SHORTWAVE NEW YEAR'S CELEBRATION

General DX Info Menu Main Menu What's New Best of this Site Radio History

A SHORTWAVE NEW YEAR'S CELEBRATION AROUND THE WORLD

By Don Moore
A slightly edited version of this article was originally published in the December, 1990 issue of Monitoring Times magazine. No attempt has been made to update this article with current frequencies and schedules. However, anyone interested in trying this 24 hour DX test (you don't have to do it on New Year's Eve) should be able to find current times and frequencies in various DX publications.

Everybody likes a good New Year's Eve party, right? The only problems are that they are too short and you can't DX. Wouldn't a round-the-clock party you can DX at be great? Well, that's just what we're going to tell you about in this article - how you can have a round-the-clock (two times!) New Year's Eve DX party. As we all know, the new year starts at midnight on December 31. But, midnight happens at different times in different places. What? How was that again? It does sound a bit funny, but midnight, in terms of UTC, is at a different time in each time zone. With the wonder of shortwave radio we can circle the globe, tuning in radio stations in each time zone at local midnight and bring in the new year with them. It's the only way to celebrate the new year twenty-four times and be just one year older! Of course if you have a cup of the holiday cheer with each hourly celebration, you might not make it through twenty- four hours, and you might feel more than one year older!
The time zone homework has already been done for you. Below is a list of New Year's Eve midnight DX possibilities, by time zone from 1100 to 1000. For each time zone, some of the best bets or most interesting listening, preferably in English are given. Note that some of these countries aren't Christian and may not celebrate the Christian New Year - so there won't be any special programming. But, we can still tune them in to chalk up another shortwave New Year. Also, international broadcasters with their prerecorded programming usually don't do anything special when their local midnight comes around (an exception is the BBC). Overall, the best New Year's Eve listening is from the smaller domestic stations on SW. As much as possible we'll mention some of those at each hour.
So, here it is . . . The MONITORING TIMES DX New Year Around the World list. If you have the energy, go for the twenty-four hour celebration. But even if that's too much for your schedule, pick out a few convenient times, and join in a New Year's toast with some radio friends across the sea. Remember, however, that SW broadcasters do change frequencies without warning sometimes, so double check them in the Frequency Section and in Glenn Hauser's Shortwave Broadcasting column.
1100: Our shortwave New Year's Eve will start before most people in North America have gotten out of bed yet! New Zealand is on summertime, which puts their local midnight at 1100. It's a good thing too, because Radio New Zealand is on 9855 until 1100 sign-off.
1200: You've heard Midnight in Moscow on Radio Moscow. Now it's midnight on the other end of the Soviet Union at Petropavlovsk. The domestic service on 4485 kHz is usually very strong winter mornings.
1300: Now it's back down south to Melbourne, Australia and Radio Australia on 9580 kHz. Or, if the Soviets seemed to be real party- animals, tune in the Magadan domestic station on 5940, 7320, 9530, or 9600 kHz.
1400: It's now time for a New Year's cheer in Saipan. Give KHBI a try on 9530 or 15385, but don't expect anything special; the programming will probably be canned from Boston. For a more authentic celebration, DXers on the West Coast might still have a shot at the tropical band stations from Papua-New Guinea.
1500: Let's drink a toast with rice wine, it's 1991 in Japan. Join Radio Japan's English service on 21700, 11865, or 11815. The first frequency is cheating, though. It's actually a relay via Gabon.
1600: As Father Time moves into the Indian Ocean, things will be tough for a few hours for DXers east of the Rockies. The best New Year's Eve broadcast I've ever heard was from VLW9, Perth, Australia about ten years ago with two announcers who had obviously had more than their share of the holiday cheer. They said some things about Prince Charles that would really have made Lady Di blush! VLW9 is still on 9610 kHz.
1700: The DX midnight express in now in Southeast Asia, but there's nothing easy and nothing in English. The best bet would probably be the Voice of Vietnam in Vietnamese on 9840 and 15010.
