mercoledì 3 agosto 2011

Glenn Hauser logs August 2-3, 2011

** ARGENTINA. 15345-, August 2 at 2132, only a het vs MOROCCO [q.v.] on the hi side, and never overcame with any audio. Finally uncovered at 2202:39 when IMM turns off its carrier, RAE announcing 6060 and 15345 in Spanish, also http://www.radioexterior.com.ar I thought he said, but that goes nowhere, nor the link at Media Network`s Hitlist, http://www.radionacional.com.ar/programacion/rae.html

O, I see in the WRTH it should be
http://www.radionacional.gov.ar --- That does get to the domestic service homepage, but just *try* to find any link to the external service, even by internal search!

Anyhow, with the end of DST for this year, prompted by the beginning of Ramadan, Morocco now runs one real hour later on 15345, which means the northern-summer respite for RAE 21-22 UT German service listeners in Europe is over. That was only a fluke, as the two stations stupidly stick to the same frequency, both refuse to participate in HFCC or heed advice by would-be listeners that one or both should move a bit away to plenty of clear frequencies in the vicinity.

A few years ago, Argentina decided to go on DST in its summer, Nov-Feb, and RAE, so remote from the real world of international broadcasting, shifted all its languages one UT hour earlier just so they would stay at the same local time, oblivious of its intended audience. This put German up to 20-21, still colliding with Morocco even when that country was not on DST. English, Italian and French hours from RAE, earlier in the day, remain always blocked by Morocco (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** BAHRAIN [non]. 15540, August 2 until 2006, R. Kuwait very good with talk outroed as ``Song of the Sea``, another ``Radio Bahrein produxion, presented by R. Kuwait``. Maybe they stick these in at different times from day to day; August 1 was at 2019-2025 as in previous report under KUWAIT. There used to be a programme exchange called Voice of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Maybe this is that. Back to western pop music (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENNG DIGEST)

** CANADA. Nice to get a third reply from MBC Radio = CJLR-FM-3 in Prince Albert, Sask., altho my miles-per-watt calculation is now very incorrect: (gh)

Your reception of MBC Radio 88.1FM in Oklahoma --- Hi Glenn: Very cool that you picked up our rebroadcast of MBC in Oklahoma. We actually just increased the power of that site to 49000 watts on a new tower. Still – very impressive that you picked us up 1220 miles away. I know in the past we've gotten letters from folks in Norway and Sweden that also take part in DXing. 

I am a sales guy at the radio station, and have been involved in radio most of my life. I've always been intrigued at how FM signals can skip like that. On a couple of occasions driving from Prince Albert to Regina (4 hours south of here) I have picked up stations from the US on my cars' FM receiver. Once I picked up 4 or 5 stations from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan. Another time I picked up 3 stations from the Tulsa area. I found it interesting that it was several different stations from the same geographic area that would skip, so obviously something atmospheric was allowing that to happen.

Nice touch on being able to post what you heard / recorded online. Much easier to do that than to start mailing cassettes around. Have a great day!! (James Young, MBC Sales and Marketing, August 3, via DXLD)

** CANADA. 2, August 3 at 0126 UT, brief fade-in of a drama in English from the NNE, likely an Ontarian analog TVDX; no other significant Es lately (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CANADA [and non]. 17735, August 2 at 2030, RCI`s prime English hour left on Sackville, discussion of Pakistan, Kashmir, with a Waterloo professor, hit by OTH radar pulses, then detected 17715-17740, presumed from CYPRUS. Not enough to overcome RCI, which is also far enough from TDP QRDRM on 17750-17760. RCI is // 15330 and 15235.

August 3 at 1335 it was interesting to check Sackville frequencies during SW fadeout: inaudible was 9650 CRI relay, and JBA carrier on 11655 from normally strong NHK relay. Also knocked out 9330 WBCQ, 9370 WTJC (or maybe really off?) while other US signals remained: weakened 9385 WWRB, still strong 9479 WTWW. 7490 WWCR-2, normally a powerhouse, was also incredibly JBA.

