martedì 30 marzo 2010

Glenn Hauser logs March 29-30, 2010

** ALBANIA. R. Tirana monitoring on new A-10 frequencies, March 29-30, home rig FRG-7 u.o.s.:

1845-1900 English: 13640 at 1850 fair on portable in a strip mall parking lot, should be good on FRG-7; not audible on 7520 intended for Europe.

2000-2030 English: 13640 at 2025-2028*, S9+18 with music and closing theme; not audible on 7465 for Europe

2030-2200 Albanian: 9490 missing at 2043, altho Sweden English via Madagascar in well on 9495. 9490 had come on by check at 2146, fair signal with distorted overmodulation in talk. Off at 2200* after part of anthem.

No interference problems; WTWW 9480 not on the air, but when it is, likely to blot out 9490. // 6165 for Europe of course not audible. I assume in Europe it blox Chad until 2200, but latter stays on another semihour.

2300-0030 Albanian: at 0014, 9860 and 7425 both good, with 9860 somewhat stronger. No adjacent or co-channel interference.

0030-0045 English: 9860 fair with fading, much weaker signal on 9855 no problem. 7425 carrier was still on until 0033; on this date, English would have been better on the lower frequency, but maybe not as summer progresses.

0145-0200 English: 7425 only poor and hard to copy opening with full English schedule. This early in season would probably be better on a clear 49m channel, unlike deep summer.

0230-0300 English: 7425 even weaker than at 0145; but no QRM problems. Strangely, Cairo 9305 was inbooming on similar somewhat longer path; see EGYPT.

0330-0400 English: ditto.

The 1430-1500 English on new 13755 to be checked March 30 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** ARGENTINA [and non]. 15345v, RAE causing slightly wavering het with stronger Morocco, March 29 before 2200; checked again at that hour when Morocco is supposed to be going off, and finally it did at 2203 just in time to hear RAE ID with frequencies in the clear but poor with flutter (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** AUSTRALIA. 11660, RA in English, fair at 2126 March 29 atop some music, maybe hilife? Only else listed is CRI in French to Europe via Kashgar, EAST TURKISTAN (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** BRAZIL. See EQUATORIAL GUINEA [and non]; MEXICO [and non]; SPAIN [and non]

** CUBA. RHC`s sporadic English broadcast at 2030-2130 is gone again, March 29: at 2031, 11770 in Arabic and 11760 in Spanish, already with Revista Informativa de la Tarde, which according to their own program schedule
http://www.radiohc.cu/espanol/c_programacion/programacion.htm is supposed to be at 21-23 UT Mon-Sat. So apparently it has shifted an hour earlier due to local DST?

Also Spanish on all the other 11 and 13 MHz frequencies, still no English during the following hour on 11760 or anywhere else at 2055 and 2108 chex.

At 2037 March 29, big grinding wall of noise from the DentroCuban Jamming Command is still running on 11600 against no victim ever heard, but allegedly a small Radio República transmitter in Central America, which if they have any smarts, since it is not licensed, anyway, would not keep on that jammed frequency.

And: the jammers have spurs bothering R. Netherlands on 11610, even Spain on 11620 [qq.vv.]. After 2100, at 2104, the jamming diminished to pulsing (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** EGYPT. 9305, March 29 at 2044 and 2130 with muffled and distorted audio in Arabic; at times it sounds like there are two carriers or two modulations mixing, but BFO finds only one carrier.

This is R. Cairo, new frequency for General Program, 1900-0700 via Abis, 250 kW, 315 degrees, i.e. exactly same parameters, including the awful modulation in B-season, as on 6290, which this replaces.

At 0230 March 30, 9305 inbooming displaying the useless audio in all its gory, and nothing on 6290, while 6270 English was much weaker but better modulated only by comparison. 0330 recheck, same for 9305 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** EQUATORIAL GUINEA [and non]. 15190, R. Africa still carrying disgraced, tried, convicted and imprisoned child-sex-molesting evangelist Tony Alamo around 2200 March 29, his dulcet mumbling audible way beneath WYFR Portuguese which in A-10 is also scheduled on 15190 from 2200 until 0045, 142 degrees toward Brasil but plenty signal backwards.