1800: Nothing in English again. Bangladesh is always a tough catch, but punch up their Bengali service to Europe on 11860, 15255 or 17805. If it's coming in, hang around because English starts at 1815.
1830: It seems India tells time a little bit differently. Official time there is UTC-5 1/2 hours, which puts midnight at 1830. All India Radio has English programming from 1800 - 2000 on 11935 and 15360. It won't be easy.
1900: Take a nap here. Pakistan is the only country with midnight at 1900, and they're not scheduled on the air.
2000: Three choices here, and they're all in Arabic. The tough one is Radio Oman on 11890. Easier are two stations from the United Arab Emirates. First there's the Voice of the UAE from Abu Dhabi. They change frequencies a lot, but look for them on 11815, 11965,9695, 9595. Next, there's UAE Radio & Television in Dubai, which also changes frequencies a lot, but might still be on 15320, 15300, 11790, and 7185.
2030: With Iran, another split time zone country, things get easier for East coasters. Iran, of course, doesn't celebrate the Christian New Year, but they should be an easy catch in Persian on 15084, or look for their English service on 9022 kHz.
2100: Now it really is midnight in Moscow, so Radio Moscow would be a good choice. If conditions to East Africa seem good, check out Tanzania on 4785.
2200: Lots of choices here. The South African domestic services on 4880, 4810, 3320, and 3215 will probably have some special programming. If conditions to Southern Africa are especially good, there's Zambia on 4910, Malawi on 3380, and Lesotho on 4800 to try for. Some easier catches include Radio Damascus on 15095 and 12085 and the Voice of Turkey on 9445 and 9665. A tough Middle Eastern catch would be Lebanon's Voice of Hope on 6280.
2300: Another full slate of possibilities. Nigeria on 4990 or 4770 would be a good place for some local English programming. Other African possibilities include Cameroons on 4795, 4850, and 5010; Benin on 4870; and Chad on 4905. This is also midnight in most of continental Europe, so check the MT Frequency Section for any of the big European broadcasters.
0000: There's no choice to make here. A shortwave New Year's Eve wouldn't be complete without tuning in the BBC World Service to here Big Ben ring in the new year at 0000. If you have two radios, there are several West Africa countries also welcoming in the New Year at this hour. Take a shot at Burkina Faso on 4815, Ivory Coast on 7210v and 4940, or Mali on 4783, 4835 or 5995. These stations usually sign-off at 0000.
0100: We're now far from land in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Do a little bandscanning or take a short nap. There's plenty of New Year's Eve DX still ahead!
0200: Now we move into a region full of lively New Year's parties and radio programming - Latin America. New Year's in an important holiday in Latin America, and the stations celebrate with lots of lively music and a traditional countdown with lots of shouting when the big moment comes. You don't have to understand the language to enjoy the party. We start out in Eastern & Coastal Brazil, which is currently on summer time. The more regular eastern Brazilians include Radio Clube Paranaense, 11935; Radio Bandeirantes, 11925; Radio Gaucha, 11915; Radio Cultura do Belem, 5045; Radio Aparecida, 5035; and Radio Cancao Nova, 4825.
0300: Father Time is now trying to find his way through the Brazilian Amazon. Radio Brasil Central, 4985; Radio Alvorada de Parintins, 4965; and Radio Anhanguera, 4915 are good options. It's also the new year in Argentina, Uruguay, Surinam, Guyana, and French Guyana now, but those countries would be difficult to log at this hour.
0330 Yes, another odd time zone! It'll be tough, but DXers in the US Northeast & Canadian maritimes might want to try for CKZN on 6160.
0400: Time for more Latin rhythms, this time from Venezuela. Tune in Ecos del Torbes 4980, Radio Rumbos 4970, Radio Continental, 4940, or Radio Tachira 4830.