We had been warned that a coronal mass ejexion was on the way to hit Earth early August 3. At 1200, WWV e-mailed: ``Space weather for the next 24 hours is predicted to be minor. Radio blackouts reaching the R1 level are likely.`` Its 1500 notice had not shown up an hour later (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CHILE [and non]. 16755, August 2 at 1957, dirty spur from CVC La Voz 17680, still audible, roughly covering 16730-16760. Also at 2040, the weaker distorted blob on the other side around 18600 // 17680. See previous report earlier August 2.

Aug 3 I was waiting for 17680 to sign on at 1200, and so it did without fanfare, but initially quite weak, so no spurs to be heard. By 1306 signals had built up greatly, audiblizing awful dirty distorted music spur circa 16755, and today at 1309 the match around 18605 was stronger.

However, a SW fadeout hit a few minutes later, and by 1330, only traces of the spurs remained on 16755 and slightly more on 18605. Now most of the 16m signals had faded down or out, with CVC 17680 noticeably weaker but holding up best along with Rwanda 17800. By 1340, 17680 had become JBA! While 17800 remained good (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CHINA. Firedrake, August 3; before 0500 in local noon hour:
none found 0445-0453 from 19 to 12 MHz

Before 1200:
10300, very good at 1148
12900, very good at 1152
13130, good at 1152
13920, fair at 1153
15900, good at 1158
16100, poor at 1158

Before & after 1230:
10300, very good at 1229
12900, very good at 1232
13920, very good at 1232, no 13130 now, nor any 14`s
15545, fair at 1238
15900, very good at 1234

Before & after 1330:
15900, very good at 1320; only fair at 1340 after SW fadeout
15425, poor-fair at 1317, het on 15427
15285, fair at 1329
14950, good at 1332
13130, fair at 1332
12025, very poor at 1332; could not detect CNR1 too or anything else
10300, very poor at 1336; none in the 11`s
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** COSTA RICA. 11880, Aug 3 at 1209, REE relay missing tho audible mixing equally with NHK on 11815. 11880 on at next check 1229 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CUBA. Anomaly, SNAFU roundup August 3:

11760, just as I tune in at 0456, sign-off in Spanish is cut off, as after 50 years, RHC has never learned to coordinate transmissions with programming. I immediately retune to 5040, and succeed in hearing once again long-outdated morning frequencies announced to frustrate listeners awakening already at 1100 UT, i.e. including 12000, 9600, 6180.

12020 at 0458 is also still on past 0500, now plugging internet listening overnight; off at next check 0509.

9570, at 1224, CRI relay absent; hope Andy O`Brien in Ontario was rejoicing over temporary lack of QRM to Australia 9580. Some weak Asian signal became audible on 9570: Aoki says KBS in Indonesian.

15230, missing at 1315, no Chinese audible either, while 15120 and 15360 were nominal; RHC back on 15230 at 1330 check.

15330, Aug 3 at 1236 lite pulse jamming against nothing, as R. Martí is not using 15330 at all in the A-seasons! Then it stops; did they read my mind that I was about to deride the DentroCuban Jamming Command yet again for its incompetence? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CYPRUS. 14880-14915, August 3 at 0449, OTH radar pulses, presumed from here altho spreading 35 rather than usual 25 kHz (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also CANADA

** ITALY [non]. 15610, August 3 at 1319, IRRS via ROMANIA, but NOT with Brother Scare! Instead a YL with long report on US drone attacks on Waziristan, including interview clips; must be from a major broadcaster. Initially poor signal losing out to noise level at 1325; 1327 possibly mentioned UN Radio (which IRRS is known to carry) and a bit of music before becoming JBA at 1328 as all signals were hit by SW fadeout. I see the IRRS schedule at
http://www.nexus.org/schedules/wed.htm
has still not been updated since 10 June, so doesn`t show Brother Scare at this time, nor any other specific programming even on stream, altho the SW transmission schedule effective July 18 at
http://www.nexus.org/NEXUS-IBA/Schedules/IRRS-SW_A11.html
does show 13-14 on 15610.

