sabato 31 dicembre 2011

Glenn Hauser logs December 30-31, 2011

** BRAZIL. 6150, Dec 30 at 2300, pop music atop one or two other weak stations with SAH, so I keep listening hoping for some Turkish from Northern Cyprus` R. Bayrak; but no, 2304 announcement definitely in Brazilian Portuguese, so R. Record (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** BRAZIL. 4915.0, Dec 30 at 2315, pop music vs CODAR, 2317 quick Portuguese announcement maybe mentioning ``nove`` (9), a bit more music before vanishing in noise level. At first I thought some neighbor had turned on an appliance, raising my noise to its usual over-level, but then with BFO I could not detect a carrier other than CODAR swishing across 4915.

Presumably R. Daqui, Goiânia, the currently active Brasilian here, which LA SW Logs shows signing off around 0000, while R. Difusora, Macapá has not been reported since Jan 2011; DSWCI TBM has latest log of that as Feb 2011. WRTH 2012 shows them both as active. Aoki still has the former identity of the Goiânia station, R. Anhanguera, as well as Macapá. EiBi has two separate entries from Daqui, one of which I suppose was meant to read Macapá (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CUBA [and non]. UT Dec 31 I am checking the VOA Spanish service at 0030-0200 whether it is still heavily jammed, unlike the morning service at 13-14: at 0030, yes, 5890, 9885 and 12000 are all jammed; 5890 has a better signal vs jamming than the others.

Next check at 0148, oh-oh, 5890 is buried by WWCR preacher about Yahweh, can just make out SAH, VOA Spanish and jamming underneath; 9885 and 12000 are still mixed with jamming; not // 9825 R. Martí which is much atop the jamming since it`s from Sackville. See USA: WWCR entry for more on the collision on 5890 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A [and non]. VOA Spanish still being jammed in evening: see CUBA [and non]; WWCR colliding with VOA 5890: see USA [and non]: WWCR

** U S A [and non]. 5890, WWCR is colliding with VOA for at least an hour, 01-02 UT: this apparently has been going on for weeks, unnoticed by FCC, IBB, WWCR --- or me until now in a daypart I don`t monitor much. Dec 31 at 0148, WWCR is dominant with preacher about Yahweh, can just make out SAH, VOA Spanish and jamming underneath.

Looking at latest HFCC Dec 29 for what`s supposed to happen on 5890:
VOA Greenville Spanish: Tue-Sat 0030-0200 from 7 November to 10 March
WWCR Nashville English: daily   0200-1200 from 7 November to 10 March
                        daily   0100-1100 30 Oct-6 Nov and 11-24 March  

In other words, WWCR was supposed to shift to a one-UT-hour-later start at 0200 since DST went off Nov 6, but instead has kept starting at 0100 UT producing this collision. I assume this is due to the inexperience, to put it politely, of the current WWCR frequency manager Jerry Plummer, who has also been appointed frequency manager for the Caribbean Beacon to HFCC, taking over from George McClintock who is plenty busy expanding his own SW station; so don`t be surprised if Anguilla starts colliding with something in upcoming seasons.

Aren`t alarm bells ringing at HFCC? 5890 is officially a collision in CIRAF target 11, but obviously also affecting the rest of North America. VOA is due to shift one UT hour earlier after DST resumes 11 March 2012, but will they all put up with the clash until then?

WWCR website transmission schedule as of Dec 19 admits WWCR-4 starts 5890 at 0100. The more detailed pdf program schedule shows the start times vary: 0100 on Tue-Sat, 0130 on Sun, and 0400 on UT Mon. But the days that matter, when VOA is on 5890, it`s a full hour too early.

After 0200 exchanging 90 mb frequencies with 3195 WWRB, WWCR had the same programming on 3215 and 5890, `Call to Decision` with Pastor Butch Paugh, subtitled ``this is war``.

BTW, HFCC shows the Vatican Radio added itself to the mix Nov 20, but little consequence here at the other worldside, if they can tolerate interference from multiple W Hemisphere transmitters: daily 0015-0040, 100 kW, 186 degrees from Tashkent to S Asia, and 0040-0200, 500 kW, 90 degrees from SMG to same (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 5050, Dec 30 at 2330, WWRB is running with ``The Bible on Shortwave``, announcing its own Box 7, Manchester TN 37349 address, into Psalm CXII. Nothing on 3215 at this hour, registered to start as early as 2100. 5050 still on at 0315 Dec 31 with same programming.

3215, Dec 30 at 0156, WWRB has now been on for a while, and is open carrier, 0157 Dave ID announcement, 0158 bit of accordion/organ music, 0159 QSY announcement to 3195, while WWCR steel drums briefly overlap on 3215 which it is opening, ex-3195.

BTW, the WRTH 2012 schedule for WWRB on page 497 bears little resemblance to reality, nor does WWRB`s own website; nor do registrations with FCC, including three unused frequencies, 2390, 5745 and 15795; longer hours than really used on 3215, 5050; no entry for 3195 which is really used at 02-05 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** VATICAN. 6075, Dec 30 at 2309, Swingle Singers music, good signal, but as I tune back across at 2311 it is gone. That`s because VR is in fact scheduled 2200-2310 in Italian to W Europe, 250 kW, 330 degrees from SMG, also USward (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** VIETNAM [and non]. Re my Dec 29 report, oscillating tone jamming against nothing on 9990, S. Hasegawa, Japan replies: ``Dear Glenn, RFA-Vietnamese via Agingan Point was broadcasted on 9990 kHz at 1400 to 1500 UT until Nov. 23; this service QSYed to 9400 kHz from Nov. 24. Vietnam is thought not to yet notice this change. And 9400 kHz received Nov. 30 to clearing it. de Hiroshi`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)