domenica 14 gennaio 2018

Glenn Hauser logs January 12-13, 2018

** ARGENTINA [non]. 9395, Fri Jan 12 at 1900, WRMI with song in Spanish? 1902 segué to another, Japanese or Korean? Anyhow, it is certainly not RAE auf die Welt, as scheduled since Jan 8 in German but yet to appear. Presumably Italian also absent at 20 on same, tho not checked today. I posted a reply Jan 11 on the GRA blog to the alleged new schedule, correcting it, but as of Jan 13 it still awaits ``moderation``; only I can see this:

``Guillermo Glenn Hauser dice:
Tu comentario todavía no se ha moderado.
11/01/2018 en 2:19 

Lástima que hasta el 10 de enero no aparecen el alemán ni italiano en 9395. El portugués a las 12 emite también en 9455. El japonés y chino no se emitieron el lunes; tal vez de martes a sábados.``
https://gruporadioescuchaargentino.wordpress.com/2018/01/09/rae-argentina-al-mundo-presenta-su-nuevo-esquema-de-transmisiones-via-wrmi/#respondo

Yet some newer entries have been posted on that blog. Info from Argentina itself has never been 100% correct about the relays (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** CUBA. 15508, 15439, 15301, 15232, 15163, 15094, approx., Jan 13 at 1520, RHC-FM as much as S9+20 out of 15370-AM transmitter. Spanish programming can be heard clearly ~5 kHz above and below these frequencies when R-75 is tuning in FM mode. It`s somewhat undermodulated but not distorted, and accompanied by a constant whine. When tuned in AM or SSB modes, a horrible distorted mess of spurblobs. 

Beyond there, calculated 69 kHz intervals would be: 15025, 14956, 14887, 14818, 14749, 14680 and on upper side 15577, 15646, 15715; but traces of whine are instead audible more circa: 15033, 14964, 14895, 14826, 14757, 14688; and on hi side 15577, 15646-not, 15727? The separations may have shifted while I was doing this, but I did not start over from the closer ones. Something`s always wrong at RHC (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** GUATEMALA. 4055, Jan 13 at 0629, R. Verdad still on with hymn solo in Spanish (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MADAGASCAR. 17640, Jan 12 at 1800, MWV opening `African Pathways Radio`, first by African-accented host, then joined by American-accented (and I bet he`s white), co-host. VG S9+10/20, the SSOB way above VOA S7-S9 on 17655, which is Greenville in Portuguese. Only other trace of signal is JBA carrier on 17775 --- can that really be KVOH? 

APR opens with the shortest Ladysmith song from a new album, before getting down to conversion business. Altho the programming is off-putting, slick and contrarian, I continue to be impressed by how well Mahajanga gets into deep North America, far better than anything else on this band, despite being about as far away as possible toward the antipodes further in the Indian Ocean. It must be satisfying at WCB HQ in Franklin TN to be able to hear their own output, if they try to there, also no doubt far better than they could hear KNLS (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MADAGASCAR. 15420, Jan 12 at 1806, averaging S9, the SSOB on 19m is also from Madagascar, like MWV on 16m, but from the other site; unID African talk with strumming, mentions Rwanda? Can it be R. Itahuka? But this is Friday, not Saturday-only for it. Aoki does show a Friday-only transmission at 1800-1830 on exactly same parameters, 250 kW, 320 degrees from Talata-Volonondry 1 at 1800-1830, but it`s from Bible Voice, language field blank. EiBi shows it as Kirundi, so looks like BVB is trying to ride the coattails of Itahuka (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MADAGASCAR [and non]. 13800, Jan 13 at 1528, R. Dabanga with an echo, 1529 clearer, 1530 Dabanga themesong, as sked, 250 kW, 340 degrees from Talata to Sudan. Maybe trace of a second carrier, or this one is unstable by propagation. Checking since Mark Coady, Ontario, suspected he was hearing R. Puntland, Somalia, underneath. Aoki/NDXC does list that on 13800 at 0330-0600 & 1000-1600 daily, 20 kW, ND from Garowe but x for not active. WRTH 2018 shows same hours as variable, but 10 kW, AM/USB, irregular. R. Tamazuj occupies the previous hour from 1430, same parameters via Madagascar. Barring a transmission failure from Talata, we must seek Puntland before 1430 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** NIGERIA [non]. 15110, Sat Jan 13 at 1600, since I have UTwente SDR running for World of Radio on 6190, I retune to here for the new ``Radio Nigeria`` service of IPOB via BULGARIA. Quite sufficient reception, thumb-piano music and song, soon talk in presumed Hausa, maybe mentions Radio Nigeria; 1616 another bit of such music, more talk. Since UTwente eats up so much RAM, I bail out at 1630, but 1658 recheck, now even stronger with music, thumb piano and singing until 1701, open carrier, off by 1702 (times with internet delay).

