Hello all,

I listened to Channel Africa on 15.265mhz yesterday, February 12, 2004 from
1800 to 1954 UTC. The signal ended very abruptly, no fading on this one.
Passport lists the station as broadcasting from Meyerton. A glance at a
Brittanica Atlas shows Meyerton to be somewhere near Johannesberg South Africa.
Passport also lists the intended area of broadcast as Central and West
Africa at 500KW. I was picking it up extremely clear with a radio shack
longwire clamped around my whip antenna. I have the antenna, approx 7 to 8
meters in length, approx 4 meters above the ground from a window to a tree
branch and facing in a northeastely direction. I reside just a few miles
southwest of Philadelphia, PA.

Is it possible that I was listening to a signal that is maybe 8 to 10 thousand
miles away? If anyone knows the exact distance could you share that
information?

I am relatively new to shortwave so this would be my first real long catch.

My meter is digital on a Grundig Satellit 700 and is graded from 1 to 5. I was
recieving a strong 4+. The signal was extremely clear. I unplugged the RCA
jack from the antenna where it slips over my whip antenna and the signal all
but disappeared. I could barely make it out over very low static, the volume
dropped considerably.

After what seems like eons listening to static and fading signals it would feel
very satisfying if this is the real McCoy.

Any comments are greatly appreciated.

Neil