Tag Archives: New Shortwave Transmitter

4KZ Update and Reception Report Information

Many thanks to Al Kirton, group general manager of radio station 4KZ, who writes with an update to our post from earlier today:

We are pleased to advise that as part of our 50TH Anniversary celebrations, Radio 4KZ shortwave 5055 kHz commenced transmission yesterday afternoon. Reports have come in from as far as Monterey, California USA.

Unfortunately, during the next 2 weeks we will be running on half power at 500 watts.

Transmission is from the 4KZ (am 531 – 8kW) & 4AY (am 873 – 1 kW) site at east Innisfail in Tropical North Queensland. We use a USA made LPB 1.2 kW shortwave transmitter feeding an Inverted V antenna at about 14 metres high at the peak. The transmitter audio is via an Australian-made Crusher digital audio limiter.

The system is designed to cover the Cape York area of Queensland and the Northern outback. Fortuitous reception is available at times over a much wider area.

Transmission hours will be approximately 0500 to 2300 hours GMT (3pm to 9am Queensland time.)

We welcome reception reports. All confirmed reports will receive a 4KZ shortwave QSL card. No return postage is required.

Reports should be sent to me, Al Kirton [email protected]

Or by regular mail to: Radio 4KZ, PO Box 19, Innisfail Queensland 4860 Australia.

Excellent!  I will certainly do my best to put 4KZ in the logs, but it will be a challenge doing it from the east coast of the US. Still, perhaps propagation will surprise me one evening!

For more about 4KZ on shortwave, and to follow updates, simply follow the tag: 4KZ

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Breaking News: Australian broadcaster 4KZ now on shortwave!

The 4KZ transmitter is located in Innisfail, Australia

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Phil Brennan (VK8VWA), who notes that 4KZ started broadcasting today in Australia. Phil notes:

At last! ID for 4KZ confirmed at 0750 [UTC] Wednesday 20 December on 5,055 kHz.

Thank you, Phil–and thanks for following this development so closely over the past few weeks.

I tried tuning to 5055 kHz at my home in eastern North America, but of course conditions weren’t ideal to receive a 1,000 watt AM signal from Australia. I wasn’t ready to give up, of course, so I turned to the KiwiSDR network.

The following recording was made on December 20, 2017 starting around 11:33 UTC on 5,055 kHz . The receiver is a KiwiSDR located in Goulburn, NSW, Australia.

Click here to view on YouTube.

No details yet on where to send reception reports, but I will ask the station manager and post his reply in an update.

Post Readers: Please comment if you’ve also logged 4KZ!

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Hear WTWW’s new transmitter – 22:00 UTC on 9,990 kHz

Here’s your chance to catch the first broadcast of the new shortwave transmitter installed at WTWW in Nashville, Tennessee. Ted Randall will be hosting a show called, “This is Only A Test.” Here’s the press release:

(Source: Ted Randall)

It is not very often that you can hear a new HF shortwave radio station sign on the air. WTWW, a new International Shortwave Radio facility just outside of Nashville, TN is launching a new transmitter this Saturday with a broadcast we are calling ‘This Is Only A Test’ starting at 4 pm Central Standard Time. This is a 100,000 watt transmitter running into a full size rhombic antenna.

This is a global radio event with radios being tuned in all over the world.

The QSO Radio Show has requested that we could air this broadcast as a amateur radio event to promote amateur radio along with shortwave listening. Why? Well, the shortwave listening audience is huge.
The typical shortwave radio listener is a great potential candidate for amateur radio.

There are more than 1.5 billion shortwave receivers in use worldwide, the BBC estimates that at any given moment, over 200 million sets are tuned to shortwave broadcasts.

This is the second time WTWW has allowed us to conduct this kind of broadcast on a powerful new shortwave facility.

The purpose of this broadcast is to demonstrate HF communications and to put radio amateurs on the air to a worldwide audience to tell their story.

This is not a commercial venture in any way.

So spread the word to all of your amateur radio friends and call us on Saturday on “This Is Only A Test” and talk to the world about Amateur Radio!

Thanks and 73
Ted Randall
QSO Radio Show
http://www.qsoradioshow.com

YOU ARE INVITED TO SHARE THE MAGIC OF HF BROADCASTING AND AMATEUR RADIO TO A WORLD WIDE LISTENING AUDIENCE.
YOU ARE INVITED TO CALL IN AND SHARE WITH A HUGE GLOBAL RADIO AUDIENCE.
WHAT YOU LOVE ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO
YOUR FAVORITE MODES KHZ
YOUR LOCAL AMATEUR RADIO CLUB AND ITS ACTIVITIES
YOUR PERSONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN AMATEUR RADIO THIS SATURDAY Feb 11 at 4 PM CENTRAL

FROM 4 – 6 PM / 2200 – 2400 UTC THE FREQUENCY IS 9990

6 – 10 PM / 2400 – 0400 UTC THE FREQUENCY IS 5085 KHZ

THE CALL IN NUMBER IS 615-547-9520

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