So is BS supposed to be on this hour, or not? Could well be another mistake by the downlink site tuning in the wrong satellite channel, and who cares? The Overcomer Ministry homepage still thinks it`s on 15610 at 1800 UTC! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** JORDAN. 11960, Aug 3 at 0455 nice ME music, 0500 ID in Arabic mentions Amman, Urdaniya, Hashemiya, a bit more of music and good signal cut off the air, in truncated legacy SW service, our best chance to hear this country, for only one hour daily (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** KOREA NORTH [and non]. 15180, Aug 3 at 1239, VG signal from VOK, mezzo and that quasi-electronic instrument accompaniment with beautiful harmonies, one can enjoy as long as one cannot understand it`s 99% likely she is extoling great/dear leaders and the paradise that is the DPRK. In fact, I preferred this to Martha Garvin`s Musical Memories I could have understood on WWCR 15825, equally good signal but less fading and less harmonious (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTNEING DIGEST)

** KOREA SOUTH [non]. 9650 via CANADA, Aug 3 at 1243, KBS World Radio ending Let`s Learn Korean segment concluding `Seoul Calling`, so I am finally prepared to hear their Wednesday traditional music show from the beginning, `Sounds of Korea`: begins with flute and drum playing peasant love song; narratress explains and names the instruments, but I really can`t understand the details. CCI from KOREA NORTH direct not too bad today and minimised by listening on the insensitive DX-390 breakfast table radio using whip/rod antenna only. I feared transmission would cut off conclusion as program kept going past 1258, but wrapped up just in time for 1259* with two notes of RCI IS, without any time for formal KBS sign-off. During semiminute break before Sackville back on different beam, 268 to 240 degrees, for 9650 CRI relay, the RNW IS via Tinang could be heard even on the DX-390 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MAURITANIA [and non]. 7245, Aug 3/Ram 3 at 0447 UT, weak carrier squeezed between 7240 DW English via Rwanda, and 7250 Vatican French; could IGIM be on this early? After Rwanda closed, at 0504 Mauritania definitely on 7245 with usual chanting, early for Ramadan. Still need to look for it in the deep-night 01-04 UT period; however Aoki shows the competition:

7245 0210-0400 RUS Novosibirsk R. Sakha Yak Yakutsk 23456 = M-F
7245 0200-0600 TJK VOICE OF TAJIK Tajik, Persian Dushanbe-Orza daily.
Powers? HFCC shows only 5 kW for Sakha, 100 for Dush, both non-direxional (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MOROCCO. 15345+, August 2 at 2132, IMM is still on, Arabic atop usual het from weaker Argentina on lo side, so post-DST schedule has indeed shifted one UT hour later as expected. 2156 Arabic music vs het; now both are stronger. 2200 no timesignal, YL in Arabic, sounder, presumed news starts until modulation stops after 2202 and carrier cut at 2202:39* uncovering ARGENTINA, q.v. (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** SUDAN [non]. 11800, Aug 3 at 0455, good signal with vocal music, percussion and string instrument. HFCC coyly lists as ``non-specific`` Babcock at 04-05, 250 kW, 125 degrees from Rampisham to CIRAF 47E and 48NW --- a roundabout way of referring to Sudan. Aoki is more explicit as Sudan Radio Service to Darfur in Arabic, daily except Fridays. This is a much better option for us now than mornings on 16m, but apparently disincludes any English (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** TAIWAN. 15225 & 15305, looking for the RTI 15265 spurs heard 24 hours earlier, not today Aug 3 1315, tho fundamental was still audible with het, and Firedrake from CHINA, e.g. 15900 was VG before the SW fadeout (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** TATARSTAN [non]. 15110, Aug 3 at 0445, lo-fi talk in language, seems some Russian influence, fading S6 to S9+5. Presumed R. Tatarstan via Samara, RUSSIA at 0410-0500 with carrier on up to 20 minutes earlier (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 17900, unlike last few days, no mystery 1000 Hz tone test audible Aug 3 at 1308 or later. Nor did I find it on any other 13, 15, 17 or 18 MHz channel (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###