2003 Tiwai

For over 30 years, nestled between the southern Pacific Ocean and the Awarua Bay lagoon on tussocky, swamp country, the house at Tiwai Point has been a mecca for DXers. For those who haven’t been there, it is an old farm house – made of concrete, with three bedrooms, a kitchen, living room, bathroom and a long drop outdoors. The nearest electricity is 5km away. A coal range heats the water. It is not as primitive as it seems, but that is not important – what is, is what can be heard from the house. Six permanent aerials radiate towards, Nth and South America, Europe and Asia, between 300 and 600 metres in length.

The full history of the house at Tiwai is being written at present by Steven Greenyer, although some information is to be found on the NZ Radio DX League website.

The Southland Branch hosted a get-together of DXers over Easter. Twelve keen listeners gathered at the Tiwai house for probably the last time and shared the delights of what could be heard from there. They came from far and wide: a number of ex-Southlanders came home – Ray Crawford from Brisbane, Tony Magon from Sydney, Sutton Burtenshaw from Hamilton, Frank Glen from Christchurch and Steven Greenyer from Timaru, David Norrie and Bryan Clark came from Auckland, Stu Forsyth from Wellington, Paul Ormandy and Peter
Grenfell from Oamaru, Arthur de Maine from Kakanui and Paul Aronsen, the local viking, came across from Wallacetown!

For those of us who were visitors, it was an eye opening experience to sample what used to be heard on Mediumwave on a very regular basis. Shortwave wasn’t bad either, with El Salvador on 17835 and the Mexican on 2390 being good catches. However, most present were MW Dxers and had no time for shortwave! I had been to Tiwai three times previously, but had never heard signals the way we did on this occasion. Most were there from Thursday to Easter Monday. Each evening the conditions varied considerably with the best DX being heard Thursday to Saturday. Conditions tapered off after that. Highlights were many and it is hard to list them, however for me they were: WKAT Classical 1360, 1kw in Miami, WTNI Biloxi MS 1640 and brand-new on air, Radio María in
Panamá 1310, WBT in Charlotte North Carolina 1110, ZNS1 The Voice of the Bahamas 1540, HJDL Radio Parisa in Medellin, Colombia 1140, and HCRT6 Radio Paz y Bien in Ambato, Ecuador on 1340.

Other participants will have different lists, such was the variety heard.
It was interesting too to see the receivers in use: 4 AOR 7030(+)s, 3 Drake SPR4s, 1 Yaesu FRG8800, 1 Palstar R30, 1 Icom R71E, 1 Grundig 650
and 1 Sony ICF 6800W. All performed admirably in the good conditions.

It was with a touch of sadness that we held the auction and other formalities on
Sunday afternoon. It was the last occasion to formally celebrate the house and its role in the history of New Zealand DXing. The auction raised the princely sum of $76 and there was a special message for us all from the Patron of the NZRDXL, Jack Fox of Dunedin.

It read:

It is sad that we have to experience such an event taking place at Tiwai Point, a
home for many years for Southland Branch members of the New Zealand Radio
DX League. A location that earned an international reputation in the DX hobby and has become an important icon of New Zealand’s wonderful radio history.
The need for Southland Branch to give up its home at Tiwai Point because of
declining interest is regrettable, and if it is any consolation southern members are not alone in making such a decision. I am aware many other organizations are facing similar problems brought about by changing conditions and falling membership.

One thing Southland DXers can hold their heads high about is the record they have set over the years of such a wonderful DX haven. It would be
interesting to know how many stations in various countries have been
logged at Tiwai. My only regret is that I never made a trip to the point: I got lost a few years ago trying to find it in semi-darkness! I understand you are to visit the famous Riverton Rocks and that will bring memories of those DX parties in Merv Branks’s famous 6ft by 3ft in the sand hills.

