At about 0546 UTC on Saturday, the 5th day of July 2025, I tuned in to the BBC broadcasting on 15400 kHz in the Kinyarwandi language.

The signal was coming from the 250 kW transmitter in Talata-volonondry in Madagascar. The target audience was East Africa. (Short Wave Info 2024) (WRTH 2025)

Above:- Map showing the location of Talata-volonondry in Madagascar. Image c/o Wikipedia.

The overall reception of the BBC was good.

My equipment:-

• Yaesu FTdx101MP
• dipole antenna

Below is a short video showing my reception of the BBC.

References.

1. Shortwaveschedule.com. (2024). ShortwaveSchedule.com. [online] Available at: https://shortwaveschedule.com/‌ [Accessed 5 Jul. 2025].‌
2. Short-wave.info. (2023). Short-Wave Radio Frequency Schedule. [online] Available at: http://www.short-wave.info/index.php [Accessed 5 Jul. 2025].
3. World Radio TV Handbook 2025

At about 0515 UTC on Saturday, the 5th day of July 2025, I tuned in to All India Radio broadcasting on 15280 kHz in the Persian language. The Arabic language broadcast commenced at 0530 UTC.

The signal was coming from the 500 kW transmitter in Bengaluru. The target audience was West Asia. (Short Wave Info 2024) (WRTH 2025)

Above:- Map showing the location of Bengaluru, India. Image c/o Wikipedia.

The overall reception of All India Radio was good. There was an echo on the signal

My equipment:-

• Yaesu FTdx101MP
• dipole antenna

Below is a short video showing my reception of All India Radio.

References.

1. Shortwaveschedule.com. (2024). ShortwaveSchedule.com. [online] Available at: https://shortwaveschedule.com/‌ [Accessed 5 Jul. 2025].‌
2. Short-wave.info. (2023). Short-Wave Radio Frequency Schedule. [online] Available at: http://www.short-wave.info/index.php [Accessed 5 Jul. 2025].
3. World Radio TV Handbook 2025

At about 0436 UTC on Saturday, the 5th day of July 2025, I tuned in to All India Radio broadcasting on 15185 kHz in the Pashto language.

The signal was coming from the 500 kW transmitter in Bengaluru. The target audience was West Asia. (Short Wave Info 2024) (WRTH 2025)

Above:- Map showing the location of Bengaluru, India. Image c/o Wikipedia.

The overall reception of All India Radio was good. There was an echo on the signal

My equipment:-

• Yaesu FTdx101MP
• dipole antenna

Below is a short video showing my reception of All India Radio.

References.

1. Shortwaveschedule.com. (2024). ShortwaveSchedule.com. [online] Available at: https://shortwaveschedule.com/‌ [Accessed 5 Jul. 2025].‌
2. Short-wave.info. (2023). Short-Wave Radio Frequency Schedule. [online] Available at: http://www.short-wave.info/index.php [Accessed 5 Jul. 2025].
3. World Radio TV Handbook 2025

At about 1243 UTC on Thursday, the 3rd day of July 2025, I tuned in to KTWR, Guam, broadcasting on 9910 kHz in the Hui zu language.

The signal was coming from the 200 kW transmitter in Merizo, Guam. The target audience was East Asia. (Short Wave Info 2024) (WRTH 2025)

Above:- Map showing the location of Guam, in the Pacific Ocean. Image c/o Wikipedia.

The overall reception of KTWR was good.

My equipment:-

• Yaesu FTdx101MP
• dipole antenna

Below is a short video showing my reception of KTWR. It shows the very distinctive KTWR interval signal – We’ve a story to tell the nations.

References.

1. Shortwaveschedule.com. (2024). ShortwaveSchedule.com. [online] Available at: https://shortwaveschedule.com/‌ [Accessed 3 Jul. 2025].‌
2. Short-wave.info. (2023). Short-Wave Radio Frequency Schedule. [online] Available at: http://www.short-wave.info/index.php [Accessed 3 Jul. 2025].
3. World Radio TV Handbook 2025

I received this certificate last week. It is the Russian Districts Award, issued for having made contact with 250 different Russian districts.

Here is my latest VKFF Hunter Honour Roll certificate, issued for having hunted 2,275 VKFF references.

Thank you to all of the VKFF activators and thank you to Adam VK2YK, the VK5 VKFF State Rep for the certificate.

A few days ago, I received the QSL card below from China Radio International, for my reception of their broadcast on 9800 kHz on 10th June 2025.

On Wednesday, 9th July 2025, I headed down to the city to pick up a Yaesu FRG7 communications receiver. This is the second one in my collection, and this particular model came from the USA and does not have the fine-tuneknob. The Yaesu FRG7 was produced from 1976 to 1980 and retailed in Australia back in those days at around the $300.00 mark.

Below is some video of the FRG7 in action later that night.

I then headed back up the hill and had a bit of time to fill in before a radio club meeting, so I quickly activated the Totness Conservation Park VKFF-1754. It was just a quick activation due to rain.

I made the following contacts on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3SQ
2. VK3JT
3. VK2BD
4. VK3TKK/p (VFF-5132)
5. VK2VW
6. VK2HFI
7. VK2AKA
8. VK2BUG
9. VK3APJ
10. VK2EXA
11. VK5FANA
12. VK3PF/m
13. VK3KAI/m
14. VK3SMW
15. VK3MGM
16. VK3ACZ
17. VK3SPG

I made the following contacts on 20m SSB:-

1. VK2IO
2. VK2GEZ
3. VK1AO
4. VK2MET
5. VK7AAE
6. VK4EMP
7. VK4TI
8. VK4GKO
9. VK2USH
10. ZL1GA
11. VK2VW
12. VK2HFI
13. VK2AKA
14. VK2BUG
15. VK4CCW

I then drove the very short distance to Lofty Community Radio 5LCM, and met up with other members of the Strathalbyn Amateur Radio Group. One of our members, Peter VK5PET, had organised a tour of the community radio station.

Kimberley was our tour guide. She runs the Breakfast in the Hills program each weekday. It was an extremely interesting visit. Thanks to Kimberley and thanks to Peter for organising.

Following our radio station visit, we headed to a cafe in Mount Barker where we enjoyed coffee and cake.

What a great day.

Here is a selection of the latest QSL cards received for VK5MAZ and VK5PAS.

A few months ago, I made contact with Ivica 9A6CW, who was activating a summit for SOTA in Croatia. Ivica sent me a photo of his operating spot.

Ivica was running a G90, 15 watts, and an end-fed antenna at just 4 metres from the ground.