A: Ratan Kumar Paul of West Bengal, India, emailed us and said he listened to our programs from 15-21st May at 1600-1630 UTC on the frequency of 7220 kHz. He wrote: “On May 21 your world news was very up-to-date and full of vital information. In which months does the rainy season begin in Vietnam? How do you carry out farming in this season?”
B: To answer your question, we’ll brief you on the climate in Vietnam. In northern Vietnam, there are four distinct seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. But it is possible to speak of two main seasons: the rainy season from May to September when it’s hot, humid, and rainy, and the dry season from October to April when it’s cold with little rainfall. The annual average temperature is 23oC, but in winter the average temperature is 17oC.
A: In southern Vietnam, the climate is divided into two seasons, with the rainy season lasting from May to November. The average annual temperature is 27.5oC with no true winter. Yearly rainfall totals 1,900mm.
B: It’s now the rainy season in Vietnam and people already harvested their winter-spring crops in March and April. At the moment, they are preparing for their new crops, breaking the soil, and sowing rice. The heavy much rains ubiquitous to this season will help the rice grow more abundantly.
A: Dear Ratan Kumar Paul, we hope this helps clarify your questions about Vietnamese agriculture and the rainy season. If you have any further questions and comments, please feel free to ask us. We’d be glad to share information about our country, its people, climate, and anything else.
B: This week we received warmest greetings from Victor J. Latavish of Naples, Florida, in the US, who caught our programs on January 1st and February 2nd. He had clear reception on the frequency of 6175 kHz. In his lovely postcard, he said he enjoys listening often to VOV.
A: Thank you, Victor, for your keen interest in our programs. We’ll send you a QSL card together with our program guide and frequency list.
B: Darryl Jones of Wyoming, the US also sent us a very nice postcard depicting the State House in Dover, Delaware, on which he wrote that he logged on to our April 18 broadcast on 6175 kHz with a SINPO of all 5s.
A: From England, Edwin Southwell wrote to us on May 14th: “I’m writing to you to let you know I still tune in daily to the English language programmes of Voice of Vietnam and currently enjoy good reception of the 1700UTC broadcast on 9625 kHz with slight adjacent channel interference some days depending on propagation conditions.”
B: Edwin went on to say: “I still take a keen interest in the programs of VOV and they keep me well-informed about Vietnam culture, history, and current affairs and news broadcasts. I also enjoy the selection of Vietnamese music and songs….I would like to thank you for the interesting and well-presented and produced programs.”
A: Thank you, Edwin, for your encouragement. It’s very touching for us to know that our programs are well-received and this means our hard work and efforts pay off. We look forward to receiving your opinions and comments about our programs so we can make it better. Right now, let’s take a short break before we continue with more letters and emails from listeners around the world.
A song
A: That was…………From Genova, the largest port city of Italy, we received a postcard from Giorgio Brignola, who is a member of the Italian Amateur radio Station. He reported catching our May 20 broadcast at 17:10 UTC on the frequency of 9125 kHz.
B: Dear Giorgio, Our QSL card, program guide, and frequency list, are on their way to you. We are very glad to know that despite the popularity of the internet, there are still so many shortwave radio lovers around the globe tuning to VOV broadcasts.
A: Roberto Carlos of Miami, the US, is one of them. He reports regularly tuning in to our programs on the frequency of 6175 KHz at 02:20 UTC with a very detailed reception report. Of course we’ll send you a QSL card to acknowledge your listening.
B: From Western Australia, Jack Wachtershauser, reported listening to our programs from May 4th to 21st on the frequency of 12020 kHz from 23:30 to 23:58 UTC with a SINPO of 55544.
A: We highly appreciate your keen interest in VOV programs and a QSL card along with program guide and frequency list has been sent to you.
B: We also acknowledge reception reports of 31 year-old Mizanur Rahman of Bangladesh who said he listened to us from May 26th to May 30th at 1600-1630 UTC on 9730 KHz with fair reception. We also thank S. Bhattacharyya of India who caught our May 2 broadcast from 15:00 to 15:30 UTC on the frequency of 12020 kHz with a SINPO of 433.
A: Thank you all very much for joining us. We look forward to receiving more comments and suggestions from you. Our contact address is:
The English program,
Overseas Service, Radio Voice of Vietnam,
45 Ba Trieu street, Hanoi, Vietnam
B: Or you can email us at: englishsection@vov.org.vn. Our program is also available on our website at: www.vovworld.vn.