Please accept my apologies that I am unable to attend and I wish everyone a
wonderful Easter; enjoy yourselves and I look forward to reading a report in
the New Zealand DX Times.
Best wishes,
Jack Fox

Freq Time Call Where Details Date
162 19.05 TDF “Allouis, France” “Fair with FF sports pgm, past 20.00” 19/4
171 18.24 R.Rossii “Oyash, Russia” Fair with talk and mx 21/4
530 08.14 R.Vision CristianaTurks & Caicos Poor in SS in the NZ slop 17/4
580 08.00 KJAL American Samoa “Poor with choir singing, mixed US
newstalk stn.” 20/4
585 04.03 7RN Hobart Good with Radio National 17/4
600 09.34 KOGO San Diego, CA “Radio 600 KOGO stn promo, then C to C talk” 18/4
640 07.40 “R.Progreso, Guanabacoa” Cuba Fair with talk on health issues in Cuba 18/4
640 0746 KFI Los Angeles CA “Promo for “”most frequent traffic reports””, vgd” 20/4
670 08.04 “WWFE, Miami, FL La poderosa seis setente’ Fair. R.Dr at 08.36 18/4
670 08.28 WSCR “Chicago, IL” “Fox Sports Radio, ‘The Score’, ex WMAQ” 20/4
680 08.19 KNBR “San Francisco, CA” Fair with baseball commentary 20/4
680 07.00 “YVQR, R.Continente” “Cumaná, Venezuala” “Fair, frequent ids
and time checks” 20/4
760 0744 HOXO (t), LV del Istmo, Panama, no details 17/4
770 05.17 “HJJX, RCN” “Bogota, Colombia” “Fair, // with 980 HJES, Cali” 18/4
780 04.36 “OAX4X, R.Victoria” “Lima, Peru” “Running la Voz de la Liberación, religious” 19/4
790 1200 XEBI Aguascalientes, string of ads, fair-good signal. 19/4
800 09.00 PJB TWR Bonaire “ID as R.Trans Mundial, fair” 17/4
837 19.47 IRIB “Esfahan, Iran” Mx and talk in Farsi 19/4
837 19.47 R. Lebanon Amchit “Mostly tlk about Iraq, o/Esfahan” 19/4
840 05.02 R.Nacional Panama “Fair with band mx, freq ids between tracks” 17/4
840 0600 WHAS Louisville KY “News, mixed Panama” 18/4
840 0555 WHAS Louisville, Kentucky, ID after band music and time pips 18/4
850 04.53 R.Net “Bogota, Colombia” Fair with ID and nx items 17/4
850 04.55 R Nacional del Peru “Lima, Peru” Peaking over R.Net with id 17/4
920 06.18 R.Lobo Unidentified “Fair ids in SS, frequent timechecks UTC-5” 19/4
920 0818 UNID B Streisand number “Do you know where your going to”
instrumental version, 08.15 “starry starry night” Vincent 20/4
940 08.50 KWRU “Fresno, CA” Good with Unica in SS 16/4
950 04.55 “R Nacional, Penonomé” PanamaLight mx and id // 840 18/4
990 19.16 R.Sawa “Cape Greco, Cyprus” Mostly talk in AA through Fifeshire &
BBC Chinese 18/4
1000 04.31 “HJAQ, RCN” “Cartagena, Colombia” Good with id 19/4
1050 0932 KCTC San Mateo CA “Sports news, commentaries, id as “”ESPN
Radio””.” 18/4
1107 18.53 JOCF “Kagoshima, Japan” Fair with talk mixed 2EA 17/4
1110 0447 Radio Reloj, Cali, Columbia “Este Es Radio Caracol … radio caracol de
mondial” with Simon and Garfunkel instrumental “I’d rather be a hammer
than a nail” firm “Radio Reloj” 18/4
1110 0730 KFAB, Omaha,Nebraska “who let the dogs out” Baha men, “KFAB
news radio” . 17/4
1110 05.36 WBT “Charlotte, NC” Fair with good ids ‘Newstalk 1110 WBT’ 20/4
1110 09.40 XERED “Mexico City, Mexico” “Fair with SS, briefly” 16/4
1130 05.30 HJVA Vida AM “SF de Bogotá, Colombia” Good with Id and pops 18/4
1130 0740 CKWX with “news 1130″ ids and time checks then weather details

