martedì 29 novembre 2011

Glenn Hauser logs November 28-29, 2011

** AFGHANISTAN [and non]. 7200, looking for R. Afghanistan on new frequency ex-6102, Nov 29 at 1528: a JBA carrier, slightly on the hi side compared to 15200 KTWR or RRI. Altho 7 MHz is slightly more feasible propagationally, QRhaM is a big problem in NAm, as besides nearby SSB, K0TPP in Missouri was right on 7200-LSB concluding a contact, then QRZ and CQ, apparently blissfully unaware of what he is blocking as he has a perfect right to do.

7200 was first reported Nov 27 by Uli Bihlmayer, DJ9KR, of the DARC
INTRUDERALERT mailing list via Wolfgang Büschel, with English at 1530, but on Nov 28 the first half hour was in Pashto instead of English, then usual Urdu from 1558 to 1630, say S. Hasegawa in Japan and Alan Pennington, UK. Mike Barraclough got the word out first on the DXLD yg (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CHINA. Firedrake Nov 29, before 1400:
9200, poor at 1357, none higher, and not 9200 either when tuned by earlier in this semihour

Before 1500:
None at all, not even 9200, in complete scan 19-7 MHz between 1450 and 1457. Hi latitude paths certainly suppressed by geomag conditions, but wonder if operations have also diminished (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CUBA [and non]. 9540, Nov 29 at 1340, congrats to RHC for getting this transmitter back on frequency from the blob on 9518 yesterday; but it`s still humbuzzy, and also with CCI under, only Kunming listed, Commies vs Commies (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** FRANCE [and non]. 7220, Nov 29 at 0623, wanting to check whether RFI is still in English instead of scheduled Hausa, but stymied by strike --- RFI Musique fill instead. Since Hausa was missing before the latest strike, maybe the Hausa service was already closed or strike-ridden? Altho website remains, just try to find a Hausa SW sked here:
http://www.hausa.rfi.fr/

21690, Nov 29 at 1344, more musique // 17620, 15300, and 21690 is stronger than Spain 21610; 21690 gone after 1400 tho supposedly scheduled until 1600, after a switch from GUF to ISS at 1330. I hate to say it, but the musique mixe is really quite enjoyable.

17690, Nov 29 at 1410, salsa musique fill et al. instead of news in Spanish via GUIANA FRENCH, at least a Spanish ID at 1413, off without any further announcements at 1429:30* as the huelgrève continues, to save RFI from having its funding merged into France 24 TV (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** GREECE. 15630, Nov 29 at 1455 open carrier, presumably V. of Greece testing, past 1502, off at 1504. Official sign on is at 1600, usually several minutes earlier in SW service cut to only 12 hours a day. BTW, whenever this frequency and 9420 are both on, a mixing product is possible on 6210 (15630 minus 9420), occasionally reported as an unID or possible pirate, harmonic; Kahuzi? --- do compare to the fundamentals, especially if 6210 is in Greek (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** IRAN [non]. 13635, Nov 29 at 1354, ME music, good with flutter, 1400 timesignal a few sex late, headlines in Persian with news sounders. HFCC shows this is a new frequency starting Nov 25 for IBB (i.e. Radio Farda), 250 kW, 105 degrees via Wertachtal, GERMANY at 1230-1430; meanwhile also listing MBR Wertachtal with Sat/Sun 1400-1500 broadcasts on same 13635, gospel huxters presumably scrapped altho dated for entire B-11 season (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** ISRAEL. 15760, Nov 29 at 1454, 1000 Hz tone on S9+15 carrier, 1455 tone off, pause, and IBA trumpet IS starts; after 1500 in Persian, its only SW service left. But not for long: Doni Rosenzweig tells DXLD that on Dec 5, 9985 will replace 15760. That of course will abut Brother Scare on 9980 WWCR, and eventually, something on 9990 WTWW-2. Tho never on more than two frequencies, I see in HFCC that Kol Israel has registered plenty of alternatives for this 1500-1630 broadcast: 6990, 9390, 9985, 11595, 13850, 15760 --- so which will the other one be? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MAURITANIA [and non]. 7245, Nov 29 at 0624, IGIM still on during chanty hour, unusually fluttery following latest CME. No signal at all on 7250 from 10 kW Vatican, q.v., until 0628 when switched to 250 kW (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MOROCCO [and non]. 15349.1v, Nov 29 at 1349, IMM is nowhere to be found here or nearby, so TURKEY 15350.0 is in the clear with music and Turkish talk, no het for a few more minutes until its closing. 15349 still vacant at 1408. Has Rabat come to its senses? No! By 1450, it`s back on in Arabic plus its own whine/tone, during the clear hour, and at 1503 big het again with RVA via VATICAN 15350.0.