Here`s Richard Langley`s report about it today to the DXLD yg:

``No QRM today and signal at fair strength but with fades using the U. Twente SDR receiver. Indigenous sign-on music followed by announcement that included "As-salamu `alaykum" I believe. So perhaps this is a Muslim-oriented station and/or one intended principally for northern Nigeria. More later when I have time to listen to the recording if reception holds up.

My recording of the whole one-hour broadcast, using the U. Twente SDR receiver, is here:
http://www2.unb.ca/gge/test/SWL/IPOB_Radio_Nigeria_15.110MHz_13January2018_1600UTC.mp3
The transmitter came up a few minutes early with the program beginning within a second or so of 1600:00 UT. The transmitter went off around 1642:30 but came back about two-and-a-half minutes later. Program ended within a second or so of 1700:00 and the transmitter was switched off about 10 seconds later. Reception improved during the hour with quite a good signal at the end.

The presenter talks about "Radio Naga-see-ya." Is this the name of the station? I don't think it's a different pronunciation of Nigeria, but I could be wrong. One clearly hears "Nigeria" during the program. I'll try to find a Hausa-speaking student to see if he can help with the correct identification of the station`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. 5890, Jan 13 at 0636, WWCR still running TOM (are they getting paid??), and after appeal for $$, synthom introduces ``testimony`` of Allan Weiner about BS, the same extended excerpt from WBCQ`s `Allan Weiner Worldwide` we ran across once before on 5890 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** SPAIN. 15390, Sat Jan 13 at 1518, REE is still very distorted here, and at times sounds like cross-talk from something else too; // weaker and clear 15500 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 15580, Fri Jan 12 around 2115, VOA `Music Time in Africa` VG with something from Cameroon. I`m on the caradio, and don`t confirm the frequency, but surely it`s this only one from the memory. Yet later in the hour, I`m not hearing it, and at home on the R75, 15580 is a JBA carrier by 2145. Did this only 15580 hour from Greenville cut off the air early, or propagation drop out? An announcement as usual had failed to mention this very transmission of the show, which is by far our best chance to hear it, when it work (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A [and non]. Thanks to Mike Cooper, for noting new schedules for World Radio Network, via
http://babcock.media/world-radio-network/networks/
which show that WORLD OF RADIO is no longer carried at 1830 Saturdays to North America. Instead, 1700 Saturdays on all three streams. In addition, Sat 1000 to Europe only; UT Mon 0230 to all except Europe. I was too late to check it before 1730 this week. But indeed at 1830, the North American stream is amid the now Israeli hour. Access:
http://babcock.media/world-radio-network/how-to-listen/

WORLD OF RADIO 1912 monitoring: not confirmed UT Saturday December 13 at 0045, the 0030 on WBCQ 9330v-CUSB: no signal. Sat Dec 13 from 1531 via Hamburger Lokalradio, 6190-CUSB: tune in UTwente at 1540 and hear only two other languages mixing, Vietnamese from CRI Beijing site atop, and the other must be CNR8 Mongolian via Urumqi, East Turkistan. However, recheck at 1545, now I can hear me in the mix at the midpoint of WOR 1912; by 1556 WOR is even atop the others. Off at 1600 when some heavy ACI appears. Next:
Sat 2030v  WA0RCR 1860-AM ND
Sat 2230   WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Sat 2300   WRMI 7780 to NE [ex-11580!]
Sun 0200   WRMI 7780 to NE [ex-11580!]
Sun 0410v  WA0RCR 1860-AM ND
Sun 1130   HLR  9485-CUSB to WSW 
Mon 0030   WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Mon 0400v  WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW
Mon 0430   WRMI 9955 to SSE, 9455 to WNW
Tue 0030   WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Tue 0030   WRMI 7730 to WNW
Tue 2030   WRMI 7780 to NE, 9455 to WNW [or #1913?]
Tue 2130   WRMI 9455 to WNW [or #1913?]
Wed 0030   WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW
Wed 1030   WRMI 5850 to NW [or #1913?]

