[BC] WLW

[Charles Lewis]

    I have found the recent posts concerning WLW interesting.  Based on
    my experiences with three of VOA's 600 kW MW transmitters, I view
    some of the stories I have heard about WLW over the years as perhaps
    a bit apocryphal.  For example, we have not had any reports of
    anyone hearing us by reception via the fillings in their teeth. 
    Neither am I aware that anyone in the nearest village in the main
    lobe is getting free lighting (though it could probably be done to
    some degree with a large, efficient antenna if they knew how).

    During my previous tour of duty in Sao Tome in the 90's, I lived off
    the site in the town of Sao Tome.  My home was about four miles from
    the station across a bay of the sea and in the center of one of the
    two main lobes of the two tower directional antenna of our 600 kW,
    1530 KHz  transmitter.  The re radiation of our 1530 KHz  signal
    from my 160 meters ham antenna was sufficient to drive a PI FIM off
    scale on the highest scale anywhere in my yard.  A #47 lamp simply
    connected from my 160 meters antenna to ground would light to full
    brilliance from the 1530 KHz signal miles away.  I am sure I could
    have destroyed the bulb instantly with an efficient matching
    arrangement.  I could also get an RF burn if I touched the antenna
    lightly.  I live on the 346 acres station site now, so I am
    fortunate that my home lies near a null in the pattern of the 1530
    KHz antenna, which I think is a bit less than half a mile distant.

    600 kW covers a lot of territory at night.  Our 1530 KHz nighttime
    sky wave signal is usually received well on a remote monitoring
    receiver located over on Madagascar Island at an urban site.  That
    is nearly 4,000 miles away on the opposite side of the African
    Continent in the Indian Ocean.   I think the receiver is an ICOM
    with just a short whip antenna.

    Speaking of 160 meters and of possible interest to the hams among
    you - despite a very high level of Equatorial atmospheric noise, I
    heard the CQ's of five hams in the USA on 160 meters during the Stew
    Perry contest over the past weekend.  I was able to make contact
    with those five easily.  They were K3NA , W2GD, K9DX, K9GY, and
    WW3C.  In about three and a half hours of scanning the band on and
    off, those were the only North American signals I heard.  I heard 
    each, except K3NA, rise above the noise for only a brief period. 
    Oddly, I heard K3NA on and off for more than two hours.  For the
    uninitiated, I was working with about 1 kW and a much less than
    optimum vertical "T" antenna in the range of 1810 to 1840 KHz,  just
    above the top of the AM broadcasting band.   I am about 5,000 miles
    from the nearest of those stations.  Much to my surprise, all heard
    my call on the first attempt.  Most were probably using very long
    and low Beverage antennas for reception.


    Merry Christmas,
    Charles Lewis - S9SS
    Manager
    IBB Sao Tome Transmitting Station (VOA)
    Sao Tome Island, West Africa

    http://groups.msn.com/s9ss