venerdì 21 febbraio 2014

Glenn Hauser logs February 21, 2014

** CUBA [and non]. 6070, Feb 21 at 0523, RHC Spanish is still on here; I seldom monitor before 0600, but had thought it finished at 0500, opening up 6070 then for CFRX. Ivo Ivanov also thought it unusual they were on past 0500; but WRTH 2013 shows 6070 at 00-06. Meanwhile, CFRX manages to cause a weak LAH against RHC (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CYPRUS. 21785-21810, Feb 21 at 1445, OTH radar pulses, presumed from here, in typical 25-kHz bandwidth.

First log after scheduled local power outage started, to replace a pole, from 1442 UT lasting until 1840. Line noise level is somewhat lower, but still hardly quiet, and punxuated by occasional blasts as the crew must be messing with the nearby live wires. At least I know that all the household devices are definitely off, while I`m running the FRG-7 on its D-cell battery pack, backed up by the DX-398 with its AAs. Once installed, line noise level is no lower than before (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** EQUATORIAL GUINEA [non]. 17790, Feb 21 at *1450, WRMI seems to have just come on air with carrier, and R. Africa Network undermodulation by 1452. Don`t know whether momentary interruption, or not on air at all from scheduled *1400 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** GERMANY. 15215, Feb 21 at *1559 strong open carrier after very weak signal earlier, presumably VOA English via Thailand. 1559:15 a bit of music, back to dead air; 1600:06 English sign on by Radio Öömrang for its annual broadcast; mentions 500 kW using dynamic amplitude modulation because it is very economic. Credits for funding and producing the show. It`s mainly for New York, where there are now more immigrants from the Frisian Islands than in the home territory.

The hour mixes High German, passable English, and some segments in the Frisian dialect(s). Host says it`s an annual tradition, now it its ninth year. Mostly interviewing local people, and explaining in English what they are talking about. Says needs donates due to the high cost of the broadcast; address in Nebel. Interviews woman with theatre group; 1619 some facts about tourism: because of high demand, people need to book rooms a year in advance; 1626 about the tradition of burning on a woodpile a straw puppy (puppet?), made by children (which should be tonight); later discusses an accordion group`s trip to New York 25 years ago, usw., usw. Abruptly cut off the air at 1658* after fragment of a song.

Site is of course, Nauen, GERMANY. They might have managed with one of the cheaper 100 kW units, or better yet, to just reach NY and eastern NAm, WRMI at a-dollar-a-minute. There was no problem here from co-channel KSDA GUAM at 1600-1630 daily, but it was a big problem in Cairo, says Tarek Zeidan. I recorded the opening and parts later, may availablize them if someone else doesn`t (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** IRAN. 15525, Feb 21 at 1534, very poor signal with talk, ACI from 15530 now that Dabanga has moved down 5 kHz. HFCC shows this can only be IRIB in English at 1520-1620, 500 kW, 105 degrees from Kamalabad (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** KOREA NORTH [non]. 6135, Feb 21 at 1406, very poor signal in noise, but I can make out the typical sounders of Sea Breeze, and intonation sounds like English as normally on Fridays. New/reactivated frequency, ex-5910 as first reported by Ron Howard yesterday (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. 7490, Feb 21 at 0643, BS via WHRI but also with a LAH. Suspect WBCQ`s off-frequency carrier is still on to QRM. See also USA: WRMI (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** SPAIN. 21630, Friday Feb 21 at 1445, REE is back here instead of 21640 which it had been using for a couple weeks. Presumably for the entire broadcast including resuming collision with BBC Ascension in Hausa at 1400-1430. Yes, Ivo Ivanov also noted this during the clash. So now the WRTH Update is `wrong` again, because REE can`t keep its act together, and just stay on 21640 where it will not collide with BBC or WHRI or anything. Spain runs until 1700, while WHRI is registered 16-18 daily, plus 15-16 weekends (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** SUDAN [and non]. 15530, Feb 21 at 1531, R. Dabanga in presumed Sudanese Arabic, mentions of Darfur, and finally of Dabanga at 1533.4, an unusually long interval with no passing ID, and still not a sung ID. Is via VATICAN, ex-15535, leaving the tone jammer barely audible here on the old frequency; only a matter of time till they catch on. Any other reason for moving? At least it`s all standard now, as Ivo Ivanov reports for this and preceding allied R. Tamazuj: all on 15530 in the mornings 0400-0600 via UAE, and evenings 1500-1630 via Vatican, ex-13800 and 15535 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO 1709 monitoring: NOT confirmed UT Friday Feb 21 at 0430v on WWRB, because 3195 is off the air, and so is the webcast, and so is the only other frequency, 3185. Did not recheck before 0500; however, at 0519, I find that 3185 is back on with BS, while 3195 would have signed off anyway. Good thing for our redundancy on four US SW stations, as hardly a week goes by without one broadcast or another missing for some reason. Next:

Saturday 0730 & 1530 on Hamburger Lokalradio, 7265-CUSB
UT Sunday 0030 on WRMI 9495 [or previous episode, like last week]
UT Sunday 0030 on WTWW 5085
UT Sunday 0501 on WTWW 5830
UT Monday 0400v on Area 51 via WBCQ 5110v-CUSB
etc., etc. (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 9955, Feb 21 at 0525, WRMI at VG level with music fill, well over jamming; 0529 Spanish ID, 0530 R. Slovakia International in Spanish. Meanwhile, 9840, the BS frequency at 0525 is dead air past 0529. By 0636, both are in BS, 9955 weaker, with 9840 JBA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also EQUATORIAL GUINEA [non]

** U S A. 17750-17790, Feb 21 at 1449, KVOH 17775 already up to VG level today, and along with it the noise field almost reaching 17790 WRMI, but worse to the low side, and especially during music (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 810, Feb 21 at 0700 UT, dominant signal is KLVZ Brighton-Denver CO including one legal ID and several more with promo variations on ``Where Love Lives``. Allegedly 430 watts at nite vs 2200 day; night pattern does have a little lobe SE toward us, while day pattern goes SW.

As usual, nothing from WHB Kansas City, our daytime dominator, since at nite it has a tight figure-8 to the NNW/SSE. I was checking 810 due to recent reports of WQIZ, 5 kW daytimer in St George SC, on the air at night QRMing WGY in the East. Which reminded me that I don`t think I`ve ever heard historic WGY Schenectady in OK, despite its class I-A status of 50 kW non-direxional day and night, supposedly requiring everystation else to protect it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 1020, Feb 21 at 0654 UT, semi-local KOKP Perry OK unusually has some Spanish in its null with norteña music, so is it from northern Mexico? No! Soon ID at ``La Nueva 10-20 --- de Omaha``. (It`s been ``new`` for quite a while now.) This is how I would normally hear it around sunrise once 50 kW day power is going, not 1.4 kW night power. Pattern for both is an ellipsoid tangent to and aimed due west from KMMQ Plattsmouth NE, so we should not be getting much signal day or night to the SSW. Usually at night, KDKA makes it in the KOKP null (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 8218-SSB, approx., Spanish 2-way, discussing quantities of fluids on board and expended, such as hydraulic, and potable water (note, in English it`s POE-, not POT-), repeating numbers clearly for accurate copy; also mentions ``la plataforma`` so suspect it`s an oil rig in the Gulf (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

This report despatched at 2130 UT February 21