0500: We now have three Latin countries to choose from. CARACOL, Colombia should be strong on 5075, as should La Voz del Cinaruco on 4865 and La Voz del Rio Arauca on 4895. For a New Year's Eve, Ecuadorian style, there's Radio Quito 4920 or Radio Zaracay 3395. Finally, if Andean conditions are reasonably good, there's Radio Ancash, 4990 and Radio Andina, 4996 from Peru.
0600: Central America goes to bed early, so there aren't any Central American stations scheduled to be on this late. However, Guatemalan Indians know the value of a good fiesta, so some of their radio stations will probably stay on late. They did last New Year's Eve. Among others, look for Radio Kekchi, 4845; Radio Buenas Nuevas, 4800; Radio Chortis, 3380; Radio Maya, 3325; and ultra-rare La Voz de Atitlan, 2390.
0700: The DX New Year's Eve is starting to wind down. The only SW choices are either WWV or checking KUSW's latest frequency. Western DXers could switch down to AM for a Mountain Time Zone station from the US, Canada, or the Gulf of Mexico area in Mexico.
0800: The most interesting SW choice now is low-powered CKZU in Vancouver. Otherwise there's the international broadcasters in California, such as the VOA relay stations, and Pacific Zone AM stations for those in the region.
0900: Only one choice here, KNLS, Alaska. They did have English from 0800 - 0900 on 11715, but check for the most current frequency.
1000: Twenty-three hours after starting, we've traversed the globe on our DX New Year's party. Time for the last stop. It's either Hawaii's WWVH time station, or Radio Tahiti on 6135, 11825, and 15170. They're scheduled to sign-off at 0930, but maybe they'll stay on late to finish the world's last New Year's celebration of 1990-91.
Are you still awake and with us? I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted. Time to catch a little shut-eye before the football games begin in a few hours. Good night . . . oh, yes, and Happy New Year!

This article is copyright 1990 by Don Moore.
This website is maintained by Don Moore,
Association of North American Radio Clubs
DXer of the Year for 1995.
My Address Is In This Graphic

General DX Info Menu	Main Menu	What's New	Best of this Site	Radio History
A SHORTWAVE NEW YEAR'S CELEBRATION AROUND THE WORLD By Don Moore A slightly edited version of this article was originally published in the December, 1990 issue of Monitoring Times magazine. No attempt has been made to update this article with current frequencies and schedules. However, anyone interested in trying this 24 hour DX test (you don't have to do it on New Year's Eve) should be able to find current times and frequencies in various DX publications. Everybody likes a good New Year's Eve party, right? The only problems are that they are too short and you can't DX. Wouldn't a round-the-clock party you can DX at be great? Well, that's just what we're going to tell you about in this article - how you can have a round-the-clock (two times!) New Year's Eve DX party. As we all know, the new year starts at midnight on December 31. But, midnight happens at different times in different places. What? How was that again? It does sound a bit funny, but midnight, in terms of UTC, is at a different time in each time zone. With the wonder of shortwave radio we can circle the globe, tuning in radio stations in each time zone at local midnight and bring in the new year with them. It's the only way to celebrate the new year twenty-four times and be just one year older! Of course if you have a cup of the holiday cheer with each hourly celebration, you might not make it through twenty- four hours, and you might feel more than one year older! The time zone homework has already been done for you. Below is a list of New Year's Eve midnight DX possibilities, by time zone from 1100 to 1000. For each time zone, some of the best bets or most interesting listening, preferably in English are given. Note that some of these countries aren't Christian and may not celebrate the Christian New Year - so there won't be any special programming. But, we can still tune them in to chalk up another shortwave New Year. Also, international broadcasters with their prerecorded programming usually don't do anything special when their local midnight comes around (an