help you with your ID.

Lastly, an anecdote from the past - one or two South African DXer's got
Tahiti, French Polynesia on 15 megs when they used to transmit there.
Although I tried very hard, I never got that Tahiti station, but one day
another DX friend phoned to say he had got it. I was green with envy so
tried in the next couple of days for something to come in, and lo and behold
I got a French language broadcast of what sounded like Pacific news. I was
elated, but being a stickler for getting a proper station ID I waited and
waited and eventually they ID' as Radio Beijing with a transmission for the
French Pacific regions !#$%^&, so my friend had jumped the gun and assumed
the wrong ID. Motto of the story is that you must get those program details
clear and a good station ID before you can go crowing about that great catch
you think you've got.

Have fun fella's and good DXing.
--
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, Braun T1000, Sangean 818 & 803A.
GE circa 50's radiogram
Antenna's RF Systems DX 1 Pro, Datong AD-270
Kiwa MW Loop
http://www.dxing.info/about/dxers/plimmer.dx

JP - A enjoyable read and very good
Station ID Tips to get it right. ~ RHF

I still like wearing my old black hat,,,, riding my kids around on my
back,,,, Mississippi Gurrrlllll,,,,,,,,,
cuhulin

On Mon, 18 Sep 2006 20:26:29 +0200, "John Plimmer"
wrote:

Lastly, an anecdote from the past - one or two South African DXer's got
Tahiti, French Polynesia on 15 megs when they used to transmit there.
Although I tried very hard, I never got that Tahiti station, but one day
another DX friend phoned to say he had got it. I was green with envy so
tried in the next couple of days for something to come in, and lo and behold
I got a French language broadcast of what sounded like Pacific news. I was
elated, but being a stickler for getting a proper station ID I waited and
waited and eventually they ID' as Radio Beijing with a transmission for the
French Pacific regions !#$%^&, so my friend had jumped the gun and assumed
the wrong ID. Motto of the story is that you must get those program details
clear and a good station ID before you can go crowing about that great catch
you think you've got.

Have fun fella's and good DXing.

I caught them one afternoon playing a Beatles tune I could make out.
I was in Houston using an R-390A.

John Plimmer wrote:

Resulting from my recent Seefontein4 DXpedition, I thought I might share
some verification woes with you.

I love DXing U.S. stations not only because they are so far away -
7,800miles/12,500 kilometers, but also because they tend to identify well
and speak English. But to the South African ear, the various American
accents can prove problematical.

I heard a station on 1510MW that ID' as WRAT, but could not find it anywhere
in WRTH or other lists. I asked web friends, but no one had ever heard of
WRAT, although I replayed my MiniDisc recorder back endlessly it still came
up WRAT = bamboozled. Only after I started working on program details and
did extensive web searches of all the stations on 1510 it became apparent
that the ID is actually WLAC Nashville TN - I just couldn't grasp the
announcers American accent.

Then on 1050MW I got a very clear what sounded like CSVN. Now Canada has the
callsign's starting with "C" so I thought whoopee! I've got a very rare
Canadian station, but alas, a search of WRTH and the web revealed no such
station. So I played the recording to my super DXer friend Gary Deacon and
he also felt it sounded like CSVN = really baffled now??? Then we played the
recording to my other DX mate Vince Stevens and he immediately ID' it as
ESPN, a syndicated sports program that is relayed on many U.S. stations.
WRTH revealed that this had to be WEPN N.Y., N.Y. and a later web search
confirmed it and that that they were running ESPN at the time I recorded it.

Syndicated programming can be a hellava problem for us DXer's here, as some
stations play their Ads and programs for 55 minutes solid with no station
ID, except for the FCC mandatory station ID just on or before the top of the
hour. As serious DXer's will know, trying to get a station to come in
clearly only at the top of the hour can be an impossible task, as often the
really rare far off exotics may only appear for as little as five minutes
and then fade away. The top of the hour can have a great burst of static
from far off thunderstorms, or an interfering station may rise above your
target station = difficult.

I got a nice QSL verification from 1700 KVNS Brownsville TX, 8,600 miles
away without getting the station ID. I took a careful note of the
programming from the recorder and did the web searches and was certain that
the program content at that time matched KVNS's schedule exactly and so
fired off a QSL request and they came back and verified. I cannot stress the
importance of getting as much program content recorded as you can to help
you verify that station ID.

Web searches today are a great assistance, as even some extremely small
stations have websites, many containing detailed program schedules and
program content to help you with your ID.

Lastly, an anecdote from the past - one or two South African DXer's got
Tahiti, French Polynesia on 15 megs when they used to transmit there.
Although I tried very hard, I never got that Tahiti station, but one day
another DX friend phoned to say he had got it. I was green with envy so
tried in the next couple of days for something to come in, and lo and behold
I got a French language broadcast of what sounded like Pacific news. I was
elated, but being a stickler for getting a proper station ID I waited and
waited and eventually they ID' as Radio Beijing with a transmission for the
French Pacific regions !#$%^&, so my friend had jumped the gun and assumed
the wrong ID. Motto of the story is that you must get those program details
clear and a good station ID before you can go crowing about that great catch
you think you've got.

Were you ever able to hear New Caledonia there in South Africa?

dxAce
Michigan
USA