SWLing Post contributor, Paul Walker, is seeking your input for his next shortwave broadcast. Paul writes:
Thomas, I will be doing another shortwave broadcast in about 2 months and I need some input from your readers, particularly those in the US.
I will likely broadcast just on WRMI this time, but instead of an East Coast target area on 11580khz, I am going to aim for the Midwest & West Coast via 5850khz or 7570khz.
It appears the signals which are on 2300UTC to 1400UTC daily have the same beam at 315 degrees towards Vancouver, Canada. They both appear to cover the Midwest fairly well as hitting the west coast.
I would love to hear from readers if there is an actual difference in the two signals despite the same power and beam. Maybe one channel has adjacent channel interference or something.
If folks could check either frequency as close as possible to 0500UTC/12midnight eastern and note conditions on both signal and the differences between the two, I would appreciate it. (0500utc/12midnight eastern wlll likely be the time of my next broadcast.
One friend already reported slightly better audio processing and slightly better modulation. […]I want to know what my target audience in the Midwest & Western US thinks.
Thanks,
Paul
Please feel free to comment if you can assist Paul.
It’s looking like I will likely be on 7570khz. The signal and audio on 7570khz is a bit better then 5850khz.
Paul, I listen to SW habitually during the 0500 UTC hour. I’m in northern California. I usually tune in for the BBC via Ascension every night on 7445 kHz and sometimes to one of RHC freqs on the 49 or 60 meter bands. I’ll undoubtedly check into RHC tonight what with the Presidential visit and all.
I don’t usually listen to WRMI at this hour because they are usually running Brother Stair but I’ll tune their frequencies tonight and report back to you here. I’m just guessing but I suspect the 7570 kHz will be the better than 5850. 5765 kHz may be strong if it’s on the air.
We have just past the spring equinox so expect band conditions to change a bit two months down the road. Sunspot numbers will be lower than they are now but higher frequencies will still improve somewhat.
Dan, I used to live in Redding, CA. Let me know what you hear… I know things will change in a few months but I want some kind of idea of real life conditions.
5850 kHz was the better frequency for WRMI during the 0500 UTC hour. The other WRMI frequencies I sampled are 5765 and 7570 which should also be on the 315 azimuth. Here are two videos for you. Other stations used for reference are RHC at 6100 and 5040 kHz. Also BBC at 7445 kHz. The BBC signal is from the Ascension Island relay 7,000 miles distant. I have listened to this hour of BBC nearly every night since last summer.
listening at 0536:
https://youtu.be/6L-RVGJcywE
listening at 0549:
https://youtu.be/jZog2eq_3U4
Very cool. Thanks!
I have fun doing these SW shows and it appears a WRMI signal on 5850 or 7570 will cover a decent chunk of the US AND Canada