exception is the BBC). Overall, the best New Year's Eve listening is from the smaller domestic stations on SW. As much as possible we'll mention some of those at each hour. So, here it is . . . The MONITORING TIMES DX New Year Around the World list. If you have the energy, go for the twenty-four hour celebration. But even if that's too much for your schedule, pick out a few convenient times, and join in a New Year's toast with some radio friends across the sea. Remember, however, that SW broadcasters do change frequencies without warning sometimes, so double check them in the Frequency Section and in Glenn Hauser's Shortwave Broadcasting column. 1100: Our shortwave New Year's Eve will start before most people in North America have gotten out of bed yet! New Zealand is on summertime, which puts their local midnight at 1100. It's a good thing too, because Radio New Zealand is on 9855 until 1100 sign-off. 1200: You've heard Midnight in Moscow on Radio Moscow. Now it's midnight on the other end of the Soviet Union at Petropavlovsk. The domestic service on 4485 kHz is usually very strong winter mornings. 1300: Now it's back down south to Melbourne, Australia and Radio Australia on 9580 kHz. Or, if the Soviets seemed to be real party- animals, tune in the Magadan domestic station on 5940, 7320, 9530, or 9600 kHz. 1400: It's now time for a New Year's cheer in Saipan. Give KHBI a try on 9530 or 15385, but don't expect anything special; the programming will probably be canned from Boston. For a more authentic celebration, DXers on the West Coast might still have a shot at the tropical band stations from Papua-New Guinea. 1500: Let's drink a toast with rice wine, it's 1991 in Japan. Join Radio Japan's English service on 21700, 11865, or 11815. The first frequency is cheating, though. It's actually a relay via Gabon. 1600: As Father Time moves into the Indian Ocean, things will be tough for a few hours for DXers east of the Rockies. The best New Year's Eve broadcast I've ever heard was from VLW9, Perth, Australia about ten years ago with two announcers who had obviously had more than their share of the holiday cheer. They said some things about Prince Charles that would really have made Lady Di blush! VLW9 is still on 9610 kHz. 1700: The DX midnight express in now in Southeast Asia, but there's nothing easy and nothing in English. The best bet would probably be the Voice of Vietnam in Vietnamese on 9840 and 15010. 1800: Nothing in English again. Bangladesh is always a tough catch, but punch up their Bengali service to Europe on 11860, 15255 or 17805. If it's coming in, hang around because English starts at 1815. 1830: It seems India tells time a little bit differently. Official time there is UTC-5 1/2 hours, which puts midnight at 1830. All India Radio has English programming from 1800 - 2000 on 11935 and 15360. It won't be easy. 1900: Take a nap here. Pakistan is the only country with midnight at 1900, and they're not scheduled on the air. 2000: Three choices here, and they're all in Arabic. The tough one is Radio Oman on 11890. Easier are two stations from the United Arab Emirates. First there's the Voice of the UAE from Abu Dhabi. They change frequencies a lot, but look for them on 11815, 11965,9695, 9595. Next, there's UAE Radio & Television in Dubai, which also changes frequencies a lot, but might still be on 15320, 15300, 11790, and 7185. 2030: With Iran, another split time zone country, things get easier for East coasters. Iran, of course, doesn't celebrate the Christian New Year, but they should be an easy catch in Persian on 15084, or look for their English service on 9022 kHz. 2100: Now it really is midnight in Moscow, so Radio Moscow would be a good choice. If conditions to East Africa seem good, check out Tanzania on 4785. 2200: Lots of choices here. The South African domestic services on 4880, 4810, 3320, and 3215 will probably have some special programming. If conditions to Southern Africa are especially good, there's Zambia on 4910, Malawi on 3380, and Lesotho on 4800 to try for. Some easier catches include Radio Damascus on 15095 and 12085 and the Voice of Turkey on 9445 and 9665. A tough Middle Eastern catch would be Lebanon's Voice of Hope on 6280. 