Camping anti-church cultists vs Cupertinists! Both still going at 2242, and even more reason to doubt Rádio Inconfidência, Belo Horizonte is really coming back to 15190. If so, will have its work cut out for it. As far as HFCC and WYFR are concerned, neither other station exists (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** FRANCE [non]. 21690, RFI via GUIANA FRENCH, OSOB, and in fact very good signal at the rather late hour of 2106 UT March 29, in French to W Africa. Scheduled 17-22 at 75 degrees. RFI GUF also VG on 17630 during this semihour in Spanish (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** GERMANY [non]. 15640 is the new 19-m frequency for DW in English at 21-22, via RWANDA, and very good at 2109 March 29, better than // 11865. Both are 250 kW, 295 degrees for W Africa, and --- shhh, don`t tell anyone, but 15640 is also destined for Caribbean and eastern North America, CIRAF zones 11 and 8: DW is again overtly broadcasting in English to us! But would the Intendant deny it if asked directly? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** KOREA NORTH. Someone was wondering if VOK was off the air. Maybe at some time, but usual sufficient signals on 15180 to North America, March 30 at 0115 check in English, 0230 in Spanish, 0330 in French (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MEXICO [and non]. 6185, XEPPM, at 0115 March 30 check, seems to be under open carrier from Brasil, like much bigger open carrier on its // 11780. But at 0145, XEPPM in the clear with Spanish speech (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** NETHERLANDS [non]. 11610, RN in English, 280 degrees from RWANDA, Monday March 29 at 2037, good signal but battered by pulsing spurs from DentroCuban Jamming Command on 11600 against nothing, unless Radio República is really there. At 2048 RN program IDed as Network Europe Week, a co-produxion of 13 stations. Jamming toned down after 2100 but by then it was too late. So tnx to the DCJC, would-be RN SW listeners in North America are driven away to online or nothing (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** ROMANIA. RRI`s English broadcast at 2030-2100 for Europe, carrying right on to North America as if it were intended for us too, good signals March 29 at 2039 on 11880 and a reverb apart on somewhat weaker 11940, a good clue these two are from different sites, Galbeni and Tiganeshti, respectively. And 11940 suffering DentroCuban Jamming Command pulsing sideband spurs from 11930 against Martí (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** SERBIA [non]. IRS, new 9675, good and clear, no QRM with tired lady in English at 0033 March 30, ex-6190. This is daily except UT Sundays 0030-0100 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** SPAIN [and non]. 11620, REE with Spanish music but French announcement Monday March 29 at 2038, bothered by splatter/spurs from DentroCuban Jamming Command on 11600. REE is in French to Equatorial Africa M-F at 20-21 on 11620 and 9690. AIR GOS is supposedly on 11620 too after 2045, aimed southeastward, so I should have checked for that clashing a few minutes later, an old problem. Or not, since AIR is no longer beaming 11620 toward Europe.

Another attempt to confirm the scheduled UT Tuesday 0115-0145 Sephardic broadcast from REE, scheduled on 11795 as announced at 1425 Mondays on 15385: nothing at all audible at 0113-0116 March 30. Nor on alternate 11780, where there was a big open carrier apparently from RNA Brasília. However, Spain`s 11680 was weakish this time. Nothing on another possible alternative either, 9690. At 0143 just before the Sephardic should have ended, still unfound but Brasil now musically modulating 11780.

At 0415 UT Tue March 30, REE Sephardic is loud & clear, really on 9650, the frequency they have been announcing including March 16 when we confirmed it was on 9690 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** SWEDEN [non]. 9495, R. Sweden 2030 in English via Madagascar to Africa carries on USward, sufficient signal March 29 at 2043; WTWW missing from 9480 but likely to be a problem for this when it is not missing. Big 9480 carrier did come on at 2100, but gone at next check 2103 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** TURKEY. 9460 nice with Turkish music, March 29 at 2055, but tuned in a bit too late as it cut off at 2056:45*. Scheduled as TRT in Turkish, 16-21 via Çakirlar, 500 kW, 310 degrees (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 9345, new frequency from WWCR at 21-24: March 29 at 2131, VG with preacher; in fact by 2159 ID it was splattering between 9325 and 9365.

A new frequency means numerous new opportunities for harmonics and mixing products, so I compute them with the other four transmitters on air during these two sesquihours, 13845, 9980, 7465 and 1300, i.e. leapfrogs, sums and differences. Checked most of them which might propagate and came up clean so far:
28035, 23190, 19235, 18690, 18345, 16810, 11225, 10645, 10615, 8710, 8045, 5585, 4845, 4500, 1880 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A [non]. 9830, March 29 at 2059, good signal from ``Voice of America, Washington DC, signing on`` and into French for Afrique. Good enough to be Greenville, but supposedly São Tomé. Vs. RTTY QRM which is constantly on 9830: another station which just ignores it. After all, the RTTY does not register itself at HFCC, and apparently does not complain about Turkey, VOA, Jordan and the other broadcasting on 9830. Are they all on autopilot? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###