The VKFF program offered a special certificate in 2023 for any park activator who activated a VKFF reference during 2023 National Bird Week.

The certificate features a number of bird photographs all taken by me, many during my park activations.

Received in the mail over the past few days, this special 70th anniversary QSL card from KBS World Radio, SOUTH KOREA.

Received in the mail in the past couple of days – a QSL card and info sheet from WWVH.

Yesterday, myself and Marija VK5MAZ activated four VK5 parks on the Fleurieu Peninsula for the 2023 VKFF Team Championship.

• Kyeema Conservation Park VKFF-0826
• Mount Magnificent Conservation Park VKFF-0916
• Finnis Conservation Park VKFF-1030
• Cox Scrub Conservation Park VKFF-0824

We ran the Yaesu FT857d, 40 watts, and a 20/40/80m linked dipole.

We made a total of 240 QSOs in about 3 hours of on-air time, which included 23 Park to Park contacts.

We worked 16 different DXCC entities:-

1. Australia.
2. Austria.
3. Belgium.
4. Croatia.
5. European Russia.
6. Finland.
7. France.
8. Germany.
9. Hungary.
10. Italy.
11. New Zealand.
12. Poland.
13. Slovak Republic.
14. Slovenia.
15. Ukraine.
16. USA.

Thank you to everyone who called, and thank you to everyone who took part in this year’s Team Championship.

At 1450 UTC on the 17th day of October 2023 I tuned in to Radio Ethiopia broadcasting in the Amharic language on 7110 kHz.

Above:- World globe showing the location of Ethiopia in Africa. Image c/o Wikipedia.

The overall reception was good.

Below is a video showing my reception of Radio Ethiopia.

At about 1425 UTC on 17th October 2023, I tuned in to Supreme Master Television, broadcasting in the English language on 15770 kHz.

Supreme Master Television is an international, non-profit channel airing constructive news and programs that foster peace and promote healthy, green living.

The overall reception was fair.

Below is a video showing my reception of Supreme Master Television.

At about 1330 UTC on 17th October 2023, I tuned in to a special 80-year anniversary broadcast from Encompass Media at the Woofferton Transmitting Station UK, broadcasting in the English language on 15245 kHz.

The Woofferton transmitting station is located near the Shropshire-Herefordshire border.

Above:- The Woofferton transmitting station (Shropshire). Image c/o Wikipedia

Woofferton transmitting station, near Ludlow, was built by the BBC during WWII. It made its first overseas broadcast on the 17th day of October 1943.

Above:- Woofferton antennas. c/o https://www.flickr.com/photos/shirokazan/5669892499

Below are three videos on the history of the Woofferton transmitting station.

The overall reception was fair. The Voice of Korea was broadcasting on the same frequency in the English language and this caused moderate interference and affected listening pleasure.

I also tried an alternate frequency of 17785 kHz where the target area was Europe. The signal was much weaker.

Below is a video showing my reception on 15245 kHz.

Below is a short video showing my reception on 17785 kHz

References.

1. Wikipedia, 2023, <https://www.shortwaveschedule.com/>, viewed 17th October 2023.

At about 1237 UTC on 17th October 2023, I tuned in to the Voice of Turkey, broadcasting in the English language on 15450 kHz.

The broadcast consisted of the news, a review of the Turkish Press, and music.

The overall reception of the Voice of Turkey was fair. This was due to the apparent deliberate ‘jamming’ of the signal. The signal became stronger as the broadcast went on.

Below is a video showing my reception of the Voice of Turkey.

At about 1217 UTC on 17th October 2023, I tuned in to the Voice of the Martyrs, broadcasting in the Korean language on 15570 kHz.

For more information on the Voice of the Martyrs, please see my previous post at…….

The overall reception of the Voice of the Martyrs was fair. This was due to the apparent deliberate ‘jamming’ of the signal. The World Radio TV Handbook reports jamming in parts of the target area, and this appears to be what I experienced.

Below is a video showing my reception of the Voice of the Martyrs.

During the recent 2023 Oceania DX Contest, I made an exciting contact on the 20m band. It was with Erik KL7DYS who was aeronautical mobile in a Boeing 737. He was flying across the USA from Atlanta Georgia to Seattle in Washington.

I stopped contesting to have a bit of a chat with Eric.

Eric was at 32,000 feet flying over Tennessee in N924AK.

Erik’s signal was excellent. Erik advised he was using 400 watts and an antenna on the vertical stabiliser of the aircraft.

I have worked a number of aeronautical mobile stations over the years, but this was the first time I had been called by an AM mobile station during a contest.

Thanks for the QSO Erik. It was great to have a chat with you.