DXing from Perth Australia

[wildthangjim]

I'm moving to Perth in a few weeks and it seems like it might be an interesting place to rekindle my interest in DX. Anyone ever been there/DXed there?

 

[cyberdad]

First of all, welcome to the board. Secondly, check out the online listening posts thread. IIRC there's a recent post about DX from Austrailia. I seem to remember it as western Australia, but I definitely stand to be corrected on that point (and I'm too lazy to go look it up)

Anyway, I'd think Perth would be an ideal spot, situated as it is on Australia's west coast. Not much around it. So assuming a low-noise location there should be a few good trans-oceanic paths, as well as transcontinental paths to the east.

Good luck on the move and Happy DX-ing.

 

[Icangelp]

I've never been there, but like Cyberdad stated, it should be a great place for some long distance MW/LW Dx'ing. I'm guessing it might be a awesome location. Should also offer opportunities for interesting SW DX as well.

For MW/LW, the best place would probably be on a beach, away from the metro area.

When you get situated, please post some threads about your experiences.

 

[radioman148]

Welcome to the board and and after you get settled please let us know how the DX is. should be fabulous.

 

[Bongwater]

I lived in Penrith (near Sydney) and Coffs Harbour. I can tell you the DXing IS fantastic. You can get stations from all across Eastern Asia and the South Pacific (namely New Zealand, of course, But I have also picked up KGU (with I think may be KFMB underneath)

Since you'll be in Perth on the west side of the Australian continent, you may be in for a treat. Many European and South Asian stations no longer broadcast on AM, which should open quite a window to Europe and the Middle East......

 

[radioman148]

I lived in Penrith (near Sydney) and Coffs Harbour. I can tell you the DXing IS fantastic. You can get stations from all across Eastern Asia and the South Pacific (namely New Zealand, of course, But I have also picked up KGU (with I think may be KFMB underneath)

Since you'll be in Perth on the west side of the Australian continent, you may be in for a treat. Many European and South Asian stations no longer broadcast on AM, which should open quite a window to Europe and the Middle East......

Bongwater,

Did you hear anything else from North America when you were in Australia?

 

[crainbebo]

I know this might be cheating, but here's a report of a DXpedition to Fish Hoek, South Africa in 2006 where a few DXers got remarkable Australia catches. Checking the reports, 720 6WF (ABC) "excellent steady signal for most of the evening".

-crainbebo

 

[cd637299]

Perth W.A. is a spot where DXers don't seem to abound, so any report would be a good report!

There used to be a DX tuner ( www.globaltuners.com ) in Broome, W.A. but I have not seen it for a while. Broome is quite a ways from Perth, tho.

cd

 

[crainbebo]

The site op says anything below 1.8 mhz is dead, and it may be dying.

-crainbebo

 

[wildthangjim]

Thanks everyone. Perth is quite a long way from anywhere, and from what I've learned so far, most of the local stations in WA outside Perth itself are fairly low-powered. The dial should sound a good bit different than the mush I hear in the US these days. I lost interest in the hobby as the dial got more crowded, but I'm pretty excited about the opportunity to catch some transoceanic stations. The distances are daunting though - it's 3000 miles plus to just about everwhere from there!

I will try and post here when I get down there and have a chance to tune around a little.

 

[radioman148]

Thanks everyone. Perth is quite a long way from anywhere, and from what I've learned so far, most of the local stations in WA outside Perth itself are fairly low-powered. The dial should sound a good bit different than the mush I hear in the US these days. I lost interest in the hobby as the dial got more crowded, but I'm pretty excited about the opportunity to catch some transoceanic stations. The distances are daunting though - it's 3000 miles plus to just about everwhere from there!

I will try and post here when I get down there and have a chance to tune around a little.

Good luck with your move.

 

[Bongwater]

I lived in Penrith (near Sydney) and Coffs Harbour. I can tell you the DXing IS fantastic. You can get stations from all across Eastern Asia and the South Pacific (namely New Zealand, of course, But I have also picked up KGU (with I think may be KFMB underneath)

Since you'll be in Perth on the west side of the Australian continent, you may be in for a treat. Many European and South Asian stations no longer broadcast on AM, which should open quite a window to Europe and the Middle East......

Bongwater,

Did you hear anything else from North America when you were in Australia?

It was hard to tell sometimes. I did hear some Spanish on 10 kHz spacings from I believe South America going under the South Pole, But I could never get IDs nailed down because my Spanish wasn't so good then. But most DX was Australian or Asian in 9 kHz steps. 567 kHz was really crowded...

 

[radioman148]

I lived in Penrith (near Sydney) and Coffs Harbour. I can tell you the DXing IS fantastic. You can get stations from all across Eastern Asia and the South Pacific (namely New Zealand, of course, But I have also picked up KGU (with I think may be KFMB underneath)

Since you'll be in Perth on the west side of the Australian continent, you may be in for a treat. Many European and South Asian stations no longer broadcast on AM, which should open quite a window to Europe and the Middle East......

Bongwater,

Did you hear anything else from North America when you were in Australia?

It was hard to tell sometimes. I did hear some Spanish on 10 kHz spacings from I believe South America going under the South Pole, But I could never get IDs nailed down because my Spanish wasn't so good then. But most DX was Australian or Asian in 9 kHz steps. 567 kHz was really crowded...

Thanks.

 

[wildthangjim]

I'm now in Perth. It's a beautiful place, and we've spent much of our first days here taking the kids to the beach. I had a chance to tune around the MW a little last night (9-11pm local time). I'm in a fairly noisy rental place, and it's the summer here, so not ideal conditions. Plus, I realize I need a WRTH badly! The dial is not nearly as crowded as it was back in the US. Many of the stronger signals I hear are ABC Radio (National, NewsRadio, and Local). There are also quite a few stations still providing music, mainly AC and full-service. A few interesting things I've heard so far (maybe someone w/WRTH can help ID some of them):

702 Traditional Chinese music and talk mixing w/presumed ABC Karratha WA. Several Chinese on this frequency.
1044 South-Asian accented talk. Could this be AIR Mumbai?
1575 Chinese or SE Asian language (?) talk program. Nothing in AUS, maybe VOA Thailand? Probably too early for UAE.

I'll check in again when I get another chance, hopefully in a less-noisy spot.

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

I know the climate and the hemisphere is seasonally 180° off from America, but domestic DXing from there on AM must be equivelant to DXing from San Diego -- and trying to hear Maine.

Or maybe like living in Vancouver B.C. and trying to hear Prince Edward Island.

Wekk, at least you only have eight territories and states to log, instead of fifty, lol. 73!