** BOTSWANA. 15580, Dec 21 at 2100, VOA news has some rumble on the transmitter, this frequency just having switched from Greenville the previous hour during `Music Time in Africa` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CUBA. 5025, Dec 22 at 1256, R. Rebelde music still propagating enough to tell that the carrier has the same wobble as heard before 0700 when on 5040 with RHC.
11860, Dec 22 at 1309, this RHC frequency is missing while 11760 is VG; At 1422, 11860 is now on and undermodulated as is 11760; while 11750 and 11690 tho much weaker are better modulated; at 1426, 11860 mod is OK, but at 1431, 11760 is dead air only vs CNR1 CCI while 11860 continues OK (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** EQUATORIAL GUINEA [and non]. 15190, Dec 21 at 2017 check, R. Africa Network via WRMI, no second audio, but a second carrier, i.e. Bata, producing SAH of about 5 Hz; 2110 recheck during song from WRMI, still the same (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** GREECE. 9420, fair-good Dec 22 at 0633, Byzantine chant still exists Sunday mornings, women or boys` voices, from Helliniki Radiophonia, and this frequency active again; yet not // separate musical program on as usual undermodulated 7475, poor-fair (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** KOREA NORTH [and non]. 6003, Dec 22 at 1445, Korean talk, fair signal and no noise jamming audible, i.e. Echo of Hope from South to North; altho too late for the mid-4-MHz jammers, it`s still a good morning for the higher ones: 6015, 6250, 6348, 6518, 6600 all with varying amounts of noise vs signal. Also 6170 with music, presumed VOK hour in Russian with RNZI staying on 5950 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** LIBERIA. 4760, Dec 22 at 0635-0723, with offset BFO as I doze, no sign of even a carrier from ELWA vs hi noise level and poor propagation, which was reported reactivated (testing?) 24 hours earlier and also in the local evening (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. 550, Dec 22 at 1317 UT, PSAs from IFE, and Secretaría de Defensa Nacional about Universidad del Ejército y Fuerza Aérea, 1318 música romántica; loops WSW, and no doubt the usual SRS dominant station from there, XEPL, Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, Chihuahua (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. 620, Dec 22 at 1321 UT, as soon as I tune in, canned ID for ``91.7 FM y 620 AM, La Norteñita es la efectiva``, i.e. XEBU Chihuahua city; effective, I assume they imply, insofar as advertising results (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. 700, Dec 22 at 1322 UT, rustic fiddling, 1323 gobierno de la república PSA in Spanish, 1324 something about ``toquen – baile`` then vocal music; this time holds up a little longer at 1331 to hear definite call-letter ID as XEETCH, La Voz de los Tres Rios, and then in an indigenous language, i.e from Etchojoa, Sonora (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. 710, Dec 22 at 1327 UT, as I tune in, full ID for XEDP with 5 kW, XHDP FM with 10 kW, La Ranchera de Cuauhtémoc, street address in that Chihuahua city, Grupo B-M Radio; dominating frequency (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** OKLAHOMA. 530, Dec 22 at 0640 UT, ``K530AM``, Vance AFB is gone again after several days of reactivity; or rather QRP, as I can still detect a weak SAH against Cuba. At 1316 after Cuba is gone, I can barely make out modulation in the form of anti-wildfire PSA from US Forest Service. If normal loud level is 10 watts, QRP now must be in the milliwatts (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. 15440, Dec 21 at 2108, Brother Scare via WRMI, with clip accusing Pres. Obama of being a ``dictator`` (with a do-nothing congress???), allowing water from Great Lakes to be sold to China, as if they will soon be drained as a result. Such irresponsible fear-mongering is the norm for BS, to which too many US radio stations are accomplices.
BTW, according to Ivo Ivanov, the reason Area 51 is going off 5110 is: Brother Scare has bought up lots of time there, already heard at 0930 Dec 22, as well as adding overnight on WBCQ 7490.
5085, Dec 22 at 1302 check, WTWW-2 is back on with BS, lo-fi audio; it was off early UT Dec 22 for WOR and QSO programs (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** TAIWAN [non]. 11880, Sunday Dec 22 at 1330, Keith Perron opening PCJ Radio`s Happy Station Show, here via WRMI on special pre-publicized frequency I approved, also announcing 5995 for Europe (via Germany, no point in even checking it here with R. Australia), and usual 9335 via Sri Lanka, which has a JBA carrier.
Lots of music on the show, which suffers more than the talk from lo bitrate encoding (it`s 128 kbps, 44 kHz stereo originally, but sounds like less, and even WOR at 80 kbps, 44 kHz has no such artifacts during the opening theme music). Also, the modulation level on this frequency is sub-par; WRMI is louder on 9955 tho jammed, and especially with BS on 9690. At least 11880 is QRM-free.
