This past weekend's Grayland, WA DXpedition provided some of the best-ever
foreign MW DX ever logged from the Northwest USA. Reception was primarily
Asian with stations from China dominating the dial, along with Japan and
both Koreas. Friday night in particular was a treasure trove of Alaskans,
but I couldn't get particularly excited over hearing US stations, even if
they are from infrequently-heard Alaska. The MW-only guys were in high gear,
however, and I heard phrases like "best ever!" and "never before heard at
Grayland!" thrown around with abandon.

Work responsibilities kept me away from Grayland the first night of the
DXpedition, so I arrived Friday afternoon and joined the fun already in
progress. My favorite MW catches from the weekend included the Voice of
Vietnam on 1242 and 675 kHz, but I spent most of the time on the tropical
bands after I finally got soundcard & receiver-PC interfacing problems out
of the way. (Hmm... I vaguely remember a time when DXing was just me, a
receiver, and a pair of headphones :^)

Our annual Grayland "invitational" DXpeditions are more organized and
slightly more formal DXpeditions compared to the smaller get-togethers held
other times of the year. Eight DXers attended: John Bryant, Walt Salmaniw,
Bruce Portzer, Nick Hall-Patch, Steve Ratzlaff, Chuck Hutton, Phil Bytheway,
and myself. Patrick Martin and Dave Headland stopped by on Saturday
afternoon for the traditional "Show and Tell" session which lasted over four
hours; these sessions are filled with technical discussion and I always
learn a lot from my fellow DXers.

My favorite tropical bands catch this time out was Son La, Vietnam, a
station that had eluded me until this past weekend at Grayland. Saturday the
16th was the best morning by far for the tropicals, with flea-powered
Indonesians Manggarai and Ngada making an appearance.

It was hard to leave Grayland after finally getting settled in and solving
the receiver-PC glitches by the final night. I envy John Bryant, who had
arranged to stay another three nights past the "official" DXpedition! If
retirement means more time available to DX, I want my gold watch NOW! g

On to the shortwave loggings:
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INDIA 3223, 1349-1357, AIR Shimla Oct 16 Shimla has evidently not made the
move yet to 60 meters, as it's definitely still here on 3223, heard with
Hindi talk by female and male announcers with subcontinental music. At 1402
I noted Shimla parallel with 3315 Bhopal running an AIR network broadcast.
Fair signal. (Atkins-WA)

INDIA 3315, 1357-1403, AIR Bhopal Oct 16 Nice tabla and female vocals up to
a brief pause at 1400 and into another subcontinental music selection. No
sign of them on 4810, so evidently Bhopal has not made the move to 60
meters. At 1402 I noted Bhopal parallel to 3223 Shimla with an AIR network
broadcast. Fair to good signal. (Atkins-WA)

INDIA 3390, 1333-1349, AIR Gangtok Oct 16 A weak signal of male and female
talk found here, best on NW Beverage; language sounded Hindi. Gangtok was
supposed to move to 4870, but I found only the Indonesian (presumed Wamena)
on the 60 meterband frequency, so perhaps they haven't made the move yet.
Poor-fair signal. (Atkins-WA)

INDIA 4775, 1139-1157*, AIR Imphal Oct 16 Usual Christian-sounding music
programming of choral vocals, similar to PNG hymns or Pacific island choirs.
'Akashvani Imphal' ID at 1140 and mention of Imphal again at 1151 by male in
Hindi. Brief announcement by female announcer at 1157, and off without
fanfare. Nice signal just past Imphal sunset. (Atkins-WA)

INDIA 4970, 1305-1317, AIR Shillong Oct 16 Surprised to hear Shillong with a
country music program, with a female announcer in English introducing songs
like 'Living on Tulsa Time' by Don Williams, and 'Whose Bed Have Your Boots
Been Under' by Shania Twain. 'And so, listeners, we've come to the end of
our program, of our Western Music Survey... This is the Northeastern Service
of All India Radio, broadcasting from Shillong on shortwave 60.36 meters and
??? kHz' heard at 1314, followed by 'Shillong Akashvani Heh' ID and into
native drum and vocals. Lovely S-9 signal!. (Atkins-WA)

