HCJB is now in Western Australia. In "The Kimberly." And VK6JMS can use their antenna.

I grew up listening to HCJB's shortwave broadcasts from Quito, Ecuador.  Fast forward to the present:  This week I have had two radio contacts with Nic VK6JMS.   His callsign indicates Western Australia.  I assumed he was in the Perth area, but no, he is in the northern part of Western Australia, in the area known as The Kimberly.  Look on the map for the place called Kununurra.  That is where he is.  

Here is Nic VK6JMS's QRZ page: https://www.qrz.com/db/VK6JMS  He has access to some really fantastic antennas.  In his page he refers to them at TCI antennas.  I looked them up: 

 A TCI dipole array refers to a specific type of antenna system designed and manufactured by SPX Communication Technologies, a company formerly known as TCI. These arrays are typically used for high-frequency (HF) radio broadcasting and communications, and they are known for their ability to achieve wide bandwidths and efficient radiation patterns. 

https://www.antenna.be/tci-611.pdf

https://www.antenna.be/tci-613.pdf

---------------------------------------

These antennas are used for the SW broadcasts: 

Since 2003, Reach Beyond (formerly HCJB) has been transmitting from our Broadcast Facility in the Kimberley, in far north Western Australia, to the Asia Pacific region through shortwave radio, and currently broadcasts programs in 25 languages.

Founded in 1931 as radio station HCJB in Quito, Ecuador, Reach Beyond is now a global, partnership-driven ministry. Many people know us as the shortwave ministry that originated in Ecuador which went on to establish hospitals and medical clinics in Quito and Shell. Today the visionary “madness” of our founder Clarence Jones and his band of missionary pioneers lives on around the world. 

Here in Australia, Reach Beyond carries on that vision through its radio broadcast ministry. Our shortwave facility is uniquely placed in Australia to deliver powerful messages of hope to remote and isolated communities throughout the Asia Pacific region.  https://www.reachbeyond.org.au/on-air/

-----------------------------

One thing I noticed about Nic VK6JMS's signal:  there seemed to be a latency delay between when I turned the conversation over to him, and when he began to transmit.  I wonder if the Icom RS-BA1 remote station software that he is using might explain this latency. Any ideas on this?

We Get Mail! Red Poster? Really a Tapestry from Ecuador

Listener Tobias was laid up yesterday, following the extraction of wisdom teeth. (This seems like an appropriate follow-up to our talk in SolderSmoke Podcast #250 of sBITX "wisdom files" to correct FFT "hallucinations.") Tobias does not appear to have been hallucinating, but he was having trouble seeing what he thought to be a "red poster" in my shack.  

In fact, what he was seeing was a red tapestry from Ecuador that was sent to me by Galo Constante HC1GC way back in 1993.  I was in the Dominican Republic, running my first ever real homebrew transmitter.  Here is an article about this project: https://www.gadgeteer.us/TXHB.HTM  I think Galo was also QRP homebrew.  My log shows that I worked  him eight times from the DR. 

Mitad del Mundo =  Middle of the World (a reference to the equator). 

Here is the QSL I got from Galo: 

Here's a 2022 blog post about a resurrection of this old rig: 

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2022/09/fixing-up-old-homebrew-rig-barebones.html

Thanks Tobias for spotting the HC1GC tapestry and reminding me of some great QRP contacts. I hope you feel better OM.  73  Bill