17/4
1140 09.50 HJDL R.Paisa “Medellin, Colombia” Fair with mx and frequent ids 18/4
1140 09.00 XEMR “Monterrey, Mexico” Good with religious pgm in SS 16/4
1140 0827 WBXR (t), Hazel Green, Alabama, Religious programming with organ
music ” no one is more suprised when I got your letter… pay more
attention to the word of god”, co channel presumed KHTK 17/4
1140 0720 KHTK Sacramento CA “Id as “”Sports 11-40, KHTK””, mixed SS.” 20/4
1150 07.40 KXTA “Los Angeles, CA” Sports commentary – fair 16/4
1180 1104 Radio Marti Marathon FL “Strong all evening, fades in around 0400” 20/4
1190 07.45 KEX “Portland, OR” “Good, id as ‘Newsradio KEX’ then tlk on Iraq war20/4
1190 07.58 “HJCV R.Cordillera, Bogotá” Colombia Todelar’ n/w id and
latin old time dance mx 18/4
1200 10.20 WOAI “San Antonio, TX”“Fair with Newsradio 1200, WOAI id” 16/4
1295 18.50 R.Omdurman Sudan (Tentative) Weak in AA 19/4
1310 08.15 R.Maria Panama“Fair with gregorian chants, regular” 17/8
1320 06.28 WJGR “Jacksonville, FL” (Tentative) Fair/poor with talk on flight. 20/4
1320 06.15 R.Nacional Peru Very good with classical mx – lots of popular tunes! 19/4
1320 0614 UNID documentary about space programme very good at times
onwards how to get to themoon and back. 20/4
1320 06.30 “XEJP, Track 1320” “Mexico City, Mexico” “Regular ids, including Radio
A and Track 1320” 20/4
1323 18.57 CPBS “Xinjiang, PRC” Tentative with CC talk 17/4
1330 05.00 “HIRV, Vision Cristiana” “S. Domingo, Dom Rep” (Tentative) ID and a
NY address at 05.00 19/4
1360 07.00 WKAT “Miami, FL” “Good with classical mx, ‘Classical 1360 AM’” 17/4
1360 06.30 WMOB “Mobile, AL” Fair Inspirational mx & id over WKAT 18/4
1368 19.10 R.Thailand “Nan, Thailand” “Male and female chatting in Thai,
mixed 2GN” 17/4
1370 06.00 R.Mundial “Bogota, Colombia” Sport commentary until at least 07.00 18/4
1380 07.40 R.Corporación “Santiago, Chile” Religious talk – good 19/4
1390 04.50 Voz Evangelica Honduras (Tentative) Weak/ fair with religious pgm 19/4
1390 0505 XERW Radio Formula, Leon, with promo for Dr Abel Cruz prog, poor-fair. 21/4
1390 0504 KLTX R. Nueva Vida Long Beach CA pr-fr with SS religion 21/4
1420 05.36 HJHK R. Reloj Manizales Colombia Fair with jingle and station promo 18/4
1440 19.10 BSKSA “Dammam, Saudi Arabia”Fair over Nzers with AA talk 18/4
1460 09.26 KREA “Honolulu, HA” (Presumed) with talk in KK 18/4
1460 0716 R Nueve Continente, Bogota , Columbia (sounds like) with church music,
tape Id not that good at 07.16 19/4
1467 1828 R Fiji, Seals and Crofts “we may never passs this way again” gd sig 17/4
1470 08.00 “CPN, Lima” “Lima, Peru” Good with SS religious pgm 17/4
1480 11.58 KYOS “Merced, CA” Several ids before the hour. Also hrd at 0658 20/4
1480 12.00 XETDK “Monterey, Mexico” Fair with full id 17/4
1480 07.05 WVOI “Marco Is, FL” “The Music of Your Life, the Best Songs of all time’” 18/4
1480 05.11 “WMDD, R.Tropical” “Fajardo, PR” “Poor, Ids with FM freq.” 19/4
1480 05.18 WTEL “Augusta, GA” “Poor, peaking over others with ids for // stn
WRDW” 20/4
1480 06.56 KVNR “S.Ana, CA” Fair over mix with VV talk and mx 20/4
1490 09.00 HCSM5 R.Santa Maria “Azogues, Ecuador” “Good, over top of