Opens with ``Happy Holidays`` by Peggy Lee; 1335 Chipmunx` ``All I Want is a Hula Hoop``, and Keith then explains how the voices were produced, taking two weeks to get it right. 1339 Keith reads ``The Night Before Xmas``; 1343 Tom Meijer sings ``Marshmallow World``. 1346 Burl Ives` ``Holly Jolly Xmas``; 1349 Beatles` promotional flexi-disc from 1963 with them horsing around for their fans, including bits of ``Good King Wenceslaus``, whistling GSTQ; comments by John, George and Ringo, at least. 1354 another Xmas song; 1401 Keith reads ``How the Grinch Stole Xmas``; 1410 ``SCICTT``; 1417 QSL offer; next week will be live: if you want to participate, send phone number and be available during this hour Dec 29. 1419 Hawaiian Xmas; 1423 Keith sings ``Winter Wonderland`` recorded in Tokyo with the NHK Orchestra; 1426 ``Let It Snow`` some more; 1429 sign-off with three frequencies again, http://www.pcjmedia.com and then WRMI ID by Keith, off 1430* (Glenn Hauser,
OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO 1700 monitoring [non]. UT Sunday December 22 at 0030, WTWW-2, 5085 NOT on the air (nor on 9930; weather-related?). Next airing Sunday Dec 22 at 0501 on WTWW-1, 5830 at first seemed missing too, but then JBA due to propagation disturbance (so it sounded, but WWV reported none, with K at 03 UT of 0 and at 06 of only 1 --- just a really low MUF for the Solstice?). The other Tennesseeans on 5 MHz were also JBA, and even 4840 WWCR inaudible at first, back in VG at 0629; while the low-band advantage still worked at 0512 for 3215 WWCR and 3185 WWRB. At 0636 recheck, however, 3185 was off; back at 1258.
Next SW chance to hear WOR 1700: Tuesday 1200 on WRMI 9955 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also SOUTH CAROLINA [non]
** U S A. 11550, 12050, 15610, Dec 22 at 1455, WEWN seems missing from all three frequencies, maybe weather-related as the only lightning on the map is in LA/MS/AL. 15550-USB, WJHR still audible, but 15825 WWCR is JBA without any Es enhancement (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
This report dispatched at 1742 UT December 22
** CUBA. 5025, Dec 22 at 1256, R. Rebelde music still propagating enough to tell that the carrier has the same wobble as heard before 0700 when on 5040 with RHC.
11860, Dec 22 at 1309, this RHC frequency is missing while 11760 is VG; At 1422, 11860 is now on and undermodulated as is 11760; while 11750 and 11690 tho much weaker are better modulated; at 1426, 11860 mod is OK, but at 1431, 11760 is dead air only vs CNR1 CCI while 11860 continues OK (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** EQUATORIAL GUINEA [and non]. 15190, Dec 21 at 2017 check, R. Africa Network via WRMI, no second audio, but a second carrier, i.e. Bata, producing SAH of about 5 Hz; 2110 recheck during song from WRMI, still the same (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** GREECE. 9420, fair-good Dec 22 at 0633, Byzantine chant still exists Sunday mornings, women or boys` voices, from Helliniki Radiophonia, and this frequency active again; yet not // separate musical program on as usual undermodulated 7475, poor-fair (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** KOREA NORTH [and non]. 6003, Dec 22 at 1445, Korean talk, fair signal and no noise jamming audible, i.e. Echo of Hope from South to North; altho too late for the mid-4-MHz jammers, it`s still a good morning for the higher ones: 6015, 6250, 6348, 6518, 6600 all with varying amounts of noise vs signal. Also 6170 with music, presumed VOK hour in Russian with RNZI staying on 5950 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** LIBERIA. 4760, Dec 22 at 0635-0723, with offset BFO as I doze, no sign of even a carrier from ELWA vs hi noise level and poor propagation, which was reported reactivated (testing?) 24 hours earlier and also in the local evening (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. 550, Dec 22 at 1317 UT, PSAs from IFE, and Secretaría de Defensa Nacional about Universidad del Ejército y Fuerza Aérea, 1318 música romántica; loops WSW, and no doubt the usual SRS dominant station from there, XEPL, Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, Chihuahua (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. 620, Dec 22 at 1321 UT, as soon as I tune in, canned ID for ``91.7 FM y 620 AM, La Norteñita es la efectiva``, i.e. XEBU Chihuahua city; effective, I assume they imply, insofar as advertising results (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. 700, Dec 22 at 1322 UT, rustic fiddling, 1323 gobierno de la república PSA in Spanish, 1324 something about ``toquen – baile`` then vocal music; this time holds up a little longer at 1331 to hear definite call-letter ID as XEETCH, La Voz de los Tres Rios, and then in an indigenous language, i.e from Etchojoa, Sonora (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. 710, Dec 22 at 1327 UT, as I tune in, full ID for XEDP with 5 kW, XHDP FM with 10 kW, La Ranchera de Cuauhtémoc, street address in that Chihuahua city, Grupo B-M Radio; dominating frequency (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** OKLAHOMA. 530, Dec 22 at 0640 UT, ``K530AM``, Vance AFB is gone again after several days of reactivity; or rather QRP, as I can still detect a weak SAH against Cuba. At 1316 after Cuba is gone, I can barely make out modulation in the form of anti-wildfire PSA from US Forest Service. If normal loud level is 10 watts, QRP now must be in the milliwatts (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. 15440, Dec 21 at 2108, Brother Scare via WRMI, with clip accusing Pres. Obama of being a ``dictator`` (with a do-nothing congress???), allowing water from Great Lakes to be sold to China, as if they will soon be drained as a result. Such irresponsible fear-mongering is the norm for BS, to which too many US radio stations are accomplices.