INDONESIA 2960, 1104-1109, RPDT Manggarai Oct 16 Weak but improving signal
of female announcer with news items, brief music 1106; male announcer
mentioning Indonesia Timor and other regions. (Atkins-WA)

INDONESIA 3325, 1113-1115, RRI Palangkaraya Oct 16 News items or commentary
by male; frequent mentions of Palangkaraya. Good signal, and had improved to
excellent by 1334 with Koranic recitations. (Atkins-WA)

INDONESIA 3345, 1116-1122, RRI Ternate Oct 16 Strong signal of bass-heavy
Indonesian pops, but under the shadow of fax QRM at times. In the clear at
1315 recheck with Koran recitation. (Atkins-WA)

INDONESIA 3578.75, 1235-1301, RSPK Ngada Oct 16 Noted talk in Indonesian by
two male announcers, with mentions of Kalimantan and Jakarta. Brief flute or
woodwinds music 1245, followed by mention of Indonesia. Female announcer
spoke across the top of the hour, but I couldn't catch an ID. Weak signal,
and presumed. (Atkins-WA)

INDONESIA 3976, 1122-1130, RRI Pontianak Oct 16 Echo-filled promo for
station with mentions of 'Radio Pontianak'; Ads and jingles with children
and women's voices; very Western-sounding R&B pops music sung in Indonesian
by male/female duet. Excellent signal on west and northwest Beverage
antennas. (Atkins-WA)

INDONESIA 4750, 1132-1139, RRI Makassar Oct 16 Horribly distorted and buzzy
signal! Although very strong, Makassar's signal was barely recognizable as
being in the Indonesian language. Programming seemed to be a radio play or
drama. (Atkins-WA)

INDONESIA 4925, 1202-1205, RRI Jambi Oct 16 Jakarta news relay with female
announcer in Indonesian, parallel to 4869.9. Very good level. (Atkins-WA)

NEW ZEALAND 3935, 1420-1422, ZLXA Levin Oct 16 Weak signal of a female
announcer reading a magazine or newspaper article. Mentions of Hong Kong,
Singapore, Australia, and other cities/countries. Only heard on southwest
Beverage antenna. Poor-fair. (Atkins-WA)

PAPUA NEW GUINEA 3205, 1005-1030, R. Sandaun Oct 15 Presumed Sandaun on this
frequency with a good signal of old US C&W music, but upon retuning at 1015
it was gone. Transmitter problems? Other PNGs noted in this bandscan with
Pidgin talk and/or ID included: R. Morobe 3220, very good; R. West New
Britain 3235, very good; R. Gulf 3245, fair-good; R. Madang 3260, poor-tent
(vy good 10/16); R. Southern Highlands 3275, very good but heard 10/16 only;
R. Western 3305, good but heard 10/16 only; R. North Solomons 3325, fair
beneath RRI Palangkaraya; R. East Sepik 3335, very good; R. Milne Bay 3365,
poor-tent.; R. East New Britain 3385, very good; R. New Ireland 3905, very
good; NBC 4890, excellent; Wantok Radio Light 7120, fair-good. (Atkins-WA)

PAPUA NEW GUINEA 4960, 1224-1232, Catholic Radio Network Oct 16 Heard with
poor-fair signal at the end of a program. 'We've now come to the end of our
program, brothers and sisters,' with mention of 'diocese' and 'all Catholics
in the region' by female speaker, and into hymn at 1229. (Atkins-WA)

VIETNAM 4739.7, 1211-1224, R TV Son La Oct 16 Very unusual 'hill country'
native vocal music to 1216 mentions of Son La and Vietnam by female
announcer in Vietnamese or lang. Male vocalist at 1220 with similar tonal
singing. Quite strong signal on NW Beverage, but a slight buzz & distortion
from the Son La transmitter. (Atkins-WA)

Guy Atkins
Puyallup, WA USA
DXing at Grayland, WA
mod. ICOM IC-756Pro & mod. ICOM R-75
Kiwa MAP / ERGO
800 ft. SW and W Beverage antennas; 1500 ft. NW Beverage