2300: Another full slate of possibilities. Nigeria on 4990 or 4770 would be a good place for some local English programming. Other African possibilities include Cameroons on 4795, 4850, and 5010; Benin on 4870; and Chad on 4905. This is also midnight in most of continental Europe, so check the MT Frequency Section for any of the big European broadcasters. 0000: There's no choice to make here. A shortwave New Year's Eve wouldn't be complete without tuning in the BBC World Service to here Big Ben ring in the new year at 0000. If you have two radios, there are several West Africa countries also welcoming in the New Year at this hour. Take a shot at Burkina Faso on 4815, Ivory Coast on 7210v and 4940, or Mali on 4783, 4835 or 5995. These stations usually sign-off at 0000. 0100: We're now far from land in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Do a little bandscanning or take a short nap. There's plenty of New Year's Eve DX still ahead! 0200: Now we move into a region full of lively New Year's parties and radio programming - Latin America. New Year's in an important holiday in Latin America, and the stations celebrate with lots of lively music and a traditional countdown with lots of shouting when the big moment comes. You don't have to understand the language to enjoy the party. We start out in Eastern & Coastal Brazil, which is currently on summer time. The more regular eastern Brazilians include Radio Clube Paranaense, 11935; Radio Bandeirantes, 11925; Radio Gaucha, 11915; Radio Cultura do Belem, 5045; Radio Aparecida, 5035; and Radio Cancao Nova, 4825. 0300: Father Time is now trying to find his way through the Brazilian Amazon. Radio Brasil Central, 4985; Radio Alvorada de Parintins, 4965; and Radio Anhanguera, 4915 are good options. It's also the new year in Argentina, Uruguay, Surinam, Guyana, and French Guyana now, but those countries would be difficult to log at this hour. 0330 Yes, another odd time zone! It'll be tough, but DXers in the US Northeast & Canadian maritimes might want to try for CKZN on 6160. 0400: Time for more Latin rhythms, this time from Venezuela. Tune in Ecos del Torbes 4980, Radio Rumbos 4970, Radio Continental, 4940, or Radio Tachira 4830. 0500: We now have three Latin countries to choose from. CARACOL, Colombia should be strong on 5075, as should La Voz del Cinaruco on 4865 and La Voz del Rio Arauca on 4895. For a New Year's Eve, Ecuadorian style, there's Radio Quito 4920 or Radio Zaracay 3395. Finally, if Andean conditions are reasonably good, there's Radio Ancash, 4990 and Radio Andina, 4996 from Peru. 0600: Central America goes to bed early, so there aren't any Central American stations scheduled to be on this late. However, Guatemalan Indians know the value of a good fiesta, so some of their radio stations will probably stay on late. They did last New Year's Eve. Among others, look for Radio Kekchi, 4845; Radio Buenas Nuevas, 4800; Radio Chortis, 3380; Radio Maya, 3325; and ultra-rare La Voz de Atitlan, 2390. 0700: The DX New Year's Eve is starting to wind down. The only SW choices are either WWV or checking KUSW's latest frequency. Western DXers could switch down to AM for a Mountain Time Zone station from the US, Canada, or the Gulf of Mexico area in Mexico. 0800: The most interesting SW choice now is low-powered CKZU in Vancouver. Otherwise there's the international broadcasters in California, such as the VOA relay stations, and Pacific Zone AM stations for those in the region. 0900: Only one choice here, KNLS, Alaska. They did have English from 0800 - 0900 on 11715, but check for the most current frequency. 1000: Twenty-three hours after starting, we've traversed the globe on our DX New Year's party. Time for the last stop. It's either Hawaii's WWVH time station, or Radio Tahiti on 6135, 11825, and 15170. They're scheduled to sign-off at 0930, but maybe they'll stay on late to finish the world's last New Year's celebration of 1990-91. Are you still awake and with us? I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted. Time to catch a little shut-eye before the football games begin in a few hours. Good night . . . oh, yes, and Happy New Year! This article is copyright 1990 by Don Moore. This website is maintained by Don Moore, Association of North American Radio Clubs DXer of the Year for 1995.