BC-DX 789 05 Jan 2007 Private Verwendung der Meldun

KRHK, one of several CLs, one for each transmitter. I regret not QSL'ing
Bound Brook, NJ [WBOU]; Schenectady, NY [WGEO]; and a couple of other
domestic sites
But the one I regret most not QSL'ing was VOA-Leopoldville. In 1958,
monitoring 15260 from Hereford TX, had a strong VOA signal and, back when
they identified the sites, they ID'd this site as Leopoldville. I obtained
a frequency schedule from VOA shortly thereafter, and sho' 'nuff,
Leopoldville was listed on it for a transmission on 15260 didn't last too
long, probably less than a year but it was there, and I heard it.
Propagation from Leopoldville, and from Brazzaville, directly across the
Congo River, to North America was very, very good throughout the '50s.
Brazzaville's signal on 11970 was one of the common regulars, and OTC on
9767, with its Amongst Friends Club, through which I, at 15 in 1950, made
contact with penpals in Malmoe, London, a small town in New South Wales
and another in Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland, was the same, even on an old
upright consumer-oriented Philco console that my family had brought to
Oregon when we moved from Oklahoma in 1941.
Dunno what happened to all that good propagation after the two Congos
became independent from France and Belgium. Qal R. Mann, Krumudgeon.
(John Callarman, Krum TX, ibid.)
VOA Leopoldville is a new one on me; must have been before I started SW
DXing in 1957y.
(Glenn Hauser-OK-USA, dxld July 24)
The first VOA site I QSLed after getting interested in DXing was the VOA
station at Marathon, FL on 1180 kHz. I reported it in the fall of 1963,
addressed my report to "VOA Station, Marathon, FL," but my report was
instead delivered to station WFFG (I think that was the call) in or near
Marathon. WFFG replied to me, and their CE helpfully gave me the address
for VOA in Washington. I sent a follow-up there and received a VOA "star"
card with the site indicated.
Back then, all VOA transmissions started with the opening bars of
"Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean" as their interval signal and a site
announcement. I always thought "Columbia" was a better interval signal
than the rather wimpy versions of "Yankee Doodle" they now use.
I also recall VOA stopped QSLing reports from domestic listeners around
1965/66 because federal law prohibited domestic distribution of VOA
materials (like QSLs). That policy lasted only a few months, but I can't
recall why/how it was reversed.
It was a thrill to later see some of the VOA sites I heard as a kid. The
Delano site is especially impressive from Highway 99.
(Harry Helms-TX-USA W5HLH, ABDX via dxld)
That was when VOA didn't own the transmitter sites. WLWO was Crosley, KCBR
(Delano) was CBS.
1180 IS NOT V O A. It is Radio Marti. Studios are in Hialeah Florida. It
has the same relationship to VOA as Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia,
Radio Liberty and Radio Sawa. All are under IBB=International Broadcasting
Bureau.
Yep, and I wish they had continued the practice of site IDs! And
"Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean" was an excellent theme and interval
signal.
The site IDs were dropped because some countries that hosted VOA sites
didn't want to be associated too closely with stuff that might have caused