R.Modelo” 19/4
1490 09.00 R.Modelo Guatemala (Tentative) Fair with talk 19/4
1490 07.33 R.Reforma via R Dinamica “Caracas, Venezuela” Fair with Religious
prgm – many ids 19/4
1490 09.57 YVXD La Dinámica “Caracas, Venezuala” ID over mess 19/4
1520 04.30 Ecos del Palmar Colombia Fair with songs 19/4
1521 18.42 BSKSA “Duba, Saudi Arabia” Weak with talk under NZ 19/4
1540 05.55 R.Bahamas Bahamas (Tentative) Fair with gospel mx 18/4
1560 07.15 WQEW “NY City, NY” Fair with R.Disney 17/4
1566 19.36 AIR “Nagpur, India” “Lady talking, but under 3NE – fair at best” 18/4
1580 08.00 “HJQT, Radio Mar” “Bogota, Colombia” Good with relig pgm 19/4
1548 1930 TWR via Grigoriopol, Moldova, (tent.) audible thru 4QD with tlk in Romanian. 19/4
1583.4 19.07 2EC Narooma Australia Wx details and pops 19/4
1590 11.38 Unid. USA Fair with R.Disney 17/4
1620 04.55 WDHP “Frederiksted, USVI” “VG religious pgm, BBC WS from 0500
then local pgm” 17/4
1640 05.27 WTNI “Biloxi, MS” “Fair, but excellent at 10.44” 17/4
1640 06.59 KDIA “Vallejo, CA” Pgm preview for religious show – fair 17/4
1650 10.50 KDNZ “Cedar Falls, IA” Mixed with others – fair 17/4
1650 11.40 KBJD “Denver, CO” “Gd with local nx, mixed KWHN. ID as ‘KNUS’” 17/4
1650 11.33 KWHN “Fort Smith, AR” Early morning show – good 17/4
“newstalk 1650, 11.30, “public education in Arkansas.. arguments for
insurance tax deduction” 17/4
1650 0548 WHKT Portsmouth VA “Radio Disney format, local id before hour.” 20/4
1660 05.07 “WGIT, R.Gigante”“Canovas, PR” Good Off with Star Spangled Banner
@ 05.15 1/2 17/4
“Strong in SS at 0945, ident in SS prior 1000.” 19/4
1660 09.56 WWRU Elizabeth NJ Fair but mixed in SS 17/4
1660 08.00 WCNZ “Marco Is, FL” Good with Newsradio 1660 ids 16/4
1660 0833 KXOL Brigham City UT “Id and oldies, fair, not as gd as last year.” 20/4
1670 0847 WRNC Warner Robins GA “SS gospel, EE ident on the hour, good.” 20/4
1680 11.01 KRJO “Monroe, LA” Excellent with a lot of Ids ‘Yr stn Rejoice 1680’ 17/4
1680 08.15 WTIR “Wintergarden, FL” “Excellent with travel info, every night.” 17/4
1690 11.40 KDDZ “Aravada, CO” Fair with Disney 17/4
1690 07.35 KSXX “Roseville, CA” Good in SS (NB: Call is KFSG now) 16/4
1690 09.52 WPTX “Lexington, MD” “CNN nx, legal id just prior to 10.00” 20/4
1700 09.38 Unid. ? Relaying BBC in SS (possibly KBGG??) 17/4
1700 11.15 KQXX “Brownsville, TX” “ID as Oldies R., Hits & Memories Fourfold – Gd.” 17/4
1700 06.00 WJCC “Miami Springs, FL” “Fair, blocked 06.03 by KQXX” 20/4
1700 12.10 KTBK “Sherman, TX” Fair with weather 16/4

Those listening were connected to the various Tiwai beverage antennae
Name From Receiver(s) used
Paul Ormandy Oamaru (AOR 7030+)
Ray Crawford Forestdale, Brisbane , AUS (Drake SPR4)
Sutton Burtenshaw Hamilton (Sony 6800W)
Paul Aronsen Wallacetown (Yaesu FRG 8800)
Tony Magon Sydney AUS (Drake SPR4)
Stuart Forsyth Wellington (AOR 7030)
David Norrie Auckland (AOR 7030)
Bryan Clark Auckland (AOR 7030+)
Steven Greenyer Timaru (Palstar R30)
Frank Glen Christchurch (Grundig 650)
Peter Grenfell Oamaru (Kenwood R5000)
Arthur de Maine Kakanui (SPR4, Icom R71E)
The Group