BTW, according to Ivo Ivanov, the reason Area 51 is going off 5110 is: Brother Scare has bought up lots of time there, already heard at 0930 Dec 22, as well as adding overnight on WBCQ 7490.
5085, Dec 22 at 1302 check, WTWW-2 is back on with BS, lo-fi audio; it was off early UT Dec 22 for WOR and QSO programs (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** TAIWAN [non]. 11880, Sunday Dec 22 at 1330, Keith Perron opening PCJ Radio`s Happy Station Show, here via WRMI on special pre-publicized frequency I approved, also announcing 5995 for Europe (via Germany, no point in even checking it here with R. Australia), and usual 9335 via Sri Lanka, which has a JBA carrier.
Lots of music on the show, which suffers more than the talk from lo bitrate encoding (it`s 128 kbps, 44 kHz stereo originally, but sounds like less, and even WOR at 80 kbps, 44 kHz has no such artifacts during the opening theme music). Also, the modulation level on this frequency is sub-par; WRMI is louder on 9955 tho jammed, and especially with BS on 9690. At least 11880 is QRM-free.
Opens with ``Happy Holidays`` by Peggy Lee; 1335 Chipmunx` ``All I Want is a Hula Hoop``, and Keith then explains how the voices were produced, taking two weeks to get it right. 1339 Keith reads ``The Night Before Xmas``; 1343 Tom Meijer sings ``Marshmallow World``. 1346 Burl Ives` ``Holly Jolly Xmas``; 1349 Beatles` promotional flexi-disc from 1963 with them horsing around for their fans, including bits of ``Good King Wenceslaus``, whistling GSTQ; comments by John, George and Ringo, at least. 1354 another Xmas song; 1401 Keith reads ``How the Grinch Stole Xmas``; 1410 ``SCICTT``; 1417 QSL offer; next week will be live: if you want to participate, send phone number and be available during this hour Dec 29. 1419 Hawaiian Xmas; 1423 Keith sings ``Winter Wonderland`` recorded in Tokyo with the NHK Orchestra; 1426 ``Let It Snow`` some more; 1429 sign-off with three frequencies again, http://www.pcjmedia.com and then WRMI ID by Keith, off 1430* (Glenn Hauser,
OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO 1700 monitoring [non]. UT Sunday December 22 at 0030, WTWW-2, 5085 NOT on the air (nor on 9930; weather-related?). Next airing Sunday Dec 22 at 0501 on WTWW-1, 5830 at first seemed missing too, but then JBA due to propagation disturbance (so it sounded, but WWV reported none, with K at 03 UT of 0 and at 06 of only 1 --- just a really low MUF for the Solstice?). The other Tennesseeans on 5 MHz were also JBA, and even 4840 WWCR inaudible at first, back in VG at 0629; while the low-band advantage still worked at 0512 for 3215 WWCR and 3185 WWRB. At 0636 recheck, however, 3185 was off; back at 1258.
Next SW chance to hear WOR 1700: Tuesday 1200 on WRMI 9955 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also SOUTH CAROLINA [non]
** U S A. 11550, 12050, 15610, Dec 22 at 1455, WEWN seems missing from all three frequencies, maybe weather-related as the only lightning on the map is in LA/MS/AL. 15550-USB, WJHR still audible, but 15825 WWCR is JBA without any Es enhancement (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
This report dispatched at 1742 UT December 22
