lunedì 13 febbraio 2012

Glenn Hauser logs February 11-13, 2012

** BRAZIL. 11815, Feb 13 at 0628, wide-awake madrugada music typical of R. Brasil Central, Goiânia; very poor at first, 0630 announcements and now fading up to S9+15, to be sure they are Brazilian as M&W are conversing at 0632. It`s the OBOB (only Brazilian on band) and not much else either. Nothing audible on RBC`s other channel 4985. Jim Young in California says that has been missing for a few weeks as of Feb 8 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CUBA. 11532, Feb 13 at 0634, open carrier, surely Cuban spy station V2a again, since it`s scheduled M/W/F/Sat and this is Monday. But unlike last Friday at same time, it`s relatively weak, only S9 to S9+10 peaks as the digital data bursts start at 0635 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** FRANCE. 17615, Feb 13 at 1601, African language mentioning Turkey. I am used to hearing BSKSA in Arabic, but hands over frequency at 1600 to RFI Hausa via Issoudun (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** GUATEMALA. 4055, Feb 13 at 1203, no signal from R. Verdad; did not check earlier but should still be audible if on well before sunrise here and there. They have been having trouble getting reliable workers for the morning shift supposed to start at 1100; hope it`s not another transmitter problem (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. Code back on EWTN --- Once again right now, 1930+ UT Sunday Feb 12, on the EWTN cable channel with Joy of Music, I am hearing Morse code in the background. As Doug previously explained, apparently leak from a nearby sound frequency on the transponder with required continuous ID info. Hope somebody can copy it, best when Bish is talking rather than organing. At 2040 UT, I can still hear it during hail-marys, tho seems softer. 73, (Glenn Hauser, OK, WTFDA via DXLD)

I think this is a symptom of a poorly-operating (or misadjusted) analog satellite receiver at your cable system, not of any kind of fault at the EWTN studios or uplink. IOW I think it's going to continue (at least intermittently) until your cable system replaces their receiver (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN  EM66, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

That would not surprise me at all, considering all the other foulups at Suddenlink. But it would be nice if someone elsewhere could listen and unconfirm it when I am hearing it in Enid (Glenn Hauser, DXLD)

** KOREA NORTH. 6285, Feb 13 at 1137, choral music, with motorboating on the carrier, i.e. VOK French hour, 200 kW USward at 28 degrees from Kujang (previous hour English, following hour Korean) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** KOREA SOUTH. 6300, Feb 13 at 1137 something in Korean on clear frequency, no jamming but some utebeeps. Uplooked later in Aoki, it`s a new frequency and time for MND Radio at 1100-1150, since Feb 9 and also at 0600-0650, 100 kW, site JongAn? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MAURITANIA [and non]. 7245, Feb 13 at 0622 IGIM is on and chanting.

BTW, during this hour including when IGIM is not yet on, I never hear any trace of V. of Tajik, the 100 kW external service on 7245 which is scheduled 0200-1800, including Dari at 06-08 following Farsi at 04-06. Is it really on? Alexander Berezkin, St. Petersburg, Russia, did report it Jan 28 at 0522 in Persian with no interference. Sometimes IGIM is on before 0600 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** NIGERIA. 7275, Feb 13 at 0629, again no trace of a signal from FRCN as I am monitoring when Tunisia turns off (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** PERU [and non]. 6059.99, Feb 13 at 1112, I am rarely awake for the Aroma Café Radio window, so take advantage of it when I am today: quite weak signal with music and occasional talk, too weak to make much out. I can`t measure frequency directly, but there is a fast SAH of about 10 Hz which fits nicely for the off-frequency everyone is reporting, vs an even weaker carrier with better frequency control (PBS Sichuan 2? Or RR Yakutsk? Can`t be Brasil, and unlikely Argentina either tho scheduled to be on in Portuguese weekdays, considering how far off their other frequencies are).

1121 a YL is speaking loudly. *1124:50 the CRI carrier comes on but it`s weak enough that I still hear ACR underneath, clinched at 1127 by a timecheck audibly Spanish for ``las seis de la mañana, --- minutos`` = Peruvian time and language. 1130 CRI IS starts and ID for Tagalog is also in Spanish! ``Radio Internacional de China``. Rechecked after 1200 when CRI is off, nothing more audible from Perú (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U K [non]. 9505, Feb 13 at 1500, BBCWS ID in English, poor signal I had not noticed before, and down to a JBA carrier by 1553. HFCC shows it`s 300 kW, 97 degrees from CYPRUS at 15-17 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A [non]. 11750, Feb 12 at 1217, VOA quite good with excellent news coverage on `Crossroads Asia`, pausing to plug their photo contest which has a few more days to run, via
http://www.voanews.com/asia i.e. specifically http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/asia-photo-contest-137906343.html
and from 1130 on to `International Edition`. I figured this quite good signal would have to be on the 21 degree antenna USward from Tinang, PHILIPPINES, and so it is, during this hour only. The borepath is roughly up the Sea of Japan near Nagasaki, eastern tip of Sibir, across the Brooks Range in northern Alaska, trans-Canada, entering conterminous US thru Minnesota, Chicago, South Carolina, Haiti (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 9610, Sunday Feb 12 at 2200 and again 2218 check, zero on this frequency where World Harvest Radio claims to be broadcasting `DXing with Cumbre`. Who do they think they are fooling with all those SW frequencies on their program schedule, which are not really on the air? Those who never turn on a radio? What`s the point? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 5110- CUSB, slightly on the lo side, Feb 13 at 0349, WORLD OF RADIO 1603 confirmed on Area 51 via WBCQ. This UT Monday 0330v broadcast has been appearing quite reliably, but on alternate weeks only, i.e. odd-numbered WORs.

BTW, I also heard the revived `Jean Shepherd Show` at its new time of 0300 UT Saturday, Feb 11, when listening to the 5110 webcast; as usual, it`s only about half a sesquihour long (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** VATICAN [non]. 9865, Feb 13 at 1143, Vatican Radio, strong secret Sackville Spanish signal, someone on phone discussing radio in Spain and Latin America, 1144 ID as ``Radio Vaticana`` ending in -a, ``info de la iglesia y del mundo`` about PBXVI`s visit to Cuba and Costa Rica in March.

1146 said would be back (in new Spanish) within 6 hours (not on this frequency! Their B-11 schedule folder shows Spanish at 1730 is only on MW 1260 even tho it`s in the `Americas` target area sexion!), but then continued with holier stuff, saint-of-the-day, who according to the handy calendar they also p-mailed me, for Feb 13 is St. Catherine de Ricci. VG reception except for DRM noise from 9865-9875 New Zealand requiring some off-tuning to the lo side. Off after 1200 check, no more imaginary English appended nor a full half-sesquihour of Spanish (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** WALES. 24952-USB, Feb 13 at 1605, sufficient signal from Steve, MW0ZZK, call given fonetically, but not with each contact, who thinx the 12m condx are not very good, but his signal improves as he worx lots of TA signals I can`t hear, first one in Sulpher, Oklahoma, W5JO, then AA3AZ and VA3CME, all of which match his online logbook at
http://www.hrdlog.net/ViewLogbook.aspx?user=mw0zzk

Makes me long for BBCWS on 11m to North America like it was back in 1958 or so; Woofferton is nearby. However, the MUF is below 28 MHz, nohams on 10m. QRZ.com shows: MW0ZZK, Steve Redmond, QSL via EB7DX, Abersoch, Wales. See also UNIDENTIFIED CODAR on 25 MHz (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 25320-25480, Feb 13 at 1609, range of CODAR swishes while WALES [q.v.] is in below 25 MHz, but whence? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)