Full WOR schedule via all media, podcast access:
http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 9330v-CUSB, Jan 12 at 1800, still no signal from WBCQ test. Presumably it`s finished as implied by Allan on AWWW, see below (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 7490-, UT Sat Jan 13 at 0045 check, poor signal from WBCQ but sounds like Allan Weiner, i.e. replay of last week`s `Worldwide` since `Fred Flintstone` has been canceled. I miss the first quarter of this week`s `Allan Weiner Worldwide`, which I have to listen to on webcast, starting about 0115. He has a bad cold, and frequently has to push the cough button. Welcomes a new show on station, ``FKB``, whatever that be and whenever that be (not on the website sked, always slow to catch up). 0122 gives date as 12th of December, YOOL 2018, oops. Says he has not been able to reach anyone who would know the current status of Brother Stair, hopes to have news by next week. Recommends certain Radio Shack SW receivers as durable, etc., good to have in case of EMP ruining everything. Reads from a long article Kim Elliott sent about the EMP threat.

Refers to 9330 experiments the past week as propagation test with carrier reduced to 25% (I think he said). Was pleased to hear it in FLA day and night. Impression I get is that the experiment is finished, and it is no longer being heard here. One of the projects to be completed this summer is a 125-kW backup generator. Running out of time at 0158, he allows his benedixion to be interrupted by a phone call from Bermuda, and cut off by 0201. 

Here`s John Carver`s version of the hour as heard in mid-North Indiana:

``No copy on 7490 this evening. Poor copy on 5130 this evening. Show started almost a minute late with Angela and Allan in the studio in FLA. Talk of a special tube he had to purchase to finish a project he was working on, then a talk about radios in general including the R390-A. Then talk, inspired by an email from Kim Andrew Elliot, about the possibility of an attack by North Korea and whether it would be a conventional warhead or an EMP blast and whether or not the transmitters at the station would survive such an attack. Then said he would try to find out what's going on with Brother Stair by next week's show. Says the state of the station is good and welcomes new programmers. Mentioned the round the clock experiments with 9330. 

First phone call at 0135 is from Mr. Transistor, Norm, with news of a local hamfest tomorrow. Noise comes up at 0137 making it more difficult to copy. Allan is suffering from a bad cold and is making liberal use of the cough button. Another talk with Norm about portable radios and which ones might work after an EMP attack which is probably a moot point. Norm is off the phone at 0159 as Allan attempts to close out the show. Another phone call which is John from Bermuda but he doesn't get a chance to talk at all and transmitter cuts off at 0200 in the middle of a sentence of Allan's closing prayer`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 7780, Jan 12 at 1900, WRMI on JBA carrier: now scheduled as a third frequency mid-day for Oldies along with 9395 before 1900, and 9455 before 2200. Any WRMI service at midday to America ought to be on 13 or 15 MHz; 13695 and 15440 once used for TOM would blast in here. By 2300, 7780 is carrying `Viva Miami`, ex-11580 scheduling (and 24 hours later should be World of Radio).

5850, Jan 12 at 2233, WRMI is not on yet, supposed to start at 2230, with a gospel huxter on Fridays; is on by next check 2259 in time for Tirana.

9395 & 9455, Fri Jan 12 at 2302, opening `Your Weekend Show`, this time axually at the start of a weekend. This scheduling cannot be found on the WRMI skedgrids, merely `Oldies` during this hour, without specifying otherstuff depending on day of week. Anyhow, Bob Biermann gets to divert to his soft-sell evangelism hour numerous times within.

9955, Fri Jan 12 at 2302, WRMI with the expanded `Noches con Mirka` show we`ve heard at least previous two weeks, lots of Cuban-American chat and some music, bumping PCJ Radio International which has been scheduled 23-24 Fridays for a longtime. Presumably that start at 2330, unchecked this week, and still for its full hour? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 17775, Fri Jan 12 at 1800 and still at 1900, JBA carrier, which I suppose must be KVOH (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

This report despatched at 1935 UT January 13