Earlier Nov 29, at 1010, Wolfgang Büschel in Germany was getting a ``terrible mess mixture`` among Turkey 15350.045, Morocco 15349.140, and also CRI Kashgar 15350.00 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** PHILIPPINES [non]. 15435, Nov 29 at 1452, RVA Urdu via VATICAN has JBA het from 15434, I guess V. of Tibet jumparound via Tajikistan. Aoki shows 15433, 15437 at different times. See also MOROCCO, still het-colliding with RVA Filipino 15350 via Vatican after 1500 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** ROMANIA [and non]. 15160, Nov 29 at 1449, Russian from RRI Tiganeshti, fair signal with continuous 1000 Hz tone QRM underneath. Maybe the mystery tester? Surely not jamming. Or maybe Abis warming up for the 1500 Uzbek service of R. Cairo on 15160 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U K. 11830, fair Nov 29 at 1456 Bow Bells, 1459 BBCWS opening in English, incomplete Lilliburlero, timesignal and news. This is 15-17, 300 kW, 105 degrees from BaBcoCk, Woofferton. Other transmissions are preceded by B-B-C- chime notes. What`s the difference, why some one way and some the other way? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 580, Nov 28 at 2048 UT, on the caradio driving thru half of Enid, I am hearing when the ambient noise level allows an almost continuous ringing sound, not when tuned to WIBW Topeka, which is in a talk show, but when I step 10 kHz to either side, i.e. a beat against 570 KLIF Dallas, and stronger against 590 KXSP Omaha, whose own signal is weaker than KLIF. WIBW must be putting out matching spurs!

Continuing to listen mostly on 590, the ringing sound sometimes stops for a second or so, and sometimes for a minute or two. It`s not a pure tone, but two slightly different pitches rapidly alternating, a lot like those annoying Salvation Army ringers outside every store. The pitches heard on 590 are ever so slightly higher than on 570, so the three stations must not all be on exact .0000 frequencies.

Tuning back across WIBW itself at 2129 UT, I hear them mention that they are amid a ``Red Kettle Campaign``. OMG, here`s what must be happening: WIBW is airing this continuous annoying ringing in the background of its own talkshow modulation, and the pitch is too high to come thru the bandwidth my caradio when tuned to 580. But it`s *not* too high when tuned to an adjacent frequency, i.e. over 5 kHz on the originator, less than 5 kHz beat on the neighbors.

Sure `nuff, when I get home and try it on the portable DX-398 with 1-kHz steps and finer 40-Hz steps in the SSB mode, I can approximately pinpoint the jingly `carriers` around 574 and 586. If WIBW keeps doing this, and we`ve got almost a month until Xmas, others should be able to pick these up at a skywave distance; I get them all by groundwave. But I pity the poor Topekans with wider bandwidth on their cheap AM radios. Extent of hours this may be happening is unknown. But not just during brief commercials for SA. WIBW spurs Sally`s.

{This is rather like KSPI`s spurs from 780 Stillwater OK, on 784 and 776 kHz, which are more audible as beats against the adjacents than when listening to strong KSPI itself. These are only 4 kHz off the fundamental, but relatively weak and more audible against the weak adjacent 770 and 790 signals. They really are spurs and not part of the program modulation, however misguided.} (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 660, Tuesday Nov 29 at 1321 UT, ads still mentioning Black Friday as if it`s pending or current, including one for an unpronounceable trading post in Gallup NM, so not only is Tuesday still Friday, but KTNN is pretending night is day and continuing to pump 50 kW nondirexional eastward; tough luck, WFAN (as if anyone in NYC cared at 8:21 am what`s going on in Navajoland). Maybe such casual awareness of time in Anglo terms is a Dineh cultural thing? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 1490, Nov 29 at 1337 UT, program promo on ``1490 AM KQTY``, i.e. Borger TX in the panhandle, briefly atop the graveyard pileup (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** VATICAN. 7250, Nov 29 at 0624, zero signal from 10 kW VR in the Gardens, no ACI to MAURITANIA [q.v.], until 0628 switched to the 250 kW SMG, English outro of Swedish service preceding, which was off-topic for this transmitter, ``Laudetur Jesus Christus``, etc. Fluttery, unusually, following latest CME.

Then compared to VR 7360 already on air to Africa at 0630, and found it not fluttery. Difference is: 234 degrees azimuth vs. 4 degrees on 7250, aiming right into the disturbed auroral zone, tho both should mainly arrive from the same site in the same direxion to here (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 15380, Nov 29 at 1503, strong 1 kHz tone over RHC, but quickly off the air. HFCC has nothing to explain this (no RHC either), but Aoki shows the next occupant of 15380 is R. Ashna, a.k.a. VOA Dari service, 1530-1630, 250 kW, 105 degrees via Wertachtal (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)