49m Canadians QSL'd

My recent interest in the remaining Canadian shortwave broadcasters (see The Lonely 49m Canadians), led me to try and QSL a couple of the stations. Seeing as how the CBC outlet on 6160, CKZU-Vancouver, is almost line-of-sight and just on the other side of Georgia Straight, I haven't yet worked up enough nerve to send a reception report describing their S9+40db signal!

When initially listening for the station in Calgary, CFVP on 6030, I was never able to detect more than a weak, watery carrier. Conditions must have been much worse than I had suspected as normally this path is an easy one. A few weeks later, when I started looking for them again, I found their 100 watt signal to be quite robust, several days in a row. In the early afternoon, their signal was peaking 5x7 and continued to build until Radio Marti in Florida signed on a few hours before sunset and dominated the frequency for the rest of the night.

An e- mail report to long-time veri-signer and Ontario DX Association mainstay, Harold Sellers, brought a quick e-mail verification. I was hoping that CFVP would still be issuing a paper QSL but nowadays that is getting to be a rarer and rarer policy.

Harold also reports the following details about CFVP:

CFVP broadcasts the programming of AM 10-60, CKMX, 1060 kHz. The transmitter site is located east of Calgary, just off Highway 22X Marquis of Lorne Trail, on Range Road 290. The Google Earth coordinates are 50 54’02”N 113 52’26”W.

CFVP Tower courtesy: Harold Sellers

Since I started doing the QSLing there haven’t been very many CFVP reports; more for CKMX. Overseas reports have been from The Netherlands and Germany.

Next on the the list was Toronto's CFRX, 6070, whose signal has been strong, starting well before local sunset. Veri-signer Steve Canney, VA3SC, requested a written report and an SASE which was quickly rewarded by a rare and very real paper QSL.

Steve reports that CFRX is simulcasting CFRB (1010kHz) using 1000 watts into an omnidirectional vertical antenna. They have received several reports from Europe over the many years that he has been sending verifications.

Now to tackle CKZU!